aiOLOG 
 
 LJBRAR 
 G 
 
A HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS, 
 
 WITH COLOURED ILLUSTKATIONS 
 
 OF THEIR 
 
 EGOS. 
 
 BY 
 
 HEXBY SEEBOHM. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 L O N D ON : 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY 
 R.^H. PORTER. 6 TEXTERDEN STREET, W., 
 
 A>T) 
 
 DULAU & CO., SOHO SQUARE, W. 
 1883. 
 
BIOLOGY 
 LIBRARY 
 
 G 
 
 AI/EKE T FLAMMAM. 
 
 PRINTED I?Y TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, 
 RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 Plate Page 
 
 INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 Family FALCONUXE i 
 
 Genus VFLTUR x 2 
 
 Tid fur fulv us. Griffon- Vulture 1. 4 
 
 percnopterus. Egyptian Vulture 1. 11 
 
 Genus FALCO 15 
 
 Falco gyrfalco. Brown. Jer-Falcon 1 3 16 
 
 candicans. White Jer-Falcon J 
 
 peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon 3. 23 
 
 subbuteo. Hobby 4. 31 
 
 (esalon. Merlin 4. 34 
 
 vespertinus. Red-footed Falcon 4. 42 
 
 tiiniuih-i.iJus. Kestrel 4. 45 
 
 ctnchris. Lesser Kestrel , 4. 51 
 
 Genus PANDION 54 
 
 Pandion lutliaetm. Osprey 3. 55 
 
 Genus ELAXOIDES 62 
 
 Elanoides furcatus. Swallow-tailed Kite 6. 63 
 
 Genus MILVUS 73 
 
 Milvus regalis. Common Kite 5. 74 
 
 - ater. Black Kite 5. 80 
 
 Genus HALIAETUS 86 
 
 HaUaetus nlbicilla. White-tailed Eagle 2. 87 
 
 GenrfS AQUILA 95 
 
 Aquila clirysaetm. Golden Eagle 2. 96 
 
 ncevia. Lesser Spotted Eagle 2. 106 
 
 lac/opus. Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle 5. Ill 
 
 703410 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 Pkte Page 
 
 Genus BUTEO 116 
 
 Buteo vulgaris. Common Buzzard 5. 117 
 
 Genus CIRCUS 123 
 
 Circus ceruginosus. Marsh-Harrier 6. 124 
 
 cyanus. Hen-Harrier 6. 128 
 
 cineraceus. Montagu's Harrier 6. 131 
 
 Genus ACCIPITER 134 
 
 Accipiter nisus. Sparrow-Hawk 4. 135 
 
 palumbarius. Goshawk 5. 
 
 atricapillvs. American Goshawk 145 
 
 Family STEIGID5J UQ 
 
 Genus ALUCO 147 
 
 Aluco flammem. Barn-Owl 7. 148 
 
 Genus STRIX 152 
 
 Strix aluco. "Wood-Owl 6. 154 
 
 - otus. Long-eared Owl 7. 160 
 
 tengmalmi. Tengmalm's Owl 7. 164 
 
 brachyotus. Short-eared Owl 7. 167 
 
 Genus NOCTUA 173 
 
 Noctua noctua. Little Owl 7. 174 
 
 Genus SURNIA 176 
 
 Surnia nyctea. Snowj- Owl 7. 177 
 
 funerea. Hawk Owl 183 
 
 Genus BUBO 186 
 
 Bubo maximus. Eagle-Owl 7. 187 
 
 Genus SCOPS 192 
 
 Scops scops. Scops Owl 7. 193 
 
 Family PASSERID-ffi 196 
 
 Subfamily TURDIN& 197 
 
 Genus GEOCICHLA 198 
 
 Oeocichla varia. White's Ground-Thrush 8. 200 
 
 sibirica. Siberian Ground-Thrush . 204 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Genus TUEDUS 
 
 Plate 
 
 Page 
 206 
 
 207 
 213 
 220 
 228 
 
 234 
 
 235 
 243 
 249 
 
 252 
 253 
 
 xxiii 
 
 261 
 
 262 
 269 
 276 
 
 280 
 281 
 
 286 
 
 287 
 293 
 
 297 
 298 
 304 
 307 
 
 311 
 312 
 317 
 
 322 
 323 
 
 328 
 332 
 
 Turdus viscivoi'us. Missel-Thrush 
 
 8. 
 
 musicus. Song-Thrush 
 
 8. 
 
 ilicicus. Eedwing . 
 
 8. 
 
 pilaris. Fieldfare ... 
 
 8. 
 
 Gemis MF/RT7T.A , , 
 
 
 Merula merula. Blackbird . . . 
 
 8. 
 
 torquata. Eing-Ouzel 
 
 8. 
 
 atrigularis. Black- throated Ouzel .... 
 
 
 Genus CINCLUS 
 
 
 Cinclus aquaticus. Common Dipper 
 
 11. 
 
 
 
 Genus EEITHACIJS 
 
 Erithacus rubecula. Eobin . . 
 
 .... 9. 
 
 su6cic<i. Arctic Blue-throated Eobin 
 
 9 
 
 luscinia. Nightingale 
 
 . . 9. 
 
 Genus MONTICOLA 
 
 
 Afonticola saxatilis. Eock-Thrush 
 
 8. 
 
 Genus EUTICILLA 
 
 
 Ruticilla pJicenicurus. Eedstart 
 
 9. 
 
 tithiis Black Eedstart 
 
 9. 
 
 Genus SAXICOLA 
 
 
 Saxicolo, oenantlie. Wheatear 
 
 9. 
 
 deserti Desert- Wlieatear 
 
 9. 
 
 sttipd'iiid Black-throated Chat 
 
 9. 
 
 Genus PEATIXCOLA 
 
 
 Pratincola rubetra Whin chat .... 
 
 9. 
 
 Tiibicola Stonechat . 
 
 . . 9. 
 
 Genus MUSCICAPA ... 
 
 
 ^Iiisci/capci nrisola Spotted Flycatcher . . 
 
 .... 9. 
 
 citricapiTlci Pied Flycatcher 
 
 9. 
 
 narva. Eed-breasted Flvcatcher . . 
 
 9. 
 
 Subfamily SYLVIIN^E 337 
 
 Gen^s LOCUSTELLA 338 
 
 Locustelltt locustella. Grasshopper Warbler 10. 340 
 
 luseinioides. Savi's Warbler 10. 346 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 Plate Page 
 
 Genus ACBOCEPHALUS 350 
 
 AcrocepTialus pliraginitis. Sedge-Warbler 10. 352 
 
 aquaticus. Aquatic Warbler 10. 357 
 
 turdoides. Great Heed-Warbler 10. 361 
 
 arundinaceus. Reed-Warbler 10. 367 
 
 palustris. Marsh- Warbler 10. 375 
 
 Genus HYPOLAIS 380 
 
 Hypolais liypolais. Icteriue Warbler 10. 381 
 
 Genus SYLVIA 385 
 
 Sylvia nisoria. Barred Warbler 10. 387 
 
 orpheus. Orphean Warbler 10. 390 
 
 atricapUla, Blackcap 10. 394 
 
 hortensis. Garden- Warbler 10. 400 
 
 cinerea. Whitethroat 10. 405 
 
 curruca. Lesser Whitethroat 10. 410 
 
 provincialis. Dartford Warbler 10. 414 
 
 galactodes. Bufous Warbler 10. 418 
 
 Genus PHYLLOSCOPUS 423 
 
 PTiylloscopus sibilatrix. Wood- Wren 10. 426 
 
 trochilus. Willow- Wren 10. 430 
 
 rufus. Chiftchaff 10. 435 
 
 superciliosus. Yellow-browed Willow- Wren . . 10. 441 
 
 Subfamily PARING 451 
 
 Genus BEGULUS 452 
 
 Begulus cristatus. Goldcrest 11. 453 
 
 ignicapillus. Firecrest 11. 453 
 
 Genus PABUS ' 462 
 
 Paras major. Great Tit 9. 453 
 
 cceruleus. Blue Tit 9. 4gg 
 
 ater. European Coal Tit . . . 
 
 bntannicus. British Coal Tit J 
 
 palustris. Marsh-Tit .................... 9. 
 
 cristatus. Crested Tit .................... 9. 
 
 Genus ACBEDULA .............................. 485 
 
 Acredula caudata. Continental Long-tailed Tit 1 
 - rosea. British Long-tailed Tit . 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 Plate Page 
 
 Genus PANURUS 491 
 
 Panurus biarmicus. Bearded Tit 12. 492 
 
 Genus ACCENTOR 496 
 
 Accentor modularis. Hedge-Sparrow 12. 497 
 
 atyinus. Alpine Accentor 12. 501 
 
 Genus TROGLODYTES 504 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus. Wren 11. 505 
 
 Genus CERTHIA 511 
 
 Certhia familiar is. Common Creeper 11. 512 
 
 Genus TICHODROMA 517 
 
 Tiehodroma muraria. Wall-Creeper 18. 518 
 
 Genus SITTA 522 
 
 Sitta ccesia. Nuthatch.. 12. 523 
 
 Subfamily COR VIN& 530 
 
 Genus CORVUS 530 
 
 Gorvus corax. Raven 16. 532 
 
 corone. Carrion-Crow 16. 540 
 
 corniv. Hooded Crow 16. 545 
 
 f rug Hey us. Rook 16. 549 
 
 monedula. Jackdaw 16. 555 
 
 Genus PICA 561 
 
 Pica caudata. Magpie 16. 562 
 
 Genus GARRTJLUS 568 
 
 Garndus glandarius. Common Jay 16. 569 
 
 Genus PYRRHOCORAX 575 
 
 Pyrrhocorax graculus. Chough 16. 576 
 
 Genus NUCIFRAGA 582 
 
 jNtteifraga caryocatactes. Nutcracker 16. 583 
 
 Genus ORIOLUS 588 
 
 Oriolus fjalbida. Golden Oriole 11. 589 
 
Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Subfamily LANIIN&, 
 
 Plate 
 
 Genus LANIUS 
 
 Lanius major. Pallas's Grey Shrike 
 
 eoscubitor. Great Grey Shrike 11. 
 
 minor. Lesser Grey Shrike 11. 
 
 collurio. Red-backed Shrike 
 rufus. Woodchat Shrike . . 
 
 11. 
 11. 
 
 Page 
 593 
 
 594 
 595 
 598 
 603 
 606 
 610 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE number of books which have been published on British birds is so 
 great that it might be thought that every thing that could be said on the 
 subject had been already well said. But such is the rapid progress 
 which ornithology has made during the last few years that even the 
 earlier portions of Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' and Newton's edition of 
 Yarrell's ' British Birds ' are quite out of date. Not only have many 
 important gaps in the geographical distribution of some of our commoner 
 birds been filled up, and a large part of the history of some of the rarer 
 ones been discovered, but in many respects I have found it necessary to 
 look upon the whole subject from a different point of view. The argu- 
 ments in favour of the theory that the species of animals now existing in 
 the world were evolved by natural laws, some of which we have discovered, 
 from species of a more primitive type which lived in remote geological 
 ages are so irresistible that it is impossible to ignore them. At the 
 first glance it would seem that the development of a species was a subject 
 quite apart from its present history ; but it will be found that this 
 question of the development of species by evolution is one which lies at 
 the foundation of all inquiries into the history of individual species ; and 
 when it is answered in the affirmative, the study of ornithology is found 
 to possess a new interest, many obscure points become comparatively 
 clear, and the old treatment of the subject requires modifying in various 
 ways. It is of the utmost importance to have clear ideas on this subject, 
 in order rightly to interpret the facts of Nature ; and consequently a 
 few lines must be devoted to 
 
 THE HYPOTHESIS OF EVOLUTION. 
 
 There is amongst birds, as there is throughout the animal and vegetable 
 world, a more or less keen " struggle for existence." The natural increase 
 is so rapid that the surplus population is necessarily killed off, partly by 
 falling a prey to stronger animals, partly by'want of food, partly by disease, 
 and partly, ^specially in the case of migratory birds, by other forms of 
 violent death. Consequently we find that a weeding process is constantly 
 going on throughout Nature. The weak die; the strong live: the fit 
 survive ; the unfit perish. This is called the " survival of the fittest." But 
 
x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to understand how this process can cause any development or evolution of 
 species, it is necessary to know two facts : first, that there is a difference 
 between individuals, so that one is more fit than another to conquer in the 
 struggle for existence ; and, second, that these individual idiosyncrasies 
 are for the most part hereditary, and are capable of being transmitted to 
 offspring. These two facts are well known to every breeder of cattle, 
 horses, dogs, or pigeons, and are the main facts upon which the horti- 
 culturist relies for success. The artificial selection of the farm or the 
 garden has its counterpart in "natural selection." This is the broad 
 theory of evolution as propounded by Darwin and Wallace. Respecting 
 the details of its application, some difference of opinion still exists. Most 
 writers consider that the differences in individuals from which Nature 
 selects the fittest to survive by killing off those which are less fit to cope 
 with the difficulties of life are accidental differences. Others hold the 
 theory that the tendency to vary from the ancestral type is a tendency in 
 a certain direction towards a fixed goal ; it may be as mysterious and in- 
 explicable as the tendency of a stone to gravitate to the earth, or of a 
 needle to fly to a magnet, but not the less a fact, the one tendency being 
 as originally inherent in organic matter as the other in inorganic matter. 
 All that can be said is that it was originally made so. But, be this true 
 or not, the peculiarities of form and colour which we find in birds and 
 other animals do not seem to be all accounted for by the theory of the 
 survival of the fittest. There seems to be a correlation of the external 
 colour of many birds with their internal organization, which is inexplicable 
 on the commonly received view. Many internal characters are, as my 
 friend Mr. Alfred Tylor expresses it, emphasized on the plumage. It seems 
 possible also that in some cases there may be a direct influence of climate 
 upon colour, independent of the indirect influence of protective selection. 
 The selection of Nature is in different directions. The fitness for the posi- 
 tion in which a bird or other animal is placed which ensures its survival 
 may be of various kinds : muscular strength or other superior organi- 
 zation to enable it to conquer its enemies of its own or other species ; 
 special adaptations to enable it to secure a better supply of food ; special 
 coloration to enable it to escape the observation of its enemies or attract 
 the attention of the opposite sex ; or it may mimic the colour or shape of 
 some other animal known to be dangerous ; or the special fitness may be 
 in the habits of the bird, in its choice of a nesting-site, in its migra- 
 tions in fact, in every variation of structure or habits which distinguishes 
 one species from another. 
 
 The acceptation of the hypothesis of evolution implies the recognition 
 of species in the process of formation. If this theory be correct, there 
 must be always some species which are not yet finished. In the slow 
 process of evolving two species from one there must be a period when the 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 two species are only half evolved. Do we find these half -formed species ? 
 At any period of the world's history, if the process of evolution is 
 always going on, there ought surely to be some instances of half-evolved 
 species. So there are. It is easy to find examples of species in every 
 stage of development, from mere local races to well-defined subspecies. 
 To enable us to discriminate between these on the one hand and between 
 species and subspecies on the other, it is necessary to inquire into 
 
 THE INTERBREEDING OF BIRDS *. 
 
 This is a subject which has been much neglected by ornithologists. 
 The existence of intermediate forms so produced has been as much as 
 possible ignored. Where the facts were too obvious to admit of doubt, 
 the so-called cross was contemptuously dismissed as a hybrid, a mon- 
 strosity, and as such possessing no more scientific interest than a white 
 Blackbird or a six-legged calf. So long as each species was supposed to 
 have had a separate origin, and to be divided by a hard-and-fast line from 
 every other species, this attitude of ornithologists towards interbreeding 
 was excusable ; but now that the theoiy of evolution has been generally 
 accepted, the subject will be found to possess the greatest interest and to 
 throw unexpected light upon the development of species. The old defini- 
 tion of species having lapsed, in consequence of the rejection of the theory 
 of special creation, it is necessary to provide a new one. We may define 
 a species to be a group of individuals which, however much they may vary 
 from each other, do not present any hard-and-fast line between their 
 extreme variations, and which, however near they may be to their nearest- 
 allied species, are nevertheless separated from them by a hard-and-fast 
 line. Naturalists may differ as to the assignment of the cause why inter- 
 mediate forms are absent ; but we may reasonably infer, first, that the 
 intermediate forms have become extinct, and, secondly, that they are not 
 reproduced by interbreeding. There may be several reasons why they are 
 not reproduced by interbreeding. Where Nature has drawn the line very 
 broadly, the species may have been so long separated and may have become 
 so differentiated that productive sexual intercourse between them may 
 have become structurally impossible. A somewhat narrower Hue exists 
 between species which may be artificially crossed, but produce under those 
 circumstances only a barren hybrid. The specific line of demarcation is 
 
 * Interbreeding may or may not mean cross-breeding. Wherever the interbreeding 
 which habitually takes place between the individuals of a species has not ceased, any 
 differences beJween them can only be subspecih'c. Subspecies may be denned as groups 
 in which the interbreeding which habitually takes place between individuals in a species 
 has not yet ceased, but takes place along the whole line of its geographical distribution, 
 though seldom between the two extremes. 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 still narrower where barren hybrids are produced in a state of Nature. 
 The line of demarcation is considerably narrowed when more or less fertile 
 hybrids can be artificially produced but do not occur in a wild state, either 
 because the natural inclination to interbreed is absent or because the 
 opportunity of interbreeding is taken away by isolation of area of geogra- 
 phical distribution ; and we may consider the narrow line between such 
 species and subspecies to be crossed when fertile hybrids are produced in 
 a state of nature a condition of things which, if the fertility is sufficient 
 to continue to many generations, must inevitably produce an unbroken 
 series of intermediate forms. " The amount of sterility," says Darwin, 
 " between any two forms when first crossed, or in their offspring," which 
 shall be " considered as a decisive test of their specific distinctness " is a 
 point upon which naturalists are not agreed. There is no hard-and-fast 
 line between a specific difference and a difference which is only snbspecific. 
 The practical result is that slight subspecific variations are constantly being 
 produced by various causes, of which natural selection is probably the 
 most important, and are as constantly being lost by interbreeding ; so that 
 the similarity of individuals in a species is retained, whilst the sterility 
 produced by a specific variation prevents the universal mongrelization of 
 species which might otherwise take place. Interbreeding is a check upon 
 the indefinite multiplication of species ; whilst the narrow limit in which 
 it is possible provides against the extinction of specific differences. 
 Amongst British birds there are a great many instances of subspecies 
 of which we know, and no doubt many more of which we do not yet 
 know. Most of these are cases where the individuals of each valley 
 occasionally interbreed with their immediate neighbours, and where the 
 range is great enough to make the sum of a series of small differences 
 show a large difference in the extremes, as the Nuthatch, Marsh-Tit, 
 Grey Shrike, &c. Others are cases where the species appear to be per- 
 fectly distinct, but nevertheless it is found that, where their respective 
 ranges meet, they interbreed and produce offspring which are fertile both 
 among themselves and with either parent, as the Dipper, Goldfinch, 
 Crow, &c. 
 
 English ornithologists have for the most part ignored these intermediate 
 forms, and with characteristic insular arrogance have sneered at their 
 American confreres for adopting trinomial names which their recognition 
 demands. In this, as in so many other things, our American cousins are 
 far in advance of the Old World. One English ornithologist, however, 
 deserves to be mentioned as an honourable exception. Mr. Bowdler 
 Sharpe has boldly braved the blame of the Drs. Dry-as-dust and the 
 Professors Red-tape ; and the volumes of the ' Catalogue of Birds in the 
 British Museum' hitherto represent almost the only European publi- 
 cations on ornithology which are not behind the age in this respect. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 The binomial name will probably generally be used as a contraction but 
 it must never be forgotten that it is only a contraction. The difference 
 between a species and a subspecies, though in some cases not very clear, 
 is far too important a fact to be sacrificed to a craze for a uniform 
 binomial nomenclature. 
 
 The grouping of individuals into subspecies and species is the first 
 step in 
 
 THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 
 
 The second step is to group species into genera and subgenera ; the third 
 is to group genera into families and subfamilies, and the fourth to group 
 families into orders and suborders. The use of the terms subspecies, 
 subgenera,, &c. implies that all these divisions and subdivisions are more 
 or less artificial, and that our systems of classification attempt to draw a 
 hard-and-fast line where Nature has drawn none, or only a few here and 
 there. 
 
 Looked at from one point of view, Nature may, however, be said to have 
 drawn some very hard-and-fast lines. If it were possible to examine every 
 species of bird which exists or has existed, we might find that all birds 
 were descended from one common ancestral species, and that, consequently, 
 every species of bird was connected with its nearest allies by an unbroken 
 series of intermediate forms ; in which case we should be obliged to admit 
 that there was only one species of bird, divisible into an immense number 
 of subspecies. Or we might find that birds are descended from several 
 ancestral bird-reptiles (so to speak), and that consequently there were 
 several species of birds, each divisible into an immense number of sub- 
 species. We have, however, only to deal in our classification with existing 
 species ; and we at once perceive that by the extinction of species and 
 genera, to say nothing of families and orders, Nature has drawn some very 
 hard-and-fast lines, sometimes only narrow lines, but in many cases very 
 broad ones. 
 
 When we come to deal with genera, the artificial character of our 
 classification at once reveals itself. The old-fashioned notion that species 
 were separated by differences of colour, and genera by structural differences 
 (that is, difference in the shape of the bill, feet, wings, or tail), is a pre- 
 Darwinian ornithological superstition, which is pure theory, and is entirely 
 unsupported by facts. There is no evidence of any kind that the leopard 
 can change his spots in a shorter time than it takes him to change the 
 shape of his skull. On the other hand, there is strong evidence to prove 
 that in many genera of birds colour or pattern of colour is more constant 
 than many <6f the so-called structural characters. The principal causes of 
 the change of colour in birds are supposed to be to ensure protection from 
 enemies and to please the taste of the females, whilst the changes in the 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 structural characters are most affected by the nature of the food and the 
 necessity or otherwise to migrate. It will at once be seen that the former 
 set of causes are much more constant than the latter in the Palsearctic 
 Region. There is no reason to suppose that before the existence of man in 
 this region much change took place in the enemies against which birds had 
 to contend ; nor has it ever been suggested that the tastes of female birds 
 are as fickle as those of the females of some of the more highly developed 
 animals of the Palsearctic Region ; whilst, on the other hand, there can be 
 no doubt that both the food and the migrations of birds must have been 
 affected to an enormous extent by the changes of climate consequent on 
 the coming on or passing away of glacial epochs. 
 
 Our ignorance of the comparative value of generic characters appears to 
 me to be absolute ; and, inasmuch as naturalists have agreed that the name 
 of a bird is to be binomial, a combination of the generic and specific names, 
 the wisest course is probably to group species together into convenient 
 genera, which may assist the memory, taking care to satisfy ourselves that 
 the species in each genus are connected together by closer links than those 
 which connect them with species in other genera. The lines which Nature 
 has drawn between different genera are caused by the extinction of inter- 
 mediate species, or by the wideness of the differentiation which has taken 
 place between them, which is generally, though not necessarily, a proof of 
 the length of time which has elapsed since their original separation. All 
 we have to guard against is that the lines which separate our subgenera 
 shall be narrower than those which separate the genus from the nearest 
 allied genera. 
 
 Our next business is to group our genera into families, the largest of 
 which may be conveniently divided into subfamilies. 
 
 So far we shall find it pretty fair sailing in our attempts to classify 
 British birds ; but when we come to group our families into orders, the 
 difference of opinion amongst ornithologists is so great as to the value of 
 characters (which date back to such remote ages) as a sign of relationship 
 or community of origin, that we are entirely at sea, and can only shrink 
 from attempting to decide where doctors disagree. To show the great 
 divergence of opinion amongst ornithologists, it is only necessary to com- 
 pare the various modern attempts at a scientific classification of birds, 
 which will be found to differ from each other in almost every important 
 respect, so that it is obvious that any change in the generally received 
 classification would be at least premature. Most of these classifications 
 are open to the fatal objection that they are attempts to make a linear 
 series, beginning with the most highly specialized birds and ending with 
 the least so ; whereas a true classification must be a chart in which the 
 most highly specialized birds are in the centre, and the least so at the cir- 
 cumference, where they lead on to the forms most nearly allied to birds. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 Since, then, all attempts at a linear arrangement must be artificial, and 
 the classification of families into orders is impossible in the present state 
 of our knowledge, I have arranged the families in the old but, to a large 
 extent, artificial sequence adopted by Cuvier, which has at least the prac 
 tical value that it is well known, and thus obviates to a large extent the 
 trouble of reference to an index. I have been careful to point out under 
 each family whether, in the opinion of the best informed naturalists, it is 
 nearly connected or not with the families near which it is placed. 
 
 There is no department of ornithology which has received more atten- 
 tion of late years than that of 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION ; 
 
 and there is no subject more intimately connected with the discrimination 
 of species and with the whole question of classification. The zoological 
 divisions into which naturalists divide the world are not the same as those 
 in common use among geographers. So far as these boundaries are deep- 
 sea, they may be said to be practically the same. Where there are no 
 changes of climate to make it imperative upon birds to migrate it is 
 remarkable how seldom they use their powers of flight to wander far from 
 home. Even the narrow channel of deep sea between Borneo and Celebes 
 marks an important boundary in the geographical distribution of birds, 
 whilst the shallow Mediterranean is of little significance. 
 
 The land-boundaries of the zoological regions are climatic. The world 
 is divided into six or seven zoological regions. 
 
 The Palsearctic Region contains the whole of the Old World north of the 
 desert of Sahara in Africa and north of the Himalayas in Asia. 
 
 The Nearctic Region contains the New World north of the tropics, i. e. 
 north of Mexico. 
 
 The Ethiopian Region consists of Africa south of the great desert, and 
 Southern Arabia. 
 
 The Oriental Region consists of Asia south of the Himalayas, and the 
 islands of the Malay archipelago as far east as Borneo. 
 
 The Australian Region consists of the rest of the islands of the Pacific. 
 
 The Circurnpolar Region has the north pole for its centre, and extends 
 to the Arctic circle in the Old World, and somewhat further south in the 
 New ; but many naturalists do not recognize this region as zoologically 
 distinct. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting fact connected with these divisions is that 
 in the tropical regions most birds vary much less than they do in the arctic 
 regions. If/ve eliminate the arctic genera, which are comparatively recent 
 emigrants, we shall find that the tropical species are generally well defined ; 
 they are obviously ancient residents who have well nigh exhausted the 
 variations required to adapt them to their surroundings, which must have 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 been, in comparatively recent times, subject to but little change. On the 
 other hand, the genera in the two arctic regions are crowded with imper- 
 fectly segregated species, which require for their explanation comparatively 
 recent and important changes in the climate. These are to be looked for 
 in the gradual approach of another glacial epoch. In the warm period 
 which permitted the growth of pines almost at the north pole the whole of 
 Europe, North Asia, and North America enjoyed a semitropical climate, 
 and the variation of species throughout the arctic regions was probably 
 very small. As the climate in Lapland and Siberia gradually changed, the 
 birds living there gradually changed also ; and thus we find now in many 
 Palaearctic species a semitropical form in West Europe which is connected 
 by a series of intermediate forms with an arctic form in Siberia, which 
 again gradually changes in the east until in China the West-European 
 form is reproduced. In some cases the series is completed by tropical 
 species which have evidently been driven south by the glacial period and 
 have never returned. I have endeavoured to interest the reader wherever 
 possible in some of these near relations of our British birds, many of them 
 so closely allied as to be only subspecifically distinct. 
 
 The number of birds included in the British list is about 380. Of these 
 126 are residents, though many of them have only slender claims to be 
 considered so. Some of them are principally known as winter visitants, 
 a few only remaining to breed, chiefly in the north of Scotland ; others 
 really belong to the summer visitants, but a sufficient number remain 
 during the winter to entitle the species to be considered a resident one. 
 Fifty-five species regularly visit our islands every summer for the purpose 
 of breeding ; but many of these are becoming rarer every year, partly in 
 consequence of the persecution to which they are subjected on their 
 arrival, and partly from the destruction of their breeding-grounds by the 
 drainage of marshes and the reclamation of waste land. Forty-one species 
 may be regarded as winter visitants ; but many of these wander still 
 further south during midwinter, being principally seen on our shores in 
 spring and autumn. The birds contained in these categories form a total 
 of 222 species which are fairly entitled to be considered British birds. 
 It has, however, been the practice of ornithologists to consider any bird 
 British which has even once been obtained in our islands in a wild state. 
 Of the accidental visitors which thus reach our shores many have occurred 
 only once ; but others have been met with much oftener, though some of 
 the recorded occurrences must be accepted Avith considerable hesitation. 
 Birds often escape from confinement ; a mistake is made in the identifica- 
 tion of the species and in very few cases are we able to trace clearly the 
 pedigree of individual examples so as to leave no reasonable doubt of their 
 authenticity, for skins are very frequently changed or transposed either by 
 accident or design. The number of these accidental visitants to the 
 
INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 British Islands, after the doubtful ones have been rejected, is still 160, of 
 which 97 have probably visited us from Europe, 45 from America, and 18 
 from Asia. There is no reliable instance on record of any bird whose 
 breeding-range is confined to Africa ever having visited our shores. 
 
 The total number of birds which are either known to breed in Europe 
 or are regular winter visitants is probably about 500. Of these, as we have 
 stated, 222 are residents in the British Islands, either in winter or summer, 
 and 97 are included in the list of accidental visitors, leaving only 180 
 European species which have not yet paid us a visit. The number of 
 accidental visitors to Europe probably does not exceed 90 ; of these about 
 60 have visited our islands, leaving only 30 birds which, so far as is known, 
 are accidental visitants to the continent alone. 
 
 Of the resident British birds one species only, the Red Grouse, is 
 peculiar to our islands ; and one other, the British Coal Tit, is subspecifi- 
 cally distinct from its continental allies. 
 
 It is necessary to say a few words on the vexed question of 
 
 NOMENCLATURE. 
 
 To understand the complications of the case let us take, as an example, 
 the synonymy of the Cliffchaff, from the ' Catalogue of the Birds in the 
 British Museum/ In order to give an index to the literature of this bird 
 no fewer than seventy-six references to the works of ornithologists are 
 given. An analysis of these gives the following result : The number of 
 specific names applied to the Chiffchaff by the writers quoted is fifteen. 
 Of these we may at once dismiss twelve, one of which only occurs four 
 times, one only three times, two only twice, and eight only once. We 
 have now three names left to choose from, dating as under : 
 
 1787. hippolais (Linn, apud Lath.) 8 times 
 
 1802. rufus (Becbst. ex Briss.) 41 
 
 1817. collybita (Vieill.) 8 
 
 It is obvious that the second name in the list is the one which ought, if 
 possible, to be used. Let us first examine how many generic names have 
 been applied to our bird ; no fewer than nine. To these, however, we 
 must add the generic terms which have been applied to other species of 
 the genus. After eliminating those names which are obviously blunders, 
 we have the following left : 
 
 1766. Motacilla (Linn.). 
 
 1769. Sylvia (Scop.). 
 
 1802. Asilus (Bechst. nee Linn.). 
 
 1816. Ficedula (Koch nee Cuvier). 
 
 1817. Trochilus (Forster nee Linn.). 
 1826. Phylloscopus (Boie). 
 
 1829. Sibilatrix (Kaup). 
 VOL. i. b 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1831. Phyllopneuste (Brehm ex Meyer). 
 
 1836. Sylvicola (Eyton nee Swainson). 
 
 1847. Reguloides (Blyth). 
 
 1858. Acanthopneuste (Blasius). 
 
 1875. Phyllopseuste (Meyer fide Meves). 
 
 How is the unfortunate ornithologist to select his generic name from 
 such a series ? To solve this complicated problem Strickland drew up his 
 celebrated Rules of Nomenclature, which were afterwards adopted with 
 slight modifications by the British Association for the Advancement of 
 Science. 
 
 So far as regards specific names, I have throughout this work set the 
 Rules of the British Association at defiance, being convinced that, so far 
 as ornithology is concerned, they have done infinitely more harm than 
 good. Every day that they are retained increases the confusion which 
 they have introduced. No one has had the courage to attempt to carry 
 them out on a large scale ; but first one writer and then another intro- 
 duces a new name, changes are being constantly made, and names are 
 occasionally being transferred from one species to another, until it abso- 
 lutely becomes necessary, in many cases, to quote the English names of 
 birds as well as the Latin ones, the latter having been altered in obedience 
 to the Stricklandian code, so that they are sometimes absolutely unknown 
 to the general reader, or having been applied to different species, so that it 
 is impossible to tell which of them is meant. 
 
 The mischief which these Rules have produced is bad enough ; but the 
 mischief which they must continually produce if any ornithologist is 
 found bold enough to carry them out is far greater ; and not a moment 
 should be lost by every ornithologist jealous of the prosperity and honour 
 of his favourite study in boycotting the new names, or exposing them in the 
 pillory of synonyms. 
 
 The Stricklandian Code is admirable in theory, but utterly breaks down 
 in practice. The Rules of the British Association are most excellent if 
 applied in Utopia, but amongst a more or less muddle-headed race as 
 ornithologists always have been, and as we still remain, they can only be 
 productive of endless dispute and confusion. We cannot be trusted to 
 form an opinion as to whether the brief and often blundering diagnoses of 
 Linnseus, Gmelin, or Latham are or are not clear definitions of the names 
 to which they are annexed. To expect unanimity on such difficult ques- 
 tions is absurd. I have adopted a scheme which appears to me to be the 
 most practical of any which have been suggested. It may not satisfy the 
 requirements of poetical justice ; but it is at least consistent with common 
 sense. I adopt the specific name which has been most used by previous 
 writers. It is not necessary for me to encumber my nomenclature with a 
 third name, either to denote the species to which it refers, or to flatter the 
 vanity of the author who described it ; all my names are auctorum pluri- 
 
INTRODUCTION. \ix 
 
 mortim. Under this system no new names can possibly be raked up and 
 applied ; and it is one which reduces the chance of a difference of opinion 
 to a minimum. 
 
 In the selection of generic names I have followed the Stricklandian 
 Code with the following modifications : 
 
 1st. I take it for granted that the edition of Brisson's ' Ornithologia/ 
 said to have been published in 1 788, really did exist, and that it was a 
 reprint of the 1760 edition. 
 
 2nd. "\Yhen the evidence as to the original type of a genus is not clear, 
 then I follow the majority of authors in the selection of a type. 
 
 3rd. I accept the designation of a type as a clear definition of a genus 
 and as overriding any error in the characters given. 
 
 4th. Wherever the name of a species has been selected for the name of 
 a genus, the species whose name has been so adopted becomes of necessity 
 the type of such genus. 
 
 oth. I adopt the specific name which has been most used, regardless of 
 whether it be or be not the same as that of the genus. 
 
 I hope by these means to have eliminated the weak points of the code, 
 and to have made it possible for uniformity to be the result of the honest 
 effort to carry it out. 
 
 I have not figured the birds treated of in my book, partly because they 
 have been so well portrayed in the magnificent plates of Gould's ' British 
 Birds ' and in the less ambitious illustrations of Dresser's ' Birds of 
 Europe ' * } and partly because it would have made the work too expensive. 
 I might have tried wood-engraving; but I could scarcely have expected to 
 find an artist who would equal the exquisite cuts in YarrelFs ' British 
 Birds/ 
 
 On the other hand, there has not been a good book on British birds' 
 eggs published for more than a quarter of a century, if we except the 
 fragment of the catalogue of Wolley's collection which appeared nineteen 
 years ago. It is a thousand pities that so many valuable notes which must 
 have been made on the breeding-habits of rare birds in Lapland should 
 still remain unpublished. In my opinion, John Wolley stands out promi- 
 nent amongst all other British field-ornithologists as the one solitary 
 example of a man who has shown in the pursuit of oology the pluck 
 worthy of an Englishman. Even at the present day too many British 
 oologists look upon the subject from the point of view of the mere collector 
 
 * Every ornithologist who can afford it ought to buy this work. It is an encyclopaedia 
 of information about European birds compiled from all the best sources. It is unfortu- 
 nately disfigu*Pd with more than the usual average of blunders, especially in the numerous 
 translations from the German, which can seldom be relied on. It is much to be regretted 
 that such an incompetent translator should have been employed ; but with all its faults it 
 is a work which is invaluable to the student. 
 
xx INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of half a century ago, who, so long as he possessed an egg of each species 
 of British bird, did not care whence it came or under what circumstances 
 or by whom it was collected ; and where they rise above this level, they 
 scarcely get beyond the almost equally melancholy point of view of the 
 museum curator, who, when he has labelled his specimen with name, 
 locality, date, and collector, thinks that the requirements of science are 
 satisfied. Of late years 
 
 OOLOGY 
 
 has been much neglected. Some ornithologists ignore the subject alto- 
 gether. It is looked upon by a few clever men as being specially adapted 
 to the capacity of the schoolboy, but somewhat beneath the dignity of the 
 scientific man ; and it is in consequence too frequently despised. The 
 new impetus given to the study of all branches of natural history by 
 the discoveries of Darwin and Wallace has at length reached Oology ; and 
 an additional interest is given to it from the light which it throws in many 
 cases upon the relationships of species and genera. The connexion between 
 the colour of the egg and the colour of its surroundings, where it is ex- 
 posed to danger, is also an additional question of interest of a strictly 
 scientific character. 
 
 It is, however, an immense mistake to suppose that the history of a 
 bird is completed by the meagre details given in such ultra-scientific 
 works as the British Museum Catalogues. In these high and dry publica- 
 tions nothing is given but the synonymy, sufficiently complete to be an 
 index to the literature, a minute description of the colours of the plumage 
 and the changes produced by age, sex, and season, and the geographical 
 distribution. These particulars may be sufficient for the museum curator ; 
 but for the field-naturalist they are but the foundation upon which his 
 superstructure is to be built. The real history of a bird is its /?/e-history. 
 The deepest interest attaches to every thing that reveals the little mind, 
 however feebly it may be developed, which lies behind the feathers. The 
 habits of the bird during the breeding-season, at the two periods of migration, 
 and in winter ; its mode of flight and of progression on the ground, in the 
 trees, or on the water ; its song and its various call- and alarm-notes ; its food 
 and its mode of procuring it at different seasons of the year ; its migra- 
 tions, the dates of arrival and departure, the routes it chooses, and the 
 winter quarters it selects ; and, above all, every particular respecting its 
 breeding, when it begins to build, how many broods it rears in the reason, 
 the place it selects in which to build its nest, the materials it uses for the 
 purpose, the number of eggs it lays, the variation in their colour, size, and 
 shape, all these particulars are the real history of a bird ; and in the 
 account of each species of* British bird I endeavour to give as many of 
 them as possible. 
 
 Oology may be described as the poetry of Ornithology ; and to do it 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxi 
 
 justice it demands some of the skill of the poet, as well as the accuracy of 
 the man of science. No picture of the life of a bird is complete without 
 some particulars of the scenes it frequents, which are in fact the frame in 
 which it is set. No one can be more conscious than I am how much I 
 have failed to reach the high standard at which I have aimed. I have 
 endeavoured as much as possible to write from notes made on the spot, by 
 which I have hoped to secure some of the freshness which is frequently 
 lost in memoranda written long afterwards ; and I have tried to retain 
 something of the charm of local colouring which mere generalizations 
 seldom possess. I have tried to make the matter as original as possible, 
 and only to resort to paste and scissors when absolutely necessary ; and where 
 I have been obliged to fall back upon the observations of others I have 
 sought to obtain unpublished accounts wherever possible. 1 have secured 
 the services of Mr. Charles Dixon, the author of ' Rural Bird Life,' 
 whose intimate knowledge of the everyday life of many of our familiar 
 birds has been of great value to me, and whose observations will be found 
 to be specially interesting to field-naturalists, for whom this work is 
 specially written. My thanks are also due to many correspondents who 
 have furnished me with information, which will be found properly acknow- 
 ledged in the*"body of the work from time to time. 
 
 In conclusion, I beg to commend my book to all lovers of birds. If I 
 have criticised the work of any of my fellow ornithologists too severely, 
 I ask their pardon, and hope that they will pay me back in my own coin, by 
 coiTecting my blunders with an unsparing hand. The object of all true 
 scientific work is the elimination of error and the attainment of truth. 
 
 Ife 
 
\\lll 
 
 ERRATA ET ADDENDA. 
 
 Page 131, last line, add too late for the works of the two last-mentioned writers, but four 
 
 years before the publication of that of the former. 
 145, line 1, for ASTUR read ACCIPITER. 
 251, line 32, for capensis read maculosus. 
 254. I have just received from Mr. Eagle Clark an undoubted example of Cindus 
 
 aquaticus, var. melanogaster, shot at Spurn Point in Yorkshire, where it had 
 
 probably arrived 011 migration from Scandinavia, as it frequently occurs on 
 
 Heligoland. 
 
A HISTORY 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Family FALCONID^, OR BIRDS OF PREY. 
 
 THE Birds of Prey are distinguished by their powerful hooked bills and 
 their strong feet armed with sharp, curved, powerful talons. At the base 
 of the bill is a piece of naked skin called the cere. The Owls also possess 
 this character, but may be distinguished by their fluffy plumage and facial 
 disk. 
 
 The Falconidae are a well-defined family ; but great difference of opinion 
 exists as to their relationship to other groups. Sclater (guided by Huxley's 
 investigations of the bones of the palate) places them in the same series 
 with the Cuckoos, the Parrots, the Owls, the Pelicans, the Herons, and the 
 Ducks. Forbes (relying largely upon Garrod's study of the muscular 
 and arterial systems) removes from this list the Cuckoos, the Parrots, and 
 the Owls, and adds to it the Petrels. Gadow, on the other hand, retains in 
 the same great division the Parrots and the Owls, rejecting the Pelicans, 
 the Herons, and the Ducks, as well as the Petrels, but adding the Pigeons 
 and the Gallinaceous birds. It will thus be seen that there is no 
 other family which these three authorities all agree to unite with the Birds 
 of Prey. I have placed them first in my arrangement because they were 
 so placed by Cuvier in his classification a system which, although it is 
 now universally admitted to be mainly an artificial one, is so well known to 
 all ornithologists that it may well serve as an index until the natural order 
 of sequence,iias been discovered. 
 
 Birds of Prey are cosmopolitan, the greatest number of species being 
 found in South America, and the fewest in the Pacific islands. Sharpe, in 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
2 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum/ enumerates nearly 
 400 species and subspecies, which he subdivides into 80 genera. In the 
 British Islands five-and-twenty species or more have occurred, belonging 
 to eleven genera, which may be distinguished as follows : 
 
 a. Front of lower half of tarsus (as well as the sides and back) covered 
 
 with small hexagonal reticulations, not feathered to the toes. 
 
 a 1 . No true feathers on the crown of the head VTJLTUB. 
 
 &'. Crown of the head covered with true feathers. 
 
 a 2 . First primary much longer than the secondaries ; lores not 
 
 feathered, but furnished with bristles. 
 a 3 . Tail even or slightly rounded. 
 
 a 4 . Outer toe not reversible ; bill deeply notched .... FALCO. 
 
 ft 4 . Outer toe reversible ; notch almost obsolete PANDION. 
 
 ft 3 . Tail acutely forked ELANOIDES. 
 
 b 2 . First primary about equal to the secondaries ; lores feathered PEBNIS. 
 
 b. Front of tarsus feathered, or covered with broad transverse scales. 
 
 c l . Tarsus less than one fourth the length of the tail MILVUS. 
 
 d 1 . Tarsus more than one fourth the length of the tail. 
 
 c 2 . Lower half of tarsus scaled in front and reticulated at the 
 
 back HALIAETUS. 
 
 d 2 . Lower half of tarsus either feathered in front or scaled at 
 the back. 
 
 c 3 . Tarsus feathered in front to the toes AQUILA. 
 
 d 3 . Lower half of tarsus scaled in front and at the back. 
 c 4 . Tarsus less than a fourth the length of the wing, 
 and less than half the length of the first primary. 
 a 5 . Tarsus thick ; circumference about one third 
 
 of length BUTEO. 
 
 6 5 . Tarsus slender ; circumference less than one 
 
 fifth of length CIBCUS. 
 
 J 4 . Tarsus one fourth or more the length of the wing, 
 and more than half the length of the first 
 primary ACCIPITEB. 
 
 Genus VULTUR. 
 
 The genus Vultur was established by Linnaeus in 1766, in his ' Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 122. In 1806 Dumeril separated the New-World Vultures, 
 restricting the genus Vultur to those of the Old World, but not designating 
 any type. Linnseus only knew two species of this genus, V. monachus and 
 V. percnopterus. As the former bird is undoubtedly the most typical 
 Vulture, its claim to be considered the type can scarcely be disputed. 
 
 The species of Vulture which have been found in the British Islands are 
 easily separated from the rest of the Falconidse by the absence of true 
 feathers on the head, which is more or less naked, or covered with down 
 only. The front of the tarsus as well as its sides and back are covered 
 
VULTUR. 3 
 
 with small hexagonal reticulations. The wings are long but rounded. The 
 tail is rounded. 
 
 In Britain they are only accidental visitors, the true geographical range 
 of the genus being confined to the South Palaearctic, Ethiopian, and 
 Oriental Regions. It is a remarkable fact that there are no Vultures in 
 Australia. 
 
 Their principal food is carrion. 
 
 Some Vultures breed in trees ; but most of the species prefer the clefts 
 of rocks. Their eggs vary from white to deep brownish red. 
 
 The two species which have occurred in Britain may easily be distin- 
 guished by their size, the Griffon Vulture having a length of wing from 
 28 to 30 inches, whilst the wing of the Egyptian Vulture only measures 
 from 18 to 20 inches. There are only sixteen species of this genus 
 known, which may be arranged in six subgeneric groups. The Vultures 
 of the Xew World belong to a perfectly distinct genus. 
 
4 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 VULTUR FULVUS. 
 GRIFFON VULTURE. 
 
 (PLATE 1.) 
 
 Vultur fulvus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 462 (1760) ; Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. i. p. 43, pi. x. 
 
 (1767); et auctorum plurimorum Gmelin, Temminck, Gould, Naumann, 
 
 (Gray), (Newton), (Sharpe), &c. 
 
 Vultur trencalos, Bechst. Nat. Deutschl. ii. p. 491 (1805). 
 Vultur castaneus, Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. vii. pt. i. p. 29, pi. xii. (1809). 
 Gyps vulgaris, Sav. Syst. Ois. de VEgypte, p. 11 (1810). 
 Vultur leucocephalus, Wolf, Taschenb. i. p. 7 (1810). 
 Vultur vulgaris (Sav), Bonn, et Vieill. Em. Meth. iii. p. 1170 (1823). 
 Vultur persicus, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 377 (1826). 
 Vultur albicollis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 1010 (1831). 
 Vultur chassefiente, JRupp. Neue Wirbelth. Vog. p. 47 (1835). 
 Gyps fulvus (Brits.}, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 6 (1844). 
 Vultur fulvus occidentalis, Schlegel, Rev. Crit. p. xii (1844). 
 Gyps occidentalis, Bonap. Consp. i. p. 10 (1850). 
 Vultur segyptius, Licht. Nomencl. Av. p. 1 (1854). 
 
 Vultur fulvus orientalis, Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, ii. Vultures, p. 6 (1862). 
 Gyps hispaniolensis, Shaiye, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 6 (1874). 
 
 The claim of the Griffon Vulture to rank as a British bird rests on a 
 single instance of its capture. This specimen was obtained by a youth 
 on the rocks of Cork Harbour, Ireland; and its occurrence was recorded 
 in ' YarrelFs British Birds/ on the authority of Admiral Bowles. In the 
 autumn of 1843 he was visiting Lord Shannon, at Castle Martyr, and 
 there saw the bird, which had been purchased from the lad who captured 
 it. The example was in fully adult plumage and in good condition, and 
 reported as being very wild and savage and in perfect health. The 
 bird was preserved after its death, and placed in the Trinity College 
 Museum, in Dublin. 
 
 The breeding-range of the Griffon Vulture may be said to be the basin 
 of the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Red Seas. Large colonies are 
 found in the Pyrenees and in the mountains of Spain, Sardinia, and 
 Sicily. In the Alps they are rarer, and in the Carpathians still more so; 
 but in the mountains of Bulgaria, Greece, and Asia Minor they are ex- 
 tremely abundant. In the Caucasus and the Southern Urals small colonies 
 are found. St. John states that in Persia they breed in great numbers in 
 the lofty limestone cliffs north of Shiraz ; and Severtzow records it as a 
 resident in Turkestan, where its breeding-range overlaps that of G. hima- 
 layensis. Colonies of Griffons are found in all the mountains of Africa 
 north of the Sahara, from Morocco to the Red Sea, as far south as Nubia. 
 
 In the northern portion of its range it is a partial migrant, stragglers 
 being occasionally found throughout Europe south of the Baltic ; but in 
 
GRIFFOX VULTURE. 5 
 
 its breeding-quarters it may almost be considered sedentary. The Griffon 
 Vulture has t\vo near allies ; indeed it is doubtful whether these birds are 
 deserving: of even subspecific rank. Gyps fulvescens is the Indian race, 
 differing from the Griffon in being of a rich ruddy bay colour, with con- 
 spicuous narrow pale median stripes to the feathers of the underparts, 
 and in having a gflort stout bill. In South Africa it is replaced by Gyps 
 kolbi (Daud.), said to be slightly smaller in size, and differing in its light 
 and almost uniform coloration, and which inhabits South Africa to the 
 Zambesi on the east, and to Damara Land on the west coast, but more 
 sparingly in the latter country (cf. Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 8). 
 This bird is again closely related to the Gyps himalayensis of North India 
 and Turkestan, a larger bird and remarkable for its brown-coloured young. 
 I first made the acquaintance of the Griffon Vultures in the rock-bound 
 valley to the east of Smyrna, and afterwards in the Parnassus, and at 
 Missolonghi I saw so much of them that I began to look upon them as very 
 common birds ; nevertheless when I renewed my acquaintance with them 
 last spring in the Pyrenees they interested me as much as if I had never 
 seen them before. In Greece and Asia Minor they are so abundant that 
 one naturally wonders where they all find food. Upon the ledges of the 
 limestone cliffs which guard the vines and olives below, no doubt the grass 
 is rich and tempting, and now and then a sheep or a goat may slip and 
 find an untimely end on the broken rocks half concealed by the oaks, the 
 oleanders, the roses, and the clematis which adorn the borderland be- 
 tween the precipices and cultivation. Such an accident is a windfall for 
 the Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, one of whom is almost sure to have 
 witnessed it, and by his eager flight to have betrayed the prize to an ever- 
 increasing circle of hungry birds, always on the qui vive to discover a meal, 
 or a fellow Vulture who knows or has a suspicion of one. As the camel 
 can drink enough to last him for many days, the Griffon Vultures seem 
 able to eat enormously at a meal, and to be able to go for a long time 
 without a fresh supply. "NVhen they have gorged themselves they will sit 
 motionless for hours on some commanding crag ; otherwise they are gene- 
 rally on the wing, sailing round and round in majestic curves, seldom 
 coming within range of gunshot, unless you suddenly meet them wheeling 
 round the corner of a crag, or occupied upon the dead body of a mule or 
 a camel. The flight of the Griffon Vultures is very majestic; they float 
 and soar without apparent effort, as if they disdained to flap a wing, 
 wheeling round and round in grand sweeps. The wings are very broad ; 
 and each quill is conspicuously displayed at the extremities, which are 
 curved upwards by the resistance of the air. The tail is very short. As the 
 bird flies or, rather, floats, the fore half of the upper parts are grey and the 
 hind half black. The nature of their food makes them, in a certain sense, 
 gregarious ; but even when twenty or thirty can be seen on the wing toge- 
 
6 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ther, it never occurs to you to think of them as a flock of Vultures, they 
 are scattered so wide over the landscape. 
 
 In their breeding-habits Griffon Vultures are undoubtedly gregarious,, 
 though even then it may possibly be the nesting-sites which are gregarious 
 rather than their occupants. They choose a perpendicular or overhanging 
 limestone cliff in which hollows or caves rather than ledges are found 
 at a considerable height from the ground, and generally inaccessible 
 without a rope. They are said usually to build a great nest made of 
 sticks, very rough on the outside, but more or less carefully smoothed 
 and hollowed out in the middle, and lined with sheep's wool, goat's hair, 
 dry grass, leaves, and any thing they can pick up. My Greek servant, 
 however, assured me that he had frequently taken the eggs from a cavern 
 where no nest was attempted ; but the Greeks are such inveterate liars 
 that I never knew when to believe him. The probable truth is, that 
 they are not much of nest-builders, and appropriate the old nest of an 
 Eagle or a Raven when they can. Where large nests not thus stolen are 
 found they will most likely be the accumulated pile of many years. 
 Both in Greece and Asia Minor I was too late for eggs, which can be 
 obtained fresh in February and sometimes even in January ; so I did not 
 inspect many of the Griffonries very closely, though several were pointed 
 out to me. The usual number of eggs is only one, though it is said that 
 two are occasionally found. The stench of the Griffonries is almost in- 
 supportable. The entrance to the cavern or cleft in the rock looks as if 
 pailfuls of whitewash had been emptied upon it; and the effluvia of 
 ammonia and putrefaction are overpowering to all but the most enthusiastic 
 oologist. One visit to the nest of a Vulture is sufficient to dispose for ever 
 of the theory that these birds hunt by scent, and are endowed with highly 
 sensitive olfactory nerves. The only condition in which the existence of 
 animal life seems possible in a Griffonry is in the case of beings absolutely 
 devoid of any sense of smell whatever. It is also said that concealed car- 
 casses are rarely if ever discovered by Vultures. Irby found at Gibraltar 
 that if the nest was robbed, a second egg was laid about six or seven weeks 
 later. They are sedentary birds, but appear less common in winter, as 
 they roam further from home when not employed upon the duties of 
 incubation. So far as is known, their only food is carrion. 
 
 I am indebted to Captain Verner for the following graphic account of a 
 visit to a colony of Griffon Vultures in Southern Spain : " On March 14, 
 1878, I left Gibraltar with a friend, an officer of Artillery, with the 
 intention of visiting several nesting-stations of the Griffon Vulture in the 
 Sierras towards Cadiz. We reached the Lajadel Sicar about half-past ten. 
 This is a favourite nesting-place of Gyps fulvus, and is a triangular-shaped 
 cliff rising out of the broken ground east of the Laguna de la Janda. 
 Its general surface slopes back, so that the cliff is in most parts at an angle 
 
GRIFFON VULTURE. 7 
 
 of 70 to 75 C with the horizon. For about two thirds of its height it 
 is as smooth as a wall, and offers no facilities for nesting. Above this 
 the cliff becomes more broken; numerous long vertical fissures and 
 caverns are to be seen extending to within a few yards of the top, which 
 is a mass of huge crags and boulders heaped one on the other, with a 
 dense jungle of palmetto, aloes, &c. growing out of every cranny and 
 making it quite inacessible. We decided that we would commence our 
 attack from the left flank of the cliff, which seemed to offer some facilities 
 for ascent in the shape of several broken ledges running across the face 
 of the cliff at about an angle of 45. 
 
 ( ' Having worked our way through a denselg wooded ravine, we at length 
 found ourselves at the foot of the cliff. After several ineffectual climbs 
 through palmettoes and thorns of every description, we had the luck to hit 
 upon a narrow ledge leading towards the middle of the cliff. Following 
 this for some fifty yards or more, we arrived at a small grassy terrace 
 terminating abruptly in a precipice, and situated between the main cliff 
 and a huge semidetached crag. From this point we could see the whole 
 face of tbe cliff, and far away above us several Griffon Vultures basking 
 in the sun. 
 
 "As it was impossible to advance further, my friend decided to wait at 
 this spot, whilst I retraced my steps and tried to find some means to 
 ascend higher. After one or two ineffectual attempts I at length suc- 
 ceeded in climbing up almost on a level with the part of the cliff most 
 frequented by the Griffons ; and several of them took wing. My friend, 
 now far below me, fired his revolver, when a number of splendid old 
 birds dashed out of the small caves to my front and above me. I was 
 almost in despair, as I was at last nearly within reach of my long-coveted 
 prize, and yet apparently it was hopeless to proceed any further ; but 
 having escaladed the stratified portion of the cliff I found myself on a ledge 
 at the entrance to a chasm. Climbing up this, the strata became more and 
 more clearly defined, until the whole surface of the cliff was made up of 
 a mass of horizontal ledges from one to three inches in thickness. Owing 
 to the general slope of the cliff, I found it was quite practicable to sidle 
 along many portions of the actual face of the great precipice. Keeping 
 a firm grip with my fingers on strata above me, my bare feet obtaining 
 support from the lower tiers of strata, I soon reached a ledge commanding 
 the main nesting-place ; and on looking down over a projecting spur I saw 
 right into a large nest about ten feet below, me ! Between me and it the 
 rock became vertical, and I was unable to descend. I think that I had 
 now gone beyond the stage of counting the cost ; for I scrambled round to 
 the opposite side of the nest, and, having reached a spot about six feet over 
 it, I somehow slipped down right into it with a foot on each side. I was 
 quite exhausted from the climb and the excitement, and sat down by 
 
8 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 my prize to recover myself. I was in a small cave with a sloping floor, 
 on which was built the nest. The view, now that I could look without 
 fear of falling, was most magnificent. The whole plain of La Janda with 
 its lagunas was at my feet ; and I could see the distant Atlantic and the 
 sandy cape of Trafalgar over the Retin hills. The most interesting object 
 to me was the Griffon's nest and one white egg. The nest was a massive 
 affair made of boughs and twigs, very neatly lined with dried grasses and 
 dead palmettoes. The bowl was about the size of a small hand-basin, say 
 fifteen inches in diameter ; and- 1 was much struck with its finish and 
 depth, as I had rather expected to find a mere platform of sticks &c. The 
 rock below it was white with the dung of the birds ; and there was an 
 indescribable sickly odour about the place. I carefully packed the egg in 
 my box ; and, it being out of the question to climb up to where I had 
 dropped from, I was most fortunately able to continue my route in a 
 downward direction. I soon came upon two more nests with eggs, and 
 one empty nest. I now found myself opposite the main fissure of the 
 precipice. As I was walking round into it along a most uncomfortable bit 
 of strata, a fine old Griffon dashed out close to me. I slipped round the 
 corner and swung myself right into the nest. This also contained an egg. 
 Again I found myself in a trap ; for I could not proceed, a wall-like cliff 
 barring further advance; and although I had jumped off a ledge of strata 
 into a nest, I did not feel inclined to reverse the performance. After a 
 mauvais quart d'heure (during which time, as my friend subsequently told 
 me, he imagined I must have been killed) I struggled up the fissure, until 
 it narrowed itself enough to form good climbing-ground for a chimney- 
 sweep. After ascending fifty feet or more I struck a good substantial 
 ledge, which led me to a series of chasms, one below the other, where I 
 came across five more nests. I soon found that my egg-box was full, and 
 that unless I could devise some means I should be obliged to leave some 
 of the eggs behind. So on reaching a favourable spot I put the eggs in 
 my bag, and whilst doing so dropped the box at my feet. On attempting 
 to stoop to pick it up, I found that I must relinquish my handhold with 
 no chance of finding more lower down ; and as I only had foothold enough 
 for one foot, I was obliged to desist and leave the box where it lay. 
 
 " All the nests I visited were much of the type described ; some were 
 larger and some rather less carefully built. They all had the appearance 
 of having been the collection of many nesting-seasons, the lining and a 
 ptortion of the top sides being the only new additions. 
 
 " Of the eight eggs I actually brought away with me on this occasion, 
 six were pure white, one very large specimen was faintly speckled with 
 rufous at the larger end, and a small variety was speckled at the smaller 
 end. 
 
 " The whole area of the cliff which the Griffons frequented smelt in the 
 
GRIFFON VULTURE. 9 
 
 same manner as the first nest. It was not due to any carrion about the 
 place (such as is frequently the case in a Neophron's nest), but appeared 
 to be caused from the dum* and the natural odour of the birds. At times 
 it was most nauseating. 
 
 " As I was making good my retreat towards the spur of the hill I met 
 with a mishap which gave me rather a start. I had grown bold when I 
 found the ledges of strata gave such good hand aud foothold, and so did 
 not take much notice of where I rested. Suddenly a piece under my foot 
 gave way, and I swung rouud on the hand (which luckily had a good 
 hold) furthest from the rock, causing my egg-bag to swing round and hit 
 the rock. Luckily I somehow got a foothold and was able to reach a 
 safer spot. During the time that I was rifling their nests the Griffons 
 kept sailing about overhead ; ever and again one bolder than the rest 
 would come swooping past me, but never near enough to give me any 
 apprehension. Most fortunately they did not realize what a very slight 
 touch would have upset my balance when traversing the small ledges. I 
 was very glad when I found myself doubling the spur, and could see that 
 the ground in rear of the cliff was easy to traverse, though rough and 
 broken. I made my way in rear over huge boulders with aloes and every 
 sort of obstacle growing between them, the worst being prickly pears, 
 which abounded. I passed a huge cave which was evidently much fre- 
 quented by the Vultures as a shelter in certain winds, judging from the 
 enormous amount of dung which spread like whitewash all down the face 
 of the crags. 
 
 " Upon blowing the eggs I found that four were quite fresh, or nearly 
 so ; the rest contained 3'ouiig Vultures in various states of development : 
 one would have been hatched out within a week." 
 
 The Griffon Vulture seldom lays more than one egg, although occa- 
 sionally two have been recorded, and Salviii found one egg and one young 
 bird in a nest of this species in Algeria. The eggs are coarse in texture, 
 and possess little or no gloss. Most eggs are white, or nearly so ; but some 
 show a considerable amount of marking which cannot be explained by 
 auy supposition of their being stained. One specimen in my collection 
 is very faintly but broadly streaked and blotched on the larger end with 
 very pale pinkish brown ; another, one of the handsomest eggs of this 
 species I ever saw, obtained by Colonel Irby at Malaga, has the colouring- 
 matter very evenly distributed in spots and blotches and pale streaks 
 uniformly over the entire surface ; a third is washed round its centre with a 
 band of reddish brown, and on the larger end is a thick irregular mass 
 of rich brown ; a fourth (which is figured) has the deep-brown spots 
 confined towthe smaller end of the egg, where they form an irregular 
 zone ; whilst a fifth, which may be called a typical egg, is milky white, 
 spotless or clouded here and there with stains and nest-markings. My 
 
10 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 friend Mr. Howard Saunders tells me that in Southern Spain there is a 
 colony of Griffon Vultures whose eggs are always more or less spotted 
 and streaked. Griffon Vultures' eggs vary from 3'85 to 3'5 inches in length, 
 and from 2'9 to 2'7 inches in breadth. Eggs of the Black Vulture ( Vul- 
 tur cinereus), although, as a rule, richly marked, sometimes very closely 
 resemble those of the Griffon Vulture. It is then impossible to separate 
 the eggs of the two species with certainty, although in the field confusion 
 can never arise; for the Black Vulture invariably nests in trees, and the 
 Griffon just as invariably on rocks. 
 
 The Griffon Vulture is a buffish-brown bird with nearly black wings 
 and tail, and with the head and neck covered with white down. The bill 
 is pale brown and the legs lead-colour ; not vice versa, as is erroneously 
 given in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe.' 
 
 The young birds, when newly hatched, are covered with white down. 
 
 NEST OF GRIFFON VULTURE. 
 
EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 11 
 
 VULTUR PRNOPTERUS. 
 
 EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 
 
 (PLATE 1.) 
 
 Yultur fuscu?, Briss. Orn. i. p. 455 (1760). 
 
 Vultur segrptius, Bn'*s. Orn. i. p. 457 (1760). 
 
 Vultur leucocephalos, Briss. Orn. i. p. 466 (1760) ; Gmel, Syst. Nat. i. p. 248 (1788). 
 
 Vultur percnopterus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 123 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Temminck). (Naumann), (Gould), (Gray), (Newton), (SAarpe), &c. 
 Vultur alimoch, La Pei/r. M. et Ow. de la H. Garonne, p. 10 (1799). 
 Vultur stercorarius, La Peyr. loc. cit. (1799). 
 Vultur albus, Daud. Traite eTOrn. ii. p. 21 (1800). 
 ,..phron percnopterus (Linn.), Sav. Ois. de TEgypte, p. 16 (1810). 
 Cathartes percnopterus (Zf'nn.), Temm. Man. d'Orn. i. p. 8 (1820). 
 Cathartes meleagrides (Pott.), Temm. PI. CoL \. genre Catharte (1824). 
 Vultur meleagris, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 377 (1826). 
 Percnopterus aegyptiacus. Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. ii. p. 7 (1826). 
 Neophron segyptiacus (Sfeph.), Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ. i. p. 16 (1829). 
 
 At least three specimens of the Egyptian Vulture have been recorded 
 from Great Britain ; and two of these examples have been captured. In 
 October 1825 two examples of this Vulture were seen near Kilve in 
 Somersetshire ; and one of them was eventually shot, and was obtained by 
 the Rev. A. Matthew, who is quoted by Yarrell as follows : " When first 
 discovered it was feeding upon the carcass of a dead sheep, and had so 
 gorged itself with carrion as to be unable or unwilling to fly to any great 
 distance at a time, and was therefore approached without much difficulty 
 and shot. Another bird similar to it in appearance was seen at the same 
 time upon wing at no great distance, which remained in the neighbour- 
 hood a few days, but could never be approached within range, and which 
 was supposed to be the mate of the one killed." The other instance was 
 recorded in the ' Zoologist ' for November 1868, p. 1456, by Mr. C. R, 
 Bree, as follows : " On the 28th of September last the labourer who had 
 charge of an off-hand farm of Mr. Woollard, of Stanway Hall, situated at 
 Peldon, Essex, had been killing his Michaelmas geese. On going some 
 time after into the yard where said geese had been slaughtered, he 
 saw a strange bird feeding upon the blood. The bird flew away, and the 
 man loaded his gun. Presently the bird came and hovered over the spot, 
 in hopes of another spell at the blood ; but his fate was sealed, and he fell 
 dead to the labourer's shot. I saw the bird next day at the house of Mr. 
 Ambrose, of this place, to whom it had been sent for preservation. Mr. 
 "Woollard has since kindly furnished me with the above information. As 
 far as I know, this is only the second instance of the capture of Vultur 
 percnopterus in Great Britain, the first having been shot on the shores of 
 
12 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the Bristol Channel, as recorded by Yarrell &c. in 1825. It is quite 
 possible that it has more frequently visited our shores, though not captured. 
 Mr. Laver, of this town (Colchester), informs me that many years ago his 
 father, who lived near Burnham, further up the Essex coast than Peldon, 
 had a flock of Vultures for several days among the large trees on his farm. 
 They were known by their bare heads, and were most probably the Egyp- 
 tian Vulture." Both the birds above mentioned were in the brown or 
 immature plumage. Such is all the recorded information respecting the 
 occurrence of the Egyptian Vulture in Great Britain. 
 
 Its breeding-range may be said to be the mountainous portions of all 
 countries in the basin of the Mediterranean, the Caspian, and the Red 
 Seas. It also breeds in the Canaries, Madeira, and the Cape-Verd Islands. 
 Although a few birds may remain in certain of their breeding-haunts 
 throughout the winter, still the greater number migrate southwards down 
 the African coasts, and many probably into the interior of the continent, a 
 few straying as far south as the Cape colony. It is found throughout 
 Persia and Turkestan; but Severtzow did not meet with it in the Pamir, nor 
 is it recorded by Prjevalsky from Tibet or Mongolia. In India it is 
 replaced by Vultur ginginianus, said to differ in being slightly smaller in 
 size, in having the apical portion of the bill pure yellowish flesh-colour 
 instead of blackish, and in having the throat much barer of feathers. In 
 its habits it is not known to differ from the western species, except that it 
 prefers trees to rocks for its nesting-place. There are only two other 
 species in this subgenus, both of which are confined to Africa and are 
 chocolate-brown in colour instead of white. 
 
 The Egyptian Vulture is as common in Greece and Asia Minor as the 
 Griffon Vulture ; but, unlike that bird, it is only a summer visitor to these 
 countries, arriving towards the end of March, and leaving about the middle 
 of September. It is consequently a much later breeder, the earliest eggs 
 being found in April. When I was in the Parnassus I took, or saw taken, 
 four nests of this interesting bird. Two of them, one on the 5th and the 
 other on the 8th of May, were near Castri (the ancient Delphi) ; the third 
 was near Drachmana, on the loth, and the fourth near Arachova, on the 
 18th. The Egyptian Vulture does not breed in colonies. It is less d ffi- 
 cult to please in the choice of a locality ; and the nests are generally acces- 
 sible to a good climber without a rope; consequently suitable sites may be 
 found in almost every valley of the Parnassus. The scenery of the Par- 
 nassus is very similar to the mountain-limestone districts of Matlock and 
 Dovedale in Derbyshire, but of course on a much grander scale, rising to 
 eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. It may conveniently be 
 divided into four regions. The lower two thousand feet is covered with 
 rocks, olives, and vines, occasionally varied with fields of Indian corn, 
 cotton, and tobacco. Then follow two thousand feet which was once an 
 
EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 13 
 
 oak region ; but all the trees have log ago been cut down, except an 
 isolated grove here and there round a convent or a graveyard. Now it 
 may be said to be the scene of a constant struggle between rocks and 
 herbage. Sometimes the greatest part of this region is represented by a 
 series of nearly perpendicular cliffs dropping down into the lower regions ; 
 but it generally consists of ranges of sloping valleys, too rocky to admit of 
 cultivation by spade, but having sufficient herbage upon them in summer 
 to supply food to flocks of sheep or goats. It is in this region that the 
 Egyptian Vulture breeds. Above is two thousand feet of rocks and pines, 
 and, finally, two thousand feet of rocks and snow. The Egyptian Vulture 
 breeds in the same cliffs year after year ; and Dr. Kriiper was kind enough 
 to engage for me a Greek peasant who knew almost all their breeding- 
 places in the Parnassus. He was a wonderful climber, having in his youth 
 been accustomed constantly to scale the cliffs in quest of wild bees' nests. 
 "\Vhen we reached a cliff in which there usually was a nest, he used to 
 scream and yell in order to alarm the bird. Sometimes his clamour was 
 successful, and the bird flew off and revealed the fact that the eyrie was 
 occupied ; sometimes we had to fire a shot before she would betray her 
 treasures ; and once or twice our efforts were in vain, and we came to the 
 conclusion that the nest was empty. At one nest we found the best way 
 was to let a little Greek boy down by a rope to take the eggs. Another 
 nest was robbed by my Greek servant with the help of a rope ; but the 
 third was taken by sheer climbing. It almost made one's hair stand on 
 end to watch the old man in his stocking-feet gradually mounting higher 
 and higher up the perpendicular cliff until, when he had reached the nest 
 and held out the eggs for me to see, the height was so great that without 
 my binocular I could not have recognized them for eggs. A few small 
 sticks, with a little dry grass or wool, was all the nest we found. The eggs 
 were usually two, one much more richly coloured than the other. It is 
 said that three eggs are sometimes found. The fourth nest I took with 
 my own hand. The eggs were laid in an old nest of the Lammergeir, in 
 one of the mountain-gorges near the Pass of Thermopylaj. It was not 
 very difficult of access, several ledges assisting the ascent materially. In 
 the cleft behind the nest were piles of the broken shells of the tortoise, 
 which the Lammergeir had eaten. 
 
 The eggs of the Egyptian Vulture are huffish or creamy white in ground- 
 colour, spotted with brownish red. Sometimes the spots are confluent all 
 over the egg, paler in places (where the colouring-matter appears to have 
 been rubbed off when it was wet) . Every intermediate type occurs between 
 this and eggs in which the colouring-matter is distributed in blotches and 
 small and large spots, which only become confluent at the large end, or, in 
 very exceptional cases, at the small end. They vary in length from 2'9 to 
 2*3 inches, and in breadth from 2*1 to 1*9 inches. 
 
14 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Egyptian Vulture is said to eat snakes and other reptiles ; but car- 
 rion is no doubt its main food. Tristram describes very graphically how 
 a dead camel is first preyed upon by the wolves and jackals. The Griffon 
 Vultures wait until the quadrupeds are satisfied, and then they take their 
 turn ; and not until they have gorged themselves are the Egyptian Vultures 
 allowed to begin their meal. In the Golden Horn, in Constantinople, I 
 have seen them picking up dead fish and other offal from the surface of 
 the water in company with Black Kites and Gulls. 
 
 In Stamboul they breed in the old cypresses, and on the walls and 
 mosques; and Col. Irby mentions an instance of one breeding in an old 
 nest of a Short-toed Eagle, in a cork-tree, near Gibraltar. Lord Lilford 
 describes these birds in Andalusia as following the plough to pick up the 
 grubs turned up by the ploughshare. Tristram describes them in Palestine 
 as resorting to the dunghills of the villages to feed, eagerly devouring all 
 sorts of animal or vegetable filth, and mentions a pair which he surprised 
 in the act of gorging at a heap of spoilt figs. He also states that the dung 
 of the flocks and herds of the Bedouins is their favourite food. He 
 describes their nests as very large ; but these would probably be old Eagles' 
 or Ravens' nests which had been appropriated by the Egyptian Vultures. 
 
 The flight of this Vulture is very similar to that of the Griffon. J. H. 
 Gurney, jun., describing its habits in Algeria, says that ' ' both in ascending 
 and in descending it usually flies in circles. Like most other birds of prey, 
 it rarely flaps its wings, but, with pinions motionless, slightly upturned at 
 the tips, it scans the surrounding country from an enormous height, 
 receding rapidly from the eye, yet appearing to fly but slowly. The 
 nearer the ground the smaller are the circles, and the more lowered is the 
 inner wing ; in fact, when about to settle, the bird is nearly sideways, the 
 point of one wing appearing to be directly beneath the point of the other. 
 It walks with long strides, but not fast, stooping first on one side and then 
 on the other/' 
 
 The Egyptian Vulture, when adult, is a nearly white bird, with black 
 primaries and brown secondaries. The bill is dark brown, and the cere 
 yellow; legs and toes flesh- colour, claws black. In the immature birds 
 the feathers are dark brown, tipped with buff. 
 
FALCO. 15 
 
 Genus FALCO. 
 
 The genus Falco was established by Linnaeus in 1766, in his ' Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 124. At the present day it is impossible to make even a 
 guess at the species which Linnaeus considered typical ; but as the Acci- 
 piter fako of Brisson is the Peregrine Falcon, this species may safely be 
 accepted as the type. 
 
 The true Falcons may always be distinguished by their long pointed 
 wings, the first primary being nearly equal to the third, and much longer 
 than the secondaries. The bill is deeply notched. The lower half of the 
 tarsus is entirely covered with small hexagonal reticulations, and is never 
 feathered. The tail is somewhat rounded. 
 
 This genus is almost cosmopolitan in its range, being only absent from 
 the Pacific islands. Of the British species of this genus, four breed in our 
 islands, and four or five more are accidental visitors. 
 
 Most of the Falcons feed on small mammals and birds ; but some occa- 
 sionally eat insects. 
 
 Their nests are generally placed in trees or rocks, but sometimes on the 
 ground. The eggs vary from white, more or less richly marked with red- 
 brown, to an almost uniform red-brown. 
 
 In the genus Falco the female is always larger than the male, and in 
 some species differs from her mate in the colour of her plumage ; but even 
 in these cases very old females sometimes assume the plumage of the male. 
 The young in first plumage always differ from their parents. They retain 
 their immature dress through their first winter, and moult into the adult 
 plumage during the following summer. 
 
16 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 FALCO GYRFALCO AND FALCO CANDICANS. 
 BROWN JER-FALCON and WHITE JER-FALCON. 
 
 (PLATE 3.) 
 
 There are two species of Jer-Falcons, very distinct from each other, and 
 having well-defined geographical ranges, but connected together by a series 
 of intermediate forms in the intermediate localities. It is not known that 
 these intermediate forms are produced by the interbreeding of the two 
 extremes ; but in the case of the form which inhabits Iceland there seems 
 to be evidence that some interbreeding does take place (see Ibis, 1862, 
 p. 47, footnote) . The synonymy of the two species and their most im- 
 portant intermediate forms is as follows : 
 
 FALCO GYRFALCO. 
 BBOWN JER-FALCON. 
 
 Falco gyrfalco, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Schlegel, Bonaparte, Naumann, Gould, {Sharpe), &c. 
 Falco sacer, Briss. apud Forst. Phil Trans. Roy. Soc. Ixii. p. 382 (1772). 
 Falco lanarius, Linn, apud Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 282 (1787). 
 Falco sacer, var. j3, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 273 (1788, ex Forst.}. 
 Hierofalco gyrfalco (Linn.), Brehm, Journ. Orn. 1853, p. 266. 
 Falco norvegicus, Tristr. Ibis, 1859, p. 24 (ex Wolley's Sale Cat. nee Lath.} 
 Falco gyrfalco norwegicus, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bas, ii. Falcones, p. 12 (1862, nee Lath.). 
 Falco (Hierofalco) gyrfalco (Linn.), var. gyrfalco (Linn.), JRidgw. N. Amer. Birds, 
 
 iii. p. 108 (1874). 
 Falco (Hierofalco) gyrfalco (Linn.), var. sacer (Forst.), Ridgw. N. Amer. Birds, iii. 
 
 p. 115 (1874). 
 
 FALCO GYRFALCO-CANDICANS. 
 
 ICELAND JEB-FALCON. 
 
 Accipiter falco islandicus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 336 (1760). 
 
 Accipiter gyrfalco islandicus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 373 (1760). 
 
 Falco islandus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 271 (1788, ex Briinn. nee Lath.). 
 
 Hierofalco islandus {Gmel), Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 414 (1874, nee Lath.). 
 
 FALCO CANDICANS-GYRFALCO. 
 
 SOUTH-GBEENLAND JEB-FALCON. 
 
 Falco rusticolus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 125 (1766). 
 
 Falco fuscus, Faber, Faun. Groenl. p. 59 (1780). 
 
 Falco arcticus, Holb. Zeltschr. Ges. Nat. iii. p. 426 (1854). 
 
 Falco gyrfalco grcsnlandicus, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bas, ii. Falcones, p. 13 (1862). 
 
 Falco holboelli, Sharpe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 415. 
 
 Hierofalco holboelli (Sharpe), Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. i. p. 415, pi. xiii. (1874). 
 
BROWN AND WHITE JER-FALCONS. 17 
 
 FALCO CASDICANS. 
 WHITE JER-FALCON. 
 
 Accipiter falco freti hudsonis, Jiriss. Oni. i. p. OoO (1760). 
 
 Accipiter gyrfalco, JBriss. Orn. i. pi. xxx. tig. 2 (1700). 
 
 Falco rusticolus, Faber, Faun. Groenl. p. 55 (1780). 
 
 Falco islaudu.-, Faber, Faun. Grotnl p. 58 (1780) ; Lath, Gen. Syn. Stippl. i. p. 282 
 
 (1787). 
 
 Falco islandus /3. albas, Gmd. Syst. Xaf. i. p. 271 (1788, ex Eriinn.). 
 Falco candicans, Gmel. Si/*t. Xat. i. p. 27-5 (1788) ; et auctonun plurimomm 
 
 ScMeyel, Strickland, Rtinhardt. Xeicton, Gray, Sharpe, &c. 
 Falco islaudicus (Urifs.), apud Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 32 (1790). 
 Falco groenlandicus, Tin-ton's Gtu. %->Y. Xat. i. p. 147 (1806). 
 Hierofalco caudicans (Gmel.), Cue. Regne An. \. p. 312 (1817). 
 Falco gyrfalco. Linn, apud Pall. Zo^gr. Hosfo-As. i. p. 324 (1826). 
 Falco islandicus caudicao*, Holb. Zeitechr. Ges. Xat. iii. p. 426 (1854). 
 Falco (Hierofalco) gyrfalco (Linn.), var. candicans (Gmel.), Ridyic. X. Amer. Birds, 
 
 iii. p. Ill (1*74). 
 
 Au anonymous reviewer, iii an able article on this subject (Ibis, 1862, 
 p. 44) recognizes three species of Jer-Falcons, F. gyrfalco, F. candicans, 
 and F. is/audits. Nine years later Newton (Yarr. Brit. B. i. pp. 36-52) 
 does not suggest any alteration in this conclusion. Sharpe (Cat. Birds 
 Brit. Mus. i. p. 410), in 1874, admits the validity of the two first-men- 
 tioned species, but splits the last-mentioned into two, F. islandus and F. 
 hulbceUi. In the same year Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (Hist. N. Arner. 
 Birds, iii. p. 108) only recognize one species, which they subdivide into 
 five varieties. F. yyrfalco is split into var. sacer, var. gyrfalco, and var. 
 labradora; F. candicans is called var. candicans; and F. islandus and F. 
 holbcelli are united under the name of var. islandicus. In 1876 Dresser 
 (' Birds of Europe/ vi. pp. 15-30) reunites var. sacer and var. gyrfalco 
 under the name of F. yyrfalco, but admits the distinctness of F. labradorus. 
 F. candicans is recognized as a good species, but F. holboelll is reunited 
 with F. islandus under the latter name. 
 
 The characters upon which these alleged species are based are very 
 variable, and the localities of examples in various museums are very inexact. 
 In the literature of the subject still more uncertainty prevails, in conse- 
 quence of wrong determination of immature birds; but after making 
 allowance for these supposed errors, the following appears to me to be the 
 most rational solution of this puzzling problem. 
 
 We may at once dismiss -F. labradorus as a perfectly distinct species, of 
 a nearly uniform brown colour in the adult, with a few buff streaks on 
 the flanks, and a perfectly brown tail. This species breeds in Eastern 
 Labrador ; and there seems to be no evidence of any kind that any inter- 
 mediate fornis/>ccur between it and F. gyrfalco. 
 
 F. candicuns is the arctic form, breeding only north of the arctic circle, 
 in North Greenland, and Eastern America north of Hudson's Bay. No 
 Jer- Falcon has ever been found breeding in North Russia or Siberia. The 
 
 VOL. j. c 
 
18 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 thoroughbred bird has a white tail at all ages, and entirely white under- 
 parts in the adult ; the upper parts below the head are sparingly marked 
 with tear-shaped spots. In the young the feathers of the back are brown, 
 with white margins and bases, and a few longitudinal streaks appear on 
 the head, breast, and flanks. In birds that are not thoroughbred, the 
 spots on the back gradually broaden until they become bars ; and examples 
 may be found showing every intermediate form between a few spots on the 
 tail and flanks and a perfectly barred tail and flanks in the adult, and in 
 the young with the addition of spots on the breast. Where the back is 
 barred and the thighs are streaked only or white, it is the so-called dark 
 race of the white Jer-Falcon, Sharpens intermediate stage between young 
 in first plumage and adult of that bird. When the thighs are barred and 
 the breast white, it is Sharpens adult F. holbcelli ; and when, in addition to 
 the barred thighs, the breast is spotted, it is Sharpe's supposed intermediate 
 stage between young in first plumage and adult of that bird. The white 
 edges to the feathers of the back in the young of these half-bred forms 
 have become pale brown, and every feather of the underparts has a con- 
 spicuous brown longitudinal streak in the centre. All these intermediate 
 forms are found in Greenland, and are connected with another series of 
 intermediate forms, also found in Greenland, with the Iceland birds, F. 
 islandus, differing but little from the preceding in first plumage, but always 
 being streaked on the breast in the adult. The changes I have described 
 are also accompanied by a greater development of the dark spots on the 
 head, which, in the thoroughbred F. gyrfalco, are almost distributed over 
 the entire feather, causing the head to look nearly uniform dark brown. 
 In western North America intermediate forms occur between the Iceland 
 and Norwegian birds'*. The selection of any one of these intermediate 
 forms is purely arbitrary; and between the two extreme forms it is just 
 as easy to make ten subspecies as two. Even in such a comparatively small 
 series as that in the British Museum, intermediate forms are found upon 
 which ornithologists differ in opinion as to which race they should be 
 referred. 
 
 Three at least of the four principal forms of Jer- Falcon above enu- 
 merated have occurred at various times in the British Islands. From the 
 manner in which the several forms of this Falcon have been confounded, 
 it is extremely difficult to apportion the " large Falcons " that have so often 
 visited our shores to their respective subspecies. It is very evident that 
 the white Jer-Falcon was well known as a British bird a century ago ; and 
 
 * Compare P. Z. S. 1870, p. 384, where Newton refers them " without doubt " to F. 
 islandicus, " though belonging to the darker phase of that form," with P. Z. S. 1875, p. 115, 
 where Dresser asserts that, if the American specimens had not unfortunately been sent 
 back, every one then present could have convinced himself of their specific identity with 
 JF. yyrfalco. 
 
BROWN AND WHITE JER-FALCONS. 19 
 
 Latham informs us that it was then an inhabitant of Scotland, probably a 
 winter visitant from its far northern home. 
 
 Some half dozen specimens of the White Jer-Falcon are recorded as 
 having been taken in England, eight in Scotland and its islands, whilst in 
 Ireland but three specimens are recorded. A young bird, from which 
 YarrelFs excellent woodcut was taken, was killed in Pembrokeshire, and is 
 now preserved in the British Museum. A specimen was shot in Corn- 
 wall, and preserved in the collection of Mr. Rodd. Stevenson records one 
 killed in Norfolk, near Crorner; Mr. Hancock one which was caught near 
 York in 1837; and Mr. Roberts another specimen, captured in Robin 
 Hood's Bay, near Scarborough. Gray, in his ' Birds of the West of Scot- 
 land/ instances four examples as having been taken in the Hebrides, 
 another in Lanarkshire, in 1835, also an immature male in Perthshire, in 
 the spring of 1862. The bird described and figured in Pennant's 'British 
 Zoology ' was said to have been obtained near Aberdeen. On the 3rd of 
 March 1866, on the authority of Dr. Saxby (Zool. p. 288), a female was 
 shot on Balta, one of the Shetland Islands. Thompson records two from 
 Ireland, both in co. Donegal ; and Mr. Blake Knox records a third, killed 
 in the winter of 1862-63, and now preserved in the Museum at Dublin. 
 
 Although we have no reason to suppose that the Iceland Jer-Falcon has 
 appeared less frequently in our islands, still, possibly from its far less con- 
 spicuous dress, it has certainly been less noticed and recorded. Mr. 
 Hancock has two birds in his collection one recorded in the ' Zoologist ' 
 (1845, p. 935), obtained at Bellingham on the North Tyne, and the other 
 at Norrnanby, in Yorkshire, in March 1837. In Mr. Borrer^s collection 
 is an adult bird, shot at Mayfield, in Sussex, in January 1845. In Scot- 
 land, as may naturally be supposed, the occurrences are far more frequent. 
 Gray records numerous examples, from Ross-shire, Sutherlandshire, and 
 Inverness-shire, between the years 1835-51 ; and in more recent years he 
 is satisfied that several examples have been obtained in the west. Four 
 specimens are recorded from the Hebrides; and Mr. Elwes mentions another 
 trapped in 1866 in Argyllshire. In the Shetlands we have Dr. Saxby's 
 authority for the bird having been a somewhat regular visitor ; but it is now 
 only occasionally seen. 
 
 The only authentic instance of the occurrence of the Norwegian form 
 of the Jer-Falcon in this country is an immature example, which was 
 obtained at Orford, in Suffolk, on the 14th of October 1867. It was shot by 
 Mr. George Hunt, in the act of devouring a hen, and is now in the possession 
 of his brother, Mr. Edward J. Hunt, of Pimlico, by whom it was stuffed. It 
 is in an excellent state of preservation ; and the plumage is scarcely at all 
 abraded. Tlie head is somewhat darker than the back ; and the under- 
 parts, including the thighs, are longitudinally streaked. It is probably a 
 bird of the year which has not yet assumed the yellow legs. 
 
 c2 
 
20 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Jer-Falcon is an arctic Peregrine, with all the dash and courage of 
 that bird. It is the only Hawk resident in the arctic regions. Its keen 
 eye, rapid powers of night, and capability of being tamed make it a 
 favourite with the falconer, and the terror of the weaker birds. Its home 
 is the tundra, beyond the limits of forest-growth, where it selects the 
 rocks and the mountains on which to breed. The arctic form of this bird 
 (F. candicans) is clad in a snowy dress, protective to a degree amongst the 
 eternal snows of its northern home. This protective dress, however, is not 
 to shield the bird from danger ; for a bird of such prowess need fear no foe. 
 Its protective colouring serves to conceal it from its prey, and enables it 
 to sit watching for it, or steal upon it, unseen. The arctic form of the 
 Jer-Falcon used to fetch the highest price for hawking, as it was considered 
 the boldest bird, possessing the most rapid powers of flight. Holboll states 
 that the food of the Jer-Falcon in Greenland is principally composed of 
 Ptarmigan and water-fowl, and that on one occasion a bird was once seen 
 with a young Kittiwake in each foot, and another was observed with a 
 Purple Sandpiper in each foot. Although such instances would seem to 
 show how successful this biid is in the chase, still Holboll says that the 
 Jer-Falcons were not very expert at catching his pigeons. Richardson, 
 who observed the Jer-Falcon in Hudson's Bay, states that its food is 
 Ptarmigan, Plover, Ducks, and Geese, mostly the former. 
 
 The flight of the J er-Falcon is spoken of by all Avho have had the oppor- 
 tunity of witnessing it as grand and powerful in the extreme. Many of 
 its motions resemble those of the Peregrine ; and if an intruder should 
 chance to threaten its nest, it will often fly round in circles with such 
 velocity as to produce a rushing sound as it darts through the air. Jer- 
 Falcons have been seen perched on the high stakes near the shore, in a 
 similar position to that which a Tern would choose, to pounce upon the 
 Puffins sitting unconcernedly at the entrance of their burrows close at 
 hand. During the summer months the Jer-Falcon ofttimes takes up its 
 abode near some bird-rock, to prey upon its feathered denizens. 
 
 Holboll states that he found young Jer-Falcons moulting throughout the 
 winter ; and he has determined by dissection that birds of this species 
 breed the following season after their birth. In Greenland the breeding- 
 season of the Jer-Falcon is in June. The nests are sometimes placed on 
 the loftiest cliffs, either near the sea or further inland, and sometimes on 
 the tops of pines and other trees. In Iceland they are always on the 
 rocks. Out of eighteen nests taken by MacFarlane on the Anderson river, 
 north of the Great Bear Lake, sixteen were on the tops of pines or other 
 trees from ten to twenty-five feet high ; one nest was on a ledge of rocks ; 
 and the other was built on the rough ground on the side of a steep and 
 high hill. The earliest eggs were found on the 27th of May ; but eggs are 
 often found as late as the end of June. These early nests are often com- 
 
BROWN AND WHITE JER-FALCONS. 21 
 
 me need before the rigours of an arctic winter have passed away and while the 
 snow still lies deep upon the ground. The nest is composed of twigs 
 and small branches, lined with moss, hay, deer's hair, feathers, &c. Ac- 
 cording to Audubon, it is built at an altitude of 100 feet, is very flat, 
 2 feet in diameter, and made of sticks, seaweeds, and moss. At the nest 
 the bird is very noisy and bold ; and Richardson mentions an instance 
 where the bird attacked him while he was plundering its home. 
 
 As regards the nesting-economy of the Brown Jer-Falcon, Wolley was 
 probably the first to give, from his own personal observations, particulars 
 respecting it. In Scandinavia its breeding-season is much earlier than 
 that of its American and arctic allies ; and out of upwards of twenty nests 
 observed by that enthusiastic naturalist in West Finmark, the eggs were 
 almost all taken towards the end of April. The first nest he obtained was 
 in a cliff, veiy flat and large, made out of bleached and barkless twigs, and 
 lined with a bundle or two of dry grass. This nest contained four eggs, 
 slightly incubated. Another nest was under an overhanging rock, made 
 of fresh sticks, very large, and had the inside lined with willow-twigs 
 and sedgy grass ; other nests he saw contained feathers. On the 7th of 
 June another nest came under his notice, which contained three young 
 ones and an egg. The hen bird appeared with food in her talons at this 
 nest. It was built in a recess a short distance from the ground, the downy 
 young birds inside continually uttering a chirping cry. One egg of the 
 Jer-Falcon was brought to Mr. Wolley, and was said to have been taken from 
 a nest in a tree standing on the edge of a very large marsh. This nest 
 suggests the theory that the Jer-Falcon accommodates itself to certain 
 localities which contain its food ; for the large marsh near the nest was 
 probably its favourite hunting-ground. Wolley found near some of the 
 nests the bones of Whimbrels and Ptarmigans ; and Audubon mentions 
 that beneath the nests he found were wings of the Ptarmigan, Puffin, and 
 Guillemot. Collet's information, probably relating to East Finmark, differs 
 somewhat from that quoted from Wolley ; my Swedish friend says that 
 the Brown Jer-Falcons almost invariably nest on the tops of large fir 
 trees. 
 
 The note of the bird when an intruder is at the nest is much like that 
 of the Peregrine, and very loud, shrill, and piercing. 
 
 The eggs of the Jer-Falcon are usually four in number, sometimes only 
 three. The ground-colour is creamy white; but usually the markings 
 entirely conceal it from view. They are closely freckled and spotted with 
 orange-brown, rich reddish brown, and bricky red. Many eggs of this 
 bird closely resemble typical Hobby's eggs ; others approximate more nearly 
 to certain varieties of the Peregrine. In a large series in my collection, 
 however, I do not find that the eggs are ever so dark as those of some 
 other British Falcons, and the markings are very evenly dispersed, some- 
 
22 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 times becoming confluent, at others uniformly distributed over the entire 
 surface. Some specimens have the markings smoothly and evenly laid 
 over the entire surface, giving them the appearance of ground-colour 
 which is marbled and more intensified here and there. Another very 
 beautiful variety is mottled all over with pale rosy-pink shell-markings, 
 intermixed with pale reddish-brown blotches and spots on a creamy-white 
 ground ; whilst others have the spots and blotches mostly confined to the 
 larger end of the egg, leaving the white under surface exposed to view. 
 Jer-Falcons' eggs are slightly more elongated than Peregrines', have a 
 somewhat rougher shell, and possess little gloss. In size they vary from 
 2'4 to 2'2 inches in length, and in breadth from 1'9 to T8 inch. 
 
 In the autumn many Jer-Falcons wander southwards ; but these are 
 mostly birds of the year which may have lost their way, or been tempted 
 to follow in the wake of the retreating hordes of wild fowl that go south 
 at the approach of winter. 
 
 The female Jer-Falcon (length of wing 16 to 15 inches) may always be 
 distinguished from the Peregrine (length of wing 14^ to 12 inches) by its 
 larger size, and the female Peregrine from either sex of the Jer-Falcon by 
 the structure of the feet. In the Peregrine the outer toe without the 
 claw is longer than the inner toe without the claw ; Avhilst in the Jer- 
 Falcon the outer and inner toes are about equal in length. The tail of 
 the Jer-Falcons is also uniform in ground-colour, whilst in that of the 
 Peregrine the bars are obscurer towards the tip, making the general 
 colour darker at the tip than at the base. 
 
 Sharpens very ingenious theory, that the intermediate forms between the 
 White Jer-Falcon and the South-Greenland Jer-Falcon are an interme- 
 diate stage of plumage between the young in first plumage and the adult, 
 is entirely unsupported by evidence; indeed the existence of young in 
 first plumage of each form is strong proof to the contrary, to say nothing 
 of the fact that his supposed intermediate stage of plumage remains con- 
 stant for years in confinement. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist' for 1867 (p. 597) Mr. W. JefFery records the occur- 
 rence of a " Buzzard " which was brought into Chichester Harbour by a 
 coal-vessel. It was caught in the rigging of the ship when off Flamborough 
 Head. Mr. Gurney, in the 'Zoologist' for 1875 (p. 4721), alludes to this 
 capture, and corrects the statement. The bird in question was sent to the 
 Zoological Gardens, and was ascertained to be a Jugger Falcon (Falco 
 jugger}. As this Falcon is very commonly used in India for hawking, 
 it was most probably an escaped bird, although the circumstance is 
 worth recording. 
 
PEREGRINE FALCOX. 23 
 
 FALCO PEREGRIXUS. 
 
 PEREGRINE FALCON. 
 (PLATE 3.) 
 
 Accipiter falco, Briss. Ont. i. p. 321 (1760). 
 
 Accipiter falco peregrinus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 341 (1760). 
 
 Falco gentilis, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 126 (1706)*. 
 
 Accipiter peregriims, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. i. p. 55, pis. xxiii., xxiv. (1767) ; et 
 
 auctoruni plurimorum (Latham}, (Temminck), (Naumann), (Gould), 
 
 (GVrtyX (Hume), (Xeirton), (Dresser), &c. 
 Falco peregrinus, Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. 1 (1771). 
 Falco orientalis, Gm. Syst. Xaf. i. p. 264 (1788, ex Lath.). 
 Falco conimunis, Gm. Si/st. Xat. i. p. 270 (1788, e.r Buff.). 
 Falco calidus Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 41 (1790). 
 Falco lunulatu*. Daitd. Traite, ii. p. 122 (1800, ex Lath.). 
 Falco abietinus, Bech*t. Xaturg. Deutxchl. ii. p. 759 (1805). 
 Falco pinetarius. Steph. Share's Gen. Zool. vii. pt. i. p. 195 (1809). 
 Falco anaturu. Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. X. Am. p. 4 (1838, ex Audubon). 
 Falco micrurus, Hodgs. Grays Zool. Misc. p. 81 (1844). 
 Falco nigriceps, Cass. B. Calif, p. 87 (1855). 
 Falco brookii, Sharpe, Ann. Xat. Hist. xi. pp. 21, 222 (1873). 
 
 The Peregrine Falcon is undoubtedly the commonest of the larger birds 
 of prey now found in the British Islands a bird noted for its marvellous 
 rapidity of movement and flight, its almost unequalled audacity and bold- 
 ness, and for the great reputation it bore in the days when falconry was a 
 favourite pursuit. Although slowly but surely becoming extinct in the 
 British Islands, the Peregrine still breeds in a few localities in England, 
 but is much commoner in Scotland and Ireland, where the wildness and 
 seclusion of the scenery afford it a safer and more suitable refuge. At 
 the present day the Peregrine breeds sparingly on the sea-girt cliffs of the 
 south coast from Cornwall to Kent, the rocky headlands of Wales, and 
 inland in several localities of Cumberland and Westmoreland ; but it is 
 most probable that the bird has now deserted the cliffs of the Yorkshire 
 coast for ever. In Scotland we find it becomes much more numerous, 
 most, if not all, the great bird-rocks and precipices being tenanted by a 
 
 * There seems to be little doubt that the F. gentilis of Linnaeus is an immature Pere- 
 grine. There cannot be the slightest doubt that the Falcon Gentle of Albin, to -which he 
 refer?, is a Peregrine. Many of the Linnaean names (notably those of the Owls) admitted 
 by ornitholog^ts are much more doubtful and much less clearly denned. There are only 
 three logical ways of treating this question. If you do not reject the doubtful names 
 alluded to, or adopt the name of F. gentilis for the Peregrine, the only alternative is to 
 reject the laws of priority of publication and clear definition before they have still further 
 complicated and confused the study of ornithology. 
 
24 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 pair or so, the birds becoming more numerous in the less frequented 
 districts, notably amongst the mountain-scenery of the Highlands and the 
 Western Isles, particularly in Skye, the bold rocky coast-line and moun- 
 tainous scenery of which is so well adapted to its wants and security, and 
 where it is universally known as the " Falcon." In Ireland the Peregrine 
 inhabits and breeds in all suitable localities throughout the island, both 
 on maritime cliffs and inland mountain districts. 
 
 In the wideness of its distribution the Peregrine is equalled by few other 
 raptorial birds. It is a circumpolar bird, and breeds more or less regularly 
 in every country in Europe north of the basin of the Mediterranean up to 
 lat. 68, a considerable number migrating into North Africa &c. for the 
 winter. It also breeds throughout Asia north of the Himalayas, wintering 
 in India and Burma. It nests in North America wherever suitable loca- 
 lities are found, and has occurred in winter as far south as the Argentine 
 States of South America. 
 
 The Peregrine's haunt is the open country the moorlands, mountain- 
 sides, and commons and waste lands near the sea being its favourite 
 places. Although by no means a common bird, still in suitable localities 
 it may be justly considered far from rare. Truly indeed the Peregrine is a 
 noble bird ; his courage when on the wing and his proud bearing when 
 seated on some naked branch or rock-pinnacle stamp him as one of the 
 most lordly of his race. A study of the Peregrine's habits leads the 
 observer into the wildest and grandest of scenery. His chattering cry 
 once heard can never be mistaken, usually uttered as he sails at some consi- 
 derable height in ever widening circles. It is wonderful how gracefully 
 he glides, not, perhaps, so evenly as the Buzzard, nor so lightly as the Wind- 
 hover, but with a peculiar motion strictly his own. Perched, it may be, on 
 some rocky boulder, he sits quite upright, his broad head ever and anon 
 turned anxiously from side to side, and his wings frequently half expanded as 
 though he were about to take wing. The Peregrine is indeed a bird of the 
 moor, the fjeld, and the tundra. The Grouse, the Ptarmigan, and the blue 
 hare supply him with his meal, and the mountain precipices a fitting 
 nesting-place. But the Peregrine is also found on the borders of 
 the ocean, choosing for his home some rocky islet or inaccessible sea- 
 washed cliff. Here the sea-fowl are his sustenance ; and here he remains 
 throughout the year, rearing his brood safe from the inroads of man, save, 
 indeed, the bold and hardy rock-climber, who, for the sake of gain, not 
 unfrequently robs his nest. 
 
 The Peregrines breeding in our islands are non-migratory ; but in the 
 spring and autumn numbers of birds pass over, remaining some little 
 time to rest, and then proceeding again on their journey. These Falcons 
 usually attend the vast flocks of waders and water-birds migrating to or 
 from their breeding-grounds in the Arctic regions, and thus secure an 
 
PEREGRINE FALCON. 25 
 
 abundant supply of food. It is doubtless to this migratory movement 
 of the Peregrine from the extreme northern limits of its range that we 
 must attribute the appearance of the bird in those localities now so little 
 suited to its requirements, as, for instance, the low-lying eastern counties. 
 Indeed, in the greater part of England the Peregrine is only known as a 
 migrant, most common in the autumn, and in a few cases remaining through 
 the winter in some favoured spot. It is also worthy of remark that these 
 autumnal wanderers are, for the greater part, young birds; but in the 
 spring movement northwards old birds are more numerous. Even young 
 birds bred in our own land quit the place of their birth so soon as they can 
 forage for themselves, their parents guarding their own stronghold with 
 the greatest jealousy from intruders, and breeding there year after year 
 if unmolested. 
 
 Naturally enough, the time for studying the Peregrine Falcon's move- 
 ments to best advantage is when it is engaged in obtaining its food. Most 
 species of water- fowl are preyed upon, as well as Grouse and Partridges; 
 but perhaps his favourite food is the Rock-Doves which nestle on the ocean- 
 clifls around him, and the Stock-Doves in the more inland districts. Few 
 birds, indeed, fly more swiftly than these two species of Dove, yet the Pere- 
 grine takes them with comparative ease, fairly flying them down, or perhaps 
 more frequently darting with great rapidity upon them unawares. Dixon, 
 writing of the Peregrine on Skye, says : " A f avourite morsel with the 
 Peregrine is the comical little Puffin, or ( Sea-Parrot/ as the fishermen call 
 him ; in fact in some localities this bird almost forms his only food. Here, 
 for instance, on this steep ocean-cliff a colony of Puffins have established 
 themselves. The time is early morning; and the Puffins are coming to 
 and quitting their holes, from and to the sea below, where quite a large 
 company are fishing and disporting themselves. Several of the curious 
 little birds leave the cliff together, and with rapid beats of their short 
 wings pass to the water below. Suddenly a loud flapping of wings is heard, 
 something flits like a meteor from the air above, and follows the Puffins in 
 their downward course. Perceiving their danger they scatter; but too 
 late ; already one of their number is struck and quivering in the sharp 
 talons of their common enemy. All for the moment is commotion : the 
 birds on the sea beneath dive out of danger; and those on the cliffs are 
 in uproar at the suddenness of the onslaught. But the alarm soon sub- 
 sides, and the birds are pursuing their usual avocations again. Indeed 
 it is a noteworthy fact that the birds display very little alarm whilst the 
 Falcon sails high in air above them ; and it is no uncommon thing to 
 see the bird, aridently when its appetite is satisfied, surrounded by Terns 
 and Gulls, and see the Puffins sitting quite unconcerned a stone's throw 
 from their enemy." The Peregrine also feeds on young rabbits and 
 leverets, especially of the blue hare. 
 
26 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Peregrine is of a very wandering disposition, and frequently goes 
 miles away from its accustomed haunt, often exploring the coast-line for 
 long distances in lazy soaring flight, ever and anon being mobbed by the 
 Gulls and Terns, or even the Carrion-Crows and the Hoodies, who seldom 
 fail to set up an uproar as soon as it makes its appearance. 
 
 As a rule the Peregrine is a comparatively silent bird, save when 
 alarmed and to some extent a solitary one ; for although these birds live 
 in pairs, still they frequently hunt for sustenance alone, and are seldom 
 seen together except during the season of reproduction. 
 
 Mr. Cordeaux informs me that " the Peregrine is a resident in North-east 
 Lincolnshire in the winter months. A pair invariably frequent the dis- 
 trict between Broadley Wood and Croxby Lake. They are mature birds, 
 and feed almost exclusively on Wood-Pigeons and the common Pigeons of 
 the dove-cotes, frequently showing great boldness in the capture of the 
 latter. The female, which I have seen at very close quarters, and in the 
 act of devouring a tame Pigeon, is a magnificent bird, the underparts 
 almost pure cream-coloured without a spot. On the coast I have seen the 
 Peregrine swoop at Curlews, but never successfully and never repeating 
 the swoop. The power of the Curlew on the wing is so great that it may 
 defy even the attempts of this swift-winged destroyer. Both old and 
 young frequently occur in autumn, in September and October, on mi- 
 gration." 
 
 The breeding-season of the Peregrine commences early in April, the 
 young being often found in down by the beginning of May. Although 
 the birds pair for life, the same nesting-ground is not always tenanted 
 other situations being chosen, seemingly at the caprice of the bird. One 
 season it will be in one part of the cliff, the next in another, as though 
 the birds had several favourite places and used them each in turn. Its 
 nesting-sites are various : in some localities the nest is placed in the tallest 
 trees, notably so in Pomerania and the wooded districts of North Germany, 
 while in others it is amongst the most inaccessible rocks, as in our own 
 islands ; and in some countries, such as Finland and Lappland, the 
 ground alone is ofttimes chosen as a resting-place for it. The pair 
 of Peregrines that frequent the Bass Rock have chosen an admirable 
 situation for their nest, which is situated near the summit of the stupen- 
 dous cliff on the west side, where they have an almost boundless view 
 and are comparatively safe from their only enemy man. Dixon visited 
 this nest on the Bass, and writes as follows : " So soon as we reached the 
 neighbourhood of the nest the female bird dashed rapidly from it, uttering 
 her harsh chattering cry as she went, which speedily brought the male 
 bird upon the scene. As I was partly lowered and partly climbed down 
 the face of the rock, the scene around me was an impressive one, dear to 
 the heart of him who delights in nature and her works. Far down below, 
 
PEREGRINE FALCON. 27 
 
 the Guillemots and Puffins were disporting on the sea at the base of 
 the cliff, looking for all the world like small animated air-bubbles or specks 
 of foam, whilst the air around was full of Gannets sailing dreamily about, 
 their snow-white plumage glistening in the noonday sun, and their grating 
 cries, harsh though they were, lending a wild charm to the scene around. 
 Far up in the air above the two old Peregrines were sailing in ever widening 
 circles, the female bird, easily distinguishable by her superiority in size, 
 venturing the closest, sometimes coming so near as to enable me to catch 
 the sparkle of her bright black eye and hear the rustle of her pinions. The 
 male bird was much more wary, and kept at a respectful distance, whilst 
 both birds incessantly uttered their sharp chattering cry of alarm at the 
 threatened danger to their offspring. The nest was on a narrow ledge of 
 the rock, just affording sufficient standing-room, and was a poorly made 
 crude structure. It consisted for the greater part of a few bits of vegetation, 
 placed there by chance alone, carelessly strewed in a little hollow. Quan- 
 tities of feathers, a few pellets, and the bones and feet of various birds 
 strewed the vicinity of the nest, amongst them being the legs and feet of a 
 Puffin just recently conveyed there. Of course, had the nest only contained 
 eggs, the feathers and other refuse would probably have been absent. It 
 contained a single young bird in dirty white down, that allowed me to 
 examine it minutely without the least show of resistance. Scattered 
 round and in the nest were numerous pellets, formed of fur and feathers 
 and small bones, the refuse of the bird's food, which is thus ejected." 
 
 Harvie-Brown and I found the Peregrine breeding on the steep clay 
 banks of the river Petchora in North-east Russia, at Stanavialachta. On 
 the 27th of June, on the grassy top of a mound halfway down the mud-cliffs 
 overlooking this great river, and within sight of the Arctic Ocean, we came 
 upon the nest. It contained four eggs, one of which was much lighter in 
 colour than the others. This mound had probably been used for some 
 years as a nesting-place by the Falcons, since the grass was much greener 
 upon it than upon the surrounding places. A little way off there rose 
 another mound just similar to it : and this was apparently the Falcon's 
 dining-table ; for scattered all about it were feathers of Grouse, of Long- 
 tailed Duck, and of divers small birds. While we remained near the 
 nest the two Falcons hovered round, uttering sharp cries ; when we 
 approached nearer still they redoubled their screams, hovered over us, 
 closed their wings, and descended perpendicularly till within a few yards 
 of our heads. A mile up the river we found a second nest upon an 
 exactly similar green-topped mound. This nest contained three eggs; and 
 the behaviour of the birds as we neared it was the same as that of the 
 previous parf. I also met with the Peregrine breeding on the tundra on 
 the steep mud cliffs on the banks of the Yenesay. In lat. 69^ I spent 
 the night of the 13th-14th of July on shore, shooting. I had no sooner 
 
28 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 landed than a couple of Peregrines showed me their nest by their loud 
 cries. A glance at the cliffs decided the place where the nest ought to be, 
 on the top of a steep mud promontory, which stretched out to a sharp 
 ridge beyond and above the surrounding coast, and which was conspicuous 
 by its greenness. I climbed up a valley in which the snow was still lying, 
 and walked straight along the ridge to the little hollow, where the four red 
 eggs were placed upon a dozen small flakes of down. These eggs were 
 considerably incubated. 
 
 The eggs of the Peregrine Falcon vary from two to four in number. 
 The ground-colour of the egg when exposed is a pale yellowish white, and 
 the markings vary from brick-red and orange-brown to rich reddish brown. 
 Many of the eggs are often suffused with a beautiful purplish tint, which 
 is seen, but more rarely, on the eggs of the Kestrel. Peregrine Falcons' 
 eggs vary considerably in size and form, some being much elongated, others 
 almost globular. They vary in length from 2'15 to 1*95 inches, and in 
 breadth from 1*75 to 1*52 inch. The specimen figured may be taken as 
 a fairly typical egg of this species. 
 
 Time was when the noble Peregrines lived as favoured birds, the company 
 and amusement of kings and princes, being trained for the chase. The 
 female bird was always known as the Falcon, the male as the Tiercel ; and 
 from her marked docility she was not unfrequently called the Gentil or 
 Gentle Falcon. Then the Peregrine was under man's protection, and 
 penalties were inflicted on him who molested or destroyed it. But the 
 days of hawking have long waned ; and the Peregrine, once so favoured, 
 is now open to an incessant persecution, which bids fair to exterminate it 
 from our land. This persecution, which is continually being waged against 
 all our raptorial birds, is slowly but surely doing its work. The Peregrine 
 in its sea-girt fortress will be one of the last Falcons to disappear before 
 it ; but the time will soon be when each noted eyrie will but exist in an 
 empty name. The Heron was the favourite bird of chase for the Falcon, 
 the sport usually taking place as the birds went to and from the streams to 
 the heronry. Sir John Sebright, in his ' Observations on Hawking/ gives 
 the following particulars respecting this peculiar sport : 
 
 <c The Herons go out in the morning to rivers and ponds at a very con- 
 siderable distance in search of food, and return to the heronry towards the 
 evening. It is at this time that the falconers place themselves in the open 
 country, down wind of the heronry, so that when the Herons are inter- 
 cepted on their return home, they are obliged to fly against the wind to 
 gain their place of retreat. When a Heron passes, a cast (a couple) of 
 Hawks is let go. The Heron disgorges his food when he finds that he 
 is pursued, and endeavours to keep above the Hawks by rising in the air ; 
 the Hawks fly in a spiral direction to get above the Heron; and thus the three 
 birds frequently appear to be flying in different directions. The first Hawk 
 
PEREGRINE FALCON. 29 
 
 makes his .stoop as soon as he gets above the Heron, who evades it by a shift, 
 and thus gives the second Hawk time to get up and to stoop in his turn. 
 In what is deemed a good flight this is frequently repeated, and the three 
 birds often mount to a great height in the air. When one of the Hawks 
 seizes his prey the other soon binds to him, as it is termed, and, buoyant 
 from the motion of their wings, the three descend together to the ground 
 with but little velocity. The falconer must lose no time in getting hold 
 of the Heron's neck when he is on the ground, to prevent him from injuring 
 the Hawks. It is then, aud not when he is in the air, that he will use 
 his beak in his defence. Hawks have indeed sometimes, but very rarely, 
 been hurt by striking against the Heron's beak when stooping ; but this 
 has been purely by accident, and not (as has been said) by the Heron 
 presenting his beak to his pursuer as a means of defence. When the 
 Heron flies down wind he is seldom taken, the Hawks are in great danger 
 of being lost, and, as the flight is in a straight line, it affords but little 
 sport." 
 
 The Peregrine has the general colour of the upper parts a bluish or slaty 
 grey, barred with a darker tint, except the head and a broad moustachial 
 patch descending from the gape, which are black ; the lower plumage is 
 white, suffused with buff, spotted on the throat and upper breast and 
 transversely barred on the remainder with blackish. Cere and legs bright 
 yellow j iris dark brown ; bill horn-colour, becoming lighter at the base. 
 The female resembles the male, but is much larger. Young birds in first 
 plumage have the upper parts ashy brown, darkest on the head, each 
 feather edged with rufous ; the underparts whitish, longitudinally streaked 
 with brownish; tail irregularly barred and tipped with white. In the 
 young birds the cere and eyelids are blue. The Peregrine Falcon presents 
 great individual diversity in the colours of its plumage, light and dark 
 forms of this bird occurring often in the same nest. 
 
 There are no less than five tropical forms of the Peregrine, all somewhat 
 resembling each other, and all probably only subspecifically distinct from 
 it. As might be expected, they are all darker on the upper parts and more 
 rufous on the uuderparts. The South-African form has been called F. 
 minor : it has the underparts below the breast much more regularly barred, 
 but is chiefly distinguished by its smaller size, the males varying in length 
 of wing from 104 to 1H inches instead of from 12 to 13 inches, and the 
 females from 12i to 13 inches instead of from 13| to 14f inches. There 
 are two Indian forms, which do not differ much in size from the typical 
 bird : they are very nearly allied to each other ; and every intermediate 
 form is foundjaetween them. In North-west India F. atriceps occurs, with 
 the uuderparts below the breast slate-grey and very closely barred ; and 
 in East and South India we find F. periyrinator, with the underparts below 
 the breast very rufous and with only a few spots. In Australia, Sumatra, 
 
30 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and Java F. melanogenys breeds, resembling the South-African and the 
 North-west Indian forms in having the underparts below the breast very 
 closely barred, and the latter in having those parts greyish. The South- 
 American form found in Chili and Patagonia, F. cassini, is scarcely distin- 
 guishable from F. melanogenys and F. atriceps. 
 
 Another allied species, the Barbary Falcon (F. barbarus], of which F. 
 babylonicus is probably the female, inhabiting North Africa, Turkestan, 
 and North India, belongs to the Lanner group of Falcons, differing from 
 the Peregrine group in having more or less chestnut on the nape, and 
 would not require notice here were it not for the fact that it apparently 
 interbreeds with the Peregrine, producing intermediate forms known as 
 F. punicus, which are found on the shores of the Mediterranean. The 
 variations of plumage in this supposed species are, to quote the words of 
 Mr. Gurney ('Ibis/ 1882, p. 316), "riot a little remarkable, some specimens 
 being almost undistinguishable in markings and coloration from F. minor, 
 others approaching exceedingly near in these respects to F. barbarus, whilst 
 the majority exhibit a plumage more or less intermediate between these 
 two extremes/'' When we consider that F. punicus is a slightly larger 
 bird than either F. minor or F. barbarus, and have regard to its geo- 
 graphical distribution, to the pale slate-grey of its upper parts, and its 
 tendency to be suffused with slate-grey on the underparts below the breast, 
 it seems most probable that it is an intermediate form between F. barbarus 
 and F. peregrinus. 
 
 SITE OF PEREGRINE'S NEST ON THE PETCHORA. 
 
HOBBY. 31 
 
 FALCO SUBBUTEO. 
 HOBBY. 
 
 (PLATE 4.) 
 
 Accipiter dendro-falco, Briss. Orn. i. p. 375 (1760). 
 
 Falco subbuteo, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 127 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Xaumann, Gould, Schlegel, (Jerdon), (Hume), Sharpe, &c. 
 Falco barletta, Daiid. Traite, ii. p. 129 (1800). 
 Hypotriorchis subbuteo (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 976. 
 Dendrofalco subbuteo (Linn.), Gray, List Gen. B. p. 3 (1840). 
 
 The Hobby has become a rare and local bird in England. It was 
 formerly a regular summer visitor; but the number of occurrences during 
 winter suggests that some of the Scandinavian birds do not migrate further 
 south. In the northern and western counties it is much rarer; but in 
 Scotland it is a regular though local visitor, and is said occasionally to 
 breed in Orkney and to pass the Shetlands on migration. Only two 
 instances of its occurrence in Ireland are known. 
 
 Its principal breeding-grounds are the forest districts of the north of 
 France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, South Scandinavia, and 
 Russia south of lat. 65. South of the Baltic a few, probably migrants 
 from the north, are seen in winter. In Spain, the south of France, Switzer- 
 land, Italy, Turkey and Greece, Asia Minor and Palestine it is principally 
 known on the spring and autumn migrations ; but in all these countries a 
 few remain to breed and a few stop the winter. It passes through North 
 Africa and the Canaries on migration, and winters in South Africa as far 
 as the Cape ; but Heuglin obtained one example in winter in Egypt. East- 
 wards it breeds in Northern Persia, Turkestan, and the whole of Siberia 
 south of lat. 64. It passes through Cashmere, Mongolia, North China, 
 and Japan on migration, and winters in Northern India and Southern 
 China. There are two tropical forms of the Hobby which appear to have 
 become completely differentiated and to be now good species : F. cuvieri 
 from South Africa, which may always be distinguished by its smaller size 
 and deep-chestnut breast ; and F. severus from India, the Burma penin- 
 sula, and the Malay archipelago, a species very nearly allied to the last, 
 with the same chestnut breast, but unspotted. 
 
 The Hobby is a miniature Peregrine, not only in appearance but also 
 in his character. Swift as the Merlin is, the Hobby is still swifter; and 
 his wonderful power of flight makes him bold and courageous. So eager 
 is he in the pursuit of his game, that in the ardour of the chase he has 
 been known to dart through an open window of a carriage on the road, 
 and to enter a room in the attempt to seize a caged bird. His courage, 
 
32 BRITISH BI11DS. 
 
 however, is tempered with prudence, iiot to say cunning. An instance is 
 recorded (' Naumanuia/ vi. p. 261) of a pair of Hobbies in a forest near 
 Munich who fed their young by dropping food from a considerable height 
 into the nest on a lofty beech, so as to keep out of gunshot of the 
 forester and his overseer, who took it in turns to watch the nest in order 
 to shoot them. At this nest another remarkable fact was observed. 
 Although both parent birds were shot for six or eight successive years, 
 and during that period no young birds were reared from this nest, yet 
 each summer found it tenanted by a new pair. I have observed exactly 
 the same fact with regard to the Merlin, which is all the more extraordinary 
 since the latter bird breeds on the ground. Like the Merlin, and pro- 
 bably many other birds of prey, the Hobby soon finds another mate if one 
 of the pair are shot. An instance is recorded (Stevenson, ' Birds of 
 Norfolk/ i. p. 18) of a female who three times in the same season found 
 herself a fresh mate after the gamekeeper had shot the male. We must 
 not call him a relentless gamekeeper ; for he allowed her to rear a brood 
 with her fourth consort. The Hobby seerns to swim or dive through the 
 air, occasionally hovering for a moment and then renewing his flight. 
 He is essentially a forest bird, but hunts on the plains, devouring his 
 prey on the spot like a Peregrine. The nest is always in a tree, and 
 generally a lofty one, seldom if ever far in the forest, generally in some 
 outlying plantation, but occasionally in an isolated tree by a river-side. 
 The Hobby is very bold in attacking intruders on its breeding-grounds, 
 both parents being generally seen at the nest until the young are old 
 enough to require much food. The vicinity of its treasures is often 
 betrayed to the egg-collector by its persistent endeavours to frighten him 
 away. It seldom builds a nest of its own, usually appropriating the 
 deserted nest of a Crow. It is a late breeder ; and although it arrives at 
 its breeding-grounds in Pomerania, where it is a common bird, in the 
 middle of April, it does not breed until June, when the young Crows have 
 already flown. Four is the usual number of eggs ; but three are not 
 uncommon, and five are occasionally found. 
 
 The Hobby still breeds in some parts of England. My friend Mr. 
 Frank Norgate found it breeding in Foxley Wood near Norwich last year, 
 and saw three nests of this rare Falcon in the same wood one day last 
 spring, each containing three eggs. They were all old Carrion-Crows' 
 nests in oak trees. Mr. Norgate robbed them earlier in the spring on 
 purpose to leave the nests empty for the Hobbies to take possession of. 
 Two of them contained Carrion-Crows' eggs, and the other those of the 
 Kestrel. When he afterwards visited the nests he found them all tenanted 
 by Hobbies. In none of the three cases did they appear to have added 
 any fresh lining to the nests. On approaching each of them he found one 
 of the parent birds, probably the male, perched in an adjoining tree. He 
 
HOBBY. 
 
 33 
 
 flew off before the female left the nest ; and whilst Norgate was climbing 
 the trees both parents flew round in an excited and alarmed manner, 
 sometimes diving amongst the brushwood and occasionally very near him, 
 so that he could see their colours very distinctly. Their cries reminded 
 him very much of those of the Kestrel. In one of the nests and on the 
 ground near another were feathers of the Swallow. 
 
 Mr. John Cordeaux also informs me that the Hobby still nests annually 
 in North and Mid Lincolnshire. 
 
 Its food consists of small birds, especially Larks, which it is said always 
 to catch on the wing. It must, however, occasionally feed on the ground, 
 as Dr. Holland informs me that ants have been found in its crop, and 
 Bogdanow says that it eats lizards and mice. It teaches its young to hunt 
 by dropping food for them to catch, and gives them further lessons by 
 leading them to practise hawking on dragonflies. Dr. Holland informs 
 me that the period of incubation lasts three weeks, and that, although it 
 annexes an empty Magpie's or Crow's nest, it relines it with hair, wool, 
 and feathers. The eggs of the Hobby vary in length from 1'8 to 1'6 inch, 
 and in breadth from 1 '4 to 1 "3 inch. They are scarcely distinguishable 
 from those of the Kestrel, but are generally rougher in texture and not so 
 brilliant a red or so boldly spotted. 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts is greyish or bluish black ; the 
 two middle tail-feathers uniform greyish black, the others barred with a 
 lighter colour, the tips also lighter ; moustachial line broad and black. 
 Underparts white, slightly suffused with rufous, the breast and flanks 
 longitudinally marked with blackish. Thighs, and under tail-coverts deep 
 rusty red. Cere, bare space round the eye, and legs yellow ; claws black ; 
 bill horn-colour, darkest at the tip ; iris dark brown. The female bird is 
 larger than the male ; her colours are duller, and the streaks broader. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
34 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 FALCO ^ESALON. 
 MERLIN. 
 
 (PLATE 4.) 
 
 Accipiter litho-falco, Briss. Orn. i. p. 349 (1760). 
 
 Accipiter sesal on, Briss. Orn. i.p.'382 (1760); et auctorum plurimorum (Gmelin), 
 
 (Temminck), (Naumann), (Gould), (Tan-ell), (Schlegel), (Newton), (Heuylin), 
 
 (Dresser), &c. 
 
 Accipiter merillus, Gerini, Orn. Meth. l)uj. i. p. 51, pis. xviii., xix. (1767). 
 Falco aesalon (Briss.), Tunstall, Orn. Brit. p. 1 (1771). 
 Falco regulus*, Pall. Reis. ii. Auhang, p. 707 (1773). 
 Falco lithofalco (Briss.), Gmel. Si/st. Nat. i. p. 278 (1788). 
 Falco suiirillus, Savign. Ois. de VEyypte, p. 40 (1810). 
 Falco sibiricus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. vii. pt. 1, p. 207 (1809). 
 Falco caesius, Wolf, Taschenb. i. p. 60 (1810). 
 Hypotriorchis fesalon (Briss.), Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 314. 
 ^Esalon sesalon (Briss.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 40 (1829). 
 ^Esalon litliofalco (Bnss.), Bonap. Rev. et May. de Zool. 1854, p. 536. 
 J^salon regains (Pall.), Blytli, Ibis, 1863, p. 9. 
 Lithofalco sesalon (Briss.), Hume, Rouyh Notes, i. p. 89 (1869). 
 
 The Merlin is one of the smallest of our native Falcons, yet possessed of 
 marvellous rapidity of flight and courage. It is a bird, too, of 110 small 
 amount of interest to the ornithologist, partly from the many conflicting 
 statements regarding its habits, and partly owing to the wild grand nature 
 of its haunts. The Merlin breeds throughout the mountainous districts 
 of Great Britain, from the moorlands of Derbyshire northwards to the 
 Outer Hebrides and the Shetlands, partly retiring to the lowlands and 
 southern counties in winter, where a few pairs casually remain to breed. 
 
 The same remarks apply to this species in Ireland. It breeds through- 
 out the island in the mountain districts ; and numbers seek the lowlands 
 in winter. This species is confined to the northerly portions of the Old 
 World. It breeds throughout North Europe, Iceland, and the Faroes ; 
 and a specimen was caught at sea by Mr. E. Whymper, on his voyage to 
 Greenland, in May 1867, in lat. 57 41' N. and long. 53 23' W., the 
 
 * This is another instance of the folly of still adhering to the law of priority, which has 
 done so much mischief to the study of birds. Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the 
 British Museum,' adopts the name of F. regulus for the Merlin. Dresser was fortunately 
 able to reinstate the name in all but universal use by discovering that Tunstall, in a mere 
 catalogue of British birds (which had the good fortune to be published two years before 
 Pallas wrote), had used Brisson's name. The next ornithological revolutionist will 
 undoubtedly reject both these names in favour of that of Gerini (which is unquestionably 
 the earliest clearly denned name known at present), if in the meantime the law of priority 
 does not meet with the fate it deserves. 
 
MERLIN. 35 
 
 most westerly recorded limit of this species. It winters in South Europe 
 and Xorth Africa, where, according to Loche, a few remain through the 
 summer, retiring to the highest districts to breed. Eastward it breeds 
 throughout Northern Siberia, passing through Mongolia and Turkestan 
 on migration, and wintering in South China, North-west India, and Scinde. 
 Doubt encircles the movements of this, the prettiest of our British 
 Falcons. It was formerly considered to be only a winter visitant to this 
 country, which, so far as the southern portions are concerned, is no doubt 
 correct. It has also been said to be only a summer visitant, and, like the 
 Swallow, to take its departure southwards at the advent of winter. These 
 several statements have undoubtedly been made by persons whose expe- 
 rience of the bird has either been exclusively confined to its summer or 
 its winter quarters, and, although to a certain degree correct, they are 
 misleading. The Merlin, in those districts frequented by it, from 
 Xorth Derbyshire to the Shetlands, is a resident species, living on 
 the moorlands and the mountains in summer, and retiring to more 
 cultivated districts for the winter, in a similar manner to the Meadow- 
 Pipit. Even in the wild country of the Shetlands, the Western Isles, and 
 the Highlands the Merlin is found throughout the year in summer on 
 the mountains, in winter lower down, in more sheltered districts and on 
 the sea-shore. The fact that the birds are almost always shot off most of 
 their breeding -places has doubtless given rise to the opinion that they 
 were migratory, these breeding-places being tenanted the following 
 season most probably by young birds or birds passing over Great Britain 
 on migration to more northern haunts, or the birds that have spent 
 the winter in the southern counties. The birds found wintering in the 
 south of England are, probably, migrants from Xorth Europe, and not 
 bred in Britain at all. It is quite possible that all the young birds bred 
 with us migrate southwards, even though the old birds do not a fact 
 which is common to all, or nearly all, raptorial birds. Hence, if the old 
 birch be shot, the breeding-places are not occupied until the return of the 
 young birds, who seize upon any locality where the former occupants have 
 been destroyed. The latter would, if left unmolested, have remained for 
 the winter, or wandered to the lowlands, to return in spring, leaving their 
 young only to seek winter- quarters in the south. 
 
 In summer the Merlin's haunt is the wild moors and mountain wastes, 
 the home of the Red Grouse the brown breezy hills and valleys where 
 grey rocks overgrown with heather and bilberry abound and steep moun- 
 tain rifts and gorges occur. In winter it quits the moors, and descends 
 to the cultivated districts, even to the sea-coasts. At this season it will also, 
 like the Kestrel, frequent towns, and take up its quarters in church-towers, 
 cathedrals, and large public buildings, preying upon the Pigeons or the 
 Sparrows frequenting those places, or sallying out at intervals to the sur- 
 
 D2 
 
36 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 rounding country in search of more varied fare. The reasons for this 
 change of haunt are obvious. In the spring and summer the moorlands 
 and mountain-sides are replete with the food of its choice the Moor-Pipits, 
 Twites, and young Grouse; but in winter these Twites and Pipits are 
 compelled to seek fresh quarters. The Grouse are strong on the wing ; and 
 the Merlin must follow his quarry to the lowlands, or prey upon the shore- 
 birds, or seek the cover of our cities to feed upon the Sparrows and the 
 Pigeons. 
 
 When the first signs of spring are seen on the moorlands, and the Snipes, 
 the Titlarks, and the Peewits have retired to them to breed, you may often 
 get a sight of this little warrior bird. He preys upon these birds of the 
 moor, which his rapid powers of flight enable him easily to fly down with- 
 out resorting to the manoeuvres which the clumsier Sparrow-Hawk is 
 compelled to take advantage of. These moors are the constant breeding- 
 place of three species of Hawk the Kestrel, the Sparrow-Hawk, and the 
 Merlin. The Kestrel hovers over the ground at a considerable height, and 
 pounces down on a mouse and occasionally a lizard or a young Grouse, as 
 the pellets it casts up abundantly testify. The Sparrow-Hawk skims over 
 hill-tops or hedges, beats the bushes and the shrubberies, or comes round 
 rocks on its prey unawares. The Merlin, on the contrary, fairly flies it 
 down. A true Falcon, it descends to none of these artifices, but takes its 
 prey by the aid of its superior power of wing alone. Nothing seems to 
 stop it ; and once the pursuit is commenced, rarely indeed does the quarry 
 escape. Dixon once saw this little Falcon " in chase of a common Sandpiper, 
 which it had started from a heath-grown bank. Pursuer and pursued 
 strove their utmost, the poor Sandpiper doubling, rising, and turning from 
 side to side alternately, and its relentless pursuer following closely every 
 movement as though guided by a common impulse. Over a mountain- 
 lake the chase was given, offering a fine uninterrupted view of each bird's 
 great power of wing, the Sandpiper gaining a brief respite by hiding 
 amongst a tuft of herbage on the shore. But the Merlin, nothing daunted, 
 waited the rising of its victim, and the pursuit was renewed. The poor bird 
 wheeled rapidly round, then darted forward, but all in vain ; the Merlin's 
 superior power of flight and endurance prevailed, and the poor Sandpiper, 
 wearied and exhausted, with a cry of terror, was struck down. No bird 
 of prey pursues its quarry with more vigour ; and a chase of this descrip- 
 tion once seen can never be forgotten." The " Summer Snipe," however, 
 is not the Merlin's only prey. The Lapwings and Golden Plovers, although 
 almost twice its size and weight, are easily taken ; so are the young Grouse, 
 Snipes, and the various smaller birds of the wilds : none can escape him, 
 not even the swift-flying Swallow; and he is justly feared as the terror of 
 the moors. No wonder the gamekeepers are up in arms against him. Yet 
 when we bear in mind the protective tints and the cunning wiles of those 
 
MERLIN. 37 
 
 creatures that form his sustenance, we know full well that his ravages are 
 kept within reasonable limits. In addition to birds of various kinds, from 
 a AVren to a Partridge, the Merlin also feeds on the larger insects and 
 beetles, like all our small Falcons ; in proof of which witness the remains 
 of wing-cases &c. seen in the castings of this species; but it is not known 
 that mammals of any description whatever are included in his fare. 
 
 Like most birds of prey, the Merlin has certain favourite places whither 
 it conveys its captures to devour them at leisure. A large boulder of 
 rock or heath-grown mound often forms the Merlin's dining-table, to 
 which it regularly resorts; and the heaps of feathers, bones, and occasion- 
 ally the entrails which strew the place inform the observant naturalist of 
 his presence. Merlins are eminently fond of sitting amongst the stones 
 and rocks which are so plentifully strewed in their favourite haunts, from 
 which peculiarity the bird has gained the provincial name of " Stone- 
 Falcon." Rarely indeed does it perch on trees, the ground or rocks being 
 almost invariably its resting-place. The Merlin's power of flight and 
 courageous spirit have very naturally caused it to rank as one of the 
 falconer's special favourites. Of all the smaller Hawks he is classed as the 
 best ; and even in our own days, when falconry exists almost as a tradi- 
 tion alone, the Merlin is trained to take small birds, such as Larks and 
 Snipes, the female bird, from her superior size and power, being success- 
 fully flown at much larger game, such as Plovers and Partridges. 
 
 The Merlin's haunt in the breeding-season is indeed a wild and lonely 
 one, amongst the remotest parts of the moors, where the silence is rarely 
 broken, save by the notes of those few birds who share its favourite soli- 
 tudes the Red Grouse, the Moor-Pipit, the Curlew, and the Snipe. A 
 true bird of the mountain indeed it is ; and the observer must therefore 
 be prepared for a long tramp over the heather, and doubtless a wetting 
 from the mists which so frequently enwrap its breeding-grounds, if he 
 wishes for a sight of its beautiful eggs and scanty nest. Like most birds 
 of prey, the Merlin is a life-paired bird, and shows a strange affection for 
 certain haunts, and breeds regularly in one situation for years. Certain 
 localities are favoured as Merlins' breeding-places ; and although the birds 
 are repeatedly disturbed aud shot, still the same grounds are tenanted. I 
 have known a patch of heather, some couple of hundred yards square, 
 containing a Merlin's nest for many years, whilst no other breeding- 
 place could be found nearer than eight or ten miles. There would be 
 nothing extraordinary in this if it could be proved that the same pair, or 
 their descendants, annually visited and occupied the same breeding-stations ; 
 they might easily be supposed to have obtained a vested right in the 
 estate, and to Tiave defended it successfully against all comers, which is 
 undoubtedly the case when the birds are not molested. But on one of the 
 moors near Sheffield the gamekeepers used to shoot or trap one or both of 
 
38 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the parent birds (generally both), and in no case for more than ten 
 years did they ever allow the young birds to get away. They found out 
 by experience that it was of no use to shoot one of the birds before they 
 had begun to breed, because in such cases the survivor found another 
 mate in a few days. They shot or snared the cock bird as soon as they 
 could after the hen had begun to sit. In the neighbourhood of the nest were 
 little rocky elevations on the ground, which the cock bird used as feeding- 
 places, and which were easily found by the feathers of young Grouse and 
 other small birds scattered round them. Upon these knolls traps were set ; 
 and as soon as the cock bird was caught the hen was easily shot off the 
 nest. For several successive years this was done ; but, curiously enough, in 
 the summer of 1872 no Merlins appeared in the locality. The only way 
 in which to account for the selection every year of the same locality by a 
 fresh pair of birds seems to be to suppose that the Merlins migrate en 
 masse, and that as they pass each recognized breeding-place, if the former 
 occupants are not there to take possession, another pair immediately 
 occupy it. The facts of the case seem to warrant the conclusion that the 
 selected sites for breeding are well known to a large circle of Merlins ; 
 otherwise it is difficult to account for the choice always falling upon the 
 same site, out of an indefinite number of others apparently equally 
 eligible. 
 
 The following is a history of the fate of each pair of birds for five 
 successive seasons in two localities : 
 
 1869. Nest near Strines. Hen shot as she was bringing food to the 
 
 young. Cock shot with food in his mouth a quarter of an 
 hour afterwards. Young all destroyed. 
 
 1870. Nest on the same bank. Cock trapped and killed in the morning. 
 
 Hen trapped in the afternoon. Eggs all taken. 
 
 1871. Nest on the same bank. Two eggs taken. Nest afterwards 
 
 forsaken. Birds very wild and neither shot this season. 
 
 1872. No Merlins appeared this year. 
 
 1873. Nest on the same bank. Eggs taken and both birds destroyed. 
 
 1869. Nest near Ashopton. Both parents and all the young were 
 
 destroyed by a party of gamekeepers after the young had left 
 the nest. 
 
 1870. Hen shot soon after arrival. The cock found another mate, 
 
 which was soon afterwards also shot and again replaced. Both 
 these were shot before the nest was discovered. 
 
 1871. Nest on the old bank. Both old birds and the young were 
 
 destroyed. 
 
 1872. No Merlins appeared this year. 
 
 1873. Nest on the old bank ; fate of birds unknown. 
 
MERLIN. 39 
 
 Although the [Merlin arrives on the moorlands from its winter haunts 
 late in March or early in April, it is a somewhat late breeder. The 
 date of nidification is evidently chosen with relation to an abundant 
 supply of food for the young. As in the Cyclades Eleonora's Falcon 
 (Falco eleonorae) postpones its operations until August, so that the young 
 may be fed upon the flocks of Quails returning southwards on their 
 autumn migrations, the Merlin lays its eggs about the middle of May, so 
 that the voracious young may be fed upon young Grouse. The site 
 selected for the nest varies in different localities; for in Lapland both 
 Wolley and Wheelwright mention instances of nests being found in trees, 
 and Collett says that in South Norway it frequently takes possession of an old 
 nest in a tree, like the Kestrel. On the Faroes it is said to breed on the 
 cliffs. On our own moorlands a site is chosen on the ground in the tall 
 heather, or in some flat spot amongst the rocks on the steep slopes at the foot 
 of the precipitous ridges so often met with in these localities. The site 
 usually slopes down to a stream and is one that commands a good view of 
 the surrounding country. In most cases a small hole is made ; whatever 
 roots and dry grass may chance to be upon the spot are scratched into the 
 rudiments of a nest ; and the only materials actually selected by the bird 
 appear to be a few slender twigs of " ling " to form the outside of the 
 structure, and which are generally broken from the heather overhanging 
 the nest. When on the rocky slopes, it is usually made under a heather 
 tuft, or beneath a mass of coarse herbage, and is then but a mere hollow 
 in the scanty soil, as often without a few ling-twigs as with them. The 
 eggs of the Merlin are usually five in number, sometimes only four, and 
 somewhat rounded in form. In colour they closely resemble those of the 
 Kestrel and the Hobby ; but the colour is a more decided brown, 
 without the brick- red tints so commonly seen on newly laid eggs of those 
 birds. Like all Falcons' eggs, they differ considerably in size and intensity 
 of colour, varying through all the types of Falcons' eggs figured on 
 Plate 4, with the exception of the Sparrow- Hawk's. Some specimens are 
 deep reddish brown, so richly coloured as to hide all trace of the ground- 
 colour ; others are pale red, with most of the deep brown confined sometimes 
 to the large end and sometimes to the small end. Some specimens are pale 
 cream in ground-colour, evenly and beautifully marbled with deep purplish 
 red, or finely dusted over the entire surface with minute specks of blackish 
 brown. The eggs of the Merlin vary from T65 to 1*5 inch in length, and 
 from 1*2 to 1'15 inch in breadth. Like most birds of prey, the Merlin 
 exhibits very little outward anxiety when its nest is approached; but 
 sometimes, especially if there be young birds in the nest, it will fly 
 round in circles, occasionally uttering a low tremulous scream, a note 
 resembling the call of the Kestrel. 
 
 When the young are strong upon the wing and well able to shift for 
 
40 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 themselves, they undoubtedly migrate southwards, following in the wake 
 of the armies of migratory birds seeking their winter-quarters, and 
 which furnish them abundant food. But the old birds merely shift their 
 quarters from the moorlands at the approach of winter, and seek the lower 
 and more cultivated lands or the seashore, places where the smaller birds 
 abound, or where the various wading-birds spend the winter months. 
 Sometimes a pair of Merlins will take up their station for the winter in a 
 range of sea-cliffs, where they may from time to time be seen sitting 
 patiently on the rocks or amongst the stones of the beach, ready to dash 
 out and give chase to the first flock of " Stints " that may skim past. In 
 the autumn months the Merlin is one of the worst enemies of the 
 myriads of Thrushes and other small birds on their way southwards, taking 
 up his abode in the neighbourhood of their line of flight, and committing 
 sad havoc in the ranks of the terrified songsters. In fine, the Merlin's 
 habits are much those of the Peregrine over again. The same feats of 
 daring recorded of the larger Falcon may equally be related of the 
 "Falconet." He is indeed a bold .little fellow, seems afraid of nothing, 
 and wins the admiration of all who make his acquaintance in the field. 
 It is to be feared, however, that the incessant warfare carried on against 
 him by the game-preserver will eventually exterminate him from those 
 haunts to which he is so fondly attached, and of which he is one of the 
 finest ornaments. 
 
 The general colour of the Merlin's upper plumage is slaty blue, rufous 
 on the nape, and with a dark shaft to every feather ; the lower plumage is 
 rufous, striped longitudinally with blackish brown; tail with a broad, 
 black, subterminal band, and traces of other bars on the inner webs ; beak 
 bluish, darker at the tip ; cere and legs yellow ; claws black ; irides dark 
 brown. There is much difference of opinion as to the colour of the 
 female's plumage. Such high authorities as Macgillivray, Naumann, and 
 Nilsson all agree in stating that the female bird is very differently 
 coloured from the male. On the other hand, Sharpe, in his first volume 
 of the ( Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum/ maintains that the 
 female is similar to the male, but a little larger. There can be no doubt 
 that females, probably very old birds, do sometimes assume the male 
 plumage ; for an example was obtained by Dr. Scully at Gilgit, in North- 
 west India. It was shot in December, carefully sexed by Dr. Scully 
 himself, and in colour resembles most closely the male bird. It is the 
 opinion of Mr. Gurney, than whom we have no better authority on raptorial 
 birds, and who has examined this interesting specimen, that the reason 
 why this advanced stage of plumage is not better known in Europe is 
 probably due to the fact that the Falcon is so rarely allowed to attain 
 the fully adult dress. Young birds are first covered with greyish-white 
 down. In first plumage they have the upper parts rufous-brown, spotted 
 
MERLIN. 
 
 41 
 
 with darker brown; tail-feathers brown, barred with rufous-brown and 
 tipped with creamy white ; the underparts whitish, broadly striped with 
 dark brown, becoming almost pure white on the throat. 
 
 The Merlin has several near allies. On the American continent it is 
 represented by a species divisible into three races, which Mr. Ridgeway 
 treats as only varieties of the European species F. columbarius , F. richard- 
 soni, and F. suckleyi. These races breed in the northern portion of the 
 American continent, in the Atlantic region, the region of the plains, and 
 the region of the north-west coast respectively. They are all browner and 
 darker than our bird, and have the black spots on the tail developed into 
 transverse bars, which in F. suckleyi are almost confluent. In the Old 
 World there are two tropical forms of the Merlin, which, however, appear 
 to have become well-defined species, F. chicquera inhabiting India, and 
 F. ruJicoUis Africa. They may at once be distinguished from the Merlin 
 by having the entire head and neck chestnut. They are, however, so nearly 
 allied to each other that by some ornithologists they are considered one 
 species ; the African race is said to be paler, and to have the bars on the 
 breast closer together. 
 
42 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 FALCO VESPERTINUS. 
 RED-FOOTED FALCON. 
 
 (PLATE 4.) 
 
 Falco vespertinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimomm 
 
 Macgillivray, Strickland, Sclilegel, Blasius, Newton, (Sharpe), (Gould), &c. 
 Falco rufus, Scop. Del. Faun, et Flor. Insubr. ii. p. 36, pi. xix. (1786). 
 Falco rufipes, BeseJte, Vog. Kurl. p. 20, t. 3, 4 (1792). 
 Falco erythrourus, Rajin. Carratt. Nuovi Gen. Ac. p. 5 (1810). 
 Cerchneis vespertinus (Linn.}, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 314. 
 Pannychistes rufipes (Beseke), Kaup, NaiiirL Si/st. p. 87 (1829). 
 Erythropus vespertinus (Linn.}, Brchm, Isis, 1.^30, p. 796. 
 Falco rubripes, Less. Traite, p. 93 (1831). 
 
 Tinnunculus rufipes (Beseke), Kaup, Classif. Siiuy. u. Vog. p. 108 (1844). 
 Tinnunculus vespertinus (Linn.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 21 (1844). 
 
 The Red-footed Falcon is an accidental visitor to the British Islands, 
 from twenty to thirty specimens having been recorded at various times, 
 one or more in Scotland, and one in Ireland. On the continent of Europe 
 it is also an accidental visitor to Spain, France, and Scandinavia. Its 
 breeding-quarters are Hungary, the whole of Russia south of lat. 65, and 
 South-western Siberia as far east as Krasnoyarsk. Lindermeyer's state- 
 ment that it breeds in Greece, and Loche's assertion that it breeds in 
 Algeria, are neither of them verified by subsequent travellers in those 
 countries, and are probably erroneous. It passes through Germany, Italy, 
 Turkey and Greece, Asia Minor, Persia and Turkestan on migration, and 
 winters in Damara Land, and occasionally in North-east Africa. In 
 Siberia from Lake Baikal eastwards this species is represented by F. 
 amurensis, the males of which have the under wing-coverts and axillaries 
 white instead of slate-grey. This species breeds as far south as Eastern 
 Mongolia and North China, and winters in India and South-east Africa. 
 This is one of the most curious cases of migration and geographical 
 distribution known. That the Red-footed Falcon, ranging during the 
 breeding-season from the valley of the Dvina to the valley of the Yenesay, 
 should winter in Africa is not an unprecedented fact. The Willow- Warblers 
 and Sedge- Warblers, which breed in the last-mentioned valley east of Cal- 
 cutta, apparently do the same. One can easily imagine that two such 
 very common birds have been obliged to widen their breeding-range, and 
 to extend it eastwards by degrees as they increased in numbers; and one 
 can also understand that they would naturally retain their old winter- 
 quarters until a " Zugstrasse " or route of migration would gradually be 
 formed from Central Siberia to Africa. This line of migration probably 
 
RED-FOOTED FALCON. 43 
 
 runs from east to west in Siberia, as the birds would not be likely to 
 deviate east of their usual route until they had arrived at their breeding- 
 grounds and found them too crowded. The fact that the winter-quarters 
 of the eastern representative of the Red-footed Falcon are partly in India 
 and partly in the Transvaal is much more difficult to understand ; and I 
 am unable to suggest any explanation of the anomaly. 
 
 The Red- footed Falcon is a bird of easy though not very rapid flight. 
 It sails and hovers for a moment like a Hobby, but lacks the dash 
 necessary to catch birds on the wing. Its food is chiefly insects. Some 
 of these, such as beetles and ants, it obtains on the ground ; but most of 
 its food is captured in the air. It is a very gregarious bird ; and flocks may 
 be seen hawking backwards and forwards with great regularity, turning 
 sharp round at the end of their beat. This is principally observed towards 
 evening, when night-flying moths are on the wing. In the daytime they 
 catch grasshoppers and dragonflies. They are rarely if ever found in the 
 forest, but are very partial to SAvampy ground thinly scattered over with 
 trees, which afford them convenient perching-places in the midst of their 
 insect prey. Xordmann mentions their great abundance in the botanical 
 gardens at Odessa ; and they are equally common in the gardens of the 
 club at Krasnoyarsk, the limit, so far as is known, of their eastern range. 
 At night they roost as close together as they can, choosing, if possible, the 
 bare branches of a pine. They also breed in colonies, occasionally five or 
 six nests being in one tree. It is said that they rarely if ever build a nest, 
 but appropriate old nests of Crows or Magpies, or especially of Rooks. 
 Cochrane says that in Hungary they arrive in the middle of April and 
 breed early in May. Goebel says that in South Russia their usual breed- 
 ing-time is early in June, and that they take possession of the nests of the 
 Rooks after they have done with them, but that they frequently breed in 
 solitary pairs, especially in gardens, in old Magpies' and Crows' nests. He 
 adds that sometimes they breed earlier, for he once took a nest on the 
 13th of June with six young, which had been amply provided by their 
 parents with field-mice, stagbeetles, and a green lizard. The number of 
 eggs varies from four to six. In shape, size, and colour the eggs of the 
 Red-footed Falcon approach very near to those of the Kestrel. As the 
 result of a careful comparison of 147 eggs of the former with 289 of the 
 latter, Goebel arrives at the following conclusions : The eggs of the Kestrel 
 are coarser-grained, have much more lustre, and are, on an average, larger, 
 and not only absolutely but proportionally heavier. The colour of the 
 Kestrel's eggs is a darker, browner red compared with the yellower red 
 of the eggs of: the Red-footed Falcon. The eggs of the latter vary in 
 length from 1*6 to T25 inch, and in breadth from 1'2 to 1 inch. 
 
 The adult male Red-footed Falcon has the whole plumage dark slate- 
 grey, shading into silvery grey on the wings, and into black on the tail, 
 
44 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 except the thighs, vent, and under tail-coverts, which are chestnut ; cere 
 and bare space round the eyes orange-red; irides hazel; bill orange at 
 base, dark horn-colour at tip ; legs and toes brownish red ; claws yellow, 
 darkest at tips. The adult female has the general colour of the upper 
 parts below the nape, including the tail, slate-grey, not so dark as in the 
 male, each feather broadly barred with darker grey. The wings are not 
 so silvery a grey as in the male ; their under coverts are chestnut, and the 
 quills are broadly barred with white on the inner web. The head, nape, 
 and the whole of the underparts are dull chestnut, paler on the throat ; the 
 feathers round the eye dark brown. Soft parts as in the adult male, but 
 paler ; bill more uniform horn-colour. 
 
 The young male has the general colour of the upper parts except the nape 
 slaty brown, each feather broadly margined with pale rufous. The quills 
 are dark brown, almost black, narrowly tipped and margined with huffish 
 white, and ovally barred with white on the inner webs. The tail is evenly 
 barred with rufous, less distinctly so on the two centre feathers. The 
 nape and entire underparts are pale buff, the former obscurely and the 
 latter broadly streaked with brown, except on the vent, under tail-coverts, 
 and thighs, which are uniform buff; the feathers round the eye brownish 
 black. Bill and cere horn-colour, paler on the lower mandible. Legs and 
 toes paler than in adult birds. Lastly, the young female resembles the 
 young male ; but the stripes on the underparts are broader. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the adult male bird may always be recognized by 
 its uniform slate-grey plumage, unbarred and unstreaked ; the young of 
 both sexes by the pale margins to the feathers of the upper parts, the barred 
 tail and broadly streaked pale underparts ; the fully adult female by her 
 uniform unspotted chestnut underparts. The young birds in first plumage 
 very closely indeed resemble young Hobbies ; but may always be distin- 
 guished by the row r of conspicuous oblong white spots on the primaries, 
 and have the outside web of the outside tail-feather barred as well as the 
 inside web. The so-called young male figured in Dresser's ' Birds of 
 Europe ' is the not quite adult plumage of the female of the second year, 
 which still shows a few streaks on the underparts. Young Red-footed 
 Falcons may be distinguished from young Merlins by their thighs, w r hich 
 in the latter species are streaked, and by the oblong spots on the pri- 
 maries of the former species, which in the latter are represented by pale 
 dull chestnut bars. 
 
KESTREL. 45 
 
 FALCO TINNUNCULUS. 
 KESTREL. 
 
 (PLATE 4.) 
 
 Accipiter alaudarius, Briss. Orn. i. p. 379 (1760). 
 
 Accipiter tinnunculus, Bn'ss. Orn. i. p. 393 (1760) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 (Linnaus), (TemmmeK), (Nmtauam), (Gould), (Sharpe), (Newton), (Dresser), &c. 
 Falco tinnunculus, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 127 (1766). 
 Falco fasciatus, Retz. Faun. Suec. p. 70 (1800). 
 Falco brunneus, BecM. Orn. Ta^-henb. p. 38 (1802). 
 Cercbneis tinnuncula (Linn.), Boie, Ist's, 1828, p. 314. 
 JEgypius tinnunculus (Linn.), Eaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 29 (1829). 
 Tinnunculus alaudarius (Briss.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 21 (1844). 
 Tiununculus tinnunculus (Linn.), Heugl. Peterm. Mitlh. 1861, p. 20. 
 
 The Kestrel is the commonest bird of prey in the British Islands, and 
 breeds almost everywhere, and is equally abundant in well-wooded districts 
 and rocky moors. Amongst the grand scenery of the Highlands it is one 
 of the most characteristic birds. It is common in the Hebrides, and 
 breeds on most of the rocky islets, even on isolated St. Kilda and the 
 Orkneys ; in these northern haunts, however, the bird is merely a summer 
 visitor, and retires southwards at the approach of winter. In Ireland the 
 Kestrel is also widely distributed in all suitable localities, but does not 
 appear to be so common as it is in Scotland and England. 
 
 The Kestrel breeds in almost every part of the Palaearctic Region, and 
 is common up to lat. 60. Further north it rapidly becomes rarer; and 
 north of the arctic circle its appearance is only accidental, though there 
 seems to be good reason to believe that "Wolley once obtained a nest in 
 Lapland as far north as 68. North of the Alps it is principally a summer 
 migrant ; but in the countries south of the Baltic a few remain during the 
 winter. South of the Alps it appears to be a resident. The Kestrels 
 breeding in North Africa receive large accessions to their numbers by 
 migrants from Europe during winter ; and at that season of the year it 
 almost reaches the equator on the west of Africa, and goes slightly beyond 
 it on the east of that continent. In Asia the Kestrel is equally abundant. 
 In the valley of the Yenesay I found it very common in lat. 58; and Mid- 
 dendorff obtained five examples from a flock which appear to have wan- 
 dered out of their way (they were all five young females) on migration in 
 lat. 71. In Persia it is very common in summer; but the greater number 
 winter in Baluchistan and Arabia. In Turkestan the Kestrel is principally 
 known as a spring and autumn migrant, but a few remain both winter and 
 summer. It breeds in the Himalayas, but in India is principally known 
 as a winter visitor, though there are resident Kestrels on the mountains of 
 
46 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 South India. It breeds in Mongolia, Japan, and China, and probably in 
 Formosa and Hainan. It winters in Burma. 
 
 A species having such a wide range as the Kestrel, breeding in such 
 various climates, and consequently subject to the influence of different 
 kinds of food and variations in the difficulty of procuring it, in addition 
 to the direct influence of variations in the amount of sunshine, in the 
 degree of heat and cold, and in the amount of moisture, must of necessity 
 develop subspecific forms or climatic races. In the islands off the coast 
 of West Africa (Cape Verd, Canary, and Madeira) the humidity of the 
 climate has produced a dark race, which, as is so often the case with insular 
 forms, is also a small race. This subspecies has been called F. neglectus, 
 and varies in length of wing from 8'4 to 9'4 inch, and has the dark spots on 
 the upper parts larger than usual. On the continent size will not help us 
 much in distinguishing the different forms, as they all vary in length of 
 wing from 9'3 to 10*4 inch. In birds breeding in Spain, Tangiers, Abyssinia, 
 the Himalayas, Mongolia, and China, the slate-grey of the head and tail 
 and the chestnut of the back are also dark ; and these differences have been 
 considered by some writers to be of sufficient importance to constitute a 
 subspecies, to which the name of jP. inter stmctus has been given. British 
 birds, however, are somewhat intermediate, and are decidedly darker than 
 examples from Siberia, which are the palest of all. In Japan the dark 
 richly spotted form of the West-African islands reappears ; but as it retains 
 the dimensions of its Chinese neighbour, whom it often visits in winter, it 
 also has been dignified with a name, that of F.japonicus. In the moun- 
 tains of South India, however, a resident Kestrel occurs, which is scarcely 
 distinguishable either in size or colour from the West- African island form, 
 and, if it be distinguished from F. tinnunculus, must also bear the name of 
 F. neglectus. It seems probable that the Hainan birds must also be 
 referred to this subspecies. There is nothing extraordinary in the fact of 
 the extreme western form reappearing in the extreme east. It is the 
 normal state of things with the more northern Palsearctic birds. The 
 range of the Kestrel scarcely reaches a latitude high enough for an ex- 
 treme arctic form to be produced ; but its range in both the east and west 
 is sufficiently south for a tropical form to be developed. 
 
 In newly moulted birds the differences of colour of these local races are 
 clearly perceptible in both sexes ; but in abraded plumage they are not 
 always easy to determine. Ornithologists are not agreed on the best way 
 of cataloguing these climatic races; but no true naturalist can ignore 
 them. To give them each a separate binomial name is liable to lead to an 
 exaggerated idea of their specific value ; and the American ornithologists 
 appear to have acted wisely in following the plan adopted by Linnaeus, of 
 calling the local races varieties. The result, if it be scientifically accurate, 
 is at the same time somewhat complicated. The British Kestrel being an 
 
KESTREL. 4? 
 
 intermediate form between the central-southern race and the semiarctic 
 one, would have to bear the name of Falco iinnunculus var. tinnunculus- 
 interstinctus, always supposing that the type of Linnaeus was a semiarctic 
 form. If the facts of nature are complicated, it is perhaps unreasonable 
 to expect that their scientific nomenclature should be otherwise. 
 
 From its habit of hovering in the air, the Kestrel is probably the best- 
 known and most easily recognized of all British raptorial birds. This 
 peculiarity has gained for it the colloquial name of Windhover. It hangs 
 in the air, poised over one spot, with outspread wings and tail, as if sus- 
 pended by a thread. Seldom, indeed, can one take a walk in the country 
 without making a passing acquaintance with this graceful little Falcon. 
 A favourite locality for the Windhover is in rocky valleys : the dales of the 
 Peak of Derbyshire are one of its favourite haunts, where it nestles in the 
 lofty limestone cliffs. Amongst all the dales and moors and rocks of 
 Yorkshire its pretty gambols in the air, its wonderful evolutions and 
 graceful movements, form one of the most charming accessories of the 
 wild impressive scenery of many parts of this county. 
 
 Easily distinguished, indeed, it is from all others of its order ; and its 
 presence is readily detected as it hovers in the air 
 
 A- if let down from the heaven there 
 By a viewless silken thread," 
 
 now advancing towards you, flying up wind, some thirty feet above the 
 earth, its wings flapping hurriedly or held perfectly motionless. Now it 
 is directly above you ; you see its broad head turning restlessly from side 
 to side ; the wings seem in a perpetual quiver, and the broad tail is ex- 
 panded to its fullest extent. Now it glides slowly forward for a few yards, 
 pauses for a moment intently surveying the ground beneath, then once 
 more, with a few vigorous flaps of its wings, daits off in a sidelong direc- 
 tion, and poises itself in the air as before. Again it proceeds a little dis- 
 tance, hovers, and bounds forward. Then, by describing a broad circle, 
 it turns completely round, and flies rapidly down wind, but soon suddenly 
 stops and hovers again. Something has arrested its attention; a 
 mouse is below it in the meadow-grass ; and, closing its wings, it drops 
 like a stone, throwing out its wings again just before it reaches the 
 earth, hovers a moment, clutches its prey, and as rapidly mounts the air, 
 and bears off in direct and rapid flight to some quiet haunt, where it can 
 devour its prey in peace. Sometimes you may see it at a stupendous 
 height, wheeling round and round in circles ; and when passing from one 
 place to another it usually does so at a considerable height. 
 
 Although 4h most parts of Great Britain the Kestrel may be observed 
 from time to time during the winter months, still it is a regular migratory 
 species, and most of our British Kestrels leave us at the approach of 
 
48 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 winter to swell the large flocks of Hawks that annually cross the Mediter- 
 ranean on passage. The reason for this migration has not far to be 
 sought. Certainly in England the KestreFs food is composed almost 
 exclusively of mice and moles and beetles, creatures that are rarely found 
 abroad in the depth of winter. The absence of this food renders migra- 
 tion imperative, and sends the Kestrel to a southern clime, where its 
 winter fare is largely composed of locusts. Birds do not constitute the 
 Kestrel's regular food. A walk through its haunts will convince the 
 observer of this beyond all doubt. You never see the smaller birds in 
 terror at his approach; he is no enemy of theirs, and mingles freely 
 with them, almost unheeded. Observe what consternation the Sparrow- 
 Hawk brings to these little choristers when he is abroad ; but how dif- 
 ferent when the Kestrel passes overhead ! The Chaffinch, instead of utter- 
 ing cries of alarm, still continues his merry notes ; and the Larks and 
 Pipits stay not in their song. See how differently the KestreFs presence 
 in the farmyard is regarded. No anxious brooding hen utters her cluck of 
 alarm to her scattered family ; and the Sparrows continue their meal on 
 the ricks, while in the air the graceful Swallow vies with him in airy flight, 
 unconcerned and trustful, for experience tells him there is no danger. 
 
 Mice form the chief part of the Kestrel's food ; but occasionally small 
 birds are taken, although, as before stated, only very rarely and when 
 its usual fare is wanting. Frogs, moles, caterpillars, lizards, and earth- 
 worms, too, are eaten ; but the latter seem rather exceptional food ; for 
 the Kestrel is rarely seen on the ground, and there more rarely still in 
 motion ; for its sharp claws would inevitably be broken or blunted, and 
 thus prevent it from firmly clutching its usual . prey. All Falcons walk 
 but little on the ground, as an examination of their beautifully sharpened 
 claws proves beyond all doubt. A favourite prey of the Kestrel is 
 cockchafers ; and it may ofttimes in the evening's dusk be seen hawking 
 for them, taking them in its claws just as it would take a mouse or frog. 
 Various other insects are taken, such as grasshoppers and locusts. It 
 usually eats its insect captures whilst flying through the air. From its 
 extreme partiality for mice the Kestrel is one of the best friends of the 
 farmer ; and the great value of its services in destroying these pests ought 
 to place it in far greater favour than it now enjoys. 
 
 It is not before the early spring (March) that the Kestrel is seen in any 
 numbers in this country, when it returns northwards to rear its young. 
 Even then, if the weather be at all severe, especially if the ground be 
 covered with snow, they retire southwards again, to return as soon as the 
 frost disappears. The Kestrel's pairing-season is in April, although the 
 eggs are seldom laid before early May. Few things are more interesting 
 than to wander through the Kestrel's haunt at this season and observe its 
 graceful motions high in air. Around you in the underwood birds are 
 
KESTREL. 49 
 
 singing on all sides ; the air, Avith the balmy freshness only kno\vn in the 
 vernal season, is resonant with melody ; but high up in the air above you 
 the Kestrels are sailing and chasing each other. Several are in the air 
 together ; and their flight is now graceful in the extreme darting down- 
 wards, soaring aloft, and making the woods and rocks resound with their 
 peculiar notes. It is their love-season, too ; and at this period the Kestrel 
 is more noisy than at any other time of the year. Their chorus of cries, 
 high up in the blue sky, rendered musical by the distance keelie, keelie, 
 kee-kee-kee is varied by a harsh chattering cry. 
 
 The Kestrel appears to delay its nesting-season until field-mice and insects 
 are plentiful. The Kestrel generally breeds in the thickest woods, and rarely 
 in nests built in isolated trees. It also rears its young on the cliffs by the 
 sea-side ; and some of the best places to seek for its eggs are the rocks on 
 the moors and the cliffs of limestone districts. The Kestrel will also not 
 unfrequeiitly lay her eggs in holes of buildings, notably amongst ivied ruins 
 and the Gothic architecture of cathedrals, in company with Doves and Jack- 
 daws. "When the eggs are laid in the crevices of rocks, a little cavity is, 
 if possible, scratched in the soft earth or vegetable refuse, or, failing 
 this, some natural cavity in the rock itself is chosen in which to deposit 
 the eggs. I once took five Kestrel's eggs out of an old Raven's nest in 
 the cleft of a perpendicular cliff at Howden Chest, in the High Peak of 
 Derbyshire. It was an elaborate and highly finished structure, doubtless 
 composed of the materials brought by the Ravens twenty years before, but 
 evidently rebuilt for the occasion. It was almost flat; the centre was 
 about 7 inches across, a slight hollow in a bed of peat, lined with bits of 
 heath. Around this centre was a broad ring, 7 inches wide, very regularly 
 and evenly made of the thick charred stalks of ling which had escaped the 
 fire when the heath was burnt, now bleached white with age. It is very 
 probable that the Kestrel is a life-paired bird, like other members of its 
 order ; and every season it will, if left unmolested, return to the same place 
 to rear its young. Even if one of the birds be destroyed, the other will 
 quickly find another mate, and return with unerring certainty to the home 
 of its choice. In the wooded districts a Crow's or Magpie's nest is the 
 usual situation chosen by the Kestrel in which to rear its young, and 
 sometimes the nest of a Ring-Dove is used, and, more rarely still, an old 
 Sparrow- Hawk's. It is also worthy of remark, that when a Magpie's nest 
 is chosen the rooty lining is usually removed, probably from motives of 
 cleanliness, and the eggs are laid on the hard lining of mud. As incuba- 
 tion advances the pellets containing the refuse of the bird's food accumu- 
 late, and serve as a lining, beautifully soft, on which the eggs rest secure. 
 
 Six eggs is^ie number usually found, although in some cases the number 
 has been seven, and in others so few as four or five. They are rich 
 reddish brown of various shades upon a dirty or creamy white ground. 
 
 VOL. i. E 
 
50 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Kestrels' eggs go through all the types of the eggs of the true Falcons 
 figured on Plate 4; and, in addition to these, some eggs have the 
 colouring-matter all massed on the larger end of the egg, others have 
 a ground of dull yellowish chestnut with irregular blotches of intense 
 coffee -brown, while others are brick-red with a few minute dots of deep 
 brown. Most eggs of this bird, when newly laid, possess a purplish bloom, 
 which, however, soon fades after exposure to the light. The eggs of the 
 Kestrel vary from 1'7 to 1'45 inch in length, and from 1'35 to 1*12 inch 
 in breadth. The female Kestrel when laying does not always deposit an 
 egg each successive day, and sometimes sits upon the first egg as soon as 
 laid. The female bird usually incubates the eggs, although the male is 
 sometimes found upon them. When the nest is approached, the sitting 
 bird silently quits its charge, but sometimes not until the nest is reached, 
 especially if the eggs are coming near to maturity. Throughout the whole 
 season of incubation the male bird may often be seen high in air above 
 his nest, sailing round in circles ; and sometimes he will be joined by his 
 mate. 
 
 Although an easily-tamed bird when brought up from the nest, the 
 Kestrel wins but little favour from the falconer, wanting, as it does, the 
 impetuous dash of other members of this group of birds. Still it has been 
 successfully flown at small birds, although the nature of its food in a wild 
 state will effectually prevent it from ever figuring largely as a bird of sport. 
 
 The male Kestrel has the head, lower back, and tail slate-grey, the 
 latter with a broad black band near the end and a white tip, and the head 
 with dusky shaft-streaks ; the rest of the upper parts pale chestnut, 
 with small, black, triangular spots ; the wings are blackish brown, with 
 lighter-coloured edges ; the breast and belly are pale fawn-colour, with 
 dark streaks on the former and dark spots on the latter ; the thighs and 
 under tail-coverts are rufous fawn-colour without spots, and the under 
 surface of the tail is greyish white. Beak blue ; cere and orbits yellow ; 
 irides dark brown ; legs and toes yellow; claws black. The female has 
 the whole upper surface reddish brown, barred transversely with bluish 
 black ; the wings are darker than in the male, and the whole underparts 
 are paler. Young males are like the female, but a little paler perhaps, 
 until after the first winter, when they begin to assume the adult plumyage, 
 the blue head being the last to be obtained. Very old females some- 
 times assume the plumage of the male. 
 
LESSER KESTREL. 51 
 
 FALCO CENCHRIS. 
 
 LESSER KESTREL. 
 (PLATE 4.) 
 
 Falco turrimu. fierini, Orn. Met A. Diy. i. p. t>7, pi. lii. (1767X 
 
 Falco naumaniii, Fleischer, Sylvan, 1817, p. 175. 
 
 Falco xanthonyx, Xatt.Jide Fleischer, Sylvan, 1817, p. 175. 
 
 Falco cenchris*, ynnm. J'oy. Deutschl. i. p. 318 (1820, ex Frisch) ; et auctorum 
 
 plurimorum Cuviei; (Kaup), Schickel, (Bonaparte), (Gray), (Newton), Dresser, 
 
 fee. 
 
 Falco tinnunculoides, Schinz, Jiile Xauni, Vb'a. Deutschl. i. p. 323 (1820). 
 Falco tinmmcularius, 7'iViV/. Fa**. Franc,, p. 36, pi. 16. fig. 3 (1829). 
 Cerchueis cenchris (Xaum.). Brehm, Voy. Deutschl. p. 74 (1831). 
 Tinnunculus ceuchris (AT/MMi.), Bp. Cat. Met. Ucc. Eur, p. 21 (1842). 
 Tichornis cenchris (Xaum.), Kaup, Classif. Saug. u. Voy. p. 108 (1844). 
 Pcecilornis cenchris (Xauni.), Kaup, Contr. Orn. 1850, p. 53. 
 Cerchneis naumanni (Fleischer), Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. p. 435 (1674). 
 
 The claim of this species to be considered a British bird rests upon a 
 single example which was shot in the neighbourhood of York by Mr. John 
 Harrison, of Wilsthorpe Hall. There can be no doubt about the 
 authenticity of this specimen, which was identified at the time by my 
 friend the late Mr. Thomas Allis, of York, an excellent ornithologist. I 
 have seen the specimen, which was stuffed by Mr. Graham, and is now in 
 the York Museum. Mr. Harrison assures me that he has no doubt 
 whatever that the bird in the museum is the one he shot. He is 
 himself an ornithologist, and has a fine collection both of birds and eggs. 
 His attention was first attracted to the bird by noticing it flying about 
 on his farm very late in the autumn of 1869 ; and he shot it under the 
 impression that it was a small and curious variety of the Common Kestrel. 
 That this bird does occasionally wander north of its usual habitat is proved 
 by its having been obtained on Heligoland. 
 
 Its breeding-range may be said to be the basin of the Mediterranean. 
 It is very common in Southern Spain, and is said to breed in some parts 
 of the Pyrenees. It is not uncommon in Sardinia and Sicily, but is very 
 rare in Italy. In Greece it is extremely abundant, breeding as far north 
 as South Bulgaria. In Russia it breeds only in the extreme south. It is 
 very common in the Caucasus, Western Turkestan, Persia, Asia Minor, 
 
 * F. cenchris is the name which has been applied to the Lesser Kestrel by an over- 
 whelming majqjfty of ornithologists : and Dresser still retains it in defiance oi the law of 
 priority, although in his synonymy he shows four older names. Sharpe, led away by the 
 Stricklandian code, uses one of these old and deservedly forgotten names : and if the law 
 of priority survives long enough, some ambitious ornithologist will be found rash enough 
 to back Geriui's name against the field. 
 
 a 
 
52 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and Palestine. It is occasionally found in North France and North 
 Germany ; but these examples are rare stragglers out of the usual line of 
 migration. It passes through the whole of North Africa, where a con- 
 siderable number remain to breed. It winters in South Africa, having 
 been found in Damara Land, the Transvaal, and the Cape. In the east it 
 is represented by a very nearly allied species, F. pekinensis, which breeds 
 in China and winters in India, where a few are said to remain in the 
 mountains during the breeding-season. 
 
 The Lesser Kestrel is a very gregarious bird, seldom found in isolated 
 pairs. It is very partial to rocks and ruins ; and I have seen them in great 
 numbers flying in and out of the holes of the ruins of the Acropolis at 
 Athens. In the villages of the Parnassus and in Asia Minor, for want of 
 more suitable places, it breeds under the eaves of the houses ; and I 
 particularly remember a colony in a street in Missolonghi. Dr. Kriiper 
 says that he has found the nest in hollow trees ; and I have frequently 
 seen it perched in a tree. In and around the village of Menemen, not 
 far from Smyrna, it was especially abundant, and we generally saw half a 
 dozen on the wing together. We shot one out of three perched on the 
 branches of an old olive-tree in the middle of the village ; and once in the 
 Parnassus we shot several birds which were flying about in the company 
 of the Common Kestrel. The Lesser Kestrel is a migratory bird, arriving 
 at its breeding-quarters about the middle of March. It breeds towards 
 the end of April ; and I found several nests late in June containing young 
 birds. Some of these were under the eaves of the houses, and others in 
 holes of the walls. The nests were extremely slight; and frequently the 
 eggs were laid in a hollow scratched in the rubbish. Five seems to be the 
 usual number of eggs; but I have clutches of four, and one of seven. The 
 male bird appears to relieve the female in her duties, as on a nest which 
 we took, containing five eggs, on the 15th of May in a village in the 
 Parnassus, we caught the male and afterwards shot the female. The food 
 of this bird during the breeding-season appears to be almost entirely com- 
 posed of grasshoppers ; and we often saw flocks or small parties flying up 
 and down in the vicinity of their nests not at all disturbed by our watching 
 them. We could see them thrust out their feet to catch the flying grass- 
 hoppers, and could notice them bring their feet to the bill, after which 
 the hard parts of the grasshopper were distinctly seen to fall to the ground. 
 They are very noisy on the wing ; and their cry is very peculiar : Dr. 
 Kriiper pointed out to me its resemblance to the Greek word /3e/3a<&>9 
 (pronounced vev-ai'-ose), which may be translated into American-English 
 as " yes, certainly/' Canon Tristram mentions their abundance near 
 some of the villages in Palestine, pursuing insects, especially cockchafers, 
 towards evening. He also mentions that he never found a colony of these 
 birds without finding many of the Common Kestrel breeding in the same 
 
LESSER KESTREL. 
 
 53 
 
 place. Saunders thinks these two species occasionally interbreed (see 
 'Ibis/ 1871, p. 59). 
 
 The eggs of the Lesser Kestrel are very round, almost globular, with 
 but little difference between the larger and smaller ends. Their general 
 ground-colour is pale brick-red, with dark brick-red spots, which are 
 very generally diffused evenly over the whole surface, and very small, 
 occasionally forming large blotches. Others, again, have an almost white 
 ground-colour, with more than usually distinct spots and blotches, re- 
 sembling very much a similar type of the Common Kestrel. In fact the 
 eggs of the Lesser Kestrel go through the same varieties as the Common 
 Kestrel, but are smaller and of a paler and more bricky red instead of 
 blood-red. In size they vary from l - 45 to 1'Sinch in length, and from 
 1-2 to 1-03 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Lesser Kestrel resembles the Common Kestrel in colour very 
 closely ; but the males differ from our bird in being slightly smaller, in 
 having no black spots on the back, and in having the innermost secondaries 
 slate-grey instead of chestnut, and the claws white instead of black. The 
 females are more difficult to determine; but the smaller size and pale claws 
 of the Lesser Kestrel are the best characters. 
 
 The Chinese Lesser Kestrel is a doubtfully distinct species, and only 
 differs from its westeni ally in having more slate-grey on the wing- 
 coverts. 
 
54 ' .BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus PANDION. 
 
 The genus Pandion was established by Savigny (who separated it from 
 the genus Falco of Linnseus) in 1810, in his ' Systeme des Oiseaux de 
 TEgypte et de la Syrie/ p. 9. The only species known to him was P. 
 haliaetus, which must therefore be the type. 
 
 There is only one species of Osprey in the world ; and this may be said 
 to be almost cosmopolitan. The characters which distinguish it from all 
 other allied birds of prey are the combination of the finely reticulated (not 
 broadly scaled) tarsus, and the long first primary (much longer than the 
 secondaries), with the absence of a forked tail and a notched bill. Its food 
 is almost exclusively fish. 
 
OSPREY. 53 
 
 PANDION HALIAETUS. 
 OSPREY. 
 
 (PLATE 3.) 
 
 Accipiter falco piscator caroliniensis, Briss. Orn. i. p. 362 (1760). 
 
 Aquila haliaeetus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 440 (1760) ; et auctomm plurimorum (Lin- 
 
 lueus), (Gray), (Schkgef), (Gould), (Xeicton), (Sharps), &c. 
 Falco haliaetus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766). 
 Falco arundinaceus, Gmel Syst. Nat. i. p. 263 (1788). 
 Falco carolinensis, Gmel. loc. cit. (1788). 
 Falco cayennensis, Gmel. loc. cit. (1788). 
 Aquila piscatrix, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. i. p. 29, pi. 4 (1807). 
 Pandion fluvialis, Savign. Syst. Ois. de FEgypte, p. 36 (1810). 
 Aquila haliaetus (Briss.), Wolf, Taschenb. i. p. 23;(1810). 
 
 Triorches ihivialis (Sav.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 10 (1816). 
 Aquila balbusardus, Dum>:.nt, Diet. i. Nat. i, p. 351 (1816). 
 Pandion americanus, rieill. $ And. Gal. Ois. p. 33, pi. 11 (1825). 
 Accipiter haliaetus (Briss.), Pall. Zo^gr. Rosso- As. i. p. 355 (1826). 
 Balbusardus haliaetus (Briss.}, Flem. Brit. An. p. 51 (1828). 
 Pandion haliaetus (Briss.), Less. Man. <TOrn. i. p. 86 (1828). 
 Pandion carolinensis, And. B. JV. Amer. pi. 81 (1831). 
 Pandion leucocephalus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 138. 
 Pandion indicus, Hodgs. Gray's Z-joL Misccl. p. 81 (1844). 
 Pandion ichthyaetas, Kaup, Classif. Siiuytth. it. Voy. p. 122 (1844, nee fforsf.). 
 Paudion gouldi, Kaup, Isi*, 1847. p. 270. 
 
 Pandion haliaetus (Briss.), var. carolinensis, And. Ridg. Proc. A. N. Sc. 1870, p. 143. 
 Pandion fluviatilis (Sav.), Seveii:. Turk. Jecotnie, p. 63 (1873). 
 
 The Osprey is one of the rarest raptorial birds in the British Islands. 
 From the peculiar manner in which it takes its prey, and its great dexterity 
 of movement, it has long been a favourite bird with the student of nature, 
 and is indeed one of the finest, although fast expiring ornaments of the 
 wild mountain-lochs, the bleak barren moors, and upland forests. The 
 remote districts of Scotland, the wild solitudes of Highland loch and 
 mountain, \vere once the favourite home of the Osprey; but now its 
 numbers have greatly decreased, and only a few pairs resort to the central 
 and northern districts of the Highlands for the purpose of rearing their 
 young. The Osprey is seldom seen in the wild scenery of the Hebrides, 
 but one or two specimens having been recorded from these islands. 
 Although the waters there teem with fish, the scarcity of suitable cover 
 and nesting-jflaces most probably explains its absence. There are still 
 one or two eyries in Inverness-shire and Ross-shire, and also in Galloway 
 a sufficient number of birds, if strictly preserved, to retain the Osprey in 
 the rank of a regular migrant to our island. In the Orkneys, the Shet- 
 
56 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 lands, and in Ireland the Osprey is only known as an extremely rare 
 straggler, appearing at long and uncertain intervals. Its occurrence in 
 England is usually confined to the period of the spring and autumn 
 migrations. It has been obtained more or less frequently in almost every 
 maritime county, and, more rarely, as far inland as Oxfordshire and Shrop- 
 shire. Mr. Cordeaux informs me that ' ' in the autumn of last year no 
 less than nine occurrences of the Osprey were recorded from the east coast 
 of England between the Tees and the Thames, from the last week in 
 September through October viz. 1 Durham, 1 Yorkshire, 3 Lincolnshire 
 (2 immature, 1 adult female on the 15th of October), 2 Norfolk, and 2 near 
 London." 
 
 The Osprey breeds throughout the Palsearctic and Nearctic Regions, 
 nearly as far north as the limit of forest-growth. It is a migratory bird, 
 leaving at least all the northerly parts of its range in autumn. It winters 
 in South Europe and North Africa, where a few remain to breed in very 
 favourable localities. It has once been recorded from Natal. In Asia it 
 winters south of the Himalayas, occasionally straying as far as New 
 Zealand and some of the Pacific islands. On the American continent it 
 winters in Central America (where a few remain to breed) and the West 
 Indies, occasionally wandering as far south as Brazil. 
 
 Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgeway attempt to separate the Ospreys 
 of America and Australia as local races under the respective names of var. 
 carolinensis and var. leucocephalus ; but the characters given are so slight 
 and so ill-defined that they are more likely to be individual than 
 climatic. 
 
 Years ago, before the railway had joined the Highland solitudes with 
 southern industry, before such attention was given to the preservation of 
 game and the destruction of " vermin," the Osprey dwelt amongst the 
 mountain-lochs, or on the brown heathlands studded thickly with stunted 
 fir and birch trees. Now his haunts, which are only few and far between, 
 appear to be the dense pine-forests that clothe the steep and rocky hill- 
 sides, or away lower down the slopes in the broad stretches of bog-land, 
 thinly sprinkled with timber, and overgrown with green and treacherous 
 moss and rushes, amongst stagnant pools almost concealed by the luxuriance 
 of dank and tangled masses of water-plants and coarse grass. Here and 
 there in these situations, amongst the huge rocks and steep precipitous 
 glens pierced by mountain-torrents and strewn with tempest relics of 
 fallen pine and birch trees, the Osprey may sometimes be seen reposing 
 or digesting his meal. Here, on these strictly preserved estates, the 
 Osprey is a regular visitor in the summer months, and bids fair, with the 
 aid of the protection now afforded it, to reinstate itself in the home of its 
 ancestors. His haunt, however, by reason of the peculiar nature of his 
 sustenance, must always be near the waters either the large freshwater 
 
OSPREY. 57 
 
 lakes, the wild mountain-waters teeming with trout, or the lochs and the 
 seacoast where an abundant supply of food is ever obtainable. 
 
 Like most raptorial birds, the Osprey, when its meal is finished, takes 
 its perch, usually on some post in the water or tree-stump on the bank, 
 where it sits, seemingly unconscious of danger, to digest its meal, and 
 where it is easily approached, its curious appearance and large size proving 
 but allurements to its doom, which is duly recorded in the county paper. 
 These birds, if they have the rare fortune to be left unmolested, will 
 sometimes prolong their stay until the summer; but no instance is on 
 record where the Osprey has been known to breed in England or 
 "Wales. 
 
 The habits of the Osprey, in certain respects, much resemble those of 
 the Kestrel. Dixon describes a bird of this species which he saw searching 
 for prey on the head waters of Loch Carron in Inverness-shire. " It was 
 about thirty feet above the surface of the water, hovering with quivering 
 wings, and ever and anon giving a few rapid beats, as if to steady itself. 
 It slowly searched the shallow waters near the shore, hovering and sailing 
 alternately, just like our well-known Windhover in the meadows. Finally 
 it poised itself for a moment, and dropped down like a stone into the 
 water, the noise of its plunge being distinctly audible more than a quarter 
 of a mile away. Rising in a few seconds, it again for a short time 
 hovered above the surface, and then finally retired, in slow Buzzard-like 
 flight, towards a distant clump of timber, but whether successful in its 
 exertions we are unable to say." " I have watched," says Booth, in his 
 interesting ' Rough Xotes/ when speaking on the habits of the Osprey 
 on our English waters, " one or two, while searching for flounders in the 
 muddy creeks on Breydon Water, following the course of the channels, 
 and fishing in exactly the same manner that Gulls may be noticed when 
 picking up the floating refuse in a tideway, the only difference being that 
 a Gull seizes the food with his beak, while an Osprey grasps it in his claws. 
 The thickness of the water renders it impossible for any fish to be detected 
 at a depth below the surface ; flounders, however, may frequently be seen 
 working their way close to the edge of the stream ; and from the manner 
 in which the birds proceeded, I have not the slightest doubt they were in 
 pursuit of this description of fish. After hovering round for a second or 
 two, I have noticed one dip down close to the mudbank, and, although 
 appearing scarcely to have touched the water, sail off to some quiet spot, 
 where it could leisurely devour its prey, a favourite resting-place in that 
 locality being the sweeps of an old mill standing within a short distance 
 of the flats, from which a good view of approaching danger might be 
 obtained. Mullet are very plentiful in the upper parts of Breydon Water; 
 and to these the Osprey is stated to be particularly partial when observed 
 in the south of England." 
 
58 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 From the excessive rarity of the Osprey in our islands, British ornitho- 
 logists have but little opportunity of adding much original matter to its 
 life-history. But in North America the Osprey is one of the commonest 
 of raptorial birds, consequently its habits have been studied closely. 
 Wilson has thus graphically portrayed the habits of this bird : " The 
 flight of the Fish-Hawk, his manoeuvres while in search of fish, and his 
 manner of seizing his prey are deserving of particular notice. In leaving 
 the nest he usually flies direct till he comes to the sea, then sails around 
 in easy curving lines, turning sometimes in the air as on a pivot, appa- 
 rently without the least exertion, rarely moving the wings, his legs ex- 
 tended in a straight line behind, and his remarkable length and curvature 
 or bend of wing distinguishing him from all other Hawks. The height at 
 which he thus elegantly glides is various, from one hundred to one hundred 
 and fifty and two hundred feet, sometimes much higher, all the while 
 calmly reconnoitring the face of the deep below. Suddenly he is seen to 
 check his course, as if struck by a particular object, which he seems to 
 survey for a few moments with such steadiness that he appears fixed in 
 air, flapping his wings. This object, however, he abandons, or rather the 
 fish he had in his eye has disappeared, and he is again seen sailing around 
 as before. Now his attention is again arrested, and he descends with 
 great rapidity ; but ere he reaches the surface shoots off' on another course, 
 as if ashamed that a second victim had escaped him. He now sails at a 
 short height above the surface, and by a zigzag descent, and without 
 seeming to dip his feet in the water, seizes a fish, which, after carrying a 
 short distance, he probably drops, or yields up to the Bald Eagle, and 
 again ascends by easy spiral circles to higher regions of the air, where he 
 glides about in all the ease and majesty of his species." 
 
 Whether the Osprey is a partially nocturnal bird it is difficult to deter- 
 mine ; but Mr. Booth mentions the fact that he has repeatedly heard this 
 bird calling in the darkness when in the neighbourhood of its nest. Its 
 note is neither loud nor harsh ; nor is the bird by any means a noisy one. 
 It resembles the syllables kai, kai, kai ; and its alarm-note consists of a 
 harsh but not loud scream. 
 
 An examination of some of the most prominent organs of the Osprey 
 shows how fitted it is to its peculiar conditions of life. Fishes form the 
 Osprey's only food, which it clutches from their native element when 
 swimming on or near the surface. Its long and powerful wings enable it 
 to fly great distances and remain in the air for long periods of time in 
 search of its finny prey. Its plumage is unusually dense on the lower 
 parts, as a protection against its repeated immersions in the water ; and 
 the long feathers adorning the tibiae of the land Raptores are in the Osprey 
 replaced by short ones. From the peculiar form of its finny prey, the 
 slippery nature of its outer surface, and its great facility of evading the 
 
OSPREY. 59 
 
 bird's attack, the Osprey's feet exhibit certain well-marked peculiarities. 
 The outer toe is reversible, the claws are remarkably curved and sharp, 
 aud the soles of the feet are very rough, all assisting the bird to grasp its 
 food with great certainty and precision. From their peculiar structure 
 the claws of the Osprey do not tear the tender flesh of its prey, nor are 
 they easily withdrawn when once they are inserted a circumstance which 
 has not unfrequeiitly been known to cost the bird its life, by fastening to 
 a fish too large for it to lift from the water. The food of the Osprey is 
 composed of various kinds of fish. When its habitation is near the fresh 
 waters, trout, salmon, roach, carp, pike, bream, rudd, &c. are eaten, the 
 first-named fish (the brown or lake-trout) in Scotland forming its favourite 
 food. In maritime districts the Osprey feeds on shad, flounders, &c., and 
 has been known to strike at large sturgeon. The fish when seized is 
 always carried lengthwise in its talons a position consequent upon the 
 easiest way of approaching and taking it, not, it is probable, because it 
 would at all impede the bird's flight if carried crosswise ; for, once the 
 claws are inserted in the fish, there they remain until it is eaten or torn 
 in pieces. 
 
 Like raptorial birds in general, the Osprey pairs for life and returns 
 yearly to its old breeding-grounds. When the Osprey was a common bird 
 in Scotland it almost invariably chose some rocky islet in the mountain- 
 lochs, or built its bulky citadel on some commanding battlement or 
 chimney-stack of an old ruin surrounded by the waters. These nests were 
 so regularly tenanted that quite a historical interest attached to them ; 
 and even now of late years, when the Osprey is almost only known as a 
 tradition, the situations of its former eyries are pointed out as objects of 
 no small amount of interest. In many parts of the world, however, the 
 Osprey builds in trees ; and in America, where it is such an abundant 
 species, it occasionally breeds in colonies. This habit of arboreal nest- 
 building appears to be followed by the British birds ; and what few eyries 
 do now exist at the present day in Scotland are for the most part in 
 pine trees. 
 
 There are few scenes more wildly picturesque than an Osprey's eyrie, 
 nor so well worth a visit, a sight of its wild surroundings and grand 
 solitude amply recompensing the observer for the usually hard and weari- 
 some tramp over hill and bog ere he can reach it. Should it be on some 
 old ruinous keep or dungeon, water- surrounded and safe from enemies, 
 far among mountain-solitudes, or in the silent deer-forest, on the tree- 
 clad slopes sweeping so grandly away into dreamy indistinctness, sur- 
 rounded by jirnost impregnable morasses and rocky glens, in all its 
 interest is the same. "Wherever the bird builds its castle the locality 
 gains an untold interest, receives a sense of life and animation. From 
 the great weight and bulkiness of the Osprey's nest, and from the fact 
 
60 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 that the same situation is resorted to for many years in succession, the 
 branches which support it are not unfrequently distorted in growth and 
 flattened. In other cases the Osprey has several favourite eyries in one 
 chosen locality, and appears to utilize them in turn, like the White-tailed 
 Eagle or the Peregrine. As a rule the largest tree in the forest, the 
 patriarch of the timber, is selected to hold the nest, which is built at 
 varying heights from the ground, sometimes on the topmost branches, 
 flattened by its weight, more rarely at a distance of ten or fifteen feet 
 from the ground, on one of the broad spreading limbs. But when the 
 Osprey's nest is on ruins it is often at a far greater elevation ; and when 
 built on rocky islets it is not unfrequently but a few feet from the ground, 
 built amongst the grey lichens and tufts of polypody fern. Although the 
 Osprey is in most places such a very rare bird, a journey of thirty-six hours 
 from London will bring us to a locality where it is found in very great 
 numbers. On the southern shores of the Baltic, north of Stettien, surround- 
 ing the inland lakes which form the delta of the Oder, are vast forests which 
 form a perfect paradise for the Osprey. Lonely forests within easy access 
 of freshwater lakes are the favourite breeding-places of this bird. He 
 generally selects the loftiest tree in the forest, his main object being ap- 
 parently to be able to rise at once from the nest without being incommoded 
 by the branches of trees ; thus it often happens that the nest is visible at 
 the distance of a mile. The structure is enormously large, from three to 
 four feet in diameter, and occasionally as high, and is generally placed 
 upon the summit of a pine tree, one having a dead top being preferred. 
 At the outside it extends so far over the branches that it is often very 
 difficult to reach. The foundation is made of branches intermixed with 
 decaying vegetable matter and sods ; the upper surface is flat, and consists 
 of finer twigs covered over with green and dry grass, the eggs being laid 
 in a slight hollow in the middle, not more than a foot across, and scarcely 
 two inches deep. Three eggs are the usual number, occasionally two, and 
 still more rarely four. The most favourite place of all is 011 an island 
 covered over with timber in the middle of a lake on which there are no 
 boats. In a locality of this kind in Pomerania a number of Osprey s 
 formed a colony, in one case two nests being on the same tree ; and the 
 Osprey has been known to build upon the top of a tree in which w r as 
 the nest of a Black Stork. The Osprey is a shy bird at the nest, and 
 usually leaves it at once on the approach of a stranger. The birds are in 
 the habit of roosting on the nest before any eggs are laid. 
 
 By the latter end of April or the first week in May the Osprey's eggs 
 are deposited. They vary considerably in colour. Typical specimens are 
 white or yellowish white in ground-colour, irregularly and very boldly 
 blotched and spotted with rich reddish brown, which becomes more dense and 
 thickly dispersed over the larger end, sometimes so much as to hide all 
 
OSPREY. 61 
 
 the ground-colour. Some examples are quite purple ; others are entirely 
 suffused with orange-red; whilst a very beautiful variety has all the 
 vacant spaces between the bold brown markings blurred and dashed 
 with violet-grey shell-markings. Other specimens have a large blot of 
 colour here and there over the entire surface, or have the colouring-matter 
 in a zone or belt round the middle of the shell. Many examples are 
 marked with smaller spots and streaks of colour, and marbled over the 
 entire surface with violet-grey and faint orange-red. The eggs of the 
 Osprey are rarely faintly or sparingly marked, and justly claim to rank as 
 some of the handsomest in all the British series. In form they are not so 
 round as the true Falcon's, and are also far more elongated than the typical 
 Eagle's, and are somewhat coarse in texture. They vary in length from 
 2'5 to 2'15 inch, and in breadth from T95 to 1'75 inch. They are usually 
 hatched by the end of May or early in June. Like many other birds of prey, 
 the female Osprey is not easily scared from the nest. During the period of 
 incubation the male bird keeps close to the vicinity of the nest, and 
 supplies the female with food ; she has therefore but little cause to leave 
 her charge, and only does so for very short intervals. The young are fed 
 by both parents until they are fully able to provide for themselves ; and 
 even when they are able to leave the nest they keep in their parents' 
 company for some little time, the old birds still supplying them with food. 
 "When they are strong upon the wing they will still haunt the place of 
 their birth, probably till the migratory period arrives, and roost at night 
 upon the old nest. But one brood is reared in the season. 
 
 The plumage of the head and nape is white, broadly streaked with brown, 
 some of the feathers being elongated. The whole upper plumage is dark 
 brown, sometimes with a purplish tinge ; the underparts are white, except 
 a light brown band across the upper breast. Legs, toes, and cere blue ; 
 beak and claws black ; irides yellow. The female resembles the male, but 
 is slightly larger, and the head and breast are more marked with brown. 
 Young birds resemble the adult female in autumn plumage, the males not 
 assuming mature dress until the third or fourth year. The nestling bird 
 is covered with blackish down. The Osprey completes its annual moult 
 in December ; and then the feathers are more deeply coloured, have broad 
 light-brown margins, and the upper parts display a purplish gloss. By 
 the following spring, however, much of this disappears, and the feathers 
 lose their pale margins. 
 
62 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus ELANOIDES. 
 
 The genus Elanoides was established by Vieillot in 1818, in his ' Nouveau 
 Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle/ xxiv. p. 101, when he removed the 
 Swallow-tailed Kite from the genus Milvus in which he had first placed it. 
 The latter genus was separated from the genus Falco (in which Linnaeus 
 included the Swallow-tailed Kite) by Cuvier in 1800. The only species 
 then known to Vieillot was E.furcatus, which must therefore be the type. 
 
 This genus contains only one species, which is confined to the American 
 continent, and only accidentally strays as far as Europe. It has no very 
 near relations, but is distantly allied to the genus Nauckrus. It may 
 always be distinguished by its long narrow wings and the deep fork in the 
 tail, which resembles that of the Barn-Swallow. 
 
SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 63 
 
 ELANOIDES FURCATUS. 
 
 SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 
 
 (PLATE 6.) 
 
 Aceipiter milvus caroliniensis, Sriss. Orn. i. p. 418 (1760), 
 
 Falco furcatus. Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 129 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Wilson, (Attdubon), {Gould), (Bonaparte), &c. 
 
 Milvus furcatus (Linn.), VieiU. Ois. Amer. Sept. p. 38, pi. 10 (1807). 
 Elanoides furcatus (Linn.), Bonn, et Vietil. Enc. Meth. iii. p. 1204 (1823). 
 Elanoides yetapa. Bonn, et Vieill. torn. tit. p. 1205 (1823). 
 Elanus furcatus (Linn.), Tig. Zool. Journ. i. p. 340 (1824). 
 Xauclerus furcatus (Linn.), Vig. Zool. Journ. ii. p. 387 (1825). 
 Falco yetapa (Bot.n. et VieilL), Max. Beitr. Orn. Bras. iii. Abth. i. p. 141 (1830). 
 Xauclerus forficatus (Linn.), Ridgway, Pr. Phil. Acad. 1870, p. 144. 
 
 This singularly handsome bird appears to have once or twice wandered 
 as far as our islands, but is not known ever to have visited any other part 
 of Europe. Its claim to rank as a British bird rests upon the undoubted 
 capture of two specimens. The first of these examples was at Ballachulish, 
 in Argylshire, in the year 1772, and recorded by the late Dr. "Walker, of 
 the University of Edinburgh, in his manuscript journal for that year. 
 The first published account of this capture was made by Fleming, in his 
 ' History of British Animals/ The precise circumstances under which it 
 was taken, however, are not known. The occurrence of the second 
 specimen was recorded in the fourteenth volume of the ' Transactions of 
 the Liuneau Society/ under date November 4, 1823, by Dr. Simmons, on 
 the authority of the late Mr. Fothergill, of Carr End, near Arkrigg, in 
 Yorkshire. It was captured alive at Hardraw Scarr, near Hawes in 
 Yorkshire. Xewton, in his edition of YarrelFs ' British Birds/ further 
 corroborates the statement by publishing the original note of the bird's 
 capture, supplied to him by the son of the last-named gentleman, Mr. 
 ^Yilliam Fothergill, of Darlington. This note states that "on the 6th of 
 September, 1805, during a tremendous thunderstorm, a bird, of which a 
 correct description follows, was observed flying about in Shaw Gill, near 
 Simonstone, and, alighting on a tree, was knocked down by a stick thrown 
 at it, which, however, did not prove fatal, as I saw it alive, and had an 
 Opportunity of carefully examining it four days after it was taken. The 
 bird was kept to the 27th, and then made its escape, by the door of the 
 room being ift open while showing [it] to some company. At first it 
 arose high in the air; but being violently attacked by a party of Rooks, 
 it alighted in the tree in which it was first taken. When its keeper 
 
64 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 approached it took a lofty flight towards the south, as far as the eye could 
 follow, and has not since been heard of " 
 
 Other specimens of the Swallow-tailed Kite have been said to have been 
 killed in England and Ireland, but on evidence that is too unsatisfactory 
 to be taken as conclusive (cf. Zool. 1854, pp. 4166, 4366, 4406, arid 
 Zool. 1856, p. 5042). A fourth specimen is also said to have been obtained 
 on the Mersey, in June 1843. 
 
 The Swallow-tailed Kite is a summer migrant to the Southern S tats 
 of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, its breeding-range 
 extending somewhat further north, in the valley of the Mississippi, into 
 Southern Wisconsin. It winters in the West Indies and in Central 
 America, where a few remain to breed in the mountains, wandering south- 
 wards into the northern and central portions of South America. 
 
 The Swallow-tailed Kite is said to return to its breeding-grounds in the 
 beginning of April, and breeds later than the other birds of prey. Accord- 
 ing to Audubon, " in the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, where these 
 birds are abundant, they arrive in large companies, in the beginning of 
 April, and are heard uttering a sharp plaintive note. At this period I 
 generally remarked that they came from the westward, and have counted 
 upwards of a hundred in the space of an hour passing over me in a direct 
 easterly course. At that season and in the beginning of September, when 
 they all retire from the United States, they are easily approached when 
 they have alighted, being then apparently fatigued, and busily engaged in 
 preparing themselves for continuing their journey. 1 " 
 
 " Marked among its kind by no ordinary beauty of form and brilliancy 
 of colour, the Kite,"" writes Dr. Coues in his ' Birds of the North West/ 
 " courses through the air with a grace and buoyancy it would be vain to 
 rival. By a stroke of the thin-bladed wings and a lashing of the cleft tail, 
 its flight is swayed to this or that side in a moment, or instantly arrested. 
 Now it swoops with incredible swiftness, seizes without a pause, and bears 
 its struggling captive aloft, feeding from its talons as it flies ; now it 
 mounts in airy circles till it is a speck in the blue ether, and disappears. 
 All its actions, in wantonness or in severity of the chase, display the dash 
 of the athletic bird, which, if lacking the brute strength and brutal ferocity 
 of some, becomes their peer in prowess like the trained gymnast, whose 
 tight-strung thews, supple joints, and swelling muscles, under marvellous 
 control, enable him to execute feats that to the more massive or not so 
 well-conditioned frame would be impossible. One cannot watch the flight 
 of the Kite without comparing it with the thorough-bred racer. The 
 Swallow-tailed Kite is a marked feature of the scene in the Southern 
 States, alike where the sunbeams are redolent of the orange and magnolia, 
 and where the air reeks with the pestilent miasm of moss-shrouded swamps 
 that sleep in perpetual gloom." 
 
>WALLOW-TAILED KITE. 65 
 
 According to Audubon, " the flight of this elegant species of Hawk is 
 singularly beautiful and protracted. It moves through the air with such 
 ease and grace that it is impossible for any individual who takes the least 
 pleasure in observing the manners of birds not to be delighted by the 
 sight of it whilst on wing. Gliding along in easy flappings, it rises in 
 wide circles to an immense height, inclining in various ways its deeply- 
 forked tail to assist the direction of its course, dives with the rapidity of 
 lightning, and suddenly checking itself reascends, soars away, and is soon 
 out of sight. At other times a flock of these birds, amounting to fifteen 
 or twenty individuals, is seen hovering around the trees. They dive in 
 rapid succession amongst the branches, glancing along the trunks, and 
 seizing in their course the insects and small lizards of which they are in 
 quest. They always feed on the wing. In calm and warm weather they 
 soar to an immense height, pursuing the large insects called Musquito- 
 Hawks, and performing the most singular evolutions that can be conceived, 
 using their tail with an elegance of motion peculiar to themselves. Their 
 principal food, however, is large grasshoppers, grass-caterpillars, small 
 snakes, lizards, and frogs. They sweep close over the fields, sometimes 
 seeming to alight for a moment to secure a snake, and holding it fast by 
 the neck, carry it off and devour it in the air. When searching for grass- 
 hoppers and caterpillars, it is not difficult to approach them under cover 
 of a fence or tree. When one is then killed and falls to the ground, the 
 whole flock comes over the dead bird, as if intent upon carrying it off. 
 The Fork-tailed Hawks are also very fond of frequenting the creeks, which 
 in that country [States of Louisiana and Mississippi] are much encum- 
 bered with drifted logs and accumulations of sand, in order to pick up 
 some of the numerous water-snakes which lie basking in the sun. At 
 other times they dash along the trunks of trees and snap off the pupae of 
 the locust or that insect itself. Although when on wing they move with 
 a grace and ease which it is impossible to describe, yet on the ground they 
 are scarcely able to walk." 
 
 Dresser, writing on the habits of this bird in Texas (Ibis, 1865, p. 325), 
 says : " On the Colorado, Brazos, and Trinity rivers it is one of the com- 
 monest birds, and every child knows it under the names of Scissor-tailed, 
 Forky-tailed, and Fish-tailed Hawk, or Fish-Hawk. It only remains 
 during the summer months, arriving early in April. ... I watched one 
 very closely as it was hunting after grasshoppers on a piece of prairie 
 near Brenham. It went over the ground as carefully as a well-trained 
 pointer, every now and then stooping to pick up a grasshopper; and, 
 to me, the feet and bill appeared to touch the insect simultaneously. 
 They seem vrfy fond of wasp-grubs, and will carry a nest up to some 
 high perch and sit there, holding it in one claw, and picking out the 
 grubs. I once saw one drop a nest and catch it before it reached the 
 
 VOL. i. r 
 
66 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ground. I examined the stomachs of all I shot (some ten or twelve), and 
 found them to contain sometimes beetles, sometimes grasshoppers/' A 
 very interesting note on the Swallow-tailed Kite's partiality for bees in 
 Guatemala is recorded by Mr. R. Owen, in ' The Ibis ' for 1860, p. 241 : 
 " Proceeding on our journey, and passing over the broAv of a hill which 
 rose considerably above those surrounding us, we suddenly saw, on the 
 slope beneath us, a large number of Swallow-tailed Kites, gliding back- 
 wards and forwards through the air, directly over the road which we were 
 pursuing. They were near the ground, many of them within ten or twelve 
 yards of it, and numbered from 150 to twice that quantity. They were 
 closely packed, not one straggling for a moment from the rest, and 
 reminded one of our English Swifts as they congregate in flight round an 
 old and lofty edifice. My companion was surprised, no less than myself, 
 to find so many of these birds in company; for, according to the experi- 
 ence of the Coban hunters, they generally go in pairs, although three or 
 four may be occasionally met with together. A few yards of precipitous 
 descent brought us immediately under the birds, and into a swarm of bees 
 upon which they were feeding. The swarm was slowly skirting the hill in 
 compact order, its persecutors sweeping through and through it, with 
 wings extended, and their scissor-like tails widely opened .... At 
 times birds would pass within four or five yards of us, giving us time to 
 observe their movements accurately. Every now and then the neck would 
 be bent slowly and gracefully, bringing the head quite under the body, 
 the beak continuing closed ; at the same time the foot, with the talons 
 contracted as if holding an object in its grasp, would be brought forward 
 until it met the beak. This position was only sustained a moment, during 
 which the beak was seen to open ; the head was then, with closed beak, 
 raised again, and the foot thrown back. . . . The bees, so far as I 
 could observe (for I could not catch one for examination), were about the 
 size of our English hive-bee, but of a brilliant colour, between red and 
 yellow/' 
 
 Although the Swallow-tailed Kite is so abundant in certain localities, 
 but little information has been published respecting its nidification. 
 Audubon mentions that it pairs immediately on its arrival in its summer 
 haunts, and that its courtship takes place in the air, where its fine powers 
 of wing are displayed to even still greater perfection than usual. The 
 same accomplished naturalist also states that the nest is usually placed 
 amongst the topmost branches of the tallest trees, usually on the margin 
 of a stream or pond, and that it resembles that of a Crow, being made of 
 sticks intermixed with " Spanish moss/' and lined with coarse grasses and 
 feathers, and that the eggs are from four to six in number. Dresser, in the 
 article previously referred to, on the birds of Southern Texas, mentions 
 that he found the Swallow-tailed Kites very numerous on a creek near the 
 
SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 67 
 
 Rio Colorado, on the 26th of May, but, on shooting and dissecting them, 
 found that they had not at that date commenced breeding. Preparations 
 for nidification were, however, in progress ; and from what he observed of 
 their habits, he suggests that they may possibly breed in society a fact 
 not at all unlikely when we bear in mind the gregarious habits of the bird. 
 He was told that the birds in Texas built high up in the oak, sycamore, 
 or cotton- wood trees. He did not at that time succeed in obtaining eggs, 
 but has since received them through Mr. Henry Buckley, and most kindly 
 lent them for use in the present work probably the first authentic spe- 
 cimens of the eggs of this bird which have been figured. Two specimens 
 taken in Iowa differ considerably : the first is decidedly an Osprey type of 
 egg ; the second is very pale bluish white, irregularly and sparingly marked 
 with minute specks and one or two larger spots of rich reddish brown ; 
 the shell resembles that of a Harrier in grain, and possesses no gloss 
 whatever. They vary from 1'9 to 1'95 inch in length, and from 1'5 to 
 l - 4? inch in breadth. Mr. Buckley's correspondent asserts that the eggs 
 are usually two in number a statement at variance with Audubon's. 
 
 The colours of this very handsome bird are in bold contrast and decided. 
 The head and neck all round, the rump, and the whole of the underparts 
 are white, the remainder of the plumage being black with blue and purple 
 reflections. Cere pale blue ; irides red (but Audubon describes them as 
 black) ; feet dirty bluish white according to Audubon, but yellow according 
 to Wilson ; claws white or flesh-coloured. Male and female do not differ 
 in external characters, save that the latter bird is more robust and slightly 
 larger. 
 
 F2 
 
68 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus PERN IS. 
 
 The genus Pernis was established by Cuvier in 1817 in his ' Regne 
 Animal/^ i. p. 322, for the reception of the Honey-Buzzard, which he 
 removed from his genus Buteo, in which Yieillot had erroneously placed 
 it. As the Honey-Buzzard was the only species of the genus known to 
 Cuvier, it became unquestionably the type. 
 
 There is only one European species of this genus, which may at once be 
 distinguished from any other European bird of prey by its feathered lores. 
 The genus is confined to the Old World. Besides the European bird, two 
 other very nearly allied species are known, inhabiting some of the islands 
 of the Malay archipelago, and two more distantly related one inhabiting 
 New Guinea, and the other South Africa. 
 
HONEY-BUZZARD. 69 
 
 PERXIS APIVORUS. 
 
 HONEY-BUZZABD, 
 
 (PLATE 3.) 
 
 Accipiter buteo apivorus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 410 (1760). 
 
 Falco apivorus, Linn. Syst. Xaf. i. p. 130 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 umann), (Temminck), (Cuvier), (Bonaparte}, (Sharpe), &c. 
 Falco tachardus, Daud. Traite <f On. ii. p. 164 (1800, ex Lev.}. 
 Falco p:,liorynchos, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 19, pis. 3, 4, 5 (1802). 
 Buteo tachardus (Daud.), VieiU. N. Diet. tfHist. Nat. iv. p. 479 (1816). 
 Buteo apivorus (Linn.), Vieill. N. Diet. a" Hist. Nat. iv. p. 479 (1816). 
 Aquila variabilis. Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 115 (1816). 
 Pernis apivoras (Linn.), Cue. Reyne An. i. p. 323 (1817). 
 Accipit-r lacertarius, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 359 (1826). 
 Pernis communis, Less. Traite cTOni. p. 75 (1831). 
 Pernis apium, Brehm, Too. Deutschl. p. 46 (1831). 
 Pernis vesparum, Brehm, Vdg. Deutschl. p. 47 (1831). 
 Pernis tachardus (Daud.), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 26 (1869). 
 
 The Honey-Buzzard was formerly a regular summer visitant to this 
 country, breeding in most of the counties of England and Wales, where 
 the woods were large enough to afford it a secure retreat for its nest. In 
 Scotland and in Ireland the information we have is very meagre ; but it 
 appears to have formerly bred in both these countries, where it has now, as 
 well as in England, become a rare summer visitor. It is also occasionally 
 seen on the autumn migration. It is a great pity that such an extremely 
 handsome and entirely harmless bird should be on the verge of extermina- 
 tion in our country. In addition to the persecutions of the gamekeepers, 
 who have not yet learnt to distinguish between useful and harmful birds of 
 prey, it is much sought after by collectors, both for its skin and for its 
 remarkably handsome eggs. In spite, however, of all its enemies, it still 
 yearly breeds in the Xew Forest and some other parts of England and 
 Scotland. 
 
 On the continent the Honey-Buzzard, though nowhere very common, 
 breeds in some numbers north of latitude 45 up to the Arctic Circle. Its 
 occurrence further north rests upon very insufficient evidence. It appears 
 to be a very local bird ; but it breeds regularly in well- wooded districts in the 
 north of France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, S. Norway 
 and Sweden, and Russia. Eastwards its breeding-range appears to be 
 comparatively little known. Pallas records it from Southern Siberia; and 
 my Siberian collector has sent me a skin from Krasnoyarsk. Taczanowski 
 records an example without a crest from Lake Baikal ; two examples from 
 Japan are mentioned by Temminck and Schlegel as undistinguishable from 
 
70 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 European birds ; and Pere David obtained it in North China. On migration 
 it passes through Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, the whole of North Africa, 
 and Turkestan. It winters in West Africa, occasionally wandering as far as 
 South Africa; and in the British Museum is a specimen from Madagascar. 
 In the Oriental Region a very closely allied form (P. ptilorhynchus) occurs, 
 differing principally in having a conspicuous crest. In Java these crests 
 appear to attain their greatest development, measuring 3'7 inch in length. 
 In Sumatra the longest measurement of the crest given is 2*3, and in 
 Malacca 2'0 inch ; in India none have been recorded with the crest longer 
 than 1'9, whilst in Tenasserim Hume and Davison say that the crests are 
 only incipient. Some ornithologists have referred the Siberian, Japanese, 
 and Chinese birds to this species ; but, until examples with crests have been 
 obtained from these localities, we can scarcely accept this determination. 
 A more rational explanation of these curious facts appears to me to be that 
 our Honey-Buzzard ranges as far east as Japan, and that the Eastern birds 
 winter in India and the Siamese peninsula, occasionally remain there, 
 and interbreed with the southern species P. ptilorhynchus, thus producing 
 the intermediate forms. 
 
 Although the Honey-Buzzard is a tolerably common bird in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Archangel, still it is one that arrives at its breeding- quarters 
 very late. This late arrival is probably caused, not from the bird's sus- 
 ceptibility to cold, but from the late appearance of those insects on which it 
 principally feeds. From the middle of April to the middle of May it passes 
 Gibraltar, Malta, and the Bosphorus in large flocks, returning on its 
 southern passage in September and October, in smaller parties. Although 
 the Honey-Buzzard is not a shy bird, still it is one that is very seldom seen. 
 As a rule it does not seek its food upon the wing. During my visit to 
 Brunswick and Pomerania, although the bird had certainly arrived, and in 
 the latter country had begun to breed, we only once obtained a sight of it, 
 sailing over a forest somewhat in the manner of a Buzzard. In the late 
 summer months its principal food is wasps and their larvae ; and it will spend 
 hours on some obscure bank on the outskirts of the forest scratching down 
 to the nest and picking the grubs out of the comb. Besides wasps and bees 
 and their larvae, the Honey-Buzzard feeds upon grasshoppers and other 
 insects, and eats frogs, lizards, and mice, and occasionally earthworms and 
 small birds. Sachse says that this bird, besides the nest in which it lays 
 its eggs, frequently makes use of some old nest in the neighbourhood, 
 to which it retires to eat its food ; and he suggests that these nests may 
 also be used as a sort of storehouse, as he has found in them half- eaten 
 birds, mice, &c. It is almost as much mobbed by small birds as the Cuckoo 
 is, partly in consequence of which it has obtained the reputation of robbing 
 their nests a reputation which it occasionally deserves. In autumn, when 
 short of food, it is said to eat berries and small fruits. 
 
HONEY-BUZZARD. 71 
 
 The Honey-Buzzard is a comparatirely silent bird ; but its alarm-note at 
 the nest resembles that of the Peregrine Falcon, though not so loud. 
 
 In Pomerania the Honey-Buzzard does not build a nest of its own, but 
 selects one of the numerous Buzzards' or Kites' nests which abound in the 
 forest, reliniug them with a profusion of fresh green leaves or the ends of 
 branches of trees in full leaf. This lining is apparently renewed from time 
 to time. A preference appears to be given to beech-leaves ; but a nest 
 which was taken for me on the llth of June last was redecked round the 
 edge with green pine and birch twigs, with a final lining under the eggs of 
 beech-leaves. The nest was in a beech tree about 25 feet from the ground, 
 and had been occupied the year preceding by a Buzzard. The bird sat 
 very close, and did not leave the nest until the climber threw a stick at it. 
 It then suddenly jumped up, took wing, wheeled round once or twice, but 
 soon settled on a branch near the nest, and looked down to see the cause 
 of the alarm. The nest contained two eggs. The climber took me to see 
 the old Buzzard's nest in a beech-tree about 45 feet from the ground, in 
 which probably the same pair of birds had bred the previous year. Two 
 seems to be the usual number of eggs ; but Sachse says that he once took 
 a nest of three ; and Mr. Benzon, the well-known ornithologist in Copen- 
 hagen, states that he has known four eggs to be laid. Sachse says that an 
 interval occurs of a week between the laying of the first egg and the 
 second. Incubation lasts three weeks ; and both sexes take their share of its 
 duties. 
 
 The eggs of the Honey-Buzzard are very glossy or waxy in appearance, 
 and are very round, the small end being but slightly different from the large 
 end. They run through the same variations as the eggs of the Common 
 Kestrel or the Peregrine. The ground-colour varies from cream-colour to 
 pale brick-red, and the spots from brick-red to deep rich purple blood-red. 
 In some examples the ground-colour is entirely obscured ; in others 
 the blotches are almost confluent at one end of the egg ; whilst in others 
 they are more evenly distributed over the surface, or show signs of having 
 been scratched or rubbed off when the colouring-matter was wet. It is 
 usual to find in the same clutch an almost uniformly marked egg, and one 
 with the markings dispersed in irregular blotches. In size they vary 
 from 2*05 to 1'86 inch in length, and from \-~ to T55 inch in breadth. 
 
 In general appearance the Honey-Buzzard very much resembles the 
 Common Buzzard, but may at once be distinguished by the scales on the 
 tarsus, which are finely reticulated all round instead of being in broad 
 plates at the front and the back. Another equally important distinction 
 may be found* in the lores, which are finely feathered down to the cere 
 instead of being only covered with bristles. There appear to be two 
 forms of the Honey- Buzzard, a dark one and a light one. The adult male 
 of both forms has an ash-grey head and the rest of the upper parts uniform 
 
72 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 brown ; and the underparts of the dark form are also uniform brown. The 
 underparts of the light form are nearly white, intermediate forms being 
 barred and spotted. The female of neither form has the grey head, that of 
 the dark form otherwise resembling the male, and that of the light form 
 otherwise resembling a male intermediate form. Adult birds have always 
 three conspicuous nearly black bars on the tail, which is brown; and 
 between these are rudiments of pale bars in both sexes, at all ages, and in 
 both forms. In young birds the feathers of the upper parts have pale 
 edges, with the under surface streaked instead of barred in the light form, 
 and uniform in the dark form. According to the opinions of the best 
 authorities on the subject, there is no important intermediate stage 
 between the young and the adult. The beak is black; legs and toes 
 yellow, claws black ; irides yellow in the adult, but hazel in the young. 
 It is not known that the two forms of this bird have in any way different 
 geographical areas of distribution; but far too little attention has been 
 paid to this subject by the ornithologist, who, for the most part, has 
 ignored the existence of local forms 
 
 A Honey-Buzzard, stout or slim, 
 A Honey-Buzzard is to him, 
 And it is nothing more. 
 
 X 
 
MILVUS. 73 
 
 Genus MILVUS. 
 
 The genus Milvus was established by Cuvier in 1800, in his ' Lecons 
 d' Anatomic Comparee/ i. tabl. 2. Previous to that date the Kites were 
 included in the genus Falco of Linnaeus. Cuvier did not designate any 
 type ; but inasmuch as the Falco mihus of Linnaeus is the Common Kite, 
 it has the greatest claim to be considered the type. 
 
 The Kites differ from all the genera previously mentioned in having 
 the lower half of the front of the tarsus furnished with broad plates, 
 contrasting with the fine reticulations on the sides and back. From all 
 the genera hereafter described they differ in combining a long tail with 
 a short tarsus, the former being more than four times the length of the 
 latter. 
 
 The true Kites are confined to the Old World, but have distant relations 
 in the Xew. Two species are in the British list, though one of them is 
 only admitted by courtesy. Besides these the genus contains no species 
 except the local races of the Black Kite which are mentioned in the article 
 on that bird. The Kites resemble the Eagles and the Buzzards very 
 closely in their habits, and are very nearly allied to the Sea-Eagles. 
 Like them they build in trees and sometimes in cliffs, but they have the 
 peculiarity of preferring wool, rags, and paper as a lining to the nest. 
 Their eggs are often scarcely distinguishable from those of the Buzzard 
 nor is there much difference in their mode of flight or in their choice 
 of food. 
 
74 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 MILVUS REGALIS. 
 COMMON KITE. 
 
 (PLATE 5.) 
 
 Accipiter milvus regalis, Briss. Orn. i. p. 414, pi. 33 (1760). 
 
 Falco milvus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 126 (1766). 
 
 Milvus castaneus, Daud. Traite, ii. p. 148 (1800). 
 
 Milvus ictinus*, Sav. Syst. Ois. tfEgypte, p. 28 (1810). 
 
 Milvus regalis (Briss.), Vidll. Faun. Franq. p. 14 (1821). 
 
 Accipiter regalis (Briss.), Pall. Zooyr. Rosso- As. i. p. 358 (1826); et auctorum 
 plurimoriun (Macyillivray), (Gray), (Bonaparte), (Schkgef), (Strickland), 
 (Sundevall), (Degland et Gerbe), (Gould), (Heuglin*), (Salvadori), (Gray), &c. 
 
 Milvus vulgaris, Flem. Brit. An. p. 51 (1828). 
 
 A hundred years ago the Kite was one of the commonest birds of prey 
 to be seen in Great Britain, but now it has become almost as rare as the 
 Osprey or the Goshawk. All the old writers who have treated of the natural 
 history of our islands have made reference to the wide distribution 
 and abundance of the Kite. Even in busy London laws were once in 
 existence for its protection, the birds being so numerous there as to attract 
 the attention of foreigners, just as in our day the Doves, the Vultures, 
 and the Storks in Eastern cities arrest our own. 
 
 At the present day the Kite must be looked upon only as an accidental 
 visitor to England. In the southern counties there is no place now where 
 it regularly breeds. There were nests in the large woods of Lincolnshire 
 up to 1857; but since so much timber has been felled, the Kites have 
 deserted that locality. A few pairs still remain in the secluded districts of 
 Wales. When the first edition of YarrelFs ( British Birds ' was published, 
 the Kite still bred at Alconbury Hill, in Huntingdonshire, and the bird was 
 said to become more numerous in the northern counties, where, however, 
 no trace of it can now be found. Waterton spoke of seeing the Kite at 
 his seat in Yorkshire ; and, upon the authority of Dr. Heysham, it used to 
 breed in the woods of the Lake district. At the present day it is seen but 
 rarely in England. Some six years ago a specimen was recorded, said to be 
 for the first time, in the Isle of Wight (Zool. 1876, p. 4760) ; and Mr. Gurney 
 writes that he sometimes sees this bird in Norfolk, passing southwards in 
 the autumn, in company with Buzzards. In Scotland it was formerly a 
 very common bird, but is now rarely seen, and only breeds in one or 
 
 * Although the Kite has been almost universally known as M. regalis, and amono- con- 
 tinental ornithologists is known by no other name, Messrs. Newton, Sharpe, and Dresser 
 have all three allowed themselves to be blinded by the rules of the British Association, 
 and have unearthed a new name for this bird, which has been pretty generally adopted, 
 by modern English writers on birds. 
 
COMMON KITE. 75 
 
 two favourite localities in the counties of Inverness, Perth, and Aberdeen. 
 It formerly bred in the west of Scotland, in Stirlingshire, Ayrshire, and 
 the Isle of Arran, but now seems completely exterminated from these 
 districts. Mr. Booth, in his 'Rough Notes/ mentions that the Kite is 
 still found in various districts ; and in most of the glens in which he col- 
 lected eggs and birds, some six years ago, the birds were still present, 
 although a few pairs seemed to have left the district. It does not seem to 
 occur in any part of the Outer Hebrides ; but, on the authority of Elwes, 
 it is still seen in the island of Islay ; and Dixon, when in Skye, in the 
 summer of 1881, saw the remains of this bird nailed to the wall of a shed 
 which served as a gamekeeper's museum. In the Orkneys and Shetlands 
 the Kite appears still more rarely, Saxby having only on four occasions 
 seen birds that may possibly be referred to this species. In Ireland it is 
 only known as a very rare straggler. 
 
 . The Kite does not occur in Iceland or Greenland. It is a bird exclu- 
 sively confined to the Western Palaearctic Region, and may be said to 
 breed in most parts of Europe, to be resident in the central and southern 
 portions, and migratory in the north. In Sweden it is said to breed as 
 far north as lat. 61 ; but it is not known with certainty to inhabit Finland, 
 whilst in Russia it breeds as far north as Archangel. These northern 
 birds migrate southwards in winter; and at that season the Kite is a 
 common bird in North-western Africa, in Algeria, the Dayats of the 
 Sahara, and among the rocks of the Atlas, where a few birds also remain 
 to breed. Its presence in Egypt, or in North-eastern Africa, is very 
 doubtful ; and Captain Shelley observes that he knows of no instance of 
 its capture in the former country, where its place is taken by an allied 
 bird, Milvus (egyptius. It occurs, however, on passage in Asia Minor, and 
 winters commonly in Palestine. The western range of the Kite appears 
 to be Madeira and the Canaries, where it is said to be a resident ; and 
 Dr. Dohrn also met with it in the Cape-Yerds. Its eastern limit is 
 somewhat difficult to trace. According to Eversmann it occasionally 
 occurs about the Southern Volga ; and Severtzow several times noticed it 
 in the Government of Yeronsk ; whilst Pallas says it winters on the Lower 
 Yolga. As Sundevall, however, declares that this is a mistake, and as 
 Bogdanow never observed it in the Yolga region, and says that it becomes 
 scarce in the province of Kieff, its eastern range is probably the basin of 
 the Don. In North-east Russia, Sabanaeff, in his ( Avifauna of the Ural/ 
 states positively that he has seen several Red Kites, amongst hundreds 
 of Milvus ater, flying towards some dead animals in the Kaslinsky Ural ; 
 so that it would appear that the bird gradually retires westward as it 
 approaches tWe southern limit of its eastern range. 
 
 The Kite may be easily distinguished upon the wing by its deeply-forked 
 tail and the peculiar nature of its flight. For hours this bird will keep 
 
76 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the air, sailing in slow circles without an apparent effort, with wings and 
 tail expanded to their fullest extent, the latter ever and anon being twisted 
 to assist it to describe its graceful curves. From this habit of sailing in 
 the air the Kite has gained the almost universal name of " Glead " a 
 corruption of the word " glide/' which aptly represents its beautiful aerial 
 movements. The haunts of the Kite in Great Britain are now the wildest 
 districts of Wales and the mountain-forests and glens of the Highlands. 
 These are the places it selects for nidifi cation; but at other times of 
 the year it may be observed in the more open country where woods are 
 scarce. Like most of its congeners, the Kite is a thorough wanderer, and 
 will search miles and miles of ground for food. In its habits it is a shy 
 and wary bird ; and many of its actions partake of those of the Buzzards. 
 In spite of its wandering habits, however, the Kite seems attached to 
 certain districts, and may almost daily be seen high in air above them, 
 progressing in graceful curves until finally lost to view. In its flight over 
 the country it ever and anon pays more special attention to certain districts 
 likely to contain its food, sailing once or twice above them, and then again 
 passing onwards. Although it is said that the Kite is a migratory bird 
 in Great Britain, still this statement is open to considerable doubt. The 
 observations made by Mr. Booth point to the fact that it is a resident 
 species ; and I have known several instances of late years where the bird 
 has been shot by gamekeepers in the winter months in districts where it 
 is also to be found in summer. The birds that are seen in England during 
 the autumn and spring months of the year are migrants, undoubtedly, 
 and very often immature birds from the continent. 
 
 When in searcb of food the Kite moves along at a moderate height 
 from the earth ; but, like the Vultures, the Eagles, and the Buzzards, it 
 soars to an immense elevation at times ; and then its powers of flight are 
 seen to perfection. His long narrow wings are now at their fullest 
 expanse, and the tail is constantly in motion to guide him in his trackless 
 course through space. Now he glides forward, anon mounts upward in 
 ever widening circles; now remains fixed and almost motionless then 
 onwards again, seeming to swim instead of fly through the aerial ocean. 
 The Kite has none of the dash that marks the Sparrow-Hawk or the 
 Peregrine. His prey is taken on the ground ; and hence his flight displays 
 none of that impetuous rush that is so characteristic of those rapacious 
 birds that pursue their prey in open flight. 
 
 From the peculiar nature of its flight, and from the inherent timidity 
 of its disposition, the Kite was a very favourite object of pursuit when 
 falconry was so largely practised as a sport. It was the custom to lure 
 the Kite from its aerial height, sometimes by displaying a large Owl with 
 a fox's brush attached to it, and then, when the Kite was low enough, to 
 cast a Greenland or Iceland Falcon at it. The Kite, seeing its mistake, 
 
COMMON KITE. 77 
 
 would instantly soar, going higher and higher, pursuer and pursued each 
 striving to gain the sky of the other, until, as we are told, both would 
 often disappear from sight. On the other hand the Kite has sometimes 
 been trained to take an humble quarry, such as rats. As a proof of 
 its docility and tameuess, Mr. R. Langtry kept a pair of these birds 
 which were allowed their liberty, but always returned to the lure on 
 being called. 
 
 In the manner of taking its prey the Kite very much resembles the Buz- 
 zards, and even the Harriers. It is by no means a bold and powerful 
 bird ; for a clucking hen has been known to put it to flight, and the 
 fiery little Sparrow-Hawk mobs it with impunity. The Kite takes its 
 food upon the ground, and usually catches young or weakly birds or 
 mammals, and does not even refuse to make a meal on carrion. Like all 
 other rapacious birds, the Kite appears to have some favourite spot which 
 serves it as a dining-table or larder, where the food brought to feed its 
 hungry young is also plucked and otherwise prepared for them. The 
 nest in the breeding-season is also a well-stocked larder, far more food 
 being conveyed thither than is really consumed. In these places may 
 be seen the remains of Grouse, Plovers, and young Curlews and Wild 
 Ducks. In addition to this food the Kite also takes young hares and 
 rabbits, mice and rats, frogs, lizards, more rarely snakes, and the larger 
 coleopterous insects creatures that are taken without much exertion or 
 prowess. In former days, when the Kite was more abundant in these 
 islands than it is now, it was said to be a great enemy to the poultry, 
 young chickens forming a favourite object of its pursuit. At the present 
 day, however, the Kite need cause the poultry-keeper no alarm. Its 
 haunt now, where but a remnant of its former numbers find a last retreat, 
 is in the wildest districts of Scotland, where the Red Grouse is probably 
 its favourite fare. How the Kite manages to take so large and strong a 
 bird as a cock Red Grouse is surprising ; and it is most probably only the 
 young and weakly ones that fall victims to its swoop. Mr. Booth also 
 suggests that the Peregrine ofttimes unwittingly finds the Kite a meal, and 
 puts a bird in its way that would never be secured unless weakly or 
 wounded. As is well known, that bold rapacious Falcon often strikes a 
 bird for mere sport, and will leave it where it lies ; and there, no doubt, it 
 is sometimes found by the less active Kite and conveyed away. 
 
 The note of the Kite may be compared to a wild plaintive scream or 
 " mew," and is but rarely heard, save in the breeding-season. Unmusical 
 as its cry may be, still it appears to be full of a wild harmony with 
 the rugged scenery of its haunts, imbues them with life, and, when heard 
 as the bird ijpsailing far overhead, lends a charm to districts where other 
 bird-life is almost wanting. 
 
 The breeding-season of the Kite commences early in May, and in 
 
78 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Scotland, where a few nests are still to be met with in the most secluded 
 glens, the pine-woods appear to be its favourite nesting-place. The Scotch 
 fir is the tree almost invariably selected. According to Mr. Booth, whose 
 experience with these birds in Scotland of late years makes his observa- 
 tions upon them the more especially interesting, the nest varies con- 
 siderably in its position. Sometimes it is at the summit of a slender 
 bending pine, sometimes amongst the broadly spreading branches of a 
 gigantic fir and at times at a height of but fifteen or eighteen feet from 
 the ground, and placed close to the trunk where several large limbs 
 branch out. In such a situation as this its bulky nest is often scarcely 
 visible from below. It is made principally of dry sticks and twigs, the 
 dead branches of pines, and lined with withered grass, moss, sheep's wool, 
 old rags, scraps of paper, or, in fact, any old rubbish that is conveniently 
 accessible. Few rapacious birds show such a partiality for collecting 
 rubbish for their nests as the Kite ; in fact it far excels the Jackdaw 
 or the House- Sparrow in this respect, or even a tame Raven or Magpie. 
 The nest is sometimes a very bulky structure, and is flat, similar to that of 
 the Sparrow-Hawk. 
 
 I found the Kite by no means uncommon in the forests both of Bruns- 
 wick and Pomerania, where it is a summer visitor, arriving towards the 
 end of February or early in March, and leaving again for the south about 
 the middle of September. Dr. Holland informed me that they are gre- 
 garious during migration ; and on the llth of last March I saw a flock of 
 migratory birds, consisting of eight Kites, a Crane, and a Peregrine 
 Falcon, crossing the Pyrenees near St. Sebastian. My kind friends 
 Dr. and Prof. Blasius and Oberamtmann Nehrkorn undertook to show me 
 plenty of Kites' nests in the Brunswick forests; and very successful they 
 were. We took the first nest on the 4th of May, in a beech tree, about 
 ninety feet from the ground. Both birds were flying over the forest all 
 the time. The nest contained two highly incubated eggs, and was about 
 twenty inches across and nearly as high. It was lined with all sorts of 
 rubbish old rags, part of a newspaper, a piece of embroidery, part of an 
 old stocking, some moss, and goat's hair. The second nest we took on 
 the 12th of May. It was on a comparatively slender side branch of an 
 oak, about eighty feet from the ground, very long, about two feet by one 
 foot wide. We knocked loudly on the tree ; but the only result was that a 
 Kite appeared and began to fly around; so we concluded that she had 
 accidentally been absent when we arrived. Before, however, our climber 
 had got more than a fourth of the way up to the nest she flew off, and 
 both birds continued to fly to and fro over the tree. The nest contained 
 three young Kites and the foot of a hare. It was lined with sheep's wool, 
 some rags, blue worsted, and some paper. 
 
 We took the next nest on the 17th of May, in an oak tree, about forty- 
 
COMMON KITE. 79 
 
 five feet from the ground. When we were about twenty-five yards from 
 the nest the bird flew slowly off and wheeled round towards us. The nest 
 was lined with rags, the remains of a worsted stocking, part of a news- 
 paper (the ' Gartenlaube'), lumps of hair from a cushion, and brown 
 paper. It contained two young Kites, the remains of a rabbit, and a 
 hamster rat (Cricetus vulgaris) . On the same day we shot a Kite from 
 its nest in an oak about eighty feet from the ground, took another 
 Kite's nest from an oak only forty feet from the ground, containing only 
 one young bird, and took a fourth nest from an oak about thirty - 
 five feet from the ground, containing two young birds. In neither of 
 these two last nests was there any food ; but both were lined with wool, 
 rags, pig's hair, and bits of newspaper. 
 
 In Pomerania I only inspected one Kite's nest, which was at least 
 two miles from any house ; nevertheless it was lined with rags and paper. 
 It is not known that the male assists in the task of incubation ; but he feeds 
 the female on the nest . 
 
 Sometimes the Kite will pick up a fish from the surface of the water in 
 the same way that his near relation in the south does. At Riddagshausen 
 I watched a Kite beating up and down over the lake, and once I saw it 
 stoop clown to the surface of the water and apparently pick something up 
 in its claws, probably a fish, with which it flew away to a tree. 
 
 The eggs of the Kite are generally three, sometimes only two in number, 
 and most closely resemble those of the Buzzards, but are, as a rule, dis- 
 tinguished from them by their more scratchy and streaky appearance. 
 When newly laid they are the palest bluish green in ground-colour, which 
 soon fades to white or nearly so, sparingly spotted and blotched with dark 
 reddish brown, with a few shell-markings, ill-defined and pale purplish 
 grey. Some specimens are far more heavily marked than others, being 
 clouded and dashed with colour, similar to Rough-legged Buzzards' eggs ; 
 others are dirty bluish white in ground-colour, faintly streaked, in true 
 Bunting style, with wavy pale lilac markings ; and in others the markings 
 are evenly distributed almost over the entire surface, mixed with scratches 
 and streaks of colour, and sometimes massed thickly together on one end 
 of the egg. They vary in length from 2'4 to 2'1 inch, and are seldom less 
 than 1| inch in breadth, the short eggs being the roundest and bluntest. 
 Fresh eggs may be obtained from the beginning to the end of April. 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts of the Kite is reddish brown, each 
 feather with pale edges, those of the head aud neck much elongated, greyish 
 white streaked with brown ; lower parts rufous-brown, streaked with dark 
 brown; tail, which is deeply forked, reddish brown, with dark bars. Bill 
 horn colomvf cere, irides, and tarsi yellow ; claws black. The female 
 bird is rather larger than the male, and has the underparts more rufous 
 and the head greyer, 
 
80 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 MILVUS ATER. 
 BLACK KITE. 
 
 (PLATE 5.) 
 
 Accipiter inilvus niger, Briss. Orn. i. p. 413 (1760). 
 
 Accipiter korschun, Gmel. N. Comm. Petrop. xv. p. 444 (1771). 
 
 Falco migrans, Bodd. Tail PI. Enl. p. 28 (1783). 
 
 Falco ater*, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 262 (1788) ; et auctorum plurimorum Temminck, 
 
 (SundevaU), (Kaup), (Layard), (Jerdon), Naumann, &c. 
 Milvus ater (Gmel.}, Daud. Traite, ii. p. 149 (1800). 
 
 Falco fusco-ater (Gmel.), Meyer, in Mey. u. Wolfs Taschenb. i. p. 27 (1810). 
 Accipiter milvus, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 358 (1826). 
 Milvus niger, Bp. Com}). List B. Eur. 8f N. Amer. p. 4 (1838). 
 Hydroictinia ater (Gmel.'), Kaup, Classif. Saug. u. Vog. p. 115 (1844). 
 Milvus setolius, Schl. Vog. Nederl. pi. 32 (1854). 
 Milvus migrans (Bodd.), Strickl. Orn. Syn. p. 133 (1855). 
 
 The Black Kite lias no right whatever to be considered a British bird. 
 It is included in the British list solely on the authority of a single example 
 caught in a trap in the Red-Deer Park at Alnwick in May 1866 (' Ibis/ 
 1867, p. 253). This may have been a spring migrant which had acci- 
 dentally overshot its mark ; or it may have escaped from an aviary. 
 
 There are five forms of the Black Kite. One of these, M. cegyptius, 
 distinguished by having a yellow bill, is probably specifically distinct. It 
 breeds in N.E. Africa, Palestine, Arabia, and Asia Minor, occasionally 
 straying into Greece, and wintering in South Africa. Of the other four 
 forms, two (an eastern and a western) are northern races, and two (also 
 an eastern and a western) are southern races. M. ater breeds in suitable 
 localities throughout Europe south of the Baltic, and eastwards in Asia 
 Minor, Palestine, Persia, and Turkestan. On migration it has been known 
 to stray as far north as Archangel. It passes through N.W. Africa on mi- 
 gration, where a few remain to breed, and winters in Africa south of the Atlas 
 Mountains. In Turkestan it meets and apparently interbreeds with M. 
 melanotis, which extends eastwards through S. Siberia to China and Japan, 
 
 * The Black Kite is best known as M. ater or M. niger ; but the former name has not 
 only been used by the greatest number of ornithologists, but is also the oldest of the two. 
 Messrs. Newton and Dresser have, however, set a bad example in following Strickland in 
 his adoption of Boddaert's name ; and Sharpe has made bad worse by adopting a name 
 which is practically unknown. There can be no doubt that Gerini was probably the first 
 ornithologist after Linnaeus who clearly discriminated between this species and the 
 Common Kite ; and under cover of the mischievous law of priority it is not improbable 
 that some future ornithologist with more zeal than discretion will attempt to call the 
 Black Kite F. milano, founded upon his figure (i. pi. xxxviii.). 
 
BLACK KITE. 81 
 
 many passing through Cashmere on migration to winter in India. This is a 
 slightly larger bird, with the white at the base of the outer primaries 
 extending below the wing-coverts, and the white on the margins of the 
 feathers of the head confined to the forehead. Of the two southern forms, 
 M. govinda is confined to India, where it is only subject to unimportant 
 internal migrations, whilst M. affinls inhabits Australia, Malaysia, Siam, 
 and Burma, occasionally wandering into India. In neither of these forms 
 is there any white on the forehead or crown ; the principal difference be- 
 tween them is one of size, the eastern bird measuring in length of wing 
 from 16 to 18 inches, and the western bird from \1\ to 19^ inches. The 
 former is said to have less white at the base of the primaries than the 
 latter ; but this seems to be a very variable character. 
 
 The Black Kite is not only one of the commonest birds of prey, but 
 also one of the most interesting, its aerial movements, great familiarity, 
 and gregarious habits arresting the attention of the observer and fixing 
 the bird upon his notice. The Black Kite becomes more numerous in 
 the southern portion of its range. Dixon, when in Algeria, made the fol- 
 lowing notes regarding it : " It is very generally supposed that the Black 
 Kite is, like the Common Kite, an inhabitant of forests and wooded dis- 
 tricts ; but such is not invariably the case. In Algeria I met with the 
 Black Kite in the most desolate of desert country, both on the plains and 
 at altitudes of 7000 feet in the Aures Mountains. I Avell remember to 
 have seen this fine bird flying over the stony ground on which we obtained 
 our new Chat (Saxicola seebohmi], where scarcely a tree or bush was to be 
 seen, and where the only other large birds were a few Choughs and Ravens. 
 In the oases of El Kantara and Biskra the Black Kite was also the com- 
 monest Raptorial bird. At the former place they evidently nested in the 
 stupendous cliffs of the pass ; for I constantly saw them entering and 
 leaving the rocks. At Biskra they were to be seen hawking over the desert 
 country in slow graceful flight. The Black Kite also inhabits the towns 
 of Algeria as well as the wilderness, and in company with the Vultures 
 plays the part of a scavenger evidently a welcome and respected guest, 
 for it is never molested by the natives. I usually saw this graceful bird 
 flapping lazily along some fifty yards above the ground ; and sometimes 
 as many as half a dozen were in the air together, wheeling gracefully 
 about in circles for no other purpose, it seemed, than their own enjoy- 
 ment. At Constantine the Black Kite could be seen flying in company 
 with the Egyptian and the Griffon Vultures ; but I never saw it 
 on the ground searching for garbage like those birds. Because it is 
 left unmolested, the Black Kite is a very bold and fearless bird, and 
 often soars jujt above the houses, and passes the observer within easy 
 gunshot/' 
 
 VOL. i. G 
 
82 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 At Bayonne I observed the Black Kite sailing over the market-place 
 for some time, and afterwards beating up the river picking up float- 
 ing garbage. Its motions on the wing are very similar to those of the 
 Common Kite ; but the tail is shorter and much less forked, and the bird 
 is altogether a smaller one. The Black Kite is said to arrive at Bayonne 
 in March, and is very common until June, when it disappears. They are 
 nearly all immature birds, adult examples being rare. I am informed by 
 Dr. Holland that in North Germany the Black Kite arrives at the end of 
 March or beginning of April, and leaves again in September. 
 
 In the Volga district the Black Kite is the commonest Raptorial bird, 
 and also the most useful of its order. Bogdanow made many careful ob- 
 servations on the habits of this bird. He says : " Upon my arrival at 
 Astrachan I was greatly surprised at the numbers of Black Kites living in 
 the town, and at their tameness. One could hardly throw any thing out of 
 the window without two or three of these birds pouncing upon it. As 
 soon as the August fishery commences, all these birds leave the town and 
 go to the fishing-places, where the small and useless fish are cast away by 
 the fishermen. The different localities inhabited by the Kite, and its 
 occurrence in the steppes and valleys, certainly does not make it a formal 
 resident of the plains ; and its real habitation is the forest ; there it breeds, 
 and there it retires to roost. In the Volga district it never builds any- 
 where else but on trees ; but in the Volga delta, where no oaks nor any other 
 high trees exist, it constructs its nest on the very low trees which some- 
 times grow amidst reeds. In the wooded parts of Kasan their food con- 
 sists of young hares, moles, mice, and small birds, and in the towns and 
 villages of garbage. In the river- valleys it preys upon frogs, water- 
 rats, ducks, and other water-birds ; but in no case and in no locality does 
 it despise carrion. Its migration from the province of Kasan commences 
 in September, and draws to a close in October. This, however, largely 
 depends upon the weather, as in dry and mild autumns, when there are 
 many mammals on the steppes, they leave later." 
 
 Dr. Holland informs me that the Black Kite is very fond of fish, but 
 that it only takes them from the surface and when they are swimming 
 in the shallows. 
 
 I observed the Black Kite nesting in North Germany during the spring 
 of 1882. About 20 miles from the coast, on the southern shores of the 
 Baltic between Stettin and Dantzig, is the town of Stolp. About the same 
 distance south of Stolp is the Lantow See, a lake about four square miles 
 in extent, and surrounded on three sides by forests. This forest is princi- 
 pally composed of Scotch fir, with a few beeches and now and then an oak. 
 The first " Horst " that we were shown was that of a Black Kite. The 
 birds, which used always to be observed fishing on the lake, were, however, 
 
BLACK KITE. 83 
 
 nowhere to be seen. They had probably deserted the locality in conse- 
 quence of Ulrich, the forester, having shot at the bird as she flew from the 
 nest the week before our visit. He probably wounded her. The nest was 
 about 45 feet from the ground, in a beech in the fork of one of the main 
 branches of the tree. It was an entirely new nest, built this year, rather 
 shallow, and perhaps three feet by two and a half, outside measurement. 
 It was built of sticks and lined with dead moss and a scrap or two of paper. 
 It was situated at the boundary of the estate where it joins Bismarf s estate of 
 Varzin. The Bismark Platz, a clump of pines on a hill, looked down onto 
 the nest. On this hill Bismark once picnicked; and the path by the lake-side 
 under the nest is said to be a favourite walk of the great statesman. The 
 nest was empty; but the Black Kite is so much shyer than the Common Kite 
 that we thought she might have seen us and have flown away, though had 
 she been there we ought to have seen something of her mate on the lake. 
 
 It is said that the Black Kite does not line its nest with rags ; but this 
 statement is not correct, for Salvin, who met with this species very com- 
 monly when birds'-nesting in the Eastern Atlas, found its nest adorned with 
 pieces of the Arab burnous and lined with rags. He also states that its nest 
 is usually built amongst the roots of a tree growing out of the rocks. The 
 nest is often covered with fish-bones ; and, according to Dr. Holland, the 
 young are fed on reptiles and young birds. The Black Kite will also rob 
 the nests of other birds when it is bringing up its young. In Southern 
 Spain Saunders states that the Black Kite is quite a sociable bird, as many 
 as ten nests having been found in a small patch of the forest ; and the 
 same authority also states that colonies of Sparrows often take up their 
 quarters near its home. 
 
 Goebel, who found many nests of the Black Kite in Southern Russia, 
 states that the nest is very small, and that very often the head and tail of 
 the sitting bird may be seen over each side of the nest. He also states 
 that, if the eggs are taken before the full complement has been laid, the 
 bird goes on laying, and will sit on the remainder ; and should her eggs 
 be taken, she lays again. He found fresh eggs during the last week in 
 April and the beginning of May. "When the nest is approached the parent 
 birds will fly round the place uttering their cries. 
 
 I am indebted to Capt. Verner for the following interesting notes 
 respecting this bird in the south of Spain : "At Gibraltar I observed great 
 numbers of Black Kites flying northwards, in company with Egyptian Vul- 
 tures, Short-toed Eagles, Houey-Buzzards, and other birds, during the last 
 week in March, in the years 1877-8 and 9. In May 1879 I was on board 
 the Crown Prince of Austria's yacht on the Guadalquivir, and found the 
 Black Kite nesting in great numbers in the pine-woods on the north bank. 
 On the 26th I climbed up to several nests only to find them unfinished. 
 
84 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 At last, however, I found one containing two fresh eggs. It was built on 
 a horizontal branch near the summit of a lofty pine tree, and was con- 
 structed of sticks, lined with fragments of paper of all sorts and colours, 
 and with an equally mixed assortment of dry dung (of horse, cattle, &c.) . 
 During the day the Crown Prince and some of his party found two more 
 nests containing eggs very slightly incubated. The Black Kite breeds 
 later than the Common Kite ; for I found a nest of the latter containing 
 three young, and Graf Wilszek took a clutch of three hard-set eggs. In 
 all the nests that I visited there was a quantity of paper and dung. These 
 pine-forests are frequently broken by broad strips of sun-baked mud, which 
 during the winter are, no doubt, a series of ' lagunas.' The Black Kites 
 congregated in numbers on these open places, where they crouch very much 
 after the manner of Pratincoles. I crept under cover of some scrub to within 
 a hundred and fifty yards of a party of twenty-two, and watched their pro- 
 ceedings through my binocular. Some were crouching on the ground, 
 whilst others were walking about, apparently feeding. When they de- 
 tected my presence they rose with a shrill tremulous cry. I came upon 
 many such parties of them, and on each occasion tried to make out what 
 they were feeding upon. The ground was as hard as iron, and the scanty 
 vegetation on it brown and dead ; so I conclude that they must have been 
 catching some insects, judging from the frequency with which they pecked 
 at the ground." 
 
 The eggs of the Black Kite vary from two to five in number, 
 but in Pomerania two is the regular clutch. Goebel states that the 
 number of eggs is usually three, occasionally only two. He has 
 also found four, and on one occasion as many as five. The eggs of the 
 Black Kite closely resemble those of the Common Kite, but are perhaps, 
 on an average, more richly marked. The ground-colour is either dull white 
 or the faintest of pale blue, more or less boldly spotted and blotched with 
 browns of different shades. Some specimens are far more richly marked 
 than others. In some eggs the markings are deep rich reddish brown, dis- 
 tributed in large patches, with scratchings and specks of lighter brown 
 between. Others are finely powdered over the entire surface with 
 freckles of colour, here and there becoming confluent, especially on the 
 larger end. A very handsome variety has the smaller end clouded with 
 pale brown, here and there marked with rich brown, and the rest of the 
 egg spotted with pale brown and faint shell-markings of lilac. Another 
 and more rare variety is streaked on the small half with pale brown, similar 
 to a Bunting's egg, the streaks becoming confluent at the small end of 
 the egg. Many Black Kites' eggs are almost undistinguishable from 
 Common Buzzard's, and, except that on an average they are slightly 
 smaller, scarcely differ from Common Kite's. They possess little or no 
 
BLACK KITE. 
 
 85 
 
 gloss, and have the shell somewhat coarse in texture. They vary in length 
 from 2'25 to 2'05 inch, and in breadth from T8 to 1*6 inch. 
 
 The Black Kite has a considerable superficial resemblance to the Com- 
 mon Kite, especially on the wing. It is a slightly smaller bird, with a 
 somewhat shorter tail (the respective measurements of the latter are about 
 11 in. and 15 in.), which is decidedly less forked (the difference between 
 the longest and shortest feathers being over 3 inches in one case, and 
 under 2 inches in the other) . The readiest mode of distinction, however, is 
 the colour of the tail, which in the Common Kite is chestnut, and in the 
 Black Kite dark brown. There is no difference between the two species in 
 the colour of the soft parts. 
 
 XF.ST OF COMMON KITE. 
 
86 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus HALIAETUS. 
 
 The genus Haliaetus was established by Savigny in 1810, in his ' Systeme 
 des Oiseaux de FEgypte et de la Syrie/ p. 8, for the reception of H. albicilla, 
 which therefore becomes the type. This genus had previously formed 
 a part of the genus Aquila of Brisson. The latter was included by 
 Linneeus in his genus Falco, and is one of Brisson's genera which are 
 additional to those in the twelfth edition of Linnaeus' s ' Systema Naturae/ 
 specially admitted in the explanation of Rule 2 of the Stricklandian Code. 
 
 The Sea-Eagles may at once be distinguished from the true Eagles by 
 having the lower half of the tarsus denuded of feathers, and from all other 
 European genera of Raptorial Birds by its being scutellated on the front 
 and reticulated behind, except from the Kites, which have the tail very 
 long, more than four times the length of the tarsus. The claws are deeply 
 hooked. The wings are long and ample, the tail slightly rounded. These 
 birds are less vigorous than the true Eagles, although possessed of great 
 strength and daring. 
 
 The genus Haliaetus is almost cosmopolitan. With the probable excep- 
 tion of the Neotropical Region, the Sea-Eagles are found throughout the 
 world, from the Arctic regions to the tropics. In the British Islands but 
 one species of the genus breeds, although another, the White-headed Sea- 
 Eagle of North America, has been said to occur. 
 
 They feed much on carrion, fish, small and weakly quadrupeds, and 
 reptiles. 
 
 They build large bulky nests on trees and rocks, made of sticks, roots, 
 turf, and lined with moss and green plants and wool. The eggs are two 
 or three in number, generally pure white, or sparingly marked with pale 
 brown. 
 
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 87 
 
 HALIAETUS ALBICILLA. 
 
 WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 
 
 (PLATE 2.) 
 
 Aquila albicilla, Brigg. Orit. i. p. 427 (1760): et auctorum plurimorum (Linn&iu), 
 
 (Gmetin), Pallas, (C'uvier), (Naumann), (Temminck), (Sharpe), &c. 
 Aquila albicilla minor, Brisa. Orn. i. p. 429 (1760). 
 Aquila ossifragra, Briss. Orn. i. p. 437 (1760). 
 Vultur albicilla ^misspelt albiulla], Linn. Syst. Sat. i. p. 123 (1766). 
 Falco ossifragus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 124 (1766). 
 Falco albicilla (Linn.}, Gmel Syst. Nat. i. p. 253 (1788). 
 Falco albicaudus, Gmel. Syit. Nat. i. p. 258 (1783, ex- Briss.). 
 Falco binnularius, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 15 (1790, ex Charl.). 
 Falco pygargus, Daud. Traite d'Orn. ii. p. 62 (1800, ex Briss.). 
 Haliaetus ni?us. Sac. Syst. Ois. de tEgypte, p. 26 (1810). 
 Aquila leucocephala, Wolf, Taschenb. i. p. 16, pi. 4 (1810, nee Linn.). 
 Haliaetus albicilla (Z/.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Ma mm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 9 (1816). 
 Falco albicilla borealis, Faber, Isis, 1827, p. 56. 
 Haliaetus brooksi, Hume, Ibis, 1870, p. 438. 
 
 Although the White-tailed or Sea-Eagle is far commoner in the British 
 Islands than the Golden Eagle, still it is an inhabitant of the wildest and 
 most secluded districts alone. Owing to incessant persecution it may now 
 be fairly said to be extinct in England and Wales, save only as a rare 
 straggler. In the British Islands Scotland is the home of the White- 
 tailed Eagle. It breeds pretty regularly throughout the wild rocky islands 
 of the Hebrides and the Western Isles, being particularly numerous on 
 the rugged coasts of Skye, one of its most famous eyries being on the 
 rocks known as " Macleod's Maidens " on that coast. Other eyries are in 
 Eigg, Scalpa, North Uist, Benbecula, the Shiant Islands, Rum, and Canna. 
 On the mainland it is much less numerous, although there are several 
 breeding-stations in the wild districts of the west, from the Mull of 
 Galloway to Cape Wrath. Ailsa Craig once contained an eyrie of this 
 species, likewise the Mull of Oe, Bolsa, and the Bass Rock ; but they have 
 now been deserted for some years, only visited by a passing bird, attracted 
 thither, it would seem, by old associations. Formerly this species was 
 abundant in England, and bred in many suitable situations round the 
 coast ; but now its presence is for the most part confined to birds of the 
 year, and adults on migration. Among the localities formerly frequented 
 by this species in the breeding-season in Englandmay be mentioned 
 Lundy Island, the Isle of Wight, the Lake district (so recently as 1835) , 
 
88 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and the Isle of Man. In Ireland the White-tailed Eagle is not uncommon 
 in the mountainous districts, especially on the west coast. In Connemara 
 I have often seen several on the wing together, and once climbed up to 
 a nest with the help of a rope hung over the cliff. I have also seen 
 the eyrie on the Blasquets, where these birds have bred from time 
 immemorial. 
 
 The White-tailed Eagle is a Palsearctic bird, being confined to the 
 northern portion of the eastern hemisphere and Greenland. It breeds in 
 suitable localities throughout Europe, from the Arctic circle to the 
 Mediterranean. It winters in South Europe and North Africa, a few 
 remaining to breed in the Canary Islands, Algeria, and Egypt. Eastwards 
 it breeds throughout Siberia, south of the Arctic circle, and winters in 
 Persia, Turkestan, and South China, occasionally crossing the Himalayas 
 into India. This Eagle has several close allies in various parts of the 
 world. From the Crimea eastwards to India and Burma it is partially 
 replaced by Pallas's Sea-Eagle (Haliaetus leucoryphus\ a much more 
 rufous-coloured bird, with a broad terminal black bar to its otherwise 
 white tail. In North-east Siberia, North China, Japan, and Kamtschatka 
 it is partially replaced by Haliaetus pelagicus, the largest Eagle known, 
 and easily distinguished by having the thighs, rump, and lesser and median 
 wing-coverts white. In the Aleutian Islands and throughout Northern 
 America, with the exception of Greenland, the White-tailed Eagle is re- 
 placed by the well-known White-headed or Bald Eagle (Haliaetus leuco- 
 cephalus] . The latter bird has been said to have occurred in Europe ; but 
 no example killed on this continent is known. It is very easy to mistake 
 old birds of the White-tailed Eagle for this species, especially on the 
 wing. 
 
 The haunt of the White-tailed Eagle is not necessarily a maritime one, 
 although the bird is more attached to the coasts and the sea-cliffs than the 
 Golden Eagle. It may, however, be often seen far away from the ocean, 
 choosing for its haunt some large inland lake, especially if there be lofty 
 cliffs and rocky islets on which it can perch to scan the surrounding 
 country. The haunts of this noble-looking bird are the brown hills of the 
 Hebrides and the adjacent Isles, and the wild mountain-country of the 
 mainland in the West. On the bold and rocky headlands of this wild 
 rugged coast, whose hoary peaks are washed by the treacherous waters of 
 the Minch, the Sea-Eagle finds a congenial home. The scenery of Skye 
 is typical of this Eagle's favourite haunt. On that bleak and desolate isle 
 it occurs in probably larger numbers than in any other place in Great 
 Britain. Dixon writes of its occurrence there as follows : " Almost every 
 sheep-farm possesses one or two eyries ; and in most of the remote and 
 stupendous cliffs of the coast a pair have built their nest. Wild indeed 
 are its haunts here ; and from the great inaccessibility of its nesting-places, 
 
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 89 
 
 together with its habitual wariness, it will probably hold its own for many 
 years to come, in spite of the price set upon its head. What scenery, for 
 instance, is more adapted to the requirements of the solitude-loving Eagle 
 than the tall bleak rocks of Storr or Tallisker ? or what is more favourable 
 to his presence than the rocks known as < Macleod's Maidens ' and the 
 cliffs round about them ? or what country so attractive as ' Macleod's 
 Tables/ round about wild Dunvegan, or the fastnesses of Genbrittle ? 
 Stray into districts such as these, far away from man's haunts and in- 
 dustries, and there it is the Sea-Eagle will come from out the mountain- 
 mists yelping fright at your intrusion, and sail proudly onward, displaying 
 his grand powers of wingmanship to your astonished and delighted gaze. 
 Like the Golden Eagle the present species will often sit for long intervals 
 silent and motionless on some tall rock -pinnacle, dreamily scanning the 
 country or the waters below. Of all birds the Eagles are certainly the 
 most difficult to approach, and rarely indeed have you the good fortune to 
 get within gunshot of them. Aided with a good glass, however, you may 
 often observe their attitudes as they sit on the pinnacles and shelves 
 basking in the sun with expanded drooping wings, after the manner of 
 Cormorants. Then see them launch heavily into the air, mounting upwards 
 in wide curving flight ; now sailing with wings fully expanded and the tips 
 of the primaries slightly recurved, they sweep along over mountain, moor- 
 land waste, and sea, advancing seemingly with but little effort, 
 
 High o'er the watery uproar, silent seen, 
 Sailing sedate, in majesty serene. 
 
 A right grand sight indeed it is to see a pair of Eagles so engaged in the 
 early months of spring, sailing lazily round and round in the dark blue 
 heavens, ever mounting upwards, until the eye can but just discern them 
 like minute specks moving in slow course along the sky. Or, better still, 
 see two male birds in the love-season buffeting each other in the air, 
 screaming out their peculiar yelping cries, and displaying so many singular 
 postures as each seems to try its best to gain the sky of its opponent. 
 The usual flight of the White-tailed Eagle, when passing from place to 
 place, is performed by a series of slow and regular flappings ; but its varied 
 evolutions are beyond all description when engaged in aerial combat with 
 one of its own species, or perhaps, better still, when mobbed by some 
 troublesome Hawk, Gull, or Raven, whose nest it is too near. Although 
 so large and powerful as the White-tailed Eagle is, still we have seen him 
 completely beaten off by a Peregrine, and glad to seek safety in flight. 
 Save in the nesting- season, White-tailed Eagles are for the most part 
 solitary birds? although each pair haunts the neighbourhood of their eyrie 
 the year throughout." 
 
 The roaming disposition of the White-tailed Eagle seems almost ex- 
 
90 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 clusively confined to young or immature birds. From the Tyne, north- 
 wards up the east coast of Scotland, immature specimens of this Eagle 
 are usually met with in autumn ; and at several of the bold headlands, 
 notably at St. Abbs Head in Berwickshire, a solitary bird will make its 
 appearance and remain a week or so until the supply of food is exhausted 
 or the incessant persecution to which it is subject sends it off to more 
 suitable quarters. Again, in the south-eastern counties of England this 
 bird is often seen in the autumn months in immature plumage. In these 
 districts they frequent rabbit-warrens, or take up their station on one of 
 the large sheets of water, where they wage an incessant warfare on the 
 waterfowl congregated there for the winter. Eagles of all kinds are 
 thorough gipsies in their mode of life here one day, fifty miles away the 
 next, a flight of a hundred miles being nothing but a morning stroll for 
 an Eagle. This circumstance, coupled with the fact that their haunts are 
 so vast and difficult of access, explains why it is that the birds are so 
 rarely seen, and why the impression is so deeply rooted that the birds are 
 well nigh extinct in Great Britain. 
 
 In Pomerania, especially between Stettin and the Baltic, the Sea-Eagle is a 
 common resident, breeding in the forests. It builds an enormous nest, some- 
 times six to eight feet in diameter, near the top of a pine or on the horizon- 
 tal branch of an oak or beech, preferring forests near inland seas and large 
 lakes. Instances have been known of its breeding in the same " Horst " for 
 twenty years in succession. Every year some addition is made to the nest, 
 until it becomes five or six feet high. Occasionally a pair of Sea-Eagles have 
 two " Horsts," which are used alternately. They are shy birds, and leave the 
 nest at the least alarm, but do not easily forsake their old home. If the eggs 
 are taken early in the season, they will frequently lay again in the same nest. 
 They make a very flat nest, and generally line it at the top with moss. The 
 male and female are said to sit alternately, and the female is said to be 
 shyer than the male at the nest. Two is the usual number of eggs ; but 
 frequently only one is found ; in rare cases as many as three are laid. 
 Eggs may be taken from the first week in March to the middle of April. 
 The Sea-Eagle is more gregarious than other Eagles, and they are fre- 
 quently seen to hunt together. They are by no means innocent birds, and 
 often make considerable havoc in the carp-ponds. Though they do not 
 refuse carrion, as many as six ducks have been found in a nest at one time, 
 and they often take hares or even very young roebuck. In winter the 
 number of Sea-Eagles in Pomerauia is increased by migrants from the north. 
 Dixon writes : " Within my own observation the favourite food of this 
 Eagle is the stranded fish and shore-garbage on the beach of its maritime 
 haunts ; while further inland a dead carcase or a weakly bird or animal are 
 shared with the Raven and the Crows. I once remember to have seen a 
 bird of this species alight on a drowned sheep lying on the shore of Loch 
 
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 91 
 
 Follart, iii Skye, on which a number of Hooded and Carrion Crows and a 
 few of the larger Gulls were feeding. After surveying the carcase as he 
 sailed round it in the air for a few moments, he finally alighted a few yards 
 away, and then leaped forward to his meal. The Crows cleared out of his 
 way, retiring to a little distance to watch his operations ; while the Gulls, 
 in light bouyant flight, hovered above or alighted on the sands, apparently 
 waiting patiently for his departure. Before he had well settled down to 
 his meal, however, a shepherd, whistling to his dogs on the cliffs near by, 
 disturbed him, and he rose into the air with a large piece of the almost 
 putrid flesh in his talons, and flapped lazily away over the loch towards 
 Dun vegan Head, leaving the Gulls and the Crows in undisturbed possession 
 to quarrel over their prize. Keen of sight as this Eagle is, still one is 
 almost led to think that the Raven and the Crow are possessed of sharper 
 powers of vision ; for very frequently indeed it is led to its meal by seeing 
 these birds congregated on a carcase. It may be, however, that the Crows and 
 Ravens are more prying birds than the Eagle, and search every nook and 
 corner more carefully. The White-tailed Eagle is also said to take living 
 fish from their own element, something after the manner of the Osprey ; but 
 how the bird accomplishes this feat it is hard to conjecture, unless, when flying 
 very low over the waves, it snatches some fish basking on the surface with its 
 claws, conveying it to land to devour at leisure. When carrion is scarce the 
 White-tailed Eagle seeks other prey the ducks and sea-fowl, taking them 
 more by stealth than prowess. In the winter months this species takes up 
 its abode on the banks of a loch or inland sheet of water, to live almost 
 entirely on the water-birds. Daily it may be seen in one particular tree, 
 watching, in company with a pair of Peregrines, the ducks on the water, 
 and waiting in the hope that they will rise and offer an easy capture. 
 At this season the bird will come much nearer to man's habitation in search 
 of garbage and refuse, ofttimes being hard pressed for food, although, in 
 common with the Raptores generally, it is capable of great endurance." 
 
 The many tales told of this bird, as well as of the Golden Eagle and the 
 Lammergier, which are all represented as carrying off children, are no 
 doubt myths ; for, as Saxby, in his ' Birds of Shetland/ very justly 
 remarks, every Eagle's eyrie in the islands is pointed out as the one made 
 famous for all time by its owners carrying off that world-renowned baby in 
 times so long ago as to be clouded in deep obscurity. 
 
 The White-tailed Eagle is undoubtedly mated to its partner for Life ; and 
 even should one of the birds be destroyed the survivor will obtain a fresh 
 companion in an incredibly short space of time a habit peculiar to most, 
 if not all, rapacious birds. For many seasons in succession this bird returns 
 to its old eytfe, merely making a few necessary alterations each season, 
 adding to the structure, or making good what damage it mav have sus- 
 tained during the storms of the previous winter. The site is varied 
 
92 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 according to locality, and may be on rocks, trees, or the ground. Iii the 
 inland districts the birds usually select a rocky islet in the middle of a 
 loch, where they either build their bulky nest on some ledge of the sloping 
 groimd, in a tree, or on the rocks, as occasion offers. Sometimes a site is 
 chosen at some distance from the water in small open woods ; but such 
 instances are rare. Inland rocks, too, are often selected, in similar places 
 to those which the Golden Eagle frequents broken cliffs, often quite easy 
 of access from above or below. But the most characteristic eyries of this 
 bird in our islands are on the coast, built high up in the almost inaccessible 
 rocks, hundreds of feet above an ever turbid sea, and in situations to which 
 none but the most intrepid climbers dare venture. Some nests in these 
 situations are indeed quite inaccessible, and the birds have remained in un- 
 disturbed possession from time immemorial. Two of these were visited by 
 Dixon, who describes them as follows : " One was, in the season of 1881, 
 in the terrible cliffs of the ' Storr ' rocks in Skye, its precise locality being 
 unknown, although the pair of birds might be seen almost daily entering 
 or quitting the rocks, or sailing in circles high in air above them. The 
 other safely rests on the breast of one of Macleod's ' Maidens/ also on the 
 coast of Skye ; and I was informed that these nests have been tenanted for 
 a great many seasons, presumably by the same owners. It may be the 
 'witching force of fancy; but the rocks which contain an Eagle's nest 
 seem the grandest in the whole district, and the ones from which the most 
 uninterrupted view may be obtained. Let us, while standing in this eyrie, 
 endeavour to convey a word -picture of the scene around us. Far below 
 are the deep-green waters of the ocean. On every side, and towering 
 far above our heads, are the beetling cliffs, crag beyond crag, clothed 
 with stunted herbage and here and there broken up into turfy banks. 
 On these banks the sea-pinks and the primroses are full of fairest blooms, 
 lending a delicious fragrance to the bracing air, now made resonant with 
 the barking cry of the male Eagle, perched on yonder rock-stack angry 
 at our intrusion, although too timid to evince his displeasure in a more 
 marked degree. The female Eagle, too, must be included in this picture. 
 She is high in air above us, occasionally sweeping past the face of the cliff, 
 well out of gunshot, and showing her anger by thrusting out her legs 
 and expanding her sharp talons, as though anxious to seize us in their 
 fierce grasp. Now an examination of the platform on which we stand. 
 Here and there are scattered the large bones of various fish; and just 
 on the edge of the nest a few Puffin's feet and an entire beak of 
 that bird, together with numerous castings and droppings of the old 
 Eagles on every side. The nest itself is a bulky structure evidently 
 the accumulation of years, flat in form, and about five feet in diameter. 
 It is made of large and small sticks, matted slightly together, yet firm in 
 texture, a few branches of heather, some of them quite recently obtained, 
 
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 93 
 
 others time-worn and bleached, and a few pieces of seaweed. It is lined 
 with fine and coarse grass, a few leaves of the sea-campion, and one or 
 two tufts of wool aud turf, on which the two eggs, slightly dirty with 
 nest-stains, lie so temptingly. Such is an average nest of the White- 
 tailed Eagle. Sometimes, however, it is not so elaborately made, and the 
 soft earth of the rock-ledge is almost the only bed on which the eggs 
 lie ; while yet again, when built on a tree, it is often of great size, and is a 
 conspicuous object throughout the surrounding district." 
 
 Several instances are recorded of the Sea-Eagle breeding upon the 
 ground. Herr Tancre describes a nest which he found upon the island of 
 Hiddensoe, on the southern shores of the Baltic near Stralsund, on the 
 naked meadow among the reeds. The nest was carefully made of sticks, 
 and was about two feet high. Similar occurrences have been recorded 
 from Jutland and the lagoons of Lower Egypt. 
 
 The eggs of the Sea-Eagle are roundish in form, slightly smaller than 
 Golden Eagle's, and rather coarser in texture, and are pure white in 
 colour; they vary from 3'3 to 2*75 inch in length, and from 2'4 to 2'1 inch 
 in breadth. It is doubtful whether eggs of this bird ever have any true 
 colouring-matter upon them, only a few brownish stains, received, in all 
 probability, from the materials of the nest or the feet of the sitting bird. 
 Although unspotted eggs of the Golden Eagle resemble eggs of this species, 
 still the much coarser grain of those of the White-tailed Eagle serves as a 
 sure guide by which to determine them. The young are hatched early in 
 June, and are covered with greyish-white down, and remain in the nest some 
 five or six weeks ere they are able to fly. 
 
 There are instances where several eyries of this bird have been built very 
 close together, even in Scotland. Although the birds breed so frequently 
 on the ocean-cliffs, still each particular " craig-an-Iolair " is otherwise 
 deserted of bird-life, the Gulls and the Guillemots keeping at a respectful 
 distance. Sometimes, however, a Peregrine Falcon's nest is quite close to 
 the Eagle's ; and the Raven will not unfrequently rear its young near at 
 hand. 
 
 When able to forage for themselves the young quit their parents' com- 
 pany and their birthplace for ever, becoming thorough wanderers, until, if 
 fortunate, they reach maturity, pair, and select some craggy haunt, some 
 sea-girt fortress or inland loch, as a castle for themselves, or retire to some 
 forest. Although not, perhaps, strictly gregarious, these young birds often 
 hunt at no great distance from each other, searching the hills and shores 
 in search of carrion or weakly birds and animals. 
 
 The upper plumage of the White-tailed Eagle is brown. The head and 
 neck are palef, in very old birds almost white ; the underparts chocolate- 
 brown ; tail white ; bill, cere, irides, and feet yellow ; claws bluish black. 
 The female resembles the male, but is somewhat darker, larger in size, 
 
94 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and has not the head and neck so lightly coloured. In young birds the 
 beak is black, the cere darker than in adults, the irides brown, and the 
 whole plamage more uniform in colour and much darker ; the tail-feathers, 
 too, are dark brown, not becoming purely white until the bird is some six 
 or seven years old. In this stage of plumage it is the Aquila ossifragus of 
 some authors. 
 
 Varieties of this bird sometimes occur. Meyer figures, in his ' British 
 Birds/ a specimen taken in Ireland, which has the whole of the plumage a 
 uniform bluish-grey colour. Gray, in his ' Birds of the West of Scotland/ 
 mentions a specimen in the possession of Sir James Mathesoii, Bart., of 
 Stornoway Castle, very bright in colour (a uniform yellowish grey) and of 
 extraordinary size. Mr. St. John records a specimen pure silvery white, 
 another albino specimen being also in the museum at Dunrobin Castle. 
 Great differences of size are also to be observed in this species, its alar 
 extent varying from six to seven, and even seven and a half feet. 
 
AQUILA. 95 
 
 Genus AQUILA. 
 
 The genus Aquila was established by Brisson in 1760, in his'Orni- 
 thologie/ i. p. 419. Since Brisson called the Golden Eagle Aquila 
 aquila, there can be no doubt whatever that A. chrysaetus is the type of 
 the genus. 
 
 The Eagles may at once be distinguished from any other European Birds 
 of Prey by their feathered tarsi, which are entirely concealed by feathers 
 down to the toes, in this respect resembling most of the Owls. The genus 
 Aquila is a cosmopolitan one, containing about thirty species'. Nine only are 
 found in Europe, of which three are British. Although large and powerful 
 birds, the Eagles are not courageous. They feed much on mammals, birds, 
 and reptiles. They nestle in cliffs and trees, some members of the genus 
 on the ground, making large nests of twigs, turf, wool, and moss, and lined 
 with green plants and foliage. Their eggs are from two to three in number, 
 varying from pale bluish white to cream in ground-colour, with brown 
 markings of various shades, and violet and grey shell-markings. Under- 
 neath the ground-colour there is always a pale bluish green, causing the 
 shell, when the egg is held up to the light, to appear that colour. 
 
96 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 AQUILA CHRYSAETUS. 
 GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 
 (PLATE 2.) 
 
 Aquila aquila, Briss. Orn. i. p. 419 (1760 ; imm., probably second plumage). 
 
 Aquila chrysaetos, Briss. Orn. i. p. 431 (1760, adult). 
 
 Aquila melanaeetus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 434 (1760, young in first plumage). 
 
 Falco chrysaetus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 125 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Gould), (Macyillivray), (Bonaparte), Naumann, (Jerdon), (Newton), (Coues), 
 
 (Sharpe), S/-c. 
 
 Falco fulvus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 125 (1766). 
 Falco fulvus /3. canadensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 125 (1766). 
 Falco pygargus, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 14 (1768). 
 Falco melanaetos, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 254 (1788). 
 Falco arnericanus, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 257 (1788). 
 Falco niger, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 259 (1788). 
 Falco cygneus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 14 (1790). 
 Falco melanonotus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 16 (1790). 
 Falco aquila, Daud. Traite d'Orn. ii. p. 47 (1800). 
 Aquila americana (Gmel.), Viettl. Ois. Am. Sept. i. p. 31 (1807). 
 Aquila fulva, Sav. Syst. Ois. de TEgypte, p. 22 (1810). 
 Falco regalis, Temm. Man. d'Orn. p. 10 (1815). 
 Aquila nobilis, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 338 (1826). 
 Aquila regia, Less. Traite tf Orn. p. 36, pi. 8. fig. 1 (1831). 
 Aquila ? daphanea, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 81 (1844). 
 Aquila barthelemyi, Jaub. Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1852, p. 545. 
 Aquila canadensis * (Linn.), Cass. B. N. Amer. p. 41 (1858). 
 Aquila intermedia, Severtz. Turk. Jevotnie, p. 112 (1873). 
 
 The Golden Eagle, one of the largest and most powerful birds of prey 
 found in the British Islands, although occasionally seen and obtained in 
 England, may now be said to be confined to the wildest and most isolated 
 districts of Scotland and Ireland. Time was when the bird bred in 
 England and Wales. In the days of Willughby it was said to breed on the 
 cliffs of Snowdon ; and that ornithologist also describes a nest found in 
 Derbyshire in the year 1668. Wallis also states, in his ' History of 
 
 * Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe,' includes in the synonymy of the Golden Eagle 
 "Aquila canadensis (Gm.), Wils. Am. Orn. pi. Iv. tig. 1 (1808)." There appear to be no 
 less than three inaccuracies in this quotation. The authority for the specific name cana- 
 densis is either Linnaeus or Cassin, according to whether names which are quoted as 
 varieties are recognized or not. Wilson, on his plate Iv. fig. 1, calls this species Bing- 
 tail Eagle, and in the text Falco fulvus. This plate illustrates vol. vii., which is dated 
 1813, although vol. i. is dated 1808. How is it possible to make so many blunders with 
 Sharpe's ' Museum Catalogue ' to copy from ? Or is there an edition of Wilson of which 
 we know nothing in this country ? 
 
GOLDEN EAGLE. 97 
 
 Northumberland/ published in 1769, that the Golden Eagle bred on the 
 highest and steepest part of Cheviot ; and Sir William Jardine, writing in 
 1838, mentions the cliffs of Westmoreland and Cumberland as once its 
 home. The Golden Eagle's only stronghold in our islands now is the 
 western and northern counties of Scotland and throughout the Hebrides 
 and also in the wildest parts of Ireland, although the bird of late years 
 appears to have decreased in numbers there. It also formerly bred in the 
 Orkneys, but, according to the best authorities, has not been known to do 
 so in the Shetlands. Outside the British Islands the Golden Eagle has 
 a very wide and extensive range. With the exception of Iceland, it 
 breeds throughout the greater part of the Palaearctic Region, from 
 Scandinavia to North Africa, and from Spain across Europe and Asia * 
 (except the extreme north, but as far south as the Himalayas), to Dauria 
 and China, being migratory in the extreme limits of its northern range. In 
 the Nearctic Region, with the exception of Greenland, it is found from the 
 temperate to the Arctic regions, chiefly confined to the mountainous 
 districts, but is nowhere numerous. 
 
 It is not till the vast solitudes of the Scottish Highlands are reached. 
 that the Golden Eagle may with any confidence be expected to be seen. 
 Once, however, among the wild grand scenery there, and the imagination 
 seems to create an eagle in every wild glen and on every rocky pinnacle. 
 Glens and mountains are on every side of you here a deer-forest or a 
 birch coppice there a rocky glen or a broad stretch of heathery waste, 
 over which the Plovers and the Redshanks rising, scream at your intru- 
 sion. On every side the mountains rear their hoary peaks ; and the clouds 
 hang densely round them, hiding their summits, and giving them a truly 
 wild and weird appearance. The wild scenery is enlivened and varied 
 by a mountain-loch, with its hilly banks clothed in verdure to the water's 
 edge. Streams roll down from the mountains in mad career ; over huge 
 rocky moss-grown boulders they fall and plunge, or flow slowly through 
 still dark pools, where trout and salmon sport and birch trees hang so 
 gracefully. Or, again, the scenery becomes desolate and dreary grey 
 rocks, stupendous hills, romantic glens and moors, in all their wild 
 primeval seclusion, where the Eagle's barking cry and the hoarse 
 croaks of the Raven and Hoodie are the only signs of life. Such haunts 
 as these are the lordly Eagle's home, his hunting-grounds, his regal fast- 
 ness ; and hither you must repair if you wish to make his acquaintance. But 
 the Golden Eagle is no common bird, and is often " not at home." Days 
 and weeks may pass when not an Eagle is to be seen ; for, except in the 
 breeding-season, the bird is a thorough wanderer, and explores vast tracts 
 of country in Search of prey. It is also when not engaged with nesting- 
 
 * Dybowski obtained it near Lake Baikal, and Radde obtained it in the Amoor. 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 duties that the bird wanders out of its favourite haunts and visits more 
 pastoral scenes. Then it is sometimes seen sailing proudly over the Low- 
 lands, and, more rarely still, gets as far south as England and Wales ; 
 although there is no room to doubt that by far the greater number of 
 Eagles reported to have been seen in this country are nothing but the far 
 commoner Sea-Eagle, Haliaetus albicilla. 
 
 You may cage the proud king of birds, you may confine him in mena- 
 geries, and observe him there ; but to gain an insight into his nature you 
 must see him in his haunts, where his eagle soul is unfettered, and where 
 he can roam the mountain-tops at will. Far away from man's busy haunts, 
 on the brown heathery hills of the north, you must seek him, where nature 
 and her wildest scenery is yet unchanged, and the wilderness is wrapt in 
 an endless solitude. See him perched on yonder grey pinnacle of rock 
 overhanging one of the ravines of the snow-capped Cullins, and watching 
 the blue hares sport amongst the rocks or see him soaring in boundless 
 freedom over the peaks of Rum and Canna, or hastening across the clear 
 blue waters of the Minch to his nest and mate in the hoary fastnesses of 
 Glen Brittle then you see the Eagle as he is at home, free as the tempest, 
 and the monarch of the wilds. 
 
 Most certainly the Golden Eagle, when he lives where game is scarce, is 
 a pest truly, indeed, "the pride and the pest of the parish," aye, and of 
 the whole country-side as well. The Golden Eagle has been known, on one 
 Highland sheep-farm alone, in the course of a single season, to carry off 
 as many as thirty-five lambs. Probably the amount is underestimated ; 
 for on such immense tracts of country as the Highland sheep-farms 
 it is impossible to tell how many lambs are really taken. It is in 
 these districts, where game is scarce, that the Golden Eagle does so much 
 harm ; and it is scarcely to be expected that sheep-farmers will put up 
 with the questionable pleasure of having the bird for a neighbour at such 
 an expense of live stock. But in other districts the Golden Eagle 
 is comparatively a harmless bird. In deer-forests Eagles are of the 
 greatest service ; for although they sometimes take a sickly deer-calf, they 
 live almost entirely on the blue hares, so troublesome to the deer-stalker ; 
 and most certainly the deer are the better: for the removal of the weak and 
 sickly ones, which would only possibly live to transmit their diseases to 
 posterity. The Golden Eagle strikes his prey, if it be a lamb, behind the 
 head, and, as a rule, carries it off at once to the nest, if the bird be bur- 
 dened with family cares, or to some wild secluded place where he can con- 
 sume it in peace. But lambs are not the Golden Eagle's only food. High 
 up among the mountains, almost in a region of perpetual snow, the blue 
 hare lives ; and this interesting little animal forms his favourite prey. This 
 hare, like the Ptarmigan and the stoat, changes its summer dress for one 
 of purest whiteness when the winter- commences this change doubtless 
 
GOLDEN EAGLE. 99 
 
 being effected from motives of self-preservation from the large raptorial 
 birds that are almost its only enemies. The Golden Eagle (noble as 
 he is thought to be) will eat carrion -when pressed for food. Eagles are 
 not noble birds like the true Falcons; and their claims to regal rank 
 rest on their size and prowess alone. Here, for instance, a sheep, ven- 
 turing too near the edge of the cliff, has lost its balance and been 
 dashed to pieces on the rocks below. The Eagle has found it out, 
 either by sight or smell, perhaps both, and made his meal upon its decay- 
 ing flesh. Or, again, a dead rabbit lies on the cliffs, and the prowling 
 Eagle espies it and carries it off bodily to his nest to feed its ever hungry 
 young. The Eagle in his habits is more a Vulture than a Falcon ; and his 
 motions are sluggish, cowardly, and tame compared with the death- swoop of 
 the Peregrine, or the brilliant performance of the Sparrow-Hawk or 
 the Merlin, who would not deign to feast on such lowly fare. The Golden 
 Eagle also preys upon various species of birds, notably the Blackcock and 
 the Red Grouse, Ptarmigan, Curlews, and Plovers, dropping upon them 
 unawares or simply taking the young and weakly ones ; for never does the 
 bird pursue and strike them like the true Falcon. 
 
 The flight of the Golden Eagle is truly a grand performance. Stroll up 
 the mountain-side some bright May morning when there is but little wind 
 and the sun is warm, and see the bird engaged in those aerial motions 
 which have rendered him so justly famous as a mariner of the air. As 
 you lie amongst the tall brown heather, dreamily gazing upward into blue 
 space, listening, it may be, to the humming of the passing insects, or the 
 bleating of the lambs on the opposite hill-side, and the croak of the Ravens 
 from the " Storr," your eye is riveted to a dark speck high in air, and 
 looking no larger than a Crow. Nearer it comes; the shepherd who per- 
 chance is with you exclaims with almost bated breath " lolair dhubh ! " (the 
 Black Eagle) ; and breathless you watch the king of birds explore the air. 
 Nearer and nearer he comes until he is directly above you now flapping 
 his broad wings at irregular intervals, now with them fully expanded, 
 gliding round and round, without giving them any perceptible motion, the 
 tips of the primaries separated and turned upwards, and the tail ever and 
 anon turned from side to side as a rudder. Although he seems so near, he 
 is still well out of the range of the heaviest shot, and for some time he 
 busies himself by surveying our reclining forms on the hillside below him. 
 But, see ! the pair of Ravens that are nesting in the " Storr" are uneasy 
 at his presence, and sally out to mob, if they dare, their king. Although 
 pirates the same as he, they evidently do not put much faith in the old proverb 
 of " honour amongst thieves/' and croaking fiercely forth their displeasure 
 at his presence, one flies above him, the other beneath, and each tries to 
 buffet him. But prudence forbids, and they content themselves with noisy 
 clamour, which is increased, in seeming exultation and triumph, as the 
 
100 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Eagle sweeps slowly onwards, rising higher as he goes to clear the neigh- 
 bouring hills, and disappears over the summit to pursue his course over 
 the adjoining valley. Follow him in imagination there; see him at last 
 alight on yonder hoary crag, his favourite perch for a generation. Notice 
 how gracefully he folds his long, broad wings, slightly drooping, his neck 
 closely retracted, with its bright golden plumes glowing in the light. 
 There he remains for hours basking in the bright sunbeams, digesting his 
 meal, and collecting his energies for a fresh foray upon the defenceless and 
 the weak. That favourite perch has been used for years and years. In fine 
 and storm the monarch of the mountain seeks that favoured rock-pinnacle, 
 there to bask in summer, or cling, firm as the rock itself, whilst the 
 storm and the sleet drive past in blinding fury. This peculiar habit of 
 choosing a certain perching-place is common to many of the larger raptorial 
 birds ; and it is often the place to which they convey their food and make 
 their meal. 
 
 All raptorial birds are capable of great endurance, and will live for a 
 considerable time without food ; yet none are more hardy in this respect 
 than the Golden Eagle, which has been known to fast for weeks. In 
 Eastern Turkestan the Golden Eagle is a bird of the chase, the young 
 birds being taken and trained for the purposes of falconry. Its quarry 
 is antelopes and foxes, and, it is said, even wolves. These trained birds 
 are carried about by a man mounted on a pony, who holds the bird 
 on his wrist, which, together with his hand, is protected by a leather 
 gauntlet. 
 
 The Golden Eagle is remarkably fond of bathing, and will often stand in 
 a little pool for half an hour or more, scattering the water over its plumage 
 and seeming to enjoy its submersion immensely. The number of stories 
 about people being attacked by Eagles, and of their carrying off children, 
 have, we are confident, but little foundation in fact. The Golden Eagle is 
 a powerful bird ; but he is not a courageous one, and often allows himself 
 to be beaten off by a much smaller and less powerful antagonist. When 
 its nest is menaced, the bird betakes itself clear away, never venturing 
 within gunshot, and usually consoles itself by watching operations 
 from a respectful distance, or leaves the place entirely. 
 
 Golden Eagles are most probably life-paired birds, and tenant the same 
 cliffs for many years in succession. The same nest is not always used each 
 season, especially if the birds be disturbed ; but it will usually be found 
 that they have several favourite places, which appear to be used in 
 turn. Very early in spring the birds prepare their eyrie, by strength- 
 ening it, adding to it a new lining, and otherwise repairing what 
 damage has been done by the storms of winter, much as the Rooks do ; or 
 if they are not so fortunate to possess a home, they commence building. 
 As a rule, the Golden Eagle chooses an inland site one amidst the 
 
GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 
 .101 
 
 mountains or overlooking a loch, but always in a commanding situ- 
 ation, and with a broad uninterrupted view of the surrounding country. 
 The selected rock is usually a rugged one, partly a broken bank clothed 
 with grass and ferns, and partly a precipitous cliff, the place in which the 
 is made usually being sheltered by the overhanging rock. But the 
 Golden Eagle does not always select an inland site, and occasionally 
 breeds on maritime cliffs. An account of an eyrie in such a situation 
 Avill doubtless prove interesting ; for it certainly is the exception, not the 
 rule, to find the bird breeding there. Dixon on this occasion made the 
 following notes : " One of the principal objects of my visit to the Western 
 Isles in the early summer months of 1881 was for the purpose of trying to 
 make myself acquainted with the Golden Eagle, his habits and his nest, in 
 his own wild mountain solitudes. But the Golden Eagle is now a scarce 
 bird. Time was when almost all the wild rugged cliffs possessed their pair 
 of birds ; but now, alas ! the Golden Eagle's race is well nigh run in 
 Britain, and one is bound to confess that, if protection is not soon vouch- 
 safed to this companion of the wild Highland scenery, it will soon cease to 
 be. I chose the island of Skye for my researches ; and for the first week 
 of my visit there the chances of making acquaintance with the bird seemed 
 small. All the keepers and the shepherds I questioned on the subject gave 
 me disheartening reports one keeper having shot one of these noble birds 
 the previous winter, and none had been seen on his land since ; another had 
 trapped the bird some few seasons ago, but said it had become very scarce ; 
 while a third proudly showed me the feet and heads of several Golden Eagles 
 nailed to his dog-kennels ! All agreed, however, that in this part of Skye 
 (Portree) the Eagle was not to be met with ; and I began to despair. Was the 
 lordly Golden Eagle to be found or not ? Contemporary writers of quite 
 recent date speak of finding the bird here ; but has the unwarranted perse- 
 cution already done its work and banished him from the glens and mountains 
 of Skye for ever ? Such were my thoughts, when one evening I had the rare 
 fortune to meet with a gentleman sheep-farmer of Skye, who informed me 
 that there was a Golden Eagle's eyrie on his farm, and that one of his 
 shepherds trapped the female bird that very day, and that he was taking 
 it with him to have it preserved in Inverness. No time was to be 
 lost, and I made a few hasty arrangements for an early start in the 
 morning to the place, some four and twenty miles away on the west 
 coast of Skye. 
 
 After providing myself with the assistance of three shepherds and a 
 long coil of rope, we started forth to harry Aquila's lordly castle. A four- 
 miles tramp over the mountains in the bracing morning air served to 
 nerve me for the task I had before me. The sun was just rising over the 
 distant hills; a raven was croaking dismally from the 'Storr;' a pair of 
 Peregrines were sailing in graceful circles high in air above; and the 
 
102 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Carrion-Crows and Hoodies, cunning fellows that they are, just kept at a 
 respectful distance, and that was all. But we were not bent on such lowly 
 game; our quarry was of nobler stamp, and I scarcely heeded them at all. 
 I remember a Skylark trilled out its morning anthem ; and the shrill 
 screams of the Herring-Gulls and the Kittiwakes, and the harsh cry of the 
 Oystercatcher, were repeatedly heard. On the hillsides one could hear the 
 faint bleating of the lambs, whose enemies' castle we were about to storm. 
 We reached the cliffs at last ; a right glorious Eagles' home it was too. But 
 so soon as we got to the brink of that terrible cliff, a loud barking cry 
 rang shrilly out on the morning air, a yelping cry of defiance echoing 
 amongst the rocks ; and the Golden Eagle sailed proudly from his castle, 
 carried so stately forward by his magnificent stretch of wing. A right 
 royal bird he was ; and all thoughts of his evil deeds were for the time for- 
 gotten. It was the Eagle the king of the feathered race, the bird so 
 famous in all times ; and I was lost in admiration. As he sailed so grandly 
 on, his rich dark plumage came out in bold relief against the blue waters 
 far below, the morning sun causing his head and neck to shine like 
 burnished gold. I paused to admire this feathered robber, this proud and 
 unconquered bird of the mountains and the heaths. He speedily flew out 
 to sea, ascending the air as he went ; and when about three or four 
 hundred yards from the cliff, I had an opportunity of observing his easy 
 flight to perfection. Slowly sailing round in ever widening circles now 
 on motionless wing, now with rapid beats he surveyed our unwelcome 
 intrusion. Silent as death, now he swooped along, now elevating his long 
 wings, hovering like some huge Kestrel ; or, taking a long downward swoop, 
 he passed directly opposite the cliff, the white patches on his wings 
 coming out in strong contrast with his rich dark plumage. He did not 
 long remain in our company, but went far out to sea ; and I finally lost 
 sight of him as he doubled a point some half-mile away, leaving us to 
 storm his rocky citadel if we could or dared. As I said before, it was just 
 the place one could imagine a Golden Eagle's eyrie to be in the grandest 
 piece of cliff on the coast, and the best for a look-out too. The cliffs were 
 something terrible in their wild and rugged grandeur. They here rose fully 
 600 feet above the sea at least, partly in a sloping grassy cliff, broken here 
 and there by precipices, and partly in a beetling rock. Far down below, the 
 waters of the Minch dashed against its base, rolling through the caves with 
 a sound like thunder fitting artillery, I thought, for such a scene, a truly 
 regal salute indeed to the noble bird's abode. Far down on the sea 
 below, the ' Scoots ' and the Gulls, looking not much bigger than Sparrows, 
 were playing on the waves, or sitting on the rocks quiet and motionless. 
 The grassy parts of the cliffs were studded with the fairest primroses and 
 sea-pinks ; and in all the rock-crevices the delicate spleenwort fern grew in 
 lovely luxuriance. The nest of the Eagle was in a little grass-covered 
 
GOLDEN EAGLE. 103 
 
 cavity about midway down the precipice, in a place where the rocks over- 
 hung, forming;, as it were, a natural roof to the nest. The only way of 
 getting to the nest at all practicable was from below ; and after giving 
 orders to the men, I and a shepherd commenced climbing down the rocks 
 to the grassy platform at the base of the cliff. We were able to climb down 
 some 400 feet without the aid of ropes, a cool head being all that was 
 required ; and when about some hundred feet or so from the eyrie, we 
 awaited the arrival of the rope from above which was to assist me to the 
 nest. The nest was built on a ledge of the cliffs, in a little grassy hollow, and 
 was made externally almost exclusively of heather and a few large sticks, the 
 lining being composed of dried fern-fronds, grass, and moss, in small 
 quantities, and large tufts of green herbage. The nest itself was not 
 very large nor deep ; and the lining-materials were built quite close up to 
 the wall of rock behind. The materials of the nest were not much inter- 
 woven, although they were very firm and solid. All round and about 
 the place, and in the nest itself, were quantities of animal remains, fur and 
 feathers, bones and decaying flesh of hares, grouse, and lambs ; for 
 the two young eaglets were rapidly coming to maturity. They opened their 
 mouths, snapped their beaks, and retired to the further end of the nest ; 
 yet otherwise seemed to bother themselves little at the intrusion. The nest 
 was a somewhat bulky structure too, perhaps some four or five feet in 
 diameter. And what a noble view there was to be had ! surely the Eagles 
 were wise in choosing such a home. As I clung to the grassy face of the 
 cliff, stupendous and rugged, every object was taken in at a glance the 
 sea beneath, the sky with its large masses of white clouds, the birds and 
 all, even the fleet of herring-boats fisffing in the Minch, some twenty 
 miles away, and the bleak and rugged peaks of Rum and Canna, whilst 
 1 hull down ' on the horizon the Long Island lay in gloomy indistinctness, all 
 serving to add a charm and a grandeur to the Eagle's wild abode. What 
 an impressive scene ! how wild, and yet how beautiful ! Long may the 
 Golden Eagle haunt the wild cliffs and mountains of that rugged shore; 
 for so long as he is there the crowning object of its beauty is ensured ! 
 Surely it is worth an effort to preserve this last remnant of a noble race a 
 bird which must be so closely connected with the Scotch, their traditions, and 
 their literature for all time. Surely the few lambs or fawns the Eagle takes 
 is but a cheap price for its preservation and maintenance in the land to which 
 it is so noble an ornament. Before it be too late, Scotchmen, protect your 
 national bird, the Eagle of your ancestors, and stay the cruel war waged 
 by grouse-shooter, deer-stalker, sheep-farmer, and skin- collect or a war 
 which will, er,e long, play its part but too surely, and take the Eagle from 
 your mountains for ever ! " 
 
 The eggs of the Golden Eagle are often laid before the snow is off the 
 hill-sides ; and very beautiful objects they are, varying very much in the 
 
104 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 amount of markings they contain, the well-marked egg certainly being the 
 rule, not the exception. They are from one to three in number; but 
 two is the usual clutch. As a rule, in the nests which contain three eggs 
 one proves addled. They are laid at intervals of a few days ; and as soon as 
 the first is deposited the female bird commences to sit. Eggs of the Golden 
 Eagle may be found representing those of all the other birds of prey ; and 
 almost every type occurs. Typical eggs of this species are dull white in 
 ground-colour, with lilac-grey underlying shell-markings, and rich reddish- 
 brown surface-blotches and spots. One of a pair of British specimens 
 resembles an egg of the Iceland Falcon, the other is boldly blotched and 
 dashed over the entire surface. Others, also British, are uniformly spotted 
 with one or two deeper spots on the large end. A fine egg from Scotland 
 has a dirty white ground-colour, dusted finely with reddish brown, heavily 
 blotched and spotted over the entire surface with deep-brown markings ; 
 while the companion egg from the same nest is white and spotless. One of 
 another pair, also British, resembles fairly typical eggs of the Common 
 Buzzard, while its fellow is a pale and spotless bluish green, similar to the 
 ground-colour of the Sparrow-Hawk's. Two fine clutches from Ireland are 
 remarkably uniform, one of each pair being more thickly clouded with 
 colouring-matter, the other with the spots more remote and the underlying 
 violet dashes larger and more numerous. It is rare to get two eggs from the 
 same nest resembling each other. One is usually more heavily marked 
 than the other ; and these characteristics may be observed in the same 
 eyrie for many years in succession. In size they vary largely, Irish eggs 
 apparently being the smallest. In shape they also vary considerably ; 
 even in the same nest one egg is often much rounder than the other. 
 They vary from 3'1 to 2'7 inch in length, and from 2'5 to 2*2 inch in 
 breadth. The eggs are hatched by the latter end of April or the first 
 week in May ; and the young are covered with down of snowy white- 
 ness. The female Eagle sits very close ; and should she be destroyed, the 
 male bird undertakes the duty of incubation, and hatches and rears the 
 young. 
 
 In some instances the Golden Eagle has been known to build its nest 
 in a tree in Scotland; and on the continent, notably in Germany and 
 Lapland, trees are selected, doubtless owing to the fact that suitable rocks 
 are not to be found for the purpose. The young Eagles are tended by the 
 parents for some little time after they quit the nest ; then they abandon 
 the place of their birth for ever. Before they leave their parents, they 
 may from time to time be seen hunting in company, the old birds appa- 
 rently teaching them to take and kill their own prey, which, at that time 
 of the year, is largely formed of young Grouse, Ptarmigan, and leverets 
 helpless creatures, easily caught and overpowered. 
 
 Many continental ornithologists divide the Golden Eagle into two races 
 
GOLDEX EAGLE. 105 
 
 or species. The northern form, A. chrysaetus, is said always to have some 
 rufous colour on the breast, and in the adult bird has the basal half of 
 every feather, including the quills and tail-feathers, mottled or marbled 
 with brown, which gradually disappears, leaving the terminal half uniform 
 brown. The southern form, A.fulvus (which I take to be the young), is 
 said never to have any rufous colour on the breast, and the basal half of 
 the small feathers of the body are said to remain white throughout life ; 
 but the white basal half of the quills and tail-feathers in the adult become 
 mottled, similarly to that of its near ally, but more defined. I am, how- 
 ever, of the opinion that this so-called adult A.fulvus is only an interme- 
 diate stage between young and adult of A. chrysaetus, in which the quills 
 and tail are a stage in advance of the smaller feathers of the body, which 
 have not yet been moulted. Severtzow obtained examples in Turkestan 
 exactly the reverse of this, and called them A. intermedia, apparently birds 
 which had moulted the small feathers into the adult plumage, but still 
 retained the immature quills and tail-feathers. At all ages the terminal 
 half of a newly -moulted feather is a rich chocolate-brown, which gradually 
 fades into a pale greyish brown, and the crown and nape are more or less 
 rusty, approaching gold-colour in newly-moulted old birds. Irides rich 
 hazel-brown ; cere and feet yellow ; bill and claws dark horn-colour. The 
 female resembles the male, but is slightly larger. Accidental varieties, 
 with one or two white feathers in the scapulars, occasionally occur: 
 Messrs. Jaubert and Barthelemy-Lapommeraye record an example from 
 the south of France ; Loche met with several in Algeria ; and Dixon saw 
 one in Scotland. This peculiarity is permanently developed in the adult 
 Eastern Imperial Eagle, and is said frequently to occur in the Booted 
 Eagle. In von Homeyer's magnificent collection of Eagles I observed 
 examples of both young and adult Lesser Spotted Eagles with one or two 
 white feathers in the scapulars. The Golden Eagles figured by Dresser 
 are so hopelessly bad that it is impossible to believe that they were drawn 
 by Wolf, the statement on the plate to that effect being no doubt a mis- 
 print. At no stage of plumage has the Golden Eagle a regularly barred 
 tail, as there represented ; nor have I ever heard of any local race supposed 
 to possess one. A circumpolar bird like the Golden Eagle is sure to pre- 
 sent some local variations in colour ; but none of these have been satisfac- 
 torily determined. The British and Scandinavian birds are more rufous 
 (less grey) than those from Central Europe, and American birds are still 
 more so ; but how far they may be subspecifically separable has not yet 
 been ascertained. 
 
106 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 AQUILA N^EVIA. 
 LESSEE SPOTTED EAGLE. 
 
 (PLATE 2.) 
 
 Falco macula tus*, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 258 (1788). 
 
 Aquila nsevia, Meyer, Taschenb. p. 19 (1810) ; et auctorum plurimorum (Nau- 
 
 mann), (TemmincK), Gould, Gray, Bonaparte, Schlegel, Newton, Heuylin, &c. 
 Falco naevius, Naum. Vog. Deutschl. i. p. 217, pis. 10, 11, figs. 1, 2 (1820). 
 Aquila planga, Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. Meth. iii. p. 1190 (1823). 
 Aquila pomarina, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 27 (1831). 
 Aquila maculata {Gmel.), Dresser, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1874, xiii. p. 373. 
 Aquila rufonuchalis, Brooks, Stray Feath. 1876, p. 269. 
 
 The Spotted Eagles differ from the Steppe Eagles in having round instead 
 of oval nostrils, and in having long tarsi, longer than the distance from 
 the point of the bill to the back of the head. There are four races of 
 Spotted Eagles, which are probably only subspecifically distinct. The 
 Spotted Eagle par excellence, Aquila clanga, has a very wide range. It is 
 found in the Pyrenees, the Alps, Albania, the Lower Volga, Turkestan, 
 India, Mongolia, and Northern China. The local race peculiar to Europe, 
 the Lesser Spotted Eagle, Aquila ncevia, breeds in North Germany from 
 Hanover to Dantzig, extending southwards to East Turkey and North-east 
 Greece, where its breeding-range joins that of the wide-spread form. It 
 is not known that there is any difference in the adult birds, except that 
 the average size of one is a little smaller than that of the other, as the 
 following measurements of the length of the wings, measured with a tape 
 on the convex surface, show, the figures in brackets being the number of 
 examples w r hich I have measured : 
 
 Males. Females.' 
 
 Aquila naevia (16) 18 to 20 inches. (10) 19 to 21 inches. 
 
 Aquila clanga (19) 20 to 21 (9) 21 to 22 
 
 Young in first plumage differ in colour as well as in size. The young 
 of the smaller form have a well-defined yellowish -brown patch on the nape, 
 whereas in the larger form the ends of the feathers of the nape are some- 
 
 * The absolute impossibility of arriving at a uniform nomenclature under the Strick- 
 landian laws of priority of publication and clear definition is well exemplified in the 
 history of the nomenclature of the Lesser Spotted Eagle. Messrs. Newton, Sharpe, 
 Dresser, and Gurney have each of them endeavoured to carry out these rules to the letter ; 
 and instead of uniformity being the result, we find that they have each selected a different 
 name for this bird. The first step towards attaining uniformity of nomenclature is to 
 discard these rules before they have produced more confusion. 
 
LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE. 107 
 
 times, but not always, pale. The pale spots on the ends of the feathers of 
 the upper parts of the smaller form are only well developed on the inner- 
 most secondaries and on the wing-coverts, whereas in the larger they are 
 well developed also on the scapulars, and especially so on the rump. The 
 other two local races are found in India. A. fulvescens, with the head, 
 neck, and underparts pale chestnut instead of brown in the adult, is only 
 known to breed in India. Immature birds are also fulvous, combining 
 the dimensions of the smaller form with an even greater development of 
 spots than in the larger form. A. hastata is common to India and Cochin 
 China. It has the dimensions and colour of A. ruevia ; and adults of the 
 two races are inseparable ; but the young have no nuchal patch, and also 
 resemble the young of A. clanga in having frequently traces of bars across 
 the innermost secondaries, the scapulars, and the rectrices. At best they 
 are only local races. If they were treated as good species, and the same 
 principles carried out in other genera, the number of species of Palaearctic 
 birds would be doubled. 
 
 In the 'Ibis' for 1877 Mr. Gurney refers the two Spotted Eagles killed 
 in Cornwall, and recorded in the ' Zoologist ' for 1861, to Aquila clanga, 
 the Larger Spotted Eagle. In Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' this decision 
 is quoted and indorsed. I believe, however, that I am in a position to 
 prove that it is an erroneous one, and that it is the Lesser Spotted Eagle 
 (to which species Dresser gives the name of Aquila pomerina, but which 
 the great majority of ornithologists have called, and, doubtless, will still 
 continue to call, Aquila navia] which has occurred in Britain. 
 
 The error has, doubtless, arisen from the extreme poverty of English 
 collections in examples of these Eagles. In some of the continental 
 museums they are, however, largely represented : in the magnificent 
 collection of E. F. von Homeyer in Stolp I devoted a day to an inspection 
 of the regiment of Spotted Eagles, all carefully selected examples picked 
 out of some hundreds that have passed through his hands. Of the 
 British-killed examples one bird, shot in Cornwall on the 15th December 
 1860, recorded by Mr. E. H. Rodd ('Zoologist/ 1861, p. 7311), is 
 described as a male ; length of wing 20 inches. The measurement of a 
 second example, shot at St. Columb ('Zoologist/ 1861, p. 7817), is not 
 given ; but Mr. Gurney, who has measured this example, which is now in 
 the Truro Museum, gives it as 19| inches. Mr. TATarren has been kind 
 enough to measure the example in the Dublin Museum, which was shot 
 near Youghal in January 1845, and informs me that it is 19| inches. 
 
 It seems to me that the St. Columb bird is undoubtedly A. nm-ia, as is 
 also the Youghal example. The first Cornwall Eagle is not quite so clear. 
 It may be a lafge male A navia or a small male A. clanga. L'nder any 
 circumstances it is very poor evidence for the admission of A. clanga as a 
 British bird. 
 
108 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Spotted Eagle is still a common bird in Pomerania during the 
 breeding-season. It arrives early in April, and leaves again for the south 
 early in September. It is a somewhat local bird, being almost entirely 
 confined to forests which are swampy, no doubt in consequence of the ease 
 with which it can obtain frogs in such localities. I was surprised to find 
 how absolute this rule appeared to be in the forests near Stolp. In the 
 dry forests we searched in vain ; but in those which were swampy we never 
 failed to hear of or to find the nest of this bird. It was very late for eggs 
 of birds of prey when I visited this district ; but I saw several nests of the 
 Spotted Eagle. The first was on the 30th of May, in a forest overlooking 
 the Lantow See. The situation was charming. On three sides of the 
 lake the hills were covered with forest, and on the fourth beyond the 
 reeds, where the Great Reed- Warbler and a colony of Crested Grebes were 
 breeding, some marshy ground led to the meadows and arable land. We 
 crossed the lake, which has an area of about four square miles, in a boat, 
 and had scarcely landed before we heard the cry of a Spotted Eagle, a 
 loud, clear, rich-toned ke-up. It is said that the female often betrays the 
 position of her nest by crying for food to the male, who feeds her whilst 
 she sits. Dr. Holland and I were looking with proper ornithological 
 veneration at the large flat nest of a Black Stork, which the forester 
 pointed out to us about thirty feet from the ground in a beech, but which 
 had not been occupied for the last year or two, when we heard a rustle of 
 wings near us. Turning round we saw a large " Horst " in a lofty beech 
 about seventy feet from the ground, on which an Eagle was standing. 
 She had evidently heard us talking and had got up. Before we reached 
 the tree she took wing, descending slowly for some distance and then 
 ascending to clear the trees, so that we could see the large white spots on 
 her back quite distinctly. The tree was difficult to climb ; but with the 
 help of ropes the nest was at last reached. It was an unusually large 
 structure, four feet long, two and a half feet wide, and two feet high. 
 Like the nests of all birds of prey, it was very flat, the depression in the 
 centre not being more than four or five inches. The foundation was 
 composed of sticks nearly an inch thick ; but at the top they were very 
 slender. The final lining was slender beech-twigs with fresh green leaves 
 on them. There was also a little down, and a feather or two, which had 
 probably been accidentally rubbed off the breast of the parent bird. The 
 nest contained two eggs nearly ready for being hatched. During the 
 whole time that we were at the nest both birds continued to sail round 
 and round over us. Occasionally we heard them cry; and once one of 
 them perched on the top of one of the neighbouring trees. 
 
 The second nest I saw was on the 6th of June. Herr von Putkammer 
 had kindly invited me to inspect a heronry on his estate ; and after dinner 
 we drove to a neighbouring forest, where Herr von Homeyer was to 
 
LESSER SPOTTED EAGLE. 109 
 
 introduce me to the Red-breasted Flycatcher. In the course of our walk in 
 the forest we started a Spotted Eagle from her nest about eighty feet 
 from the ground in a beech tree. She flew slowly off, and alighted on 
 the summit of a pine tree not far away, where we watched her for some 
 time. 
 
 On the following day, in a swampy forest between Stolp and the sea, we 
 took another nest of the Spotted Eagle. This time it was in a grand old 
 oak in a beech-forest interspersed with a few oaks and birches. It was 
 about sixty feet from the ground. The bird was on ; and as I was anxious 
 to obtain a specimen, we stationed ourselves round the tree. Tapping on 
 the trunk of the tree and shouting failed to alarm her; so we tired a 
 shot, when she flew off rather rapidly and fell to the forester's gun. She 
 proved to be a fully adult female. The nest was large, two feet in 
 diameter, and very flat. The final lining was fresh green grass. It con- 
 tained two eggs, one of which was chipped. 
 
 A couple of hundred yards off was last year's " Horst," somewhat the 
 worse for a year's wind and rain. It was built in the fork of a birch tree 
 where five branches sprung from the main stem, about forty-five feet from 
 the ground. 
 
 On the llth Dr. Holland showed me two nests of the Spotted Eagle in 
 another forest, from which he had obtained the eggs. Both were in beech 
 trees, one about thirty-five and the other about sixty feet from the ground. 
 He told me that he had seen nests of this bird in Scotch fir trees. 
 The nest has once been found on the ground (' Journ. fur Orn/ 1855, 
 p. 510). The male is said occasionally to relieve the female in the duties 
 of incubation. 
 
 Although the Spotted Eagle looks very aquiline, sailing majestically in 
 grand sweeps over the forest, its habits appear to be very much like those 
 of the Buzzard. It rarely pursues its prey on the wing. Now and then 
 it may surprise a small bird on the ground ; but its principal food is frogs. 
 It is said to run after lizards and snakes, to eat grasshoppers and other 
 insects, the remains of which have been found in the pellets cast up by the 
 young birds, and even not to disdain carrion. 
 
 The time to obtain fresh eggs is the first half of May ; and the number 
 in each nest is almost invariably two. Now and then one only is laid ; 
 and instances are on record of three eggs having been found in one nest ; 
 but these are extremely rare. The female is said to sit three weeks. The 
 eggs vary considerably both in size and colour, and are best described as 
 miniatures of those of the Golden Eagle. The surface is dull and some- 
 Avhat rough, and both ends are very nearly alike in shape. They vary in 
 size from 2*^5 by 2' 15 inch to 2'3 by 2'0 inch. The ground- colour is a more 
 or less creamy white. The two eggs figured were collected by Dr. Kriiper 
 in Macedonia, and are fair average examples. Some are much handsomer, 
 
110 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 almost like eggs of the Osprey, whilst others are scarcely spotted at all. 
 Not unfrequently the spots are confluent, occasionally at the larger end, 
 but more often at the smaller end. The colour of the spots is generally 
 a brownish brick-red ; but sometimes they are a rich dark blood-red. The 
 underlying spots are dull purplish, and seldom very conspicuous ; occa- 
 sionally, however, they are a chief feature of very handsome eggs. 
 
 The general colour of the Lesser Spotted Eagle is a uniform brown, the 
 colour of the newly moulted feathers being rich chocolate-brown, that of 
 the old abraded ones greyish brown. Bill dark horn-colour, cere and feet 
 yellow, claws black ; irides yellowish brown. The female resembles the 
 male, but is larger in size. Birds in first plumage have a rusty patch on 
 the nape, which gradually fades as the bird gets older; the scapulars, 
 wing-coverts, and innermost secondaries have a terminal greyish-white spot. 
 The underparts are streaked with rufous-brown. 
 
THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD EAGLE. Ill 
 
 AQUILA LAGOPUS. 
 THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD EAGLE. 
 
 (PLATE 5.) 
 
 Accipiter falco, var. leucocephalus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 325 (1760). 
 Falco lagopus, Briinn. Orn. Bor. p. 4 (1764). 
 Falco norvegicus, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 282 (1787). 
 
 Falco lagopus, Briinn. Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 260 (1788) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 Xaiimann, (Gould), Schlegel, (Gray),(Neictori),(Salvadori), (Sharpe), (Dresser). 
 Falco sclavonicus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 26 (1790). 
 Buteo pennatus, Dand. Traite, ii. p. 156 (1800). 
 Falco plumipes, Daud. op. cit. ii. p. 163 (1800, ex Levaifl.). 
 Buteo lagopus (Briinn.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. $c. Brit. Mus. p, 10 (1816). 
 Archibuteo lagopus (Briinn.), Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1269. 
 Butaetes lagopus, Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 3 (1838). 
 
 The Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle is a somewhat aberrant species of the 
 genus Aquila, inasmuch as the back of the tarsus is not feathered. It 
 has hitherto been placed among the Buzzards. Sharpe, in his first volume 
 of the ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum/ separates the 
 subfamily of Aquilime from the subfamily of Buteoninae, characterizing 
 the former as having the back of the tarsus reticulate, and the latter 
 as having it scaled. He figures the tarsus of the Rough-legged Buzzard 
 Eagle with the feathers at the back parted to show the scales, in order 
 to prove that, although the species in his genus Archibuteo have the 
 front and sides of the tarsus feathered like some of the Eagles, they have 
 nevertheless the back of the tarsus scaled like true Buzzards, and not 
 reticulate as is the case with those Eagles in which the tarsus is not 
 feathered. Unfortunately for his argument, the back of the tarsus of the 
 Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle happens not to be scaled, but is reticulate, 
 as is also the case with the other species in his genus Archibuteo ; so that 
 they are certainly Eagles and not Buzzards, according to his own definition. 
 The Eagles and the Buzzards are so nearly related that there can be no 
 excuse whatever for placing them in separate subfamilies ; and the Rough- 
 legged Buzzard Eagle and its allies differ so little from the true Eagles 
 that there seems no adequate reason for considering them more than sub- 
 generically distinct. My friend Dr, Gadow informs me that he has dis- 
 sected many of these birds, and that he has found that in many points of 
 their anatomy the Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle and the Spotted Eagle 
 are very closely allied. I have therefore discarded the use of the genus 
 Archibuteo, as being a name likely to mislead. 
 
 The Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle can only be looked upon as a pretty 
 
112 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 regular but rare visitor to the British Islands, occurring most commonly 
 in the immature plumage and in autumn. Although it has been obtained 
 in almost every county of England, and in certain years appears in large 
 numbers, but two reliable instances have been recorded of its remaining 
 to breed in Great Britain. Respecting one of these instances, particulars 
 are given by Mr. A. G. More in the ' Ibis' (1865, p. 12), furnished to 
 him by Mr. Alwin S. Bell, of Scarborough, as follows : " Mr. John Smith, 
 who was gamekeeper for twenty years on the estate of Sir J. V. B. John- 
 stone, remembers the Rough-legged Buzzards perfectly well ; there was no 
 mistake as to the species, as they were feathered right down to the toe-ends. 
 They used to breed, year after year, on the ground, amongst the heather, 
 in the moor-dells near Ash Hay Gill, Whisperdale, about three miles from 
 Hackness. One pair only bred every year during most of the time that 
 Mr. Smith was keeper (twenty-four years ago). They were not seen except 
 in the breeding-season. Mr. Smith has himself shot them from the nest, 
 and remembers that they sometimes had young." Mr. Edward, of Banff, 
 says (Zool. 1856, p. 5201) that its nest has been found in that neighbour- 
 hood ; and in confirmation of this statement he says that in the season 
 of 1864 he saw three young birds which were taken by a boy from a nest in a 
 wood some six miles from the town. In Scotland its appearance is 
 usually in autumn, in some years far more plentifully than in others ; and 
 as these birds are undoubtedly migrants from Northern Europe, it is but 
 natural that they are far more frequently seen on the east coast than the west. 
 Certain places in the Peak of Derbyshire, as Strines, and the moors near 
 Sheffield, appear to be in the direct line of migration of this species, and 
 rarely a year goes by without birds either being obtained or seen ; but 
 they do not appear to winter there. In the southern and western counties 
 of England it appears to occur less frequently than on the east coast ; but 
 in the eastern counties it may almost be said to be a regular visitor, 
 varying considerably in numbers in different years. In Ireland it is an 
 extremely scarce visitant, this country being too far to the west of its 
 regular southern flight; nor does it ever appear to visit Greenland, Iceland, 
 or the Faeroes. 
 
 The true home of the Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle is in the northern 
 portions of the European and Asiatic continents. It breeds throughout 
 Arctic Europe and Asia, being a very common species in Norway and 
 Sweden, up to the North Cape, becoming rarer in Russia, yet more 
 plentiful in Siberia, where it ranges as far to the east as the watershed of 
 the Yenesay and Lena. In the winter it retires southwards, to various 
 parts of Central and Southern Europe and the steppes of Russian Tur- 
 kestan. How far to the south this species strays it is difficult to say; 
 but it has never been seen in India or Persia, nor does it ever appear to 
 cross the Mediterranean. 
 
THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD EAGLE. 113 
 
 In Nepal, Thibet, and possibly in China the present species is represented 
 by A. strophiatus of Hodgson, which has the crown of the head, throat, 
 and chest uniform brown ; whilst on the North-American continent its 
 place is taken by A. sanctijohannls, differing in its more rufous and darker 
 plumage. 
 
 In this country, if any direct habitat can be assigned to a species that 
 occurs but as a wanderer, the Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle appears to 
 prefer open country tracts of wild moorland and especially rabbit-warrens, 
 and low-lying districts devoid of timber marshy places abounding with 
 wild fowl and the smaller mammals which compose its food. In its 
 general habits it more closely resembles the smaller Eagles than the Buzzards. 
 Although a sluggish-looking bird, it is by no means slow on the wing, is 
 capable of much rapid graceful movement, and may sometimes be seen 
 gliding along, eagle-like, with outspread wings and tail, surveying the 
 ground below. Like the Eagles, too, the present species seems not to have 
 that love for wooded districts and forests which is so marked a trait in the 
 character of the Common Buzzard, but resorts to wilder districts amongst 
 the mountains. In the breeding-season the Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle 
 ofttimes betrays the site of its nest by its plaintive wailing cry, something 
 like the mewing of a cat, and which is much louder than the note of the 
 Common Buzzard. 
 
 A diurnal bird, its food is obtained in the daytime, sometimes just in 
 the evening's dusk, and its hunting-grounds are for the most part the 
 open tracts of country. Here it leisurely sails, at a moderate height, 
 ready to pounce down upon the usually small and insignificant creatures 
 that form its food, which is composed of small mammals of various kinds, 
 such as field-mice, lemmings, and moles, frogs, lizards, and also young 
 rabbits and hares. When pressed by hunger it will often feed on 
 carrion, like the Eagles ; but it does not appear to prey much on birds, 
 unless when it discovers them wounded and comparatively helpless. This 
 bird has been known to follow the sportsman, and actually seize dead 
 birds, an interesting note respecting this being found in Stevenson's 
 'Birds of Norfolk' (i. p. 31). 
 
 I have never taken the nest of the Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle; but 
 my friend Harvie-Browu has lent me the journal of his visit to the Fille 
 Fjeld iu South Norway, in company with the late Mr. E. R. Alston. 
 In the wild rocky valleys of this district, three to four thousand feet 
 above the level of the sea, this interesting bird breeds in considerable 
 numbers, and many nests were taken during the month of June. In 1871 
 fourteen breeding-places were known in this locality, all of them in the 
 clefts of mor^or less inaccessible rocks. In every case a rope was neces- 
 sary to secure the eggs ; but the inhabitants pointed out many old breeding- 
 places in easily accessible cliffs, leading to the supposition that the 
 
 VOL. i. i 
 
114 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 selection of more secure sites is a habit recently acquired, in conse- 
 quence of the persecution of modern ornithologists. The following is a 
 condensed account from the notes made on the spot by Harvie-Brown of 
 the taking of a nest of the Rough-legged Buzzard Eagle at Valdersdal : 
 The nest was first visited on the 15th of June. The ' Fjeld Orus ' rock 
 was reached after a walk of about ten miles over deep snow-drifts. Early 
 in the day the walking was easy over the frozen snow ; but later on pro- 
 gress became more difficult, some of the party occasionally sinking up to 
 their hips in snow. The ice had not yet left the lakes on the high fjelds ; 
 and the appearance of five reindeer did not make the scene less winterly. 
 Arrived at the rock, the male bird was seen sitting on a boulder at 
 the top, and the female soon left the nest. Harvie-Brown fired at the 
 male but missed him, and climbed up to within twelve feet of the nest. 
 Whilst he was descending the female flew on again. The party then made 
 a detour to reach the top of the nest, and one of them was lowered down 
 with a rope, which proved too short. The female remained sitting; big 
 stones were rolled down, crashing past the nest within a few feet of it, 
 but she would not move. For two hours all attempts to dislodge her 
 proved in vain, although two shots were fired, one bullet passing through 
 the edge of the nest. All this time the male kept flying round at a great 
 distance. On the following day the party returned to the nest with a 
 longer rope, seeing the reindeer again en route. This time the female 
 flew off at once ; and Harvie-Brown shot her whilst his collector, Lars 
 Eraker, was attempting to reach the nest. In this he was unsuccessful. 
 Six days afterwards they visited the nest with Peder Hongen, a more 
 active collector. The snow was still perfectly crisp, and it was easy to walk 
 on the high fjelds. Peder simply took the rope in his hand, and literally ran 
 down the steep slope till he disappeared from sight. To the astonishment 
 of all, off came a second female from the nest, the male bird having 
 secured another partner since the previous visit ; and both birds were seen 
 to get clear away. Ten minutes after Peder' s head had disappeared over 
 the edge of the rock, a shout from below announced that he had secured 
 the eggs ; and soon he was descried 300 feet below, at the base of 
 the hill. The nest was a large structure formed of juniper-branches, 
 and contained three well-marked eggs considerably incubated. The 
 number of eggs varies from two to five. The nest is generally large, 
 composed of branches of dwarf birch or juniper, and lined with thin 
 wiry grass ; but occasionally it is a mere hollow lined with grass and 
 without any sticks. 
 
 At Quickiock, Wheelwright describes the nest as often being placed on a 
 fell-ridge and often in a tree ; and at Muonioniska, Wolley and his col- 
 lectors found them only on Scotch firs, some being taken as early as the 
 middle of May. This difference in the habits of the bird is no doubt 
 
THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD EAGLE. 115 
 
 accounted for by the nature of the country, this part of Lapland being 
 on the borderland between the forest and the tundra. There are no 
 cliffs ; but the country is described as a wild tract of undulating ground, 
 abounding with forest, river, lake, and swamp. 
 
 The eggs of this bird are subject to considerable variation in colour 
 and size, some specimens being poorly marked, whilst others are very 
 richly blotched with dark red, or clouded and mottled with pale brown. 
 In some eggs the colouring is confined to a few large rich blotches of red ; 
 others are evenly spotted with colour, just as intense, over the entire 
 surface. A more rare variety is delicately streaked and pencilled with a 
 few irregular dashes of pale brown, something similar to a Kite's. Other 
 varieties are seen in which all the colouring is distributed in pale purplish 
 shell-markings, with, perhaps, a few streaks of rich brown. The hand- 
 somest type of egg is the clouded variety. They vary from 2*25 to 2'1 
 inch in length, and from 1*8 to 1'65 inch in breadth. 
 
 The general colour of an adult bird is buffish white, variegated with 
 several shades of brown, most closely on the back and rump. The quills 
 have the basal half white, terminal half blackish brown ; a broad patch of 
 brown on the belly; basal two thirds of tail white, remainder brown, 
 narrowly tipped with buffish white. Legs feathered to the toes, fawn- 
 colour, streaked with brown. Bill blackish horn, bluish at the base; 
 irides brown; feet and cere yellow; claws black. The sexes only differ in 
 size, the female being slightly the largest. Immature birds may always 
 be distinguished from adults by having the brown markings on the lower 
 parts longitudinal instead of transverse. 
 
116 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus BUTEO. 
 
 The genus Buteo was established by Cuvier in 1800, in his ' 
 (T Anatomic comparee/ i. tab. 2. Previous to that date the Buzzards were 
 included in the genus Falco of Linnaeus. Cuvier did not designate any 
 type ; nor has any later writer in any subsequent subdivision of the genus 
 done so. It is impossible to say what species was considered typical by 
 Cuvier ; but it is perfectly obvious that the Common Buzzard (the F. buteo 
 of LinnEeus) ought to have been so considered, and we cannot do wrong in 
 so accepting it. 
 
 The Buzzards are very nearly allied to the Eagles, forming a connecting 
 link between them and the Harriers and the Hawks. From the Eagles 
 they may be distinguished by having no feathers on the lower half of the 
 tarsus, which is scaled before and behind, a character they have in common 
 with the Harriers and the Hawks. From the former they are distinguished 
 by their thick tarsus (circumference about one third of length), and from 
 the latter by their long wings and short tarsus (less than a fourth the 
 length of the wing, and less than half the length of the first primary). 
 In their habits the Buzzards very closely resemble the Eagles, being, as a 
 rule, somewhat heavy in flight, rarely catching their food upon the wing. 
 They feed upon reptiles, mice, and other small mammals, insects, and 
 occasionally birds, which they catch when sitting. They build a mode- 
 rate-sized nest of sticks &c., which is sometimes placed on trees, and 
 sometimes on rocks. They lay from two to four eggs, greenish white or 
 pure white in ground-colour, marked sparingly with reddish-brown and 
 violet shell-markings. When held up to the light the shells of Buzzards' 
 eggs look green. The Buzzards, of which there are twenty or more species, 
 are almost cosmopolitan in their range, but are seldom found north of 
 the Arctic circle. But one species is found in the British Islands. 
 
COMMON BUZZARD. 117 
 
 BUTEO VULGARIS. 
 COMMON BUZZARD. 
 
 (PLATE 5.) 
 
 Accipiter buteo, JSriss. Orn. i. p. 406 (1760). 
 
 Falco buteo, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 127 (1766). 
 
 Aquila glaucopis, Merrem, Ao. Ear. p. 22, pi. vii. (1786). 
 
 Falco albus, Daud. Traite, ii. p. 155 (1800). 
 
 Buteo vulgaris, Leach, Syst. Cat. M. $ Birds Brit. Mus. p. 10 (1816) ; et auctorum 
 plurimorum Gray, Eaup, Schlegel, Stinckland, Jerdon, Gould, Sundevatt, New- 
 ton, Sharpe, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Buteo mutans, Vieill N. Diet. cTHist. Nat. iv. p. 469 (1816). 
 
 Buteo fasciatus, Vieill. Noitv. Diet. iv. p. 474 (1816). 
 
 Buteo spiralis, Forst. Syn. Cat. Br. B. p. 44 (1817). 
 
 Falco pojana, Savi, Nuov. Giorn. Pisa, xxii. p. 68 (1822). 
 
 Buteo communis, Less. Traite, p. 78 (1831). 
 
 Buteo fuscus, Macyill. Hist. Brit. B. iii. p. 183 (1840). 
 
 Buteo cinereus, Bp. Consp. i. p. 18 (1850). 
 
 Buteo variabilis, Bailly, Orn. Sav. i. p. 127 (1853). 
 
 The Common Buzzard was formerly pretty generally distributed through- 
 out Great Britain and Ireland, probably with the exception of the Outer 
 Hebrides, the Orkneys, and Shetlands ; but it is now confined to a few of 
 the larger forests, principally of Scotland and Wales, and the sea-coasts 
 where the rocks are lofty and precipitous. 
 
 The Buzzard varies so much in the colour of its plumage, and frequently 
 approaches so closely to its nearest allies, that it is very difficult to define 
 its exact range. It is impossible to draw a hard and fast line between B. 
 vulgaris, B. ferox, B. desertorum, B. japonicus, and B. plumipes. Many 
 ornithologists have attempted to do so ; but no one has been able to dis- 
 cover a diagnosis which harmonizes with geographical distribution. The 
 Buzzard is by no means an Arctic bird, and rarely, if ever, strays within 
 the Arctic circle, only approaching it in the western limit of its range. 
 In Scandinavia it is said to breed up to lat. 66, at Archangel to 65, 
 and on the Urals to 59 ; consequently there is no Arctic form of this 
 bird. The southern limit of the breeding-range of the typical form of the 
 Buzzard is the Mediterranean, the valley of the Danube, the northern shore 
 of the Black Sea, and the lower valley of the Volga, not reaching so far 
 south as the Caspian, but extending eastward to the Urals. In the northern 
 portion of its rauge it is only a summer visitor ; in the central portion a few 
 remain duriflg the winter ; and in the southern portion of its range it is a 
 resident, its numbers being increased in winter by migrants from the north. 
 The Ural birds appear to winter in Turkestan. Its occurrence in Africa in 
 
118 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 winter is probably accidental. There are two extreme forms of the Euro- 
 pean Buzzard. One is deep blackish brown, with pale edges to a few of 
 the feathers of the underparts. The other is pale brown on the upper 
 parts, with white edges to each feather ; whilst on the underparts the 
 white edges have spread over the entire feather, except on a few feathers on 
 the breast and flanks, where a little pale brown is left in the centre. 
 Between these two extremes every intermediate form occurs. 
 
 East of the Ural Mountains lie the Barabinsky Steppes, where there is 
 no forest, and consequently no Buzzards. But beyond the steppes the 
 forest reappears, and with it the Buzzards. In the upper valley of the 
 Yenesay, in the trans-Baikal country as far as the Stanowoi Mountains on 
 the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, and in Japan the Japanese Buzzard 
 (5. japonicus) is found in summer, wintering in China, Burma, and India. 
 This is a very near ally of our bird, said to differ from it in having the 
 tarsus feathered for a slightly greater extent, and in varying from dark 
 brown to rufous in general colour; but the former character is by no 
 means constant, though it has suggested the name (B. plumipes] for the 
 Indian bird, which some writers have considered distinct. 
 
 Besides the two northerly forms of the Common Buzzard, there are two 
 tropical forms. The African Buzzard (B. dcsertorum) is, on an average, 
 slightly smaller than its European representative, the length of wing 
 varying from 13^ to 15^ inches, whilst in our race it varies from 15 to 
 16^ inches. As might be expected in a tropical race, it is very rufous in 
 colour ; but it is subject to the same variations as our bird, and a small 
 dark bird of our race is scarcely to be distinguished from a large dark bird 
 of the African race. The range of the latter extends to the Azores, where it 
 is a resident to Tangiers, Algeria, and Tunis, where it is also found 
 throughout the year and to the plains of Northern Turkey and South 
 Russia as far east as the Kirghis Steppes, where it is a common summer 
 visitor, passing the Bosphorus in great numbers on migration and 
 wintering in South Africa. The other tropical form is the Long-legged 
 Buzzard (B. ferox], with the same variations from dark brown to rufous- 
 brown which are found in its tropical ally ; it is a larger bird, the wing 
 varying from 16j to 19 inches in length. In Algeria and the Kirghis 
 Steppes its range overlaps that of the African Buzzard ; but it extends 
 eastward through Egypt, Palestine, Asia Minor, Persia, and Turkestan to 
 India. Both the rufous forms are remarkable for the way in which the 
 bars on the tail become nearly obsolete in adult birds. All these forms 
 are probably conspecific to a greater or less extent. 
 
 It is very unfortunate for the Common Buzzard that it looks so much 
 like an Eagle. The consequence is that in England, where the preserva- 
 tion of game is conducted irrationally, the innocent Buzzard has almost 
 become exterminated by the gamekeepers. In order to study its habits 
 
COMMON BUZZARD. 119 
 
 during the breeding-season it is necessary to visit the forests of North 
 Germany, where it is still a common bird, by far the commonest bird of 
 prey. The Prussian foresters are well educated, and understand the dif- 
 ference between destructive and harmless birds. The Buzzard breeds on 
 the outskirts of the forests, whence it issues in search of food, and may 
 often be seen perched on the bare hill-sides, waiting for mice and other 
 small mammals, or may be observed crossing the open fields with some- 
 what heavy and indolent flight. It is equally common in dry as in swampy 
 woods, and breeds in pine-forests as freely as in those of beech or oak. In 
 the forests near Brunswick I found the nests mostly in beech and oak ; but 
 in Pomerania many were in Scotch firs, one in a birch, and one in an elm. 
 Many Buzzards remain in North Germany during the winter; but most 
 leave for warmer climes in September and October, returning to their 
 breeding-grounds about the middle of March. The Buzzard builds a nest 
 from one and a half to two feet in diameter, and, if it is in the fork of a 
 tree, sometimes nearly as high. The foundation is of large twigs, finished 
 at the top with slender twigs. It is very flat, the hollow in the middle 
 containing the eggs about the size and depth of a soup-plate. The final 
 lining is fresh green leaves, generally beech; but in one nest, although it 
 was in a beech tree, the lining was green larch-twigs. This lining must 
 be renewed from time to time. Out of eleven nests near Brunswick, five 
 of which contained eggs, five young birds, and one three eggs and a young 
 bird, all but one Were lined with fresh leaves. The one that had no green 
 lining was the last we examined, and contained three very large young 
 birds. This was also the only nest containing young which did not also 
 contain some food, and the only nest where we saw nothing of the parent 
 birds; they were no doubt absent in search of food to satisfy the vora- 
 cious appetites of their three children, and had probably no time to spare 
 to renew the lining. What the obj ect of this fresh lining of green leaves 
 can be I do not know. "NVe never found any birds in the larder. One 
 nest contained a blindworm in two pieces, and two short-tailed field-mice. 
 A second nest contained a frog and half a long-tailed field-mouse. A third 
 contained no fewer than eleven short-tailed field-mice ; w r hilst a fourth nest, 
 containing three young, was supplied with six large short-tailed field-mice 
 and seven smaller ones. A fifth nest, containing only one young bird, also 
 contained a mole and a long-tailed field-mouse. The nests varied from 50 
 to 90 feet from the ground ; but some, to which we did not attempt to 
 climb, were higher. In Pomerania I saw several nests in Scotch firs, not 
 more than 25 feet from the ground. My friend Dr. Holland, who has 
 paid great attention to the birds of prey in Pomerania for many years, 
 informs me^nat the Buzzard begins to lay about the middle of April (I 
 took eggs, all highly incubated, near Brunswick, between the 4th and 17th 
 of May) , that the period of incubation lasts three weeks, and that the male 
 
120 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 relieves the female at her duties. He tells me that, besides small mammals, 
 the Buzzard will eat grasshoppers and other insects, reptiles, and occasion- 
 ally small birds, if it gets a chance of catching them sitting. The spines 
 of the hedgehog have been found in the stomach of the Buzzard ; and Dr. 
 Holland also mentioned an instance of a female bird having been found 
 dead on the nest with a live viper under her. 
 
 The Buzzard returns year after year to the same nest, but is said not to 
 breed a second time the same year if the eggs are taken. When the 
 eggs are much incubated she sits very close. Sometimes we could see the 
 tail projecting beyond the edge of the nest, but were unable to drive the 
 bird from her place by shouting, sometimes not even by hitting the trunk 
 of the tree. Once or twice the sitting bird did not fly off until the climber 
 was halfway up the tree. When she does take wing, she flies straight off 
 and clears herself from the tops of the surrounding trees as soon as pos- 
 sible. She sits on the nest head to wind, and flies off also head to wind, 
 but, when she has a clear course, generally soon wheels round, and keeps 
 up at intervals a melancholy cry like pe-e-i-o-oo. The Buzzard is said to 
 breed in its first spring, in immature plumage. As soon as the duty of 
 feeding the young is nearly come to an end, which is late in May or early 
 in June, the moulting-season comes on. First the wing- and tail-feathers 
 are renewed, but slowly, only one or two at each side at a time, so as not 
 to interfere much with its power of flight. During August and September 
 the body-feathers are moulted. 
 
 Dixon met with this bird in the north of Scotland, and made the follow- 
 ing note respecting its nesting-habits there : " Far in the deepest soli- 
 tudes of the deer-forests the Buzzard ofttimes builds its nest. Its cradle 
 is usually placed in some dense hoary pine tree, the patriarch of the forest, 
 and the one most difficult of access tqo. It is here, but sometimes also 
 just on the borderland of the forests, that the Buzzard finds the solitude 
 of his choice, the seclusion which he loves. Nothing breaks the silence 
 here save the occasional cry of a Blackcock or the light tread of the moun- 
 tain-hare as it hurries off at your approach. The scenery around is grand, 
 befitting surroundings to such an abode. The distant mountains come out 
 in bold outline against the clear morning sky ; and the sunlight glistens 
 brightly on the red bark of the pines around you. The nest is situated on 
 a flat branch, some sixty feet from the ground. It is a large bulky struc- 
 ture, indeed almost flat, and made of sticks. In the cavity Avhich contains 
 the eggs are a few bits of wool and down, similar to what are often found 
 in the Sparrow-Hawk's nest. Indeed the whole structure bears a very 
 close resemblance to the nest of that bird ; only it is situated further from 
 the trunk of the tree, like the nest of the Heron. Since this nest was 
 robbed, the pair of birds have commenced building another, choosing for 
 their situation this time the face of an old ivy- covered cliff." 
 
COMMON BUZZARD. 121 
 
 In some parts of South Wales the Buzzard breeds on the cliffs. Dr. 
 Propert has kindly furnished me with particulars of eight nests, all built 
 on the rocks overlooking the sea on the coast of St. Bride's Bay, in Pem- 
 brokeshire. They were taken in 1876 and the two following years ; the 
 earliest date was the 19th of April, and the latest the 9th of May. Two 
 were on the cliffs of the mainland, near St. David's Head, and the other 
 six on Ramsey Island. The rocks were almost perpendicular, and in four 
 cases they were overhanging. The cliffs rise from three to four hundred 
 feet above the sea. In every case the nests were almost inaccessible, and 
 could only be reached by letting a boy down with a rope; and where the 
 nests were under an overhanging rock, the eggs could only be secured with 
 a net fastened to the end of a stick. One nest, a large one, was a slight 
 hollow, with sticks carefully disposed around it. Another nest was under 
 some thorn-bushes, and a third in a very damp place where water was 
 trickling down. One nest contained four eggs, and six nests contained 
 three eggs each. The eggs varied somewhat in size ; and in one of the 
 nests the third egg was abnormally small. Some clutches were much more 
 handsomely coloured than others. In two cases the eggs were perfectly 
 fresh ; but in one taken on the 1st of May they were almost hatched. In 
 the ' Ootheca Wolleyana ' is also an interesting account of the nesting of 
 the Buzzard on rocks in Sutherlandshire. 
 
 Three seems to be the usual number of eggs, sometimes only two, and 
 not unfrequently four. They vary very much in size and colour, are rough 
 in texture, and possess little or no gloss. Common Buzzards' eggs vary 
 from milky blue to pale reddish white in ground-colour, blotched, streaked, 
 spotted, or clouded with rich brown surface-spots and pale lilac shell-mark- 
 ings. Some specimens are most richly and handsomely marked, others 
 more sparingly, whilst many are almost devoid of markings. Many speci- 
 mens very closely resemble certain varieties of the Common Kite's, others 
 the pale and spotless eggs of the Goshawk. A rather rare variety is 
 finely streaked and scratched over the smaller half of the egg with pale 
 brown, with one or two larger spots. In some the colour is confluent on 
 the larger end, whilst in others the rich brown colouring-matter is covered 
 with a thin coating of lime, giving the egg a beautiful delicate lilac-pink 
 appearance. In form the Buzzard's eggs vary considerably, some speci- 
 mens being almost round, others strictly oval, some elongated, and more 
 rarely elliptical. In size they vary from 2|- to 2 inches in length, and 
 from 1'9 to T65 inch in breadth. 
 
 The peculiar motion of the Buzzard's flight has been noticed by .the 
 earliest writers on British birds, who speak of its rising in the air to a 
 great elevation in a spiral course. So much did this motion on the 
 Buzzard's part impress itself upon Forster, that he gave the bird the name 
 of spiralis. In passing from place to place the Buzzard flies very slowly, 
 
122 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and usually very low, just above the ground. Sometimes it may be seen 
 sitting on the road-side, on a large stone or fence, from \vhich it flaps 
 slowly forward to secure, with unerring certainty, some mouse or other 
 small mammal. At times the Buzzard flies at a great height, sailing 
 slowly about the heavens in graceful swoops and curves, its broad wings 
 and tail expanded to their fullest extent, the motion of the tail helping to 
 guide the bird through space. 
 
 In the typical form of the Common Buzzard the tail is crossed with 
 about ten pale bars, and has a slight pale tip ; legs and toes yellow ; claws 
 black ; beak bluish black ; cere yellow ; irides yellowish brown, dark hazel 
 in the young. 
 
 Three other species belonging to the genus Buteo have been recorded as 
 occurring in the British Islands. The Red-tailed Buzzard (Buteo borealis), 
 a species inhabiting Eastern North America and the West Indies, is said 
 to have been killed, in the autumn of 1 860, in Nottinghamshire. Another 
 American species, the Red-shouldered Buzzard (Buteo lineatus), is reported 
 to have been killed in Invernessshire in 1863, and is recorded in ' The Ibis ' 
 for 1865 (p. 549). Lastly, the African Buzzard (Buteo desertorum), of 
 which three examples are said to have been obtained : the first was killed 
 at Everley, Wiltshire, in September 1864; the other two specimens Avere 
 obtained in Northumberland one near Newcastle in 1830, the other 
 at Tynemouth in November 1870. There is no evidence to prove that 
 these birds had not escaped from confinement ; nor is it certain that the 
 identification was correct. 
 
CIRCUS. 123 
 
 Genus CIRCUS. 
 
 The genus Circus was established by Lacepede (Mem. Classe Sc. math.- 
 pliys. Inst. iii. p. 506) in the year 1801. Previous to that date the 
 Harriers were included in the genus Falco of Linnaeus. Lacepede did 
 not indicate any type; but Bonaparte, who afterwards unnecessarily sub- 
 divided the genus, retained the Marsh-Harrier in his restricted genus 
 Circus, and this bird may therefore be considered the type. 
 
 The Harriers are intermediate between the Buzzards and the Hawks, 
 having the somewhat long wings and short tarsus of the former, and 
 the long tail and slender tarsus of the latter, but agreeing with both 
 in having the lower half of the tarsus scutellated both at the back and 
 front. 
 
 This genus is almost cosmopolitan, and contains about twenty species, 
 of which four are European, three of these breeding more or less commonly 
 in the British Islands. 
 
 The food of the Harriers is composed of small mammals, birds, reptiles, 
 fish, insects, and birds' eggs. Their nests are built on the ground; and 
 their eggs, from three to five in number, are bluish white, generally 
 spotless, but in some cases marked with pale brown ; when held up to the 
 light the bluish-green colour which underlies the white ground-colour is 
 always observable. 
 
124 BRITISH BIUDS. 
 
 CIRCUS ^ERUGINOSUS. 
 MARSH-HARRIER. 
 
 (PLATE 6.) 
 
 Accipiter circus palustris, Unas. Orn. i. p. 401 (1760). 
 
 Accipiter circus rufus, JBriss. Orn. i. p. 404 (1760). 
 
 Falco eeruginosus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Gray), (Bonaparte), (Jerdori), (Neivton), (Sundevall), (Sharpe), &c. 
 Falco rufus, Omel Syst. Nat. i. p. 266 (1788). 
 Falco arundinaceus, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 23 (1802). 
 Circus seruginosus (Linn.), Savign. Syst. Ois. de PEgypte, p. 30 (1810). 
 Circus rufus (Gmel.), Savign. torn. cit. p. 31 (1810). 
 Accipiter aeruginosus (Linn.), Koch, St/st. baier. Zool. i. p. 119 (1816). 
 Accipiter circus, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 362 (1826). 
 Buteo aeruginosus (Linn.), Flem. Brit. An. p. 55 (1828). 
 Circus arundinaceus (Bechst.), Brehm, Vb'g. Deutschl. p. 91 (1831). 
 Buteo rufus (Gmel.),Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 88 (1835). 
 Circus umbrinus, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. Vog. N.O.-Afr. p. 12 (1856). 
 
 The Marsh-Harrier has not yet "been quite exterminated from the 
 British Islands. It still breeds in the Norfolk broads and in Devonshire, 
 and occasionally escapes the gamekeeper's gun in other parts of the king- 
 dom. In Scotland it is still more local, being chiefly found in the central 
 counties, Aberdeen shire, and the Western Isles. In Ireland it was for- 
 merly very abundant, but is now said to have become very local. 
 
 It breeds in swampy districts throughout Europe south of the Baltic, 
 occurring rarely in South Sweden, and only visiting Norway accidentally. 
 It winters in Africa north of the equator, occasionally wandering as far 
 south as the Transvaal. In Greece, Palestine, Persia, and also in Algeria 
 and Tangiers the winter range overlaps that of the breeding-season, and 
 the bird is to be found all the year round. Eastwards it breeds in the 
 upper valley of the Obb and in Turkestan, and winters in India and Ceylon. 
 It is said occasionally to breed in India. No Marsh-Harrier has yet been 
 obtained from the valley of the Yenesay ; but from Lake Baikal eastwards 
 to Japan and China an allied form occurs, C. spilonotus. with the whole 
 of the underparts pure white, except the throat and breast, which are 
 longitudinally streaked with black. The female differs from the female 
 of our bird by having the tail transversely barred. If the latter character 
 be reliable, then either our bird turns up again in Japan and China or 
 occasionally wanders there, as females without bars on the tail have 
 occurred in both those countries. The more probable explanation is 
 that old females of the eastern form lose the bars on the tail. This 
 eastern representative of the Marsh- Harrier breeds in Siberia from Lake 
 
MARSH-HARRIER. 125 
 
 Baikal eastwards, and probably also in Japan and North China. It winters 
 in South China, the Philippine Islands, and the Malay Peninsula, and 
 would seem accidentally to wander into Europe. It is evidently a nearly 
 adult male of this species that Dresser has figured in his ' Birds of 
 Europe' as the adult male Marsh- Harrier. The example from which this 
 figure was drawn was obtained by Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown in 
 Transylvania, whither it had probably strayed from Lake Baikal birds 
 from this district having apparently a great propensity to turn up unex- 
 pectedly in Heligoland and various parts of Europe. It is probable that 
 the two species interbreed, as intermediate forms, with the thighs white 
 streaked longitudinally with chestnut, occur both in Europe and North 
 India. Other nearly allied species occur in South Africa, Australia, 
 and South America. 
 
 The large feu-districts in the eastern counties of England, which 
 have within the past few centuries been drained, and their willows and 
 rushes obliged to give place to corn and pasture, tell most plainly the 
 history of the Marsh-Harrier's disappearance. In the days when 
 this low-lying country was a reed-covered tract the Marsh- Harrier, in 
 common with the Stork and the Avocet and many other birds now of 
 extreme rarity, was a well-known bird. The Marsh-Harrier is never seen 
 in the mountainous districts. It is a bird of the plains ; and its haunts 
 are almost invariably low swampy districts, the banks of rivers and lakes, 
 inundated fields, and wet meadow-land. It is especially fond of marshes, 
 but is never seen in woods. The Marsh-Harrier is usually seen passing 
 slowly over its swampy haunts a few feet from the earth, quartering the ground 
 much as a well-trained dog searching for game. Its flight is somewhat 
 slow and laboured, performed with measured beats of the wings, varied 
 by gliding motions as it surveys the ground below. It will beat over its 
 hunting-ground, returning backwards and forwards as if diligently search- 
 ing every spot likely to contain its prey. Now and then it is seen to drop 
 somewhat slowly to the earth to secure a frog or mole, which it will either 
 eat at once or convey to some distance. The Marsh-Harrier is said 
 seldom to perch on trees ; but I have repeatedly seen it so doing, as well 
 as sitting on large stones and fences, and sometimes on the ground. It is, 
 however, a bird that is rarely seen at rest, mostly on the wing, and is said 
 to roost upon the ground amongst reeds. Although the Marsh-Harrier 
 possesses great power of flight, still it is either incapable of taking birds 
 upon the wing or never chooses to exert its power in this respect. It will 
 take a sitting bird which it has surprised, or it will strike the wounded and 
 weakly birds and animals, but it never flies them down like a Falcon or a 
 Hawk. Birite and animals that can be seized upon the ground, together 
 with birds' eggs and insects, form the Marsh-Harrier's favourite fare. As 
 a robber of birds' eggs the Marsh-Harrier seems to be too well known ; 
 
126 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 nests are often found robbed of their eggs in the vicinity of its own; 
 and Dr. Holland informs me that he once found Curlews' egg-shells in 
 the nest itself. This bird hunts chiefly in the morning and evening, 
 and is said occasionally to eat a young hare or rabbit which it has been 
 able to surprise. It also takes fish from the shallows, and young nestling 
 birds. Jerdon mentions that it will carry off wounded Snipe and Teal, and 
 that it often follows the sportsman. 
 
 The note of the female Marsh- Harrier, according to Naumann, is a high 
 and clear pitz-pitz, varied very frequently by a long-drawn peep-peep. 
 The male bird, on the contrary, especially in the breeding-season, utters 
 several pleasant notes, which resemble the word koi or kai not " keew," 
 as erroneously given by Dresser in an unacknowledged free translation 
 from the same authority. 
 
 The breeding-season of the Marsh-Harrier varies slightly according to 
 climate. In Gibraltar, where many of these birds breed, they begin to lay 
 by the end of March ; but in Denmark and North Germany the eggs are 
 seldom laid before the second or third week in May. During the laying- 
 season the birds often soar to a great height, uttering a wailing cry ; and 
 when the hen is sitting the cock bird soars above the nest, as is the case 
 with many other raptorial birds. Irby mentions that in Gibraltar as many 
 as twenty nests have been found within 300 yards of each other; so that 
 it would seem the bird is partially a social one. The situation of the 
 nest varies but little : though Montagu says he has found it in the fork 
 of a large tree, it is usually built upon the ground amongst the reeds, or 
 beneath the shelter of a bush, or on a grassy tussock in the reeds. 
 
 At Riddagshausen, near Brunswick, on the estate of my friend Ober- 
 amtmaun Nehrkorn, on the 10th of last May, I took a nest of this bird. 
 It was in a large extent of swampy ground, on the margin of one of the 
 numerous lakes and ponds where the reeds had not been mown down. 
 They are too thick on the ground for a flat-bottomed boat to be forced 
 through ; but the water comes above the knees as one wades amongst them. 
 In the middle of this bed of reeds the Marsh- Harrier had built. The nest 
 was very large, the outside composed of two thirds reeds and one third 
 small branches of trees ; and the extreme diameter was at least four feet ; 
 but the outside was very loose and straggling. It stood two feet above 
 the surface of the water ; and one could see underneath the nest by stooping 
 down. The inside of the nest was neat and eompact, measuring less than 
 a foot across, and warmly lined with dry flag-leaves and dry grass. It 
 contained four eggs of the Marsh-Harrier and one of the Coot, which had 
 doubtless been taken thither to feed the sitting bird. The bird flew off as 
 we approached the nest ; and after we had left it we saw her return with a 
 bunch of sticks in her claws. Nehrkorn says they keep on adding to the 
 sides of the nest as they continue sitting, so that when the young are 
 
MARSH-HARRIER. 127 
 
 hatched they may not fall out of the nest into the water. It is, however, 
 extremely probable that this adding to the nest is but a precaution against 
 floods, j ust as is the case with the Swans and the Moorhens. Three pairs 
 of Marsh- Harriers used to breed regularly on this lake ; but they made 
 such havoc amongst the young Moorhens and the young Ducks that 
 Xehrkorn was obliged to give over protecting them. Within forty yards 
 of the Harrier's nest, curiously enough, was a Duck's nest containing five 
 eggs. The eggs of the Marsh-Harrier are from three to six in number, 
 roundish in form and rough in texture, the short eggs being usually the 
 roundest. They are very pale bluish green (sometimes almost white), very 
 faintly marked with pale brown, or (most often) spotless, or covered with 
 nest-stains like the eggs of Grebes. In size they vary from 2*1 to 1*8 inch 
 in length and from 1*6 to 1'45 inch in breadth. The eggs of the Marsh- 
 Harrier are very small proportionally for the size of the bird. The 
 female bird alone incubates the eggs, according to Dr. Holland ; and she 
 is fed assiduously by the male. The young birds are fed by both parents ; 
 and at this time Dr. Holland informs me that he has known Marsh- 
 Harriers, in one day, bring to their nest six Partridges, four hares, and two 
 leverets. If continually disturbed, the old birds become very wary, and 
 will then drop the food into the nest from the air above. It is also said 
 that the old birds teach their young to hunt by dropping food for them to 
 catch. According to Xaumann the Marsh-Harrier is extremely sensitive 
 to cold, and leaves very early in his neighbourhood. 
 
 The male Marsh- Harrier has the head and nape white, tinged with rufous 
 and streaked with dark brown ; rest of the upper parts dark reddish brown 
 with lighter margins; primaries brownish black; secondaries and tail 
 ashy grey ; lower parts, including the thighs, rich chestnut-brown. Beak 
 bluish black ; cere, irides, legs, and toes yellow ; claws black. The adult 
 female resembles the male, but is slightly larger, and she has, like the 
 young birds of both sexes, the irides yellowish hazel. Birds of the year 
 are uniform chocolate-brown, each feather tipped with lighter brown, 
 except the crown of the head and throat, which are creamy buff. 
 
128 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 CIRCUS CYANEUS. 
 
 HEN-HARRIER. 
 
 (PLATE 6.) 
 
 Accipiter falco torquatus ( $ ), Brtss. Orn. i. p. 345 (1760). 
 
 Falco cyaneus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 126 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Yarrell, (Gould), (Gray), (Newton), (Sharps'), &c. 
 Aquila variabilis, Schrank, Fauna Boica, i. p. 108 (1798). 
 Circus gallinarius, Saviyn. Ots. cTEgypte, p. 31 (1810). 
 Pygargus dispar, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 128 (1816). 
 Circus aegithus, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. pp. 9, 10 (1816). 
 Falco strigiceps, Nilss. Orn. Suec. i. p. 21 (1817). 
 Accipiter variatilis (Schr.*), Pall. Zooar. Rosso- As. \. p. 364 (1826). 
 
 The Hen- Harrier was formerly a regular summer visitor to the British 
 Islands, a few even remaining through the winter, and it has only very 
 recently been exterminated in the breeding-season from most parts of 
 England. Now it is principally seen on the autumn migration, but is still 
 said to breed occasionally in some of the wilder districts, such as Devon- 
 shire, Cornwall, and the Lake district. In Wales, the Highlands of 
 Scotland, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and in the mountainous parts of 
 Ireland it still breeds, although in decreasing numbers. It has not been 
 recorded from the Faroes ; but in the Shetland Islands, where it formerly 
 bred, it has become only an autumn visitor. 
 
 On the continent it is a summer visitor to Holland, Jutland, Northern 
 Norway, Poland, Northern and Central Russia, and North Turkestan, the 
 whole of Siberia, and the north island of Japan. Its breeding-range 
 extends north of the Arctic circle, but not quite so far as the limit of 
 forest-growth. In Spain, France, Germany, Southern Sweden, Italy, 
 Turkey, South Russia, Palestine, and Southern Turkestan it is principally 
 known as passing through on the spring and autumn migration. In all 
 these countries a few remain during the summer to breed, and a few are 
 found during winter ; but these latter are probably visitants from further 
 north, so that the bird cannot anywhere be strictly called a resident. It is 
 found in winter only in Northern Africa as far south as Abyssinia, Sar- 
 dinia, Greece, Asia Minor, Northern India, Mongolia, China, and the 
 central island of Japan. 
 
 On the American continent, from the Arctic circle to Panama, a very 
 nearly allied species, which many writers consider only subspecifically dis- 
 tinct from our bird, occurs. This species, C. hudsonius, differs in having 
 the lower parts striped with rufous, similar to Montagu's Harrier. A 
 species having the underparts still more streaked, C. cinereus, is found in 
 the southern half of South America. Another very near ally of this 
 species occurs in the eastern hemisphere, having very nearly the same 
 range as Montagu's Harrier, but has not yet been recorded from the 
 
HEN-HARRIER. 129 
 
 British Islands, viz. the Pallid Harrier, C. swainsoni. The adult male is 
 easily distinguished by its barred upper tail-coverts and the female and 
 immature bird by the shape of the fifth primaries. In C. cyaneus the 
 outer web is notched ; in C. swainsoni and C. cineraceus it is plain. 
 
 The Hen-Harrier (a more appropriate name for which would be the 
 Mountain-Harrier) has a much more northern range than the other 
 European and Asiatic species ; I have often seen it on the tundras of 
 North Russia and Siberia, more than a hundred miles beyond the Arctic 
 circle. In its habits it differs little from the other European Harriers, but 
 is very partial to hill-sides, hunting them systematically with great per- 
 severance like a pointer, returning backwards and forwards over the same 
 ground. I have never seen them soar very high. They fly remarkably 
 steadily, with slow regular beats of the wings, like a Heron, turning sharply 
 with a twist of the tail like a Kite, now and then hovering like a Kestrel, 
 and anon skimming over the ground like a Grouse. In the valley of the 
 Petchora we used to see them resting on a manure-heap or flying over the 
 cultivated ground near the town ; and in Siberia I have shot down at them 
 from the top of the river-bank as they beat up and down stream on the 
 ground between the frozen river and the forest, in search of Snow-Bun- 
 tings. The Hen-Harrier is a migratory bird. According to Goebel they 
 pass through South-west Russia during the last half of March, one or two 
 occasionally remaining to breed. At Kazan they arrive in the middle of 
 April, and breed in some numbers. Bogdanow says they are occasionally 
 seen in the forests, but soon after their arrival hunt the plains and the steppes 
 with great regularity. In the valleys both of the Petchora and the Yene- 
 say we did not see them until the last week of May ; but it must be remem- 
 bered that we were on the Arctic circle. On the autumn migration they 
 pass through Germany during the month of September. I have never 
 found the nest of the Hen-Harrier; but it is generally reported to be a late 
 breeder. Harvie-Brown gives the 24th of May as the date when the first 
 egg was laid in a nest which he found in Sutherlandshire ; and Goebel 
 found two nests, in which the full number of eggs was not laid, in the 
 middle of June in South-west Russia. The site usually chosen is a dry 
 moor or amongst the heather ; and it has often been found in a cornfield. 
 The size and material used vary with the locality. Harvie-Brown describes 
 one on the bare hill-side as merely consisting of a few loosely arranged 
 heather-stems with a shallow depression in the centre lined with wiry dry 
 gra*s broken into small pieces. Another, placed in deep heather, was more 
 than a foot high, and composed of stout rank steins and roots of heather. 
 Goebel found one nest in the middle of a cornfield, and another concealed 
 in the long gfass on a dried-up marsh. He says they were two feet and a 
 half wide and nearly a foot high, made of dry straw and plants, very flat, 
 and lined with a few feathers. It is said that the female alone sits on the 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 nest and is fed by the male. The number of eggs is usually five; but four 
 and six are often found. 
 
 The Hen-Harrier is a bolder bird in the pursuit of its food than the other 
 two British Harriers, and undoubtedly often chases its prey on the wing. 
 It catches small birds, mice, frogs, but does not disdain to make a meal 
 off the eggs of its neighbours when it has the opportunity. The graceful- 
 ness of its flight and the ease with which it can skim over the brow of a 
 hill make it a favourite with the ornithologist, in spite of an occasional 
 young grouse that may fall a victim to its prowess. 
 
 The eggs of the Hen-Harrier are bluish white, like those of the other 
 two British Harriers, and are on an average intermediate in size between 
 those of the Marsh and Montagu's Harriers. They vary in length from 
 1'S.to 1*65 inch and in breadth from 1'5 to 1'4 inch. It is unfortunately 
 impossible to distinguish them from exceptionally small eggs of the Marsh- 
 Harrier, or from very large eggs of Montagu's Harrier. 
 
 The adult male Hen-Harrier is a very beautiful bird, of a delicate pale 
 slate-grey colour, with black primaries and with the upper tail-coverts and 
 the whole of the underparts below the centre of the breast pure white. 
 Cere, irides, and legs yellow ; bill bluish black, claws black. The female, 
 which is a slightly larger bird, has the general colour brown, paler below, 
 and streaked with reddish brown ; the upper tail-coverts are white, faintly 
 marked with rufous ; tail dark brown, broadly barred with huffish brown, 
 and tipped with pale buff. 
 
 HEN-HARRIER S NEST. 
 
MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 131 
 
 CIRCUS CINERACEUS. 
 MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 
 
 (PLATE 6.) 
 
 Accipiter falco torquatus (tf), Briss. Orn. i. p. 345 (1760). 
 
 Falco pygargus, Linn. >//>'. Xat. i. p. 126 (1766). 
 
 Falco cineraceus. Mont. Orn. Diet. i. (1802); et auctorum plurimorurn 
 
 Teinminck, Xaumann, (Carter), (Gould), (Neicton), (Dresser), &c. 
 Falco hyeuialis, Gn,d. apud Peiin. Brit. Zvol. i. p. 243 (1812). 
 Circus cinerarias (M"iit.'), Leach, Si/st. Cat. Ma mm. Sfc. Brit. Mus. p. 9 (1816). 
 Circus ater, fifill. X. Diet. <THi*t. Xat. iv. p. 459 (1816). 
 Circus montagui, fifill. A*. Diet. fHist. Xat. xxxi. p. 411 (1819). 
 Falco cineraceus (Mont.), Temm. Man, <TOrn. i. p. 76 (1820). 
 Circus cinerascens, Steph. Share's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. ii. p. 41 (1826). 
 Buteo cineraceus (Mont.), Flem. Brit. An. p. 55 (1 
 Circus cineraceus (Mont.), Cut: Rtgne An. i. p. 338 (1829). 
 Circus pratoruin, Brehm, fog. DeiitsM. p. 95 (1831). 
 Falco cinerascens (SUph.), Barb. Rtv. Zool. 1838, p. 221. 
 
 Strigiceps cineraceus (Mont.). Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. $ X. Amer. p. 5 (1838). 
 Circus nipalen?is. Hodgs. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 81 (1844). 
 Strigiceps cinerascens (Sttph.), Bp. Cunsp. i. p. 33 (1850). 
 Circus pygargus * (Linn.), Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 64 (1874). 
 
 Though formerly a resident in Great Britain, Montagu's Harrier is now 
 only an accidental visitor, occasionally breeding where it is left unmolested. 
 It is still rarer in Scotland, and in Ireland has only twice been obtained. 
 
 In France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Central and Southern 
 Russia, Turkestan, and South-western Siberia, as far east as Krasnoyarsk, 
 it is a summer visitant. In South Russia a considerable number remain 
 during the winter ; in Greece it is only found during the winter ; and in 
 Italy it is chiefly found at that season ; whilst in Spain it appears to be a 
 resident. It passes through North Africa on migration ; but a few are 
 found there all the year round. Its chief winter-quarters are the whole of 
 South Africa from the Cape as far north as Abyssinia. The Siberian 
 and Turkestan birds appear to winter in India, Ceylon, and Burmaf. 
 
 Montagu's Harrier is a partial resident in our islands like the Marsh and 
 Hen- Harriers, but is most frequently seen in summer. Like the Marsh- 
 Harrier, it is never seen in the mountains, and hardly ever in the forests ; 
 but, unlike that bird, it appears to prefer a dry moor to a swamp, and a corn- 
 
 * It is much to be regretted that Sharpe should have raked up a deservedly forgotten 
 name for this bird; but, so long as the law of priority continues in force, uniformity of nomen- 
 clature can never b^ attained. 
 
 t It is a pity that Dresser, Sharpe, and Xewton should have copied Swinhoe's error in 
 recording this species from the Yang-tsze kiang, which he himself corrects (' Ibis,' 1^74, 
 p. 208). 
 
 K2 
 
132 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 field to a reed-bed. It seeks its food in true Harrier style, quartering the 
 ground regularly, beating up and down the fields in search of grasshoppers, 
 lizards, mice, and other small prey. Now and then it secures a small bird 
 which it has surprised before it had time to take wing, and occasionally it 
 pays a visit to some neighbouring marsh to pick up a frog or small 
 mammal. Its long and pointed wings give an especial gracefulness to its 
 flight; now it darts rapidly with half-closed wings, now it makes a sudden 
 turn with one wing elevated, and now it sails over the surface of the 
 ground with motionless outspread wings ; but with all its apparent power 
 of flight it seldom if ever pursues small birds if they attempt to escape. 
 Montagu's Harrier has also the habit of sailing in wide circles, like many 
 other birds of prey. Mr. Howard Saunders describes the female, which 
 he put off a nest in the Isle of Wight, as flying away in repeated and 
 gradually widening circles. The same feature was remarked on the return 
 to the nest : the wide circles gradually narrowed ; and the wings were 
 suddenly closed as she swept over the nest and dropped upon it. 
 
 In Germany Montagu's Harrier is a somewhat late breeder. The 
 only time I have taken the nest was on the 23rd of last May. The 
 eggs were quite fresh. The nest is very difficult to find. Saunders's 
 nest above referred to was in a small clearing not two yards across, 
 amongst the gorse on the open heath, arid was a mere hollow in the 
 ground lined with dry grass, with an outside border of heather twigs. The 
 nest I took was a few miles out of Halberstadt, in the middle of the great 
 prairie lying north of the Hartz Mountains. We were a party of four our 
 host Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, Dr. Blasius of Brunswick, my son, 
 and myself. We were all in very high spirits, " coming thro' the rye " 
 with three Great Bustard's eggs which we had just taken. Suddenly we 
 observed a pair of Montagu's Harriers flying over the corn, crying and 
 toying with each other almost like Terns. In this district of enormous 
 farms and high farming, the ground is very fertile, and the rye stood more 
 than five feet high in a field which could not be much less than a hundred 
 acres in extent. It seemed like looking for a needle in a haystack ; but 
 our host and guide told us that several pairs of Harriers bred annually on 
 his farm ; so we walked down each side of the rye, one of us following a 
 narrow path up the centre. We saw at different times five or six birds, 
 one pair especially seeming to show some anxiety at our presence. Finally 
 one of the birds dropped somewhat suddenly into the waving corn 
 Dr. Blasius undertook to stalk her up, but, when she rose, missed her with 
 both barrels. We were, however, delighted to find that she had risen from 
 her nest containing four fresh eggs. There was no hole whatever in the 
 ground ; the rye had only been trampled down, and a slight but somewhat 
 neat nest made of corn-stalks lined with a little dry straw. The nest was 
 rather more than nine inches in diameter and about two inches and a half 
 
MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 133 
 
 deep in the middle. The discharge of the two barrels caused a Mallard 
 to rise from her nest in the rye about five and twenty yards off, and nearly 
 a mile from any water. 
 
 Heine told us that Montagu's Harriers are very destructive to young 
 hares and partridges, but frogs, lizards, mice, moles, and grasshoppers form 
 its principal food. It is also fond of eggs. In Germany it arrives early 
 in March, and leaves in October. 
 
 The number of eggs varies from four to six. They may be readily 
 distinguished from the eggs of the other British Harriers by their decidedly 
 smaller size. The largest egg in my collection measures 1'75 by 1*3 inch, 
 whilst the smallest is only 1'5 by T25 inch. Very frequently the shape of 
 the egg is much rounder. One from the Halberstadt nest measures 
 1'65 by 1'4 inch. The surface of the eggs is fine-grained, but not glossy, of 
 an unspotted greenish white. The example figured is an exceptional 
 variety, with pale reddish-brown spots, from the Volga. 
 
 The adult male of Montagu's Harrier is a pale slate-grey bird, with 
 black primaries and a black bar across the secondaries. The inner web of 
 the outer tail-feathers is barred with reddish brown and white. The 
 uuderparts below the breast are white, with longitudinal streaks of reddish 
 brown on the axillaries and thighs. Cere, irides, legs, and feet yellow ; 
 claws black ; bill bluish black. Varieties occasionally occur which are 
 uniform dark brown all over. The females and immature males, as well 
 as the adult male, may be distinguished from the near allies of this species, 
 especially from C. swainsoni, by having the notch in the inner web of the 
 first primary and in the outer web of the second primary an inch beyond 
 the tip of the primary-coverts instead of being nearly or quite hidden 
 by them. 
 
 The two birds which approach nearest to Montagu's Harrier in general 
 appearance, in consequence of having the lower portion of the underparts 
 streaked with rufous, are the two American species, C. cinereus and 
 C. hudsoniu.s. These birds, however, are forms of the Hen-Harrier, and 
 have, like that bird and the Marsh- Harrier, the outer web of the fifth 
 primary notched, which is not the case with C. cineraceus and C. swainsoni. 
 
 ^'9 ^ 
 ?$$&> ^^ 
 
134 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus ACCIPITER. 
 
 The genus Accipiter was established by Brisson in 1760, in his ( Orni- 
 thologie/ i. p. 414, and is additional to the genus Falco of Linnaeus, which 
 also includes the genus Aquila of Brisson. The type of this genus, the 
 Accipiter accipiter of Brisson, is the Sparrow-Hawk. 
 
 The Hawks may be distinguished from most other British genera of 
 birds of prey by having the lower half of the tarsus covered, both at the 
 front and at the back, by broad transverse oblong scales (which in old 
 birds of the Sparrow-Hawks almost disappear)*. The only other genera 
 of British birds of prey possessing these characters are the Buzzards and 
 the Harriers. From both these the Hawks are readily distinguished by their 
 long legs, the tarsus being one fourth, or more than one fourth, the length 
 of the wing, and more than half the length of the first primary, and nearly 
 as long as the tibia. 
 
 Three species of this genus are found in the British Islands two as 
 very accidental stragglers, the other as a common resident. The Hawks 
 are cosmopolitan in their distribution, and number between fifty and sixty 
 species. 
 
 The Hawks are birds moderate in size, and elegant and slender in form. 
 Their wings are short and rounded, the tail long. They are birds of great 
 courage, and never feed on carrion. Their food is birds, small mammals, 
 and insects. They build large nests, made of sticks, in trees or on rocks, 
 and lay from three to seven eggs, varying from pale spotless blue to blue 
 richly spotted and blotched with reddish brown. 
 
 * Ornithologists seem to have a fatality for making petty blunders. Yarrell, in his 
 generic characters of Astur, says " the tarsi covered in front with broad scales," of 
 Accipiter " legs smooth," and of Circus " tarsus naked." Newton copies these characters 
 word for word in his new edition. Dresser says of Circus " tarsus smooth," of Astur 
 "tarsus scutellate," and of Accipiter "tarsus non-scutellate." Sharpe does not mention 
 the front of the tarsus of either of these genera, but separates Circus, in consequence of 
 his erroneous belief that in this genus the hinder aspect of the tarsus is reticulate, from 
 Astur and Accipiter, in which he says it is scaled. After a careful examination of 
 numerous examples of Hawks and Harriers, I am unable to find any generic characters to 
 separate the Hawks from the Goshawks. It appears to me that in both the Hawks, 
 including the Goshawks and the Harriers, the upper part of the tarsus is feathered in front 
 and reticulated behind, the lower part scutellated both in front and behind, and the sides 
 reticulated from top to bottom. The Sparrow-Hawks, however, appear to lose these 
 characters with age. They are very conspicuous in young birds; but in old ones the 
 scales coalesce and the unfeathered part of the tarsus becomes smooth. 
 
SPARROW-HAWK. 135 
 
 ACGIPITER NISI 
 SPARROW-HAWK. 
 (PLATE 4.) 
 
 Accipiter accipiter, Briss. Orn. i. p. 310 (1760). 
 
 Falco nisus, Linn. Syft. Xat. L p. 130 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum Nau- 
 
 mann, YarreU, (Pallas), (Gray), (Xew.'on), (Sharpe), &c. 
 Djedalion fringillarius, Sav. Ois. <?Egypte, p. 34 (1810). 
 
 lerax fringillarius (Sav.), Lea 'it. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mm. p. 10 (1816). 
 
 Sparvius nisua (Linn.), VieOl. N. Diet. d'Hist. Xut. x. p. 319 (1817). 
 Accipiter fringillarius (Sav.), Vig. Zool. Jotirn. i. p. 333 (1824). 
 Accipiter nisus (Linn.), Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 370 (1826). 
 Buteo nisus (Linn.), Flem. Brit. An. i. p. 55 (1828). 
 ur nisus (Linn.), Or/r. Hegne An. i. p. 333 (1829). 
 
 :s communis, Less. Traite d"Orn. p. 58 (1831). 
 Falco nisoshnilis, Tit-fall, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. ii. p. 571 (1833). 
 Accipiter nisosiiuilis (Tick.), Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xii. p. 311 (1843). 
 Astur major, Degl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 86 (1849, ex Bekker). 
 Xisus fringillarius (Sat:), Kaup, Contr. Orn. 1850, p. 64. 
 
 - major (Degl), Jaub. Mots. Eur. On*, p. 29 (1851). 
 
 This handsome little species is the commonest and at the same time 
 most extensively distributed of our native diurnal birds of prey. A Gos- 
 hawk in miniature, elegant in form, agile and graceful in movement, the 
 Sparrow- Hawk is an interesting ornament to the woods and fields; yet, 
 from its boldness and destructive habits, but little favour is shown to it, 
 and the game-preservers and poultry-keepers wage an incessant war of 
 extermination against it. Throughout the whole of Great Britain and 
 Ireland it is a common species in all well-wooded and cultivated localities. 
 In the wild and comparatively treeless districts of Ireland, the west of 
 Scotland, the Hebrides, the north of Scotland, and the Orkney and Shet- 
 land Islands the Sparrow- Hawk becomes much rarer, and in many of these 
 localities, notably in Shetland, it is only known as a summer visitor. In 
 England and Wales and the Channel Islands it is a resident and widely 
 distributed bird, very common in all the game-coverts, woodlands, and 
 Partridge- grounds, up to the suburbs of our most populous cities; but 
 in manv districts the incessant persecution to which it is subject has 
 sensibly decreased its numbers. 
 
 The Sparrow-Hawk is found commonly throughout Europe up to the 
 limit of forest-growth, about lat. 69. In the northern limits of its range 
 it is a migratory species, wintering iu South Europe and Xorth-east Africa, 
 beins very common in Egypt, Kordofan, and Sennaar. It breeds in 
 Algeria, according to Loche, and also in the Canaries. In Asia it extends 
 
136 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 across the continent up to the Arctic circle, where I shot it both in the 
 valley of the Petchora and that of the Yenesay ; and Middendorff found it 
 common on the Stanavoi Mountains, near the Pacific coast. It is found in 
 Japan and China, in the latter country at least as far south as Canton ; 
 occurring throughout India in the cold season, a few birds breeding in 
 the wooded valleys of the Himalayas. 
 
 The Sparrow-Hawk does not vary very much. Western examples, espe- 
 cially those from the British Islands and the Canaries, are a little darker 
 and browner than those from the east. In the Himalayas a resident semi- 
 tropical race appears, A. melanoschistus, a decidedly darker bird, especially 
 on the head, and apparently rather more boldly spotted in the young in 
 first plumage. In all probability this local race is only subspecifically 
 distinct. Nearly allied but perfectly distinct species to the Sparrow- 
 Hawk are found both in the Old and New Worlds. 
 
 From the nature of his food, the Sparrow-Hawk is seldom found in the 
 wildest districts ; there his place is taken by the Merlin. His haunt is the 
 lowland woods and coppices or the fir-clumps on the borders of the moor- 
 lands-^ the rich well-cultivated lands on which game abounds, interspersed 
 with woods and plantations : this is the Sparrow-Hawk's favourite home, 
 where the food of his choice is found in great abundance. Although 
 he frequently takes his station on the ground, or more often on a tree or 
 fence, or on a stone wall or rock-ledge, using these situations as points 
 of observation, the air is his province, and his flight in some respects 
 stands almost unrivalled amongst birds. When seeking his food he flies 
 down the wood-side, silently and swiftly gliding along just above the 
 ground. If he sees you as he passes, with incredible speed he swerves into 
 the cover, threading his way amongst the tangled network of branches 
 gracefully and unharmed, to emerge a little distance further down and 
 pursue his search as before. Often he will tarry for a moment above a 
 clump of wild roses or brambles : mayhap a Robin is there ; but he hops 
 into cover in time to cheat his enemy. Onwards again flies the Sparrow- 
 Hawk, now bounding over a fence, now gliding rapidly down the side of 
 the cover, shooting and turning from side to side, or ever and anon rising 
 in a beautiful curve over a hedge, scanning its further side, then back 
 again. Perhaps a Thrush is started, and the relentless Hawk pursues it ; 
 but the Thrush is often too quick, or the Hawk mayhap is not hungry ; for 
 it gains a thick bush and its pursuer passes on, to sweep lightly upwards 
 and perch on some decaying ivy-grown stump, standing erect and motion- 
 less, surveying the ground around him. Again he takes the air, leisurely 
 at first, but with a quick swerve to the left, descending as he goes, he 
 strikes a small bird, sitting quite unconscious of danger on a topmost twig, 
 and bears it off in an instant into the wood from which he emerged but a 
 short half-hour before. The amazing swiftness with which the Sparrow- 
 
SPARROW-HAWK. 137 
 
 Hawk takes its prey, and the dexterity with which it threads its way 
 through the branches at its fullest speed, are quite beyond the powers of 
 written description ; they must be witnessed to be fully appreciated. How 
 often does the rush of its wings disturb your reverie, as you are, mayhap, 
 watching some little chorister a few yards away ! and before you have time 
 for thought, the little creature in whom you were so interested is quivering 
 in death -agoiiy in the talons of this warrior bird. Your presence seems 
 totally disregarded, and the Hawk appears only to see its intended victim. 
 But its swoop is not always attended with success ; and probably far more 
 birds escape than are taken when the chase is a prolonged one. Dixon 
 has, amongst many other notes, one to the effect that he was on one occa- 
 sion observing a Robin engaged in song, when a Sparrow- Hawk struck at 
 it, but missed its intended victim, which at once took refuge with loud cries 
 of alarm in the densest part of the thicket. It may be that the sudden 
 sight of man disconcerted the Hawk, and caused it to miss its prey. On 
 another occasion he witnessed one of these Hawks pursue a Blue Titmouse 
 for fully fifty yards up a fence ; when the little creature, calling loudly all 
 the time, at last managed to gain the shelter of a thick bush. In this 
 instance, however, the Hawk perched near at hand, and appeared to be 
 waiting for its quarry to again come forth into the open, until it was driven 
 reluctantly away by an incautious movement on the part of its observers. 
 The moment a bird is pursued it endeavours to seek safety in some dense 
 cover which the Hawk cannot penetrate, and which no amount of fluttering 
 on the part of the Hawk will cause it to quit when once safely reached. 
 Numerous, indeed, are the instances on record of this bird's boldness and 
 rapacity, it being almost impossible to read any account of this species 
 without coming across some fresh instance of its daring. 
 
 A favourite place to find the Sparrow- Hawk in the evening is in the 
 stack-yards, especially in winter, when so many birds are congregated 
 there in search of a scanty sustenance. The Chaffinch is, perhaps, the first 
 bird to give notice of his approach ; for it is one of the wariest of birds, 
 and never fails to give the alarm the instant danger threatens. The 
 Sparrows clustering so thickly on the corn-stacks, seek the cover of the 
 neighbouring thorn-bushes ; and the Buntings and Greenfinches, busy near 
 the barn-door, fly upwards into the tall trees or perch on the walls, while 
 the Robin utters his sharp " chic " and disappears under the evergreens. 
 Between the stacks their enemy comes gliding like a shadow; their twitter- 
 ings increase ; and before one has time for thought, he clutches one of the 
 terrified little creatures and is off as quickly as he came. All is now con- 
 fusion for a moment ; but the alarm soon dies away, and the birds are 
 engaged oucjunore in feeding, until his approach again sends terror through 
 their ranks and renews their noisy fears. The Sparrow-Hawk always strikes 
 its prey with the claws ; and the death-stroke is given by them alone. 
 
138 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 In wandering through the depths of the woods or the closest thickets, 
 you will sometimes notice a heap of feathers ; these are the remnants of the 
 Sparrow-Hawk's meal. Search closer and you will probably find portions 
 of the skull and entrails of the victim ; and by your knowledge of the 
 plumage of birds you will also be enabled to tell what little chorister has 
 been destroyed. These remnants are most frequently found on elevated 
 places a moss-covered rock, large stone, or even the broad horizontal limb 
 of a tree. The Sparrow-Hawk does not consume many of the feathers, 
 except inadvertently, the wing and tail-feathers being invariably rejected ; 
 but most of the bones are eaten, as also, in the case of small birds, the 
 feet. The refuse of the bird's food is ejected in the form of pellets, after 
 the manner of all raptorial birds. The food of the Sparrow-Hawk is 
 chiefly composed of the smaller birds up to the size of a Thrush, although 
 he is capable of destroying, and does destroy, much larger birds, as Par- 
 tridges and Pigeons ; and in the poultry-yard his depredations are consi- 
 derable, especially when the young chicks are about. Most of the small 
 birds are his victims, more or less the Bunting on the hedgerow, the Pipit 
 cowering in the meadow-grass, the Robin and Accentor in the garden, 
 and the Creeper and Wren in amongst the trees, as also the various 
 species of Finches and Warblers. But birds do not form the Sparrow- 
 Hawk's only fare. Sometimes you see him dip silently and swiftly down 
 amongst the marshy vegetation in old watercourses and bear off a rat or 
 frog ; and field-mice, leverets, and young rabbits are often victims of his 
 rapacity : indeed a young rabbit is a favourite bait with gamekeepers to 
 lure this little Hawk to his doom. The Sparrow- Hawk seems to love the 
 evening's dusk the best for searching for his food ; and darkness is often 
 falling round, wrapping the evergreens and thickets in dense obscurity, as 
 he glides rapidly past you into their gloomy foliage to his roosting-place. 
 
 The Sparrow-Hawk is a somewhat late breeder, its nest being seldom 
 found before early May. The probable cause of this lateness is that, 
 like the Kestrel, it does not begin to breed until the woods and fields 
 are replete with those migratory birds that form its chief support during 
 the summer months. Notwithstanding the belief to the contrary, the 
 Sparrow-Hawk always builds its own nest. Certainly it is not because 
 no old nests are accessible ; for the Carrion-Crow and the Magpie build 
 in plenty all around, and their deserted nests are on every side ; still it shuns 
 them all and makes its own. Varied indeed are the sites selected for the 
 purpose. You find it in the deepest woods, in the oak probably more 
 frequently than in any other tree ; you see it midway up the alder bor- 
 dering the stream flowing through the coppice ; and it is not unfre- 
 quently built in a pine tree. Hewitson says this bird occasionallv builds 
 on a rock ; but I have never heard of an authenticated instance of its doing 
 so. The nest is very rarely found on the topmost branches ; it is always 
 
SPARROW-HAWK. 139 
 
 placed on the broad branches and near the trunk, not at their extremities. 
 The nest itself is a large one, but the cavity which contains the eggs is 
 small and very shallow. It is always made of sticks, the majority being 
 dead ones, sometimes perhaps conveyed from neighbouring Magpies' nests ; 
 and it contains no lining beyond a few roots and, in rare cases, a little 
 moss ; but in all the nests which I have seen there was much down, some- 
 times halfway down the tree, probably accidentally rubbed off the bird as 
 she flew off and on the nest. The larger and coarser twigs form the outside 
 portion of the nest, smaller and finer ones the cavity in which the eggs are 
 laid. If built in the fir-woods, the branches of that tree are almost exclu- 
 sively used, the withered ones being seemingly preferred, although a few 
 living sprays are sometimes wove amoogst the rest, and give the nest a 
 bright and pleasing appearance with their emerald-green bursting buds. 
 From the fact that these birds pair for life, the same nest will not unfre- 
 quently be used in successive seasons, being patched up each spring, as 
 occasion demands. The nest of the Sparrow-Hawk is finished some time 
 before the first egg is deposited ; Dixon has, in some cases, known nests of 
 this bird, although quite finished, remain empty for a week and sometimes 
 more before the first egg has been laid. The Sparrow-Hawk not uufre- 
 queutly lays her eggs at irregular intervals, and, is as usual in such cases, 
 sits on them as soon as laid. They are from three to six in number 
 (although five may be said to be an average clutch), round in shape, and 
 most richly marked. In ground-colour they are a delicate bluish green ; 
 and the spots, bold and decided, are reddish brown of various shades 
 and intensity. Some specimens are so richly marbled and clouded as to 
 hide the ground-colour ; others have the spots in a zone round the end 
 of the egg, or more rarely round the middle ; while yet, again, some are 
 spotless, or very faintly marked, thus approaching very closely to certain 
 types of Harrier's eggs ; and even in the same nest one egg will be con- 
 spicuous by its small size or the absence of spots. They vary from 1*78 
 to 1*5 inch in length, and from T39 to 1'2 inch in breadth. You may 
 remove the eggs of the Spar row-Hawk indiscriminately, and the female 
 bird will still continue laying in the same nest, like the Starling and 
 several other life-paired birds. Dixon has known as many as fourteen 
 eggs to have been taken from a nest of this species in a single season. 
 
 The female Sparrow-Hawk is usually found upon the eggs; yet the 
 male will occasionally take his turn. A close sitter, the bird will not 
 unfrequently allow you to reach the nest ere it quits its charge, to dash 
 silently, like a meteor, through the labyrinth of branches. As is usual 
 with Raptorial birds, the female is much the largest, and by far the most 
 courageous, often brushing an intruder's head with her wings when her 
 nest is menaced. Upon leaving the nest no sound escapes her, as a rule ; 
 but sometimes she disturbs the shady stillness with a harsh scream of 
 
140 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 anxiety for her home. The male Sparrow-Hawk, as is the case with many 
 birds of this order, often soars above the nesting-place to an inmense 
 height, wheeling round and round with wings expanded. But one brood 
 is reared in the year, although, if the first eggs are taken, as has been 
 already remarked, others will be laid. The young are fed assiduously; 
 and at no time of the year are the Sparrow-Hawks so bold and venturesome 
 as now, when they have hungry young to cater for. It is then the game- 
 coverts yield their tribute of young chicks ; it is then the smaller birds are 
 even more sorely pressed ; and it is then they will dash silently and swiftly 
 into the poultry-yards and bear off the young chicks so quickly. When 
 the young reach maturity, which is but slowly, they are abandoned by 
 their parents, and quit their birthplace for ever. 
 
 The eyrie of the Sparrow-Hawk is a very interesting place to visit when 
 the young are almost ready for flight. Young Sparrow-Hawks exhibit 
 great diversity of size and colour. Indeed there are seldom two in the 
 same nest alike when they have attained their first plumage. In the nest 
 are pellets and feathers in abundance not the feathers of game-birds, as 
 a rule, but usually of the smaller Finches and Warblers, notably of the 
 Chaffinch and Willow-Warbler. Animals are sometimes brought, as the 
 fur of the rabbit and the mole tells us pretty plainly. A few days before 
 the young gain the use of their wings they spend the greater part of their 
 time upon the tree, flying from branch to branch, trying and strength- 
 ening their pinions, and uttering their peculiar tremulous notes. Even 
 before they are fully fledged, if the nest is visited, the young birds will 
 scramble out onto the branches, using their beaks to assist them, and 
 usually getting quite out of reach. The leaves and branches of the tree 
 round and about the nest are white with their droppings, just as though 
 they had been whitewashed ; yet but little or no smell pervades the place. 
 Before finally taking wing and quitting their birthplace for ever, they 
 repair to the neighbouring trees, where they are for a few days more fed 
 and tended by their parents, until strong and matured enough to gain their 
 own living. 
 
 Such a bold and ravenous bird as the Sparrow-Hawk very naturally 
 receives no favour from the game-preservers ; he is shown no mercy, is shot 
 and trapped whenever the occasion is afforded. That the Sparrow-Hawk is a 
 destructive bird I am not going to deny ; but certainly there are some few 
 good points in his character which deserve a passing notice. The small 
 birds are certainly kept in check partly through his agency ; and the Ring- 
 Doves (a perfect pest to the farmer in some districts) are his favourite food 
 when those birds congregate towards the autumnal equinox to feed on the 
 acorns and beech-mast. Then, again, the taking of weakly birds and animals 
 by the Sparrow-Hawk serves to keep disease away and preserve that 
 healthy standard of perfection which Nature inexorably demands. 
 
SPARROW-HAWK. 141 
 
 In a trained state the Sparrow-Hawk is a useful bird for taking Quails, 
 Partridges, Blackbirds, and Thrushes; but, as Lord Lilford very justly 
 remarks, it is of uncertain temper and difficult of management, and re- 
 quires quite a different system of training from that employed for the true 
 Falcons. In India the Sparrow-Hawk is very highly prized, and flown suc- 
 cessfully at Coursers and Sand-Grouse. 
 
 The Sparrow -Hawk's upper plumage generally, with the exception of a 
 small white patch on the nape, is dark bluish slate-colour ; the tail greyish 
 brown, transversely barred with darker brown ; the underparts are rufous, 
 barred with darker rufous-brown. The beak is blue ; cere, legs, and toes 
 yellow; irides orange; claws black. The female is usually three or four 
 inches longer than the male, and has the upper parts brown, with a white 
 nape-spot, and the underparts greyish white barred with brown. The 
 young males resemble the female ; but the brown feathers of the upper 
 parts have rufous margins ; the tail is reddish brown, especially at the base. 
 Very old females sometimes assume the plumage of the male. 
 
 SPARROW-HAWK S M> 1 . 
 
142 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ACCIPITER PALUMBARIUS. 
 GOSHAWK. 
 
 (PLATE 5.) 
 
 Accipiter astur, Briss. Orn. i. p. 317 (1760, adult). 
 
 Accipiter circus major, Briss. Orn. i. p. 398 (1760, iram.j. 
 
 Falco palumbarius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 130 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Naumann, (Gould), (Newton), (Sliarpe), &c. 
 Falco albescens, Bodd. Tail. PL Enl. p. 25 (1783, ex D'Aubenton). 
 Falco gallinarius, Gmel. St/st. Nat. i. p. 266 (1788). 
 Falco marginatus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 26 (1790). 
 Falco tigrinus, Beseke, Vog. Kurl, p. 10 (1792). 
 
 Astur palumbarius (Linn.), Lacep. Mem. de Tlnst. iii. p. 505 (1801). 
 Daedalion palumbarius (Linn.), Sav. Ois. de VEyypte, p. 33 (1810). 
 Sparvius palumbarius (Linn.), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. x. p. 331 (1817). 
 Falco longipes, Nilss. Orn. Stiec. i. p. 18, pi. 1 (1817). 
 Accipiter astur, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso- As. i. p. 367 (1826). 
 Buteo palumbarius (Linn.), Flem. Brit. An. i. p. 54 (1828). 
 Astur gallinarum (Gmel.), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 83 (1831). 
 Accipiter palumbarius (Linn.), Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 85 (1835). 
 Astur indicus, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 81 (1844). 
 
 The Goshawk probably was never a common bird in the British Islands ; 
 and of late years, since the forests have nearly all been cut down and 
 game-preserving has become so universal, this noble bird of prey has 
 become only an accidental visitor. It is only within the last half-century 
 that it has ceased to breed in Scotland. The Goshawk is not strictly a 
 migratory bird ; otherwise it would probably appear much more commonly 
 in this country. Many birds of prey zealously guard their hunting-grounds 
 from trespassers of their own species, and drive away their own young to 
 seek new breeding-grounds. The Goshawk is no exception ; and occasion- 
 ally one of the young birds, which may be looked upon as an emigrant 
 rather than a migrant, finds its way to our shores. They usually arrive 
 on the east coast, and soon fall a prey to the gamekeeper or the bird- 
 stuffer. Newton mentions the comparatively recent capture of seven ex- 
 amples in Northumberland, eleven in Norfolk, and five in Suffolk. 
 
 The Goshawk is nowhere very common, but is generally though sparingly 
 distributed throughout the wooded districts of the whole of Europe, from 
 the Mediterranean up to the limit of forest-growth. It is partially migra- 
 tory in the extreme north, but has been obtained in winter at Tromso, on 
 the shores of the Varanger Fjord, and at Archangel. In Africa it is prin- 
 cipally known as a somewhat accidental winter visitant, though it has been 
 said to breed in Tangiers, and it certainly does so at Gibraltar. Eastwards 
 
GOSHAWK. 143 
 
 it is found throughout Siberia up to the limit of forest growth, Asia Minor, 
 North Palestine, Persia, Turkestan, the Himalayas, Mongolia, and North 
 China. In India it is occasionally seen on the plains during the cold 
 season. 
 
 The Goshawk is a giant Sparrow-Hawk. In spite of his comparatively 
 short wings, he is a bird of very powerful flight and of undaunted courage. 
 He disdains to eat carrion, and will scarcely stoop to catch a sitting bird. 
 He hunts on the wing, and nothing is safe from his attacks, from a Sparrow 
 to a Grouse, or from a mouse to a young roe. The Goshawk has the 
 reputation of being a very bloodthirsty bird, killing more game than he 
 can possibly eat. This bird is essentially a forest one, and in summer 
 confines himself principally to the woods and the open places in their im- 
 mediate neighbourhood ; but late in autumn and winter he extends the 
 range of his hunting-grounds, pursuing Partridges and hares, and 
 making raids on the pigeons belonging to the farmers, and sometimes 
 snatching the game from under the very nose of the sportsman. The Gos- 
 hawk, however, is a Hawk, and not a Falcon ; and his powers of flight are 
 not sufficient to enable him to fly down a bird when it has fairly got under 
 weigh ; consequently he resorts to artifice, stealing upon his prey from 
 behind some cover, and dashing upon it unawares. Naumann describes 
 the alarm-note as a shrill keerk-keerk-kecrk, very similar to that of the 
 Sparrow-Hawk ; and besides this he has a call-note, a deep gyak gyak-gyak, 
 much resembling a similar note of the Peregrine. 
 
 The Goshawk very seldom perches on the ground or on a stone, or on 
 the topmost twig of a tree. Its favourite food is pigeons and ducks. 
 
 Where the Goshawk is a resident bird, it is a very early breeder, the 
 eggs being laid in the second half of April or the first half of May. It 
 generally selects a lofty beech for the situation of its nest, which is usually 
 placed at some considerable elevation from the ground in one of the main 
 forks. It also breeds in oaks and pine trees ; and, even when systematically 
 robbed, it will breed year after year in the same nest. On the 7th of May 
 last, Herr Kroll showed me a nest in an oak tree from which he had taken 
 eggs nearly every year for the last eighteen years. Early in June I saw 
 several nests in Pomerauia, from one of which the bird flew off. One 
 of these was built in the fork of a beech tree 75 feet from the ground, 
 and was an enormous structure, measuring at least four feet by two. It 
 builds a deeper nest than the Eagles or the Buzzards, and lines it with fine 
 twigs, roots, moss, and lichens, but not green leaves. The largest nests 
 are most probably the oldest, and have been added to year after year. All 
 the nests I saw were in the forests, but not at any great distance from the 
 outskirts. T|*e statement that this bird sometimes builds on rocks should 
 be received with great caution. The usual number of eggs is four; but it 
 occasionally lays three, and sometimes five. They are very pale bluish 
 
144 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 green, approaching white, and in very rare instances show decided spots of 
 dirty blood-red. Wolley mentions eggs marked with pale olive ; but none 
 of these have ever come under my notice. The clay-coloured blotches 
 mentioned by Dresser are not uncommon, and appear to be stains. In 
 size they vary from 2*45 to 2'1 inch in length, and from 1-85 to T6 
 inch in breadth. Unspotted eggs of the Common Buzzard often resemble 
 the eggs of the Goshawk so closely as to be undistinguishable from them. 
 
 The Goshawk was one of the falconer's favourites, and was flown at 
 Hares, Rabbits, Pheasants, Partridges, Rock-Doves, Teal, and Crows. It 
 does not, however, appear to have been a bird of long flight, and would 
 soon give up its quarry if not successful, and perch on some tree or bush 
 to await a new one. 
 
 The general colour of the Goshawk's upper parts is dark greyish brown, the 
 tail with four bars of darker brown ; eye-stripe, lores, and nape dull greyish 
 white ; rest of the underparts nearly white, spotted and barred with dull 
 black, except on the under tail-coverts ; cheeks dark brown. Legs and toes 
 yellow, claws black ; beak bluish horn-colour ; cere yellow ; irides orange. 
 The female resembles the male, but is larger and browner. 
 
 The young bird has the upper parts brown, the underparts huffish white, 
 closely marked with drop-shaped spots of reddish brown ; cere and legs 
 greenish yellow ; irides yellow. 
 
AMERICAN GOSHAWK. 145 
 
 ASTUR ATRICAPILLUS. 
 AMERICAN GOSHAWK. 
 
 Falco atricapillus, Wils. Am. Orn. vi. p. 80, pi. 52. fig. 3 (1812) ; et auctorum plur - 
 morum ( Gray), (Kaup), (Bonaparte), ( Cassin), (Newton), (Sharpe), (Dresser), &c. 
 Spardus atricapillus (Wils.), Bonn, et Vieill Enc. Meth. iii. p. 1274 (1823). 
 Hierofalco atricapiUus ( Wils.'), Cue. Regne An. i. p. 323 (1829). 
 Astur atricapillus (Wik.), Bonap. R. A. Cuv. Oss. p. 33(1830). 
 Falco regalis, Temm. PI. Col. i. pi. 495 (1830). 
 Daedalion pictum, Less. Traite, p. 67 (1831). 
 
 Astur palumbarius, var. atricapillus ( Wils.), Ridg. N. Anwr. B. iii. p. 237 (1874). 
 A^tur palumbarius (Linn.), apud Sicainson fy Richardson, (Audubon), &c. 
 
 The claim of the American Goshawk to be considered a British bird 
 rests upon three examples. The first was obtained in 1869 by Mr. Robert 
 Gray, at Brechm, in Forfarshire, from a bird-stuffer, who said it had been 
 shot by a keeper on the flanks of Sheechallin, in Perthshire : Mr. Gray 
 describes it as having the breast and underparts an almost uniform grey, 
 but showing, on closer inspection, faint transverse markings and a thin 
 longitudinal streak in the centre of each feather (see Gray's ' Birds of 
 "W. of Scotland/ p. 39). The second example is recorded in the 'Ibis' 
 for 1870, p. 538, by Sir Victor Brooke : he states that it was shot in the 
 February of that year in the Galtee Mountains, Tipperary, and that he 
 had carefully compared it with an American specimen in the Dublin 
 Society's collection. The third example is recorded by Mr. A. Basil 
 Brooke in the ' Zoologist ' for 1871, p. 2525 : after referring to the 
 previously mentioned example, he adds that a second specimen was after- 
 wards shot near Parsons Town, King's County. All three examples are 
 said to be adult females. 
 
 It breeds throughout Arctic America and the northern portions of the 
 United States. In its habits and in the colouring of its eggs it does not 
 differ from the Palsearctic species, of which Ridgway considers it a mere 
 variety. 
 
 The American Goshawk is very nearly allied to our Goshawk, but is 
 apparently a distinct species. It has been said to be greyer on the upper 
 parts and blacker on the head. In a large series of skins these differences 
 do not appear to hold good, being apparently dependent upon age and 
 season, and found equally in European and American birds. The great 
 difference is in the pattern of colour on the feathers of the underparts, 
 especially those, on the breast and flanks. In the European bird the dark 
 markings take the form of distinct transverse bars, whilst in the American 
 bird the feathers are irregularly marbled with brown. 
 
 VOL. i. T. 
 
146 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Family STRIGID^E, OR OWLS. 
 
 The Owls are a very well-defined group of birds, and are associated by 
 Sclater with the Cuckoos, the Parrots, the Birds of Prey, the Pelicans, the 
 Herons, and the Ducks. Forbes places them with the Goatsuckers, Rollers, 
 and Bee-eaters, near the true Passeres-v Gadow allies them with the Parrots, 
 the Birds of Prey, the Pigeons, and the Gallinaceous birds. Here, again, 
 our three authorities do not all agree as to any of the families which are 
 allied to the Owls, which I place as my second family, with the caution to 
 the reader that it may or may not be related to the families which precede 
 or follow it. 
 
 To the ordinary observer the Owls appear to be closely related to the 
 Birds of Prey by the form of their bill and claws, and by the shape of 
 their eggs. They appear to be specially related to the Harriers by their 
 facial disks, to the Ospreys by their reversible third toes, and to the Eagles 
 by their feathered tarsi. It is difficult to believe that all these similarities 
 are accidental; and when Ave find such differences of opinion amongst 
 scientific men as to their true affinities, it is difficult to avoid coming to 
 the conclusion that the value of osteological, myological, and other internal 
 characters have been somewhat overrated. 
 
 Owls only moult once in the year, and appear to accomplish their change 
 of dress in July and August. Birds shot from September to December are 
 in splendid plumage ; but in April, May, and June the plumage is often 
 very shabby and worn. 
 
 The Owls are, perhaps, the most cosmopolitan group of birds. They are 
 represented in the most northerly point of the Arctic regions and on most 
 of the Oceanic Islands. The number of species and subspecies known is 
 about 200, of which at least 10 are recorded as British, which may be 
 generically separated as follows : 
 
 A. Hinder margin of sternum entire ; inner margin of claw on middle toe 
 
 serrated ; inner toe about equal to the middle toe in length ALUCO. 
 
 B. Hinder margin of sternum with two or more distinct fissures or clefts ; 
 
 inner margin of claw on middle toe not serrated ; middle toe longer 
 than the inner one 
 
 . Ear-conch with an operculum STRIX. 
 
 b. Ear-conch without an operculum. 
 
 a 1 . Nostrils placed in a projection formed by an inflation of the cere. NOCTUA. 
 b 1 . Cere not inflated. 
 
 a 2 . Underparts white or barred transversely ; shaft-streaks and 
 
 ear-tufts obsolete or nearly so SURXIA. 
 
ALUCO. 147 
 
 A 2 . Underparts with the broad longitudinal streaks generally far 
 more conspicuous than the narrow transverse bars, which 
 are sometimes obsolete ; ear-tufts very conspicuous. 
 
 a 3 . Wing over 12 inches Brso. 
 
 b 3 . Wing never exceeding 9 inches SCOPS. 
 
 Genus ALUCO. 
 
 The Barn-Owl has been knocked about by modern ornithologists from 
 genus to genus until it can scarcely fiud rest for the sole of its foot. 
 Sharpe (Ibis, 1875, p. 324) evolves an elaborate argument to prove that it 
 is the type of the Linnean genus Strix; whilst Newton (Ibis, 1876, p. 94) 
 gives excellent reasons (if his premisses are true) why it should be placed in 
 the genus Aluco. I am unable to accept Newton's premisses, as I cannot, 
 for the reasons stated in the remarks on the genus Strix, admit that 
 Brisson made a genus of Owls additional to that of Linnaeus ; but I accept 
 his conclusions on the ground that in 1767 Geriui, in his ' Ornithologia 
 Methodice Digesta/ i. p. 88, founded the genus Aluco for the Barn and 
 Snowy Owls ; the latter of which was removed in 18.26 by Stephens to a 
 genus of its own, leaving the Barn-Owl the type of Aluco. 
 
 The Barn-Owls belong the group of Owls having large ear-openings 
 protected by an operculum, but are isolated from all the other genera of 
 Owls by the absence of clefts to the hinder margin of the sternum. 
 
 They form a somewhat aberrant division of .the Strigidse, and may be at 
 once distinguished from all other birds of this family by the serrated or 
 toothed margin to the middle claw. Their facial disk is also more elon- 
 gated. The bright orange-buff of various shades of their upper, and the 
 silky whiteness of their under plumage is also another characteristic 
 peculiar to them. The wings are very long and ample, but the tail is 
 somewhat short. 
 
 The Barn-Owls are an essentially tropical genus, being found in the 
 tropics of both hemispheres, and only in Western Europe extending much 
 more than forty degrees from the equator. They are all very nearly allied, 
 but are usually divided into five or six species, some of which are again 
 subdivisible into several subspecies, varieties, or local races. The British 
 species is the only one found in Europe. 
 
 Like most other Owls, the Barn-Owls are principally nocturnal in their 
 habits, seeking their prey on the wing. Their plumage is extremely soft, 
 and their flight almost noiseless, enabling them to drop unawares on little 
 birds and smatf mammals, the latter forming their principal food. They 
 also feed on insects and occasionally fish. They are only migratory in the 
 northern limits of their range. They breed in holes, and lay pure white eggs. 
 
 L2 
 
148 BllITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ALUCO FLAMMEUS. 
 BARN-OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Strix aluco, Briss. Orn. i. p. 503 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766). 
 
 Strix flammea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Naumann, Gould, Macgillivray, Bonaparte, Sharpe, (Newton), &c. 
 Aluco albus, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. i. p. 89, pi. Ixxxxii. (1767). 
 Strix alba, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 21 (1769). 
 Aluco flammeus (Linn.}, Flem. Brit. An. p. 57 (1828). 
 Strix guttata, Brehm, Vb'g. Deutschl. p. 106 (1831). 
 Eustrinx flammea (Linn.), Webb fy Berth. Orn. Canar. p. 8 (1841). 
 Strix poensis, Fraser, P. Z. S. 1842, p. 189. 
 
 Stridula flammea (Linn.), Selys-Longch. Faune Beige, p. 60 (1842). 
 Strix insularis, Pelz. Journ. Orn. 1872, p. 23. 
 
 The Barn-Owl is a common resident throughout the British Islands, 
 including the Hebrides, and appears only recently to have become extinct 
 in the Orkneys. 
 
 It is by no means the cosmopolitan bird that it has been represented to 
 be. It is, in point of fact, a tropical bird, found throughout the equatorial 
 region of both hemispheres, and not ranging more than forty degrees north 
 or south of the equator, except in Western Europe, where the influence of the 
 Gulf-stream has produced a climate mild enough to allow of its wintering 
 there. It is very rare in South Sweden, and is found nowhere else in the 
 Scandinavian peninsula. It is rare in Western Russia, but is otherwise 
 absent from Russia, Eastern Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor, Persia, Siberia, 
 Mongolia, and China. There appear to be seven colonies of Barn-Owls. 
 The first comprises Western Europe south of the Baltic, and Western Africa 
 from Algiers to the Gold Coast, including the Azores, Madeiras, Canaries, 
 and Cape-Verd Islands ; the second South Africa and Madagascar ; the 
 third the valley of the Nile and Palestine; the fourth the whole of India, 
 extending to the north-west into Turkestan, and to the east into Burma ; 
 the fifth Java, Lombock, and Celebes ; the sixth Eastern Australia and 
 some of the Pacific Islands ; the seventh North and South America from 
 lat. 40 north to lat. 40 south, including the West Indies. In this latter 
 colony alone Ridgway recognizes four subspecies. Barn-Owls from the 
 other five colonies appear to be all subspecifically distinct from those of 
 the first colony, though possibly not in every case from each other. In 
 the West-European and West-African colony there are three forms a 
 pale eastern form, a dark western form, and a rufous southern form, with 
 every possible intermediate form, and considerable irregularity in their dis- 
 tribution, all three forms, for example, having been found in the British 
 
BARX-OWL. 149 
 
 Islands. The question of the number of subspecies into which the Barn- 
 Owl must be subdivided is far too complicated a one to be discussed here. 
 
 Although the Barn-Owl is not found in any other part of the world in 
 such a high latitude as the British Islands, it is nevertheless the commonest 
 Owl we have. In the daytime it is not often seen; it is preeminently a 
 nocturnal bird. When the sun rises it retires to its hiding-place, which 
 is generally the locality chosen in which to rear its young. This is 
 generally a hole, sometimes on the top of an old pollard willow, often in 
 the hollow of the trunk of an old oak, as often in some crevice in an ivy- 
 grown ruin ; and it is fond of nesting amongst the Pigeons in the farm-yard 
 dove-cote. Other favourite places are the top of a wall under the roof of 
 the barn, or in the belfry of the church ; but occasionally it may be found 
 away from its nest in the dark recesses of a thick pine-plantation. It 
 sleeps all day ; and if on a flat stone, where it cannot grasp its perching- 
 place, it sleeps bolt upright, often on one leg. If it is disturbed and driven 
 from its hiding-place, it seeks the nearest shelter from the sunlight, and 
 all the little birds in the neighbourhood, conscious of its powerlessness to 
 catch them in the daytime, fly after it and mob it most impertinently. 
 But when the dusk of evening comes on, and " impudence " has gone to 
 bed, " dignity " comes out from his hiding-place, and woe be to any little 
 bird roosting in an exposed position on his beat ! There is something 
 weird in the silent flight of the Barn-Owl, as with measured but noiseless 
 beat of wing he crosses and recrosses your path, looking unnaturally 
 large in the half-light, or skims before you over the grass, ever and 
 anon dropping down on some unfortunate mouse or rat, which he bears 
 away in triumph to his lair, quickly returning to quarter the ground 
 regularly backwards and forwards over his favourite hunting-fields. How 
 successful he is is amply proved by the bushels of pellets which he dis- 
 gorges in or under the nesting-place. My friend Mr. Frank Norgate 
 once found twenty dead rats in a Barn-Owl's nest, all fresh killed ! And 
 yet the stupid farmer will slay him if he can, and nail his body against the 
 barn-door, under the delusion that he will eat his pigeons ! Both the 
 gamekeeper and his master are his sworn foes, one generally as ignorant of 
 his usefulness and as indifferent to his fate as the other. Norgate tells 
 me that he has generally found by an examination of the pellets that each 
 bird seems to have his favourite food. Those under one nest are often all 
 mice, those under another all rats. Each pellet contains the indigestible 
 remains of two, and sometimes of three animals. The wing-cases of beetles 
 are also found in the pellets, but very seldom. Out of seven hundred 
 pellets of this Owl, which were carefully examined by Dr. Altum, remains 
 were found ofT.6 bats, 2513 mice, 1 mole, and 22 birds, of which 19 were 
 sparrows. The Barn-Owl is undoubtedly the farmer's best friend. Out 
 of between thirty and forty nests which Norgate has had an opportunity 
 
150 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of examining, he only in one instance found remains of a bird ; and that 
 was half a blackbird. Waterton records an instance, which he saw himself, 
 of a Bam-Owl dropping down into a pond, like an Osprey, and flying off 
 with a fish. 
 
 The usual note of the Barn-Owl is a screech inexpressible in words. It 
 is most frequently heard early in spring, and always at night. It may 
 not be so discordant as the music that was heard when 
 
 Ye torn cats were sitting atop of ye wall 
 As Sir Plimsoll sat sipping his wine, 
 
 or so melancholy as the wild cries of the Black-throated Divers that 
 greeted our ears all night through as we were driven up stream in the 
 ' Thames ' on the Yenesay, amidst ice-floes and pack-ice ; but it is harsh 
 enough and weird enough to have given the bird a bad name amongst 
 ignorant and superstitious country folk. Besides this "screech" the 
 Barn-Owl has a " snore," generally supposed to be confined to the hungry 
 young, though Norgate tells me he has heard it from a bird on the wing. 
 Barn-Owls are very fond of nesting in the roofs of churches; and the 
 "snore" is often heard during service, the unwonted noise having 
 apparently wakened the young Owls, who naturally feel hungry after their 
 sleep, and begin to " snore," a habit which the bipeds with feathers may 
 have learnt sitting over some pulpit from the bipeds without feathers 
 sitting under it. 
 
 The Barn-Owl is not an early breeder, eggs seldom being found before 
 the end of April or the beginning of May ; but it often has two, and some- 
 times three broods in a season. Norgate tells me he has found unfledged 
 young in November ; and Waterton found one in December. Occasionally 
 the eggs are laid at intervals. I once climbed up to a Barn-OwFs nest in 
 a hollow oak near Oxford, and took out of the hole two nearly fresh eggs, 
 two young birds recently hatched, and two nearly fledged. This must have 
 been an exceptional case, as out of the numerous nests which Norgate has 
 taken he has never met with a similar instance. 
 
 The Barn-Owl makes no nest ; but the eggs are often surrounded by 
 pellets. The number of eggs varies from three to seven. They are pure 
 white, not quite so round as Owls' eggs usually are, and with little or no 
 gloss. They vary in length from 1'7 to T53 inch, and in breadth from 
 1-3 to 1-2 inch. 
 
 The southern form of the Barn-Owl has the general colour of the upper 
 parts buff, with fine grey vermiculations and black and white spots ; wings 
 and tail obscurely barred with dark brown ; face and underparts silky 
 white, with a few spots on the flanks, and more or less rufous on the 
 breast; feet covered with bristly hairs ; claws black, irides black, bill pale 
 yellowish. The female resembles the male. Nestling birds are covered with 
 pure white down. 
 
BARX-OWL. 
 
 151 
 
 Of the climatic variations of the Barn-Owl less is known than of those 
 of the other Owls. The varieties of the Barn-Owl which occur on the 
 American continent have been ably classified by Ridgway ; but, although 
 Sharpe has collected an array of facts on the subject, occupying no fewer 
 than fifty pages of Rowley's 'Ornithological Miscellany/ no one has yet 
 attempted in any way to classify the varieties of this bird which occur in 
 the Old World. 
 
 Of the three forms found in the British Islands, the rufous southern form 
 is the commonest, and is well figured in Gould's ' Birds of Great Britain ' 
 (i. pi. xxxviii.). The pale eastern form and the dark western form are 
 both figured in Dresser's 'Birds of Europe' (v. pi. 302); but a better 
 figure of the latter may be found in Rowley's ' Ornithological Miscellany' 
 (i. pi. *.) 
 
152 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus STRIX. 
 
 The genus Strix was founded in 1766, by Linnaeus, in his ' Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 133, to contain all the Owls. Linnaeus had the good luck 
 to adopt a binomial system of nomenclature ; and consequently his twelfth 
 edition has been selected as the starting-point of the present system, all 
 previous specific names being under the Stricklandian Code absolutely 
 ignored. Under the auctorum plurimorum system which I have 
 adopted this restriction is no longer necessary, so far as regards specific 
 names. In the selection of generic names I propose to try and follow the 
 Rules where it is possible to discover their meaning. Much ingenuity has 
 been expended in the endeavour to find the type of the restricted genus 
 Strix. Whatever credit is due to Linnaeus for his system of nomenclature, 
 there can be no doubt that his knowledge of birds was very limited, and 
 his attempts at the diagnosis of species in most cases a complete failure. 
 In no group is this more clearly shown than in the Owls. Their synonymy 
 is consequently in the greatest confusion. It seems almost incredible, but 
 there can scarcely be a doubt that Linnaeus was unacquainted with either 
 the Short-eared Owl, the Ural Owl, the Lapp Owl, or Tengmalrn's Owl, 
 all four species more or less common in Sweden. An equally surprising 
 circumstance is the fact that, out of. the twelve Owls which Linnaeus 
 attempted to describe, the identifications of five have been or still are 
 subjects of dispute. As an ornithologist Brisson stands head and shoulders 
 above Linnaeus ; and it was doubtless a consciousness of this superiority 
 that induced Strickland to write the illogical and inconsequent explana- 
 tion to Rule 2, under which Brisson's genera, though dating prior to 1766, 
 are admitted whenever they are additional to those of Linnaeus. Brisson 
 divided the Owls into two genera, making the Wood-0\vl (his Strix strix) 
 the type of Strix, and the Long-eared Owl (his Asia asio) the type of Asia. 
 As, however, I consider these two Owls to be congeneric, I am obliged to 
 regard Brisson's two genera as synonyms of each other ; the alleged 
 additional genus falls to the ground ; and, consequently, by the rules his 
 names are out of court. The first subdivision of the genus Strix was in 
 1767, when Gerini, in his ' Ornithologia Methodice Digesta/ pp. 90, 91, 
 restricted the genus Strix to nine species, placing the Wood-Owl first as 
 Strix aluco. As this species is also the Strix strix of Brisson, the 
 arguments in favour of its being accepted as the type are almost 
 conclusive. 
 
 The Wood- Owls may be distinguished from all other Owls except the 
 Barn-Owls by their large ears, half the size of the head, protected by an 
 
STRIX. 
 
 153 
 
 operculum. In their habits they scarcely differ from other Owls. Their 
 eggs are pure white. This genus contains about forty species, which are 
 distributed all over the world, except in the Australian region ; and even 
 here one species has found its way to the Sandwich Islands. Seven species 
 are found in Europe, of which four have occurred in Great Britain. The 
 "Wood-Owls may be divided into subgenera, either on the presence or 
 absence of ear-tufts or on the character of the markings of the underparts 
 in some the transverse bars being principally developed, and in others 
 the longitudinal stripes. The first characters are those usually adopted, 
 but the latter are probably the most important. 
 
154 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 STRIX ALUCO. 
 WOOD-OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 6.) 
 
 Strix strix, Briss. Orn. i. p. 500 (1760, rufous form). 
 
 Strix ulula, Briss. Orn. i. p. 507 (1760, grey form). 
 
 Strix stridula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766, rufous form). 
 
 Strix ulula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766, grey form). 
 
 Strix aluco, Gerini, Orn. Meih. Dig. i. p. 90, pi. Ixxxxiv. (1767) ; et auctorum 
 plurimorum Latham,raUas,Vieillot,Naumann,Temminck,Sunderatt, (Newton), 
 (Gould), (Gray), (Bonaparte), Schleael, (StricMand), (Sharpe),8ic., necLinnceus. 
 
 Strix syl^estris, /Sleep. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 21 (1769). 
 
 Strix sylvatica, Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. vii. pt. 1, p. 253 (1809). 
 
 Syrnium ululans, Sav. Syst. Ois. de VEyypte, p. 52 (1810). 
 
 Syrnium stridulum (Linn.), Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 62 (1826). 
 
 Syrnium aluco (Linn.), apud Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 315. 
 
 Ulula stridula (Linn.), Selby, III. Brit. Orn. i. p. 102 (1833). 
 
 Aluco stridulus (Linn.), Macgill. Rapac. B. of G. Brit. p. 367 (1836). 
 
 Ulula aluco (Linn.), apud Keys, fy Bias, Wirb. Eur. p. 143 (1840). 
 
 Linnaeus somewhat hesitatingly separated the grey form of the Wood- 
 Owl from the rufous form of this species, naming the former Strix stridula 
 and the latter Strix ulula. Latham, Tunstall, Pennant, and others con- 
 sidered them distinct under these Latin names, calling them the Brown 
 Owl and the Tawny Owl ; but subsequent writers for the most part have 
 united them. Gmelin and Pallas, naturally considering it impossible that 
 Linnaeus could have been unacquainted with the Short-eared Owl, 
 applied the name of Strix ulula to that bird. Bonaparte, Gray, Newton, 
 Sharpe, and Dresser, in defiance of the careful description in the ' Fauna 
 Suecica/ and regardless of the fact that Linnaeus described the Hawk Owl 
 as Strix funerea, inhabiting both Europe and America, adopt the startling 
 proposition that Linnaeus intended to describe the European Hawk Owl 
 under the name of Strix ulula. 
 
 Although Linnaeus clearly gives two names to the Wood-Owl, by far 
 the greater number of ornithologists have selected for that species a third 
 Linnean name, Strix aluco, which most likely belongs to the Barn-Owl, 
 though the evidence is not very satisfactory. 
 
 The Tawny Owl is not so common in Britain as it once was. Incessant 
 persecution is slowly producing its extermination, although it is still a 
 resident bird in most densely wooded districts. Owing to its inordinate 
 love of seclusion, gloom, and retirement, its distribution in the British 
 Islands is restricted to wooded localities ; and as tree-planting and improve- 
 ments increase, the range of the bird is becoming more extensive, even if 
 its actual numbers are decreasing. 
 
WOOD-OWL. 155 
 
 The Wood-Owl is not generally a migratory bird ; nor does its range 
 extend far to the north. Under the influence of the Gulf-stream, the 
 winters in Scandinavia are mild enough to allow of its finding food up 
 to the Arctic circle. In West Russia its range does not extend to Arch- 
 angel ; and in East Russia it is said not to be found north of lat. 58. It 
 has never been recorded from Siberia ; but it is a rare resident in Tur- 
 kestan, the Himalayas, and Thibet. Pere David found it at Moupin; and 
 Swinhoe obtained it in North China. The southern range of the Wood- 
 Owl extends into North Africa. In Algeria it is a resident; and it has 
 once occurred in Egypt. It is found in Asia Minor and Palestine, and 
 has been obtained in the Caucasus, but not yet in Persia. Like many 
 other birds, and especially other Owls, it has adapted itself to its surround- 
 ings, so that the colours of its plumage are " protective " not to protect 
 it from any enemies, but to protect it from discovery by its prey. The 
 tropical form of the Wood-Owl breeds in the Himalayas and is a very 
 rufous bird.. Some ornithologists treat it as a distinct species under the 
 name of /&'. nivicolum. The typical form of the Wood-Owl, commonly 
 known as the Tawny Owl, is an intermediate link between the tropical 
 form and the semi-arctic form commonly known as the Grey Owl. 
 The tropical form inhabits a region where the rainfall is excessive, the 
 typical form, as a general rule, where the rainfall is moderate, and the 
 grey form where the climate is very dry. In the British Museum is an 
 example of the grey form from Thibet ; and I have a skin from North 
 China. In Europe the grey form is principally found in the north and 
 east, and occurs also in North Africa; but it is difficult to account very 
 precisely for the geographical distribution of these two forms, as the females 
 and voung of the grey form are more rufous than the adult males, and 
 both forms appear to have occasionally strayed to some extent out 
 of their beat, as if the cause which produced the difference of colour had 
 ceased to exi.-t. 
 
 The Tawny or "Wood "-Owl, as it is often called, differs greatly from 
 the well-known Barn-Owl, both in the colour of its plumage, its haunts, 
 and its notes. The Tawny Owl is a dull and sombre bird, well adapted to 
 escape discovery in its gloomy haunt in the quiet and seclusion of the 
 forest. It sometimes chooses a retreat in the thick pine- woods or in the 
 tangled game-coverts where the undergrowth is dense and the timber well 
 matured. It also frequents the oak-forests, selecting a home in the 
 interior of one of the decaying giants that for centuries has withstood the 
 assaults of time and tempest, and where the solitude is rarely broken, 
 except by the laugh of the Woodpecker, the murmur of the Doves, and the 
 Pheasant's hq^sh and discordant morning and evening call. In some in- 
 stances I have known this bird choose a hole in a ruin or a cave for its 
 daily resting-place ; but such instances are rare. The Tawny Owl is also 
 
156 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 easily distinguished from the Barn-Owl by its note. The latter bird 
 utters a harsh shrill screech ; but the present species hoots a loud and clear 
 hoo-hoo-hoo, or perhaps, more accurately, o, 6, 6. Singularly startling and 
 weird-like is this note of the Tawny Owl, especially when it is accompanied 
 by the darkness and the silence of the forest. 
 
 The Owls, as a rule, are only active at nightfall; consequently their 
 habits are but little known. The Tawny Owl only invites you to observe 
 its actions when the sun has sunk behind the horizon and the landscape 
 is enshrouded in gloom. Guided by its loud and clear hooting cry, you 
 may know its whereabouts; and a dissection of the pellets it ejects will 
 tell you of what its food consists. Even in the forest at nightfall 
 there is much to interest and instruct. Numberless strange sounds greet 
 the ear, and inform you that nocturnal creatures are abroad. Now the 
 rustle of the bracken tells you that some truant stoat or weasel is on a 
 marauding expedition. The shrill squeal of the wood-mouse is heard as it 
 burrows under the withered leaves. The almost noiseless tread of the rat 
 or mole may startle you, or the purr of the Nightjar disturb your reverie, 
 or you may obtain a glimpse of the rabbits holding high carnival in the 
 open glades and drives. All these creatures are of nocturnal habits; and 
 many of them furnish the Tawny Owl with a meal. When the moon, 
 hitherto hid behind a dense mass of cloud, peeps forth, the shadows 
 suddenly lengthen, and the still forest assumes an almost daylight bright- 
 ness, you may hear the Owl's strange hooting note borne low and soft on 
 the night wind, and may perchance see the bird fly softly through the 
 air and alight on the dead top of an oak. At close quarters its hooting 
 cries startle by their depth of tone and clearness. If you are very well 
 concealed and scarcely breathe, you may see the bird ruffle up its plumage, 
 sit motionless for a second, and then launch into the air. Downwards it 
 seems to swoop ; for the gloom will not permit you to observe it closely, 
 and you can but conjecture that its bright eye, most piercing in the dark- 
 ness, has detected some mouse, mole, or frog, that falls a victim to the 
 noiseless approach of its enemy. But these creatures are not the TaAvny 
 Owl's only prey ; for it will take beetles and insects, and more rarely the 
 surface-feeding fish. Occasionally it will take a benighted bird from the 
 hedgerows, a Bunting, or a Whin chat, or other birds which are late in 
 seeking their roosting-place (a habit which frequently costs them their 
 life). 
 
 The Tawny Owl does not escape the persecution of the game-preserver ; 
 but, although not entirely guiltless of the charge of poaching, its inroads 
 on the preserves are trifling, and usually confined to a feeble leveret or 
 young rabbit. In its habits the Tawny Owl is strictly nocturnal, and 
 rarely indeed leaves its place of concealment in the daytime unless 
 disturbed. Most Owls have a great aversion to the light, yet none more 
 
WOOD-OWL. 157 
 
 so than the present species ; and when by accident driven from its place 
 of concealment during the day into the sunshine, it seems utterly bewildered, 
 forming a butt for all the smaller birds, who mob it unmercifully. During 
 the summer the adult Tawny Owl is not heard to hoot so frequently, the cries 
 heard at that season being from the young, and usually uttered in the day- 
 time. It is in the autumn nights when its voice is heard to perfection ; 
 and it keeps up its cry with little intermission until the following breeding- 
 season. This note is most frequently uttered in the evenings and just 
 before dawn, and, although somewhat weird in tone, is far from melancholy. 
 In the pairing-season the male bird has a peculiar call, which sounds 
 singularly wild and uncanny. 
 
 During the moulting-season, in July and August, the Tawny Owl does 
 not leave its forest home ; but when that time has passed it will often, 
 with its young, visit the farmyards and villages in search of prey, or 
 hunt the stubbles and open fields. In the dark and foggy days of winter 
 this Owl is sometimes seen abroad before sunset. 
 
 Tawny Owls, to a certain extent, are migratory ; but the birds that breed 
 in our own land probably never quit their old home. In the autumn they 
 are frequently taken in the flight -nets on the low-lying coasts sometimes 
 as many as half a dozen being caught together in a single night, leading 
 to the conclusion that they perform their annual wanderings in company. 
 These migrants come from northern lands, where the winters are severe, 
 and of the small mammals and birds the former are all lying dormant 
 during the long northern night, and the latter have sped away to a 
 southern haunt to escape its severity. 
 
 It is very probable that the Tawny Owl pairs for life, and confines itself 
 to one district if left undisturbed, although it seldom nests in the same 
 hole each successive year, but, like many of the raptorial birds, has two 
 or three favourite spots, using each in turn. It breeds somewhat earlier 
 than the Baru-Owl, its eggs often being laid early in March. But the eggs 
 and unfledged voung are sometimes taken throughout the summer up to 
 the month of August ; it is therefore possible that this bird has two or 
 more broods in the year. The bird's daily roosting-place, however, is not 
 always its nesting-site ; for it will sometimes frequent dense ivy-clumps or 
 pine trees, only quitting them during the breeding-season. Usually the 
 eggs are laid in a hole in a tree in some cavity in a venerable moss and 
 lichen-covered oak, or in the interior of a beech or elm whose trunk is 
 rifted and decayed into a dozen suitable nesting-places. Occasionally the 
 bird will rear its young in a similar situation to that which the Baru-Owl 
 selects. It will also sometimes breed in an old Wood-Pigeon's nest or 
 squirrel's " d*y " in an ivy-covered tree, and at other times will choose 
 a deserted nest of a Crow or Magpie. More extraordinary choice, how- 
 ever, still, is a hole in the ground. Mr. Gurney records that in Norfolk 
 
158 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 it occasionally breeds in a deserted fox- or rabbit-burrow ; and Mr. A. W. 
 Johnson has made similar observations of the nesting of this species in 
 Northumberland. He writes to me as follows : 
 
 " The Tawny Owl is fairly abundant in this district, and is found breeding 
 in suitable localities throughout the valleys of the Tyne,Wear, and Derwent. 
 The situations chosen by this bird are very various ; for when its favourite 
 sites (such as hollow trees, holes in cliffs, or under roots) are wanting, it 
 avails itself of rabbit-burrows, and even lays its eggs upon the ground under 
 the thick branches of the fir. One locality within ten miles of Newcastle, 
 which, owing to the abundance of food, always contains two or three pairs 
 if not more, is a particularly good place in which to study their breeding- 
 habits, when thus driven, by the absence of suitable hollow trees &c., to 
 nest perforce elsewhere. The wood consists of some 500 to 600 acres, 
 and is mostly composed of young trees, and contains but one piece of cliff, 
 some 80 or 100 feet high, that overlooks the Derwent. This cliff is yearly 
 tenanted by one pair of these Owls, which rear their young in one of its many 
 recesses. The other pairs I have found nesting twice in rabbit-burrows ; 
 one had young, and the other eggs, when discovered. Again, the eggs were 
 found laid upon the ground, somewhat concealed by the thick foliage of the 
 lower branches of a fir. The fourth site chosen was an old nest of the 
 Sparrow-Hawk, built upon a small fir, and some 15 feet only from the 
 ground in fact, just such a place as the Long-eared Owl often makes 
 use of for similar purposes. Twice have its eggs been found laid in out- 
 buildings; once upon the inner wall of a cow-byre in use, part of which 
 was in ruins, thus admitting of easy ingress to the Owls ; and once in a 
 ruined house, partly used as a hen-house, partly as a coal-house. This 
 outhouse was in close proximity to the woodman's cottage. Perhaps the 
 most curious situation of all was when a pair took possession of a disused 
 dog-kennel, which lay upon the lawn and within 25 or 30 yards of the 
 farmer's back door. This bird makes no nest, merely scratching a hole in 
 the earth when laying in holes of cliffs or under roots ; and when making 
 use of old nests, it does not seem to reline them at all. The number of 
 eggs laid is generally three or four. I have never taken more than the 
 latter number, and never heard of any one doing so in this district ; in fact 
 three eggs seem more commonly to be the full clutch than four. The last 
 week in March or the first in April seems to be the average time when fresh 
 eggs may be found/' 
 
 The eggs are three or four in number, and much larger than those of the 
 Barn-Owl ; in fact the eggs of this bird cannot well be confused with those 
 of any other species of British Owl. They are pure and spotless white, 
 round in form ; but the texture of the shell is much smoother than the 
 Barn-Owl's and far more highly polished. They measure from 1*9 to 1'7 
 inch in length, and from 1*6 to T45 inch in breadth. As is the case with 
 
WOOD-OWL. 
 
 159 
 
 many raptorial birds, the first egg is often sat upon as soon as laid; so that 
 young birds and eggs are found frequently in the nest together. 
 
 The young birds, covered with greyish-white down, remain in the nest 
 some considerable time ; afterwards they betake themselves to the neigh- 
 bouring branches, where they are fed by their parents until the summer is 
 well advanced. Here they utter their plaintive clicking note almost 
 incessantly, attracting the attention of the parent birds and calling for 
 food. The young of the Tawny Owl are easily reared in confinement, 
 soon become very tame, and rank amongst the best birds for the aviary. 
 
 The typical form of the Wood-Owl (commonly called the Tawny Owl) 
 has the colour of the upper parts reddish brown, spotted and vermiculated 
 with darker brown and blackish, and with large subterminal white spots 
 on the outer webs of the wing-coverts. The lower parts are buffish white, 
 barred with brown and streaked with dusky brown. Legs feathered to 
 the claws ; bill greyish yellow ; irides dark brown ; claws whitish at base, 
 darker towards the tip. The female resembles the male, but is larger. 
 
 The semi-arctic form (commonly called the Brown Owl) differs from the 
 typical form in having the reddish brown of both the upper and under 
 parts replaced by grey. In the tropical form the reddish brown is richer 
 and darker, and the white parts are replaced by buff, and the dark vermi- 
 culations are blacker and more developed. 
 
160 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 STRIX OTUS. 
 LONG-EARED OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Asio asio, Briss. Orn. i. p. 486 (1760). 
 
 Strix otus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum Vieillot, 
 
 Naumann, Temminck, Schleyel, Sundevall, (Newton), &c. 
 Bubo minor, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Diy. i. p. 85, pi. Ixxxii. (1767). 
 Bubo vulgaris, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Die/, i. p. 85, pi. Ixxxii. (1767). 
 Bubo otus (Linn.), Sav. Syst. Ois. de Eyy2)te, p. 49 (1810). 
 Otus asio (riss.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 11 (1816). 
 Otus otus (Linn.), Cuv. ffigne An. i. p. 328 (1817). 
 Otus europeeus, Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 57 (1826). 
 Otus vulgaris (Gerini), Fleming, Brit. An. p. 56 (1828). 
 Asio otus (Linn.}, Less. Man. cCOm. i. p. 116 (1828). 
 Otus communis, Less. Traite, p. 110 (1831). 
 Otus aurita, Eenn. ed. Mont. Orn. Diet. p. 262 (1833). 
 Aegolius otus (Linn.), Keys, fy Bias. Wirb. Eur. p. 143 (1840). 
 Otus verus, Finsch, Journ. Orn. 1859, p. 381. 
 
 The Long-eared Owl is generally distributed throughout the British 
 Islands, being most common in those districts which abound in pine- 
 forests. It has not been met with in Greenland, but is an accidental 
 visitor to Iceland and the Orkney and Shetland Isles. It is not found 
 in the Outer Hebrides, but breeds in Mull and Skye. It is distributed 
 throughout the Palsearctic Region, and the Himalayas as far east as the 
 shores of the sea of Ochotsk and Japan, but becomes extremely rare towards 
 the arctic circle. It has been recorded from the Azores, the Madeiras, and 
 the Canary Islands. It is a partial migrant ; and on the east coast both of 
 England and Scotland its numbers are increased by autumn arrivals from 
 Scandinavia. In South Europe and North Africa it is principally a winter 
 visitant, in Spain breeding only on the mountains, doubtfully recorded 
 during the breeding-season from Algiers and Egypt, and hitherto observed 
 only during passage or in winter in Greece. In Palestine and Asia Minor 
 it probably breeds on the mountains and highlands, descending to the plains 
 during winter only. In Turkestan it is found principally on migration, 
 and winters in Persia and Afghanistan. The Himalayan birds winter in 
 the plains of North India. In the valley of the Amoor, Japan, and in 
 North China it is apparently a winter visitor. In the Nearctic Region it 
 is represented by <S. americanus, a species which approaches so near to 
 the European one that only a practised eye can detect the difference. 
 
 The American bird has the upper parts more uniform in colour, the 
 
LONG-EARED OWL. 161 
 
 broad longitudinal streaks on the centre of the back and scapulars being 
 finely mottled like the rest of the feather. On the underparts, especially 
 on the feathers of the flanks, the transverse bars are straighter, broader, 
 and more distinct in the American than in the European species. My 
 collectors have not yet sent me skins from Siberia, nor have I seen an 
 example from Archangel, where the bird is said to be very rare; but it is 
 extremely probable that a pale northern form occurs. 
 
 The Long-eared Owl is an inhabitant of woodland districts, and is espe- 
 cially fond of spruce and Scotch firs ; and since the planting of these trees 
 has greatly increased it seems that the bird has extended its range in a 
 corresponding degree. Large woods are not at all necessary to this 
 species, and a pair will very frequently take up their abode in the small 
 fir-plantations and in the clumps of trees on the borders of the forest. 
 Large game-coverts are also favourite haunts of this bird ; but it does not 
 appear to frequent ruins, barns, or other buildings. It is a resident in this 
 country, and is a strictly nocturnal bird, rarely straying from its roosting- 
 place till dusk. "When seen abroad in the daytime, however, it seems to 
 be but little troubled by the glare of sunlight. Its retreat in the daytime 
 is usually amongst the foliage of a dense tree close to the trunk, or in a 
 clump of ivy, from which it sallies in search of food as the evening's dusk 
 is falling. Its flight is like that of all the Owls, a buoyant but slow and 
 wavering one ; and although it is by no means a noisy bird, it repeatedly 
 calls upon the wing. My friend Xorgate informs me that he has heard 
 this species uttering a note like the barking of a spaniel as it flew round 
 him over the pine-woods; and he also tells me that it has another note, 
 somewhat similar to the mewing of a young kitten, and which can be 
 heard fully a mile off. He supposes this note to proceed from the young 
 birds. 
 
 The food of the Long-eared Owl is largely composed of rats, mice, voles, 
 and occasionally beetles and insects. It also takes the smaller birds 
 those species that are to be seen abroad late in the evening catching them 
 a< it skims past them in the dusk. The Yellow Bunting is often to be 
 seen on the hedgerows long after sunset ; and its remains are often found 
 both in the nest and also near the roosting-place of this Owl. It may 
 also obtain rnauy small birds by disturbing them from their perches in its 
 nocturnal wanderings. 
 
 Of the migratory movements of the Long-eared Owl but little can be 
 said. It seems not to journey in such large flocks as its congener 
 the Short-eared Owl. although a man once told Norgate that he had seen 
 as many as fifty fly from one tree in the daytime ! It also makes its 
 appearance ou^iur coasts much later in the year, sometimes not until 
 the beginning of December ; but Mr. Cordeaux informs me that a pair 
 of these birds were obtained at Spurn in 1881 during the last week in 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
 
162 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 August. This bird is also occasionally taken in the flight-nets on the 
 Lincolnshire coast. 
 
 The Long-eared Owl is an early breeder : fresh eggs may be obtained 
 by the second week in March ; and the young are hatched by the end of 
 April or beginning of May. It is doubtful if this bird ever builds its own 
 nest. It usually takes possession of a deserted Crow's nest, sometimes a 
 Wood-Pigeon's, and more frequently the deserted " drey " of a squirrel. 
 Norgate informs me that at Didlington he was told that this bird nested 
 habitually in the Herons' nests, and he himself saw quantities of pellets 
 beneath the trees in which the nests were built. On one occasion he 
 climbed up to a deserted nest in a pine tree, from which he looked 
 down upon a deserted squirrel's " drey " in a neighbouring tree, and saw a 
 pair of Long-eared Owls sitting side by side on the top, which was slightly 
 flattened, and on which were laid seven eggs. At this nest were the 
 remains of a Yellow Bunting. Dixon has found the eggs of this bird in 
 old Wood- Pigeons' nests, amongst dense masses of ivy growing on trees. 
 The selected nest does not appear to undergo much alteration, although 
 many naturalists have asserted that it is lined with wool and feathers; but 
 pellets are often found in it in great numbers. The eggs of this bird 
 are from four to seven in number, generally five or six ; and it appears 
 that, as is the case with many other birds of this family, the eggs are 
 sat on as soon as laid, as young birds and fresh eggs are seen in the same 
 nest. The eggs of the Long-eared Owl are somewhat oval in form, 
 possessing some little gloss, and are pure white in colour. They measure 
 from 1*76 to 1'5 inch in length and from 1'35 to 1'26 inch in breadth. 
 The young birds remain in the nest some weeks, and when able to fly 
 usually take up their quarters in the adjoining branches, where they 
 are fed for some time by the parents. 
 
 My friend Mr. A. W. Johnson writes to me as follows respecting the 
 habits of the Long-eared Owl in Northumberland : " The Long-eared 
 Owl breeds somewhat sparingly, in suitable localities, throughout Northum- 
 berland and Durham plantations of black firs, bordering upon moors or 
 other open ground, being its favourite haunt. If this bird was only 
 allowed to dwell in peace, and was not so commonly and erroneously 
 regarded as vermin by the keepers, and destroyed accordingly, it would 
 soon become a fairly common bird here. In proof of this, some years 
 ago, in one district of Northumberland, where the birds were undisturbed, 
 my friend Isaac Clark, of Blaydon, used to find large numbers of their 
 nests for several consecutive seasons. A letter of his just received (25th 
 August 1882) proves how common they were in 1871. He writes, ' In 
 answer to your note about the Owls breeding, they always repair an old 
 Wood-Pigeon's or Magpie's nest. The earliest date I have found a 
 nest containing young was one which had three young birds and two 
 
LONG-EARED OWL. 163 
 
 rotten eggs in it upon the 1st April 1871. On the same day we took 
 .ye/r/j other nests with eggs/ This Owl seems always to make use of the 
 old nests of either Carrion-Crow, Wood-Pigeon, or Magpie, and never, 
 so far as I have been able to discover, builds a wholly new nest for itself, 
 being content with repairing the other nests if a Crow or a Magpie's be 
 the one selected, by flattening them down a little, and sometimes by the 
 addition of a few sticks to an old Wood-Pigeon's when the original struc- 
 ture was too slight. They are very early breeders, eggs being sometimes 
 found when snow is still upon the ground. The earliest eggs I have known 
 were taken the last week in February ; but the usual time of laying is 
 from the beginning of March until the first week in April. The bird, when 
 incubation has commenced, sits very closely indeed, often not leaving the 
 nest until the climber is within 6 or 8 feet of it. This makes the taking of 
 their eggs very hard work, as any old nest may contain eggs ; and as no 
 amount of knocking the trunk below, or firing of missiles at the nest above, 
 is certain to start the Owl if there, there is nothing for it but climbing 
 tvtry tree that holds an old nest that looks likely ; and as these firs usually 
 have a vast number of old nests of one sort or another in them, the work 
 soon becomes very hard, and (unless successful early on) an enthusiastic 
 oologist of not too mature an age is necessary, or the abandonment of the 
 search in disgust is more than probable. There seems to be no fixed 
 height for the nest preferred ; the lowest I have seen was some 12 feet 
 above the ground, and the highest some 40 or 45 ; but usually 20 to 30 is the 
 height ; when the trees become very high, the Owls seem to leave them for 
 lower trees with thicker uuder-branches. The number of eggs laid is from 
 three to six; many nests contain four; five is also commonly found, whilst 
 a six clutch is not a great rarity. I have known one nest that contained 
 six young ones (in various stages of growth), and several with five; but 
 such successful hatchings are not common ; more frequently three to four 
 young ones are found, and often also one or more addled eggs are in the 
 nests with the young birds." 
 
 The Long-eared Owl has the general colour of the upper parts ochraceous 
 buff, mottled and vermiculated with brown of various shades ; the ear-tufts 
 large, and composed of black feathers edged with -buff. The underparts 
 are of a lighter ochraceous buff, with broad streaks of deep brown and faint 
 transverse bars of paler brown ; beak and claws dark horn-colour ; irides rich 
 orange-yellow. The female resembles the male, but is slightly more 
 rufous in general coloration. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 STRIX TENGMALMI. 
 TENGMALM'S OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Strix tengmalmi, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 291 (1788) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 Temminck, Naumann, Vieillot, Schlegel, Sundevall, (Newton), (Salvation), (Shelley), 
 (Sharpe fy Dresser). 
 
 Strix dasypus, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. ii. p. 972 (1805). 
 
 Athene tengmalmi ( Gmel.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 549. 
 
 .^Egolius tengmalmi (Gmel.), Kaup, Natilrl. Syst. p. 34 (1829). 
 
 Noctua tengmalmi (Gmel.), Cuv. Regn. An. i. p. 345 (1829). 
 
 Ulula tengmalmi (Gmel.), Bp. Oss. Reg. An. Cuv. p. 53 (1830). 
 
 Syrnium tengmalmi (Gmel.), Eyton, Hist. Rarer Br. B. p. 90 (1836). 
 
 Scotophilus tengmalmi (Gmel.), Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 217 (1837). 
 
 Nyctale tengmalmi (Gmel.), Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 7 (1838). 
 
 Nyctale richardsoni, Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 7 (1838). 
 
 Strix frontalis, Licht. Abh. Akad. Berlin, p. 430 (1838). 
 
 Nyctale dasypus (Bechst.), Gray, List Gen. B. p. 6 (1840). 
 
 Nyctale tengmalmi (Gmel.), var. richardsoni, Ridgw. Am. Nat. 1872, p. 285. 
 
 Nyctale funerea (Linn.), apud Bonaparte, Schlegel, Taczanotcski ', &c. 
 
 Tengmalm's Owl is an accidental visitor to the British Islands. At 
 least a couple of dozen instances of its occurrence have been recorded, 
 three of them in Scotland, but none in Ireland. Some of these alleged 
 occurrences are myths ; for example, the specimen killed near Horsham, 
 and now in Mr. Borrer's collection, I found on examination to be a Little 
 Owl (Noctua noctua), whilst some have undoubtedly escaped from captivity. 
 On the other hand, it is quite possible that some of the recorded instances 
 of the capture of the Little Owl in our islands refer to this species. 
 
 The migrations of Tengmalm's Owl are generally confined to a descent 
 from the mountains, where it breeds, to the plains ; but there can be little 
 doubt that in certain seasons some individuals extend their migrations 
 much further, as it has several times occurred in the autumn on Heligoland, 
 whence it doubtless crosses the sea to our islands. 
 
 Tengmalm's Owl is a circumpolar bird. At the time Messrs. Newton 
 and Dresser wrote on this species its distribution in Siberia was unknown. 
 Some writers, amongst whom are Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, attempt to 
 make the American bird subspecifically distinct from the European one, on 
 the ground of there being more of the brown spotting on the plumage, 
 especially on the feet and under tail-coverts a feature characteristic of 
 immature birds. I have been unable to detect any difference between 
 examples from the Palaearctic and Neartic Regions beyond the fact that 
 American birds are slightly darker than Palsearctic ones, and may have the 
 feathers on the feet not so pure a white. There does not even seem to be 
 an Arctic form ; examples sent by my collector from Krasnoyarsk scarcely 
 
TENGMALM'S OWL. 165 
 
 differ from skins from South Sweden. This species breeds in the pine- 
 forests of Europe and Asia south of the Arctic circle. In Northern France, 
 Germany, Southern Scandinavia, and Central Russia it is principally found 
 in winter. It is said to breed in the Alps and the Carpathians ; but there 
 is no reliable authority for its occurrence either in the Pyrenees or the 
 Caucasus. In Lapland it breeds up to lat. 68 ; in the Ural Mountains it 
 has not been found further north than lat. 59 ; but Dr. Finsch obtained it 
 on the Obb in lat. 61. Sharpe and Dresser copy Shelley's error in 
 assigning Egypt as a locality for this species *. On the American con- 
 tinent its range is very similar, extending during the breeding-season 
 nearly up to the Arctic circle from Alaska to Labrador. It occasionally 
 appears in winter in the most northerly of the United States. 
 
 Teugmalni's Owl has no very near ally in Europe ; but on the American 
 continent it is represented in the central and southern portions of the 
 Nearctic Region by Strix acadica (the Saw-whet Owl), a somewhat smaller 
 bird, having much less white on the upper parts, with the forehead streaked 
 instead of spotted with white, and having only three white bars instead of 
 five on the tail. The capture of a bird of this species was recorded in the 
 ' Zoologist ' (1860, p. 7104) by Sir W. Milner, not far from Beverley in 
 Yorkshire. The species may have been wrongly determined; or, if the 
 identification was correct, it may Lave been an escaped bird. 
 
 Tei-ginalm's Owl is principally confined to the pine-region; and very 
 little is recorded of its habits. South of the Arctic circle it is said to be 
 a strictly nocturnal bird. Wheelwright states that he rarely went out 
 into the forest near Quickjock on any night without seeing this pretty 
 little Owl hawking after its prey. In that latitude, however, there is 
 scarcely any difference between night and day. For some weeks in summer 
 the sun never sets, and during the whole twenty-four hours brilliant sun- 
 shine is the rule rather than the exception. All that can be said is that 
 Tenguialrn's Owl does not appear to be incommoded by the light, but 
 nevertheless prefers the midnight sun to that of midday. 
 
 This bird is a very early breeder ; and even in lat. G7~ Wheelwright's eggs 
 were all taken between the 2nd and the 13th of May ; whilst at Muoniovara, 
 a degree still further to the north, Wolley obtained eggs between the 18th 
 of May and the 2nd of June, and received them from a little further north 
 between the 1st and the 27th of June. Wheelwright describes its call-note 
 as a very musical, soft whistle, never heard except in the evening and at 
 night. Its food consists of mice, beetles, and small birds. Wheelwright 
 says that it is a buld voracious little bird, and that one night he shot a 
 female in full chase of a lemming on a frozen lake. 
 
 Tengmalmil Owl is said not to build any nest. The eggs are laid in 
 
 * ID the Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 136, Sharpe includes the specimen upoa which this 
 statement was founded in the list of examples of C'arine gl.nu-. 
 
166 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 hollow trees ; and Wolley obtained some which had been laid in one of the 
 hollowed -out logs which are closed at each end, with a hole cut in the side, 
 to induce the Golden-eye Ducks to breed in them. A favourite nesting- 
 place appears to be in the deserted nest of the Black Woodpecker. The 
 number of eggs varies from four to seven. They are pure white in colour, 
 smooth, and differ somewhat in shape, some being elongated, others almost 
 round. They vary in length from 1'3 to I'25 inch, and in breadth from 
 1-1 to 1-05 inch. 
 
 Tengmalnr's Owl has the upper parts brown spotted with white, and the 
 underparts white barred with reddish brown. The beak is yellowish white, 
 claws black ; irides yellow. The female resembles the male, but is slightly 
 larger and has the white less developed. Young birds are much darker than 
 adults, and have the white spots almost confined to the wings and tail. It 
 is a slightly larger bird than the Little Owl, from which it may also easily 
 be distinguished by the tarsus and feet being thickly plumed to the claws. 
 The Little Owl also has the underparts longitudinally streaked instead of 
 barred. 
 
 LONG-EARED OWL. 
 
SHORT-EARED OWL. 167 
 
 STRIX BRACIIYOTUS. 
 SHORT-EARED OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 ^ ix noctua major, Brim. Orn. i. p. oil (1760). 
 
 x accipitrina, Pall. Rcise Rut*, Rdchs, i. p. 455 (1771). 
 Xoctua minor, Gmi-l. Awr. C'omm. Petrp. XT. p. 447, pi. 12 (1771). 
 
 ix brachyotus. Forst. Phil. Trans. Ixii. p. 384(1772): et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Gm-lii), Tf '\if, Xaumann, Temminck, Ruux, Sicainson, Richardson, 
 
 Audubon. Schltgel, Yarrell, Sttnderalf, (Gould), (Gray), (Kattp), (Jerdon), (Gur- 
 
 ney), (Hume), (Fin.*ch), (Sirinhoe), &c. &c. 
 Strix arctica. tyarrm. Mns. Carls, iii. pi. 51 (1788). 
 Strix palustris, Ii?ch*t. Xatttrg. Deutschl. ii. p. 344 (1791). 
 Strix tripennis, Schrank, Fauna Boica, i. p. 112 (1798). 
 Strix caspia, Steph. S/iatc's Gen. Zol. vii. pt. 2, p. 272 (1809). 
 Otus microcephalus. Leach. Si/.^f. Cut. ^famm. $c. Brit. Hits. p. 11 (1816). 
 Strix brachyura, Xilss. Oni. Suec. i. p. 62 (1817). 
 
 Otus brachyoto? (F<*r-</.), Sfcph. State's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. -~>7 (1S26). 
 Strix sandwicl. v. Byron's Vuy. of H.M.S. ' Blonde,' A}>p. p. 250 (1826). 
 
 Brachyotus palustris (Bechst.), Bonap. C'omp. List B. Eur. ^- A. Amer. p. 7 (1838). 
 Asio brachyotus ( 7 : iiU. Brit. Birds, iii. p. 461 (1840). 
 
 lius brachyutu- (ft Wirb. Eur. p. xxxiii (1840). 
 
 ^andvicensis (Blo.rh.), Blyth, Ibis, 1863, -. 
 
 Aio accipitrimis (Pall.). AVfrf. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 163 (1872). 
 ulula, Linn, apud Boddaert, Gmelin, Pallas, Lesson, .Vc. 
 
 The Short-eared Owl is a regular winter visitor to Great Britain and 
 Ireland,, and has not vet been completely exterminated from the fens, 
 where a few still breed. It is generally distributed on moorlands and 
 marshes in the north of England, Scotland, the Western Isles, the 
 Orkneys, and the Shetlands. 
 
 Outside our islands its range is almost cosmopolitan. It appears to be 
 only a summer yisitor to Holland, North Germany, Scandinavia, and North 
 Russia, passing through France on migration. In South Europe it is 
 principally known as a winter visitant ; but in South Russia and the Cau- 
 casus many apparently remain to breed. It probably also breeds in some 
 parts of Africa, although its distribution there is comparatively little known. 
 It has been recorded from several parts of North Africa, is a regular 
 winter visitant to North-cast Africa, and an example has been obtained 
 in Natal. Eastwards it is a summer visitor throughout Siberia, passing 
 through Persia, Turkestan, and Japan on migration, and wintering in India 
 and Burma. It does not appear to have occurred in Australia, or in any 
 of the island of the Southern Pacific ; but it is said to be a resident 
 on the Sandwich Islands. On the American continent it is a summer 
 visitor to Alaska, Canada, and Greenland up to about lat. 70, wintering 
 
168 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 throughout the United States, where a few remain to breed, some passing 
 still further south to Central America, the West Indies, and tropical South 
 America. It has been found throughout South America, breeding at Buenos 
 Ayres and Patagonia and probably throughout the Chilian subregion. The 
 South- American birds are probably also partial migrants, and in their 
 winter-quarters may meet the birds from North America. 
 
 The habits of the Short-eared Owl are very different from those of any 
 other British species, and thus lend an additional interest to the bird. 
 Unlike the other members of this gloom-loving family of birds, the present 
 species rarely in this country frequents woods or plantations, nor does 
 it haunt ruins, barns, or hollow trees. Its home is in the exposed and 
 open parts of the country, the broad-stretching meadow-lands and turnip- 
 fields, commons and dense furze-brakes, sedgy marshlands and the flat 
 uninviting and monotonous fens. From its peculiar habit of frequenting 
 the open, the Short-eared Owl is perhaps more often seen than any other 
 Owl; and it is from this circumstance that the bird is considered to 
 be numerous and widely diffused. Although generally a migratory bird, 
 a few are permanently resident in suitable districts where it was formerly 
 a far more common resident than it is at the present day, being now only 
 represented in the summer by a few straggling pairs. 
 
 The great autumn migration of the Short-eared Owl takes place in 
 October, from the second week to the end of the month, the time during 
 which the Woodcock also makes its appearance. From this circum- 
 stance and from the fact that both the birds choose similar haunts upon 
 their arrival here, the Short-eared Owl has gained for itself the name 
 of " Woodcock-Owl." Short-eared Owls migrate in companies, and, 
 in fact, are more or less gregarious during the whole of the winter, as 
 many as twenty birds having been flushed within a comparatively small 
 space of ground. The flight-nets on the Lincolnshire coast unerringly 
 proclaim the advent of this Owl upon our shores ; and during the mi- 
 gration period it is one of the commonest birds taken in them. Short-eared 
 Owls migrate at night ; and they do not seem to fly at any great height 
 above the waves whilst pursuing their journey, for these nets are but a 
 few feet from the surface of the sea. Strangely enough, however, their 
 companion the Woodcock is seldom, very seldom taken in the nets, leading 
 us to suppose that it flies much higher through the air and drops suddenly 
 down from above as soon as the shore is reached. Upon its arrival 
 here the Short-eared Owl betakes itself to turnip-fields, stubbles, the 
 sides of hedgerows, or the tall herbage on the banks of a stream, and dry 
 ditches overgrown with coarse vegetation. Upon being flushed it flies 
 quickly off with undulating motion, swaying its body from side to side 
 alternately, much after the manner of the smaller Gulls. This Owl is 
 perhaps less incommoded by the light than any other species, and may 
 
SHORT-EARED OWL. 169 
 
 be seen quartering the ground in search of food at all hours of the 
 day. "When flushed it will not unfrequently rise to a considerable height 
 in the air and then fly steadily away, without displaying any of that 
 wavering undecided action so characteristic of the Barn-Owl when rudely 
 sent into the sunshine. 
 
 The food of the Short-eared Owl is composed of small mammals, small 
 birds, coleopterous insects, and various species of surface-feeding fish ; its 
 favourite and usual fare, however, is doubtless composed of field-mice and 
 the various species of short-tailed voles. It will glide in noiseless airy 
 flight above the marshy wastes, or quarter the stubbles and meadow-lands 
 in search of its food, sail swiftly down the hedgerow-sides and take a 
 Warbler from the spray, or search the old weedy watercourses for rats. 
 It will also now and then strike the Bat as it sallies from its hole in the 
 dusk of the evening, or prey upon the larger beetles that come abroad at 
 night's approach. Mr. Low states that the remains of Red Grouse and 
 Plovers have been found in its nest ; but such, certainly, if captured 
 at all, were possibly only young or weakly birds. This species is one 
 of the most deadly enemies of mice, rats, and, in Scandinavia, of 
 lemmings. During the great plagues of mice that have from time to time 
 occurred in various parts of Britain, notably in the Forest of Dean in 
 Gloucestershire, the Short-eared Owl has flocked in numbers to the place, 
 and played a principal part in extirpating the unwelcome and destructive 
 hordes. Too often, however, the poor harmless Owl is shot down by the 
 thoughtless farmers or ignorant gamekeepers, who foolishly imagine they 
 are ridding their domains of a pest, although in reality they are taking the 
 life of one of their most valuable friends. 
 
 It is very possible that the Short-eared Owl pail's for life. Unlike the 
 other British members of this group of birds, that seek a covered site for 
 their nests, the Short-eared Owl always rears its young upon the ground, 
 and, most curiously enough, in an exposed and open nest. Its breeding- 
 grounds are the marshy feus of the low-lying eastern counties, and in the 
 north the broad expanses of heath on which the Harriers and the Grouse 
 rear their young. In the southern counties the draining of the fenlands 
 has done much to decrease its numbers in the breeding-season, and at the 
 present time but few pairs are to be met with. Its eggs have been taken 
 in the first week in April; but May is probably its usual laying-season, 
 the young being abroad by the 12th of August. In the early summer of 
 1881 (May) I had the good fortune to examine the nest of this bird, to 
 procure its eggs, and gain some little personal knowledge of the bird 
 itself. Howard Saunders and I went down to the Norfolk Broads under 
 the guidance of our mutual friend Mr. A. H. Evans. The moment we 
 arrived at the little inn close to Hickling Broad I was struck with the 
 exact similarity of the scenery to that of Horster Mere in Holland, where 
 
170 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 I went to see the breeding- place of the Spoonbills and Cormorants. A 
 winding river passes through lakes and marshes down to Yarmouth ; and 
 in the deep channel boats heavily laden sail up and down, whilst on the 
 shallow broads and in the narrow lanes cut through the marshes we were 
 punted along in little boats with ease. When we were near enough to the 
 sea, the " denes " or sandhills that skirt the coast formed a conspicuous 
 object on the horizon. 
 
 The marshes (or " meshes" as the marshmen call them) are covered 
 over with reeds, with a thick undergrowth of Juncus and Carex. Most 
 of the marsh is accessible with wading-boots ; and in many places we 
 found shooting-boots sufficient. The reeds are regularly cropped, and 
 sold for thatching and as a substitute for straw for cattle. Here and 
 there willows are found, sometimes in sufficient quantity to make it worth 
 while to employ women and children in peeling twigs for basket-making. 
 Fishing is carried on in some of the broads ; and in winter these sheets of 
 water are a great resort for Wild Ducks and other water-birds. Great 
 numbers of half-tame Swans breed on most of the marshes. 
 
 In the evening Joshua, the old fenman whom Mr. Evans had chartered 
 as guide, took us to Hickling Marsh, about a square mile in extent. As 
 we walked along the lanes between the high hedges, Corn-Buntings and 
 Sedge-Warblers were the principal songsters. The part of the marsh 
 which we visited had lately been in the hands of a farmer who had suc- 
 cumbed to the bad harvests; and the reeds were cut and lying in heaps on 
 the ground. For one of these heaps or reed-cocks Joshua steered by a 
 somewhat circuitous route to avoid the dykes, which were generally just 
 too wide to jump across with safety. Peewits and Redshanks got up as we 
 went along ; but we kept steadily to our goal. At length, after a three- 
 mile walk, during which the daylight had perceptibly diminished, Joshua 
 pointed out a heap of cut reeds as " the place." We advanced cautiously 
 to about half a. dozen yards from the heap, when rapidly but silently rose 
 before our admiring eyes a Short-eared Owl, displaying her nest with six 
 eggs conspicuously placed at the foot of the " reed-cock " and half sheltered 
 by it. The bird looked very large as she rose in the evening light and, 
 after a short flight, turned back and wheeled in circles round us. In half 
 a minute she was joined by her mate ; and the two flew round as long as 
 we remained near the nest. Sometimes she hovered at a considerable 
 height perpendicularly over her nest, as if she would assure herself that 
 we had not taken her eggs, and as if she could only see them when she 
 was directly above them. When she had apparently adjusted the focus of 
 her great eyes upon them, she fluttered her wings in a very agitated manner 
 for a few seconds. Whether this peculiar movement was the result of her 
 great anxiety to return to cover them from the chill evening air, or an 
 active expression of her delight at seeing them still in the nest, or an 
 
SHORT-EARED OWL. 171 
 
 attempt to attract our attention in order to lure us away from the spot, it 
 was difficult to determine. The eggs were extremely conspicuous from 
 one side of the heap of rushes when the bird was off the nest; but so long 
 as she sat close it might very easily be passed by without notice. Both 
 birds were quite silent the whole time. Joshua told us that when the 
 nest was first found there were seven eggs in it, but that the man who 
 found it had broken one. The eggs were considerably incubated. There 
 was not much attempt at a nest, not more than the Peewit makes. The 
 ground seemed to be trodden into a hollow, which was lined with a few 
 dry broken reeds and sedges. The reeds were lying in a heap on the 
 ground ; and in the place selected for the nest the thick cut ends sb'ghtly 
 overhung the base of the heap and formed some shelter over the nest oil 
 one side. We found a second nest on the following day containing six 
 fresh eggs. It was in a part of the marsh where there were very few reeds, 
 the ground being covered with Carex and Juncus. This nest was very 
 similar to the one we found on the previous day, and was lined with flat 
 leaves of Carex, with a feather or two, and was surrounded with a few 
 slender willow bushes. The bird made a harsh scream as she flew up, but 
 went right away, and we saw her no more. 
 
 This species lays from four to seven eggs ; and has been said, on the 
 authority of Hutchius, cited by Richardson in the ' Fur-countries of North 
 America/ to lay as many as ten or twelve. In shape they are scarcely 
 so round as those of the Tawny Owl, and much smaller, creamy white 
 in colour, and possess but little gloss. The eggs may easily be con- 
 founded with those of the Long-eared Owl; and certain specimens are 
 not easy to distinguish from eggs of the Hawk Owl. They measure from 
 1'65 to I'o inch in length, and from 1'31 to 1'2 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Short-eared Owl, like nearly all other Owls and most other Palae- 
 arctic birds which have a wide range, is subject to considerable variation 
 in colour. Besides the typical plumage there are two " phases " of 
 plumage a light " phase " and a rufous " phase." The word phase, as 
 restricted to the various plumages of the Owls, is a very objectionable 
 one. These so-called phases are climatic races of exactly the same cha- 
 racter as the climatic races of Tits, Nuthatches, Dippers, or Shrikes, and 
 of the same subspecific value. The typical plumage is that of a temperate 
 climate with a moderate allowance of rain and sunshine. The so-called 
 light " phase " is the Arctic plumage, geographically coexistent with, and 
 in all probability produced, either directly or indirectly, by a large allow- 
 ance of sunshine and a small supply of rain. In this plumage the buff 
 ground-colour of the upper parts and of the lower portions of the under- 
 parts is replaced by almost pure white, whilst the brown spots or streaks 
 are darker and greyer than in the typical form. This subspecies, con- 
 nected with the typical form in intermediate climates by intermediate 
 
172 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 forms, was named by Pallas Strix agulius, and ranges from Archangel to 
 Kamtschatka. It probably reappears in the Arctic regions of America ; but 
 I have not been able to examine a skin of an adult male from that district. 
 The so-called rufous " phase " is the tropical plumage,, which is known as 
 Strix cassini, a climatic race, apparently most developed where there is a 
 deficiency of sunshine and an excessive rainfall/as in the Falkland Islands 
 and the Eastern Himalayas. In this form the buff ground-colour is more 
 rufous, and the brown spots and streaks are not so grey as in the typical 
 form. In the females the difference between the two extreme forms is 
 much less pronounced, and in the young in first plumage it is scarcely 
 observable. The latter all belong to the rufous form, which we must 
 therefore accept as the oldest, or least changed from the postglacial 
 ancestors. In the Galapagos Islands the Short-eared Owls appear to have 
 been so long isolated from their confreres as to have become specifically 
 distinct. S. galapagoensis is said always to differ from the rufous form of 
 S. brachyotus (which it otherwise greatly resembles) by having the legs 
 streaked. It seems to be the only very near ally of this almost cosmo- 
 politan species which is deserving of specific rank. 
 
 The general colour of the typical form of the Short-eared Owl is dark 
 buff. The wings and tail are transversely barred with dark brow r n ; the 
 rest of the plumage, except the thighs and under tail-coverts, is broadly 
 streaked longitudinally with dark brown ; bill and claws nearly black ; 
 irides bright yellow. In the Arctic form the dark buff is replaced by 
 nearly white, except in the centre of the back, which is suffused with 
 rufous. 
 
XOCTUA. 173 
 
 Genus NOCTUA. 
 
 The Little Owls were first separated from the genus Strix by Gerini in 
 1767, in his ' Ornithologia Methodice Digesta/ i. p. 87, under the name 
 jctua, a name which was afterwards adopted (in 1810) by Savigny. 
 Neither of these ornithologists indicated any type ; but inasmuch as the 
 Little Owl is the Noctua vulgaris of Gerini and the Strix noctua of 
 Scopoli, it has every right to be considered the type. 
 
 The Little Owls may be distinguished from all other Owls by the 
 nostrils being placed in a projection formed by an inflation of the cere. 
 Their habits do not differ from those of the other Owls ; but their food is 
 more insectivorous. Their eggs are prre white in colour. 
 
 The geims Xoctita contains upwards of fifty species, which are distributed 
 over the whole world principally confined to the tropical regions, a few 
 species being found in the Xearctic and Palaearctic Regions. Only two 
 or three are European, of which but one has been found in the British 
 Islands. 
 
174 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 NOCTUA NOCTUA. 
 LITTLE OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Strix noctua minor, Briss. Orn. i. p. 514 (1760). 
 
 Noctua vulgaris, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. p. 87, pi. Ixxxvi. (1767). 
 
 Strix noctua, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 22 (1769) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Naumann, (Bonaparte), (Gray], (Schleyel), (Gould), (Sharpe), &c. 
 Strix nudipes, Nilss. Orn. Suec. i. p. 68 (1817). 
 Strix psilodactyla, Nilss. Skand. Faun. 1st ed. p. 88 (1824). 
 Carine noctua (Scop.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 29 (1829). 
 Surnia noctua (Scop.), Bonap. Oss. Reyn. An. i. p. 48 (1830). 
 Noctua nudipes (Nilss.), Gould, B. Eur. i. pi. 48 (1837). 
 Scotophilus nudipes (Nilss.), Jard. Brit. B. i. p. 274 (1838). 
 Athene noctua (Scop.), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 6 (1838). 
 Syrnia psilodactyla (Nilss.), Macyill. Brit. B. iii. p. 417 (1840). 
 Noctua veterum, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bus, Striyes, ii. p. 28 (1862). 
 Noctua minor, Deyl. fy Gerbe, Orn. Eur. i. p. 122 (1867). 
 Strix passerina, Linn, apud Gmelin, Boie, Cuvier, Temminck, Roux, Yarrell, Brehm, 
 
 Lesson, Selby, Stevenson*. 
 
 The Little Owl is an accidental visitor to England and Wales, and may 
 be much rarer than its recorded occurrences would lead us to suppose. Two 
 examples in Mr. Borrer's collection must probably be erased from the list, 
 as he informed me that he subsequently ascertained that two birds of this 
 species were released from captivity by a gentleman living in the neigh- 
 bourhood where they were caught. As this species is very frequently sent 
 alive to England, it is impossible to say how many of the score or more 
 recorded examples may not have had a similar origin. 
 
 The Little Owl is a resident throughout the whole of Europe south 
 of Scandinavia. In Northern Africa it is represented by a very nearly 
 allied species, Noctua glaux; but examples from Greece are paler than 
 the northern form, approaching N. glaux; and in Asia Minor both 
 species occur, together with intermediate forms. East of the Ural Moun- 
 tains another nearly allied species occurs, N. bactriana, having the toes 
 thickly feathered almost to the claws instead of only covered with hairy 
 bristles, and having also a much shorter tarsus. This species extends as 
 far east as Northern China. 
 
 The Little Owl is by far the commonest Owl in the south of Europe, 
 and one that is both seen and heard, not only in the evening but also in 
 
 * The number of ornithologists who have confounded the Little Owl with the Pj^gmy 
 Owl makes it necessary to add to the name of the latter bird Linn, nee Gmel. in order to 
 avoid the possibility of error. This confusion has arisen from the generally insufficient 
 and frequently incorrect diagnoses of Linna3us and other writers, who attempt to describe 
 a species in a couple of lines, and thus pave the way fjr future complications in its 
 synonymy. 
 
LITTLE OWL. 175 
 
 broad daylight. I first made its acquaintance near Smyrna, where it was 
 very common. We did not very often see it; but now and then we caught 
 a glimpse of it, flying from one tree to another, near the villages that 
 nestled on the mountain-sides overlooking the flat plains through which 
 the river winds amongst the olive-groves and vineyards. The flight of the 
 Little Owl reminded me very much of that of a Bat. It was not an undu- 
 lating flight, but a steady slow beating of the wings without any apparent 
 exertion ; and yet there was a butterfly-like uncertainty about it, as if it 
 continually changed its mind and slightly altered its course. The flight 
 was very silent, occasionally very rapid ; and I remember seeing it skim 
 over a tree like a Partridge. In Holland I once watched a Little Owl 
 flying in the garden behind the inn at Valconsward. A boy had caught 
 it on the nest, and brought it to us with one egg and three young ones 
 the latter only a few days old, and covered with short pure white down 
 not unlike the fur of a mole. We did not want the old bird ; so we let 
 her go in the garden. She had scarcely got more than forty yards from 
 us when she was pursued by a mob of Starlings, Swallows, and other 
 birds, from whom she soon took refuge in a chestnut-tree, to the evident 
 annoyance of a Chaffinch, who immediately began to spink spink in a most 
 excited way. At Athens it was very common on the Acropolis, and was 
 evidently breeding in holes in the rocks and ruins. In the Parnassus we 
 often heard its curious note cuc-koo-vah!-ee, cuc-koo-vah'-ee, and were told 
 that it remained there all the year. It feeds on small birds, mice, grass- 
 hoppers, cockchafers, moths, beetles, &c., which it catches both on the 
 wing and on the ground. It may be seen perched on a tree, a rock, or on 
 the roof of a house. It is a somewhat early breeder ; and fresh eggs may 
 be obtained from the middle of April to the middle of May. The situa- 
 tion of the nest, which is a mere scratch round of whatever rubbish may 
 be accidentally collected on the spot, is varied. Sometimes it is in a hollow 
 tree, sometimes in a cleft of a rock, sometimes in the roof of a house ; and 
 I have seen it under the roots of a tree. The number of eggs varies from 
 four to six ; they are pure white in colour, oval in form, and measure from 
 1'4 to 1'35 inch in length, and from 1'15 to T08 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Little Owl has the upper parts greyish brown, striped on the head 
 and spotted on the back and wings, and barred on the tail with white. 
 The underparts are white, broadly streaked with brown. Irides and bill 
 yellow, claws black. The female is a slightly larger and paler bird than 
 the male. Young birds are somewhat more dingy and less grey in colour. 
 The Pygmy Owl, N. passerina, has been recorded as a British bird, but 
 on unsatisfactory evidence. It is a much smaller bird (wing only 4 inches 
 instead of finches), with a more rounded wing (first primary not much 
 more than half the length of the second) . 
 
176 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus SURNIA. 
 
 The Hawk Owls were first separated from the genus Stria? by Dumeril 
 in 1806, in his ' Zoologie Analytique/ p. 34, under the name of Surnia ; 
 and the Snowy Owl was separated in the year 1826 by Stephens, in 
 Shaw's e General Zoology/ xiii. pt. 2, p. 62, under the name of Nyctea. 
 In compounding a genus out of these two genera, the earliest of them, 
 which is apparently unobjectionable, has been selected ; and its type will be 
 Surma fun erea. 
 
 The Hawk Owls have no operculum, nor are their nostrils inflated 
 characters which separate them from all other genera, except Bubo and 
 Scops, from which they may be distinguished by the absence of any 
 longitudinal streaks on the underparts, and by the absence of any con- 
 spicuous ear-tufts. 
 
 The Hawk Owls are confined to the Arctic regions, and are conse- 
 quently less nocturnal in their habits; otherwise they differ little from 
 the other Owls, in their mode of flight, food, and nesting-habits. Their 
 eggs are pure white in colour. The Hawk Owls are circumpolar birds. 
 Only two species are contained in the genus, both of which are accidental 
 visitors to the British Islands. 
 
SNOWY OWL. 177 
 
 SURXIA XYCTEA. 
 SNOWY OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Strix alba freti-hudsonis, Briss. Orn. i. p. 522 (1760). 
 
 Strix nyctea, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 132 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Thompsoti), (3acgillivray), (Selby), (Gould), (Degland), (Gerbe), Temminck, 
 
 yaumann, Schtegd, SundevaU, &c. 
 
 Aluco diurnus, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. i. p. 89, pi. Ixxxxiii. (1767). 
 Strix nivea,, Tintnb. Si\ Akad. Fork. 1798, p. 184. 
 Strix Candida, Lath. Ind. Orn. Stippl. p. xiv (1801). 
 Strix erminea, Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zrtol. vii. pt. 1, p. 2-51 (1809). 
 Xoctua nyctea (Linn.), Cuvier, Regne An. i. p. 332 (1817). 
 Xyctea erminea (Steph.), Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. ii. p. 63 (1826). 
 Surnia nyctea (Linn.}, James, ed. Wils. Am. Orn. i. p. 92 (1831). 
 Xyctia Candida (Lath.), Swains, Classif. B. ii. p. 217 (1836). 
 Xyctea nivea (Thunb.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 34 (1845). 
 Leuchybris nyctea (Linn.), Sundev. Meth. Ac. Tent. p. 106 (1872). 
 Xyctea scandiaca (Linn.), apud Xewt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 187 (1872). 
 Xyctea scandiaca (Linn.), apud Ridgway, var. arctica (Bart.), Ridgw. N. Amer. B. 
 
 iii. p. 70(1874). 
 Leuchybris scandiaca (Linn.), apud Meces, Ofv. Kongl. Fet.-Ak. Forh. 1879, p. 39. 
 
 The Snowy Owl is a regular, though uncertain, visitor to the British 
 Islands. Scarcely a year passes without a record of its capture in some part 
 of Scotland ; but in England and in Ireland it is less regular in its appear- 
 ance. The Snowy Owl belongs to the class of ' c Gipsy migrants," who 
 have no settled home in winter. It breeds on the tundras beyond the 
 limit of forest- growth, or in similar climates at high elevations in less 
 northerly latitudes, and it only leaves these breeding-grounds in conse- 
 quence of the scarcity of food caused by exceptional cold. It is conse- 
 quently only a partial migrant. Some remain throughout the winter in 
 the frozen north ; others retire to a greater or less distance during a storm 
 or a harder frost than usual, and return when it is over. Some of these 
 often wander very far in search of food ; and it is only when the winters 
 in the Arctic Regions are exceptionally mild that the outside stragglers 
 do not reach our islands. In the Orkneys and the Shetlands scarcely a 
 season passes without birds occurring, usually after northerly gales ; whilst 
 on the mainland it has been obtained in most of the Highland counties and 
 those bordering the Firth of Clyde. The same may be said of the Hebrides 
 and Western Isles, where, according to Gray, it is regarded as an almost 
 regular spring visitant; but probably an irregular late winter guest would 
 be more correct. In England, although of not quite such frequent occur- 
 rence, it has without doubt occurred thrice in Northumberland, once 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 at least in Yorkshire, eight or nine times in Norfolk, and once in Suffolk. 
 In Ireland its recorded occurrences are almost as numerous, arid it has 
 been met with in most counties, except in the extreme west. 
 
 The Snowy Owl is a circumpolar bird, breeding principally within the 
 Arctic circle. It is common in some parts of Greenland, and was found 
 breeding in Grinnell Land by Capt. Feilden, as far north as lat. 82 33'. 
 It is found in Iceland usually during winter, more rarely in summer, and 
 has been found several times on the Faroes. It breeds throughout 
 Northern Europe, including Nova Zembla, but in Spitzbergen is said only 
 to occur as an occasional straggler. In winter it accidentally strays as 
 far south as Holland and Belgium, and has once occurred in Northern 
 France. In Pomerania it occurred in considerable numbers during the 
 winters of 1858-59 and 1865-66 ; and, on the authority of von Pelzeln, 
 it has once occurred in Lower Austria. In Asia it is an inhabitant of 
 the northern portions of the continent, sometimes straying in winter as 
 far south as South Siberia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. On the 
 American continent the Snowy Owl breeds in the extreme north, straggling 
 south in winter to almost all parts of the States, and has more than once 
 been observed in the Bermudas. It has been known to occur as far south 
 as Texas, where a single specimen was obtained by Dr. Heermann. 
 
 Ridgway, in the third volume of the ' North American- Birds/ separates 
 the Snowy Owl into two races, one inhabiting the Old and the other the New 
 World. The character by which these two races are distinguished is said 
 to be the dusky bars, which in the Paleearctic species are " sparse, narrow, 
 and umber-brown," and in the Nearctic species " more numerous, broader, 
 and clear brownish black." These differences, however, are probably due 
 to individual variation ; for birds from Europe are found to match exactly 
 birds from the American continent. Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of Birds/ 
 vol. ii. p. 127, points out that the amount of feathering on the toes of 
 European birds is much greater than on American specimens ; but this is 
 probably due to a seasonal change, as is the case with the Willow-Grouse. 
 Some writers have supposed that the white birds are the old and the 
 more spotted birds the young ; but what little evidence there is points 
 to the existence of two races of Snowy Owls, a white race and a dark 
 race, which alter little with age. Young in first plumage are said to show 
 quite as marked a variation as adults ; and birds kept in confinement are 
 said to retain the original character of their plumage year after year, 
 though the dark markings do to some extent decrease in size and number 
 with age. 
 
 The Snowy Owl is a bird of the tundra ; and its home is on the fjelds of 
 Lapland, the tundras of Russia and Siberia, and the prairies of Arctic 
 America. Although its breeding-range extends over nearly twenty 
 degrees of latitude, its nest is never found within the limit of forest-growth. 
 
SNOWY OWL. 179 
 
 The history of animal and vegetable life on the tundra is a very curious 
 one. For eight months out of the twelve every trace of vegetable life is 
 completely hidden under a blanket of snow six feet thick, which effectually 
 covers every plant and bush ; trees there are none to hide. During at 
 least six months of this time animal life is only traceable by the footprints 
 of a reindeer or a fox on the snow, or by the occasional appearance of a 
 Raven or a Snowy Owl wandering beyond the limit of forest-growth, 
 whence for the most part they have retired for the winter. For two 
 months in midwinter the sun never rises above the horizon, and the white 
 snow reflects only the fitful light of the moon, the stars, or the aurora. 
 Early in February the sun just peeps upon the scene for a few minutes at 
 noon and then retires. Day by day he prolongs his visit more and more, 
 until February, March, April, and May have passed, and continuous night 
 has become continuous day. Early in June the sun only just touches the 
 horizon at midnight, but does not set any more for some time. At midday 
 the sun's rays are hot enough to blister the skin ; but they glance harmless 
 from the snow, and for a week or two you have the anomaly of continuous 
 day in midwinter. 
 
 Then comes the south wind, and often rain, and the great event of the 
 year takes place ; the ice on the rivers breaks up, and the blanket of snow 
 melts away. The black earth absorbs the heat of the never-setting sun ; 
 quietly but swiftly vegetable life awakes from its long sleep ; and for three 
 months a hot summer produces a brilliant alpine flora, like an English 
 flower-garden run wild, and a profusion of Alpine fruit. Birds arrive in 
 countless thousands to breed in this Eldorado. Long before the snow is 
 melted its surface is reticulated with the tracks of small quadrupeds, whose 
 period of hibernation has come to an end, and who climb up the stems of 
 the stunted bushes and venture out into the sunshine. The Snowy Owls 
 repair to their nests, if nests they may be called, and bring up a numerous 
 family in peace and plenty in a perpetual summer's day, diversified only 
 by storms from the north, which sometimes bring a two or three day's 
 spell of cold and rain down from the arctic ice. 
 
 But early in August the sun begins to dip for a few moments below the 
 horizon, and every succeeding midnight sees him hide longer and longer. 
 One by one the various species of birds flock together and leave for 
 southern climes : a large proportion of the Snowy Owls follow their food 
 for some distance ; for in September the nights are cold, the frosts begin 
 to kill vegetation, and early in October winter has set in, snow has fallen 
 not to melt again for eight months ; the nights get longer and longer, 
 until towards the end of November the sun has ceased to take his midday 
 peep at the Endless fields of snow, and the two months' night and silence 
 reign supreme. 
 
 In summer the Snowy Owl is a very conspicuous bird on the tundra ; 
 
 N2 
 
180 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 but food is then so plentiful that his " struggle for existence " is over for 
 the time, and possibly his very coiispicuousness may be of advantage to 
 him amongst so many innocent Gulls and Swans. He himself is wary 
 enough, and I have only twice succeeded in shooting a Snowy Owl. The 
 first time was on the shores of the lagoon of the Petchora. My attention 
 was first attracted by seeing a great white bird which seemed to me to 
 alight upon a distant lake. Taking it to be a Bewick's Swan, I put a slug- 
 cartridge into my gun, and walked rapidly on in its direction. Before I 
 got within shot the bird rose, and I recognized it at once as a Snowy Owl, 
 as with measured but rapid flight it disappeared behind some sandhills 
 on the shore. I carefully stalked it ; and looking cautiously around 
 under cover of the sandhill, I descried at length a white spot on the 
 opposite shore of the creek, which, with the aid of my telescope, I found 
 to be the Owl. He, too, must have been watching me : perhaps he took 
 my sealskin cap for some new species of lemming; for presently he rose 
 and flew across the water directly towards me. By the time he had 
 crossed the creek doubts on the subject seemed to have occurred to him, 
 and he alighted on the beach about sixty yards in front of me. I rose 
 and walked towards him; he also rose; but before he had flown ten yards 
 my shot reached him, broke one of his wings, and dropped him into the 
 sea. As he lay struggling in the water a score of Glaucous and Arctic 
 Herring-Gulls came flying towards him, and sailed round and round him, 
 making quite a small uproar with their cries. The other time that I 
 brought one down was on the voyage home, a little to the east of Kolguev. 
 Early in the morning I turned out of my berth and went on deck, and 
 the first thing I saw was a Snowy Owl on each mast. I ran down 
 for my gun and shot one of them. We were out of sight of land at 
 the time. 
 
 Audubon and Wheelwright describe the Snowy Owl as passing with 
 quick noiseless flight over the fells and marshy parts of the shore, more 
 like a large animated snowflake than a bird, seizing its prey by darting 
 quickly down upon it, and usually devouring it on the spot. When 
 pursuing larger birds or animals, its manner is much the same as that of 
 the Peregrine Falcon. 
 
 In the extreme northern limit of its range the Snowy Owl is no doubt a 
 regular summer migrant, repairing north to rear its young during the short 
 arctic summer, and drawing southward again at the approach of winter. 
 The winter-quarters of this species are undoubtedly in the highest northern 
 latitudes in which a sustenance can be obtained, the birds which are found 
 so far south in temperate regions being but exceptional wanderers or young 
 birds. Capt. Feilden mentions that in Grinnell Land the Snowy Owl 
 was first seen on March 29th, and was common during the summer, but 
 by the end of August all had disappeared from Discovery Bay. During 
 
SNOWY OWL. 181 
 
 the time of migration large flights of the Snowy Owl have frequently been 
 observed far out at sea ; and Thompson gives us some very interesting 
 details respecting a flock of this species which accompanied a ship half- 
 way across the Atlantic, from the coast of Labrador to the north of 
 Ireland. This migration was described by the captain of the ship as a 
 very beautiful sight, the birds sometimes flying near the vessel, or perching 
 on the spars and the rigging. 
 
 The lemming forms the Snowy Owl's chief food in the far north, the 
 range of both mammal and bird being generally the same; but other small 
 rodents are taken, and it will sometimes attack Ptarmigan and Willow- 
 Grouse, or even the Arctic hare. It is said occasionally to feed on fish. 
 The note of this species is said by Wheelwright to resemble a loud krau-au 
 repeated several times in quick succession, and sometimes a loud rick-rick- 
 rick as it rises startled from its perching-place. 
 
 The nest of this Owl is a simple structure, made of a few lichens, mosses, 
 and feathers, sometimes placed in a hole in the ground, at others on some 
 steep bank or cliff, or on some little eminence rising above the surrounding 
 plains, where it is nothing more than a mere hollow scraped in the rein- 
 deer-moss. The eggs are from six to eight in number, sometimes more, 
 creamy white in colour, and somewhat rough in texture, with little gloss. 
 They are smaller than the eggs of the Eagle Owl, and, as a rule, a little 
 more elongated. They vary from 2^ to 2 inches in length, and from T8 to 
 1'6 inch in breadth. Collett in his ' Remarks on the Ornithology of 
 Northern Norway/ states that " the Snowy Owl does not always lay so 
 many as ten eggs at a time ; it did so, however, last year (1871) in many 
 cases ; and the various circumstances attending the phenomenon are not 
 without interest. As with all birds of prey, the eggs would appear to be 
 laid not in uninterrupted succession, but with that species at intervals of 
 indefinite duration during a lengthened period, fcetation taking place 
 previous to the laying of each egg. A natural consequence is that the 
 young of each brood are widely different in appearance, according to the 
 stage of growth which each has attained. Thus the first of the brood will 
 be almost fledged before the last has broken the shell. And, again, the 
 nestlings, thickly clad with down, necessarily assist in process of incuba- 
 tion ; the old birds have enough to do to provide for the young already 
 hatched, several of Avhich, being more than half-grown, require a good 
 deal of food." The Snowy Owl's breeding-season varies in date a little 
 according to latitude. In Norway and Lapland the beginning of June 
 may be said to be its laying-season ; whilst in the high north the eggs are 
 not laid before the end of that month. According to Collett, " When the 
 female is sitting the male is ever on the watch, and warns his mate at the 
 slightest sign of danger by a loud cry, whereupon she immediately quits 
 her nest, and both birds, screaming incessantly, keep flying for hours 
 
182 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 together iu the immediate neighbourhood of the nest. On such occasions 
 the males are bold to a degree, attacking savagely whomsoever ventures to 
 approach their nest ; they will swoop down on the sportsman or his dog, 
 especially the latter, and can with difficulty be driven away. The females 
 take matters more coolly, posting themselves near the nest in some con- 
 spicuous spot, but always out of gun-range. It devolves upon the male 
 bird to go in search of prey, the duty of the female being to divide it, when 
 brought to the nest, among her young. Hence the former are always in 
 poor condition, whereas the females are generally plump. Round about 
 the nest are found mice and lemmings, dismembered and entire." 
 
 The plumage of the male Snowy Owl varies from pure white, marked 
 very slightly on the crown, back, and primaries with dark brown, to white 
 conspicuously barred all over with dark brown. Legs and feet covered 
 down to the claws with long hairy feathers. Bill and claws black ; irides 
 orange-yellow. The female is larger than the male, and it is said always 
 to be more spotted and barred than the male. The nestling bird is covered 
 with sooty -black down, with brownish tips. 
 
 1 
 
HAWK OWL. 183 
 
 SURNIA FUNEREA. 
 HAWK OWL. 
 
 Strix canadensis, Briss. Orn. i. p. 618, pi. xxxvii. fig. 2 (1760). 
 
 Strix freti-hudsonis, Briss. Orn. i. p. 520 (1760). 
 
 Strix funerea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Bonaparte), (Gould), (Strickland), Middendorff, Schrenck, Radde, (Dresser), 
 
 (Xeicton), &c. 
 
 Strix caparoch, 31 till. Natursyst. Suppl. i. p. 69 (1776, ex Edwards). 
 Strix hudsonia, Gmel. Syst. Xat. i. p. 295 (1788). 
 Strix nkoria, Meyer, Taschenb. p. 84 (1810). 
 
 Surnia canadensi< (Briss.'), Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. ii. p. 62 (1825). 
 Stryx doliata, Pan. Zoogr. Eosso-As. i. p. 316 (1826). 
 Noctua nisoria (Meyer}, Cuv. Reyne An. i. p. 344 (1829). 
 Surnia borealis, Less. Traite, i. p. 100 (1831). 
 
 Surnia hudsonia (Gmel.), James, ed. Wtts. Am. Orn. i. p. 90 (1831). 
 Noctua funerea (Linn.}, Jen. Brit. Vert. p. 526 (1835). 
 
 Surnia funerea (Linn.), Bonap. C'omp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 6 (1838). 
 B. ruia funerea (Linn.), Macyill. Brit. B. i. p. 139 (1840). 
 Nycthierax nisoria (Meyer), Meves, Ofv. Konyl. Vet.-Ak. Forh. 1879, p. 39. 
 Surnia ulula (Linn.), apud Bonaparte, (Schlegel), Cassin, Sharpe, &c. 
 
 At least six examples of a species of Hawk Owl have been obtained in 
 the British Islands within the last half -century, particulars of which are 
 given below. Some writers, as Sharpe and Dresser, consider the American 
 and European Hawk Owls " perfectly distinct species ;" others, as Baird, 
 Brewer, and Ridgway, make the Palsearctic form only subspecifically 
 distinct from the Nearctic form ; whilst Newton, in his edition of 
 ' YarrelFs British .Birds/ unites the two forms without note or comment 
 of any kind respecting the alleged differences between them. 
 
 There are in reality three varieties of the Hawk Owl. &. hudsonia is the 
 American form, scarcely differing at all in the colour of the upper parts 
 from the typical bird, except that the white bands on the tail are rather 
 more developed, also the white spots on the quills, feathers of the head, and 
 scapulars. On the underparts the difference is much more striking; the 
 dark transverse bands are much redder (chestnut-brown instead of greyish 
 brown) and broader (varying from one to two of white, instead of two to 
 four, to one of brown). The typical or European form, for which the only 
 name that has not been misapplied is S. nisoria, is an intermediate form 
 between the American one and the Siberian or Arctic one. The latter, 
 S. doliata, differs from the European form in having the white parts purer 
 white and the dark parts darker and greyer. The differences between 
 these three varieties, however, are very small, and not much greater than 
 those of ag^, sex, and season. Females and young males are paler on the 
 upper parts, and have the dark bars on the underparts slightly broader and 
 more rufous than adult males. In young females these differences are stil 
 more pronounced. 
 
184 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Of the six examples enumerated as having occurred in the British 
 Islands, I have only seen one, which belonged undoubtedly to the American 
 variety. Two others were identified by Sharpe and Dresser as the same 
 species. Of the remaining three, two cannot now be traced ; but one of them, 
 at least, was brought by a sailor to be stuffed, and was probably caught on 
 board ship. A description of the third in Saxby's 'Birds of Shetland'' is 
 sufficiently minute to leave little doubt that it is the Palsearctic variety. 
 
 The American variety of the Hawk Owl breeds in the pine-forests of 
 Alaska, Hudson's Bay Territory, and Newfoundland, a few straying in 
 winter as far south as the Northern United States. 
 
 The European variety breeds throughout the pine-forests of Scandinavia 
 and North Russia, occasionally reaching as high as the birch-region on 
 the confines of the tundra. In winter it sometimes visits Denmark, is 
 more common in Northern Germany, and has been known to stray as far 
 as Northern France, Austria, and Poland. Eastwards it winters in Central 
 and Southern Russia. In Siberia the range of the Arctic form of the 
 Hawk Owl extends from the Urals to the Pacific ; but its migrations appear 
 to be confined within the country, as it is a resident in Northern Turkestan 
 and the Amoor, and has not been recorded from further south. 
 
 This bold little bird, in many of its habits and deeds of daring, appears 
 to hold the same place amongst the Owls as the Sparrow-Hawk does 
 amongst the Hawks. Its true home is in the Arctic pine-forests, where it 
 is a resident bird throughout the year, only a few individuals wandering 
 southwards at the approach of winter. The Hawk^Owl is far from being 
 a shy bird, and, like the Falcons and the Hawks, hunts for its prey in the 
 open daylight, gliding along with all the impetuous rush of a Hawk, yet 
 with the soft noiseless flight peculiar to its kindred. It is occasionally 
 mobbed by the smaller birds, and even by the Magpies and Siberian Jays, 
 but appears to take but little heed of their attacks, although it will some- 
 times dash into the midst of its tormentors and bear one off in an instant. 
 
 The principal food of the Hawk Owl is mice and lemmings ; and the 
 bird follows the migratory parties of the last-named little mammal to prey 
 upon them. From its indomitable spirit, however, few birds of the forest 
 are safe from its attacks. In addition to the smaller birds which it 
 captures, Wheelwright mentions the fact that he has seen the Hawk Owl 
 strike down the Siberian Jay, and has also disturbed it feeding on an old 
 Willow- Grouse. The same naturalist has also taken insects from its 
 stomach. It may often be seen sitting perched on the dead summit of a 
 lofty pine, from which it flies off to pursue some tempting quarry. Seen 
 thus, the bird bears a striking resemblance to the Hawks ; and its long 
 tail and short wings, when the bird is in motion, also increase the delusion. 
 It is one of the easiest birds to approach, and, when fired at, will not 
 unfrequently again alight on the same tree, as if challenging the unsuc- 
 
HAWK OWL. 185 
 
 cessful marksman to a fresh trial of his skill. The note of this bird was 
 compared by,Wolley to the cry of a Hawk. 
 
 The breeding-season of the Hawk Owl appears to commence in the 
 middle of April, and to last to the end of June. As this bird possesses the 
 
 bit, in common with many of its congeners, of laying eggs at intervals, 
 and sitting on them as soon as laid, eggs may be found as late as the 
 third week in June. It makes no nest ; and the eggs are usually laid in 
 the hole of a decayed pine tree, and rest on the powdered wood alone, as 
 is the case with the eggs of the Woodpecker*. Collett mentions a nest of 
 this Owl in Norway, on the top of a broken pine-trunk, some six feet 
 below which a Golden-eye Duck was sitting on her nest. Wolley mentions 
 a similar instance in Lapland, as does also Dall in Alaska. This Owl will 
 also frequently take possession of the nest-boxes placed by the peasants 
 for the Ducks, and rear its young in them. The eggs of the Hawk Owl 
 are from five to eight in number, white in colour, smooth, and possess 
 considerable gloss. They measure from T65 to T55 inch in length, and 
 from 1'25 to 1'17 inch in breadth. The eggs of the Hawk Owl cannot be 
 distinguished from those of the Short-eared Owl, thus rendering an addi- 
 tional figure unnecessary. Both birds sit upon the eggs, and are some- 
 times found on them in company. While the female is upon her charge 
 the male bird will perch close at hand, ready to do battle with any intruder, 
 not even excepting man himself. Numerous instances are recorded of 
 this bird's dauntless courage when its nest is assailed. It strikes at the 
 intruder again and again, seeming not to care for its own safety, and too 
 often pays the price of its temerity with its life. 
 
 The Hawk Owl commences its moult before the young can fly, and 
 completes it by the time they are in full feather. Wheelwright asserts 
 that the breast and belly of the female in the breeding-season are strongly 
 tinged with reddish brown, doubtless from the decaying wood. 
 
 During autumn the Hawk Owl still keeps in company with its young, 
 hunting in little parties for food ; then they become gipsy migrants, and 
 a few wander far south of their native forests. The habits of the American 
 variety of the Hawk Owl are not known to differ from those of the Palse- 
 arctic species ; and its eggs are undistinguishable. 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts of the Hawk -Owl is blackish 
 brown, mottled with dull white ; tail barred narrowly and tipped broadly 
 with white. Underparts white, barred with dark reddish brown; tarsi 
 and toes covered with greyish-white feathers. Bill yellowish white ; irides 
 straw-yellow ; claws bluish black at tips, paler at base. The female bird 
 is a little lajjger than the male. 
 
 * Macfarlane's account, quoted by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, of the nest of this bird 
 being built of small sticks and twigs in pine trees in Arctic America, is contrary to the 
 experience of ever) 7 other ornithologist who has taken its eggs. 
 
186 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus BUBO. 
 
 The Eagle Owls were first separated from the genus Strix in 1760 by 
 Brisson, who associated them with the other horned Owls in a somewhat 
 heterogeneous group, to which he gave the generic name of Asio. In 
 1767 they were temporarily dissociated from the Scops Eared Owls by 
 Gerini, and placed in the genus Bubo; but in 1806 Dumeril reunited them 
 with their smaller relations, retaining the name of Bubo for the composite 
 genus. In 1810 Savigny finally separated them from the Scops Eared 
 Owls ; and in 1817 Cuvier, in his ' Regne Animal/ p. 331, restricted the 
 genus to its present limits, but without indicating any type. As Bubo 
 maximus is the Strix bubo of Linnaeus and the Asio bubo of Brisson, it 
 must, of course, be considered the type of the restricted genus. 
 
 The Eagle Owls are not really distinct from Scops, the only generic 
 distinction being difference of size, none of them measuring less than a 
 foot in length of wing. They are furnished with ear-tufts. The tarsi are 
 always feathered ; but in some species the toes are almost naked. They 
 belong to the group of Owls in which the ear is small, about the size of 
 the eye, and not furnished with an operculum. The underparts are both 
 transversely barred and longitudinally streaked ; but the bars are almost 
 obsolete, and the streaks very conspicuous a character which distinguishes 
 them from the Hawk Owls. In their habits they do not differ materially 
 from the other Owls. 
 
 The Eagle Owls are found almost all over the world, with the exception 
 of Australia and the Pacific Islands. There are about twenty species. 
 Only two, very nearly allied ones, are found in Europe ; and of these 
 only one visits our islands. 
 
EAGLE OWL. 187 
 
 BUBO MAXIMUS. 
 
 EAGLE OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Asio bubo, Briss. Orn. i. p. 477 (1760). 
 
 Strix bubo, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 131 (1766). 
 
 Bubo maximus, Gerini. Orn. 3feth. Dig. i. p. 84, pi. Ixxxi. (1767) ; et auctorum 
 plurimorum Fleming, Gould, Bonaparte. Macgillirray, Gray, Strickland, 
 Kaitp, Schlegel. Seirton (Oothfca WuHeyana), Beuglin, Hume, Sdater, &c. 
 
 Bubo ignavus, Forster, Syn. Cat. Brit. B. p. 46 (1817). 
 
 Bubo europaeus, Less. Traite, i. p. 115, pi. xrii. fig. 1 (1831). 
 
 Asio bubo (Linn.}, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 217 (1836). 
 
 Otus bubo (Linn.), Schl. JRev. Grit, p. xiii (1844). 
 
 Bubo atheniemis, Bonap. C'-onsp. i. p. 48 (1850). 
 
 Bubo bubo (Linn.), Licht. Xomencl. Av. p. 7 (1854). 
 
 Although this fine species of Owl is pretty generally distributed over 
 the northern portions of the Old World, it is very rarely noticed in the 
 British Islands, and only at uncertain intervals. Many instances of the 
 capture of this species in Great Britain which are on record may very 
 probably be those of escaped birds, as it is very frequently kept in confine- 
 ment. It is chiefly met with in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, but 
 even there rarely and at uncertain intervals. It has several times been 
 recorded from Scotland ; and Gray, in his ' Birds of the West of Scotland/ 
 mentions a specimen, on the authority of Mr. Angus, captured in Feb- 
 ruary 1866, in Aberdeenshire. In England it has been obtained in Kent, 
 Sussex, and Devonshire ; and an example was caught alive at Hampstead, 
 near London. It is also said to have occurred in Durham, Yorkshire, 
 Derbyshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Oxfordshire, also at Swansea in South 
 Wales. Several other instances of the supposed occurrence of this bird in 
 Great Britain are on record. Among the most trustworthy may be men- 
 tioned a female, shot near Stamford, Lincolnshire, in April 1879, and 
 recorded in the ' Zoologist ' by Mr. J. Cullingford. This example was 
 examined by Canon Tristram soon after it was skinned ; and he assures 
 me that the bird bore no traces of having been in confinement. It is 
 doubtful if the Eagle Owl has ever occurred in Ireland, the only record of 
 its appearance there being a statement quoted by Thompson to the effect 
 that four of these birds appeared in Donegal after a severe snowstorm and 
 remained fjjr two days, but were not seen afterwards. 
 
 The Eagle Owl inhabits the forest-districts of all the countries of con- 
 tinental Europe, from Scandinavia, Lapland, and North Russia, south- 
 wards to the shores of the Mediterranean, and is a rare winter-straggler 
 
188 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 to North-east Africa*. Loche, however, records it as common m Algeria, 
 especially in the mountains and forests, where it breeds. 
 
 As its range extends eastwards the Eagle Owl becomes larger and paler 
 examples from the Volga and Archangel gradually leading on to the 
 Arctic form, which has received the name of B. sibiricus f. This sub- 
 species inhabits Siberia, extending its range southwards to Persia, Tur- 
 kestan, Afghanistan, the Himalayas, and probably Mongolia. In the valley 
 of the Amoor the colour again becomes more rufous, until in Japan and 
 China the typical European bird reappears. The Arctic form has not 
 occurred in the British Islands. 
 
 On the American continent the Eagle Owl is replaced by a nearly allied 
 species, B. virginianus, a bird of very similar habits, and differing from the 
 Old- World form in being smaller (length of wing not exceeding 16 inches) . 
 Like the Eagle Owl, it appears to be subject to much climatic variation; 
 and Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway separate it into no less than 
 four subspecies or races. 
 
 The Eagle Owl is one of the most powerful of rapacious birds, and is 
 principally nocturnal in its habits ; but when disturbed in the daytime it 
 seems little troubled by the light, and is extremely shy and difficult to 
 approach. As with most of the nocturnal birds of prey, we know but little 
 of the habits of this species. It usually remains in its retreat in some 
 secluded rocky pass, or in the depths of the forest, throughout the day, 
 coming out in the dusk in quest of food. Its flight is powerful, yet, like 
 all Owls, almost noiseless, so that it drops upon its prey completely un- 
 awares. Its deep, loud, hooting cry, sounding strangely weird and startling 
 in the dark and silent woods, or when the bird is passing overhead, is 
 well calculated to inspire the superstitious natives with awe ; and no wonder 
 the bird figures so prominently in the various native legends as a bird of 
 doom and death. Except in the pairing-season, it is said to rarely utter 
 its note, which resembles the syllables oo-hoo modulated in various ways. 
 
 Few rapacious birds are so destructive to large game as the Eagle Owl. 
 Even the powerful Capercailsie, the Blackcock, and the Hazel-Grouse are 
 
 * In North Africa a nearly allied bird occurs, Bubo ascalapJius, which may have been 
 possibly confused with, or mistaken for, the present species, 
 t The synonymy of the Arctic form of this Owl is as under : 
 
 Asio bubo laponicus, Briss. Orn. i. p. 483 (1760). 
 
 Strix scandiaca, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (17G6). 
 
 Bubo albtis, Daud. Traite, ii. p. 210 (1800). 
 
 Strix turcomana, Eversm. Add. Pall. Zoor/r. fasc. i. p. 3 (1835). 
 
 Strix sibirica, Susem. Vog. Eiir. pi. xliv. (1843). 
 
 Bubo cinereus, Eversm. fide Gray, Gen. B. i. pi. xiii. (1845). 
 
 Bubo sibiricus (Schlea.), Gray, Cat. Accipitr. Brit. Mm. p. 99 (1848). 
 
 Bubo scandiacus (Linn.), Cab. Journ. Orn. 1854, p. 367. 
 
 Bubo pallidus, Brehm, Naum. 1855, p. 270. 
 
 Bubo hemachalana, Hume, Stray Feath. 1873, p. 315. 
 
EAGLE OWL. 189 
 
 overpowered ; whilst fawns, hares, arid rabbits form a prominent feature 
 of his diet. Yet he also takes much more lowly game, and hunts for the 
 various "small deer" which haunt his wild solitudes, as mice, rats, and 
 moles. The Jays and Crows, so abundant in northern forests, also form 
 part of his fare ; and in more cultivated districts he preys on Pheasants 
 and Partridges. 
 
 This Owl appears to bear confinement well, and is a bird constantly to 
 be seen in menageries and birdfanciers' shops, and has bred in confine- 
 ment at Arundel Castle and other places. Mr. E. Fountaine, of Easton, 
 near Norwich, has been singularly successful in his treatment of this bird 
 in captivity, and has induced it to breed and rear its progeny ; in ' The 
 Ibis ' for 1859, p. 273, a detailed description and full particulars will be 
 found of the nesting of this species in his aviary. The Eagle Owl must be 
 a bird of great longevity; for he mentions that the original hen bird, from 
 which he had so many eggs, had been kept twenty years in confinement 
 before she came into his possession. 
 
 The Eagle Owl is an early breeder, and commences to lay in March or 
 early in April. It is essentially a forest-bird, generally breeding on some 
 strong branch or fork of a tree. It seldom, if ever, makes a nest of 
 its own ; but takes possession of any old nest that it can find, rarely 
 choosing one more than thirty feet from the ground. In the forests of 
 Pomerania, where it is frequently met with, it usually breeds in a tree; 
 but the eggs have very often been found in a slight hollow scratched in 
 the ground at the foot of the tree. It is very shy and wary at the nest, 
 and seems to possess as keen a sight to detect the presence of an enemy as 
 the most diurnal bird. Yon Homeyer related to me his repeated efforts to 
 shoot the old bird at the nest ; but, although he concealed himself as much 
 as possible, she always caught a glimpse of him before she got within shot, 
 and turned round and flew off. In the more mountainous forests, where 
 there are rocks, it seems to prefer a nesting-place, upon some ledge or 
 convenient shelf; but even in such a locality the eggs are not always laid 
 on the rocks. Wolley mentions two clutches in Lapland taken from the 
 ground under the shelter of the roots of a fallen tree. 
 
 In the Parnassus I visited two nesting- places of this bird, from one of 
 which I obtained an egg, and from the other shot one of the parent birds. 
 In neither case was much nest made. The situation chosen was in one of 
 those clefts or caves so common in limestone rocks; and apparently it was 
 used as a roosting-place, for in both cases the young broods had flown. 
 
 Linnseus met with an Eagle-OwPs nest on the higher hills of Lapland, 
 which contained an addled egg and two young birds. But the most graphic 
 and minute > *description of the nest of this fine bird is that by Wolley : 
 " It was on the 20th of May, and after climbing to the mysterious cave of 
 Skulberg, that our road lay under a steep mountain-side broken up into 
 
190 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 crags and ledges of the character which is usually so attractive to birds of 
 prey. There was a little village at the foot, and an old man pointed out 
 the direction from which the hootings were to be heard every evening. 
 Whilst I was listening to the consultation, and taking a survey with my 
 glass, an Osprey flew along the edge of the cliff; and at a great height 
 above us, and mellowed in the distance, there came a full note from a Berg- 
 ufo, who no doubt had seen the stranger bird. This was very encouraging, 
 and it did not take long to arrange the order in which the various likely 
 rocks were to be visited. An active woodman accompanied me axe in hand. 
 When we were fairly in the cliffs we came to a point where some large bird 
 was in the habit of sitting to tear its prey, and feathers and white feet of 
 hares were lying about. A great Owl flew before us, showing a beautiful 
 expanse of back and wings ; and as we proceeded in the direction from 
 which it came, another large Owl rose from the face of the cliff, flew a 
 hundred paces forward, turned its wide face towards us, and came a short 
 distance back. I stopped to examine it with my glass to be quite certain 
 it was S. bubo. Satisfied on this point, we only had to walk a few paces 
 along a ledge before the family group was in sight two blind little puffs 
 covered with down just tinged with yellow, and an egg with the prisoner 
 inside uttering his series of four or five chirps through the window he had 
 made in the shell, with a voice scarcely more feeble than that of his elder 
 brothers. There did not seem to be much difference in the ages of the 
 three ; they were lying upon a small quantity of compressed fur, princi- 
 pally of rats, the remains of the castings of the parent birds, their bed 
 nearly flat, for there was not more than two inches of soil. Uva-ursi 
 and several other plants grew near ; and a small Scotch fir tree had its 
 trunk curiously flattened to the perpendicular rock at the back ; the ledge 
 was not more than two feet wide, and terminated abruptly just beyond the 
 nest; the rock beneath was also perpendicular. We waited at the nest a 
 long time in the hope that they [the parent birds] would show themselves : 
 but it was not till we had left it that we saw them again sitting on the top- 
 most shoots of spruce firs with their ears finely relieved against the sky ; 
 and as we were nearly in the village again they hooted with a troubled 
 note." The Eagle Owl very often chooses a place for its abode similar to 
 that selected by the Golden Eagle, and often quite exposed and open to the 
 full glare of day. 
 
 The eggs of the Eagle Owl are usually three in number, sometimes only 
 two ; but no authentic instance is on record where four or more eggs have 
 been found in one nest. It will thus be seen that the number of eggs laid 
 by the Snowy Owl is much larger ; yet the two birds occur in pretty much 
 the same numbers. It is therefore possible that the Snowy Owl lays more 
 eggs to support a greater mortality to which its more northern range exposes 
 it, where food is extremely precarious, and the climate so severe. The 
 
EAGLE OWL. 
 
 191 
 
 eggs are pure white, very rotund, and the shell is somewhat rough in 
 texture. Their superior size prevents them being confused with those 
 of any other species of European Owl. They measure from 2'55 to 
 2'1 inch in length and from 2 to T83 inch in breadth. 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts of the Eagle Owl is a mottled 
 mixture of reddish brown and dark brown ; the primaries and tail trans- 
 versely barred. The underparts are brown, palest on the breast, which is 
 marked with longitudinal patches of dark brown, whilst the remainder of 
 the under surface is marked with numerous transverse bars of dark brown. 
 Beak, which is nearly hidden by feathers, black ; irides bright orange ; 
 claws black. The tufts on the head are composed of elongated dark brown 
 feathers barred with light brown, and form two large horns erected or 
 depressed at pleasure. The female bird is similar to the male, but larger 
 in size. 
 
192 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus SCOPS. 
 
 The Scops Owls were first separated from the genus Strix by Gerini 
 in 1767, in his ' Ornithologia Methodice Digesta,' i. p. 86, under the name 
 of Asio, of which he enumerates seven species. As Gerini's Asia is not 
 the same as the Asio of Brisson, which has been extensively adopted by 
 ornithologists, its retention would be liable to produce considerable con- 
 fusion ; and it is therefore wisest to pass it over in favour of the Scops of 
 Savigny ( f Systeme des Oiseaux de PEgypte et de la Syrie/ p. 9), esta- 
 blished in 1810, and of which the Strix scops of Linnaeus may be fairly 
 considered the type. 
 
 The Scops Owls have no operculum, and the nostrils are not inflated 
 characters which distinguish them from every other genus except Surnia 
 and Bubo. From the former they may be distinguished by their conspicuous 
 ear-tufts, their more compact plumage, and by the fact that the longitu- 
 dinal streaks on the underparts are more conspicuous than the compara- 
 tively obscure transverse vermiculations. From the latter they are only 
 generically separated for the sake of convenience, the wing never exceeding 
 nine inches in length, whereas in the genus Bubo it is never less than 
 twelve. 
 
 There is nothing peculiar in the habits of these birds, which resemble 
 those of the Owls in general. Their eggs are pure white. There are five- 
 and-twenty or more species recognized by ornithologists, and as many sub- 
 species, in this genus. 
 
 They are almost cosmopolitan in their range, principally confined to the 
 tropical regions, being only found in the southern portions of the Nearctic 
 and Palsearctic regions, and not extending into the extreme south of South 
 America. One species only is found in Europe, which is only an acci- 
 dental visitor to the British Isles. 
 
THE SCOPS OWL. 193 
 
 SCOPS SCOPS. 
 THE SCOPS OWL. 
 
 (PLATE 7.) 
 
 Asio scops, Briss. Orn. i. p. 495, pi. xxxvii. fig. 1 (1760). 
 
 Strix scops, Linn. St/st. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Naumann, Yarrett, (Keyserliny), (Blasius), (Gray), (Salvation '), 
 
 (Schleyel), &c. 
 
 Strix giu, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 19 (1769). 
 Stryx pulchella, Pall. Reise Russ. Reichs, i. p. 456 (1771). 
 Strix zorca, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 289 (1788). 
 Strix carnioliaca, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 290 (1788). 
 Scops epliialtes, Sai\ Syst. Ois. de FEyypte, p. 47 (1810). 
 Bubo scops (Linn.), JBoie, Isis, 1822, p. 549. 
 Scops aldrovandi, Flem. Brit. An. p. 57 (1828). 
 Scops europaeus, Less. Traite, p. 106 (1831). 
 Scops senegalensis, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 217 (1837). 
 Scops zorca (Gmel.), Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 217 (1837). 
 Ephialtes scops (Linn.), Keys. $ Bias. Wirb. Eur. p. xxxiii (1840). 
 Otus scops (Linn.), Schl. Rev. Crit. pp. xiv, 38 (1844). 
 Scops vera, Finsch, Journ. Orn. 1859, p. 381. 
 
 Ephialtes zorca (Gmel.), Jaub. $ Barth. Lap. Rich. Orn. p. 78 (1859). 
 Scops longipennis, Kanp. Trans. Zool. Soc. iv. p. 223 (1862). 
 Scops giu (Scop), Neict. Ooth. Wottey. p. 153 (1864). 
 
 The Scops Owl was first recorded as a British bird in the spring of 
 1805, from specimens killed in Yorkshire. One of those examples was 
 killed near Wetherby, and formed the subject of Bewick's woodcut of this 
 species. Since that period a score or more examples have from time to 
 time been obtained in England, the bird being now sufficiently well known 
 as an accidental visitor to render a detailed account of each occurrence 
 unnecessary. From Scotland but one specimen has been recorded, which 
 was shot in Sutherlandshire in the early summer of 1854. The Scops Owl 
 has also occurred twice in Ireland : one, mentioned by Thompson, was shot 
 at Loughcrew, in co. Meath in 1837, and another at Kilmore, in Wexford, 
 in the spring of 1847. 
 
 The Scops Owl breeds throughout Europe south of the Baltic, wintering 
 in North-east Africa as far south as Abyssinia. Eastwards it breeds in 
 Asia Minor, Turkestan, and Persia. In North-west and West Africa 
 there is a resident race which is slightly smaller, but does not differ in 
 colour; whilst in North-east Africa and South Africa another smaller 
 variety (S. ^apensis) occurs, with shorter wings and of a dark grey colour. 
 In the North-west Himalayas a pale form occurs (S. brucii), which is most 
 probably a fairly distinct species. In Nepal, Madras, and Malacca three 
 
 VOL. i. o 
 
194 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 varieties occur, somewhat smaller in size, and having more rounded wings, 
 the first primary being shorter than the seventh, and the second primary 
 much shorter than the fifth. (In the European and North-west Himalayan 
 birds the first primary is considerably longer than the seventh, and the 
 second primary much longer than the fifth.) Similar small varieties 
 with rounded wings also occur in China, Japan, and the valley of the 
 Amoor. 
 
 The Scops Owl is a nocturnal bird, its note being more often heard 
 during the night than during the day. Its food is procured principally 
 during the evening ; and in the daytime it is very seldom seen on the 
 wing. That it is not exclusively nocturnal in its habits is proved by the 
 observations of Dresser, who states that he not unfrequently saw it in 
 Spain flying about during the brightest portion of a hot summer's day. 
 Heuglin, in describing its habits on the Nile, where it is only a winter 
 visitant, also says that it is frequently seen during the daytime, frequenting 
 not only copses, but occasionally isolated bushes where there is scarcely 
 any shade. During the day it is seldom seen far from the trees where it 
 roosts; but in the evening it frequents the open ground, feeding upon 
 grasshoppers, beetles, cockchafers, and large moths, and occasionally 
 catching a mouse or a shrew. Naumann says that it also picks up small 
 birds and frogs, and on clear nights hunts till dawn. The Scops Owl not 
 only frequents the country, but also comes into the gardens and avenues 
 of trees in many southern cities. Irby mentions that their monotonous 
 single note may be heard repeatedly by day as well as by night, even 
 in the trees which fringe the Delicias, the Rotten Row of Seville. 
 
 In Greece and Asia Minor I found it a not uncommon bird, but one 
 which was very rarely seen. The Little Owl was often seen in the day- 
 time ; but the present species seemed more especially to be a nocturnal 
 bird. I never once met with it on the wing, but have often listened to 
 its monotonous note, as monotonous as a passing bell, and almost as 
 melancholy. To my ears this note is exactly represented by the sound of 
 the syllable ahp repeated in an unvarying and desponding tone every ten 
 or twenty seconds. This bird is generally, if sparingly, distributed all 
 over Greece, from the seashore almost, if not quite, up to the pine-regions 
 on the mountains. I have often listened to its note as I lay in my camp- 
 bed in a peasant's cottage at Agoriane, halfway up the Parnassus, when it 
 was almost too cold to sleep with comfort ; and I have heard it from the 
 hotel at Buyukdere, on the Bosphorus, when, with window wide open, the 
 heat made it still more difficult to pass the night in happy unconsciousness 
 even of ornithological sounds. 
 
 In the extreme south of Europe a few Scops Owls are to be seen during 
 the winter ; but by far the greatest number are migrants, arriving early 
 in April and leaving again in October. Immediately after its arrival the 
 
THE SCOPS OWL. 
 
 195 
 
 old nesting-place is taken possession of, and probably used as a roosting- 
 place during the day ; but the eggs are seldom laid before the middle of 
 May. The female sits very close, and can generally be caught on the 
 nest. Irby says that it breeds very abundantly in the cork-woods round 
 Gibraltar, and that the nest is very easily discovered by beating the tree 
 with a stick. 
 
 The Scops Owl breeds almost universally in hollow trees ; but Tristram 
 found its nest in holes in walls, and Kriiper describes it as especially 
 common on the island of Naxos, laying its eggs in the scaffold-holes which 
 the indolent Greeks omitted to fill up in the houses. Like all the Owls, 
 the present species makes little or no nest, merely a little hollow scratched 
 out, and lined with the indigestible portions of the bird's food. The eggs 
 are from five to six in number, pure white in colour, and varying in length 
 from 1*3 to 1' 15 inch, and in breadth from I'l to TO inch. The only 
 eggs of a British Owl with which those of the Scops Owl can be confounded 
 are those of the Little Owl. Small examples of the latter measure the 
 same as large examples of the former, but are generally rougher in texture 
 and not so round in shape. 
 
 The Scops Owl is the smallest British Owl. The general colour is grey, 
 each feather with a dark centre, vermiculated with brown of various shades. 
 It has two not very conspicuous ear-tufts, and may be distinguished from 
 every other British Owl by its bare feet, the tarsus only being feathered. 
 Toes brown ; claws black at tip, whitish at base ; beak black ; irides yellow. 
 The female is similar to the male ; but young birds are more rufous than 
 adults. 
 
 The American Screech-Owl, S. asio, an allied species to the present, 
 is said to have occurred twice in England. One is recorded in the 
 ' Naturalist/ 1855, p. 69, as having been shot near Kirkstall Abbey 
 in Yorkshire in 1852; the second is mentioned by Mr. Stevenson, and is 
 supposed to have been killed near Yarmouth in Norfolk. The evidence 
 in both cases is extremely unsatisfactory. 
 
 o2 
 
196 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Family PASSERINE, OR SINGING BIRDS. 
 
 The Singing Birds, together with three other families* (of which there 
 are no representatives in Europe), constitute what are frequently called 
 the true Passeres, the great central group of dominant birds by far the 
 most numerous in genera and species, yet exhibiting few anatomical 
 differences inter se the most highly developed, and yet at the same time 
 the most cosmopolitan of birds. They may indeed be said to be absolutely 
 cosmopolitan, being found throughout the world, except on such rocky 
 coasts where no bird can exist which does not obtain its food from the 
 water. 
 
 The Passeres are the typical birds, the great central apex of the genea- 
 logical tree, very nearly related to each other, and surrounded by outlying 
 families or branches much more distantly related, and consequently pre- 
 senting important anatomical characters by which to separate them from 
 the great central group and from each other. 
 
 The Passeres are the true Aves ; the other families are the failures, the 
 least developed descendants of the intermediate forms which once connected 
 Birds and Reptiles, families containing comparatively few genera and 
 species, some fast dying out, but so widely separated from each other that 
 to trace their relationship we should have to go back almost to the roots 
 of the genealogical tree. So obscure indeed is this connexion that orni- 
 thologists cannot decide in some cases (the so-called Ratitce, for instance) 
 whether they form one family or great group, or are the remnants of 
 several distantly connected groups. 
 
 The Passeridce are separated from the other three families to which 
 they are most nearly allied by a peculiar structure of the singing-appa- 
 ratus at the lower end of the windpipe; but this apparently exhausts 
 the anatomical characters which our physiologists have been able to discover, 
 and leaves us with nearly half the known species of birds so closely 
 related to each other that no known internal characters exist by which 
 they may be subdivided. 
 
 * Sclater (Ibis, 1880, p. 345) divides his order Passeres into four suborders : Oscines, 
 comprising about 4550 species (nearly half the species of birds known), principally found 
 in the Old World, but many peculiar to the New ; Oligomyodce, comprising about 550 
 species, principally found in the New World, but some peculiar to the Old ; TracJieophorue, 
 comprising about 500 species confined to the New World ; and Pseudoscines, comprising 
 half a dozen species confined to Australia. 
 
TURDIN^E. 197 
 
 In order to divide the Passeridee into subfamilies we have to rely entirely 
 upon external characters, many of which may be of very recent origin, 
 and developed by a common cause simultaneously from several centres, so 
 that our classification must be more or less an artificial one, and in many 
 cases, no doubt, not corresponding with genealogical relationship. So 
 unreliable as a test of family connexion are these external characters, that 
 a humorous ornithologist has said "that no external characters are so 
 unreliable as the form of the beak and the feet, except the shape of the 
 wings and tail " ! The wisest course is to acknowledge our ignorance, and 
 accept an admittedly artificial classification until future discoveries reveal 
 a natural system. 
 
 The British species of birds belonging to the Passeridee may be arranged 
 in the following subfamilies : 
 
 TUHDIXJE, or Thrushes. STCHNINJE, or Starlings. 
 
 SYLVIIXJE. or Warblers. FHixarLLix^:, or Finches. 
 
 PARING, or Tit?. HIRUXDINIXJE, or Swallows. 
 
 CORVINE, or Crows. MoTAcrLLix., or Wagtails. 
 
 LAXIINJE, or Shrikes. AXAUDINJE, or Larks. 
 AM PEL ix.*:, or Waxwings. 
 
 The order in which these subfamilies should be arranged and their 
 mutual relationship remain a mystery. The Alaudina and the Hirundinince 
 are probably the most aberrant, and ought perhaps to be placed at the 
 outside. It is impossible to say which is the central or most typical 
 group ; the Turdina, Bylviinte, Corvince, and Fringillina: have equal claims 
 to the distinction. 
 
 Subfamily TURDINvE, OR THRUSHES. 
 
 The Thrushes and their allies form a large group of birds so nearly related 
 to the Warblers and the Tits, that it is impossible to draw a hard and fast 
 line between them. Their chief character consists in having the front as 
 well as the back of the tarsus covered with one long plate instead of several 
 smaller ones ; but this peculiarity is often absent in young birds, and is 
 also to be found in some of the smaller Tits and Warblers, especially in 
 old birds, where the scutellae become confluent. In the other sub- 
 families the scutellation of the tarsus is generally well marked. The 
 bill in this, family is very variable. It is usually slender, a typical 
 insectivorous bill ; but in some genera it is widened to adapt it to catch 
 insects on the wing. It is not always furnished with rictal bristles. 
 There is usually an almost obsolete notch or indentation near the tip, but 
 
198 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 never a Raptorial tooth as in the Shrikes. The bastard primary is always 
 present a character which separates the Thrushes from the Wagtails and 
 the Swallows, and also from all the British Finches. In the British 
 examples of the Tur dints it is sometimes very small, but never so minute 
 as in the Starlings and in the Waxwings. In all of them, however, it is 
 much narrower than the second primary, and not half as long, a character 
 which will serve to distinguish the British Thrushes from the Crows. The 
 young in first plumage differ from the adults in having the upper and 
 underparts more or less spotted; but they moult into adult plumage in 
 their first autumn before they migrate. Adults moult only in the autumn, 
 usually attaining their nuptial dress by casting the ends of the feathers, 
 which deepen in colour at the same time. The Turdince are nearly cosmo- 
 politan, and probably number more than seven hundred species, of which 
 about one hundred are European. Nearly one third of these inhabit our 
 islands, or visit them more or less regularly. The British Turdincs belong 
 to ten genera. Many of these are so closely related, that they can only 
 be recognized by courtesy or as a matter of convenience. There are no 
 structural characters on which to form a key to the genera. The chief 
 character which has been relied upon is the pattern of the colours, which 
 will be described in each genus. 
 
 Genus GEOCICHLA. 
 
 The genus Geocichla is supposed to have been established by Kuhl 
 about the year 1825 ; and Geocichla interpres is considered the type ; 
 but the original publication of this genus has not yet been found, and is 
 probably in some obscure Dutch periodical. It contains a number of 
 Thrushes distinguished as Ground-Thrushes, and supposed to be the least 
 changed descendants of the ancestors of the true Thrushes and Ouzels. They 
 are characterized by having the basal portion of the outside web of all the 
 secondaries and of many of the primaries white, occasionally tinted with 
 buff, but abruptly defined from the brown of the rest of the quills, and 
 forming a peculiar pattern on the under surface of the wing. The axil- 
 laries are particoloured, the basal half being white, and the terminal half 
 black, slate-grey, or brown. Most of the under wing-coverts are similarly 
 particoloured ; but the relative position of the colours is reversed, the white 
 portion being on the terminal half. These characters serve to distinguish 
 them from all other allied genera. 
 
 The genus Geocichla contains about forty species, principally confined 
 to the Oriental and Ethiopian Regions. Three species of the genus 
 
GEOCICHLA. 
 
 199 
 
 are not tropical one breeding in Western North America, and two in 
 Eastern Siberia. Of these latter, individuals occasionally take the wrong 
 route of migration in autumn, and wander into Europe, sometimes as far 
 as our islands. 
 
 The Ground-Thrushes are par excellence ground-Thrushes, and frequent 
 trees and shrubs far less frequently than the Thrushes or Ouzels. They 
 haunt dense groves and jungles, as well as the ground in the open parts of 
 the woodlands. These birds possess considerable powers of song. Their 
 food consists of worms, grubs, insects, fruits, berries, &c. They all build 
 open nests, made of dried grasses, rootlets, moss, and mud, placing them 
 at various heights from the ground in trees and bushes. Their eggs, three 
 to five in number, vary from pale bluish green to dark bluish green in 
 ground-colour, spotted and freckled with rufous-brown. 
 
200 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 GEOCICHLA VARIA. 
 WHITE'S GROUND-THRUSH. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus aureus, Holandre, Ann. de Terr. 1825, p. 310. 
 
 Turdus varius, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. \. p. 449 (1826) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Gould, Macyillivray, Temminclt, Homey er, Radde, Gray, Newton, Tweeddule, 
 
 Dresser, Sivinhoe, &c. 
 
 Turdus squamatus, Boie, Isis, 1835, p. 251. 
 Turdus whitei, Hi/ton, Rarer Brit, B. p. 92 (1836). 
 Oreocincla whitei (Eijton), Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 136. 
 Oreocincla varia (Pall), Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 136. 
 Oreocincla aurea (HoL), Bonap. Cat. Ucc. Ear. p. 34 (1842). 
 Turdus lunulatus, Lath, apud Bias. List B. Eur. p. 9 (1862). 
 Turdus dauma, Lath, apud Pelzeln, Verh. k.-k. zool.-bot. Gesell. Wien, 1871, p. 703. 
 Geocichla varia (Pall), Seebohm, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. v. p. 151 (1881). 
 
 This handsome bird has occurred in the British Islands at least a dozen 
 times. The first record is that of a bird which was taken during the 
 winter of 1828. This specimen was announced as new to the British fauna 
 by the late Mr. Eyton, who, erroneously believing the bird to be unde- 
 scribed, named it in honour of Gilbert White, of Selborne, as a just and 
 fitting tribute to one who did so much for the cause of natural history. 
 In England the bird has been obtained in several of the southern and 
 south-midland counties, once in Norfolk, twice in Yorkshire, and once 
 in Durham. In Ireland it has been obtained twice one specimen in 
 South Cork and the other in the county of Longford. Most of these 
 specimens were taken in the depth of winter, two in spring, and one in 
 autumn. On the continent of Europe it has occurred perhaps a dozen times, 
 besides five or six times on the island of Heligoland. Gaetke's examples 
 are among the gems of his unrivalled museum. The occurrence of White's 
 Thrush in Europe can only be considered accidental, though accidents 
 of this kind happen regularly. After the breeding-season is over in the 
 Arctic regions the great stream of migration which passes from north to 
 south through Central Siberia appears to divide before it reaches the 
 mountains of Mongolia, to avoid the deserts beyond. Some species of 
 birds turn east, and others west ; and of the species which Nature has 
 ordained to winter east, some individuals, probably for the most part young 
 birds who have never migrated before, lose their way and get into the 
 wrong stream, and thus find their way into Europe as strangers from the 
 east, some of whom fall into Gaetke's hands on Heligoland every year. 
 
 The breeding-ground and true home of this fine bird is South-central 
 
WHITE'S GROUND-THRUSH. 201 
 
 and South-eastern Siberia and North China. It winters in South Japan, 
 South-west China, and the Philippine Islands, occasionally straying 
 as far west as Sumatra. The limit of its western range in summer is 
 difficult to ascertain, but is possibly confined to the watershed of the 
 Yenesay and the Lena. It was obtained by Gmelin * at Krasnoyarsk ; and 
 on the shores of Lake Baikal Dybowski records it as common at the 
 migration-seasons. 
 
 The haunts of this bird are but little known. It has always been found 
 in well-wooded districts (chiefly mountain- woods) , well-timbered banks of 
 streams, gardens, and wooded plains. The specimens that have occurred 
 in the British Islands have all been taken in similar situations to those of 
 its true eastern home. Mr. R. Tomes describes the capture of the 
 specimen obtained in Gloucestershire ('Ibis,' 1859, p. 379) as follows :^ 
 " I may commence by stating that the village of Welford, five miles west 
 of Stratford-on-Avon, where the specimen was obtained, is situated in a 
 bend of the Avon, and that the soil is a rich alluvium. Its position is 
 highly favourable for the growth of timber and fruit-trees ; and it is well 
 shrouded in orchards and small enclosures, fringed with their hedgerows 
 and ivied elms, affording a favourite haunt for many of the smaller birds, 
 with a good supply of cherries and other fruits in the summer months, 
 and of berries through the autumn and winter seasons. From a cherry- 
 orchard, a few miles down stream, I obtained, a few years since, a specimen 
 of the Rose-coloured Pastor; and Starlings and Thrushes abound. Of 
 insect-feeders there is an equally good supply ; and I have had more than 
 one opportunity of inspecting the nesting of the Lesser Spotted Wood- 
 pecker. 
 
 " In a small grass inclosure immediately adjoining the village, and 
 thickly surrounded .by elms, a friend of mine observed a bird rise from a 
 dry leafy ditch, which, at the first glance, was mistaken for a Woodcock, 
 but soon recognized as one of the Thrush kind. This happened on the 
 6th of January ; and on hearing the account I stimulated further search, 
 but without effect until the 23rd of that month, when the bird was again 
 flushed from the same inclosure, and, as before, from the bottom of a dry 
 ditch amongst dead leaves. Again on the 26th it rose from the same 
 ditch, and within a few yards of the same spot. On each occasion it was 
 busied in turning over the dead leaves, from beneath which it appears to 
 have taken its food. Although Blackbirds, Thrushes, and Missel-Thrushes 
 were abundant and seen at the same time feeding on the ivy and hawthorn- 
 berries, the present bird was always observed to resort only to the trees or 
 
 hedges when disturbed, and then merely as a place of rest, remaining for 
 %' 
 
 * J. G. Gmelin the Siberian traveller, not J. F. Gmelin, the compiler of the 13th 
 edition of Linnaeus. 
 
202 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 some time perched in an upright position in one spot, without noticing 
 the berries or the species feeding on them. Its flight, when roused from 
 its feeding, was very undulating, like that of the Green Woodpecker, and 
 low, often settling on the ground, and only making choice of a tree when 
 it happened to pass under one, into which it rose almost vertically. As far 
 as its habits could be ascertained from these short opportunities of obser- 
 vation, it would appear to be almost entirely a ground feeder/' 
 
 The above description of the habits of White's Ground-Thrush accords 
 well with what little is known respecting them in the bird's true haunts. 
 All the Thrushes are, to a certain extent, ground feeders ; but the members 
 of this genus (Geocichla] are, par excellence, " ground "-Thrushes. Beetles, 
 grubs, spiders, worms, and rnollusks, found on the ground in humid situa- 
 tions, at the foot of trees, under shrubs, and amongst withered leaves, 
 evidently form its favourite food; and its beautifully mottled plumage 
 blends closely with the tints of surrounding objects, as the Woodcock's 
 russet dress hides him so effectually from view as he sits so quietly amongst 
 the withered autumn leaves. But various berries are also eaten, notably 
 those of the banyan. These berries are most probably eaten as fruits, just 
 as garden fruit is eaten by many of our own insectivorous birds. 
 
 As to the bird's claims to the rank of a songster we are still in doubt. 
 No one has yet informed us what his love-song is, or whether he is silent. 
 A closely allied bird, the " Mountain -Thrush " of the Australian colo- 
 nists (Geocichla lunulata), was never heard to sing by Gould during his 
 sojourn in its favourite haunts. But, judging from analogy, it seems 
 probable that the bird has a song, and that when its habits are better 
 known to naturalists we shall have a confirmation of this. Its call-note 
 is somewhat different from that of the Song-Thrush ; and when passing 
 through the air on migration it occasionally utters a melodious whistling 
 cry. 
 
 The only record of the nest of White's Thrush being taken is of that 
 obtained by Swinhoe in North China, published in Rowley's ' Ornithological 
 Miscellany/ vol. ii. p. 256. Mr. Swinhoe writes : " It was not until I got 
 to Ningpo, in 1872, that I found that White's Thrush spent the summer 
 in the wooded parts of the hills around that neighbourhood ; and I thence 
 conclude that it resides in similar hills, in summer, all down the coast of 
 China, resorting to the plains and gardens in its winter migrations. In 
 May 1872 I resided for a time at a large temple near Ningpo called 'Chin- 
 hooze/ in the midst of woods situated on a hillside. Some boys pointed 
 to a nest hidden in the upper branches of a high pine tree, and asked if 
 they should climb to it. Thinking it was a Blackbird's, I assented, and 
 then wandered away. Soon after I met the boys, who carried in their 
 hands the nest (to all appearance that of a Blackbird), with three eggs, 
 which, though so like a Blackbird's, had the dots so minute that they 
 
WHITE'S GROUND-THRUSH. 203 
 
 struck me as being of an allied species, probably the Oreocincla. I went 
 back to the tree ; and on the bough where the nest had been were the 
 parent birds in trouble at their loss. I saw them distinctly, and recognized 
 them as being of this species. " 
 
 This nest, with two of the eggs, is now in my collection. It was built 
 on a fork on a horizontal pine-branch, and is about 2^ inches deep inside, 
 and about 4 inches outside, 7 inches in outer and 4^ inches in inner dia- 
 meter. The outside is composed of withered rushes, fine and coarse grass, 
 and moss, with an occasional twig and withered leaf, and plastered most 
 copiously with mud. Here and there are a few pieces of some green weed, 
 apparently conveyed in the mud from the swamps. The inside is lined 
 with a thick coating of mud, like the nests of our own Ring-Ouzel or Black- 
 bird ; and is then finally lined with fibrous rootlets, quite as coarse as those 
 the Magpie uses, and one or two pieces of sedgy grass. In general ap- 
 pearance the nest resembles most closely a common Magpie's without the 
 sticks just the mere cup, and is far more coarsely made than the nests of 
 the true Thrushes. The eggs, greenish white with minute reddish spots, 
 were three, although most probably the full number had not been laid. 
 They resemble those of the Missel -Thrush ; but the ground-colour is slightly 
 paler, and the spots much finer, more numerous, and more evenly distri- 
 buted. They measure 1*2 inch in length and 0*9 inch in breadth. 
 
 The whole upper plumage of White's Thrush, which is ochraceous brown, 
 and the under plumage, which is white, tinged with buff on the breast, is 
 boldly marked with black crescentic spots. The wings are brown, margined 
 with buff; and the wing-coverts also are tipped with the same colour. The 
 tail, which is composed of fourteen feathers, has the four central ones 
 ochraceous brown, the rest dark brown, all more or less broadly tipped with 
 white. Bill brown above, pale below. Legs and feet yellowish brown. 
 Irides dark brown. The sexes are presumably the same. 
 
 White's Thrush has many very near allies ; but most of them may at 
 once be distinguished by having only twelve tail-feathers. Two, however, 
 have fourteen tail-feathers : one (GeOcichla hancii] is simply a greyer- 
 coloured bird, which may be regarded as little more than a local race 
 that has apparently become a resident in the island of Formosa ; the 
 other is an unquestionably good species (Geocichla horsfieldi], which is a 
 resident in the island of Java. In this species the general colour of the 
 upper parts is ochraceous brown instead of olive-brown, and the pale 
 ochraceous brown subterminal spots, which are found in White's Thrush 
 on the feathers of both the head and back, are confined to the head only. 
 The wing, probably in consequence of its having ceased to migrate, has 
 become rounder, the second primary being intermediate in length between 
 the fifth and sixth, instead of between the fourth and'fifth. 
 
204 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 GEOCICHLA SIBIRICA. 
 SIBERIAN GROUND-THRUSH. 
 
 Turdus sibiricus, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs, iii. p. 694 (1776) ; et auctorum pluri- 
 
 morurn Vieillot, Temminck, Gould, Bonaparte, Gray, Newton, Dresser, &c. 
 Turdus auroreus, Pallas, Zoogr, Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 448 (1826, ). 
 Turdus leucocillus, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 450 (1826, cJ). 
 Turdus atrocyaneus, Homeyer, Isis, 1843, p. 604. 
 
 Turdus mutabilis, Temm.Jide Bonap. Compt. Rend, xxxviii. p. 5 (1854). 
 Cichloselys sibiricus (Pall.), Bonap. Cat. Parzud. p. 5 (1856). 
 Oreocincla sibirica (Pall.}, Janb. et Barth.-Lapomm. Rich. Orn. p. 202 (1859). 
 Oreocincla inframarginata, Blytli, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xxix. p. 106 (1800). 
 Turdus inframarginatus (Blytli), Gray, Iland-l. B. i. p. 254 (1869). 
 Geociclila mutabilis (Temm.), S. Muller,Jide Blytli, Ibis, 1870, p. 167. 
 Merula sibirica (Pall.), Dyb. Journ. Orn. 1872, p. 437. 
 Turdulus sibiricus (Pall.), Hume, Stray Featli. vi. p. 255 (1878). 
 Geociclila sibirica (Pall), Seebohm, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. v. p. 180 (1881). 
 
 The only claim of the Siberian Ground-Thrush to be included in the list 
 of British birds rests upon a single example which was sent to Mr. Bond 
 by a dealer who informed him that it was a variety of the Redwing that 
 had been shot between Guildford and Godalmingin the winter of 1860-61. 
 The evidence is not very satisfactory. There can be no doubt that dealers 
 are under very great temptation to pass off foreign skins as British-killed, 
 Although it is the boast of Englishmen that they are more truth-speaking 
 than any other race, it is unfortunately the fact that amongst our shop- 
 keepers and merchants there are many who do not scruple to lie for the 
 sake of gain. But although ornithologists are perfectly justified in looking 
 with suspicion upon examples of rare birds whose only authentication as 
 British-killed is the word of a dealer, there does not seem to be any 
 reasonable ground for doubt in the present case. Twenty years ago skins 
 of the Siberian Ground-Thrush were so rare in collections that it would 
 have been extremely difficult for a dealer to procure one, and the price was 
 so high that the- temptation to obtain an extra profit by passing a foreign 
 skin off as British can scarcely be said to have existed. So far as is known, 
 the Siberian Ground-Thrush is confined during the breeding-season to 
 Eastern Siberia; and this fact may of itself be supposed to be an argu- 
 ment against its occurrence on our shores, were it not for the circumstance 
 that the accidental appearance of Siberian birds in Europe is so common. 
 One of the most extraordinary facts connected with that most extraordinary 
 island of Heligoland is that these accidental occurrences occur almost re- 
 gularly. I am not aware that the Siberian Ground-Thrush has occurred 
 on Heligoland ; but I have lately examined a female of this species in the 
 collection of my friend Eugene von Homeyer which was shot on the 25th 
 of August 1851 at Elbing, near the Gulf of Danzig. Other occurrences in 
 Europe have been recorded, from the Hartz Mountains, from Upper Silesia, 
 
SIBERIAN GROUND-THRUSH. 205 
 
 from the Lower Oder, from the island of Riigen, from France, Belgium, 
 Italy, and Turkey. The Siberian Ground-Thrush breeds in the valleys of 
 the Yeiiesay and the Lena, between lat. 67 and 68, and also near Yokohama 
 in Japan. It winters in China, Burma, Sumatra, and Java, and has once 
 occurred on the Andaman Islands. 
 
 AV hen Dresser's ' Birds of Europe' was written nothing whatever was 
 known of its habits or its breeding-haunts. I am sorry that I cannot give 
 many particulars respecting these. When I was in Siberia I occasionally 
 caught a hasty glimpse of a dark-coloured Thrush with a very conspicuous 
 white eyebrow, not far from the village of Koorayika on the Arctic circle, 
 whilst the remains of the ice were still straggling down the Yenesay. It 
 was an extremely shy and wary bird ; and though I occasionally saw it 
 crossing the open ground between the birch-plantations, I did not succeed 
 in shooting one until the 19th of June. I was then walking in a dense 
 birch-plantation ; the leaves were not yet out on the trees ; and a fortnight 
 before the ground had been covered with a thick bed of snow. This had 
 melted and exposed a thick bed of leaves, the accumulation of many years. 
 As I was walking along I noticed a bird at some distance before me on the 
 ground, and presently caught sight of its white eyebrow. The bird was 
 very busy searching for food amongst the dead leaves ; and I had the good 
 fortune to secure it. It proved to be a fine male in adult plumage. I saw 
 one or two afterwards in the same locality, but was unable to get within 
 shot. I did not see it further north than the Koorayika ; but my travelling 
 companion, Mr. Boiling, assured me that he saw one in lat. 68, and I found 
 that it was well known to the inhabitants as the Chornoi Drozht, or Black 
 Thrush. They informed me that it was by no means uncommon during 
 the breeding- season at Toorokansk. Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer, in their 
 notes on the Birds of Japan (Ibis, 1878, p. 241), state that this bird is 
 possessed of a not very loud but sweet song, for which reason it is a favourite 
 cage-bird there. Nothing whatever is known of its eggs or nest. 
 
 The male bird is dark slate-grey, with a very conspicuous white eyebrow, 
 and with the centre of the belly, the tips of the under tail-coverts, a spot at 
 the end of the outside tail-feather on each side, and the peculiar Geocichline 
 pattern on the under surface of the wing pure white. Bill black ; legs very 
 light brown ; irides dark hazel. The female differs from the male in having 
 the upper parts olive-brown, shading into dull slate-grey on the rump and 
 upper tail-coverts; eye-stripe buff, shading into white on the nape ; wings 
 and wing-coverts russet- brown ; underparts white, shading into brown on the 
 flanks, and into buff on the breast, each feather tipped with olive-brown. 
 Males of the year are suffused with brown on the head and wings, and have 
 ochraceous^fips to the greater and some of the median wing-coverts ; the 
 chin and throat are also suffused with ochraceous, and the throat and breast 
 are barred. 
 
206 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus TURDUS. 
 
 The genus Turdus was established by Linnaeus in 1766, in his ' Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 291, and T. viscivorus has by common consent been accepted 
 as the type. It contains the true Thrushes, which may be distinguished from 
 the Ground-Thrushes by not having the peculiar Geocichline pattern on the 
 wing, and from the Ouzels by having the throat streaked and the sexes 
 alike. 
 
 The true Thrushes are most abundant in the Neotropical Region, whence 
 about five and twenty species have been described, and in the ^Ethiopian 
 Region, where about a dozen species are resident. Haifa dozen species or 
 more are peculiar to the Nearctic Region, whilst in the Palsearctic Region 
 only five species occur, of which two are residents in our islands and two 
 winter visitors. 
 
 The Thrushes are closely connected with the Ouzels. The haunts they 
 affect are almost entirely arboreal ; and in their habits they do not differ 
 from the Ouzels. They are even more sociable than the preceding group 
 of birds. Like them they possess great powers of song, being probably 
 amongst the finest songsters in the world. They all build open nests, well 
 made and compact, of dry grass, sticks, moss, and mud, and place them 
 usually in bushes, sometimes high up in the branches of trees, and more 
 rarely on the ground. Their eggs are from four to six in number, varying 
 from clear bluish green to green in ground-colour, spotted and mottled 
 with various shades of brown. Their food also does not differ from that of 
 the Ouzels. 
 
THE MISSEL-THRUSH. 207 
 
 TURDUS VISCIVORUS. 
 THE MISSEL-THRUSH. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus major, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 200 (1760). 
 
 T urdus viscivorus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 291 (1760) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Latham, Pallas, Temminck, Naumann, Bonaparte, Newton, Gould, Sharpe, 
 
 Dresser, &c. 
 
 Sylvia viscivora (Linn.}, Savi, Orn. Tosc. i. p. 208 (1827). 
 Ixocossyphus viscivorus (Linn.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 145 (1829). 
 Mi-rula viscivora (Linn.), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 158 (1833). 
 
 The " Stormcock," as this bird is popularly called, is one of those few 
 species which, during the progress of very recent times, has extended its 
 range in the British Islands. This extension has taken a northerly direction, 
 and may be attributed to a variety of causes tree-planting and the laying- 
 out of shrubberies and pleasure-grounds being possibly the chief encourage- 
 ment. So far as the earlier history of the Missel-Thrush has been recorded, 
 the bird was an inhabitant of the sheltered places, the pastoral districts of 
 the lowlands; but from them it has gradually spread itself over more 
 isolated and northerly plantations, woods, and coppices, up to the moor- 
 land wastes. It may now be said to be a common bird in most sufficiently 
 wooded localities throughout Great Britain and Ireland, becoming rather 
 more local and rarer in the extreme north. The Missel-Thrush has 
 gradually spread itself over the Western Isles of Scotland. In Skye 
 Missel-Thrushes were fairly numerous up to the severe winter of 1879-80, 
 since which time the birds have almost entirely disappeared again. Dixon 
 during his stay in the season of 1881 found one nest of this bird on the 
 wooded banks of a burn ; but now the bird is certainly a rare one there. 
 Upon the Orkneys it is sometimes found after easterly gales birds most 
 probably blown out of their course during migration ; but it has not yet 
 been recorded from Shetland. Upon the European continent the Missel- 
 Thrush breeds throughout the temperate portions, extending on the west 
 coast as far north as the Arctic circle. Eastwards it ranges through 
 Turkestan to the North-west Himalayas and Lake Baikal. In many of 
 the milder portions of its haunts the bird is resident, or is subject to in- 
 ternal migration from the hills to the valleys ; but by far the greater 
 number winter in Southern Europe and North Africa, a few birds remain- 
 ing to breed^n the former locality, the Siberian birds wintering in South 
 Persia, and the Indian ones seeking the lower valleys and sheltered districts 
 at that season. 
 
208 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The haunts of the Missel-Thrush are considerably diversified, the rich, 
 well-cultivated districts and the borders of the moorlands being equally 
 tenanted by them. In the former situation it is usually found in the 
 neighbourhood of large gardens, in orchards, shrubberies, small woods, and 
 plantations, and especially in well-wooded parks and pleasure-grounds. 
 On the borders of the upland wilds it frequents the fir-plantations, wooded 
 roughs, and the banks of mountain-streams and coppices of birch and 
 alder. The Missel-Thrush is found in Great Britain throughout the year; 
 but it is subject to some little internal migration. For instance, the birds 
 that frequent the upland districts in summer retire to the lower lands in 
 winter ; and birds from the more isolated woods and coppices draw nearer 
 to the cultivated districts should the weather be severe. But these re- 
 marks apply to our indigenous birds alone. The rigours of a northern 
 winter send the Missel-Thrush southwards ; and considerable numbers of 
 these migrants remain on our shores throughout the winter, arriving at 
 the same time as the Fieldfare, with which bird they often associate. 
 Although for the greater part of the year the Missel-Thrush is a non- 
 gregarious bird, still in the early autumn, when the breeding-season is 
 over, and the young birds are strong on the wing, a sociable disposition 
 manifests itself. The birds are then seen in little parties; and as the 
 autumn progresses they congregate in considerable flocks, very often being 
 mistaken for early arrivals of Fieldfares. At this season the Missel- 
 Thrushes are extremely wild and wary, and are usually seen on the turnip- 
 fields or newly-ploughed lands in the early morning, and later in the 
 day on the grass-fields and stubbles. In the turnip-fields they choose 
 the parts where the crop has been cleared off, and, as a rule, do not skulk 
 under the broad leaves, like the Song-Thrush ; but they are, nevertheless, 
 easily alarmed, and take wing the instant danger threatens, rising into the 
 air, and flying from tree to tree, uttering their harsh and grating cries 
 both as they fly and when they are at rest in the tree-tops. As the year 
 begins to wane and the leafless twigs tell of the approach of winter, these 
 bands of Missel-Thrushes, from some unknown cause, disperse; and for 
 the rest of the winter the birds either live in solitude or congregate in 
 small parties only. Although in the nesting-season few birds excel the 
 Missel-Thrush in trustfulness, at all other times of the year he is a shy 
 and wary bird, and rarely comes near houses, save when hard pressed for 
 food. Missel-Thrushes, as a rule, fly much higher than Song-Thrushes 
 or Blackbirds. They are capable of flying with great swiftness, and have 
 considerable command over themselves in the air witness their motions 
 round the head of an intruder when in the neighbourhood of their nest. 
 At other times they fly with a series of rapid beats with but short intervals 
 of cessation, and with but very little undulation. The Missel-Thrush 
 
THE MISSEL-THRUSH. 209 
 
 when about to alight on a tree usually ascends some little distance to a 
 perching-place. It is a decided inhabitant of trees and shrubs, except 
 when in search of food, which for eight months in the year is found chiefly 
 on the ground. The remaining four months he is for the most part a 
 berry feeder, although, if the weather be mild and open, we find him 
 pretty frequently on the grasslands in company with the Redwing. 
 
 The Missel-Thrush is partly graminivorous and partly insectivorous, 
 according to the season of the year. In the spring and summer it is seen 
 on the pastures just as frequently as the Blackbird ; but, unlike that 
 species and the Song-Thrush, it never seeks its food under the evergreens 
 and hedgerows, but always in the open. On the grass it obtains earth- 
 worms, snails (both those with and those without shells), larvae of 
 various kinds, and insects. In the late summer, and throughout the 
 autumn, fruit and berries are largely sought after. This fare is obtained 
 in gardens as well as woods, and is composed of cherries, gooseberries, 
 raspberries, and in the upland districts the various moor fruit and the 
 berries of the mountain-ash. The berries of the service-tree in the 
 autumn months are perhaps more eagerly sought after by the Missel- 
 Thrush than any other food. "Where the trees are covered with fruit the 
 birds may be seen incessantly, frequenting them until they are entirely 
 stripped. In late autumn and in early spring, when sowing-operations 
 are in progress, the Missel-Thrush will frequent the fields and pick up the 
 scattered grain, varying this fare with grubs and insects. In winter the 
 bird is to a great extent a wanderer. Its food is largely composed of 
 berries of the hawthorn ; and, like the Fieldfare, it wanders from one district 
 to another. The berry that is perhaps most closely associated with the 
 Missel-Thrush is that of the famous parasite the misseltoe. Popular 
 opinion regards this waxen berry as the staple food of the *' Stormcock," and 
 assumes that the bird is the principal disseminator of this parasitic plant. 
 Pliny even propounded the startling theory that the berries of this plant 
 will not germinate unless they have previously passed through the intes- 
 tines of birds, notably of the Missel-Thrush ! This bird does not eat the 
 berries of the misseltoe to such an extent as is popularly believed. In 
 districts where this plant abounds it is rarely found denuded of its berries, 
 although the Missel-Thrush may be the commonest of birds in the neigh- 
 bourhood. The berries of the hawthorn, the ivy, and the service-tree are 
 its staple food in the winter season. It is not at all improbable, however, 
 that when the birds do occasionally eat the berries of the misseltoe the 
 seeds are disseminated by their clinging to the bill of the bird, who, to rid 
 itself of them, cleans it on the bark, and thus unwittingly places them in 
 some crevice* where they eventually germinate. The Missel-Thrush sings 
 throughout the winter. In early autumn, after being silent throughout 
 the breeding-season, he regains his powers of song, and may be heard to 
 
 VOL. i. P 
 
210 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 sing until the nesting-season in the following spring. No sooner has this 
 time arrived than the " Stormcock " drops his wild melody, and, unlike 
 all his congeners, performs the duties of breeding in silence. The song 
 resembles in some of its tones that of the Song-Thrush and Blackbird ; 
 but it possesses a peculiar loudness and wild variation strictly its own, and 
 may, by one who pays attention to the songs of birds, be instantly dis- 
 tinguished from the notes of any other British songster. Like the notes 
 of the Ring-Ouzel, it is somewhat monotonous, but rich and mellow. 
 Before the first streak of dawn shoots across the dull wintery sky, the 
 Missel-Thrush may be heard pouring forth his wild carol; and in the 
 evening, when the dusk is falling, he sings equally well. But perhaps 
 the time the " Stormcock's " song is heard to best advantage is on some 
 wild day when part of his performance is drowned by the storm. Perched 
 on the leafless branches of a lofty tree, he sits and warbles forth his song 
 amidst the driving sleet and the roaring tempest. Should you disturb the 
 Missel-Thrush when singing, he usually drops silently down and awaits 
 your departure, though sometimes he merely retires to a neighbouring 
 tree and warbles as sweetly as before. The call-notes of the Missel-Thrush 
 are extremely harsh and discordant, resembling those of the Song-Thrush, 
 yet infinitely louder and harsher. 
 
 Missel-Thrushes pair about the first week in February, and at that 
 season they are very pugnacious ; and when paired they often frequent 
 the locality of their nest weeks before a twig is laid in furtherance of it. 
 
 Very probably, on account of its exceptional wariness of disposition, the 
 Missel-Thrush prefers somewhat different nesting-sites, and, to a certain 
 extent, breeding-grounds, from those of its near allies the Song-Thrush and 
 the Blackbird. Still much of this inherent wariness disappears in the breed- 
 ing-season, and it will frequently rear its young in the most exposed situa- 
 tions. The Missel-Thrush is an early breeder, commencing in some cases 
 in February ; and two (and sometimes three) broods are reared in the season. 
 Its nest may be found on most of the forest trees, and but rarely in the bushes. 
 The birch-copses, larch-plantations, woods, and orchards are its favourite 
 haunts, and in some cases trees standing alone, especially a road-side oak 
 or elm. A favourite situation is the alder trees bordering a stream, even on 
 the banks of the mountain-torrents on the moorlands. The nest is built at 
 various heights, sometimes only a few feet from the ground, at others near 
 the topmost branches. You never find it in the slender twigs, but either 
 placed on some horizontal bough away from the trunk, or on a suitable fork 
 of the main stem. Instances are known of the bird building in evergreens, 
 only a few feet from the ground ; but such cases are exceptions ; indeed 
 this bird seems to have a peculiar aversion to using evergreens for a nesting- 
 place. 
 
THE MISSEL-THRUSH. 211 
 
 No other British Thrush exposes its nest in such a seemingly careless 
 manner as the " Stormcock " yet it is surprising how often it escapes 
 detection in its open position until the young are safely reared. This 
 may be partly attributed to the bird's quietness of disposition ; for few 
 birds are so silent in the breeding-season, until it is aware that its nest is 
 discovered. Probably few other British bird's nests exceed in pictu- 
 resqueuess the home of this Thrush. There is a peculiar rustic beauty 
 about it which few others possess. Like the nest of the Blackbird (indeed 
 of all the Thrushes), it undergoes three distinct stages before completion. 
 First, the outside is composed of grass, chickweed, bog-moss, and often 
 large masses of wool, through which are artfully woven a few slender 
 twigs to strengthen the sides of the structure. This nest is lined with 
 mud or clay ; and, lastly, a very thick lining of grass, usually in a green 
 state, completes the work. No attempt at concealment is made ; indeed 
 it seems that the birds rather court discovery than otherwise ; for it is no 
 uncommon thing to see a large piece of wool hanging loosely from a nest, 
 or a portion of the nest itself so lightly put together as to cause it to arrest 
 the attention at once. The eggs of the Missel-Thrush very rarely exceed 
 four in number, and in but very few cases are less. They are somewhat 
 different from the typical Thrush's eggs, being of a greyer tinge. The 
 ground-colour ranges from bluish white to reddish brown, spotted, blotched, 
 and clouded with various shades of rich purplish brown and with greyish 
 underlying spots. They vary considerably in size, form, and colour, very 
 often in the same clutch. They vary in length from 1*32 to 1'03 inch, 
 and in breadth from 0'91 to 0'8 inch. 
 
 Missel-Thrushes are amongst the noisiest of birds should their nest be 
 menaced by danger. Uttering their harsh grating cries, they fly round 
 the intruder's head and do their best to make him quit its vicinity. No 
 Thrush is bolder or more vigilant ; and the Magpie, the Jay, and even the 
 Sparrow- Hawk are often frightened away by the vigour of their attack. 
 
 The Missel-Thrush, from its superiority of size, cannot readily be mis- 
 taken for any other British Thrush. Its colouring is chaste, the whole 
 upper parts being olive-brown, more or less suffused with rufous on the 
 back; the underparts are white, boldly spotted with large dark brown 
 fan-shaped spots. Bill dark brown, paler at the base. Legs pale brown. 
 Irides dark brown. Its pure white axillaries will serve to distinguish it 
 from all other British Thrushes except from the Fieldfare, whose slate- 
 grey rump contrasts strongly with the ochraceous brown rump of the 
 Missel-Thrush. 
 
 Eastern examples of this species from Turkestan and North-west India 
 are slightly greyer in the general colour of the upper parts, and are, on 
 an average, larger in size, European examples varying in length of wing 
 from 6*1 to 5 - 6 inch, whilst examples from Turkestan and India vary from 
 
 p2 
 
212 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 6*7 to 6'0 inch. In Asia Minor intermediate forms, however, occur, 
 varying in length of wing from 6'15 to 5'85 inch. Some ornithologists 
 consider the Eastern form a distinct sjtecies, which they recognize under 
 the name of Turdus hodysoni ; but as intermediate forms occur, it can only 
 rank as a subspecies or local race. 
 
 American ornithologists would undoubtedly call this bird T. viscivorus, 
 var. hodgsoni. There can be no doubt that this form of nomenclature, 
 though somewhat complicated, has the great advantage of showing at a 
 glance the affinities of the bird. It is impossible for our nomenclature to 
 denote the degree of relationship which exists between species. To 
 attempt to express this would be to return to the old mode of designating 
 a species by a sentence. Were these local varieties rare, ornithologists 
 would not have much difficulty in remembering which names only repre- 
 sented subspecific forms ; but modern researches have shown us many 
 local varieties, and there can be little doubt that many more remain 
 to be discovered. If we still retain the binomial system of nomenclature 
 for all these local races, our catalogues of birds will be doubled if not 
 trebled in length, and will become exceedingly misleading. I see no other 
 alternative to avoid this except to join our American ornithologists in 
 reviving the system of nomenclature originally proposed by Linnaeus and 
 already adopted by botanists. 
 
THE SONG-THRUSH. 213 
 
 TURDUS MUSICUS. 
 
 THE SONG-THRUSH. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus minor, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 205 (1760). 
 
 Turdus musicus, Linn. Syst. Xaf. i. p. 292 (1766) ; et auctortun pliirimorum 
 
 Latham, Bechstein, Pallas, Temminck, Naumann, Neicton, Gould, Gray, Sharpe, 
 
 Dresser, &c. 
 
 Turdus iliacus, Linn, apud Bodd. Table PI. Enl p. 24 (1783). 
 Turdus pilaris, Linn, apud Bodd. Table PL Enl. p. 29 (1783). 
 Sylvia musica (Linn.), Savi, Orn. Tosc. i. p. 211 (1827). 
 Kerala musica (Linn.), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 162 (1833). 
 Iliacus musicus (Linn.), Des Murs, Traite d'Ool. p. 292 (1860). 
 
 The Song-Thrush breeds throughout Great Britain and Ireland in all 
 well-cultivated districts, or where the ground is sufficiently wooded to 
 afford it shelter. In the extreme north of Scotland, although birch trees 
 abound, the bird is rare, but appears to be increasing in numbers. It 
 breeds in the Orkney Islands ; but its nest has not yet been taken in the 
 Shetlauds. On the Hebrides, even to the wild isolated rock of St. Kilda, 
 the Song-Thrush is found, and in many of the islands it is quite numerous. 
 In Skye it is one of the commonest of land birds, and is sometimes seen 
 far amongst the wide stretches of heath where not a tree or bush is visible. 
 The bird also breeds on the rocky heights of Ailsa Craig, where its only 
 nesting- sites are amongst the rocks and caves. 
 
 The breeding-range of the Song-Thrush extends across the Palsearctic 
 Region from the Atlantic as far east as the valley of the Yenesay and Lake 
 Baikal, but the bird is much commoner in the west than in the east. In 
 Norway, probably in consequence of the influence of the Gulf-stream, it 
 is found up to, and occasionally beyond, the Arctic circle ; but in Siberia 
 it is rarely met with north of lat. 60. In Southern Europe it breeds very 
 sparingly, and only at high elevations. In England the Song-Thrush is 
 only a partial migrant ; but on the continent, where the winters are so 
 much colder, it leaves the north, like other summer visitors, and repairs 
 in great numbers to winter in South Europe and North Africa. In the 
 latter continent it has been found wintering as far south as Nubia. The 
 Siberian Song-Thrushes apparently winter in South Persia. 
 
 The home of the Song-Thrush is the woods and hillsides, the banks of 
 streams, an<J*all sheltered places where brushwood abounds. Near dwell- 
 ing-houses the "Throstle" is a common bird, frequenting orchards, 
 gardens, and hedgerows ; in fact, wherever we find the Blackbird we may 
 
214 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 expect to find the Song-Thrush. Like that bird, his favourite haunt is the 
 bright glossy foliage of evergreens. Amongst the wild scenery of the High- 
 lands the Song-Thrush gladdens the moorland wastes, and his varied 
 melody is often heard amidst the mountains. 
 
 The Song-Thrush is a skulking bird, although not perhaps so much so 
 as the Blackbird. It is extremely fond of hiding under dense thickets and 
 the broad close foliage of evergreens where the branches sweep the ground. 
 It is here the birds obtain much of their food ; and in some cases regular 
 paths are made through the dense underwood, especially behind walls or 
 hedgerows, which often put you in mind of a weasel's ' ' run." Indeed the 
 Song-Thrush is, of all other birds, perhaps the most frequently caught in 
 the " figure of four" traps set for weasels, owing to its peculiar habit of 
 hopping under the brushwood. Like the Blackbird, it is flushed with diffi- 
 culty when in these situations, and always prefers to hop quickly along the 
 ground rather than take wing. When flushed it flies rapidly away, and 
 alights suddenly, as though anxious to enter the nearest suitable cover 
 and hide itself as quickly as possible. The Song-Thrush is more often seen 
 above the tree-tops than the Blackbird, and will take long and rapid flights 
 to and from its feeding-grounds at some elevation, seldom uttering a note. 
 It becomes unusually vociferous towards evening ; and its chattering cry is 
 heard well into the night. Autumn, or, perhaps, still more in the last few 
 fine days before winter fairly sets in, its garrulity is the greatest. Then 
 in the wooded depths of his roosting-place you hear his sharp cry, almost 
 like the noise made by a ratchet-drill, which he keeps up as he flits from 
 place to place long after it begins to be dark, and when most other birds 
 have retired to rest. Upon the ground the Song-Thrush proceeds in a 
 series of hops, seldom if ever running or walking. His attitude when in 
 the act of listening intently is with the wings drooping slightly, tail almost 
 horizontal, and head slightly raised ; but he never elevates his tail upon 
 alighting like the Blackbird. 
 
 More than twenty years ago Professor Newton endeavoured to show in 
 the pages of the ' Ibis ' (1860, p. 83) that the Song-Thrush was a regular 
 migratory bird in Great Britain. My own observations as well as those of 
 Dixon and others confirm this theory. This fact has been overlooked by 
 most British writers ; but continental naturalists class the bird as a regular 
 migrant. In our own country, as soon as the days oi' summer decline and 
 autumnal tints appear in the landscape, the Song-Thrush is seen in little 
 companies ; and as autumn passes away, and the fogs and chilly nights of 
 November arrive, the birds nearly all take their departure, and where they 
 once swarmed only one or two solitary individuals are to be seen. The Rivelin 
 valley, a few miles from Sheffield, is annually the scene of an unmista- 
 kable migration of the Song-Thrush. Late in autumn the birds for a few 
 days literally swarm in the Rivelin copses, where at all other times of 
 
THE SONG-THRUSH. 215 
 
 the year they are absent altogether, or nearly so. Although the birds 
 abound here so plentifully they are not at all gregarious : social they 
 may be ; yet each seems to confine itself to its own affairs, to fly off alone, 
 and apparently to live, by itself. By the latter end of January or early in 
 February, when the first faint signs of approaching spring are seen, the 
 Song-Thrushes are back once more in their old haunts. There can be 
 little doubt that they migrate, like the Redwing, in the night ; for one day 
 not a bird is to be seen in their favourite haunts, but the next their 
 mellow varied song fills the air. Instantly upon their arrival they are in 
 full song, and pairing begins at once. Heligoland is an excellent post of 
 observation for seeing the migration of the Song-Thrush. On the eastern 
 end of this interesting little rock are the " throstle-bushes." The island 
 contains scarcely any trees or shrubs, and is for the most part laid out 
 in potato-patches. These "throstle-bushes" are erected by the inhabi- 
 tants, and have a net on one side, into which the poor Thrushes are driven 
 with lanterns and sticks the instant they alight. By the side of these 
 artificial bushes the Heligolanders watch on favourable nights for the 
 arrival of the birds. Aeuckens, the bird-stuffer there, related to me 
 with great gusto how, suddenly, a rush and whirl of wings would be heard, 
 and, without a moment's warning, the throstle-bushes would swarm with 
 Thrushes, not dropped, but as if shot like an arrow from a bow perpendicu- 
 larly down from the invisible heights of mid-air. The number of Thrushes 
 thus caught is almost incredible, it being no unusual thing for several 
 hundreds to be taken in a single night, thus clearly proving to what 
 a very great extent the Song-Thrush is a migratory bird. In our own 
 land we suspect the reason this migration has been overlooked is from the 
 fact that the birds leave so quietly, and that the Redwings take their place 
 and are mistaken for them. 
 
 At feeding-time in early morning and evening the actions of the 
 Song-Thrush may be best observed. "Watch him hop cautiously from the 
 laurels, just venturing a yard or so upon the lawn, and, with body crouching 
 low amongst the grass, stand motionless for a few moments as if fearful 
 of being discovered so far out in the open. Note well his elegant and 
 sprightly form, his neat trim figure, his richly spotted breast, and large 
 bright eye, as he sits so wary, yet unconscious of your presence. See 
 him at last hop quickly forward and pull out a worm with a jerk from its 
 hole in the earth, and swallow it at once. Not a sound escapes him as he 
 hops hither and thither in search of worms, grubs, and snails, or snaps now 
 and then at a passing fly. But your careless movements have alarmed 
 him ; he crouches low and timid for a moment, and then takes himself off 
 to the cove? whence he came. Although the Song-Thrush does not feed 
 on berries so much as the Blackbird or the Fieldfare, still it eats them 
 freely in autumn and early spring, especially those of the mountain- ash, 
 
216 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the hawthorn, and the wild rose. The Song-Thrush is not so much a fruit 
 feeder as the true Ouzels. He eats a few of the wild fruits of the woods, 
 such as the blackberry, raspberry, and wild strawberry, and even visits 
 the garden in cherry-time; but his food is far more animal than vegetable. 
 The Song-Thrush is a large feeder on the snails whose pretty shells are 
 found in almost every hedgerow. In some retired situation you may not 
 unfrequently find little heaps of shell-fragments near large stones and 
 under the hedges. These shells have been broken by the Song-Thrush to 
 obtain the snails within them, and are a silent proof of the bird's usefulness. 
 This bird obtains much of its food amongst the withered leaves and marshy 
 places in woods and shrubberies, and in autumn frequents the turnip- 
 fields and cabbage-beds in search of snails and grubs. At this season of 
 the year the fields of white turnips especially abound with Song-Thrushes, 
 and you may sometimes flush them almost at every step. These birds are 
 on migration, are only resting here on their journey, and in a few days at 
 most will be again on their way to their winter-quarters. In hay-time the 
 Song-Thrush frequents the newly mown grass-lands near its favourite 
 haunts in search of worms and insects. In all parts of the field they 
 may be seen, some sitting upon the newly mown swathes, others digging 
 away amongst the short herbage. To see them now, the inexperienced 
 observer would think them gregarious birds ; but such is not the case, 
 and, as soon as its wants are supplied, each returns to its haunts again, 
 alone and solitary as it came. 
 
 The Song-Thrush sings very early in the year, his rich and varied notes 
 commencing as soon as he arrives in his old haunts. From this time 
 forward he warbles incessantly up to the moulting-season in July, when, 
 by the way, birds of the year may often be heard making attempts at song. 
 Dixon writes of the Song-Thrush: "In Great Britain the ' Throstle's ' 
 song is the favourite music of the country, as well known as it is dear to 
 the hearts of all who have opportunity of listening to its strains. Amongst 
 all the ranks of our feathered musicians we cannot find a bird whose 
 melody is so pleasing and varied as that of the ' Throstle.' His notes may 
 be said to be almost endless in variety, each note seemingly uttered at the 
 caprice of the bird, and without any perceptible approach to order. The 
 Song-Thrush warbles throughout the day ; but morning and evening are 
 the times that his melody seems the best, and when he sings in largest 
 numbers too. Stray, gentle reader, into his haunts at the dawn of day, 
 when the first streak of morning appears glimmering over the eastern 
 horizon, and surrounding objects are beginning to assume a more decided 
 outline against the grey morning sky ; then you will be greeted with his 
 few first notes, his first attempt at music since the previous evening. 
 Gradually it swells into a lovely song, and is carried for half a mile or 
 more along the valley by the gentle zephyrs of early morn. Shortly you 
 will hear another from a neighbouring tree; another and another are 
 
THE SONG-THRUSH. 217 
 
 heard in rapid succession as the day spreads widely around ; and finally 
 the air seems laden \vith their joyous notes, now intermingled with the 
 charming song of the Robin and Wren, and the rich and flute-like tones 
 of the Blackbird, the whole forming a perfect plethora of music Nature's 
 morning concert, the morning anthem of the woods and fields. Or should 
 his morning melody not suit your convenience, pay his haunt a visit as the 
 sun nears the western horizon ; hear his requiem to the parting day. It 
 may not please so much as his morning song; for then there is a 
 freshness and a vigour throughout all animated nature that probably gilds 
 his performance with a higher charm and lends it an additional sweetness. 
 Still its rich modulations, its infinite variety, and its soothing strains 
 will give unspeakable delight, should the love, the poetry of nature be at 
 all prominent in the soul. Listen, then, to its sweetness till the evening 
 has wrapped the woods in gloom, or the night mist creeps round the moun- 
 tains, hiding the speckled songster from your view ; for he will warble so long 
 as the last streaks of day are visible. But darkness does not always stay 
 his music; and in the hours of midnight, notably near the summer solstice, 
 when the dawn is spreading almost as soon as the twilight leaves the western 
 sky, he will sit and warble too. There is no monotony in the notes of the 
 Song-Thrush ; they are for ever on the change ; and when the birds are 
 numerous and full of song, the effect produced is indeed a grand one, and 
 far beyond the art of the most graphic pen to describe." 
 
 The Song-Thrush delights to sing when the soft summer showers are 
 falling. He will perch among the branches under the broad leaves, or 
 sometimes under a projecting rock, and there warble for hours. He has 
 also been known to sing most vigorously during severe thunderstorms. 
 
 The Song-Thrush is a remarkably tame and confiding bird. It is their 
 music which make him and the Sky-Lark so prominent. At most times of 
 the year he is a skulking bird ; but as soon as the first signs of the coming 
 spring warn him to chose a mate, he forgets his life of seclusion. Perch- 
 ing on the topmost branches of trees and shrubs, even on walls and 
 other exposed situations, he then fills the air with his rich and powerful 
 notes notes so indescribably beautiful, so varied, and continued for such 
 length of time, as to irresistibly arrest the attention and win the warmest 
 admiration. A peculiarity in the song of this bird, which distinguishes 
 it from the songs of other Thrushes, is that it constantly repeats itself. 
 No sooner has it uttered three or four notes, than, apparently pleased with 
 the combination, it instantly repeats them. Then it tries another quite 
 different combination, which it as constantly repeats. The song has not 
 the rich full melody of that of the Blackbird ; but it is infinitely more 
 varied and generally more prolonged. The call and alarm notes of the 
 Song-Thrush are somewhat varied. Its call-note is a peculiar low cry, 
 something like a Redwing's ; its note when alarmed is a harsh guttural 
 cry, more like a low scream than any thing else ; and its alarm-notes when 
 
218 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 its nest is approached, or when disturbed at roost, are harsh chattering 
 cries, almost like those of the Missel-Thrush, yet uttered more rapidly, and 
 perhaps more metallic in sound. 
 
 One of the first birds, after winter has passed, to cross a twig as a 
 beginning of its nest is the Song-Thrush. March has scarcely arrived 
 ere we notice the first rude foundation of this charming songster's cradle. 
 We find it in every species of evergreen far more frequently than amongst 
 the branches of deciduous trees : in the trailing ivy on walls or rocks or 
 growing up the trunks of trees at various heights from the ground ; in 
 the dark-mantled yew, the laurel, and, perhaps most frequently of all, in 
 the green branches of the holly. It is also placed on the ground on banks, 
 in whitethorn trees and hedgerows, and more rarely on walls. A favourite 
 situation is against the trunk of a tree, upon a bunch of little branches 
 that partially conceal it. Here the bird may often be seen sitting close, with 
 tail pointing one way and beak the other, each at the same angle to the plane 
 of the nest, and you may pass almost under it or even catch the bird's eye 
 if you walk quietly past, without causing it to leave its eggs. The nest is 
 a bulky structure, and composed outwardly of dry grass, with generally a 
 few twigs and sometimes a little moss. This grass-formed nest is then 
 lined with a thick coating of mud or clay, and sometimes cow's dung, with 
 decayed wood as a final lining. As the Song-Thrush is the only Thrush 
 that lines its nest in this peculiar manner, a detailed description of the 
 process may not be out of place. Decaying fences and tree-roots, or 
 rotten branches torn from the trees by the wintry blasts, are the source 
 from which the bird obtains a supply of this material. When her nest 
 has arrived at a certain stage, she repairs to this decaying wood for the 
 means of completing her handiwork. She choses those logs, fences, or 
 roots already well saturated with moisture ; or failing to find them in this 
 state, she moistens the wood in the nearest water. Bit by bit it is conveyed 
 to her nest, and there, by the aid of pressure, she moulds it with her body, 
 forming a lining in some instances an eighth of an inch in thickness, and 
 which, from the warmth of the sitting bird, soon becomes hard and 
 dry. Nests are, however, met with where this lining is very scanty pro- 
 bably from the scarceness of decaying wood. When finished the nest is 
 usually left for a day or so to dry ere the first egg is deposited. Several 
 days are employed in its construction, although in rare instances it is 
 begun and finished in a single day. Dixon gives the following in the 
 article on the Song-Thrush in his ' Rural Bird-Life : ' " I found a nest of 
 the Song-Thrush in a small yew bush, and in a very exposed situation, 
 which I removed. Three days afterwards I again visited the place, and 
 was surprised to find that the birds had almost completed a fresh nest. I 
 removed this also, and visited the place the following day, when I was still 
 further surprised to find that the little songsters had almost completed a 
 third nest, so attached were the little architects to their somewhat ill-choseii 
 
THE SONG-THRUSH. 219 
 
 site. This structure, however, was removed like the former ones ; and on 
 the evening of the following day a fourth nest was there, and the bird upon it, 
 putting the finishing touches ; and an egg was laid the following day ; for I 
 could not find it in my heart to remove this their fourth piece of handi- 
 work. I may add that all the nests were excellently made." 
 
 The eggs of the Song-Thrush are four or five in number, and may 
 readily be distinguished from those of any other species of British bird. 
 They are of a beautiful clear greenish blue, marked with small spots of a 
 deep rich brown approaching to black. Eggs of this bird vary considerably, 
 both in size and markings. Many eggs (doubtless the production of the 
 older birds) are exceptionally large ; others more resemble the Redwing's 
 in size. Some eggs (though these are rare) are spotless ; others are very 
 richly spotted and blotched with reddish brown and various tints of purplish 
 grey. Eggs that are boldly blotched never have the colouring-matter so 
 intense as those on which the markings are small. They vary in length 
 from 1'16 to '95 inch, and from '9 to '7 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Song-Thrush is a very close sitter, often remaining upon her charge 
 until touched by the hand of some prying naturalist. Her conduct when 
 disturbed from the nest is similar to that of the Missel-Thrush; her 
 harsh cries and active motions, with those of her mate, awaken the 
 silent woods, and speak most plainly of the anxiety of the birds for their 
 treasure. Both birds sit upon the eggs and young, and tend their young 
 for a short time after they have left the nest. The Song-Thrush rears two, 
 and occasionally three, broods in the year, a fresh nest in all cases being 
 built for the purpose. 
 
 The general colour of the Song-Thrush's plumage is olive-brown 
 above, the wing-coverts tipped with rich buff; the under plumage is 
 whitish, with a fulvous tinge on the breast and sides, which, in addition to 
 the ear-coverts, cheeks, fore neck, chest, and flanks, are spotted with black ; 
 bill dark brown, paler at the base of the under mandible ; legs pale; hides 
 brown. The sexes are alike ; but the nesting birds are mottled all over the 
 upper surface with ochraceous buff; yet after the first moult they are like 
 their parents. The abrasion which takes place during winter and spring 
 causes the upper parts to be slightly greyer, much of the yellowish buff on the 
 breast and flanks disappears, and the spots on the underparts become smaller. 
 
 The nearest relation of the Song-Thrush is Pere David's Thrush (Turdus 
 auritus], inhabiting Northern and Western China. 
 
 This species appears not to be a migratory bird ; and probably from 
 this cause its wings have become rounder; the second primary, instead 
 of being intermediate in length between the fourth and fifth, is very little 
 longer than ^fhe seventh. The colours are darker and richer, and the spots 
 more developed. It differs also in the colour of its eggs : Prjevalskv, the 
 great Central-Asian traveller, found it breeding in North China, and 
 states that its eggs are always unspotted blue. 
 
220 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 TURDUS ILIACUS. 
 THE REDWING. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus iliacus, Sriss. Orn, ii. p. 208 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 292 (1766) ; et 
 auctorum plurimomm Latham, Bechstein, Temminck, Naumann, Gould, 
 Gray, Bonaparte, Newton, Sharpe, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Turdus mauvis, Mull. Syst. Nat. Suppl. p. 141 (1776). 
 
 Turdus illas, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat. i. p. 456 (1826). 
 
 Sylvia iliaca (Linn.), Savi, Orn. Tosc. i. p. 215 (1827). 
 
 Merula iliaca (Linn.), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 165 (1833). 
 
 Iliacus illas (Pall.), Des Murs, Traite d"Ool. p. 293 (1860). 
 
 Iliacus minor, Des Murs, loc. cit. (1860). 
 
 The Redwing may be distinguished from the Song-Thrush (the only 
 bird in Britain for which it can be mistaken) by the conspicuous creamy- 
 buff or pure white eye-stripe, its reddish flanks, and its gregarious habits. 
 Redwings are perhaps the first winter visitants to arrive on our shores : 
 they are not hardy birds ; and their susceptibility to change of temperature 
 undoubtedly influences their migratory movements. They take the place 
 of the Song-Thrush, and give life to the almost otherwise deserted fields, 
 woods, and shrubberies ; and their pleasant evening chorus and regularity 
 of movement render them prominent and pleasing objects of the winter 
 landscape. 
 
 The Redwing is a regular winter visitant to Great Britain and Ireland. 
 In the west of Scotland the bird does not arrive as soon as on the east 
 coast, and is not so numerous. This is owing to the fact that the birds 
 that winter in the British Islands, principally from Scandinavia, arrive on 
 the east coast of our islands and gradually spread themselves westwards. 
 Another reason that the birds are not so numerous is probably because the 
 districts of the extreme west are less cultivated and afford a less abundant 
 supply of food than the eastern counties. The Redwing is also a common 
 winter bird in the Hebrides, and is said to linger longer in these islands 
 than it does on the mainland. This bird is perhaps most numerous in the 
 midland and southern counties of England, where food and cover are 
 most plentiful. Instances of the Redwing remaining in Britain to breed 
 are on record ; but the gravest doubt encircles them all. Until satisfactory 
 evidence is forthcoming of this fact (the birds actually shot and the eggs 
 taken), the cautious ornithologist must question their truth and consider 
 the Redwing a winter visitant only. 
 
 The principal breeding-range of the Redwing is at or near the Arctic 
 circle throughout the Palaearctic Region, though it appears to become 
 very rare east of the Yenesay river. It winters in western and southern 
 
THE REDWING. 221 
 
 Europe, occasionally crossing the Mediterranean into Algeria. In the 
 district of Kasan on the Volga (the same latitude as Scotland) the Red- 
 wing only passes on migration. It arrives there in the early part of April, 
 remains the whole of that month and the first half of May, when it 
 again goes northwards. It reappears again in September in large flocks, 
 remaining sometimes as late as the third week in October, frequenting the 
 leafy woods of the Volga islands, which abound with wild rose and 
 mountain-ash, the birds sometimes mixing with the Song-Thrushes, which 
 are there on migration too. In Asia it has been found sparingly in winter 
 in Persia, Turkestan, and North-west India. In the valley of the Petchora 
 Harvie-Brown and I found it as far north as lat. 68. The Redwing 
 frequents the birch-region and the upper zone of the pine-region, occurring 
 in limited numbers south of the Arctic circle in many places where these 
 trees are found, in South Norway and Sweden and on the Russian shores 
 of the Baltic. It is the most northerly in its range of any of the Thrushes, 
 and occasionally wanders as far as Greenland. 
 
 In the valley of the Yenesay it reached the Arctic circle on the 5th of 
 June, a few days before the Fieldfare, and soon began to breed in the 
 willows and birches, generally nearer to the ground than the Fieldfare 
 did. In lat. 71, beyond the limit of forest-growth, it was still common, 
 but breeding on the ground. I took several of its nests on the sloping 
 banks of the tundra, a little further north than any of the five other 
 species of Thrush which I found in the same valley. I never found it 
 breeding in colonies ; but sometimes, in an unusually swampy part of the 
 forest, where the pines were small and stunted, several nests would occur 
 at comparatively short distances from each other. In Lapland, as well 
 as in Russia and Siberia, I found the Redwing commonest where the 
 trees were small, and where open swampy ground separated the forest into 
 plantations. The richness of the foliage in these localities and the 
 brilliance and profusion of the wild flowers reminded me of an English 
 garden run wild ; and the presence of the Redwing and other song-birds 
 assisted in the reminiscence, and added greatly to the charm. 
 
 The winter haunt of the Redwing is, as a rule, the most cultivated parts 
 of the country well-wooded parks, pleasure-grounds, and shrubberies, 
 and the adjoining pasture-lands. When once these birds arrive in a 
 certain district, they usually remain there throughout the time of their 
 sojourn in this country roosting in one certain favourite place, feeding 
 on certain pastures, and, in fact, as regular in their habits and movements 
 as the Rooks themselves. The favourite haunt of the Redwing is a 
 
 sheltered valley down which a little brooklet runs, with trees scattered 
 
 % ' 
 
 here and tnere, and tall hedgerows of thorn and hazel. They are very 
 partial to small parks thickly timbered and studded with clumps of white- 
 thorn trees, with here and there a cluster of hollies or a dense shrubbery, 
 
222 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 whither they repair at nightfall to roost. They prefer districts where the 
 evergreens are dense and plentiful laurels, yews, and hollies a century 
 old or more, and the intervening space between them taken up by thick 
 underwood and forest trees, and where huge sycamores, elms and beeches, 
 oaks and horsechestnut form a regular labyrinth of arboreal seclusion. 
 They feed in the lands adjoining, pasture and turnip-fields, stubbles and 
 meadows, with here and there a " summer fallow." In a district like this, 
 from October till April, the Redwing is a common bird. In the daytime 
 they frequent the pastures ; and when the dusk is falling they seek the 
 evergreens of the gardens and shrubberies. Regularly every year the birds 
 will come, and, if they are not molested, remain stationary throughout the 
 winter, giving animation by their presence to the landscape, and filling 
 the wintery air with their cheerful pleasing notes. But the Redwing has 
 other haunts, quite as dear to it as those in our own land. In spring 
 the Redwings seek the northern forests for the purpose of propagating 
 their species. In Scandinavia they frequent the fir- and birch-woods. 
 Here amongst these scattered forests, which lie at the feet of the high 
 stony ranges of the fells, the Redwing finds a summer home. Wild and 
 romantic are its breeding-grounds plains and valleys, meadow and culti- 
 vated land, and dells covered with the marsh-loving alder and willow and 
 birch trees growing in wildest luxuriance. Vast morasses, rivers, inland 
 lakes whose margins are fringed with a heavy growth of various reeds and 
 sedges, forest lands, meadows and plains are the features of the ever- 
 changing landscape. In such wild and secluded regions as these, the 
 border land between forest and fell, the Redwing breeds, far from those 
 busy haunts of men which the bird delights to frequent so confidingly 
 when the blasts of winter render its northern home untenable. 
 
 The migrations of the Redwing form a prominent feature in its life- 
 history. When the woodlands are painted with the ruddy hues of autumn 
 and the corn is garnered, the first flocks of the Redwing may be looked for. 
 They come to our islands during the latter days of October although their 
 arrival is very irregular ; for occasionally Redwings come in the opening 
 days of the month, yet in other seasons not a bird has arrived until the 
 first week in November, the state of the season possibly influencing their 
 movements. Redwings, like Song-Thrushes, perform their migrations 
 under the cover of darkness. On the clear starlight nights of October 
 their peculiar call-notes may be often heard as the birds flit across the sky 
 above, invisible of course in the gloom. The Redwing's early arrival on 
 our shores, as compared with that of the Fieldfare, is attributable to two 
 causes. In the first place Redwings are more susceptible to cold than 
 Fieldfares ; and, secondly, they are more exclusively insectivorous. At 
 their arrival Redwings are exceedingly shy and wary ; but after a 
 few weeks this natural shyness of disposition is overcome, and they are 
 
THE REDWING. 223 
 
 then one of the most trustful members of this charming family of choristers. 
 Towards the latter end of March the Redwings visibly decrease in number, 
 and as the month of April approaches they rapidly leave us for the 
 north ; flock succeeds flock ; and by the middle of the month few are left 
 behind. 
 
 Redwings remain perhaps later on their feeding-grounds than any other 
 British Thrush. As you wander over their favourite pastures at nightfall, 
 when most other birds have gone to rest, you will often flush the Red- 
 wings from their evening meal. Here and there they rise from the 
 herbage, uttering their plaintive whistling note, fly quickly off, and are 
 soon lost in the gloom. If disturbed on the pastures in the daytime they 
 rise irregularly, and when in the air there is none of that uniformity or 
 precision of movement observable which is so characteristic of the Common 
 Starling. Redwings pass through the air on rapid wing, often at a con- 
 siderable elevation; and their flight is rather undulating, being performed 
 by a series of quick flappings, with short intervals between, when the 
 wings are closed, and during which they descend a little out of the direct 
 line of flight. Sometimes, however, Redwings perform en masse the most 
 graceful evolutions in the air, almost like a flock of Starlings. This is 
 usually the case when they are disturbed from their roosting-places. They 
 wheel and manoeuvre in the air, and pass round and amongst the topmost 
 branches of the forest trees, occasionally dipping near to the earth or 
 alighting on the top of some tall tree, until the cause of the disturbance 
 vanishes, and they can seek their nightly perches in peace. As a rule, 
 except when a flock is going to roost, the Redwing is not a noisy bird ; 
 and when a whole tree-top is covered with them only one or two notes will 
 be heard. How different from a flock of Starlings or Bramblings ! who 
 seem to delight in making as much noise as possible when congregated 
 together. 
 
 Redwings are found in the same localities year after year, and nightly 
 seek the same places for repose. A dense and impenetrable shrubbery is 
 a favourite roosting-place for the Redwing, sometimes for years, especially 
 where the evergreens and tangled brushwood are so dense as to make 
 passage through them almost impossible ; and where the tall sycamore and 
 elm saplings and the gigantic forest trees whose rugged stems and limbs are 
 covered with ivy almost like a winter foliage make the place a suitable one 
 in all respects for the concealment and shelter of bird-life, in such a place 
 the timid Bullfinches pipe to each other, the Greenfinches, Chaffinches, and 
 Bramblings congregate in incredible numbers at nightfall, the Ring-Doves 
 and the Titmice are found in greatest plenty, and occasionally the Field- 
 fare, the Jar* and the Magpie are seen amongst the branches. Early in 
 the evening a few Redwings may be seen sitting quietly on the neighbour- 
 ing tree-tops, their forms coming sharply out against the clear western 
 
224 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 sky. The night may be a frosty one, snow lying thickly on the ground, 
 and the broad-leaved laurels bending under their snowy wreaths. But just 
 as evening merges into night, and the moon assumes her borrowed rays, 
 the birds come in flocks from the pastures, their wings rustling in the still 
 evening, and their call- and alarm-notes filling the air around with tumult. 
 Down they settle on the tallest underwood, choosing the sapling trees, 
 where they can best survey the vicinity ere entering the evergreens. One 
 by one they quit these perching-places, or drop quickly down from the 
 surrounding tree-tops, and seek their roosing-places, scattering the snow 
 from the branches as they enter, which falls like bits of ice upon the crisp 
 covering below. Numbers retire to the ivy, others to the yew, whilst 
 many seek the gloomy sprays of the holly. Now and then one will enter 
 the bush under which you are stationed, but, noticing your presence, will 
 quickly seek more suitable quarters. Others come up and perch so 
 silently close to your head that their presence is only revealed when one 
 of them utters its cry of alarm as it takes wing, and you see the sapling 
 quivering from its hasty departure. The air above is resonant with their 
 plaintive whistling call-notes as the birds continue to arrive to seek a 
 suitable resting-place. Almost imperceptibly they settle down to rest : their 
 cries become fewer and fewer; the birds are more rarely seen; and finally the 
 woods are wrapped in silence. During the night the Redwing is as much 
 gregarious as in the day. Numbers seek the same bush in which to roost ; 
 and you will often see them billing each other, sitting close together, and 
 preening each other's feathers, as in the pairing-season. 
 
 The food of the Redwing, during its winter sojourn in the British Islands, 
 is composed of worms, snails, beetles, various insects, and berries. The 
 Redwing feeds on the open pastures, and never resorts to bushy places, or 
 the ground under hedgerows and near walls, as the Song-Thrush does ; nor 
 is it seen in gardens, unless on the evergreen trees and shrubs, or when 
 hard pressed for food. The partiality of the Redwing for worms and insect 
 food is no doubt the primary cause of its permanent residence in one certain 
 neighbourhood throughout the period of its stay ; and the bird is not nearly 
 so much a berry feeder as is supposed. True, upon their arrival we find 
 them regaling themselves on the fruit of the service-tree ; but this only 
 occurs for a few weeks, and then for the most part they are only seen on 
 the grass-lands. As a proof of this fact, the actions of the Redwing in 
 the severe winter of 1879-80 may be adduced. The lands which they 
 most love to frequent are the marshy meadows in which worms and insects 
 occur so plentifully. As these marshy places began to freeze the Redwings 
 were more and more confined in their feeding-range. Each little swampy 
 place was searched for food, and as surely abandoned when the frost closed 
 it. Manure-heaps were then visited by the distressed birds, until a heavy 
 fall of snow buried these places deep beneath it. All this time the Red- 
 
THE REDWING. 225 
 
 wings were becoming poorer in condition, more feeble, and still more 
 tame and confiding. But the frost still continued, and they repaired to 
 the banks of the running streams and brooklets; numbers perished; 
 numbers were caught by hand ; and eventually they disappeared from 
 many districts altogether, having most probably joined the vast flocks 
 of their congeners that were incessantly passing over the snow-covered 
 landscape in a direct line southwards. Nevertheless the bushes and 
 hedgero'.rs abounded with berries, the Fieldfares seemed scarcely to -suffer 
 from the frost, and were always to be seen feeding upon them. It can 
 be only as a last resource, therefore, that the Redwing becomes a berry 
 feeder, except in the autumn when the luscious fruit of the service-tree 
 is ripe. Its winter food is worms and insects ; and where these are to be 
 found the birds will only repair to the bushes and trees when alarmed or 
 in order to roost. The Redwing also feeds on various species of snails. 
 It is a pleasing sight to watch a flock of these birds searching the grass- 
 lands for food. How nimbly they hop amongst the frosted grass, ever in 
 motion, thorough Song-Thrushes in attitude and action, occasionally taking 
 short flights or starting up to look warily round. They are scattered 
 over the entire field, and each is busy searching for its food. If alarmed 
 they fly oif in small parties and take refuge in the topmost branches of 
 the nearest trees, and, when the danger is passed, leave their elevated 
 perching-places in the same manner. First one will fly boldly down ; 
 others follow, and so on, until the whole flock is again engaged feeding 
 as before. One or two birds sometimes remain behind in the trees near to 
 which the main flock is feeding. These do duty as sentinels, and utter 
 alarm-notes on the approach of danger, at which the birds take wing. 
 Even if fired at, the Redwing will soon return to its favourite feeding- 
 ground. 
 
 The rich wild notes of the Redwing are always pleasant to the ear as they 
 are borne hither and thither by the breeze. True, the song may not be so 
 varied as that of the Song-Thrush, nor so rich and powerful as that of the 
 Blackbird, nor yet so wild and free as the " Stormcock's " lay ; but it has 
 a rich sweetness about it which justly calls forth the praises of all who 
 have had the pleasure of listening to the strain. Its low warbling song 
 is usually preceded by whistling call-notes, or a few guttural cries, as the 
 bird sits 011 the topmost spray of a pine tree. Dixon gives an instance of 
 this bird singing in this country ; he writes : " I know not whether the 
 song of this bird is frequently heard in the winter months; but with me 
 it is certainly of the rarest occurrence. I have given the birds my 
 closest attention ; but their song has only once greeted my ear. It was one 
 of those sunny days in December, when every thing around almost put me 
 in mind of the coming spring the Robin chanting his delightful notes far 
 up in the naked branches, and the little Wren pouring forth his jerking 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
226 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 song from the undergrowth ; a number of Redwings, too, were feeding on 
 the surrounding grass fields, when one of their number flew from the rest 
 and perched on a lowly hawthorn tree some ten yards away and com- 
 menced singing. I can only compare its song to a mixture of Song- 
 Thrush and Blackcap melody, the whole being given forth in one long 
 warbling strain, varied by several harsh and guttural notes. Well does 
 the Redwing merit the title of ' Swedish Nightingale/ a title bestowed 
 upon it by the great and illustrious Linnaeus ; for still more beautiful must 
 be his song when inspired by love, still more charming will its tones appear 
 when given forth amongst the pine-clad hills of his far northern home. He 
 continued singing for a few moments, when an unlucky movement on my 
 part sent him hastily away to the company of his kindred on the adjoining 
 meadows. Redwings in the winter months are ofttimes heard warbling in 
 a subdued tone, and varying their performance by the utterance of low 
 guttural notes. This usually happens at nightfall, when the birds are 
 about to retire to rest, and sit congregated on some tree-top then you 
 have music sweet to a degree ; singly it is a poor performance, but each 
 bird's notes chime in with the rest and make music pleasing to the ear. 
 Linnets and Bramblings will often do the same thing in the winter months, 
 each bird warbling in chorus or giving a variation by uttering low mur- 
 muring cries." 
 
 The breeding-season of the Redwing commences early in June, fresh 
 eggs being found by the first week of that month, although in high 
 latitudes nests are often found containing newly laid eggs in the middle of 
 July. Though the Redwing does not usually nest in colonies like the 
 Fieldfare, still it seems to prefer the society of its larger and more powerful 
 relation; for wherever a colony of Fieldfares establish themselves, there, 
 almost as surely, a pair of Redwings will build their nest close to them. 
 In districts where trees abound the Redwing seems to show preference for 
 the small firs, where it builds its nest at no great altitude and close to 
 the stem ; but occasionally it will build upon the ground at the foot 
 of the tree, instead of in the branches. As is the case with the nests of 
 all Thrushes, it passes through three distinct stages before it is completed. 
 The birds form a loose nest of moss, dry grass, and a few fine twigs inter- 
 twined, the better to bind the materials together. This structure is then 
 lined and plastered with mud or clay ; and finally a thick lining is made 
 of fine dry grass, and sometimes a few rootless. It is neatly made, and 
 somewhat resembles the nest of the Ring-Ouzel, though it is smaller and 
 perhaps more firmly put together. The eggs of the Redwing are from four to 
 six in number, most frequently the former, and cannot easily be confounded 
 with the eggs of the other British Thrushes, on account of their smaller size. 
 The streaks or spots generally almost hide the ground-colour, and are 
 evenly distributed over the entire surface. The usual colour is a pale 
 
THE REDWING. 
 
 227 
 
 bluish green, thickly marbled over the entire surface with greenish 
 brown. Some specimens have the spots dispersed in irregular streaks and 
 blotches, like miniature Blackbird's eggs ; in others the ground-colour is 
 almost clear, except at the large end of the egg, where a zone is formed of 
 confluent brown spots ; whilst others are almost clear pea-green devoid of 
 all markings. They vary but little in size or shape, and are never large 
 enough to be mistaken for small specimens of the other eggs of this group 
 of birds, which they resemble in colour. They vary in length from I'l to 
 O9 inch, and in breadth from 0'8 to 0'7 inch. Song-Thrush's eggs are 
 often found as small ; but their peculiar tints prevent the slightest con- 
 fusion. As is the case with the Song-Thrush, the Redwing exhibits the 
 greatest anxiety when its nest is approached, especially should it contain 
 young birds. Throughout the whole laying- and hatching-season the 
 Redwing continues in full song ; his warbling strains are heard con- 
 stantly and from all parts of his haunts at all hours his melody floats 
 on the air, as though he were loth to lose a moment of the short sunny 
 Siberian summer. 
 
 The upper parts of the Redwing are olive-brown in colour, with a very 
 conspicuous pale eye-stripe extending to the nape. The underparts are pale 
 buff, shading into almost white on the belly, and into rich chestnut on the 
 flanks and under wing-coverts, and are spotted with dark brown. The bill is 
 dark brown, the legs pale, and the irides brown. Young birds are spotted 
 on both upper and underparts, and after the autumn moult have the pale 
 tips to the wing-coverts larger and more clearly defined. The breeding- 
 plumage of the Redwing is lighter than its autumn dress, and the under- 
 parts and eye-stripe whiter, and the spots have attained greater definition. 
 
 The Redwing has no very near ally. 
 
228 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 TURDUS PILARIS. 
 THE FIELDFARE. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus pilaris, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 214 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 201 (1766) ; et 
 auctorum plurimorum Latham, Gmelin, Bechstein, Pallas, Tetnminck, Ntiu- 
 mann, Gray, Bonaparte, Schlegel, Sharpe, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Sjlvia pilaris (Linn.), Savi, Orn. Tosc. i. p. 209 (1827). 
 
 Arceuthornis pilavis (Linn.'], Kanp, Natiirl. Syst. p. 93 (1829). 
 
 Merula pilaris (Linn.), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 160 (1833). 
 
 Planesticus pilaris (Linn.), Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 530 (1862). 
 
 The Fieldfare, although the colours of its plumage are sober and chaste, 
 like those of most Thrushes, is still a very fine and handsome bird; and its 
 arrival in autumn is looked forward to by observers of birds in the country 
 as the sign of the winter's advent, just as surely as the summer's approach 
 is known to be heralded by the Cuckoo and the Swallow. A regular 
 winter visitant to the British Islands, the Fieldfare is commonly distributed 
 over the cultivated districts, and as far on the uplands as the mountain- 
 farms extend. The arrival of Fieldfares in Scotland is usually noticed first 
 in the eastern counties, as it is quite natural to expect it would be, for 
 their path in autumn is south and south-westwards. A few birds are said 
 to be found on the Orkneys throughout the year, but they do not breed 
 there. On the Hebrides the Fieldfare does not arrive till midwinter, and 
 is only found on the farms and pastures in the little oases of culti- 
 vated land so sparingly scattered amongst the wide-stretching moorland 
 wastes. In Ireland these birds also arrive late, and are found commonly 
 distributed over those districts suitable to their habits and needs the 
 cultivated tracts. Fieldfares have been said to have bred in the British 
 Islands ; but until definite proofs are forthcoming it is not safe to admit 
 the truth of the statement, the birds being very liable to be confounded 
 with Missel-Thrushes by careless observers. The Fieldfare has a some- 
 what more southerly breeding-range than the Redwing. It breeds in the 
 Arctic circle, extending up to, and occasionally beyond, the limit of forest- 
 growth, and in north-temperate Europe as far south and west as the basin 
 of the Baltic, and throughout Siberia as far east as the watershed of the 
 Yenesay and the Lena. Its occurrence in Iceland is doubtful; but it has 
 been occasionally met with on the Faroes. It winters in Southern Europe, 
 occurring very rarely in the Spanish peninsula, but crossing the Mediter- 
 ranean to Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Nubia. In Asia it winters in 
 Turkestan and Cashmere ; and one specimen at least has been obtained at 
 Simla, in the North-west Himalayas. 
 
THE FIELDFARE. 229 
 
 The Fieldfare's haunts in Britain are varied ones. A thorough wanderer, 
 it is seen almost everywhere; either passing over on its journeyings from 
 place to place, or stationary as long as its food is to be obtained. It 
 prefers the isolated woods and pastures to shrubberies, although in severe 
 weather it is often seen amongst evergreens, in company with the Redwing. 
 These birds also frequent the well-cultivated districts, seeking their food 
 on the tall hedges; and occasionally a few stragglers come quite close 
 to the houses to feed on the hawthorns in the gardens. As long as the 
 weather keeps open, the Fieldfares seem to shun man's presence almost 
 entirely ; but the first severe fall of snow, the first sharp frost, brings them 
 " in " in great numbers. 
 
 The first visit to the breeding-place of the Fieldfare is an event in the 
 life of an ornithologist never to be forgotten. As you drive along the 
 excellent Norwegian roads in the carioles or light gigs of the country, 
 through the pine-forests or by the side of the cultivated land near the 
 villages, there is little in the bird-life to remind you that you are not in 
 one of the mountainous districts of England. As you approach the 
 Dovrefjeld, however, the ground rises, the pines become smaller, and the 
 hill-sides are sprinkled over with birch trees. Xow is the time to look out 
 for the Fieldfare. Presently the long watched-for tsak, tsak is heard. You 
 tie your horse to the nearest tree, climb the hill-side whence the sound 
 came, and presently find yourself in a colony of Fieldfares. The birds 
 make a great uproar as you invade their domain, but soon escape beyond 
 gunshot, and their distant tsak, tsak is the only sound you can hear. 
 Your natural impulse is to ascend the first tree where you can see a nest, 
 which is almost sure to be placed in the fork of a birch against the trunk 
 and the first large branch. Close by are sure to be many more nests, 
 some built on the flat horizontal branch of a pine ; and outlying nests 
 belonging to the colony will be found for some distance all round. 
 
 As you go further north the colonies become smaller ; and as the limit 
 of forest-growth is approached beyond the Arctic circle, the Fieldfare can 
 scarcely be called a gregarious bird. On the tundra, in the absence of 
 birch trees or larches, it breeds on the ground, choosing a niche under the 
 turf on the edge of a cliff, exactly as the Ring-Ouzel so frequently does. 
 In the valley of the Petchora we did not see the Fieldfare north of lat. 68 ; 
 but in the valley of the Yenesay I found a nest in lat. 69, and saw the 
 birds up to lat. 7(H ; in the former locality it arrived at the Arctic circle 
 on the 17th of May, and in the latter on the 8th of June. 
 
 The Fieldfare arrives on our shores a little later than the Redwing in 
 the last week of October, or, perhaps more frequently, in the beginning of 
 November. **It is, however, a difficult thing to give the exact date of this 
 bird's appearance ; for its wandering mode of life in this country baffles 
 precise observation, and renders a record of the exact date of its arrival 
 
230 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 almost an impossibility. Like the other members of this group of birds, 
 the Fieldfare migrates for the most part at night, and usually at a 
 considerable height; but Dixon noticed its arrival during the day on 
 the east coast of England. He writes : " On the low-lying stretch of 
 shore from Skegness to Boston I well remember to have once seen this 
 bird arrive in countless numbers. The season was late autumn, the 28th 
 of October ; and the wind was light from the north-west. Throughout the 
 whole day the birds were passing over in flocks, in company with Sky-Larks, 
 Golden Plovers, and a few Redwings ; and during the ensuing night, whilst 
 we were out on the mud-flats wild-fowl shooting, their peculiar harsh and 
 startling cries were heard as the great tide of migration continued, unim- 
 peded by darkness, across the gloomy sky above." 
 
 When the first heavy fall of snow is lying on the ground, a walk 
 abroad will probably cause you to make the acquaintance of the Fieldfare. 
 There is something about the first heavy fall of snow peculiarly attractive 
 and interesting to the naturalist in fact to all who take a delight in 
 rural scenes. The whole landscape then bears a strange novel look ; it is 
 something fresh ; and, what is more, bird-life in the snow is an interesting 
 study. If you stroll out into the woods on a wintery morning, before the 
 first freshness of the snow-storm has passed away, a dreamy quietness 
 seems to be everywhere; animals that betrayed their presence amongst 
 the autumn leaves when the ground was bare, now steal silently away, and 
 every thing seems changed by the sudden transformation of a night. The 
 broad-leafed laurels and the dense yews and hollies bend under their heavy 
 pall of dazzling whiteness. Here and there on the trunks of the forest- 
 trees the snow has lodged in the rifts of the bark, and each branch and 
 twig of the hedgerows is clothed in a fair frost-work of silver filagree, 
 whilst overhead the network of branches comes indistinctly out against 
 the leaden sky above. Animals are now betrayed by their tracks upon the 
 snow. Here a hare has crossed, and, doubling, has passed over the 
 turnips, and found her ' ' seat " in some warm hedgerow. There a weasel 
 has come from the stone-heap, and, in irregular march, has entered the 
 shrubbery. The Blackbird has hopped out onto the snowy lawn, in vain 
 search for a scanty sustenance; and on an old stump a Robin has 
 perched, to warble his morning song. The " spoor " of each is now made 
 plain the tell-tale snow reveals them all. But if you want to see the 
 Fieldfares you must not look for them on the ground, but in the hawthorn 
 trees. Long before you approach them they probably take wing in a 
 straggling train, scattering the snow in showers from the twigs, and their 
 harsh notes of tsak, tsik, tsak ring clearly out on the bracing frosty air. 
 From tree to tree they fly before you, always keeping out of gunshot, or, 
 if thoroughly alarmed, mounting into the air, and, in a widely scattered 
 flock, taking themselves off to a distance, their dark forms appearing large 
 
THE FIELDFARE. 231 
 
 against the sky as they quickly pass away. The flight of the Fieldfare is 
 not particularly rapid, but is straight forward, and with but little undula- 
 tion, and is performed by a series of quick flapping movements. Some- 
 times the birds will go through a number of graceful evolutions in the air 
 before alighting on a favourite pasture. When alarmed, they Qy to the 
 nearest tree-tops, where they sometimes join in a melodious concert, like 
 Redwings, although just as frequently they will fly straight away. But 
 the Fieldfare is far the oftenest seen in the branches. Like the Missel- 
 Thrush, with whom they often associate, they haunt the berry-bearing 
 trees and shrubs ; and as soon as the stock of food is exhausted in one 
 locality they commence their nomad life again, and are off in search of 
 more suitable pastures. At nightfall the Fieldfare is found in the shrub- 
 beries and near the evergreen trees and bushes, where it retires to roost. 
 Like the Redwing and the Blackbird, the Fieldfare becomes vociferous at 
 the approach of dusk, and its peculiar chattering cry and low guttural call- 
 notes are heard well into twilight. It has been said that the Fieldfare 
 roosts upon the ground ; but this is undoubtedly from necessity, not from 
 choice ; for the bird, though, like all other Thrushes, for the most part a 
 ground feeder, has none of the characteristics of ground-birds, as the 
 Larks and Pipits, and where evergreens are at hand it always avails 
 itself of their shelter. Instances are alleged of these birds having been 
 flushed from the stubbles or the pastures at dusk; but this is the 
 Fieldfare's feeding-hour ; and if shrubberies be near at hand, it is there 
 they spend the night. 
 
 The Fieldfare is less exclusively insectivorous than the Redwing. In 
 winter these birds are sometimes found upon the stubbles and wilder 
 pastures (places the Lark loves to frequent), where they consume the scat- 
 tered grain, and pick out the seeds of the various grasses. But they also 
 search at times the marshy meadows and pasture-lands for snails, worms, 
 and beetles; and if the frost lasts long and vegetable food is hard to. find, 
 they will haunt the banks of the running streams for the sake of the 
 scanty insect-fare they afford. In winter the Fieldfare seems most at 
 home amongst the branches of berry-bearing trees and shrubs. He is then 
 a thorough berry feeder, and all the winter fruits form his fare. He is 
 often seen in the mountain-ash, or in amongst the dense thickets of wild 
 rose and bramble, where the " hips " grow the thickest ; but the food he 
 loves best appears to be the berries of the hawthorn. It is a pleasing 
 sight to see a flock of Fieldfares, when the ground lies inches deep in 
 snow, in the dense branches of these trees, obtaining the berries which 
 hang in such tempting clusters from almost every twig. It is difficult to 
 say when tnese trees look best in the spring, when they look almost 
 as white as the driven snow, and their delicate foliage shines like emeralds, 
 or in the winter, when their rich red fruit sets off the leafless branches. 
 
232 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Under the trees the berries lie in all directions, for the birds drop or knock 
 off almost as many as they eat ; and the stones are ever falling as they are 
 dexterously shelled out by the feeding birds above. The Fieldfare's 
 summer food is insects, worms, caterpillars, and grubs, and on its arrival at 
 its breeding-grounds in high latitudes the fruit of the various moorland 
 berries that are preserved by the snows of winter. 
 
 Although the Fieldfare warbles occasionally during its winter sojourn 
 amongst us, still its love-song is only heard amongst the wild scenery of its 
 northern haunts. About the end of April or the first week in May the 
 Fieldfare quits British shores for the north ; and upon its arrival its love- 
 song commences. This bird is not a free singer at all ; and his song is for 
 the most part confined to the pairing-season. It is often commenced when 
 the bird is on the wing a wild desultory warble, which he often supple- 
 ments on his perch by notes reminding one of the peculiar chatter of the 
 Starling. From all parts of the forest the birds are heard to sing ; and 
 their wild carols break the stillness of the daily lessening arctic twilight. 
 By many persons the Fieldfare is thought to be a songless bird ; others 
 speak but poorly of his musical attainments. But the former have evidently 
 missed the season of the bird's melody ; and the others have possibly been 
 too much accustomed to more ambitious songsters to do justice to his simple 
 strains. The Fieldfare's love-song is a pleasant addition to the thousands 
 of songsters that make the Arctic summer so gay and lively. The call or 
 alarm-note of the Fieldfare is a sharp chattering cry a kind of laughing 
 cackle several times repeated, and uttered most frequently during the 
 breeding-season ; and in the winter it is often heard to utter a low guttural 
 warble, usually at roosting-time. 
 
 The Fieldfare builds its nest in the branches of the birch, the alder, 
 or the pine at various elevations from the ground. Sometimes, though 
 rarely, it is placed in outhouses, in situations similar to those which our 
 own Blackbird would choose, or in heaps of rubbish or low bushes only a 
 foot or so from the earth. Nesting-operations usually commence about the 
 third week in May ; and eggs may be obtained from that date up to the 
 first week in July. This bird is very irregular in breeding. You may not 
 unfrequently take young birds and newly laid eggs from the same colony. 
 The nest is very similar to the Blackbird's or the Ring-Ouzel's in construc- 
 tion and materials. The outside is made of coarse dry grass, with some- 
 times a few birch-twigs or a little moss interwoven, then plastered with 
 mud, and finally lined with a thick bed of fine grass. The eggs are 
 from four to six in number, and, in rare instances, as many as seven or as 
 few as three. None of our British Thrushes' eggs vary so widely as do the 
 eggs of the Fieldfare. The average type of egg is bluish green in ground- 
 colour, thickly marbled, speckled, and blotched over the entire surface with 
 rich reddish brown, the spots being the densest on the larger end, in fact 
 
THE FIELDFARE. 233 
 
 resembling a very handsome Blackbird's egg. Some varieties are pale 
 greenish, with the spots and streaks distributed equally over the whole 
 surface and very pale and indistinct, like the duller eggs of the Blackbird ; 
 in others the egg is paler in ground-colour, but thickly and boldly blotched 
 with reddish brown, like typical eggs of the Ring-Ouzel; while yet, again, 
 specimens are more rarely met with almost as blue as Song-Thrush's, and 
 with but one or two streaks of liver-brown on the larger end. They vary 
 in length from T35 to T02 inch, and in breadth from *9 to '7 inch. When 
 their nests are approached the birds often become very noisy and behave 
 like Missel-Thrushes, flying round the head of the intruder, and en- 
 deavouring to drive him away from their haunt. This conduct is more 
 noticeable should the nests contain young birds ; but their constitutional 
 shyness soon prevails over their parental instincts, and before you have 
 climbed your second tree, all trace of the Fieldfares has vanished, except 
 the sound of their tsak, tsak in the distance. 
 
 When the young quit the nest they still keep in their parents' company, 
 wandering about the edges of the woods and open localities, appearing 
 in the morning and evening on their feeding-grounds, retiring to the 
 thickets at noon and at nightfall. Their food now is principally insects ; 
 but in July, when the wild strawberries are ripe, these constitute 
 their principal fare. This regular mode of life continues throughout this 
 month until the latter end, when the moulting-season commences. By 
 the end of August the moult is over, and the birds begin to flock, and then 
 their regular nomad life commences. They frequent all the large woods, 
 and draw near to those districts where the rowan tree and the wild rose 
 abound, on the berries of which they live for the most part, until the 
 autumn sends them southwards to their winter haunts. 
 
 The upper parts of the Fieldfare are slate-grey, except the wings and 
 tail, which are dark brown, and the head, which is spotted with black. 
 The centre of the back is dark chestnut-brown. The throat and breast 
 are rich brown, and the centre of the belly is pure white. With the ex- 
 ception of the centre of the belly, the whole underparts are spotted and 
 marked with rich brown. The bill is yellow, feet and legs black, and irides 
 very dark brown. The female resembles the male. Upon its arrival in this 
 country the bird has very broad margins to the feathers of the lower parts, 
 giving it a pale appearance ; in fact they are newly-moulted feathers ; but 
 after the winter has passed these edges are cast and the spots are more 
 clearly defined, leaving the bird in its nuptial dress. Like the young of 
 all other Thrushes, the Fieldfare is spotted on the back when it leaves the 
 nest, but moults again with its parents, before it migrates, almost into 
 fully adult pTumage. 
 
 The Fieldfare has no very near ally. 
 
234 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus MERULA. 
 
 The genus Merula, though foreshadowed by Brisson, was only half 
 adopted by Gerini, and dates a doubtful pedigree from 1816, when Leach, 
 in his ' Systematic Catalogue of the Mammals and Birds in the British 
 Museum/ adopted the prse-Linnsean name of Merula nlgra for the Blackbird. 
 As this species is also the Turdus merula of Brisson and Linnaeus, there 
 can be no doubt that it is the type of the genus Merula. 
 
 The Ouzels differ from the Ground-Thrushes in not possessing the 
 peculiar wing-pattern of those birds, and from the Thrushes in having the 
 adult male either quite different from the female, or without any streaks 
 on the throat. 
 
 The genus Merula contains about fifty species. The Neotropical and 
 Oriental Regions contain about fifteen species each, and the Palsearctic and 
 Australian Regions about ten each, whilst in the Nearctic and Ethiopian 
 Regions the genus is unrepresented. Only two species breed in Europe 
 (both of them in England) ; but several of the Siberian Ouzels occasionally 
 wander westwards, and one of them at least has visited our shores. 
 
 The Ouzels are most of them strictly arboreal birds in their habits, 
 frequenting woods, groves, shrubberies, and well-timbered lands. They 
 are somewhat shy and retiring birds, seldom straying far from cover, and 
 are more or less sociable among themselves. Amongst this group of birds 
 we find the power of song most highly developed, no bird exceeding the 
 typical Blackbird in the rich compass of its notes. These birds all build 
 open well-constructed nests, usually made of dry grasses, twigs, moss, 
 and mud, placing them in bushes, sometimes on the ground, and more 
 rarely in the higher branches. Their eggs are from four to seven in 
 number, bluish green of various shades in ground-colour, more or less 
 richly marked with reddish brown. Their food consists of worms, grubs, 
 snails, insects, fruits, and berries. 
 
THE BLACKBIRD. 235 
 
 MERULA MERULA. 
 THE BLACKBIRD. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus merula, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 227 (17GO); Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 295 (1766); et 
 auctorum plurimorum Latham, Scopoli, Gmelin, Bechstein, Naumann, Ttun- 
 mtncJf, Vieillot, Gray, Bonaparte, Newton, Sharjye, Dresser, fyc. 
 
 Merula vulgaris, Gerini, Orn. Mdh. Dig. iii. p. 46, pi. ccxcix. (1767) ; Selby, Brit. 
 Orn. i. p. 167 (1833). 
 
 Merula nigra, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. $c. Brit. Mus. p. 20 (1816). 
 
 Merula merula (Linn.}, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Sylvia merula (Linn.), Sari, Orn. Tosc. i. p. 205 (1827). 
 
 Turdus menegazzianus, Perini, Uccdli Vtronesi, p. 56 (1858). 
 
 Turdus dactylopterus, Bp. Me Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 255. no. 3714 (1869). 
 
 The Blackbird is perhaps the most elegant in appearance of all our 
 British Thrushes, and the most graceful and sprightly in its motions. Its 
 highly developed vocal powers and its familiarity with man justly win for it 
 universal admiration ; and its neat plump form and rich song are associated 
 most closely with all rural scenes. 
 
 Throughout Great Britain, wherever trees abound, the Blackbird is 
 very commonly met with, and occasionally frequents the wild mountain- 
 wastes, but only near the upland farms or in gardens or orchards on 
 the border-lands of the moor. On the comparatively desolate Hebrides 
 the Blackbird appears but irregularly ; on some of the islands it is a 
 somewhat rare resident, whilst on others it is a winter visitant alone. 
 In Skye it occurs in fair numbers, but is not nearly so common as the Song- 
 Thrush. In all the well-wooded parts of the island you may hear his 
 mellow song in those cheerful oases of sylvan beauty that do so much to 
 relieve the wildness of moorland wastes. On the isolated rock of Ailsa 
 Craig one or two pairs of Blackbirds live ; and the Bass Rock in the Forth 
 contains a pair, so strangely out of place, where not a single bush or tree 
 exists. As cultivation advances and the wastes are gradually reclaimed, 
 the Blackbird increases his range, encroaching upon that of the Ring- 
 Ouzel. In Britain cultivation and the Blackbird are almost inseparable ; 
 and as improvement extends the birds follow in its wake, spread them- 
 selves, and take possession of haunts once sacred to the birds of the wild 
 alone. It is only in recent times that the Blackbird has extended its 
 range to the remotest of the Hebrides ; for, according to Macgillivray, the 
 bird in his tinfe did not breed upon them ; now it is a resident bird even as 
 far north as Stornoway in Lewis, owing undoubtedly to the improvement 
 and cultivation of late years. In the Orkneys it breeds ; but the Shetland 
 
236 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Isles are only visited in winter, most probably by storm-driven birds from 
 Norway, carried out of the general line of migration. It bas been 
 occasionally found on the Faroe Islands ; and in Iceland its occurrence 
 rests on two somewhat doubtful instances, one in 18.23, the other in March 
 1860. It is a resident in the Azores. The Blackbird is a more or less 
 constant resident in every country in Europe and North Africa ; but its 
 range does not extend very far north. In Norway, in consequence of the 
 milder climate caused by the Gulf-stream, it breeds up to the Arctic circle ; 
 but in Russia it does not appear to range further north or further east 
 than the valley of the Volga. In Asia it is found in Asia Minor, Palestine, 
 Persia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Cashmere. In the three last- 
 mentioned countries it attains a somewhat larger size, which has given 
 rise to the name of Merula maxima having been applied to the Eastern 
 form. In this race (which, according to the excellent American system 
 of nomenclature which ten years hence will also be used in this country, 
 ought to be called Merula merula, var. maxima) the length of wing varies 
 from 6'0 to 5'2 inch, whilst European birds only measure from 5'1 to 
 4'6 inch. The Blackbird is a partial migrant. In the extreme north of 
 its range it is very rare in winter, whilst in the southern portion it is 
 especially abundant at that season of the year. 
 
 The Blackbird is shy and wary ; and his haunts are chosen in situations 
 well adapted to afford him concealment and seclusion. He inhabits the 
 woodlands, plantations, dense hedgerows, gardens, and orchards ; but per- 
 haps the places he favours most are the shrubberies and thickets of ever- 
 greens. Here, where the laurels, the yews, and the hollies spread their 
 glossy branches, and the ivy festoons almost every forest-tree, the Black- 
 bird is found in greatest abundance, more especially so should lawns 
 or pasture-fields adjoin them. The Blackbird also loves the fences in 
 the fields in summer, where the vegetation is thick and close, and more 
 particularly so if small streams of water wander beside them. The briars 
 and the brambles growing most luxuriantly over the hazel-bushes, with 
 here and there a guelder rose or blackthorn bush, afford a friendly shelter ; 
 and the banks clothed densely with herbage, wild hyacinths, primroses, 
 anemones, and fern-tufts afford a fitting site for his nest. But in winter, 
 when these situations lose their verdure, the Blackbird quits them for the 
 seclusion and warmth of the evergreens in the shrubberies and gardens. 
 In spare numbers the Blackbird also frequents the upland districts, on 
 those broken tracts of country which occur between the cultivated ground 
 and the moors. Here he frequents the dense thickets of thorn and bramble 
 by the side of the little streams, or, further in the open, the tall holly 
 bushes and gorse clumps occasionally intermingled with a birch or moun- 
 tain-ash. Wherever the upland farmhouses nestle amongst clumps of trees 
 and are surrounded with a partially neglected garden or orchard, the Black- 
 
THE BLACKBIRD. 237 
 
 bird will also be found. In fact he follows man to the wilds as long as 
 sufficient vegetation exists to aflbrd him the seclusion which he loves. 
 
 The Blackbird is especially fond of swampy places and the neighbourhood 
 of water. Wherever streams with well- wooded banks occur, there just as 
 surely Blackbirds will be found ; and in the little swampy corners of woods 
 and shrubberies they congregate, sometimes half a dozen birds taking wing 
 together at your approach. Yet the Blackbird is not gregarious ; and its 
 presence here in company with its kindred is explained by a common 
 purpose, the search for the food the swamps contain ; and each bird flits 
 off solitary as it came. 
 
 Most birds become more or less vociferous at the approach of night, 
 and the Blackbird particularly so. As you wander through the shrubberies 
 in the evening, you will often hear a rustling noise amongst the withered 
 leaves under the shrubs and plants. A rustle and then a pause, another 
 more hasty movement, and at last a Blackbird dashes rapidly out, and, 
 uttering his loud harsh cry of alarm, flits oft" in unsteady flight and hastily 
 disappears again in the nearest cover. As the darkness deepens you have 
 good opportunity of watching their actions when retiring to rest. Conceal 
 yourself under the spreading branches of a dark gloomy yew tree and wait 
 patiently ; you will hear their loud cries in all directions, and catch occa- 
 sional glimpses of their dark forms flitting hither and thither in the gloom : 
 j)i/ik-j/nik-j)ink, tac-tac-tac, is heard on every side. Now a bird comes flut- 
 tering into the bush under which you are concealed, and his notes startle 
 you by their nearness. A short distance away another answers : another 
 and another in different directions also swell the noisy clamour; and you 
 hear on every side their fluttering wings amongst the evergreens around 
 you. As night comes on and all objects lose outline and distinct- 
 ness, the cries cease and the birds settle down to rest. A solitary 
 bird will, perhaps, dash past just fresh from the pasture-lands outside ; or 
 a frightened bird will utter his alarm-note as he shifts his quarters ; yet all 
 else is now silent, save indeed the few last evening notes of the Robin, or, 
 perhaps, the purr of the Goatsucker. 
 
 The Blackbird is with difficulty flushed. It is a skulking bird, and 
 prefers to hop quickly under the hedgerows and brushwood rather than 
 take wing, its motions partaking more of those of a mouse or a rat than 
 of a bird. When compelled to take wing, its flight for a short distance is 
 remarkably unsteady. Turning and twisting from side to side, it dashes 
 quickly away, and, as a rule, just as suddenly and unexpectedly alights in 
 the nearest cover. Across an open place, however, the Blackbird flies 
 quite steadily, and his motion through the air is rapid. Rarely, indeed, 
 does the bird fly at any great height ; and should he be compelled to fly 
 far, he seems to prefer skulking along the hedgerows or close to the ground 
 from bush to bush rather than expose himself to view. In the pine-forests 
 
238 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 at Arcachon, where both the Blackbird and the Song-Thrush winter in some 
 numbers, it was especially noticeable that, whilst the latter were generally 
 seen in the loftiest pines, the former were exclusively found in the under- 
 wood, which there consists of furze, broom, and heath, the latter frequently 
 attaining a height of from six to ten feet. As a rule, Blackbirds are 
 extremely sedentary birds, rarely make excursions to any distance, and for 
 weeks, nay, whole seasons, regularly frequent one locality. The Blackbird's 
 nights are almost entirely restricted to those taken from or to its feeding- 
 grounds, should they not be immediately adjoining its haunts. From the 
 shrubberies to the gardens it regularly passes, especially in early morning 
 and in the dusk of the evening ; yet the bird is apparently always in a 
 hurry, and anxious to reach the shelter and seclusion of its haunt as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 There is no reason to think that the Blackbird is migratory in the 
 British Islands. Many birds shift their quarters, either from the colder 
 districts and those parts of the uplands which they haunt in summer, or 
 they quit the open fields when the hedgerows are rendered bare by the 
 wintry blasts ; but the bird is not a migrant in the accepted meaning 
 of the word. In severe winters, however, the numbers of our resident 
 birds are perceptibly increased by birds from the continent driven south 
 by stress of weather. On Heligoland, that interesting little island, of all 
 other places the best for observing the annual movements of the bird world, 
 the Blackbird is regularly obtained on spring and autumn migration, clearly 
 demonstrating the fact that the species is, at all events, a migratory one 
 in the northern portions of its range. 
 
 Morning and evening are the times when the Blackbird usually seeks 
 his food; and then you can study his graceful attitudes and sprightly 
 bearing to perfection. In spring and summer it is, for the most part, 
 obtained from the grass-lands the lawns and pastures near his haunts. 
 At the morning's dawn, or when the sun is well down in the west, 
 you can observe them with ease. One by one you may see them fly 
 rapidly out of the dense shrubbery or wood and alight amongst the grass. 
 They remain motionless for a few seconds after alighting, with legs at a 
 graceful angle, neck arched, head turned slightly aside, as if they were 
 listening intently, and tail almost at right angles to the body ; for these 
 birds, like Ring-Ouzels and Magpies, always elevate their tails upon 
 alighting. They crouch low amongst the herbage, thus presenting an 
 appearance the very model of easy though wary gracefulness and beauty. 
 Few birds are more shy while feeding than the Blackbird ; and the instant 
 he is alarmed, he either crouches lower to the ground or retires into the 
 fastnesses whence he came. The Blackbird most frequents the pastures 
 in the morning and at evening when the small white snails occur in 
 largest numbers, and the earthworms come nearer to the surface of the 
 
THE BLACKBIRD. 239 
 
 ground or crawl out completely. An animating and interesting sight, indeed, 
 it is to watch him seek his meal. As soon as he alights he pauses a moment, 
 then hops quickly forward and begins to dig for a worm, or snatches a 
 snail from the grass-stem. Then another pause with head erect, then a 
 few more rapid hops forward, and again he renews the digging motions, 
 drawing the worms from their hiding places, and, if they be too large to 
 swallow whole, breaking them in pieces. Now he is tugging away at some 
 tenacious worm, now exploring the heaps of manure in search of insects, 
 every now and then pausing in his labours to look warily around. In this 
 manner the birds will advance a hundred yards or more from their cover ; 
 but should any one of them utter its alarm-notes, the whole party 
 seek shelter, leaving the pasture in a straggling train, the boldest birds 
 sometimes tarrying until you approach them within gunshot. But all the 
 Blackbird's food is not obtained from the pastures. Lurking amongst the 
 hedgerows are numerous snails inhabiting prettily-marked shells ; these 
 the Blackbird breaks by dashing them against a stone or even the hard 
 ground. Insects and grubs are also eaten, and in autumn the berries of 
 the mountain-ash, wild rose, and elder, and also wild fruits, as raspberry, 
 blackberry, and sloe. The Blackbird is also, to some extent, a gramini- 
 vorous bird, and will feed on grain and various seeds. The bird's love for 
 fruit also makes him but a poor favourite with the gardener, who is ever 
 on the alert to kill him for the cherries, currants, gooseberries, and peas 
 that he pilfers in the season. But the bird's thefts in fruit-time are amply 
 repaid by the amount of undoubted good he does at other times of the 
 year in ridding the garden and the orchard of many of their unwelcome 
 pests. A little watching in the fruit-season is all that is necessary. His 
 good deeds amply repay his little pilferiiigs ; and his sprightly form and 
 tuneful song should be far more highly valued than a handful of fruit. 
 
 In autumn the Blackbird is often found in the turnip-fields, seeking 
 the snails and worms which abound so plentifully in the damp loose 
 soil under the broad leaves. In such numbers do the birds congregate 
 that it is no uncommon thing to flush a dozen of them on an acre of 
 turnips. Here they are flushed with difficulty, always preferring to run 
 under the leaves than to take wing, unless absolutely compelled to do so. 
 In winter the Blackbird's table is the hawthorn, whose berries form its 
 favourite food. At this season of the year it also eats the berries of the 
 misseltoe and the ivy ; yet always, when the frost is absent, it frequents 
 the grass-lands, manure-heaps, and little watercourses in search of the 
 various insects on or near them. 
 
 The song q the Blackbird is first heard in the latter part of February, 
 and continues with undiminished power until the end of May, when his 
 notes are on the wane throughout June ; and in July his mellow pipe is 
 hushed during the autumnal moult until the advent of the following spring. 
 
240 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Though rich and full in tone it possesses little variety ; but still the Black- 
 bird's melody is one of the finest of all known birds'; for what it lacks in 
 variation it makes up in compass and richness of tone. Early morning, 
 about sunrise, and after five o'clock in the evening, in the latter part of 
 April, are perhaps the times the Blackbird's powers of song are heard to 
 best advantage. On the topmost twig of some lofty oak tree, or hid away 
 amongst the foliage of the lower branches, he will sit in the dusk of early 
 morning and warble his wild flute-like song, which floats gently on the 
 still cool air, as he greets the now glowing eastern sky, and later the 
 rising sun. Then again in the evening he sings as loud and full as in the 
 morning ; and you may note that his melody is particularly charming 
 during a passing shower or thunder-storm, even in the middle of the day. 
 Although the Blackbird warbles his delightful strains at all hours of the 
 day, still it is in the morning and evening that the lover of nature can 
 pause and listen to the bird's wild strains in fullest enjoyment ; for he 
 seems to strive his best to herald the approaching day and sing its requiem 
 in his choicest tones. The Blackbird's alarm-notes have been previously 
 noticed, and resemble most closely those of the Ring-Ouzel. The call- 
 note of the male bird in the breeding-season resembles the call-note of the 
 Robin a kind of wild piping cry, indescribably plaintive and beautiful. 
 The female bird is not near so noisy as her mate. She is perhaps still 
 more skulking in her habits, and in the breeding-season especially is rarely 
 heard to utter a sound. 
 
 Blackbirds are extremely pugnacious creatures during the mating-season. 
 A little before the period of the vernal equinox it is no uncommon thing 
 to see male Blackbirds fighting with perfect fury, and chasing each other 
 rapidly through the branches until one conies off victorious and the other 
 slinks silently away. Most birds in the mating-season are more or less 
 pugnacious, although peaceable enough at other times ; but the Blackbird 
 may be often seen displaying animosity towards its own species at all 
 seasons of the year. The Blackbird pairs early in the season ; but its 
 nest is not found quite so early as that of the Song-Thrush or the 
 Stormcock. 
 
 Its chief breeding-haunts are the woods, the shrubberies, pleasure- 
 grounds, gardens, and hedgerows of the highly cultivated districts. The 
 site for the nest is a varied one, embracing at times very singular situa- 
 tions. Preference, however, is given to evergreens. Its nest is placed far 
 up the ivy-covered branches of the tallest trees, or amongst the ground- 
 ivy, in the gloomy yew-trees, snugly buried under the broad-leaved 
 laurels, hid from view in the holly's impenetrable and glossy foliage, and, 
 more rarely, in the dark and frowning branches of the cedars and the 
 pines. A favourite situation for a Blackbird's nest is amongst the ivy 
 growing on walls, especially where a few stray brambles hang over to 
 
THE BLACKBIRD. 241 
 
 support it, the materials of the nest being artfully interwoven with them. 
 It is also found pretty frequently on the ground in the banks of wooded 
 ravines, amongst fern and hyacinths, and also in hedges. In all these 
 varied situations, however, the materials of the nest are the same ; and 
 often little or no attempt is made to conceal it. Curious sites, indeed, are 
 sometimes chosen. The Blackbird has been known to make its nest on a 
 stone projecting from a wall, with no other support whatever ; in another 
 instance under the eaves of a shed ; whilst a third was placed amongst the 
 roots of a large tree, far under a bank, in just such a situation as a Wren 
 would select for a nesting-site. The nest passes through three stages 
 before it is completed. It is composed, first, of coarse grasses, amongst 
 which a few twigs are sometimes woven, a little moss, and dry leaves. 
 This somewhat loosely built structure is lined with mud or clay, when 
 it is a difficult matter to distinguish it from an unfinished iiest of the 
 Song-Thrush. This mud-formed cavity is finally lined very thickly with 
 finer grasses., admirably arranged, and forming a smooth bed for the eggs. 
 When completed and dry, the nest of the Blackbird is very firm and com- 
 pact a proof of which may be seen in the number of their nests which 
 remain intact through the storms of winter, forming refuges and larders 
 for the field-mice. In form the Blackbird's nest is somewhat shallow, 
 and is usually a large, bulky structure. The eggs of the Blackbird are 
 from four to six in number, although this is in some few cases ex- 
 ceeded, for nests have been known to contain eight eggs. They differ 
 considerably in size, form, and colour : some specimens are exceptionally 
 large, others small; some are quite pear-shaped, others almost round. 
 The usual colour is a bright bluish green, spotted, streaked, clouded, 
 and blotched with rich reddish brown and various tints of purple. Some 
 specimens have most of the spots and streaks round the large end of the 
 egg in a zone or band ; others are finely blotched ; whilst some speci- 
 mens are so highly marked as to hide all trace of the ground-colour. 
 Varieties of the Blackbird's eggs are occasionally met with very similar to 
 the eggs of the Starling, pure and spotless. Apropos of these light- 
 coloured eggs, Dixon writes that "in Derbyshire, for three successive 
 years, a pair of Blackbirds built their nest in a spreading laurel, in exactly 
 the same situation yearly ; and each season their eggs were remarkable for 
 being pale blue aud spotless. This pair of birds produced during this 
 period some thirty eggs, all similar in colour, thus affording considerable 
 proof that the colour of birds' eggs is to a great extent hereditary. I 
 have known similar instances with the Starling, the Titmouse, and the 
 Robin, where ^br several seasons the eggs have possessed certain peculiar 
 characters. The eggs vary from 1*35 to 1 inch in length, and in 
 breadth from '9 to '79 inch. The Blackbird usually rears two, and 
 sometimes even three broods in a year, nests containing newly laid eggs 
 VOL. r. R 
 
242 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 not unfrequently being found in July and early in August. The young 
 birds are fed on worms, snails, grubs, and insects ; and the parent bird 
 tends them but a short time after they quit the nest. When visiting the 
 nest with food, both male and female birds are extremely cautious ; and 
 should they obtain a glimpse of any intruder, they will sometimes fly 
 restlessly about for hours with the food in their beaks rather than betray 
 the site of the nest. Both the male and female bird assist in hatching 
 the eggs and rearing the young ; but the female is by far the most 
 frequently found upon the nest ; and she conveys the greater part of the 
 food to the young as well. In the rearing-season the male Blackbird 
 sometimes warbles as he flies through the air to and from the nest. 
 
 As a cage-bird the Blackbird is held in high esteem. Poor fellow ! he 
 bears captivity Avell ; and his tuneful melody is often heard in the densest 
 thoroughfares of the busy metropolis as the little jet-black chorister 
 warbles from his prison-home, in seemingly just as joyous a strain as his 
 wild congeners, gladdening the hearts of all who hear it, and doubtless 
 bringing to the mind of many a tired wayfarer rural scenes far away, and 
 brighter and happier times now long past and gone. 
 
 Our Blackbird's nearest relation is the South-Chinese Otizel, Merula 
 mandarina, which has the upper parts very dark brown, never quite black. 
 There are several other species of Merula in which the male is quite black 
 one in Central America, three or four in South America, and one on 
 the Samoa Islands in the Pacific Ocean ; but these may be distinguished 
 at a glance from their Palaearctic relation by their yellow legs. 
 
 As its name implies, the Blackbird is entirely black, with an orange 
 bill, a ring of orange round the eye, black legs, and hazel irides. Shake- 
 speare dispenses with long pages of description, and gives his diagnosis 
 in a single sentence : ' 
 
 " The Ouzel-cock, so black of hue, 
 With orange-tawuy bill." 
 
 Midsummer Nights Dream, Act iii. ac. 1. 
 
 The female bird differs greatly from the male, is brown with a dark 
 brown bill, and is more or less rufous on the throat and breast, which are 
 streaked with dusky black. The young birds in nestling plumage have 
 most of the feathers with pale shaft-streaks, dark tips to those of the upper 
 parts, and the under plumage with dark bars. After the first moult 
 the young birds resemble their parents ; but the males have the bill black, 
 and the females are suffused on the throat and breast with vinous red. 
 It is worthy of remark that both immature birds and old males and females 
 have a few fine hairs on the hind neck, growing quite independent of the 
 feathers; so, too, have its near ally M. mandarina and many other 
 Ouzels. 
 
THE RING-OUZEL. 243 
 
 MERULA TORQUATA. 
 THE RING-OUZEL. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus uierula torquata, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 235 (1760). 
 
 Turdus torquatus, Linn, Syst. Nat. i. p. 296 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 Gmelin, Latham, Pallas, Temminck, Gray, Newton, Sharpe, Dresser, (Gould), &c. 
 Merula torquata (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 Sylvia torquata (Linn.), Savi, Orn. Tosc. i. p. 206 (1827). 
 Copsichus torquatus (Linn.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 157 (1829). 
 Thoracocincla torquata (Linn.), Reich. Nat. Syst. pi. xliii. (1850). 
 
 The range of the Ring-Ouzel in Great Britain is pretty much restricted 
 to the moorland wastes and northern mountains. In the south of 
 England the bird is seen on spring and autumn migration, and breeds in 
 one or two localities, notably on Dartmoor. It has also been known to 
 breed in Cornwall, Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Warwick, and Leicester, and 
 in a few of the Welsh mountain-districts. From Derbyshire northwards 
 the Ring-Ouzel is a common bird on the moors, extending its range to the 
 Scottish Highlands, but is only seen on autumn migration in the Orkney 
 and Shetland Islands. Curiously enough, on the Outer Hebrides the bird 
 is unknown ; and even on the innermost western isles it is a rare bird, 
 although the ground seems eminently suitable to it. Throughout Ireland 
 in all suitable localities it is commonly found. Upon the European con- 
 tinent the Ring-Ouzel is a summer visitant to the bare rocky portions of 
 the pine-districts ; yet in most of the mountainous districts of the south 
 which the birds pass on migration numbers remain to breed. But it does 
 not appear to range further east than the Ural Mountains. Its winter- 
 quarters are the lowlands and alpine districts of South Europe, North 
 Africa, Asia Minor, and Persia. 
 
 The Ring-Ouzel is an especial favourite with most ornithologists not 
 so much from its rarity as from the localness of its distribution, and not 
 so much from any thing specially interesting in its appearance or habits 
 as from the romantic scenery of its breeding-grounds. It may be said to 
 be a mountain form of the Blackbird. The lowland species seldom ascends 
 the hills more than a thousand feet, where it is replaced by the Ring-Ouzel. 
 In the Caucasus the Ring-Ouzel frequents the rhododendron region, seven 
 thousand feet % above the level of the sea; and when I was toiling up the 
 steep ascent o*f the North Cape in Norway, in lat. 71^, I amused myself 
 Avith watching the Ring-Ouzels on the rocks. As it is not recorded from 
 Archangel, and Harvie-Brown and I did not meet with it in the valley of 
 
244 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the Petchora, we may almost assume that rocks are indispensable to the 
 Ring-Ouzel. It appears again more to the east amongst the rocks of the 
 Ural Mountains ; but its further range eastwards appears to be barred by 
 the reckless steppes of West Siberia. When the Redwing and the Field- 
 fare are on the point of departure from our shores for their northern 
 breeding-haunts, the Ring-Ouzel's bold and defiant cries are first heard, 
 and his song, carried hither and thither over the moorlands by the breeze, 
 sounds wild and sweet as, tempered by distance, it greets our ear as the 
 bird sits wary and watchful on the highest pinnacle of some projecting 
 rock. Impelled by resistless impulse, this handsome Ouzel has again 
 sought the solitudes of the moors for the purpose of rearing its young, 
 arriving towards the end of March or early in April. 
 
 The Ring-Ouzel is a somewhat remarkable bird; for although not the 
 only migratory British Thrush, still it is the only Thrush that visits our 
 country for the purpose of rearing its young ; and, in addition to this, it is 
 the only Thrush that principally confines itself to the upland wilds. A true 
 bird of the wilderness, it prefers the deepest solitudes that our land affords. 
 Truly, indeed, the Ring-Ouzel's home is a wild and romantic one. You will 
 first make his acquaintance where the heath begins, where the silver birch 
 trees are scattered amongst the rock-fragments, and the gorse bushes and 
 stunted thorns and bracken are the last signs of more lowland vegetation. 
 The scenery gets wilder, but still the bird is your companion; he flits 
 from rock to rock before you, or, by making long detours, returns to the 
 place whence you flushed him, uttering his loud, harsh, and discordant 
 call-notes. The hills of Derbyshire are one of his favourite haunts : 
 almost on the very summit of Kinder Scout, the highest peak of the High 
 Peak, nearly two thousand feet above the sea-level, the Ring- Ouzels rear 
 their young. The plateau on the summit of this wild mountain, the view 
 from which is one of the finest in the north of England, is intersected by 
 deep watercourses, the principal ones worn down to the solid rock, but 
 the greater part of them mere trenches in the peat alone, too wide to jump 
 across, and destitute of the least trace of vegetation. The innumerable 
 islands which lie in this network of " groughs," as they are locally called, 
 are covered with heath, bilberry, crowberry, clusterberry, and, in some 
 places, with cranberry, bearberry, and cloudberry. The latter plant is the 
 great feature of the wild Siberian tundras, the " maroshka" of the Russians, 
 and the " molteberre " of the Norwegians. But the botanist is not the 
 only one who finds an interest here. Bird-life is on every side; and the 
 handsome " Torr-Ouzel," as the peasant lads and herdsmen call him, lives 
 in company with the Red Grouse, the Curlew, the Peewit, and the Golden 
 Plover, which also breed in this wild upland solitude. 
 
 The Ring-Ouzel is a shy and wary bird, rarely allowing the observer 
 to approach it within gunshot, except when its nest is in danger. The 
 
THE RING-OUZEL. 245 
 
 bird flits before you, ever at a respectable distance, and, if repeatedly 
 disturbed, will take itself off with strong rapid flight to some place of 
 safety. There is much in the Ring-Ouzel's habits and movements in 
 common with those of the Blackbird, its garrulousness at nightfall, its 
 method of searching for food, its peculiar elevation of the tail upon alighting, 
 and its shy, restless, and vigilant disposition, "all being characteristic of that 
 coal-black chorister. Directly after its arrival on our shores the Ring- 
 Ouzel is sometimes observed in large flocks, not unfrequently consisting 
 of several hundred individuals. They remain gregarious for a few days, 
 frequenting the marshes and swamps before they pair and distribute them- 
 selves over the moors. At this season the birds are more vigilant than 
 ever, and, if disturbed, rise like Fieldfares and take themselves off to safer 
 and more secluded quarters. 
 
 The food of the Ring-Ouzel is varied, and is both animal and vegetable. 
 At dawn, or just as the evening's mist is stealing up the mountains, you 
 will not unfrequently see him on the wild pasture-lands of the upland 
 farms, or on the stretches of marshy grass-land, studded with rush-tufts, 
 on the moor. Here, in a precisely similar manner to the Blackbird, the 
 Ring-Ouzel seeks his food, which consists of the worms and small slugs 
 abounding in the earth and on the blades of grass. Every few moments he 
 hops forward, looks warily around, and then commences digging for his 
 prey, occasionally pausing in his labours with head erect, as if fearful of 
 discovery so far from the friendly cover of the heath. On the moor itself 
 he obtains much of his sustenance. The droppings from the cattle and the 
 sheep that pasture there abound with small beetles and insects, which the 
 bird searches for and captures, just as the Blackbird does on the lowland 
 pastures. Then, too, amongst the wild luxuriant growth of vegetation on 
 the moor, numerous shells are found ; and the snails that tenant them are 
 eaten, the bird breaking the shells, just like the Thrush or Blackbird, on 
 some convenient stone or rock. The Ring-Ouzel is also passionately fond 
 of fruits and berries ; indeed, from July to the time of his departure for 
 the south, these form his favourite fare. The wild berries of the moorland, 
 the billberry, cranberry, cluster-berry, and other fruits, are eaten, as are 
 also the berries of the mountain-ash. The gardens near the Ring-Ouzel's 
 haunts are also visited and plundered, all the smaller fruits being eaten, 
 and also the plums and cherries. Ivy-berries, elder-berries, and the 
 luscious fruit of the bramble are also part of the bird's autumn food ; and 
 the vineyards of France and Spain are visited on the bird's passage south 
 for the sake of the dainty fare they afford. 
 
 Soon after their arrival at their breeding-grounds the male Ring-Ouzels 
 are heard singing in all directions, and, by exercising a little caution, you 
 may get within a few yards of the bird and thus observe him closely. 
 Sometimes he is perched on the rocky walls that there do duty for hedges ; 
 
246 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 sometimes he is sitting on a tuft of heather, or on a gorse bush, or on the 
 branches of some silver birch or mountain-ash, yet, perhaps, most fre- 
 quently of all on the summit of a grey boulder. Monotonous as is the 
 song of the Ring-Ouzel, still its loud tones and the bold bearing of the bird 
 itself fully harmonize with the wild surroundings. You may ofte"n see him 
 perched on some storm-riven tree growing out of the grey rocks, where, 
 with his white breast glistening in the sun, he sits motionless and pours 
 forth his wild notes. His song resembles in part that of the Starling, the 
 Blackbird, and the Song-Thrush. The bird, after several piping notes, 
 utters a few harsh tones, as if in mockery of his own performance, pro- 
 bably a minute passing between each snatch of song. If you alarm him, 
 his wild notes cease at once, and, with his wild cries echoing in the rocks 
 around, he either drops down into the heath or flies away to a more 
 secluded resting-place. The claims of the Ring-Ouzel to the rank of a 
 first-rate songster may be disputed, and his musical powers be unfavour- 
 ably compared with those of the Song-Thrush or the Blackbird ; still there 
 is a wild freedom in them which gives them a peculiar charm, and the 
 wild nature of the surrounding landscape is also much enhanced in beauty 
 by a song as clear and melodious in tone as the scenery around is grand 
 and impressive. If it be the surroundings alone that gain the Ring-Ouzel 
 his musical reputation, then most surely it is the shaded dells and wooded 
 copses that bring the Song-Thrush's music and the Blackbird's trills into 
 such high repute. 
 
 The call-notes of the Ring-Ouzel are somewhat varied. Sometimes they 
 are as low and musical as a Wheatear's (call-notes to each other, in fact) ; 
 sometimes the note is a piping cry, apparently confined to the male bird 
 alone, with which he speaks to his mate. But the alarm -note is a sharp 
 tac-tac-tac, tac-tac-tac, repeated more frequently and loudly should you 
 happen to be in the neighbourhood of the nest. 
 
 The Ring-Ouzel very probably pairs annually, soon after its arrival at 
 its breeding-grounds ; and a week or so later the birds are engaged in the 
 duties of the season towards the end of April ; yet eggs can be obtained 
 throughout the whole of May and even till July, although these may be 
 the eggs of birds whose first clutch was destroyed. The nest of the Ring- 
 Ouzel is generally placed on the ground, in a hollow in the midst of the 
 ling, which effectually conceals it. Occasionally it will be found in a 
 bush or stunted tree, but never at any great elevation. In the heather on 
 an embankment, where the soil has given way and left an abrupt edge, is a 
 favourite place. Wherever there is a steep bank covered with high heath, 
 whether it be sloping down to a stream or an old road, you may almost 
 safely calculate on finding a nest every few hundred yards or so, always 
 placed in the shelter of the highest heather (a foot high or more). Some- 
 times holes in the rock itself are chosen, where a few plants of heath have 
 
THE RING-OUZEL. 247 
 
 gained a footing and almost completely shelter the nest from view. Like 
 the nests of all the Thrushes, that of the Ring-Ouzel undergoes three distinct 
 stages before completion, and is always well and compactly constructed. 
 It is made of coarse grass, with perhaps a few twigs of heather to bind the 
 materials together ; and a few withered leaves are sometimes added. This 
 grass-formed nest is then lined with mud or clay from the neighbouring 
 bogs or stream-banks. At this stage the nest is remarkably deep; but 
 the thick lining of fine grass which is now added brings the nest to more 
 even proportions. When examining the nest of this bird, its close resem- 
 blance to that of the Blackbird will be noticed. Indeed it would be 
 almost impossible to discriminate between them, were we not aware that 
 the Blackbird does not haunt the wild open moor. In the districts where 
 the habitats of these two birds adjoin (the boundary of cultivation and the 
 wild), nothing but a sight of the parent birds can make identification 
 sure. 
 
 The Ring-Ouzel lays four or five finely-marked eggs, bluish green in 
 ground-colour, boldly and richly blotched with reddish brown, and some- 
 times streaked with dark brown. One variety is very elongated and very 
 pale in ground-colour, the markings being represented by small specks, 
 with a few splashes on the larger end. A second is almost round, 
 intense bluish green in ground -colour, boldly yet sparingly blotched with 
 surface-markings of purplish brown and pale dashes of purple. A third is 
 brownish green in ground-colour, blotched, clouded, and spotted with pale 
 reddish brown and light dashes of purple ; while a fourth is similar in 
 ground-colour, but has the brown markings chiefly on the larger end of the 
 egg, where they form a broad zone, and is also streaked with dark wavy 
 lines of brown. So closely do the eggs of this bird resemble those of the 
 Blackbird and the Fieldfare, that, were a series of the eggs of these three 
 birds mixed promiscuously, it would be absolutely impossible to separate 
 all of them correctly. Nevertheless, on an average, the Ring-Ouzel's eggs 
 have the ground-colour clearer, and are more boldly and richly marked, 
 than those of the Blackbird. They vary in length from T35 to 1*08 inch, 
 and in breadth from 0'9 to 0'78 inch. 
 
 No birds defend their eggs or young with more matchless courage than 
 the Ring-Ouzel. Approach their treasure, and, although you have no 
 knowledge of its whereabouts, you speedily know that you are on sacred 
 ground, or, more plainly speaking, on the nesting-site of this bird of the 
 moor. Something sweeps suddenly round your head, probably brushing 
 your face. You look round ; and there the Ring-Ouzel, perched close at 
 hand, is eying you wrathfully, and ready to do battle, despite the odds, 
 for the protection of her abode. Move, and the attack is renewed, this 
 time with loud and dissonant cries that wake the solitudes of the barren 
 moor around. Undauntedly the birds fly round you, pause for a moment 
 
248 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 on some mass of rock, or reel and tumble on the ground to decoy you 
 away. As you approach still closer, the anxiety of the female, if possible, 
 increases ; her cries, with those of her mate, disturb the birds around : 
 the Red Grouse, startled, skims over the shoulder of the hill to find 
 solitude ; the Moor-Pipit chirps anxiously by ; and the gay little Stonechat 
 flits uneasily from bush to bush. So long as you tarry near their treasure 
 the birds will accompany you, and, by using every artifice, endeavour to 
 allure or drive you away from its vicinity. Even when the nest is but 
 half built, the birds display remarkable attachment to it, as is also the case 
 with the Chaffinch ; and the same motions are gone through as though it 
 contained eggs or young birds. 
 
 Upon leaving the nest the young birds are soon abandoned by their 
 parents, and fly about singly or in little parties in search of food. 
 
 The general colour of the adult male is a uniform very dark brown, 
 approaching black, with the exception of a nearly white gorget extending 
 across the lower throat from shoulder to shoulder ; most of the feathers of 
 the body show traces of pale margins, more or less conspicuously. Bill 
 yellow; legs, feet, and claws brown; irides dark brown. The female 
 differs from the male in being much duller brown, and the white gorget 
 is suffused with brown. Birds of the year have very broad margins to 
 the feathers of the underparts. In young females the gorget is scarcely 
 perceivable; in young males it is also suffused with brown. Young in 
 nestling-plumage have the back and breast barred with black and pale 
 brown, and have ochraceous tips to the wing-coverts. 
 
 The nearest relation of the Ring-Ouzel is undoubtedly the Blackbird, 
 and the next nearest is the South-Chinese Ouzel (M. mandurina), all three 
 black -legged Ouzels. The White-collared Ouzel of the Himalayas bears 
 a superficial resemblance to the Ring-Ouzel ; but the pattern of its colour 
 is quite different, the white collar going completely round the neck ; and it 
 belongs, moreover, to the yellow-legged group of Ouzels. 
 
 
THE BLACK-THROATED OUZEL. 249 
 
 MERULA ATRIGULARIS. 
 THE BLACK-THROATED OUZEL. 
 
 Turdus atrogularis, Temm. Man. d"Orn. i. p. 169 (1820); et auctorum plurimcrum 
 Meyer, Gould, Gray, Blyth, Bonaparte, Neicton, Hurting, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Turdus bechsteinii, Xaum. Vbg. Deutschl. ii. p. 316 (1822). 
 
 Cichloides bechsteinii (Naum.\ Kaup, Xatiirl. Syst. p. 153 (1829). 
 
 Sylvia atrogularis (Temm.), Sari, Orn. Tote. iii. p. 203 (1831). 
 
 Merula atrogularis (Temm.), Bonap. Camp. List B. Eur. fy N. Atner. p. 17 (1838). 
 
 Turdus atrigularis (Temm.), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. li, 177 (1840). 
 
 Turdus varicollis, Hodgs. MS. Drawings (in the Brit. Mus.) of B. of Nepal, Pa&seres, 
 pi. 148, nos. 198, 199, & pL 149, nos. 198, 199 (icon. ined.). 
 
 Merula leucogaster, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng. xvi. p. 149 (1847). 
 
 Planesticud atrogularis (Temm.), Bonap. Cat. Parzud. p. 5 (1854). 
 
 Cichloides atrigularis (Temm.), Tytitr, Ibis, 1869, p. 124. 
 
 Turdus mystacinus, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. pp. 64, 118, 119 (1873). 
 
 The occurrence of this Ouzel in England, so far from its true home, 
 together with the fact that its eggs are here described for the first time, 
 renders it a species of considerable interest, not only to British ornitho- 
 logists, but to all European naturalists who take an interest in the regular 
 migration or nomad wanderings of birds. Its only claim to rank as a 
 British species rests on a a single example taken in the south of England 
 during the winter of 1868. Its occurrence was recorded by Mr. T. J. 
 Monk, into whose possession it came, in the ' Zoologist ' for February 
 1869, p. 1560, thus: "On Wednesday, 23rd of December, a fine 
 example of the Black-throated Thrush was shot near Lewes. The bird, 
 which proved on dissection to be a male, was in excellent condition, 
 and, having been carefully handled, was in fine order for preservation, 
 and in this respect has received ample justice from the hands of Mr. Sways- 
 land of Brighton, where it may be seen." Mr. G. D. Rowley also brought 
 the circumstances before the Zoological Society of London, where the 
 bird was exhibited. He said (P. Z. S. 1869, p. 4) : " The specimen of 
 Turdus atrogularis was shot near Lewes, Sussex, on December 23rd, 1868. 
 It is a young male, as shown by its plumage ; dissection also confirmed 
 the fact. I saw the bird in the flesh, and took particular care to ascertain 
 its history, because it belongs to the fauna of Central Asia, and is only an 
 accidental visitor to Europe. To find such a species on the south coast of 
 England appears to me a matter of considerable interest. It is now in 
 the collection of T. J. Monk, Esq., of Mountfield House, near Lewes, 
 who purchased it for a trifle of a working man." The late Mr. Gould also 
 recorded its capture in the ' Ibis ' for 1869, p. 128. 
 
 The Blaclff-throated Ouzel is only known as an occasional straggler into 
 Europe, where it has been obtained in Russia, Germany, Denmark, Bel- 
 gium, France, and Italy. Like White's Ground-Thrush and the Siberian 
 
250 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Ground-Thrush, the Black-Throated Ouzel belongs to the Eastern Palse- 
 arctic Region, and is one of many Siberian birds which are in the habit of 
 occasionally missing their way on their autumn migration, and wandering 
 into Europe instead of South Asia. I met with it twice in the valley 
 of the Yenesay on my return journey from the Arctic regions, between 
 latitudes 60 and 63, early in August ; I found it a very noisy active bird. 
 I was too late for eggs ; but the not fully fledged young, three of which I 
 secured, were a source of great anxiety to their parents, whose alarm -notes 
 resounded on the skirts of the forest on every side. They principally 
 frequented the neighbourhood of the villages on the banks of the river, 
 where the forest had been cut down for firewood, and clumps of small trees 
 were scattered over the rough pastures where the cattle of the peasants 
 are turned out to graze in summer. They showed a marked preference for 
 the pines, and were very wary. The males kept out of gunshot ; and I only 
 obtained one adult, a female. 
 
 It probably also breeds in the same latitude of the Obb, and in a similar 
 climate in the pine-regions of the Himalayas and Eastern Turkestan. It 
 winters in Western Turkestan, Baluchistan, and North India, occurring on 
 migration as far eastwards as Lake Baikal, and in winter as far as Assam. 
 
 Severtzow says that it breeds in Eastern Turkestan in the cultivated 
 districts, gardens, grassy steppes, and salt plains, up to 4000 feet above the 
 level of the sea ; and there cannot be much doubt that it breeds also at a 
 considerable elevation in the pine-regions of the lofty Himalayas. In 
 winter when the Arctic forests are frost-bound, and all its northern haunts 
 untenable, the Black-throated Ouzel is quite a common bird in Baluchis- 
 tan and North India, where it regularly spends the cold season. In 
 India its winter haunt is the more open woods at a level of from 3000 to 
 8000 feet, and it is occasionally seen on roads and pathways. In Baluchis- 
 tan its haunts (according to Blanford) are the miserable apologies for 
 gardens at Guadar, one of the most desolate of inhabited spots on the 
 earth's surface, in the vicinity of houses, and on the sand- downs near 
 the sea; and in other districts it frequents well- wooded plains. In Eastern 
 Turkestan it winters amongst the trees bordering watercourses or growing 
 near tanks. Favourite places to observe these birds in the winter, 
 according to Dr. Scully (Stray Feath. 1876, p. 80), are amongst the 
 sand-hills and low scrub-jungle; and further 011 (p. 140) he says that 
 " the birds disappear entirely in the spring, migrating in a north-easterly 
 direction, towards the hills and the Lob district, where it is reported to 
 breed. It feeds chiefly on E le ay nus -berries, called ( jigda ' in Turki, 
 and commonly known as ( Trebizond dates ;' hence its name Jigda-chuk, 
 i. e. ' jigda-eater/ This food is also varied with insects and worms, much 
 similar fare to that selected by the other members of this family of birds." 
 
 Nothing is known of the nest of this bird ; but a series of its eggs has 
 
THE BLACK-THROATED OUZEL. 251 
 
 been obtained by Herr Tancre's collectors on the Altai Mountains. They 
 exhibit the same variation in colour as the eggs of the Blackbird, and 
 measure from 1*2 to T15 inch in length, and from'Sto '75 inch in breadth. 
 The young in nestling- plumage which I brought from the valley of the 
 Yenesay are very like the young of the Fieldfare, although the chestnut 
 wing-liuing and axillaries distinguish them at a glance, as also from the 
 young of another closely allied Asiatic bird, of which I had the good 
 fortune to obtain both eggs and young, the Dark Ouzel (Merula obscurd). 
 
 The autumn plumage of the Black-throated Ouzel is olive-brown above, 
 darkest on the wings and tail ; below, the throat and breast are black, with 
 pale margins to the feathers, and the sides and flanks are greyish brown, 
 becoming pure white on the belly. The wing-lining and axillaries are rich 
 chestnut. During winter and spring the edges to the feathers are cast; 
 and the nuptial plumage displays the throat and breast pure black, the 
 white of the underparts more distinct, and the whole colour of the upper 
 parts much paler. Bill dark brown above, pale below ; legs and feet pale 
 brown ; irides dark brown. Females want the black on the throat and 
 breast, the feathers having dark centres, except on the lower throat, which 
 is uniform creamy white. Males of the year are like old females. 
 
 The nearest relation of the Black-throated Ouzel is undoubtedly the 
 Red-throated Ouzel (Merula ruficollis). So nearly allied are these species 
 that there seems every reason to believe that they interbreed. In the 
 Berlin Museum is a complete series of intermediate forms, from one to the 
 other, including both extremes, all collected by Dybowsky on the southern 
 shores of Lake Baikal in April and May. 
 
 The Gold-vented Bulbul (Pt/cnonotm capensis) has no claim whatever to be considered 
 a British bird, or even an accidental visitor to Europe. It has been included in the list in 
 consequence of a single alleged occurrence more than forty years age : this bird may have 
 escaped from a cage, or it may bave been accidentally changed for a foreign skin. The only 
 example on which its claim? to the British fauna rest is a specimen alleged to have been 
 shot near Waterford, and which was in the collection of Dr. Robex-t Burkitt. In the same 
 collection is also an example of Bubo capensis, which is represented to have been shot in 
 Ireland and which is labelled Bubo maximus a circumstance which throws great doubt on 
 the accuracy of the localities of the birds in this collection, and suggests the idea that the 
 specimen of the Gold-vented Bulbul was also a South- African skin. The true home of the 
 Gold-vented Bulbul is South Africa, where it seems to be exclusively confined to the 
 Cape Colony. 
 
 It is a common mistake, into which many ornithologists,- and amongst them Professor 
 Newton in his edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' have fallen, to suppose that the Bulbuls 
 of modern naturalists belong to the same group as the Bulbul so celebrated in eastern 
 song. The latter is the Persian Nightingale, Erithacus gohii. None of the birds which 
 ornithologists call Bulbuls have any great powers of song, unless it be the Palestine Bulbul, 
 Pycnonotw .ranthopygu*, which, in Canon Tristram's opinion, almost equals the Nightingale 
 in power of voice. 
 
 The general colour of the Gold-vented Bulbul is brown, a little darker on the head, 
 wings, and tan ; it is almost white on the centre of the belly, and has the under tail- 
 coverts bright yellow. 
 
252 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus CINCLUS. 
 
 The genus Cinclus was established by Bechstein in 1802, in his ' Orni- 
 thologische Taschenbuch/ i. p. 206. As C. aquaticus, or one of its numerous 
 local though unnamed races, was the only species with which Bechstein 
 was acquainted, it becomes of necessity the type of his genus. It contains 
 the Dippers, which may be distinguished from the true Thrushes by their 
 short concave wings fitting tightly to the body, and their dense plumage, 
 adapted to their aquatic habits. 
 
 The Dippers, of which about a dozen species are known, extend over the 
 entire Palsearctic Region wherever mountain-streams occur; but in the 
 Indian Region they are apparently confined to the Western Himalayas and 
 the mountains of China and Formosa. In the Nearctic Region they are 
 found throughout the Rocky Mountains, in the same chain through Central 
 America into the Neotropical Region, where they are found in the Andes 
 of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. One species is resident in the British 
 Islands. 
 
 Ornithologists differ in opinion as to the affinities of the Dippers. 
 Brisson was hopelessly wrong in placing them amongst the Sandpipers; and 
 Linnaeus was probably mistaken in considering them to be Starlings. I 
 think Latham was not far wrong in including them amongst the Thrushes, 
 though Sharpe appears to think otherwise and has placed them with the 
 Wrens. The Dippers are probably most nearly allied to the subgeneric 
 group of Ground-Thrushes known as Zootherae. Most of the species, how- 
 ever, have lost the Geocichline pattern on the wing ; but the American 
 species still retain it, although in a somewhat rudimentary condition. They 
 are aquatic in their habits, frequenting mountain-streams and obtaining 
 most of their food from the waters. Their food consists of aquatic insects, 
 ova of fishes, and Mollusca. They are fair songsters. They build bulky 
 nests, domed, and made of moss, dry grass, leaves, &c., placing them under 
 banks, amongst rocks, or between the roots of trees. Their eggs, from 
 four to six or seven in number, are, so far as is known, pure white. 
 
COMMON' DIPPER. 253 
 
 CINCLUS AQUATICUS. 
 
 COMMON DIPPER. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Tringa merula aquatica, Briss. Orn. v. p. 252 (1760). 
 
 Sturnus cinclus, Linn. Syst. A'at. i. p. 290 (1766). 
 
 Turdus cinclus (Linn.), Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 343 (1790). 
 
 Turdus rularis, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl. p. xl (1801, juv.). 
 
 Cinclus aquaticus, Bechst. Orn. Tasch. p. 206 (1802) ; et auctonun plurimorum 
 
 Meyer, Tenuninck, Naumann, Gould, Bonaparte, Sch/eff el, Salcin, Newton, Dressert 
 
 Sharpe, &c. 
 
 Aqualilis cinclus (Linn.}, Montag. Orn. Diet. Suppl. (1813). 
 Cinclus europseus, Leach, Syst. Cat. Brit. Mm. p. 21 (1816). 
 Hydrobata cinclus (Linn.), Gray, List Gen. B. p. 35 (1841). 
 
 The Dipper, in spite of sundry dark tales and grave charges, is almost 
 universally the angler's favourite a bird of the stream, from its birth 
 amongst the peat and heather high up the mountains, throughout its wander- 
 ing course of fall and pool and rapid. Its distribution in Great Britain is 
 chiefly confined to the mountainous districts of the west and north of 
 England, including Wales, and throughout Scotland, extending to the Outer 
 Hebrides and the Orkneys, but not to the Shetland Isles. In Ireland it is 
 found in similar localities to those in Britain mountain-streams and wild 
 uplands, its distribution being affected by the nature of the country. 
 "Wherever the waters are wild enough, either in the countries of the south 
 or the upland wilds and mountain- districts of the north, the Dipper is 
 pretty sure to be commonly found, naturally becoming much more frequent 
 in the Highlands of Scotland, where it is provincially known to a very 
 great extent as the " Kingfisher." 
 
 The Dipper in a more or less modified form appears to occur throughout 
 the Palsearctic Region and the Himalayas wherever rocky mountain-streams 
 are to be found. Modern evolutionists seem to have come to the con- 
 clusion that the successive stages of the development of the individual are 
 more or less an epitome of the history of the species. If we accept this 
 theory, the attempt to interpret the changes of plumage which our Dipper 
 undergoes would probably lead to the conclusion that the genus Cinclus 
 originated in Central Asia, whence it spread east and west to North America 
 and Europe. The original form probably differed little from typical 
 examples of C. leucogaster, which we may accept as the slightly changed 
 descendants of the Preglacial Dippers of that region. I say slightly 
 changed, because the young in first plumage, not only of our Dipper, but of 
 all the known Dippers of the world, besides retaining the nearly white colour 
 of the whole of the underparts, show traces of dark tips to the feathers, which 
 
254 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 disappear in the adult of C. leucogaster, but which were probably charac- 
 teristic of its Preglacial ancestors. In the course of ages the original 
 Dipper with the spotted underparts appears to have become separated into 
 two species. In the western form circumstances seem to have favoured 
 the development of the white of the underparts, whilst in the east the 
 reverse appears to have been the case, so that during the Glacial period it 
 is probable that there were two species of Dipper a form with white under- 
 parts in the west, and one with dark brown underparts in the east. It 
 seems not improbable that at this time the Dipper was a migratory bird, 
 its small bastard primary being possibly a relic of its past powers of flight; 
 and as the Glacial period passed away, and the rapid and important deve- 
 lopment of Palsearctic birds which accompanied the semitropical period 
 which followed took place, the Dippers seem to have caught the general 
 spirit of enterprise, and some of the eastern race seem to have spread along 
 the eastern coast of Asia and to have crossed Behring's Straits into America, 
 and, following the Rocky Mountains to Central America, seem to have 
 reached the Northern Andes. Amidst their new surroundings they have 
 comparatively rapidly changed their character ; and those birds which 
 reached South America have reverted to the particoloured plumage of 
 their ancestors, though in somewhat new and modified forms. 
 
 As the other species of Dipper spread eastwards, the influence of the 
 changed climate, or some process of natural selection which may some day 
 be discovered, caused the underparts below the breast to become a sooty 
 black, a character which is still retained by the adults of many of the present 
 Western Palsearctic Dippers and by the birds of the year of all the Euro- 
 pean species. This circumstance has given rise to much confusion in the 
 accounts of the geographical distribution of the dark-bellied form C. mela- 
 nogaster. Dresser records it from Ireland and England, Newton from 
 Spain, and Salvin from Asia Minor. In all these cases it will probably be 
 found that the examples which have been identified as (7. melanogaster are 
 birds of the year of the species inhabiting the countries where they were 
 severally obtained. 
 
 It seems to me that there is only one species of Palsearctic Dipper, which 
 may be divided into many subspecies or local races which are imperfectly 
 segregated, and interbreed whenever they come together. It is difficult to 
 see how any differences which they present can have any protective value ; 
 they may possibly be due to undisturbed climatic influence. In the 
 British Islands C. aquations occurs, the damp climate caused by the Gulf- 
 stream having developed the chestnut on the belly to its greatest extent, 
 and the cold having in some mysterious way blackened the brown of the 
 head and nape. Further south in the Vosges Mountains and in the Pyre- 
 nees C. aquaticus-albicollis occurs, an intermediate form between the 
 British and Mediterranean races. The latter, C, albicollis, differs in having 
 
COMMON DIPPER. 255 
 
 the upper parts much paler than in our bird. It is found in Southern 
 Spain, Algiers, Italy, and Greece. In Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and Persia 
 the chestnut on the belly is much darker and the brown of the head and 
 nape extends lower down the back. This form may be called C. albicollis- 
 cashmirltnsis ; for in the latter race (C. cashmiriensis) , which ranges from 
 Cashmere, through South Siberia, to West China, the brown of the head 
 ami nape attains its greatest development on the back, and all traces of 
 chestnut on the breast are lost in the brown of the belly. This race would 
 appear to in: jrbreed, on the one hand, with C. leucogaster, for in Krasnoyarsk 
 (where the ranges of the two forms coalesce) every intermediate form is 
 found, and, on the other hand, with C. sordida, for in the Altai Mountains 
 (where the ranges of these two forms coalesce) every intermediate form occurs. 
 In Scandinavia and the adjacent countries of North Germany C. melano- 
 g aster is found with dark head and neck, and with the chestnut below the 
 breast replaced by nearly black. This race is connected with the South- 
 European form by what we may call C. inelanoyaster-albicollis from the 
 Carpathians, in which the chestnut reappears below the breast. 
 
 Besides these variations there are others still more local. In the Peak 
 of Derbyshire, for example, the Dippers, which are found 1500 feet above 
 the level of the sea, are darker in colour than those which are found lower 
 down the valleys, only 500 feet above the sea-level. The same differences 
 have been recorded in Dippers from the Pyrenees ; and it is birds of the 
 year of these forms from high elevations which have led so many orni- 
 thologists astray in speaking of the geographical range of Cinclus aquations, 
 var. melanogasttr. 
 
 The haunts of the Dipper are exclusively confined to the swift-flowing 
 rocky mountain-streams. On these he is found all the year round, in places 
 where the waters now curl over hidden rocks, or dash round the exposed 
 and mossy ones, ami toss and fall in never-ceasing strife. The banks must 
 be rugged also to suit the Dipper, all the better if in the rock-clefts a few 
 mountain-ashes and birches have gained a good hold. But the Dipper is 
 not a bird of the branches. You will make your first acquaintance with 
 him most probably as he dashes rapidly from some water-encircled rock, 
 or as he shoots past you uttering his sharp but monotonous call-note, to 
 alight on some distant stone, or mayhap seek the boiling current itself, to 
 astonish and amuse you by his aquatic gambols. The Dipper is also 
 found on the barest of mountain-torrents, places where not a tree or 
 shrub is found, where the waters roll and tumble in wildest mood across 
 the heathery moors, and down the bare mountain-sides. In the British 
 Isles the Dipper is not a migratory bird, the only wanderers being young 
 birds which* emigrate or are driven by their parents from too crowded 
 districts. During the keenest weather the resident Dippers do not 
 quit the waters of the roaring stream, and are as active amongst the 
 
256 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 icicle-draped rocks as when the summer sun was scorching them with 
 its meridian rays. The very fact of the stream being ever in troubled 
 motion is the cause of the perpetual residence of the Dipper on its 
 banks ; for the frost never binds its troubled waters, and thus his food 
 is always accessible. A bird full of activity, he flies in rapid Kingfisher- 
 like course, now alighting on the grassy banks, and then on the rocky 
 boulders round which the foam-crested waters dash and boil in seemingly 
 exhausted rage. Sometimes he skulks, and is flushed with greatest 
 difficulty, often flying as though he were disabled ; but should you be 
 tempted by his seeming helplessness to pursue him, he takes good care to 
 evade you, advancing in short flights it is true, and gradually going up or 
 down stream for a certain distance, until all at once he refuses to be 
 driven any further, flies off determinedly, and, passing high over your head, 
 doubles back to his old quarters again, as if afraid to trespass too far on 
 the hunting-grounds of the neighbouring pair of Dippers. Except in the 
 breeding-season, the Dipper is for the most part a solitary bird, and is 
 rarely found in the company of any other species. The pairs of birds 
 appear to haunt a certain part of the stream, to which they strictly keep, 
 and are but rarely observed in company. Should the ornithologist wish 
 to observe the actions of the Dipper, he must approach him with the 
 greatest caution; for he is a shy and wary bird. But ample means of 
 concealment are at hand ; and by hiding behind one of the rocky boulders 
 and remaining quiet and motionless you may observe his actions with 
 ease, so long as his restless nature allows him to remain -in your company. 
 You probably see him first perched on a stone projecting out of the water 
 a few inches, or, it may be, standing in the water itself. Warily he looks 
 around, now crouching low as if fearful of discovery, now erect as if on 
 the point of taking wing. Now he fearlessly enters the water, and, aided 
 by his wings, floats buoyantly to land, where you see him running and 
 hopping about, picking up the small insects found amongst the marshy 
 shores of the stream. Then he will sit for a few moments on the bank, 
 motionless as a statue, and you cannot help admiring the purity of his 
 breast, white as the driven snow. Suddenly, and doubtless to your 
 surprise if you are unacquainted with his habits, he takes to the water 
 and disappears under the surface, and, aided by his wings and feet, explores 
 the sand and moss-grown pebbles at the bottom of the pool, turning the 
 little stones with his bill, in search of the various water-insects that form 
 his food. He will proceed for a certain length of water, then return, 
 sometimes swimming aided by his wings, and sometimes darting under 
 the surface, occasionally pausing to rest for a moment on a projecting 
 rock. Sometimes the Dipper, seemingly for very sport, enters the boiling 
 pool below the falls, or dives under the foam-crested waves of the tiny 
 rapids ; and you may sometimes see him splashing in the water, as if trying 
 
COMMON DIPPER. 257 
 
 again and again to reach some object. Perhaps he was foiled in his first 
 attempt ; or it may be that he has found a colony of caddis-worms and acts 
 upon the sportsman's motto of sticking to his covey. But where the 
 stream glides on more smoothly he obtains the most part of his food 
 places where the bed of the stream is a mossy one, and affords plenty of 
 shelter for his favourite fare. The sandy islets in the stream and places 
 where driftwood and other refuse congregate are favourite haunts of the 
 Dipper, as are also the falls below the weirs and water-wheels. 
 
 In studying the habits of the Dipper it will be observed that the bird 
 never enters the water by a sudden plunge, like the Tern or the Kingfisher, 
 but either wades into it or drops from some little eminence. In fact 
 the Dipper does not need that amount of force which the Kingfisher and 
 the Tern require to carry them beneath the surface; for its proficiency as 
 a diving bird is at once manifest when seen in the water; hence the reason 
 it is never seen to plunge. When under the surface of the water, the form 
 of the Dipper seems largely increased in size and distorted, and the number 
 of air-bubbles that cling to its plumage give it a very peculiar appearance. 
 AVhen alarmed the Dipper instantly takes wing, and does not, as is 
 erroneously supposed, enter the water for safety, unless disabled, when it 
 will sometimes take refuge under the banks with only its bill out of the 
 water. The Dipper's flight is rapid and straightforward, and performed 
 by incessant beats of the wings, as if it required such constant exertion 
 to sustain flight that the little rounded pinions must not stop for a 
 moment. Usually he flies along just above the surface of the stream ; 
 and, as a rule, the devious windings of its course are followed. The 
 Dipper will sometimes sit for a considerable time on some stone in the 
 centre of the stream, or on a rock projecting over the pool a habit 
 also common to the Kingfisher. 
 
 The Dipper, like the Redwing and the Starling, often warbles a few 
 notes in mild open weather in winter ; but his love-song is rarely heard 
 before the spring. His song is a short and pleasing one, and uttered at 
 irregular intervals. It bears no resemblance to the varied song of the 
 Thrush or the melody and wild loudness of the Blackbird or the " Storm- 
 cock," but is a low warbling strain. He carols his lay from the banks of 
 the stream, or not unfrequently when crouching low on the rocks in the 
 midst of its roaring waters. There, with the milk-white foam dancing on 
 the crests of the waves and the spray falling like mist around him, he 
 chants his love-song, a performance which only greets the ear at intervals, 
 amidst the turbid strife of the ever-flowing waters, making the romantic 
 scene still rqpre romantic, and giving it just that touch of life required to 
 make the picture complete. The call-note of the Dipper, uttered when at 
 rest or flying through the air, and most frequently heard just as the bird 
 is taking wing, is a sharp but not particularly loud chit- chit. 
 
 VOL. i. s 
 
258 BRITISH BIRDS, 
 
 When I was in the Pyrenees last winter we visited Pierrefitte, where 
 the valley divides into two gorges. We took the one leading to Bareges. 
 The sun was burning hot ; but there was hoar-frost and ice in the shade. 
 The gorge is very fine : sometimes there is a little grassy land near the 
 rocky river; but in other places the valley becomes narrower, and for a 
 long distance is only a ledge which has been blasted out of the steep 
 sloping rock, and you can look down a couple of hundred feet and see the 
 river boiling and roaring in the chasm below. The gorge is well timbered, 
 shrubs and trees even growing in the crevices of almost perpendicular 
 rocks. In winter it is not easy to see what the trees are ; but oaks and 
 chestnut seemed to abound, and the abundance of misseltoe was very 
 striking. We noticed a quantity of juniper and box -trees in the under- 
 wood, whilst high up near the mountain-tops the sombre pine-forests 
 looked almost black against the snow. This gorge was a paradise for 
 Dippers ; almost every hundred yards we came upon a pair. We watched 
 them chasing each other up and clown the river and screaming almost like 
 Swifts. More often they were conspicuously perched upon a rock in the 
 stream, perpetually dipping down their heads and jerking up their tails. 
 Several times we watched them wading in the shallow water or swimming 
 and diving in the deeper pools. Now and then they perched on the 
 mossy banks and seemed to fly up and catch insects on the overhanging 
 moss. 
 
 Doubtless from the peculiar manner in which the Dipper seeks its food, 
 and the situations in which it is chiefly found, the bird has gained much 
 of its reputation as an enemy to the ova of the salmon and the trout. The 
 Dipper is seen to enter the stream, to disappear beneath the surface, and 
 explore what are well known to be the breeding-grounds of these fish ; 
 and hence it is very easy to see why the bird has fallen into such bad 
 repute with the ignorant pisciculturist and the bigoted angler. Not 
 taking the trouble to seriously investigate the matter, they at once set 
 down the poor Dipper as the enemy of the ova and fry, and persecute 
 him accordingly a fate that befalls too many harmless animals. But 
 instead of being the fish-preserver's enemy, he is in fact one of his 
 firmest friends. His food consists of various creatures which, in their 
 larval stages of development, are themselves the greatest enemies to the 
 ova. His journeyings to the bed of the stream are for the purpose of 
 obtaining the caddis-worms, water-beetles, and various species of small 
 mollusca and insects found amongst the moss-grown pebbles and sandy 
 bed of the waters, and occasionally a small fish. He also obtains some 
 portion of his food on the marshy banks of the stream, such as worms 
 and grubs and, more rarely, the seeds of various grasses. 
 
 From what evidence it is possible to obtain on the subject, it is most 
 probable that the Dipper is a life-paired bird, and either frequents each 
 
COMMON DIPPER. 259 
 
 season the same nest or constructs a new one close to that of the pre- 
 vious year. The Dipper's nesting-season commences early in the year; 
 and possibly two, if not three, broods are reared. By the first week in 
 April, should the weather be at all favourable, the birds are engaged in 
 nest-building. The site for the nest is usually amongst the rocks, never 
 in a tree or bush, although occasionally amongst their gnarled and moss- 
 grown roots. A favourite place is amongst the tree-roots which prevent 
 an overhanging bank falling into the water below as is also a mossy 
 bank, or a hole in the stonework near a water-wheel, or under a bridge. 
 The nest is not unfrequently found within a few inches of the water, and 
 occasionally in the rocks over which the water rushes in mad career, 
 passing directly before the nest, and keeping it in an incessant state of 
 moisture by the spray continually beating against it. Although placed in 
 a most conspicuous position, it is so artfully concealed that its discovery 
 is often a difficult task. The site chosen, the materials have not far to be 
 sought. The moss which grows in luxuriant profusion all around is 
 selected ; and the outside of the nest at least is composed entirely of this 
 soft and beautiful material. In form it is somewhat like the Wren's, 
 domed ; but the hole which admits the parent birds is very low down the 
 side, and can seldom be seen unless from below, the entrance overhanging 
 a little. Inside this mossy dome a nest of the ordinary open style is 
 constructed, apparently quite distinct from it, without being in any way 
 woven into it. In a nest which I carefully pulled to pieces, the inside 
 nest was composed of dry grass, the roots of heather, and slender birch- 
 twigs, and lined with a profusion of leaves, layer after layer of birch- and 
 beech-leaves, and, as a final lining, a mass of oak-leaves, laid one on 
 another, like leaves in a book. The outside dome was so closely woven 
 together of moss, with here and there a little dry grass, as not to be torn 
 to pieces without considerable force ; and the inside nest was so tightly 
 compacted, that, when the materials were pulled to pieces you could 
 hardly believe that they could have been made to take up so little room. 
 Outside it appeared nothing but a large oval ball of moss, about 11 inches 
 long, 8 inches wide, and about as high. Keen and piercing must be the 
 eyes of him who can, at a casual glance, discern the home of the Dipper 
 when placed amongst the moss-grown rocks ; for it is just like a piece of 
 the bank on each side of it, or, if placed on the bare rock-ledges, it only 
 looks like a patch of moss. The eggs of the Dipper are four or five in 
 number, and can never be confounded with the eggs of the Thrushes, 
 except in size and form. They are pure white and spotless, somewhat less 
 than a Song* Thrush's egg. The shell, however, does not possess that beau- 
 tiful gloss so characteristic of the eggs of the Kingfisher and the Wood- 
 pecker, and is .somewhat rough in texture. They vary in length from I'l 
 to 0-95 inch, and in breadth from 0'77 to 0'7 inch. 
 
 s2 
 
260 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Like the Starling and many other life-paired birds, the Dipper will con- 
 tinue laying in the same nest if its first clutch of eggs are removed. The 
 old birds display great caution in returning to and quitting the nest ; and 
 should you discover it, they manifest little or no outward signs of anxiety 
 for the safety of their treasure. The Dipper is a very close sitter, and 
 seldom q'aits the nest until the hand is about to be inserted. Should the 
 nest be approached when it contains full-fledged young, the little creatures 
 will often escape out of the nest ; and I have seen them flutter to the water, 
 dive into the clear stream, and swim away, their dark bodies looking grey 
 through the air-bubbles clinging to their plumage. They jerk their wings 
 lustily, in a manner not unlike a frog with its hind legs, and, rising to the 
 surface where the waters become shallow, float down the stream and are 
 soon out of view. 
 
 The Dipper, from the peculiar manner in which the colour of its plumage 
 is distributed, is a remarkably fine and handsome-looking bird. The 
 whole of the upper parts are slaty grey, except the head, which is brown, 
 with paler margins to the feathers of the back. The chin, throat, and 
 upper parts of the breast are pure white, and the remainder of the under- 
 parts chestnut-brown. The bill is black ; the legs, toes, and claws brown ; 
 irides hazel. The sexes are alike in the colour of their plumage. 
 
ERITHACUS. 261 
 
 Genus ERITHACUS. 
 
 The Robins Avere originally included in the genus Motacilla of Linnaeus, 
 from which, in 1769, Scopoli separated a number of species, including 
 the Robin, and placed them in his genus Sylvia. In 1801, Cuvier, in 
 his ' Lecons d'Anatomie Comparee/ tab. ii., separated the Robins, esta- 
 blishing the genus Erithacus for their reception. Since then they have 
 been unnecessarily split up into groups which it is most convenient to 
 consider only of subgeneric value. Cuvier did not indicate any type; 
 but there can be little doubt that he regarded the Robin as typical. 
 
 There is no character that I have been able to discover in the Ouzels 
 that is not to be found in some of the Robins ; nor have I been able to 
 discover any character in the Robins which does not exist in some of the 
 Ouzels. The only definite character appears to be that of size, the smallest 
 Ouzel being larger than the largest Robin. From the Redstarts and Chats 
 and allied genera they may be distinguished by having either pale legs or 
 the throat brilliant in colour, in violent contrast to the cheeks. In the 
 Robins the bill is generally black on the upper mandible a character which 
 will serve to distinguish them from the smaller Ouzels, which have the 
 bill yellow. From the smaller Thrushes they may be distinguished by 
 having the underparts unspotted; whilst from the Flycatchers and the 
 Stonechats their much longer tarsus serves to distinguish them. The 
 Robins have the throat frequently ornamented with rich colours, in some 
 species having a metallic gloss ; and the cheeks usually differ in colour 
 from the throat. 
 
 The Robins frequent bushes, several of them showing a marked pre- 
 ference for swamps, and are principally migratory. They all possess con- 
 siderable powers of song. They breed on or near the ground, building 
 open nests, either amongst herbage, foliage, or in holes. They lay from 
 five to seven eggs, which vary from pure white to bluish green in ground- 
 colour, generally sparingly marked with pale confluent brown spots. Their 
 food is chiefly insects and worms. 
 
 There are sixteen species in the present genus, confined to the Palaearctic 
 region, the northern portion of India, Mongolia, China, and Japan. Half 
 the species occur in Europe; and three are British, of which one is a 
 resident, one a summer migrant, and the other an accidental visitor. 
 
262 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ERITHACUS RUBECULA. 
 THE ROBIN. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula rubecula, Eriss. Orn. iii. p. 418 (1760;. 
 
 Motacilla rubecula, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 337 (1766) ; et auctomm plurimorum 
 
 (Scopoli), ( Temminck), ( Gould), ( Gray), (Heuyliri), (Salvadori), (Newton), (Shelley), 
 
 (Dresser), (Irby), (Blanford), &c. 
 
 Sylvia rubecula (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. i. p. 156 (1769). 
 Curruca rubecola (Linn.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. $c. Brit. Mus. p. 25 (1816). 
 Curruca rubecula (Linn.), Forst. Syn. Cat. Brit. B. p. 54 (1817). 
 Ficedula rubecula (Linn), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 553. 
 Dandalus rubecula (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 972. 
 
 Erythacus rubecula (Linn.), Sivains. Faun. Bor.-Amer., Birds, p. 488 (1831). 
 Rubecula farniliaris, Blyth, Field Naturalist, i. p. 424 (1833). 
 Rhondella rubecula (Linn.), Rennie, White's Selborne, p. 437 (1833). 
 Lusciola rubecula (Linn.), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. Iviii, 191 (1840). 
 Rubecula rubecula (Linn.), Bonap. Consp. i. p. 295 (1850). 
 Luscim'a rubecula (Linn.), Sundev. Sv. FogL p. 56 (1856). 
 
 The Robin, so closely associated with all our earliest recollections of the 
 bird- world, the ever-trustful, pert, and lively little favourite and companion 
 of man, is welcome everywhere, protected and encouraged; and hence its 
 distribution is a wide one, and its numbers as large as its popularity is 
 universal. Wherever man's abode may be, if only surrounded by trees 
 and shrubs, even a garden alone, the Robin is almost surely found. 
 Throughout Great Britain and Ireland it is everywhere a well-known bird 
 in those localities where there is sufficient cover. The Robin, like the 
 Sparrow, is a close attendant on cultivation and improvement. Formerly 
 it was a rare bird on the wild and desolate Hebrides ; but now it is com- 
 paratively common, as improvement and the planting of trees and shrubs 
 have increased. It breeds as far north as the Orkneys, but has not yet 
 been known to do so on the Shetlands, and only rarely occurs on the 
 Faroes in the autumn. The Robin breeds throughout Europe as far 
 north as the Arctic circle, rarely beyond ; but becomes of far less frequent 
 occurrence in Russia, and is not known to breed east of the Ural Moun- 
 tains. Southwards its breeding-range extends to many parts of western 
 North Africa, the Canaries, Madeira, and the eastern and central group of 
 the Azores. 
 
 In those districts where the winters are severe, it migrates southwards in 
 autumn to South Europe, North Africa, Palestine, and the cultivated 
 districts of North-west Turkestan. It is said to be a resident, though 
 rare, in South Persia. 
 
 The Robin has one very near ally, the Persian Robin (Erithacus hyr- 
 canus) , inhabiting the forests of the southern shores of the Caspian, west- 
 
THE ROBIN. 263 
 
 wards into the Caucasus ; and another, not so near, the Japanese Robin 
 (E. akahige), inhabiting the high mountains of Japan and North- east China. 
 The former bird is easily distinguished from the Common Robin by having 
 the olive-brown of the upper tail-coverts replaced by rich chestnut, and by 
 having a slightly larger bill ; in other respects the two birds are identical. 
 From the second species our bird is easily distinguished by the rich chest- 
 nut tail of the Japanese species, and the slate-grey on the lower breast. 
 The Persian Robin has been said to be richer in colour, especially on the 
 breast, than our bird ; and examples of the latter from Algeria and the 
 Azores are said to be paler ; but an examination of a considerable series 
 convinces me that the alleged differences are only those of season, the rich 
 dark birds being newly moulted autumn examples, whilst the paler spe- 
 cimens are in more or less faded summer plumage, the Robin, like all its 
 Turdine allies, having only one moult in the year. 
 
 The haunt of the Robin is varied a little according to the season. 
 In the summer it is a common bird in the most secluded woods, in plan- 
 tations, shrubberies, dells, lanes, copses, and hedgerows. In winter it 
 draws nearer to the houses, and haunts the gardens, road-sides, and farm- 
 yards. But the bird may be seen near the homesteads throughout the year ; 
 and its numbers are only increased during the cold season. Where, indeed, 
 is the garden, the orchard, or the shrubbery that does not possess its pair 
 of Robins, so trustful, so jealous of their rights the favourites of all ! 
 
 The migrations and internal movements of the Robin form one of the 
 most interesting, although perhaps least known, features of its history. 
 Take its wanderings at home, for instance, in our own country. As soon 
 as the rigours of winter have passed away, the Redbreasts visibly begin 
 to decrease in numbers and betake themselves to the more sequestered 
 woods, plantations, and hedgerows, and up the hill-sides to the copses near 
 the moorland wastes, to remain throughout the summer. In the early 
 autumn, when the moult takes place, the Robin is a still more shy and retiring 
 bird, and withdraws to the deepest solitudes to perform its annual change of 
 plumage unseen. After the moult the Robin again appears near our 
 houses, and remains our constant companion and favourite throughout the 
 winter. Upon the continent the Robin is almost universally a bird of 
 passage, and during the season of its migrations is found on our coasts 
 resting on its journey south to the warm climate of Southern Europe, or 
 the oases of the African deserts. They pass over Heligoland during 
 September and early in October in immense numbers. Upon the 
 continent, in South France and Italy, the Robins are caught in autumn 
 for the taljle, in common with other small migrants. In Italy they 
 are usually snared or taken by limed twigs set round a Little Owl, 
 which serves as an attraction to draw them to the toils. As for its worth 
 as an article of food, "Waterton, in his accustomed humorous way, tells us, 
 
264 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 when expressing regret at seeing so many of his favourites on the bird- 
 stalls in the Roman market, that the dealer assured him that if he took a 
 dozen for his dinner that day he would come back for two dozen on the 
 morrow. Even in our own country the migratory instincts of the Robin 
 are sometimes manifested during the prevalence of severe and prolonged 
 frosts, the birds for the most part quitting their northern haunts and 
 retiring southwards, leaving but a few birds whose exceptional trustfulness 
 and familiarity render them semi-domesticated, and who require but little 
 enticement to make them regular indoor guests. Few birds are more con- 
 fiding in their nature, or more trustful in disposition, than the Robin, a 
 circumstance that has won for it universal protection. It may be safely 
 said that in all lands where the English language is spoken, some bird 
 more trustful than the rest, or with a garb approaching the little songster 
 of our own land in colour, is singled out and made a substitute for the 
 Robin. The Americans call the Migratory Thrush, T. migratorius, the 
 Robin; whilst in the Antipodes the Australian colonists have found a 
 substitute in several members of the genus Petroica a group of Chat-like 
 birds, with bright red breasts, and possessing peculiarly sweet and plaintive 
 songs. 
 
 The Robin, like the Chats and Redstarts, is almost constantly in motion. 
 Now hopping from under the densest bushes out onto the lawn or garden- 
 bed, he droops his wings, elevates his tail a little, and with several sharp 
 bobbing motions, utters his few loud shrill call-notes, and sits and eyes 
 you so trustfully, with head turned slightly aside, and his large dark eye 
 betraying just a shade of fearfulness at your presence. He hops confi- 
 dently towards you, perches daintily on some overthrown flower-pot, or on 
 the spade you have left but the moment before, and seems to know he is a 
 welcome guest and perfectly safe. 
 
 The Robin must be classed amongst the most pugnacious of birds, and 
 guards most jealously his favourite haunt from intrusion. He is apparently 
 recognized as the lord of all the smaller birds ; and even the pert little 
 Sparrows do not seem to care to try conclusions with him, and sometimes 
 retire from the heap of crumbs as soon as the Robin appears. Even with its 
 own species it is none the less quarrelsome and pugnacious, combats 
 taking place between rival birds incessantly. Many are the instances on 
 record of this peculiar trait in the Robin's disposition. Dixon writes : 
 " Upon one occasion I was strolling through a dense shrubbery, under the 
 gloomy yew trees, when I heard a flutter amongst the withered leaves on 
 the banks of a tiny rivulet flowing down a ravine. Closer inspection 
 revealed a bird struggling in the water ; and I went down the bank to 
 find out the cause of this strange proceeding, and found a Robin tangled, 
 as it appeared, in the herbage growing on the water's edge. I took hold 
 of the bird with the intention of releasing it from its captivity, and was 
 
THE ROBIN. 265 
 
 about to lift it up when, judge of my surprise, I pulled out from under the 
 bauk a second Robin that had evidently, when conquered, tried to seek 
 safety by squeezing under the bank, also in the water. Both birds, 
 like two warriors bold, were locked in deadly embrace, the one first seen 
 being entangled in the breast -feathers of its antagonist by its claws; their 
 plumage, too, was all wet and ragged, and they had lost many feathers. 
 After keeping them for a short time, I restored them to liberty : the 
 victorious one, I should say, flew quickly off, while its greatly exhausted 
 antagonist just managed to gain a thick bush and was soon lost to view." 
 Other instances of this bird's pugnacity might be given. 
 
 The Robin is a bird of the underwood, the thicket, and the hedgerow, 
 and very similar in his peculiar shadow-like movements to the Hedge- 
 Accentor ; and, like that bird, he often frequents heaps of old wood in the 
 farmyard, disused outbuildings, and heaps of hedge-clippings and other 
 rubbish. Like the Accentor, the Robin hops from his cover into the 
 open, and retires just as quickly and gracefully if disturbed. The Robin's 
 flight is rarely indeed taken at any great elevation in the air, except whilst 
 performing its annual wanderings, and is somewhat irregular if continued 
 for any great distance. The Robin, however, seldom flies far, and always 
 prefers to hide and creep through the branches and seek safety in the under- 
 growth and densest parts of its haunts to using its wings as a means of 
 escape from impending danger. We certainly have not in Britain a more 
 trustful little bird than the Robin ; and, in the winter especially, he seems 
 to know that man is his friend and protector. 
 
 The food of the Robin is varied a little according to the season of the 
 year. During all the " open " months it lives on the smaller earthworms 
 and various kinds of insects and their larvae, obtaining the former food 
 much after the manner of the Thrushes, and much of the latter as the 
 Flycatchers and the Titmice. When the early gardening is going on, he 
 attends the gardener ; and ever and anon gliding quickly from his perching - 
 place to the newly-turned earth, he takes the worms thrown upon the 
 surface. In the bright sunny mornings, or in the cool grey dawn soon 
 after sunrise, he is at work amongst the withered leaves and under the 
 shrubs and garden-plants, seeking his morning meal, occasionally sallying 
 out from a favourite perch to take the insects that are flitting in countless 
 thousands in the air around. The Robin also explores nooks and crannies 
 for larvae, and will search for insects in the expanding buds, like the 
 Finches or the Tits. Again, in fruit-time, when the summer is fast pass- 
 ing away, the Robin eats the cherries, currants, and other garden-fruits ; 
 while the Robin of the woods and fields makes a meal upon the various 
 soft, luscious, wild fruits and berries. In winter, when insect food is 
 scarce, the Robin not unfrequently seeks the sides of little watercourses, 
 or draws near to the houses to subsist upon the crumbs and other 
 
266 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 fragments that are scattered for the poor frozen-out birds, and for " Cock 
 Robin " in particular. At this season the Robin is also found in the farm- 
 yards, and about manure-heaps, stables, and piggeries, the latter places 
 especially, where he takes his meal from the troughs with the greatest 
 confidence, seeming to know that he is a welcome and invited guest. 
 
 The Robin is one of our few perennial songsters, and warbles incessantly 
 throughout the year, except for a few weeks in early autumn whilst under- 
 going his annual change of dress. We have scarcely a bird in Britain that 
 possesses a song so rich and plaintive as that of the Robin a song that pos- 
 sesses so peculiar a charm as to border on sadness, especially when it greets 
 the ear in the decline of autumn when the year is fast ebbing away. 
 When the Robin is in song the observer may have a convincing proof 
 of his trustfulness and familiarity. He will approach quite closely 
 within a few feet of your head, or sit unconcerned in the branches near 
 you, with his bright dress contrasting with the surrounding foliage, and 
 his soft dark eyes looking trustfully at you, and pour forth his charming 
 song. Regularly every day the Robin will frequent some chosen perch to 
 warble forth his notes, and will strictly guard this place from all intruders. 
 The Robin is the countryman's best weather-guide ; for when he sits high 
 up in the branches it is a true sign of fine weather ; or should he skulk 
 down in the lower cover, it is a bad sign, and almost invariably fortells a 
 wet day. Robins often sing in response to each other ; and these concerts 
 not unfrequently lead to combats, especially in the spring. The Robin is 
 one of the first birds to greet the dawn with its song, and also one of the 
 last, possibly the last, to retire in the evening, singing very often at mid- 
 night in early summer. The autumn song of the Robin is, perhaps, his 
 best performance ; or it may be that the total absence of other songs and 
 the dreamy state of all nature at that season of the year lend it an additional 
 charm. In the moulting-season the Robin is seen but occasionally and 
 is never heard to sing ; the young birds are most frequently seen, easily 
 recognized in their sombre dress ; and it is their sharp call-notes that are 
 most frequently heard. Our other songsters, with few exceptions, lose 
 their music with the autumn moult; but the Robin, as soon as this im- 
 portant operation, which takes place in July, is over, regains his powers of 
 voice to warble throughout the winter. First we hear them sing in very 
 small numbers ; but as August passes away these numbers increase, and 
 when September arrives they are in full song once more. There is nothing 
 at this season of the year more beautiful than the song of the Robin. 
 
 The call-note of the Robin is a wonderfully sharp and clear one, and 
 usually uttered several times in rapid succession, accompanied with a quick 
 bobbing motion of the body. Its alarm-note in the nesting-season is a 
 plaintive piping one, monotonously given forth every few moments, more 
 quickly uttered should its nest be threatened by danger. 
 
THE ROBIN. 267 
 
 Paired, in many instances, for life, the Robin is another very early nest- 
 builder. We find its nest in woods adjoining cultivated lands, in the shrub- 
 beries, under the hedgerows and banks in our gardens, in holes of walls 
 and trees, and frequently amongst ivy. The Robin is another of those 
 birds which often select curious sites for their nest. It has been known to 
 build in an old water-can lying neglected and half buried in withered 
 leaves. 
 
 The Robin's nest is very bulky, and somewhat peculiar in its construction. 
 In the first place, should the nest be on the ground, a small cavity is made 
 as a foundation for future operations. Then with withered leaves, dry 
 g'i'a-s, and moss, a somewhat rude nest is made, but with a neat deep 
 cup lined with hair, and sometimes a little wool, and rootlets, the latter 
 material being the most extensively used. When examining the nests of this 
 bird, it will be invariably noticed that the nest itself is at the extreme end of 
 the nesting-cavity, and the " frontage" to the nest is exceedingly extended, a 
 peculiarity noticed in the nests of very few birds ; for the cavity containing 
 the eggs, instead of lying in the centre of the nesting-materials, is on the 
 side, as may easily be observed when the nest is removed from its original 
 site. 
 
 The eggs of the Robin are from five to eight in number ; but probably 
 six may be taken as an average clutch. In ground-colour they are pure and 
 shining white ; the markings, which in some cases are very rich, are brown 
 of various shades, red, and sometimes dashes and freckles of grey. In 
 colour they differ considerably. Some are pure white without a trace of 
 markings, others have a zone of colour round the larger end ; many are so 
 clouded with spots as to hide the ground-colour, while not a few are 
 richly and boldly blotched with reddish brown, streaked with dark brown 
 approaching black. The eggs possess a considerable amount of gloss, 
 which fades to a very great extent after being kept any length of time. 
 To be seen in all their delicate beauty they must be examined soon after 
 they are laid and before the contents have been removed. They vary in 
 length from 0'9 to O7 inch, and in breadth from 0'65 to O56 inch. 
 
 The Robin rears two and sometimes three broods in the year, but never 
 in the same nest. This bird, however, will rear its young in certain locali- 
 ties for years if left unmolested. An instance is recorded of a certain 
 site being tenanted for five successive years ; but every year the old nest 
 was removed, leaving a clear site for the little builders. 
 
 What becomes of the great numbers of Robins which, on account of the 
 bird's immunity from persecution, must of necessity be reared in this 
 country? Considerable discussion has of late years taken place re- 
 specting this subject; and many are the reasons advanced to account for 
 the bird's numbers still remaining about the same. Without doubt the 
 Robin is, to some extent, a migratory bird, even in our own land; and 
 
268 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 many of the young birds pass southwards in the autumn, and never come 
 back again : many die from the dangers of the journey ; and some probably 
 settle elsewhere. The young of most birds rarely, if ever, remain in the 
 locality of their birth. As soon as they reach maturity and can shift for 
 themselves, the old birds, in a great number of instances, drive them off; 
 whilst with some birds the movement is a voluntary one. Another cause 
 which prevents the increase of our resident birds is the occurrence of hard 
 winters. A long-continued frost or heavy fall of snow causes great mor- 
 tality amongst small birds, of which any one may convince himself 
 by noting the comparative abundance of birds in the beginning and 
 towards the end of winter. The number of resident birds in a spring 
 which follows a hard winter is generally conspicuously below the average. 
 The general colour of the Robin is olive-brown, shading into buffish 
 brown on the flanks and into greyish white on the centre of the belly ; 
 the forehead, lores, ear-coverts, chin, throat, and breast are rich orange- 
 chestnut, the chestnut margined with a few grey feathers on the crown 
 and the sides of the neck. Legs, toes, and claws pale brown ; bill and 
 irides black. The male and female birds are similar in colour. After the 
 autumn moult the colour of the breast &c. is richer. Birds of the year 
 scarcely differ from, adults ; but the young, in nestling-plumage, are 
 spotted, caused by ochraceous centres and nearly black tips to all the 
 smaller feathers of the upper and under parts. 
 
ARCTIC BLUE-THROATED ROBIN. 269 
 
 ERITHACUS SUECICA* (Brehm, nee Temminck). 
 ARCTIC BLUE-THROATED ROBIN. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Motacilla suecica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 336 (1766, partiiri) ; et auctonun pluri- 
 
 morum (Selby), (Brehm), (Blyth), (Gould), (Sundevall), (Jerdon), (Newton). 
 
 (Dresser), &c. 
 
 Ficedula suecica (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 553 (partini). 
 Motacilla cserulecula, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 480 (1826). 
 Curruca suecica (Linn.), Selby, Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumb. i. p. 255 (1831). 
 Cyanecula suecica (Linn.), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 350 (1831). 
 Phoenicura suecica (Linn.), Sykes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1832, p. 92. 
 Pandicilla suecica (Linn.), Bhjth, Field Naturalist, i. p. 291 (1833). 
 Ruticffla cyanecula (Wolf), apud Macgill. Br. B. ii. p. 300 (1839). 
 Lusciola suecica (Linn.), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. Iviii, 190 (1840, partim). 
 Cyanecula fastuosa, Less. Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 22<">. 
 
 Sylvia suecica (Linn.), Nordm. Demid. Voy. Ritss. mend. iii. p. 135 (1840). 
 Sylvia cvane (Pall.}, apud Eccr*tn. Add. Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. fasc. ii. p. 12 
 
 (1841). 
 Phcenicura suecoides, Jlodgs. MS. Drawings (in the Brit. Mus.) of B. of Nepal, Passeres, 
 
 pi. xci. no. 703, wide 
 
 Calliope suecioides; Hodgs. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 83 (1844). 
 Cyanecula suecioides, Hodgs. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 83 (1844). 
 Erithacus suecica (Linn.), Deyl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 513 (1849). 
 Sylvia cferuligula, Pall.Jide Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 167 (1849). 
 Cyanecula cserulecula (Pall.), Bonap. Consp. i. p. 296 (1850). 
 Cyanecula dichrosterna (Pall.),jide Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 1 (1850). 
 Sylvia (Cyanecula) suecica (Linn.), var. cserulecula (Pall.), Middend. Reis. Sibir. 
 
 Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 177 (1853). 
 
 Niltava fastuosa (Less.), Bonap. Compt. Rend, xxxviii. p. 34 (1854). 
 Cyanecula cyane (Evcrsm.), Bonap. Cat. Parzud. p. 5 (1856). 
 
 * The earlier ornithologists did not distinguish between the Bluethroat with a white 
 spot on the blue throat, and the Bluethroat with a chestnut spot on the blue throat. 
 Some of them applied the specific name suecica to one species, and some of them to the 
 other, whilst a few applied it indifferently to both species. It seems probable that the 
 name was more or less misapplied by Linnaeus, Gmelin, Bechstein, Latham, Temminck, 
 Vifillot, Xaumann, Koch, Boie, Gould, Keyserling, Blasius, Gray, Bonaparte, Cabanis, 
 Degland, Gerbe, Loche, and some others. Ornithological blunders are soon forgotten ; 
 but to avoid the possibility of mistake, it is wisest for the present either to adopt Pallas's 
 name, which, so far as I know, has never been misapplied, or to append an authority to 
 the name which clearly denotes the species intended to be discriminated. It appears that 
 Brehm was th>first to distinguish between the two species ; but we cannot give him much 
 credit for doing so, because he was not content to make two species, but must needs split 
 them into five. Of the ornithologists who have misapplied the name, perhaps Temminck 
 is the earliest who applied it only to the wrong species. 
 
270 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Luscuiia suecica (Linn.), Sundev. Sv. Fogl. p. 60 (1856). 
 
 Cyanecula suecica (Linn.), ft. ceerulecula (Pall.), Newt. List B. Eur. Blasius, p. 10 
 
 (1862). 
 
 Ruticilla suecica (Linn.), Newt. cd. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 321 (1873). 
 Erithacus ceeruleculus (Pall), Seebohm, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. v. p. 308 (1881). 
 
 The Arctic Bluethroat is a far more eastern and northern bird in 
 its distribution than the White-spotted species (which is essentially a 
 southern and temperate one), and is a summer visitant only to the higher 
 and northern portions of Europe. It was first recorded as a British bird 
 by Mr. Fox, in his ' Synopsis of the Newcastle Museum/ pp. 298, 308, 
 and in the 'Zoological Journal/ iii. p. 497, from a specimen obtained on 
 the Town-Moor of Newcastle-on-Tyne, on May 20th, 1826, by Mr. Thomas 
 Embleton, who presented it to the museum. The second specimen, said 
 to have been killed in Dorsetshire, was recorded by Mr. J. C. Dale, in the 
 ' Naturalist/ ii. p. 275. The next two occurrences are recorded by Yarrell, 
 in his ' British Birds/ i. p. 322 one of a specimen killed near Birmingham, 
 and in the possession of Mr. Plumptre Methuen ; the other, a male bird, 
 found dead on the beach at Yarmouth, September 21st, 1841. Mr. 
 Morris also mentions, on the authority of Mr. E. Cole, one shot at Margate, 
 in September 1842; and in September 1844 two specimens, an adult and 
 a bird of the year, were sent, in the flesh, to Yarrell for inspection, by Mr. 
 Gardner, and were said to have been shot in the Isle of Sheppey. An 
 eighth example is in the Strickland collection in the University Museum 
 of Cambridge ; but no particulars are known respecting it beyond those on 
 the label, "Britain, 1846." Lord Lilford recorded in the ' Zoologist/ 
 p. 3709, another example, shot about Sept. 15th, 1852, near Whimple, in 
 South Devon. A female, killed at Worthing on May 2nd, 1853, is men- 
 tioned by Mr. Stevenson in the < Zoologist/ p. 3907 ; and a male bird, 
 killed early in May 1856, near Lowestoft (Zool. p. 5149), is now in Mr! 
 Gurney's collection. Mr. Cecil Smith notices one said to have been taken 
 in Somerset in 1856, and now in the Exeter Museum; and Mr. H. Pratt 
 records in the < Zoologist/ p. 8281, a male caught at Brighton, on October 
 1st, 1862, and now in Mr. Borrer's collection. Captain Hadfield gives us 
 a series of notes on a Bluethroat which frequented a locality in the Isle 
 of Wight from February 1865 to September 1867, and recorded in the 
 ' Zoologist ' for those years, being part of the time accompanied by a 
 second example. It is doubtful, however, whether this bird was the true 
 E. suecica; for in the < Zoologist' for 1866, p. 172, he states that the 
 bird's breast was "pure and spotless blue"* characteristic of the E. wolfii 
 of Brehm. Professor Newton has also been informed by Mr. Gray that a 
 male bird was caught on board a fishing-boat off Aberdeen, on May 16th, 
 1872. Mr. G. P. Moore mentions, in the < Zoologist' for 1877 p 449 a 
 male bird, in the possession of R. C. Fowler, Esq., of Gunton, near 
 
ARCTIC BLUE-THROATED ROBIN. 271 
 
 Lowestoft, found, in July of that year, strangled in a fishing-net, on 
 Gunton Denes ; and, lastly, Mr. Eagle Clarke has sent me a female bird 
 of the year for examination, which was shot in his presence this autumn 
 on Spurn Point. 
 
 The Arctic Blue-throat breeds within the Arctic circle, or in the birch- 
 regions at high elevations of more southerly climes, both in Europe and 
 Asia ; in the latter continent it breeds as far south as the Himalayas, and 
 occasionally crosses Behring's Straits into Alaska. The European birds 
 pass through Central and Southern Europe and Palestine on migration, 
 and winter in North Africa as far south as Abyssinia ; whilst the Asiatic 
 birds, with the exception of those individuals breeding at high elevations 
 in the south, pass through Turkestan, Mongolia, and North China, and 
 winter iu Baluchistan, India and Ceylon, Burma, the Andaman Islands, and 
 South China. 
 
 It is only during the periods of migration that ornithologists in tem- 
 perate Europe have an opportunity of observing the habits of this interesting 
 little bird ; for it spends its summer far away in the arctic north, and its 
 winter in Africa. Perhaps no other place of call at which this little song- 
 ster stays on its annual journey is so favoured with its presence as the 
 little island of Heligoland, to the natives of which it is a well-known and 
 anticipated guest. My friend Gaetke, the veteran ornithologist, writes to 
 me : " Here, during the month of May, if a cold, dry north wind is not 
 actually blowing, this little bird is without fail a daily visitor; but should 
 the weather be fine, if a gentle east or south-east wind should have been 
 blowing early in the morning, accompanied by fine warm drizzling rain, it 
 is often so numerous that Aeuckeus and I have frequently each shot from 
 thirty to fifty birds on such a day, picking out only the finest-plumaged 
 males. From the middle of August to the middle of September, whenever 
 the weather is suitable, it is generally even more frequent. At this 
 season of the year they confine themselves almost entirely to the potatoe- 
 fields outside the town, whilst in spring one sees them most frequently 
 hopping about under the gooseberry and currant-bushes in our gardens. 
 They seem, however, to have a special preference for the beds planted 
 thickly with cabbages, just beginning to resprout in spring. They also 
 frequent the dead branches of the so-called ' Throstle-bushes/ as well as 
 shady corners in the fences of the gardens ; and sometimes they are even 
 found at the foot of the rocks amongst the fallen stones, or in dark 
 clefts of the cliffs. This charming bird, like the Robin, is a most confiding 
 little creature. When you are at work iu the garden, if you only take care 
 to appear as if you were taking no notice of him, he will remain for 
 hours together within twenty paces of you, hopping constantly about with 
 quick steps, at each of the many pauses standing erect with quivering 
 outspread tail raised above the wings, and looking eagerly around with 
 
272 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 his clear dark eyes. If at that moment the idea enters his little head that 
 you are watching him, he vanishes with long hops as quick as lightning 
 under the bushes or between the vegetables, to reappear again in half a 
 minute with as much confiding trust as ever. Many a time I should have 
 been glad to add such a fine-plum aged bird to my cabinet, but could not 
 find it in my heart to injure a creature which was such charming company 
 and seemed to trust so confidingly to my protection." 
 
 During the short summer in the northern regions the Arctic Blue- 
 throat is one of the commonest of birds, and in Sweden is known as the 
 Swedish Mocking-bird. Generally it is shy and retiring, seeking food in 
 the densest thickets and bushes, haunting the marshy grounds sprinkled 
 over with small spruce-fir, dwarf willows, and juniper. But when newly 
 arrived from its winter home, and beginning to sing, it comes more promi- 
 nently into notice and is far from shy. On its first arrival it often warbles 
 in an undertone so low, that you fancy the sound must be muffled by the 
 thick tangle of branches in which you think the bird is concealed, whilst all 
 the time he is perched on high upon the topmost spray of a young fir,, his 
 very conspicuousness causing him to escape detection for the moment. 
 His first attempts at singing are harsh and grating, like the notes of the 
 Sedge- Warbler, or the still harsher ones of the Whitethroat; these are 
 followed by several variations in a louder and rather more melodious tone, 
 repeated over and over again, somewhat in the fashion of a Song-Thrush. 
 After this you might fancy the little songster w r as trying to mimic the 
 various alarm-notes of all the birds he can remember ; the chiz-zit of the 
 Wagtail, the tip-tip-tip of the Blackbird, and especially the whit-whit of 
 the Chaffinch. As he improves in voice, he sings louder and longer, until 
 at last he almost approaches the Nightingale in the richness of the melody 
 that he pours forth. Sometimes he will sing as he flies upwards, descend- 
 ing with expanded wings and tail to alight on the highest bough of some 
 low tree, almost exactly as the Tree-Pipit does in the meadows of our own 
 land. When the females have arrived, there comes at the end of his 
 song the most metallic notes I have ever heard a bird utter. It is a 
 sort of ting-ting, resembling the sound produced by striking a suspended 
 bar of steel with another piece of the same metal. The female appears 
 to shun the open far more carefully than her mate ; and while he will be 
 perched on a topmost spray, gladdening the whole air around with his 
 varied tuneful melody, she will remain in the undergrowth beneath him, 
 gliding hither and thither, more like a mouse than a bird, through the 
 branches. 
 
 The Arctic Bluethroat is a bird of the swamps; if it does not 
 go to the far-off tundras beyond the limit of forest-grow r th to rear its 
 young, it selects some swampy part of the forest, or some boggy moor 
 where mosquitoes abound when it has to feed its nestlings. The fjelds of 
 
ARCTIC BLUE-THROATED ROBIN. .273 
 
 Lapland and the tundras of Siberia are not level. The peat is imper- 
 vious to water; and there is a constant struggle going on between the 
 rich and rank vegetation which establishes itself there and the water 
 which lies on the flat places and is always running down the slopes when 
 the snow melts. The tundra is seldom smooth like a common, but is 
 generally a cluster of little hummocks or mounds covered over with rushes 
 carices, cloudberry, and other ground fruits, with sometimes a stunted 
 birch or willow scarcely higher than the coarse grass. These hummocks 
 are the favourite breeding-places of the Arctic Bluethroat. I have 
 generally found the nest well concealed in a snug hole on the side of one 
 of these hummocks, just such a place as a Robin would choose in such 
 a locality. 
 
 The nest is not unlike that of a Robin. The hole is well filled with 
 dry grass and roots, and at the far end a neat deep cup is formed lined 
 with fine roots and hah-. It is almost impossible to find the nest, except 
 by accidentally frightening off the bird, and even then it often takes some 
 time, so carefully is it concealed. The eggs are from five to six in 
 number, and are laid about the middle of June. They are greenish blue, 
 more or less distinctly marbled with pale reddish brown, and are very 
 similar to the eggs of the Nightingale. They may be described as 
 miniature eggs of the Redwing. They measure from *8 to '69 inch 
 in length, and from '56 to - 53 inch in breadth. 
 
 The food of the Arctic Bluethroat is partly vegetable and partly 
 animal. A lover of low and swampy districts marshy grounds studded 
 with willow clumps, and wet meadows, it obtains earth-worms in 
 abundance, also various kinds of insects and their larvae, its principal 
 food during the breeding-season being undoubtedly mosquitoes. It also 
 eats small seeds of various kinds. Like the Robin, the Redstart, and 
 other nearly allied birds, the Arctic Bluethroat obtains much of its 
 insect food when hovering in the air in a similar manner to the Fly- 
 catchers; and when searching amongst withered leaves or moss upon 
 the ground, its actions are almost precisely the same as those of the 
 Robin or the Hedge-Accentor. 
 
 The Arctic Bluethroat has the whole of the upper parts uniform brown, 
 except a white or pale buff streak over the eye from the base of the bill 
 backwards, and the tail, which is blackish brown with the basal half bright 
 chestnut, except the two centre feathers, which are uniform brown. The 
 chin, cheeks, throat, and upper breast are metallic cobalt-blue, with a large 
 chestnut spot in the centre of the lower throat ; below the blue is a band of 
 black, and below that the chestnut reappears in a broad band across the 
 lower breast* the rest of the underparts being buflash white. Bill black ; 
 legs, feet, claws, and irides dark brown. The female is not so showy as 
 the male, simply having a dark-brown band across the chest ; but some- 
 
 VOL. i. T 
 
274 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 times she attains by age some of his blue and chestnut markings. After 
 the autumn moult the bright plumage is partially hidden by broad margins 
 to the feathers, which, however, are cast in the spring. Males of the year 
 resemble females; and young in nestling plumage have all the small 
 feathers nearly black with buffish centres, palest and most prominent 
 on the belly. 
 
 The European Bluethroat (Erithacus cyaneculus] is the Southern and 
 Western representative of the Arctic Bluethroat. It has been included 
 in the British list, but on far too slender evidence ; and although I have 
 figured the egg of this bird, for the sake of comparison, its claims as a 
 British species must remain in abeyance until more satisfactory evidence 
 is forthcoming. A bird alleged to be of this species was seen in the Isle 
 of Wight (Zoologist, 1866, p. 172) ; but the evidence is unsatisfactory 
 and meagre. Another specimen is said to have been picked up dead 
 under the telegraph-wires at Seamer, near Scarborough (Zoologist, 1876, 
 p. 4956) ; as, however, this specimen was a female, and as the adult 
 females of the two species are very often the same in plumage, and 
 immature females are apparently always undistinguishable, it is impossible 
 to recognise the bird as an undoubted European Bluethroat. The third and 
 last recorded instance of the bird's capture in Great Britain was announced 
 by my friend Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown in the 'Zoologist' for 1881, p. 451. 
 This specimen was obtained from the Isle of May on the 24th of September 
 of that year. I have seen this example ; it is a bird of the year, and there 
 is not a shadow of evidence to indicate to which species it belongs. 
 
 The European Bluethroat breeds in Central and Western Europe, 
 but becomes rarer during the breeding-season as we trace it eastwards. 
 It is said to pass through Turkestan and Northern Cashmere on migration, 
 and to have been occasionally obtained in India and Persia ; but I have 
 never seen an Asiatic skin, and doubt its occurrence in Asia. Great 
 doubt attaches to the specimens of this bird obtained so far to the east- 
 wards as Persia and India ; and it is possible that immature birds of the 
 Arctic species have been mistaken for them. The greater number of these 
 birds pass through South Europe on migration, and winter in Palestine 
 and North Africa. 
 
 In its habits and mode of nesting, and in its song and call-notes, the 
 European Bluethroat resembles its Arctic ally. Like that bird it is a lover 
 of swampy places, fond of concealment, and creeps in a silent mouse-like 
 manner through the bushes and undergrowth ; and its food, so far as I can 
 determine, is also similar. Its nest is placed similarly to that of the pre- 
 ceding species on the ground under the shelter of a tussock, or at the foot 
 of a small bush ; and the materials which compose it are much the same. 
 The eggs of this bird present much the same types, and possess similar 
 variations to those of its northern congener. 
 
ARCTIC BLUE-THROATED ROBIN. 
 
 275 
 
 I found this species by no means uncommon in the swampy districts 
 near Valkenswaard, in Holland. 
 
 The only difference between this and the preceding species is in the 
 colour of the throat-spot, which is pure white. There are three forms of 
 the Blue-throated Robin, the adult males of which, when in full breeding- 
 plumage, may be readily distinguished. First, we have the Northern or 
 Arctic form, with the spot in the centre of the throat red ; secondly, the 
 South-European form, with the spot in the centre of the throat pure and 
 silky white ; and thirdly, the form of which the throat is uniform blue. 
 The two former of these birds have different breeding-grounds, and quite 
 distinct areas of geographical distribution ; but the uniform-blue-throated 
 form is chiefly met with in localities frequented by the Southern or white- 
 spotted form. In the specimens I have examined of this blue-throated 
 form, in which the breast at first sight appeared unspotted blue, I have 
 generally found the bases of the feathers on the throat white. Newton, 
 in his edition of YarrelFs ' British Birds/ asserts that these differ- 
 ences of plumage (especially in the white-spotted and spotless forms) are 
 coexistent with differences in the length of the tarsus ; but in an examina- 
 tion of a series of these birds, I find that the measurement of the tarsus is a 
 variable quantity, and of no value in separating the species. 
 
276 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ERITHACUS LUSCINIA. 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula luscinia, JSriss. Orn. iii. p. 397 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla luscinia, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 328 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 Gmelin, Bechstein, (Latham), (Temminck), (Selby), (Gould), (Bonaparte), (De- 
 gland), (Gerbe), (Locke). (Salvadori), (Newton), &c. 
 
 Sylvia luscinia (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 154 (1769). 
 
 Aedon luscinia (Linn.), Forst. Syn. Cat. Br. B. p. 53 (1814). 
 
 Ourruca luscinia (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baiei: Zool. i. p. 154 (1816). 
 
 Daulias luscinia (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1831, p. 542. 
 
 Philomela luscinia (Linn.). Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 206 (1833). 
 
 Lusciola luscinia (Linn.), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. Iviii, 189 (1840). 
 
 Erithacus luscinia (Linn.), Degl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 499 (1849). 
 
 Luscinia vera, Gray, Hand-l B. i. p. 220 (1869). 
 
 Luscinia philomela (Bechst.), apud Brehm, Bonaparte, Gray, Cabanis, Gould, Heuylin, 
 Harting, &c. 
 
 The Nightingale is a common summer visitor to all the counties of 
 England, except those in the north and west, being comparatively rare in 
 South Yorkshire, Shropshire, and East Devon, which may be considered 
 the limits of its range in our islands. It has never been recorded from 
 Ireland ; and its alleged occurrence in Scotland rests upon very doubtful 
 authority, though it may possibly visit the latter country as an accidental 
 straggler. 
 
 It is pretty generally distributed on the continent of Europe during the 
 breeding-season south of Scandinavia and west of Russia, only occurring 
 in the latter country accidentally. It passes through North Africa on 
 migration, a few remain to breed in Algeria; but the majority winter in 
 the interior somewhere south of Abyssinia. In South Sweden and Central 
 Russia our Nightingale is replaced by the Eastern Nightingale (Erithacus 
 philomela), a species whose breeding-range extends eastwards into Asia 
 Minor, Northern Turkestan, and South-western Siberia. Westwards its 
 range overlaps that of our bird, occasionally reaching as far as the valley 
 of the Rhine. It is not improbable that this bird has occurred in Great 
 Britain, but its presence has been overlooked. An equally near ally, the 
 Persian Nightingale (Erithacus golzii), breeds in the cultivated districts 
 of Turkestan and West Persia, extending its western range as far as 
 the Caucasus. In coloration this species is intermediate between our 
 Nightingale and E. philomela, being slightly more olive than the former 
 and slightly more russet than the latter. In its wing-formula it resembles 
 the former species ; but may be distinguished from both by its slightly 
 longer bill ('07 to '06 inch) and much larger tail (3-32 to 2'95 inch). 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE. 277 
 
 The Nightingale arrives at its breeding-grounds in the south of England 
 about the middle of April, but not before the latter end of the month or 
 the beginning of May in the most northerly localities. As the male 
 Nightingale sings well in confinement and possesses such rich and varied 
 musical powers, it is sought after eagerly by the bird-catchers, and during 
 the first week or so of its sojourn in England great numbers are caught. 
 But the Nightingale does not bear captivity well ; and by far the greater 
 number that are caught die within a short time of their capture. It is 
 said that if a male is caught after having found a mate, he seldom lives in 
 confinement, but pines away. The bird-catchers, therefore, are always on 
 the look-out to entrap their victims the moment they arrive. Birds caught 
 in the autumn seldom live long. 
 
 The Nightingale in many of its habits closely resembles the Robin; 
 and the haunts it affects are in many cases very similar. Singularly 
 enough, it is only found in certain localities in England, shunning 
 others which seeni in all respects suited to it. The Nightingale is a very 
 skulking bird, frequenting the dense undergrowth, hopping restlessly about 
 the cover, and when alarmed it instantly finds shelter amongst the tangled 
 vegetation. Sometimes in the woods and coppices it is seen flitting across 
 the path ; and its harsh croaking call-note, something like the Whitethroat's, 
 may be heard from all parts of the cover. The haunts of the Nightingale 
 are woods and plantations in which the undergrowth is particularly thick and 
 close. Tangled hedgerows and the thickly-wooded banks of streams are 
 also favourite haunts of this bird. In this respect it shows the same 
 preference as the Robin, seeking marshy places where worms and insects, 
 which form its chief food, are found abundantly. 
 
 When searching for its food the Nightingale instantly puts you in mind 
 of the Robin. It alights on the ground, looks carefully around, and then 
 commences to turn over the dead leaves in search of worms and grubs. It 
 will then hop daintily along, every moment pausing to listen with head 
 slightly turned aside, and its full dark eye gazing intently at you. Like 
 the Robin, the present species has a habit of repeatedly jerking up its 
 tail, lowering the head, and drooping the wings. Although so fond of 
 concealment, and so shy and timid that it seeks the cover the instant it is 
 alarmed, it may often be seen in the open places in the woods, sometimes 
 by the roadside, or in gardens; but if observed, like the Thrushes, it 
 soon seeks seclusion. ^ hen alarmed its note is a low guttural one, 
 and it will repeatedly snap its bill in its extreme anxiety. Its call-note 
 is a long-drawn plaintive weet, very similar to that of the Robin. Its 
 voice is heard soon after its arrival ; and it sings incessantly from 
 pairing-time in April until the young are hatched in June. From 
 this period its notes are rarely heard ; for the bird is too busy bringing 
 up its young to find time to sing; and when they are safely reared, 
 
278 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the autumn 1 moult is at hand a time when no bird is heard to sing. 
 The song of the Nightingale has possibly been overpraised. Its beauties 
 have been the poet's theme for ages ; and men have immortalized it who 
 have probably never listened to its strains. Fiction has described the 
 bird as leaning against a thorn, and has thus explained the cause of its 
 singularly melancholy notes. The Nightingale's song nevertheless is 
 not equalled by that of any other bird ; and the volume, quality, and 
 variety of its notes are certainly unrivalled. It is impossible in words 
 to convey its delightful strains to the reader; the bird's haunts must 
 be visited, and its sweetness listened to there. The Nightingale does 
 not always sing in the hours of night, as is very popularly believed to be 
 the case ; and it may be heard warbling at all hours of the day. Neither 
 is the Nightingale the only bird that sings under a starlight sky; the 
 Sedge-Warbler, the Robin, the Thrush, the Cuckoo, the Grasshopper 
 Warbler, and others repeatedly do so. I have heard persons describe in 
 rapturous language the music they have heard at night, which they attri- 
 buted to the present bird, when the Sedge- Warbler was undoubtedly the 
 musician that had charmed them so much. 
 
 The food of the Nightingale is for the most part obtained upon the 
 ground : worms, that are searched for in the marshy portions of its haunts 
 and under the decaying leaves ; ants and their larvse, and also other insects, 
 many of which it obtains amongst the herbage on the ground or in the 
 decaying timbers found in its marshy haunts. It is also said to be 
 extremely partial to fruit, like most of the small summer birds of 
 passage, and to eat both elder-berries and currants. The young 
 birds were observed by Montagu to be almost entirely fed on small green 
 caterpillars. 
 
 It seems that the Nightingale resorts yearly to its old haunts, and, like 
 the Robin, is somewhat pugnacious during the pairing-season, zealously 
 guarding its own little domain from intrusion. The breeding-season com- 
 mences early in May ; and the nest is usually on or near the ground. In 
 the woods the site of the nest is usually amongst the tall rank grass or 
 beneath the low underwood, sometimes in a recess amongst old gnarled 
 roots, and occasionally in ivy several feet from the ground. At other 
 times it is built in the close dense hedgerow-bottoms, and on the banks of 
 a lane amidst the luxuriant summer plants there. Sometimes it is placed in 
 a heap of dead leaves at the foot of a tree. The nest is a large structure 
 loosely put together outside, but neatly finished. It is composed externally 
 of dry. grass, sometimes fine flags and rushes, and strips of withered bark, 
 together with dead leaves of the oak, the hawthorn, and the birch, usually 
 the former. The nest-cavity, which is deep and round, is lined with fine 
 grasses, dry rootlets, sometimes with horsehair, and more rarely with 
 vegetable down. 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE. 279 
 
 The eggs of the Nightingale are four or five iu number, usually the 
 latter, and sometimes as many as six have been found. There appear to 
 be two types of the egg of this bird a rich olive-brown one, and a bluish 
 green one. The ground-colour of the olive-brown type of egg is bluish 
 green, where it can be seen through the surface-colouring, which is pale 
 reddish brown. The bluish-green type is very faintly mottled with pale 
 reddish brown, the colouring-matter sometimes being collected on one end 
 of the egg like a cap. In some specimens this cap is to be seen on each 
 end, the egg becoming paler round the centre. Some eggs are finely 
 streaked here and there with darker brown. In size they vary from '93 
 to '75 inch in length, and from '65 to '57 inch in breadth. But one 
 brood is reared in the year. 
 
 The Nightingale passes Gibraltar every season in great numbers on 
 its migrations, arriving about the luith of April, returning in August 
 and September. This locality appears to be the favourite route of the 
 Nightingale over the sea from its summer to its winter quarters. Still 
 many birds cross the Mediterranean at other points ; and Dixon has a note 
 to the effect that a nightingale flew on board the steamer when in mid-sea 
 on the 21st u: April, crossing from Marseilles to Phillippeville. This bird 
 was remarkably tame, and alighted on the back of one of the French 
 soldiers lying on the upper deck. The flight of the Nightingale is buoyant 
 and quick ; but seldom long sustained, for it usually confines its movements 
 to flitting from bush to bush, and rarely crosses the open. 
 
 The Nightingale has the general colour of the upper parts russet-brown, 
 shading into brownish chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and tail. The 
 underparts, including the lores, are buffish white, shading into greyish 
 white on the breast and flanks, and into brownish white on the axillaries 
 and under wing- and tail-coverts. Bill brown above and pale horn-colour 
 below. Legs, feet, and claws brown ; irides hazel. The female in the 
 colour of her plumage does not differ from the male. Young in first 
 plumage have pale centres to most of the feathers. 
 
280 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus MONTICOLA. 
 
 The genus Monticola was established by Boie (Isis, 1822, p. 552), who 
 indicated M. saxatilis as the type. It contains the Rock-Thrushes, which 
 may be distinguished from the Ground-Thrushes by the absence of the 
 Geocichline pattern under the wing, from the true Thrushes by never 
 having the throat streaked, and from the Ouzels by their black legs and 
 bills, or, where the legs are black in the Ouzels, by having the bill less 
 than - 9 inch. From the Robins and the Redstarts and the smaller Chats 
 they may be distinguished by their stout bill (*74 or longer). From the 
 larger Chats the fact that the under tail-coverts are blue or chestnut is a 
 sufficient distinction. These generic distinctions are purely artificial. 
 The genera Monticola, Ruticilla, Saxicola, Erithacus, and Myrmecocichla 
 are all artificial ; and the eighty species which they contain really all belong 
 to one genus. I have only retained them out of deference to the practice 
 of ornithologists. The mania for making new genera is a great evil ; and 
 I have only retained the pseudo-genera in cases like the present for the 
 sake o convenience, or to avoid change. 
 
 The Rock-Thrushes, of which about ten species are known, are confined 
 to the Old World, frequenting the southern half of the Palasarctic Region, 
 the ^Ethiopian Region, and the Oriental Region, being absent from the 
 Australian Region. Two species range throughout South Europe to 
 North China during the breeding-season. One species is resident in 
 Abyssinia, and three in South Africa. Two species breed in the Himalayas, 
 one of which extends also to West China. One species breeds in South- 
 east Siberia and North-east China, whilst another appears to be confined 
 to East China and Japan. One of the European species has without 
 doubt occurred in our islands, whilst another has been included in the 
 British list on unsatisfactory evidence. 
 
 The Rock-Thrushes, although closely allied to the other Thrushes, are 
 still more so both in structure and habits to the Redstarts and Chats. 
 They are in fact nothing more than large Redstarts. They frequent open 
 rocky country, and, like the Redstarts and the Chats, are restless, solitary 
 birds. Most of the Rock-Thrushes are possessed of fair powers of song. 
 Their food consists largely of insects, grubs, and worms, and also, more 
 rarely, of fruit. Their nests are loosely made of rootlets, dry grasses, moss, 
 hair, and feathers, and placed in holes of walls and rocks. Their eggs are 
 from four to six in number, pale greenish blue in colour, very rarely 
 spotted with pale brown. 
 
THE ROCK-THRUSH. 218 
 
 MONTICOLA SAXATILIS. 
 
 THE ROCK-THRUSH. 
 
 (PLATE 8.) 
 
 Turdus merula saxatilis, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 238 (1760). 
 
 Turdus saxatilis, Linn. Si/st. Xat. i. p. 294 (1766) ; et auctorum plnrimorum 
 
 Bechstein, Wolf, Pallas, Vieillot, (Blyth), (Locke), (Heuglin), (Newton), 
 
 (Dresser), &c. 
 
 Lanius infaustus . minor, Gmd. Syst. Nat. i. p. 310 (1788). 
 Turdus infaustus (Gmel.), Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 335 (1790). 
 Saxicola montana, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. L p. 185 (1816). 
 Monticola saxatilis (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 Petrocincla saxatilis (Linn.), Vigors, Zool. Journ. ii. p. 396 (1826). 
 Petrocossyphus saxatilis (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 972. 
 Sylvia saxatilis (Linn.), Sari. Orn. Tosc. i. p. 218 (1827). 
 Saxicola saxatilis (Linn.), Riipp. Xeue Tf'irb. Vog. p. 80 (1835). 
 Petrocichla saxatilis (Linn.), Keys. w. Bias. H'irb. Eur. pp. 1, 175 (1840). 
 Orocetes saxatilis (Linn.), Horsf. $ Moore, Cat. B. Mius. E.I. Co. i. p. 189 (1854). 
 Petrocinla saxatilis (Linn.), Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 29 (1856). 
 Petrocinchla saxatilis (Linn.), Neict. List B. Eur. Blasius, p. 9 (1862). 
 
 The occurrence of the Rock -Thrush, in England is only accidental ; but 
 two specimens are known to have been taken, and one more is said to have 
 been identified but not secured. Both these captures were first recorded 
 by Yarrell. In the first instance (19tb May, 1843) the bird was obtained 
 by a Mr. Joseph Trigg, who shot it at Therfield in Hertfordshire, while it 
 was sitting on an ash-tree. The second specimen, of which Yarrell omits 
 to state the locality, was shot by a gamekeeper, who only preserved its 
 head and neck, sufficient evidence however to refer it to the present 
 species. A specimen of this bird was also seen and followed for two miles, 
 in June 1852, near Robin Hood's Bay, by a Mr. Bedlington, who, however, 
 failed to secure it (see ' Naturalist/ 1856, p. 21). The Rock-Thrush breeds 
 across Southern Europe as far north as the Hartz Mountains, and east- 
 wards through Persia, Turkestan, and South Siberia, as far as Lake 
 Baikal, South-east Mongolia, and North China. It passes through North 
 Africa on migration, where a few remain to breed, and winters in 
 Senegambia and Abyssinia. Eastwards its winter range extends to the 
 borders of India and into North Burma. 
 
 The haunts of the Rock-Thrush embrace some of the wildest of scenes. 
 Its summer home is amongst the rocky gorges of the mountains, in and 
 amongst old^i'uins, ravines, and rough broken ground strewed with rock- 
 fragments, with here and there a few stunted trees or bushes. On the 
 Parnassus I found this bird inhabiting the wildest districts up to the pine- 
 
282 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 region. As his name implies, he is a bird of the rocky wilderness, and 
 like the Chats and the Redstarts, prefers such situations to more pastoral 
 districts. His winter home in Africa is in the neighbourhood of the Arab 
 burial-places, on the borders of the arid desert the vast and trackless 
 Sahara, the gorges, embankments, rocky bluifs and ravines, and the oases 
 of the desert. 
 
 The Rock-Thrush begins to arrive at its breeding-grounds early in April, 
 most of the birds probably pairing before they quit their winter quarters, 
 as they are usually seen in pairs at the various places they touch at en 
 route, and arrive in pairs at their breeding- stations. Upon one occasion 
 Canon Tristram met with this species on migration during one of his 
 wanderings in the Holy Land, and thus describes the strange and interest- 
 ing sight : " Of the Rock-Thrushes, Petrocincla saxatilis, whose red tail 
 and Redstart-like habits link it most closely with the Ruticillinee, is in 
 most parts of Palestine merely a passing traveller, and tarries but a night. 
 On the 8th of April the whole of Mount Gerizim was covered by a restless 
 flock of these birds, which, at a distance, we took for the Black Redstart, 
 so exactly did they resemble that bird in their actions. They hopped rest- 
 lessly from rock to rock, never taking a flight of more than a few yards ; 
 and in this fashion, in loose order, ranging for perhaps a mile in breadth, 
 they appeared to be steadily proceeding northwards. When the foremost 
 line had reached the valley they took a flight across to the foot of Mount 
 Ebal, over the gardens, and then more leisurely mounted the hill.-" In 
 some instances the male birds are the first to arrive at their summer 
 haunts, notably in the Alpine districts, sometimes preceding the females 
 a week or more. After pairing they remain amongst the rocks of the 
 lower hills, until the snow has left the mountains and made their nursery 
 ready for them. Many of the habits of the Rock -Thrush closely resemble 
 those of the well-known Wheatear. A shy and wary bird, it flits before 
 the observer, alighting on masses of rock, choosing those situations that 
 afford it a good look-out, and from which danger can be most readily 
 detected. Usually seen in pairs, they continue to flit before the observer ; 
 and if he pursues them too closely they retire to some secluded place 
 amongst the rocks, or, by making a long detour, return^to the place from 
 which he disturbed them. Now they may be seen on the ground, or 
 perched Chat-like on old walls and ruins, sitting motionless, and 
 starting rapidly off the instant they are alarmed, the rich and beautifully 
 blended plumage of the male contrasting strongly with his mate's more 
 sober dress. 
 
 Like the Song-Thrush and the Redwing, the Rock-Thrush is essentially 
 an insectivorous bird, and what few berries it does eat are taken as fruit, 
 just as the Blackcap or the Whitethroat will eat currants or raspberries. 
 The Rock-Thrush is often seen upon the ground in search of insects, or 
 
THE ROCK-THRUSH. 283 
 
 on the small patches of grassy land near streams, seeking for earthworms 
 and snails. Amongst these mountain haunts the bird's fare is a bountiful 
 one. The quantity of insect-life is something wonderful. Grasshoppers 
 of nearly every conceivable shape and variety of size and colour vie with 
 the birds in loudness if not in melody of song ; butterflies, both rich and 
 beautiful, float lazily about ; and the ground and rocks around are alive 
 with beetles and other forms of insect-life almost endless in variety, and 
 whose dreamy hum is, in the noon-day heat, almost the only sign of life in 
 these mountain solitudes. The Rock-Thrush is not content with picking 
 his food from the ground or rocks, but often pursues it in the air like 
 the Flycatcher. You see him perched so quietly on a rocky boulder, 
 in a mood of seeming indolence ; yet he is ever on the alert j and his sharp 
 eye is scanning the insects around him. Suddenly he launches into the 
 air, and, after a short fluttering butterfly-kind of flight, he snaps at a 
 passing fly and again returns to his perching-place, or goes off to his nest 
 should his young be already hatched. In the late summer months these 
 birds eat the berries of the various shrubs in their haunts, and sometimes 
 visit the gardens for the fruit. But this kind of fare is not sought to a 
 very great extent, the Rock-Thrush being almost as insectivorous as the 
 Chats and Redstarts. 
 
 As soon as the birds arrive in their summer home their song com- 
 mences. In the early morning, during the season of courtship, it may, 
 perhaps, be listened to with the greatest advantage. The bird usually 
 sings from some rocky perch, sometimes from the old walls of ruins, 
 or, more rarely, on the topmost branch of some lonely tree. But he 
 does not always sing when at rest. Like the Redstart, he will ever and 
 anon rise into the air and descend with wings expanded upon his perch 
 again, singing all the time. Sometimes these peculiar aerial motions are 
 continued several times in succession before the bird alights. The song 
 of the Rock-Thrush is, indeed, a sweet and varied one ; and in those 
 countries it frequents the bird is in the highest "request as a cage -songster, 
 sometimes the most fabulous prices being paid for birds whose musical 
 powers are beyond the ordinary degree of sweetness and variation. Its 
 wild powerful song is equal to that of the Blackcap, and, for variety and 
 tone, comes little short of the ever-changing notes of the " Throstle/' and 
 the rich flute-like warblings of the Blackbird. Its call-note is a peculiar 
 piping cry, somewhat similar to tbat of the Ring-Ouzel. 
 
 The nest of the Rock-Thrush, from the peculiar nature of its site, is 
 one of the most difficult to discover. You may search for hours, and turn 
 over tons of rock and stones unsuccessfully, and at last owe its discovery 
 to mere accident. It is usually placed in some convenient rock-crevice, at 
 various heights, sometimes under a mass of rock lying on the ground, 
 sometimes in heaps of stones, and sometimes in holes of ruined buildings ; 
 
284 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and, more rarely, in holes in houses and in trees and stumps. Vineyard- 
 walls, holes in mountain-fortresses, and amongst the debris carried down 
 the mountain-sides by the melting of the snow, may be also cited as places 
 frequently selected by this bird for its nest. Wherever it is found, how- 
 ever, it is usually well concealed from view, and always in a hole. The 
 bare ground will not unfrequently be chosen, under a bush, or even under 
 a dense overhanging grass-tuft. The nesting-season commences in the 
 latter end of April or beginning of May. The nest is very different in 
 construction from the nests of the true Thrushes, and, as is the case with all 
 hole-building birds, somewhat loosely made. The materials of different 
 nests also vary to a great extent, according to the locality in which they 
 are found. Nests in the more cultivated districts are made of roots, fine 
 and coarse grasses, moss and bents, and lined with hair and feathers. 
 Those taken from more isolated places, the rocky districts high up moun- 
 tain-sides, are similar in outward construction, rarely lined with hair or 
 feathers, but with fine rootlets and dry grass. Other nests will sometimes 
 be found constructed entirely of roots and withered grass. In examining 
 the nest of this bird, its close resemblance to that of the Redstart or the 
 Wheatear will be noticed. No mud is found in them ; they are loosely 
 put together ; and this circumstance, coupled with the covered site and 
 the colour of the eggs, still further suggests the bird's nearer affinity to 
 the Chats than to the true Thrushes. The eggs of the Rock -Thrush are 
 four or five in number, of the same beautiful bluish green as those of the 
 Song-Thrush, but slightly paler and rounder; indeed they are almost 
 intermediate between a Song-Thrush's and a Starling's. The markings 
 are confined to a very few faint light-brown specks, usually on the larger 
 end; but the eggs are very often spotless. In the same clutch these pecu- 
 liarities may be noticed ; for sometimes one egg will be faintly marked 
 and the rest spotless. They vary in length from 1-05 to 0'95 inch, and in 
 breadth from '82 to '7 inch. Like most hole-building birds, the Rock- 
 Thrush is a very close sitter ; and the showily-dressed male assists in incu- 
 bating the eggs. The young birds are fed by both parents, and are tended 
 for some little time after they leave the nest. They are fed on insects, 
 larvae, spiders, and grubs. The Rock-Thrush is said to rear two broods 
 in the year. When the nest is approached, especially should it contain 
 young birds, the old birds become very anxious, and exhibit signs of the 
 greatest distress for their helpless offspring. 
 
 The male Rock-Thrush is a very handsome bird. Its head, neck, and 
 throat are cobalt-blue, shading into bluish black on the upper back, wing- 
 coverts, and rump ; the wings are brown. In the centre of the back is a 
 nearly pure white patch, a few of the feathers being tipped with grey. 
 Except the throat, the entire under surface is rich chestnut, including the 
 tail, the two centre feathers of which are darker than the rest. Bill, legs, 
 
THE HOCK-THRUSH. 
 
 285 
 
 and feet black ; irides hazel. The female is a speckled brown bird, with a 
 shade of rufous underneath, but the tail is similar to that of the male. 
 After the autumn moult the feathers of both sexes have pale margins, and 
 the white on the back of the male is not so conspicuous. Birds of the 
 year are very similar to the female. The nestling resembles birds of the 
 year, but the spots are larger. 
 
 The Blue Rock-Thrush (Monticola cyanea) has been said to have been 
 once obtained in Ireland. The bird is now preserved in the Museum of 
 the Royal Dublin Society, and is stated to have been killed in the county 
 of Westmeath, on November 17th, 1866 (see 'Zoologist/ 1870, p. 2019). 
 Although this bird has occurred as a straggler on the island of Heligoland, 
 it is a strictly southern species; and considerable doubt attaches to the 
 example in question, which was examined by Sharpe and Dresser, and 
 pronounced by them to have the appearance of a specimen mounted from 
 a previously prepared skin, and not from a fresh-killed bird. 
 
286 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus RUTTCILLA. 
 
 The genus Ruticilla was established by Brehm in 1828, in the ' Isis/ 
 p. 1280. He designated R.phoenicurus (the Ficedula ruticilla of Brisson) as 
 the type. Most of the birds in this genus have the rump- and the tail- 
 feathers, except the two centre ones, chestnut. The culmen is short, not 
 more than one fourth the length of the tail, and the legs are always black. 
 All the male adult birds, except one species, have black or very dark-blue 
 throats. 
 
 There are about thirteen species in the present genus, which are distri- 
 buted throughout the temperate portion of the Palsearctic Region and the 
 Highlands of the Himalayas, the number of species being greatest in the 
 latter district. Two species breed throughout temperate Europe, one of 
 w r hich is a regular summer migrant to the British Islands, and the other is 
 a regular though rare winter visitant to the south coast of England. One 
 other species has accidentally wandered as far as Heligoland. 
 
 The Redstarts form a link between the Thrushes (through the Rock- 
 Thrushes) and the Chats, and are closely connected with the Robins 
 through the Bluethroats. They are birds more or less arboreal in their 
 habits, frequenting bushes and cultivated places, although one or two 
 species affect mountainous localities. They are sprightly, restless birds, 
 feeding chiefly on insects, many of which they secure on the wing. The 
 Redstarts are fair songsters. Their nests are very loosely put together, 
 made of dried grasses, feathers, moss, wool, hair, &c., and usually placed 
 in holes of trees and rocks. Their eggs, from five to eight in number, 
 range from pure white to pale blue, as a rule unspotted, although the eggs 
 of one or two species are sparingly marked with pale brown. 
 
THE REDSTART. 
 
 RUTICILLA PHCENICURUS. 
 THE REDSTART. 
 
 (PLATB 9.) 
 
 Ficedula ruticilla, Brut. Orn. iii. p. 403 (1766). 
 
 Motacilla phoenicurus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 335 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 ( Temminck), (Bonaparte), (Gray), (Hartlaub), (Loche), (Gould), (Newton), 
 
 (Dresser), (Stanford), &c. 
 
 Sylvia phoenicurus (Linn.), Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 287 (1787). 
 Saxicola phoenicurus (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 188 (1816). 
 Ficedula phoenicurus (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 553. 
 Phcenicura muraria, Swains. fy Itich. Faun. Bor.-Amer. ii. p. 489 (1831). 
 Ficedula ruticilla. Eyton, Cat. Brit. B. p. 10 (1836). 
 Phcenicura ruticilla (Eyton), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. 95 (1837). 
 
 Ruticilla phcenicura (Linn.), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. and X. Amer. p. 15 (1838). 
 Lusciola phcenicurus (Linn.), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. Iviii, 191 (1840). 
 Erithacus phoenicurus (Linn.), Degl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 502 (1849). 
 Luscinia phcenicurus (Linn.), Sundev. Sv. Fogl. p. 59 (1856). 
 
 This handsome little bird is of somewhat local distribution in the British 
 Islands, and can nowhere be said to be of very common occurrence. Its 
 Robin-like appearance, short and pleasing song, bright plumage, and 
 regularity of appearance in the early spring combine to make it a general 
 favourite. It breeds regularly, although locally, in all the counties of 
 England and "Wales, but becomes rarer in the west, and is commonest in 
 the south. In Scotland it is found, though still more sparingly and locally, 
 up to Caithness, and occasionally in Shetland ; but in the Hebrides it is 
 not known. In Ireland the bird may virtually be said to be absent, a few 
 instances only being on record of its occurrence, apparently merely acci- 
 dental. The Redstart breeds throughout Central Europe as far north as 
 the Arctic circle. In South Europe it is rarely seen, except on spring 
 and autumn migration, although a few remain to breed at high elevations, 
 usually selecting the pine-regions for this purpose. It winters in North 
 Africa. In Asia its range during the breeding-season extends eastwards 
 as far as the valley of the Yenesay ; and the winter home of these Asiatic 
 birds appears to be in Persia. 
 
 As the Wheatear is the tenant of the cairns, the rocks, and the ruins 
 of the wilds, in like manner the Redstart may be designated a bird 
 of the ruins and the rocks in the lower, warmer, and more cultivated 
 districts. Vou will find it in orchards and gardens, about old walls, and 
 in the more open woods and shrubberies. Another favourite haunt of the 
 Redstart is old crumbling ruins, abbeys and castles, on whose battlements 
 
288 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and still massive walls, ivy-covered and moss-grown, it delights to sit and 
 chant its short and monotonous song. The Redstart, however, is by no 
 means confined to the vicinity of rocks and ruins. I have often chased 
 him in the pine-forests, where his habit of keeping near the tops of the 
 trees causes him to pass unnoticed by those who are unfamiliar with his 
 simple song. He is very restless, and is seldom secured without a long 
 chase. The Redstart also has his home in wilder places in the coppices 
 just on the borders of the moorland, the birch-groves, and woods where old 
 and decayed timber is abundant and the ground beneath is strewn with 
 rock-fragments, amongst which the bracken and the briars grow in wild 
 uncurbed luxuriance. Rocky commons, mingled with hawthorn and holly, 
 brambles and briars, and old and disused lanes where walls alternate with 
 hedges are also favourite haunts of the Redstart. 
 
 The spring migration of the Redstart is usually performed during the 
 first week in April, sometimes a little earlier, according to the state of the 
 season. About that period of the year the male birds may be noticed in 
 their favourite haunts ; for they precede the females a few days, as is the 
 case with most of the British warblers. At this season of the year Red- 
 starts may be often seen in large numbers on the coast, in similar situations 
 to those which the Wheatears choose upon their arrival ; and they are 
 often seen hopping about the rocks and cliffs, or frequenting the bushes 
 amongst the sandhills. They are restless and shy, and gradually retire 
 inland to their breeding-places, or go on again still further north to more 
 distant climes to rear their young. The Redstart migrates at night ; and 
 hence the birds may be entirely absent one day, but may literally swarm 
 the next. The autumn migrations of the Redstart are not so easy to 
 observe as its spring movements. It departs imperceptibly : its song has 
 been long relinquished ; its call-notes are rarely heard ; and hence its pre- 
 sence is seldom missed until it has probably long set out on its southern 
 journey. The shyness of the moul ting-season seems to be retained ; and 
 the fact that the male bird departs some little time before the female, 
 whose sober colours and retiring habits causes her to be often overlooked, 
 also tends to make their autumnal movements difficult of investigation ; 
 but during the last week of September, when I was on the island of 
 Heligoland, I had an excellent opportunity of seeing the migration of the 
 Redstart. On the 24th, and again on the 26th, these pretty birds abounded ; 
 and among the examples which the boys caught in their traps, I selected a 
 dozen for my collection. 
 
 The Redstart is a familiar although a shy bird, familiar as to its choice 
 of a haunt, being often seen in the same locality as the Robin or the Hedge- 
 Accentor ; and shy, rarely allowing a close approach, generally frequenting 
 the tops of lofty trees, but sometimes hiding itself from view in the 
 thickest cover, or flying away as soon as its privacy is intruded upon. 
 
THE REDSTART. 289 
 
 Sometimes, as you \vander on, the bird will flit uneasily before you, dis- 
 playing the rich chestnut of its tail, which is spread out repeatedly, like a 
 fan. A restless little creature, indeed, it is, incessantly flitting about from 
 wall to wall or stump to stump, and repeatedly waving its tail like a rapidly 
 moving fan. These singular tail motions are a very striking peculiarity 
 of this species ; and it may be noted that the tail is always moved Ver- 
 tically, never sideways, although it is usually expanded and closed every 
 few beats, giving the bird a very pretty and animated appearance. Upon 
 its arrival at its old haunts the male bird is much less shy than at 
 any other season of the year. He will sometimes advance quite close to 
 you ; and for the first week or so of his sojourn here he seems to press 
 himself into notice as much as possible frequenting the tree-tops, gate- 
 posts, and all other similarly exposed situations. The Redstart flies 
 with a succession of short jerks, not particularly rapid, but extremely 
 irregular. Sometimes, however, in the pairing-season, two male birds 
 will chase each other, and dart like rays of coloured light through the 
 branchy mazes of the woods, all the time uttering a shrill and peculiar 
 guttural note. The Redstart is rarely seen upon the ground : its food is 
 obtained for the most part on walls, rocks, and trees, and in the air ; and 
 hence it has no cause to visit the earth. 
 
 The Redstart is almost entirely insectivorous flies, gnats, small butter- 
 flies, and various kinds of beetles, caterpillars, and larva? are its favourite 
 food. It is an adept at catching insects on the wing, like a true Flycatcher, 
 the bird being seen to launch suddenly into the air and often to take 
 several passing insects ere seeking its perch again, all the time performing 
 a rapid fluttering motion of the wings, and displaying its rich contrast of 
 plumage to perfection. \ou may see it high up the decaying branches 
 of some lofty forest giant, or lower down on a pollard stump or mouldering 
 log, seeking for the various forms of insect life which those places conceal ; 
 or you may notice it fluttering before old walls or rocks, or searching 
 the nooks and crannies of the ivied ruins. The bird will sit without 
 movement, except the regular and graceful fanning of the tail. Now a 
 cloud of gnats appear ; they are visited and captures made. Now it is a 
 little butterfly flitting lazily along : this capture is a more difficult one; for 
 the insect seems to know its danger and tries to escape its captor, thus 
 causing the bird to prolong its aerial motions for some considerable dis- 
 tance until its quarry is secured. Now the bird is seen to flutter along 
 over the tall grass, seizing the various insects from the grass-stems. 
 It will sometimes take a long sallying flight over the clear still waters of 
 the pool, to regale itself upon the flies which congregate in such dense 
 numbers the*^. In the late summer, when the smaller garden fruits 
 are ripe, the Redstart, like all its congeners, adopts a partly vegetable 
 diet, and is also known to haunt the fields of growing corn, just before 
 
 VOL. i. u 
 
290 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 its ripening, to prey upon the soft milky grain, as the Pipits and the 
 Willow- Warblers will do. 
 
 Although the Redstart's song may be a pleasing one, it is not to be 
 compared with the warblings of the Blackcap, or even the Whitethroat, 
 or the sweet little performance of the Willow- Warbler. To hear the 
 Redstart's song to best advantage, a visit should be made to his haunts 
 early in April : and the earlier in the day the better ; for the music of all 
 birds is best at, or directly after, sunrise. The song bears a striking 
 resemblance to the loud and varied notes of the Wren ; yet it wants their 
 vigour and sprightliness, and is somewhat monotonous. It may well be 
 described as a low, weak, Wren's song, without any of that dashing 
 vivacity which seems to be characteristic of the music of that active little 
 creature. It may also be noticed that the Redstart, directly after its arrival 
 in April, seeks the tree-tops for his orchestra ; but as the summer comes on 
 this habit is lost, and the bird warbles from a lower perch, usually in the 
 neighbourhood of his nest. At this time of the year the bird will sing at 
 night, very often supplementing his day-performance with a few strains 
 under a midnight sky. The Redstart sings as he flies. Sometimes he 
 launches into the air, as though bent on insect-capture ; but it is merely to 
 warble forth his little unattractive song, and he again returns to his perch. 
 Not unfrequently he will chant his music when flying from one perching- 
 place to another. As the summer passes on his music is heard less 
 frequently and in still more subdued tones, until finally it ceases, a little 
 before the period of the autumnal moult, never more to be renewed until 
 the time of courtship awakens his powers of song anew. In confinement 
 the bird will sing equally well by night as by day, and will readily 
 imitate various songs and notes, like the Starling. The call-notes of the 
 Redstart are varied according to circumstances. Thus its regular call-note 
 is a sharply uttered weet-tit-tit, something like n Stonechat's. Its notes 
 in the pairing-season are low guttural warblings, confined to the male 
 alone, and usually uttered as they chase each other through the air; 
 and if you threaten its nest, its alarm-note is peculiarly low and sweet, 
 very much like the call of the Willow-Warbler, a plaintive whit. 
 
 May is the Redstart's nesting-season. We must not seek its nest 
 amongst the branches, nor yet amidst the brambles or vegetation on the 
 ground, but always in some hole well protected from the wind : holes in 
 walls and trees are, as a rule, selected ; but most peculiar sites are some- 
 times chosen for example, gate-posts, flower-pots, and crevices under 
 the eaves. Indeed, in this respect the Redstart is almost as famous as 
 the Robin. The Woodpecker, if the nesting-hole is not quite suitable, 
 alters it accordingly, or, if holes be scarce, makes one itself with its strong 
 beak ; but the Redstart does no such thing. The graceful birch tree 
 or the mountain-ash very often affords a nesting-hole, whilst in the old 
 
THE REDSTART. 291 
 
 walls nesting-sites occur iu abundance, sometimes but a few inches in 
 depth, at others several feet, it matters but little. Favourite situations 
 are also amongst old ruins, but rarely at any great height from the ground. 
 The nest itself is a very slovenly piece of workmanship, so loosely made 
 in some cases as to render it impossible to remove it entire from its 
 resting-place. It is made of dry grass, moss, sometimes a little wool, 
 but neatly lined with hair and feathers, and will frequently remain empty 
 for a few days when completed ere the first egg is deposited. The eggs 
 are usually five or six in number, occasionally seven, and even eight. 
 They are a paler blue and more highly polished than those of the Hedge- 
 Accentor ; and the shell is far more fragile. They vary in length from 
 '8 to '7 inch, and in breadth from '57 to '5 inch. You may remove the 
 eggs of the Redstart, and yet she will continue laying, seldom forsaking 
 the nest ; indeed Dixon has taken, by way of experiment, as many as 
 twelve eggs consecutively from one nest. The same remarks apply to the 
 Starling, and also to most life-paired birds and those who tenant the same 
 nest each successive season, or build a new one close to that of the pre- 
 ceding year. The young are fed entirely on insects and larvae. It is most 
 probable that only one brood is reared in the year; but should the first 
 nest prove unfortunate, the birds will renew their attempts to rear a 
 family. 
 
 The Redstart cannot easily be confounded with any other British bird. 
 Its head and back are slate-grey ; the wings are brown, the forehead white ; 
 and the rump, tail (except the two central tail-feathers, which are much 
 darker than the rest), breast, and flanks are rich chestnut, becoming much 
 paler on the belly. A narrow band at the base of the upper mandible, the 
 chin, upper throat, and ear-coverts are rich black. Legs, feet, and claws 
 black ; irides dark brown. The female is a brown bird, but has the vent 
 and tail chestnut, although not so brilliant as in the male. Birds of 
 the year are like the female ; so, too, are the nestlings, but spotted above 
 and below. After the moult in autumn the male bird closely resembles 
 the female, owing to the broad brown margins of the feathers ; but in the 
 spring these margins are cast and the brilliant nuptial dress is assumed 
 without a moult. 
 
 In the Caucasus, Asia Minor, and Greece, Ehrenberg's Redstart (Ruticilla 
 mesoleuca) occurs, but has been, to a very great extent, confounded with 
 its near although perfectly distinct ally. It is easily distinguished from 
 the Common Redstart by the white patches on the wings, similar to 
 those on the wings of the Black Redstart, Ehrenberg's Redstart has only 
 become known in this country within the last few years. When I brought 
 the first skin over from Asia Minor, no ornithologist would admit it to be 
 more than an accidental variety of our bird ; but the late Mr. Verreaux 
 pointed out to me that it was an Eastern form of our Redstart which 
 
 u2 
 
292 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 had been described by Hemprich and Ehrenberg as long ago as 1832. 
 My friend Mr. Danford afterwards procured a large series ; and every one 
 admits it now as a good species. In this series, however, the white on the 
 wing varies to such an extent that it seems probable that in Asia Minor 
 the two species interbreed. 
 
 Still further to the east, in the Himalayan range, another very nearly 
 allied species (Ruticilla hodgsoni] is found, in which the white patch on the 
 secondaries is slightly more developed ; but it has the wing more rounded. 
 Further investigation may possibly prove that Ehrenberg's Redstart is 
 an intermediate form between this species and the Common Redstart. 
 
BLACK REDSTART. 293 
 
 RUTICILLA TITHYS. 
 BLACK REDSTART. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula phcenicurus, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 409 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla phcenicurus /3. titys, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 335 (1766). 
 
 Sylvia tithys, Scop. Ann. i. p. 157(1769)); et auctorum plurimorum Scopoli, 
 
 Bechstein, Temminck, (Newton), (Dresser), (Loche), (Gray), (Harting), 
 
 (Shelley), &c. 
 
 Motadlla strata, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 983 (1788, ex Lath.). 
 Motacilla erythrourus, Rajin. Caratt. p. 6 (1810). 
 Saxicola tithys (Scop), Koch, Syst. later. Zool. i. p. 186 (1816). 
 Ruticilla titys (Scop), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 365 (1831). 
 Phcenicura tithys (Scop.), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. 96 (1837). 
 Lusciola thitys (Scop), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. lix, 191 (1840). 
 Ruticilla cairii, Gerle, Diet. Univ. tfHist. Nat. xi. p. 259 (1848). 
 Erithacus tithys (Scop), Degl. Orn, Eur. i. p. 504 (1849). 
 Erithacus cairii (Gerbe), Deyl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 507 (1849). 
 
 The Black Redstart is a regular winter visitant to the whole of the 
 south coast of England, and is not uncommon in Cornwall; but there is 
 no positive evidence that it has ever bred in the British Islands. White 
 eggs believed to be those of this species have been repeatedly produced 
 from various British localities ; but in no case has the bird been obtained 
 or satisfactorily identified. Sterland asserts that he saw the bird in 
 Sherwood Forest ; but the position of the nest in a hedge almost amounts 
 to proof that he was mistaken in his identification. 
 
 The geographical distribution during the breeding-season of the Black 
 Redstart is a somewhat peculiar one. In the south it extends from 
 Portugal through Algeria to Palestine. Northwards its range becomes 
 more restricted, and apparently does not extend east of the valleys of the 
 Dneister and the Vistula or north of Holstein. In autumn stragglers have 
 been known to occur in West Russia, Scandinavia, the north of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland, the Faroes (on the authority of Captain Feilden), 
 and even, it is said, as far as Iceland. North of the Alps it is for the 
 most part a migratory bird, though a few are known to frequent situa- 
 tions where open water is to be found during the winter. South of the 
 Alps it is fqund throughout the year, its numbers being increased during 
 winter, its range at that season extending as far south as Nubia. In 
 the Caucasus and in Persia it is replaced by R. ochrura (the R. erythro- 
 procta of Gould), which differs in having the colour of the lower belly 
 
294 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 bright chestnut instead of huffish brown. This species is intermediate 
 in colour between R. tithys and R. rufiventris, which is found still further 
 east. 
 
 As the Black Redstart very rarely occurs in Norfolk, and has not been 
 recorded from the Lincolnshire coast, it seems probable that the birds 
 which visit our islands come from Holland, where it is exceedingly common, 
 and follow the coast, choosing the shortest passage across the Channel. 
 
 In Algeria the Black Redstart appears to be confined during the 
 breeding- season to a few chosen localities in the Djebel Aures ; Dixon 
 met with it in some of the rocky gorges there. He writes : " It was to be 
 seen in the rapidly drying up beds of the mountain-streams, hopping about 
 from rock to rock, and sometimes perching on the storm-riven decaying 
 stumps of the old juniper trees. It was now and then seen in close company 
 with the charming little Bushchat (Pratincola moussieri), and, like that bird, 
 was somewhat shy, and, the moment it became aware that it was observed, 
 glided rapidly amongst the bushes and rocks and was soon lost to view. 
 I did not meet with this bird in the neighbourhood of the Arab houses or 
 near the towns at the base of these mountains ; and it seems that what 
 few birds do remain in Algeria to breed select some elevated locality. 
 I saw them at an altitude of nearly 6000 feet, the snow lying thickly 
 in places on the sides of Djebel Mahmel, less than a thousand feet above 
 them/' 
 
 The Black Redstart resembles the R/obin very closely in its habits and 
 manner of life. It is an extremely familiar bird, and in most parts of 
 North Germany is common in the gardens and farmyards, perching on 
 the eaves of the houses, or on the apple-trees in the orchard, frequently 
 catching its food in the air like a Flycatcher, and sometimes seeking it on 
 the ground on the newly raked beds. It is very fond of perching 011 a 
 rail or a stump, and builds its nest, without the slightest attempt at 
 concealment, on the rafters in the farmbuildings, or on a ledge in a 
 summer-house. Its song is very simple, consisting only of three or four 
 melodious notes. Like the Robin it is constantly in the habit of drooping 
 its head and slightly lifting its wing, whilst the tail is suddenly jerked up 
 and half expanded. The Black Redstart is one of the first birds astir in 
 the morning ; and occasionally on a hot summer's night, when, from some 
 cause or other, unable to sleep, I have heard its few rich notes through 
 the open window between two and three o'clock in the morning. In 
 spite of its predilection for gardens it is seldom seen in the woods. 
 When it is not found near houses, like the House-Martin, it seeks 
 the rocks. I found it breeding in the rocky valleys in the pine-region 
 of the Parnassus, 4000 feet above the level of the sea; and in winter 
 it is a very common bird on the rocky plateaux on the spurs of the 
 Pyrenees, where it may be constantly seen both on the rocks and on the 
 
BLACK REDSTART. 295 
 
 few stunted bushes which defy the blasts of the western gales from the 
 Bay of Biscay. 
 
 The food of the Black Redstart is chiefly composed of insects, caterpillars, 
 and occasionally small garden fruits. 
 
 According toNaumann the Black Redstart arrives in South Germany early 
 in March, and in North Germany during the latter half of the same month, 
 the autumn migration taking place throughout the month of October. It 
 breeds early iu May. On the 5th of May last I saw two nests, each contain- 
 ing eggs, in a summer-bouse in the garden of Dr. Blasius at Brunswick. In 
 a shed in the farmyard of Oberamtman Nehrkorn, at Riddagshausen, two 
 miles in the country, several nests were finished and ready for eggs ; and 
 on the 14th we took a nest with five eggs. On the 18th a fresh nest had 
 been made in the same place, and one egg had been laid. The nest of 
 the Black Redstart resembles that of the Robin, being a very large loose 
 structure outside, and inside extremely round and neat. This nest 
 measured 9 inches in diameter, and was 3 inches high, principally com- 
 posed of straw and stalks of plants, with a few twigs and a little moss, 
 some roots, cobwebs, and the flowers of the reed, and a little dried grass. 
 The nest-cavity was not in the centre, and was 2% inches in diameter and 
 1| inches deep, very carefully lined with horsehair, and with half a dozen 
 feathers neatly interwoven. On the 6th of May 1873 I took a nest of this 
 bird with four eggs in a recess on the moss-covered walls some yards within 
 the entrance of the celebrated cave in the Parnassus. It was composed 
 principally of green moss lined with goat's hair. Holes in walls and 
 ruins are also favourite situations for the nest. Curious situations are 
 sometimes chosen by this bird in which to build. At Bonn Dr. Sclater 
 and I found one built on a shelf in a compartment of one of the large 
 Rhine bathing-machines, after having watched the bird fly through the 
 window. It is said seldom or never to build in hollow trees. Sachse 
 says that two broods are always reared in a season. The alarm-note of 
 the Black Redstart is very similar to that of the Robin, a loud rapid tek- 
 tek-tek-tek. 
 
 The usual number of eggs is five ; sometimes only four are laid; and six, 
 and even seven have been recorded. The colour is usually pure white ; 
 but sometimes there is the faintest tinge of brown, and a clutch in my 
 collection from Altenkirchen shosvs the faintest possible tinge of bluish 
 green. Dresser describes a clutch, also from Altenkirchen, which were 
 minutely spotted with brown at the large end. The eggs axe very finely 
 grained, and the surface polished. In length they vary from *83 to '7 inch, 
 and from 'G^to '56 inch in breadth. 
 
 The adutt male Black Redstart is a very handsome bird, the general 
 colour being slate-grey, with brown wings margined with white on the 
 outside webs of the secondaries ; the two centre tail-feathers are also 
 
296 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 brown ; but the rest of the tail-feathers, as well as the rump and the 
 upper and under tail-coverts, are bright chestnut. The feathers round 
 the bill and the eye, the ear-coverts, the throat, breast, axillaries, and 
 under wing-coverts are black ; belly and flanks buffish brown. Legs, 
 claws, and bill black; irides brown. In the female the upper and under 
 tail-coverts and the tail and the white edgings to the secondaries resemble 
 those of the male, but are tinged with brown, the rest of the plumage being 
 sooty brown. Young birds in first plumage have most of the feathers of the 
 upper and underparts barred and tipped with black. Males of the year 
 resemble adult females, in which plumage they have been found breeding, 
 and have been described as a distinct species. It is probable that these 
 birds moult into the adult plumage during their second autumn. 
 
SAXICOLA. 297 
 
 Genus SAXICOLA. 
 
 The genus Saxicola was established by Bechstein in 1802, in his ' Orni- 
 thologisches Taschenbuch/ i. p. 216. He did not indicate any type; and 
 his genus included the Whinchat and the Stonechat ; but as these two species 
 were removed in 1816 by Koch in his ' System der baierischen Zoologie/ 
 p. 191, and placed in the genus Pratincola, S. cenanthe is left as the type of 
 Bechstein's genus. The Chats may be distinguished by their black legs and 
 by the colour of the rump, upper tail-coverts, and the base of the tail, which 
 in typical species are white, whilst in the few aberrant species where these 
 parts are RuticiUine in colour the proportion between the culmen and the 
 tail serves to distinguish them : in the Redstarts the tail is more than, 
 four times the length of the culmen ; in the Chats it is less. 
 
 The genus contains about thirty species, and is principally confined to 
 the ^Ethiopian Region and the southern portion of the Palsearctic Region. 
 Six species are peculiar to South Africa ; five more to Nubia and Abyssinia. 
 Six species inhabit North Africa, of which the range of three extends to 
 Palestine and the remaining two to Turkestan. Eight species are European, 
 of which the range of three extends to Persia, one to Turkestan, two -to 
 China, and oue to the coasts of Greenland and North America. Four 
 species breed only in Persia, and four only in Turkestan. In the British 
 Islands one species is a common summer visitor, whilst two others are 
 very rare stragglers. 
 
 The Chats or "U'heatears are birds allied to the Bush-Chats on the one 
 hand and the Redstarts on the other. Unlike these birds, however, they 
 frequent open ground, rocky mountain-sides, cultivated plains, and dry 
 and arid deserts. They perch freely on rocks and stones, but are rarely 
 seen in the branches of trees. Their powers of song are somewhat limited. 
 Their food consists largely of worms and insects, the latter sometimes 
 being obtained whilst the bird is hovering in the air. They build loose- 
 made nests of dry grass, hair, feathers, &c., placed in holes either in the 
 ground or in walls or rocks ; and their eggs, from five to six in number, 
 are blue, sparingly marked with pale reddish brown. 
 
298 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SAXICOLA (ENANTHE. 
 THE WHEATEAR, 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula vitiflora, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 449 (1760). 
 
 Ficedula vitiflora grisea, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 452 (1760). 
 
 Ficedula vitiflora cinerea, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 454 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla oenanthe, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Bechstein), (Wolf), (Gould), (Gray), (Deyland), (Bonaparte), (Cabanis), (Sun- 
 
 devall), (Newton), (Dresser), &c. 
 
 Sylvia oenanthe (Linn.), Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 288 (1787). 
 Motacilla leucorhoa, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 966 (1788, ex Buff.). 
 Sylvia leucorhoa (Gmel.), Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 531 (1790). 
 Saxicola cenanthe (Linn.), Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 217 (1802). 
 Vitiflora oenanthe (Linn.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 21 (1816). 
 (Enanthe vitiflora (Briss.), Forster, Syn. Cat. Brit. B. p. 64 (1817). 
 (Enanthe cinerea (Briss.), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxi. p. 418 (1818). 
 Motacilla vitiflora (Briss.), Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 472 (1826). 
 Saxicola rostrata, Hempr. et Ehr. Symb. Phys. Aves, fol. aa (1833). 
 Saxicola libanotica, Hempr. et Ehr. Symb. Phys. Aves, fol. bb (1833). 
 Saxicola oenanthoides, Vig. Zool. ' Blossom,' p. 19 (1839). 
 Saxicola leucorhoa (Gmel), Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 64 (1857). 
 
 This interesting and lively little bird is one of the first to arrive in 
 Britain in early spring, his presence being often noted before the last snow 
 has disappeared. A lively little creature, of conspicuous plumage, and 
 haunting the open ground, the Wheatear is rarely overlooked, and is 
 often the only representative of bird-life in districts both wild and 
 desolate. Although it is pretty generally diffused over the British Islands 
 during the summer, it is certainly a local bird, and its breeding-grounds 
 are almost invariably confined to the wilder districts and tracts of open 
 country. It is much rarer in the south, and parts of the west of England, 
 becoming much more frequent as we go north ; whilst in Scotland, even 
 in the outlying Hebrides, the Orkneys, and the Shetlands, the Wheat- 
 ear is one of the commonest of birds in all the wilder districts. The same 
 remarks will apply to the bird's distribution in Ireland, it being a regular 
 summer visitant, and found commonly in all suitable localities. Outside 
 the British Islands the Wheatear's range is exceeded by few other British 
 Passerine birds. It breeds throughout Central and Northern Europe, going 
 as far north as land is found, and in Southern Europe where the mountains 
 are high enough to allow of the growth of the pine and the birch. Westwards 
 its breeding-range extends over Iceland as far as Greenland and Labrador, 
 and eastwards throughout Northern Siberia, the mountains of Persia and 
 Syria, and beyond Behring's Straits into Alaska. In winter it is found in 
 
THE WHEATEAR. 299 
 
 North aiid "West Africa ; and on the east coast of that continent it has been 
 obtained south of the equator. The Asiatic birds winter in Mongolia, North 
 India, and Persia ; and on the American continent it has been found as far 
 south as the Bermudas at that season. 
 
 The breeding-grounds and summer haunts of the Wheatear embrace 
 some of the wildest and most romantic portions of our native scenery. 
 On the breezy wastes near the ocean the low-lying sandy coast or the 
 rough shingly beach and rugged limestone cliffs, or the solitudes of 
 the upland moors and mountains, where the rocks, the heather, and the 
 lochs are the salient features of the landscape, the Wheatear equally 
 abounds. He is also seen on the summer fallows, and haunts old and 
 disused stone-quarries and sand-pits. Favourite situations for the bird 
 are high up the mountain-sides where the peat is cut, the birds frequenting 
 the clearings and incessantly flitting about the peat-stacks and perching 
 on the turf fences or the cots of the peasants, to whom it is known as the 
 " Stone clatter," or, in Gaelic, the " Clacharan." The Wheatear may also 
 often lie seen on the broad tablelands, about old cairns and sheep-folds, 
 and on the road-sides. Even the bare and uninhabited rocky islets of the 
 west of Scotland are usually tenanted by a pair or so of birds, the chief 
 sign of bird-life upon them. The Wheatear is rarely seen in the well- 
 wooded and cultivated districts, except one or two straggling birds, and 
 then usually during the autumnal season of migration. 
 
 The first Wheatears are seen in the south of England at the latter end 
 of March ; and by the first week in April the remotest districts of the 
 Orkneys and Hebrides are tenanted by them. The annual migrations of 
 the Wheatear are a prominent feature in its history. But these movements 
 can seldom be studied except on the coast ; for by the time the birds have 
 reached their more inland haunts, they have dispersed themselves. In the 
 same manner the autumnal movements are made, and the vast gatherings 
 of this bird are only seen ou the sea-shore, where it appears that they 
 finally congregate ere taking their departure for their winter-quarters. 
 Like most birds, the Wheatear performs its migrations in the night, 
 and often arrives on our coasts long before daybreak. From early 
 August until the middle of September, Wheatears are seen in vast 
 numbers on the Downs of Sussex, for the greater part young birds reared 
 in the north and now passing southwards on their autumnal journey. 
 Being at this season excessively fat and rich in flavour, they are subject 
 to an incessant persecution. The birds are snared in great quantities 
 by the shepherds whose flocks are pastured on the open downs. But 
 the Wheatear does not now occur so plentifully as formerly. The decrease 
 in their numbers is probably less owing to this incessant persecution than 
 to the destruction of their favourite breeding-grounds, which are yearly, 
 to such a large extent, placed under cultivation. 
 
300 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 In nine cases out of ten the observer will first make acquaintance with 
 the Wheatear when the bird is perched on some wall, rock, or other 
 little eminence. There is no mistaking him his grey, black, and white 
 plumage, and his neat slender form and monotonous note, making doubt 
 impossible, as he sits eying you suspiciously and incessantly fanning with 
 his tail. His mate also in her more sombre garb is not far away, and sits 
 watching your actions. Should you approach them too closely, they fly a 
 little distance before you and again alight on a rock or piece of turf, 
 retreating as you advance, or making a long detour to their old perching- 
 place, which is usually close to the nest. Its flight is usually a low one 
 and taken by short starts ; and the moment it alights its tail is jerked 
 several times after the manner of the Wagtails. Although a wary bird, 
 still it is by no means a shy one, and often allows a close approach, the 
 more especially should you happen to be near its nest. The Wheatear 
 has a peculiar habit of perching on old walls : it will flit before you inces- 
 santly, dipping behind the wall on the opposite side and again appearing 
 a little distance away, to repeat the manoeuvres as you again approach it. 
 To a certain extent the Wheatear is partial to moist situations, and may 
 often be seen standing or wading in the little pools. Although the bird 
 does not, as a rule, perch amongst the branches or twigs of shrubs and 
 trees, it may frequently be seen on the summit of some tall tuft of heather 
 delicately poised, and seemingly balancing itself by its incessant and rapid 
 beats of the tail, giving it a very pretty appearance. 
 
 The food of the Wheatear is composed of insects, grubs, worms, beetles, 
 and small snails. It may often be seen hopping about with great celerity 
 on the little open patches of turf or marshy places in search of this 
 food, and it sometimes pursues insects in the air like the Flycatcher. 
 Choosing a favourite perching-place some wall or turf fence, block of 
 peat or rock it will sit quietly like the Flycatcher, occasionally uttering 
 its sharp call-note and incessantly fanning with its tail. An insect flies past, 
 and the bird hurriedly quits its perch and secures it, and again returns to 
 its old station, having displayed the striking colours of its plumage and its 
 airy butterfly-like flight to perfection. The Wheatear may also often be 
 seen exploring turf fences and old walls fluttering before them, clinging 
 to them, and taking the various larvae that find concealment among the 
 crevices. Again, the droppings of the cattle and sheep on the moors and 
 upland pastures are explored for little beetles and grubs; and in the 
 late summer, when the moorland fruits are ripe, the birds subsist partly on 
 them a habit common to all, or nearly all, insectivorous birds in the fruit- 
 season. 
 
 The love-notes of the Wheatear form a short but pleasing song ; and the 
 more particularly are we apt to view his performance with favour, because it 
 generally greets the ear in wild and lonely places. It is uttered shortly 
 
THE \YHEATEAR. 301 
 
 after the bird's arrival here, either when the little songster is perched on a 
 stone or a fence, or when fluttering in the air. Sometimes he begins his 
 warbling notes on his perch, accompanying them with graceful motions 
 of the wings, and finally launching into the air to complete his song, 
 the aerial flutteriugs seeming to give his performance an additional 
 vigour. Dixon has seen " two Wheatears in the air together, buffeting 
 each other, and singing lustily all the time Avith all the sweetness that 
 love-rivalry inspires." Its song appears to be suspended early in the 
 summer, but is not unfrequently resumed in autumn. Their call-notes 
 bear some resemblance to the syllables chick-chack-chack, and have a 
 singularly piercing sound, almost like the noise produced by striking two 
 small pebbles together, which circumstance, and the bird's love for 
 stony places, have gained for them their Gaelic name, signifying the 
 " little mason." 
 
 As the male birds precede the females a few days, and when paired do 
 not commence nest-building at once, it is usually the middle of April, 
 sometimes later, ere the nest is in course of construction. The nest of the 
 "Wheatear, from the peculiar nature of the place chosen for its site, is 
 extremely difficult to find. Far under a piece of rock, or in a crevice 
 of a huge boulder, not unfrequently in the holes of walls, or under a 
 convenient earth clod on the fallow are the usual situations chosen. It 
 will, when nesting on the sandy downs, take possession of a deserted 
 rabbit-burrow, or other suitable hole in the sandy soil, where it safely 
 rears its young, but never, so far as is known, excavates a hole for 
 itself. Two more favourite nesting-sites may be noticed. One of them is 
 amongst the stones of cairns, or even the heaps of stones lying on a pebbly 
 shore, just above high-water mark, and on the same portion of the beach 
 on which the Oyster-catcher rears its young. The other situation is rather 
 a novel one. On the desolate moors, when the peat is cut for firing-pur- 
 poses, the Wheatear, as previously noted, is a common bird. The peat- 
 blocks when dry are piled up in stacks to be used as occasion demands ; 
 and in amongst the crevices of these peat-stacks the bird finds a favourite 
 nesting-place. The nest is placed at various distances from the opening 
 that admits the parent birds ; and sometimes entrance to the nest is made 
 by several ways. Sometimes it is close to the opening of the hole; at 
 others, especially should it be in a stone heap or amongst rocks, it may be 
 several feet from the place at which the birds enter. It is a simple little 
 structure, loosely put together, and made of dry grass, occasionally a few 
 rootlets and moss, and lined with a little hair or feathers, sometimes both, 
 according to the locality in which the nest is made. Thus, when the nest is 
 near the sho? or close to the ocean itself, a few stray Gull-feathers will often 
 be found ; and should the birds be nesting near rabbit-warrens, a little fur of 
 that animal will usually be mixed with the other materials; while, yet 
 
302 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 again, on the upland sheep-pastures, wool very frequently forms the lining 
 of the nest, the bird utilizing those materials which its haunts supply. 
 During the whole nesting-season, from the time the first bit of nest-mate- 
 rial is laid, the old birds are excessively wary, and rarely betray the exact 
 site of their nest. Although the birds may frequent its locality, be inces- 
 santly seen on one old stone-heap or peat-stack, telling you plainly by 
 their actions that their treasure is there, it is only the most careful 
 watching and patience combined that will cause the birds to reveal 
 their nesting-hole; and to search for the nest by turning over the stones 
 or peat is a task far more likely to lead to failure than success. 
 
 The eggs of the Wheatear are from four to seven in number ; but six seems 
 the average clutch. They are pale greenish blue, elongated in form, and 
 usually spotless. Occasionally, however, they are found with markings 
 upon them, usually confined to a few faint purplish specks on the larger 
 end, sometimes so indistinct and fine as to be scarcely perceptible, unless 
 examined closely. The eggs vary in length from '95 to '79 inch, and 
 in breadth from '65 to '6 inch. 
 
 The young birds are tended by their parents for some considerable time 
 after leaving the nest ; and when an intruder happens to disturb a family- 
 party, their actions are full of interest. The young birds, not so strong 
 on the wing as their parents, and more confiding, alight close to the 
 observer; and the old birds fly at a considerable height in the air in 
 circles round his head, all the time uttering a short plaintive note. 
 Sometimes, when suddenly alarmed, a brood of young Wheatears will 
 scatter and hide themselves, taking refuge under the herbage or in holes 
 of walls and rocks; but this usually happens when they are not suffi- 
 ciently matured to trust to their wings to convey them out of danger. 
 
 Although the Wheatear's colours are somewhat chaste, still their bold 
 contrast, and the manner in which they are distributed, make the bird a 
 very pretty one. In summer the male bird's upper plumage is slaty grey, 
 with white rump and black and white tail ; from the bill to the eye and 
 over the entire ear-coverts is a black baud, surmounted by an eye-stripe 
 of white ; the wings are black and dark brown ; and the whole under 
 surface of the body is buff, deepest on the throat and breast ; legs, bill, 
 and feet black ; irides dark brown. The female bird is sandy brown, darkest 
 above ; and the wings and tail are similar to those of the male. Young 
 birds are like the female, but are spotted both above and below. After the 
 moult in autumn the male and female are almost alike; for the pale 
 buff margins to the feathers of the former hide the slate-grey portions of 
 the feather, and the underparts are darker. As the winter passes on 
 these buff margins apparently die and drop off, whilst the rest of the feather 
 seems to acquire new life and an additional intensity of colour, so that 
 without a second moult they appear in early spring in full nuptial dress. 
 
THE WHEATEAR. 
 
 303 
 
 The fact that there are two races of Wheatears has frequently been 
 noticed. Some weeks after the arrival of the typical birds a larger and 
 buffer race is reported to arrive on our shores, and to pass northwards on 
 migration. Some ornithologists think that the later arrivals are the young 
 of the previous year, which retain more of their autumn plumage in the 
 spring than older birds do ; whilst it has been suggested that they are the 
 Wheatears which breed in Greenland, passing through on migration via 
 the Shetland Islands and Iceland, and which are somewhat larger and 
 buffer than our birds, and almost constitute a distinct local race. 
 
 The "Wheatear has no very near ally ; and the male is not likely to be 
 confused with any other species of Chat. The female may be distinguished 
 from S. isabeUlna and the female of S. deserti by having less black on the 
 tail. The black on the terminal portion of the tail- feathers (except the 
 two centre ones) occupies, less than one third of the length of the feather 
 in S. cenanthe, whilst in the other two species it occupies more than one 
 third. 
 
304 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SAXICOLA DESERTI. 
 DESERT- WHEATEAR. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Saxicola stapazina (Linn.}, apud Licht, Eoersm. Reis. Suchara, p. 128 (1823). 
 Saxicola deserti, Temm. PL Col. pi. 359. fig. 2 (1825) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Gray, Bonaparte, Cabanis, Heuglin, Jerdon, Dresser, &c. 
 Saxicola isabellina, Riipp. apud Temm. PI. Col. pi. 472. fig. 1 (1829). 
 Saxicola pallida, Riipp. Neue Wirb. Vog. p. 80 (1835). 
 Saxicola atrogularis, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Seng. xvi. p. 131 (1847). 
 Saxicola salina, Eversm. Butt. Soc. Mosc. xxiii. pt. 2, p. 567, pi. viii. fig. 2 (1850). 
 Saxicola gutturalis, Licht. Nomencl. Av. p. 35 (1854). 
 Saxicola homochroa, Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 59. 
 Saxicola albomarginata, Salvad. Atti Soc. Tor. p. 507 (1870). 
 
 The claim of the Desert-Chat to a place in the British fauna rests upon 
 the capture of a single specimen. This bird was obtained on the 26th of 
 November 1880, near Stirling ; and its occurrence was recorded by Mr. J. 
 Dalgleish in the 'Transactions of the Royal Physical Society' for the 
 following year. It was killed by a Mr. Watt, gamekeeper to Lord Balfour, 
 of Burleigh, whilst sitting on a stone in a piece of moorland at the side of 
 Gartmorn Dam, on the property of the Earl of Zetland, near Alloa. It even- 
 tually came into the possession of Mr. J. Taylor of Alloa, who, struckby its 
 unusually late appearance and different markings from those of the Common 
 Wheatear, sent it to Mr. Dagleish. This gentleman kindly forwarded it 
 for exhibition at the first April meeting of the Zoological Society last year, 
 when I had an opportunity of examining it. It is a male in autumn 
 plumage. Although ten days elapsed ere it was preserved, it has been 
 mounted very successfully. The contents of the stomach consisted of 
 small flies. To the European fauna the claim of the Desert-Chat is equally 
 slight. It rests upon two specimens obtained on the ornithologically 
 famous little island of Heligoland, which are now in the possession of Mr. 
 Gaetke. One of these birds is a male, with black throat, in autumn plumage, 
 captured on the 26th of October 1856 ; the other a female, without the 
 black throat, also in autumn plumage, taken on the 4th of October in the 
 following year. The true home of this interesting little bird is, as its name 
 implies, dry and sandy regions. Although thus comparatively an unknown 
 bird north of the Mediterranean, it has nevertheless a very wide and 
 extensive range. It is a resident wherever the country is suitable to its 
 habits, from the trackless wastes of the Algerian Sahara eastwards to the 
 plains of India. It is found in Egypt, Nubia, Palestine, Arabia, and the 
 highlands of Southern Persia, occasionally wandering into Abysinnia 
 during the winter. Still further to the north and east it breeds on the 
 plateaux of Turkestan, at varying elevations from 1000 to 12,300 feet 
 
DESERT-WHEATEAR. 305 
 
 above the level of the sea. The winter- quarters of these birds are in 
 Baluchistan, Scinde, and the North-west Provinces of India. 
 
 The Desert-Chat is an inhabitant of those arid regions that appear, at 
 first sight, to be utterly incapable of supporting life of any description 
 dreary trackless wastes of sand and rocks, devoid of trees and shrubs, whose 
 sameness is only relieved by the variety of their physical aspect. But, " with 
 all its monotony/' writes Canon Tristram (Ibis, 1859, p. 277), "the Desert 
 has its varieties. One day you laboriously pick your steps among bare rocks, 
 now sharp enough to wound the tough sole of your camel, now so slippery 
 that the Arab can scarce make good his footing. Another day you plunge 
 for miles knee-deep in loose suffocating sand-drifts, ever changing and 
 threatening to bury you when you halt. Sometimes a hard pebbly surface 
 permits a canter for hours over the level plain amidst dwarf, leafless, dust- 
 coloured shrubs. Perhaps, on surmounting a ridge, the mirage of a vast 
 lake glittering in the sunshine excites both the horse and his rider. On, 
 on, gallops the wiry little steed over sand hard and crisp, and coated with 
 a delicate crust of saltpetre, the deposit of the water, which at rare inter- 
 vals has accumulated there, and formed the Chotts and Sebkhas of the 
 Desert." Here, in such dreary solitudes, the little Desert-Chat may be 
 seen hopping restlessly amongst the sand, or, when alarmed, flying off to 
 some considerable distance out of danger and away from intrusion. It is 
 often seen sitting quietly on the edge of the drifts, and, as their crumbling 
 sides give way, appears to search for its sustenance amongst the falling 
 sand. 
 
 The habits of this bird appear much to resemble those of the Common 
 Wheatear. It possesses the same characteristic drooping flight, and, as 
 in the well-known bird of our own islands, its tail is ever in jerking motion, 
 accompanied by a slight shaking of the wings. Sometimes it will perch 
 on a little stunted bush in the desert, or on the banks of fields or mud- 
 walls of gardens, and more frequently on a stone. Here it utters its short 
 and pleasing song, which is said to be given forth both in the summer and 
 winter months. In the rainy season they collect in small flocks, and 
 wander about the country in company with allied species. 
 
 The food of the Desert- Wheatear is, like that of other Chats, composed 
 of small insects, picked up amongst the sand or, at times, when flutter- 
 ing in the air ; and Messrs. Dickson and Ross also record it as feeding on 
 ants. 
 
 Of the habits of the Desert-Chat during the breeding-season but little 
 is known. Its nest is said, by ornithologists who have met with it, to 
 resemble that of the Black-throated Chat, and is placed on the ground, 
 sometimes in the shelter of a bush or in a fissure of the rocks, or not 
 unfrequently in the walls of wells. Canon Tristram also reports it as 
 building its nest in burrows. Eggs of this bird are very rare in collec- 
 
 VOL. i. x 
 
306 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 tions. They closely resemble those of the Black-throated Chat, but are 
 not so brightly coloured, and the pale liver-coloured spots are larger. 
 They are light greenish blue in ground-colour, spotted with liver-brown 
 of varying degrees of intensity, usually in a zone round the larger end. 
 They measure '77 inch in length and *49 inch in breadth. 
 
 The general colour of the upper plumage of a male in breeding-dress is 
 buff, richest on the lower back and dullest on the head, and shading into 
 pure white on the rump and upper tail-coverts. The cheeks, throat, and 
 sides of the neck are black ; the eye- stripes, which meet over the bill and 
 extend to the nape, are dull white. Wing and wing-coverts nearly black, 
 with obscure pale tips ; tail black, white at the base. The underparts are 
 white, washed with pale buff on the breast and flanks ; the under wing- 
 coverts are white, and the axillaries are black, tipped with white. Bill, 
 legs, feet, and claws black ; irides dark brown. The female, in breeding- 
 plumage, has the upper parts duller and greyer than in the male ; the eye- 
 stripes are scarcely visible, and the rump and upper tail-coverts are washed 
 with rufous. On the underparts the black throat is absent, the whole 
 under surface is buff, and the wings are brown. After the autumn moult, 
 but little change is visible in either sex ; but males of the year have the 
 black feathers of the throat and wings margined with buff. Young, in 
 first plumage, are like the young of other Chats, and have pale centres to 
 the feathers of both upper and under parts, except on the rump and belly. 
 The females of the Desert-Chat very closely resemble an allied species, the 
 Isabelline Chat (S. isabellina), but they are always distinguishable by their 
 small feet. 
 
 It has frequently been observed by ornithologists that the proportion of 
 birds of this species obtained in the female plumage is very small compared 
 with those obtained in the male plumage. Mr. Gurney estimates the pro- 
 portion in Algeria to be about one of the former to eight of the latter. It 
 is therefore very possible that the female birds assume the plumage of the 
 male, but gain it later in life, as is the case with many other birds. 
 Careful sexing of specimens by collectors would, however, place the matter 
 beyond all doubt. 
 
THE BLACK-THROATED CHAT. 307 
 
 SAXICOLA STAPAZINA (Vieillot, nee Dresser). 
 
 THE BLACK-THROATED CHAT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula vitiflora rufa ( cJ nee $ ), Briss. Orn. iii. p. 459 (1760). 
 
 Muscicapa melanoleuca, Giild. Nov. Com. Petr. xix. p. 468, pL xv. (1775, Western 
 form). 
 
 Motacilla stapazina (Linn.)* ( rf nee $ ), apud Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 966 (1788) ; et 
 auctorum plurimorum (Temminck),(Meyer), ( Gould), (Keyserling), (Blasius), 
 (Nordmawi), (Ruppett), (Deglatid), (Gerbe), (Bonaparte), (Cabanis), (Heuglin), 
 (Tristram), (Lindermeyer), (Newton), (Filippi), (Doderlein), ( Gray), (Fritsch), 
 (Salvador*), (Gould), (Jaubert), (Locke), (Irby), &c., &c., &c., nee Dresser, nee 
 Blanford. 
 
 Sylvia stapazina (Ltnn.) (J nee $ ), apud Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 530 (1790). 
 
 Vitiflora rufa (<$ nee $), Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. x. p. 569 (1817). 
 
 (Enanthe stapazina (Linn.), apud Vieill. N. Diet. a" Hist. Nat. xxi. p. 425 (1818). 
 
 Saxicola stapazina (Linn.), apud Temm. Man. d"Orn. i. p. 239 (1820). 
 
 Vitiflora stapazina (Linn.), apud Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Saxicola xanthomelaena, Hempr. et Ehr. Symb. Phys., Aves, fol. aa (1833, autumn 
 plumage of Eastern form). 
 
 Saxicola eurymelaena, Hempr. et Ehr. Symb. Phys., Aves, foL bb (1833, summer 
 plumage of Eastern form). 
 
 Saxicola albicilla, von Jtfiill. Naumannia, 1851, p. 28 (Eastern form). 
 
 Saxicola rufa (Brehm), Blanf. $ Dresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1874, p. 221 ( Western form). 
 
 Saxicola melanoleuca (Guld.), Blanf. $ Dresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1874, p. 222 ( Western 
 form). 
 
 The Black-throated Chat is divided into two forms, which have been 
 specifically separated by Brehm, Blanford, and Dresser. Although the 
 difference between them is so slight, yet, as their geographical distribu- 
 tion coincides with it, it is best, perhaps, to afford them subspecific rank, 
 and regard them as imperfectly segregated subspecies or varieties. The 
 one form, Saxicola stapazina, breeds in the south of France, Spain, 
 Western Algiers, and Morocco, and winters in Western Africa ; the other, 
 Saxicola stapazina, var. melanoleuca, breeds in Greece, South Russia, Asia 
 Minor, Palestine, and South Persia, passes through Egypt and Nubia on 
 migration, and probably winters in Central Africa. 
 
 One would naturally expect to find a bird breeding in Western Europe 
 occasionally straggling to the British Islands ; but it was a specimen of 
 
 * The Motacilla stapazina of Linnaeus is undoubtedly the Eared Chat, S. aurita (without 
 the black throat), though there cannot be any reasonable doubt that Linnaeus considered 
 the latter speties the female of the bird which has generally been called S. stapazina, 
 inasmuch as he refers to Brisson and Edwards, who both asserted this to be the case. 
 According to the British- Association rules, Linnaeus's name must stand for the Eared Chat, 
 or lapse altogether for want of clear definition. 
 
 x2 
 
308 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the Eastern race that paid our shores its hurried and fatal visit. It is 
 worthy of remark that on Heligoland far more stragglers from South- 
 eastern Europe than from South-western Europe occur. Its capture was 
 first recorded in ' Science Gossip ' for October 1878, by Mr. R. Davenport, 
 of Bury, Lancashire, who writes : " It is a pleasing duty to me to record 
 the taking of a very beautiful specimen of what I consider an exceedingly 
 rare bird in our neighbourhood (Saxicola stapazina). The specimen was 
 shot by a friend of mine, about the middle of May this year, on the margin 
 of the Bury and Radcliffe Reservoir; and though much mangled with 
 number-6 shot, it has been very well mounted indeed by my friend 
 Johnson, of Prestwick. Considering the condition it was in from being 
 killed with such large shot, I really doubted at one time whether it could 
 be mounted ; however, it has been ; and a valuable addition to our list of 
 birds it is." I had an opportunity of examining this specimen when it 
 was exhibited at the second November meeting of the Zoological Society 
 in 1878. It appeared to be an adult in full plumage. At the following 
 meeting of the Society (P.Z. S. 1878, p. 977), Mr. Sclater read a letter 
 with enclosures from Mr. R. Davenport, of Bury, fully confirming the 
 capture of this interesting bird. It was shot by Mr. David Page, of Bury, 
 on or about the 8th of May, 1875, whilst sitting on the ridge of the out- 
 buildings belonging to the Bury Angling Association near the reservoir. 
 It was taken in the flesh to Mr. Wright Johnson, of Prestwick, to be 
 mounted; and by him the sex was determined, by dissection, to be a 
 male. 
 
 The Black-throated Chat and its ally, the Black-eared Chat, are two of 
 the commonest birds in Greece and Asia Minor ; and I am not exaggerating 
 when I say that I have thrown away hundreds of their eggs which the 
 Greek peasant boys have brought me, because it was absolutely impossible 
 to identify the species unless they caught the bird on the nest, which they 
 were very clever in doing. They are both summer birds of passage to 
 Asia Minor, arriving there about the third week in March. They evidently 
 lose no time in pairing, and set about building their nests soon after their 
 arrival, for when I crossed the mountains behind Smyrna on the 2nd of 
 June they appeared all to have young. They were especially abundant on 
 the edge of the cultivated ground between the rocky cliffs and the vine- 
 yards. The weather was so hot that on our arrival at Nymphi we did not 
 do much climbing, but preferred to skirt the base of the mountains just 
 high enough to catch a little of the sea-breeze, which fortunately sets in 
 towards the land soon after noon and slightly alleviates the heat of the 
 broiling sun overhead. This sort of borderland is half rock and half 
 jungle, with here and there an old olive tree or a small cluster of pines. 
 On the bushes and the luxuriant, though somewhat parched, herbs that 
 towered up above the vegetation at their feet, the Black-throated Chat was 
 
THE BLACK-THROATED CHAT. 309 
 
 a very conspicuous object. The contrast of the black, white, and buff was 
 verv handsome as the bird sat perched on the topmost twig of a bush, 
 jerking its tail up and down as it loudly protested against our intrusion on 
 its home. Most of the birds we saw had insects in their mouths, and 
 were evidently anxious to feed their young, but were afraid to do so until 
 we had retired. In the first week in May the following year I was in the 
 Parnassus and found the Black-throated Chat breeding abundantly in the 
 rocky slopes between the pine-region and the region of the olive and vine, 
 about three thousand feet above the level of the sea. In this district of grass 
 and rocks even- hundred yards brought us to a pair of either the Black- 
 throated or Black-eared Chats, and I obtained several nests on which the 
 females were caught. The nests were usually in the grass in some rock- 
 sheltered crevice, and were loosely made outside of moss and grass, but rather 
 neatly lined with roots and goat's hair. The number of eggs was usually 
 five, but sometimes only four. In their habits these Chats scarcely differ 
 from the Wheatear; they are usually detected on a rock, and are shy 
 enough, except when they have young. Their song is simple but pleasing, 
 and resembles that of our Wheatear. 
 
 The eggs of the Black-throated Chat vary in ground-colour from pale to 
 dark bluish green, spotted with reddish brown of different shades. In 
 some specimens the spots are dark (almost liver-) brown and sharply denned ; 
 in others they are pale, many of them confluent. As a rule, the markings 
 are confined to the large end of the egg, where they usually form a zone ; 
 but sometimes they are irregularly dispersed over the entire surface. 
 Some eggs are almost spotless, whilst others have an indistinct band of 
 very pale spots at the large end. They measure from "8 to '7 inch in 
 length and from -62 to '56 inch in breadth. 
 
 In the male the crown, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, breast, and the 
 rest of the uuderparts, except the throat, are white ; the throat and the sides 
 of the head, extending slightly above the eye, the wings, and upper and 
 under wing-coverts are jet-black; two central tail-feathers black, except at 
 the base, which is white ; outside tail-feathers white, broadly terminated 
 with black, the black tips to the remainder being narrower and generally 
 quite obsolete on several. Bill black ; irides brown ; legs, feet, and claws 
 black. In the female the general colour of the upper parts is almost 
 uniform brown, darker on the wings and darkest on the tail ; the rump 
 and the white on the tail-feathers are the same as in the male; the 
 feathers of the throat are buff, showing half- concealed dark bases. Breast 
 buff, shading into huffish white on the rest of the underparts except the 
 axillaries a^d under wing-coverts, which are dark brown. It is not known 
 that any change in the colour of the plumage is produced by the autumn 
 moult. Birds of the year have the whole of the white feathers (except 
 those of the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail) suffused with buff, the 
 
310 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 wing-coverts and innermost secondaries broadly edged with buff, the quills 
 narrowly tipped with buff, and the tail-feathers narrowly tipped with 
 white. Young in first plumage resemble the female of the year, but have 
 obscure pale centres and dark terminal bars to the feathers of the throat, 
 breast, crown, and back. 
 
 The Western form of the Black-throated Chat differs in having the 
 black on the throat not extending beyond the upper throat ; it is also 
 more constantly suffused with buff on the back and breast. Intermediate 
 forms also occur ; and examples from Spain, in which the black on the 
 throat is more extended than usual, are indistinguishable from examples 
 from Asia Minor, in which the black on the throat is less extended than 
 usual. There is no difference in size. 
 
 A nearly allied, but distinct species, the Euphrates Pied Chat (S.finschii), 
 has the upper breast as well as the throat black. This species breeds in 
 the rocky hills of the Caucasus, Eastern Asia Minor, and Persia. It passes 
 through Egypt on migration, and is found in Nubia in winter. 
 
PRATINCOLA. 311 
 
 Genus PRATINCOLA. 
 
 The Bushchats were included by Bechstein in his genus Scuricola, but 
 were removed by Koch when he subdivided this genus and established the 
 genus Pratincola for their reception, in 1816, in his ' System der baier- 
 ischen Zoologie/ p. 190. Koch did not indicate any type ; but he placed 
 the "vThinchat first upon his list ; and this bird has, by common consent, 
 been regarded as such. 
 
 The Bushchats are a small group of birds allied in some respects to the 
 Chats, and in others to the Flycatchers. The bill is shorter and broader 
 than that of the Chats, but not so broad as that of the Flycatchers. The 
 tarsus is comparatively short, and the plumage much more fluffy and loose. 
 The rictal bristles are large and well developed. 
 
 Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum ' (iv. 
 p. 178), enumerates thirteen species which are distributed over the Palae- 
 arctic, ^Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, but absent from the Australian 
 Region. Three species are found in Europe, and the occurrence of a 
 fourth is somewhat doubtful. One is a resident and one a regular summer 
 migrant to the British Islands. 
 
 The Bushchats are more arboreal in their habits than the Chats, fre- 
 quenting bushes, low trees, and tall herbage. Like the Flycatchers, they 
 obtain much of their food on the wing. They feed principally on insects 
 and worms. They are possessed of considerable powers of song. They 
 build loosely made nests, open, and composed of grasses, hairs, feathers, 
 moss, &c., placing them amongst tall herbage and under bushes. Their 
 eggs, from four to six in number, vary from pale to dark blue, sparingly 
 spotted with reddish brown. 
 
312 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PRATINCOLA RUBETRA. 
 THE WHINCHAT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula rubetra major sive rubicola, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 432, pi. 24. fig. 1 (1760). 
 Motacilla rubetra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 332 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Latham, (Temminck}, (Naumann), (Gould), (Schlegel), (Neivton), (Dresser}, 
 
 (Heuglin), (Sharpe), &c. 
 
 Sylvia zya, Seep. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 158 (1769). 
 Sylvia rubetra (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 159 (1769). 
 Motacilla fervida, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 968 (1788). 
 Sylvia fervida (GmeL), Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 525 (1790). 
 Saxicola rubetra (Linn.}, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 219 (1802). 
 Pratincola rubetra (Linn.}, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 191 (1816). 
 Curruca rubetra (Linn.}, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc, Brit. Mus. p. 24 (1816). 
 (Enantbe rubetra (Linn.}, Vieill. N. Diet. d"Hist. Nat. xxi. p. 427 (1818). 
 (Enanthe fervida (Lath.), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxi. p. 436 (1818). 
 Fruticicola rubetra (Linn.), Macgill. Br. B. ii. p. 273 (1839). 
 Rubetra major, Gray, List Gen. B. p. 22 (1840). 
 Pratincola fervida (Gmel.}, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 179 (1846). 
 Pratincola senegalensis (Briss.}, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 68 (1857). 
 
 The Whinchat may be said to be pretty generally diffused throughout 
 the three kingdoms, and in certain localities is a common and abundant 
 species. It is rarer and more local in Ireland, and only breeds occasionally 
 in the extreme south-west of England ; whilst in Scotland in many districts 
 it is absent altogether, although it ranges up to the extreme north, and 
 has occasionally been seen on the Orkney Isles. On the Hebrides it is a 
 fairly common bird, and it has once been recorded from the Faroe Islands. 
 The Whinchat breeds in all suitable localities throughout Central and 
 North Europe, ranging from the Arctic circle as far south as the pine- 
 regions extend. It passes through South Europe on migration, a few 
 birds remaining to breed at elevations that place them in a similar climate 
 to their more northern congeners. It winters in parts of South Europe 
 and North Africa, ranging as far south on the latter continent as the 
 Gambia and Fantee country in the west, and Nubia and Abyssinia in the 
 east. The Whinchat is found in the Caucasus. The record of its occurrence 
 in Persia by De Filippi seems doubtful ; and the eastern range of the species 
 is most probably the Ural Mountains. 
 
 The haunts of the Whinchat are the upland wastes quite as much as 
 the lowland pastures. The bird is commonly seen in the large gorse- 
 coverts, from which it receives its name of Whin- or Furze-Chat. Its 
 
THE WHIXCHAT. 313 
 
 favourite haunts are in the pastures and the hay-meadows ; whilst far up 
 the mountain-sides on the broad stretches of heather it is common in 
 summer. The Whinchat is also abundant on the commons and rough 
 open wastes clothed with stunted bushes, briars, and brambles. In the 
 south of England it reaches its favourite haunts by the middle of April, 
 the northern districts being tenanted by these birds a little later, some- 
 times not until the beginning of May. In some few instances the 
 Whiuchat lias been known to winter in England ; but the authentic 
 occurrences of the bird at this season are so few that it must be considered 
 a strictly migratory bird, leaving us for the south in the third week 
 in September. It will most probably arrest your attention as it either 
 sits on the very topmost spray of some bush or heath-tuft or clings firmly 
 to a stout grass-stem or dock -plant, swaying gracefully up and down 
 by the weight of the bird upon it. There it sits quietly, incessantly 
 fanning its tail with graceful motion, and occasionally uttering its 
 monotonous call-note of u-tac u-tac-tac-tac-tac, a note which has gained 
 for the bird its local name of " Utick " in many country districts. As you 
 approach the little creature seems to awaken to its danger, and flits rapidly 
 off, in undulating fitful flight, to another stem of herbage or topmost twig, 
 where it sits and watches you as before. Although the Whinchat so often 
 chooses a perch near the ground, it by no means shuns the trees, and, 
 especially towards the end of summer, it is seen with its young brood 
 high up amongst the branches. The bird does not show that partiality for 
 walls and rocks which is so marked a feature of the Redstart or Wheat- 
 ear. In the pastoral districts the Whinchat, directly after its arrival, 
 frequents the fallows which are being worked for the turnip-crops, and on 
 these places is found almost continuously until the neighbouring pastures 
 afford it sufficient shelter. The Whinchats never roost in trees, but 
 always on the ground. When they first arrive we may find them at night 
 on the fallows, but for the remainder of the season grass-fields and turnip- 
 lands are frequented. In the wilder parts of its haunts the Whinchat 
 roosts amongst the heath and the tangled undergrowth of gorse-covert 
 and brake. Another remarkable trait in the character of this bird is its 
 activity in the dusk of the evening, a time probably when some insect 
 that forms its favourite food is abundant ; and its well-known call-notes 
 may be heard long after the birds themselves are concealed from view by 
 the falling shadows of night. 
 
 Like the Redstart and the Wheatear the Whinchat seeks much of its 
 food in the air. It takes its stand on some favourite perch and watches 
 the clouds of insects sailing dreamily around. Ever and anon it launches 
 into the aJr to catch a fly or a gnat. The food of the Whinchat is 
 almost exclusively confined to insects and small worms obtained amongst 
 
314 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the herbage on the ground. Beetles and the small flies so abundant 
 amongst the grass form its favourite fare. It feeds largely on the 
 wireworm ; and this explains the bird's presence on the fallow land in the 
 spring and on the turnip-fields when the young plants are in their first 
 leaves, the only time at which they are exposed to the inroads of the 
 dreaded ' ' fly/' which also forms part of its sustenance. It is doubtful 
 whether this species feeds on fruit or berries ; but it has been known to 
 eat the growing corn. In the early autumn, when the young birds are 
 with their parents, the pastures are frequented, and the droppings of the 
 cattle searched for beetles and worms. 
 
 Shortly after its arrival the Whinchat is in full song. Its melody is so 
 unobtrusive, so low of tone, that it is very often overlooked. It is a song 
 very similar to the Redstart's, and chiefly uttered when the bird is hovering 
 in the air. It will, however, warble from a perch ; but this is, for the 
 most part, after the pairing-season, and usually from some twig near the 
 nest. The Whinchat is one of the first birds to lose his powers of song. 
 He warbles incessantly throughout the month of May, not so frequently in 
 June, and by the first days of July he is songless, for the autumnal change 
 of plumage is shortly to be made. The call-notes have already been 
 mentioned; but, in addition to these, it utters a peculiarly low peep, 
 which seems to be a note expressive of anxiety when its nest is 
 menaced. 
 
 By the middle of May the Whinchat is seen in pairs, and after a week 
 or so their nest is completed. If on the moorland, the female bird finds a 
 place to build her nest amongst the heather ; if in the gorse- coverts, she 
 will repair to the herbage in their midst, and make her home under some 
 dense and impenetrable whin-bush ; while if her haunt is the open fields, 
 her home is built amongst the grass, sometimes in the centre of the fields, 
 or at others close to the hedgerows. During the whole time the birds are 
 engaged in building their nest they are the very essence of wariness. 
 Notice, for instance, how the male bird, when bringing materials to the 
 nest, will try to weary your patience by his deceptive motions. From 
 spray to spray he hops, sometimes sitting motionless for a few moments, 
 and then flying to some distant bush, all the time uttering his monotonous 
 note, then back again to alight in the herbage, to reappear the next 
 moment, however, with the materials still in his beak. Aware of your 
 presence he will not visit the nest ; and if you wish to find it you must 
 search the locality closely, and depend upon good fortune for success, for 
 you may rest assured the bird will not betray its whereabouts. The nest 
 of the Whinchat is usually made in a little cavity in the ground, and the 
 thickest tufts of herbage are selected. Dry grass, moss, and a few straws 
 form the outside of the nest ; internally it is composed of rootlets and 
 
THE WHINCHAT. 315 
 
 horsehair, loosely put together and almost enshrouded in the surrounding 
 herbage. The eggs are from four to six in number, greenish blue like the 
 Hedge- Accentor's, but different in form, being more pointed at both ends. 
 The markings are somewhat faint, and usually consist of a zone of small 
 light brown spots round the larger end, although in some specimens 
 this zone is round the smaller end. They vary in length from -81 to '71 
 inch, and in breadth from *6 to '55 inch. 
 
 It has been stated that the "Whinchat rears two broods in the season, 
 but probably erroneously. Certain it is the "Whinchat of the pastures 
 only rears one brood in the year, for the grass is usually mown even before 
 its young have reached maturity, and consequently cover for a second 
 nest is wanting. The decline of the male bird's song is another conclu- 
 sive proof that the birds are single-brooded, for rarely do we hear him 
 sing after the first week in July. 
 
 Much anxiety is evinced by the Whinchat, especially by the female, 
 when the nest is approached. They will fly round and round your head, 
 or take short nights from one stem of herbage to another, all the time 
 uttering their low peep, or their louder and better-known call-note. The 
 nearer their nest be approached the more anxious the little creatures 
 become, and flit about more rapidly, and sometimes flutter in the air 
 above you or drop silently down into the herbage. The young birds keep 
 with their parents throughout the autumn, and probably migrate in com- 
 pany. At this season of the year, when the grass is cut, the "Whinchat 
 is rather more shy and difficult of approach, and is seen on the swathes 
 of newly cut grass flying restlessly about, and seemingly highly concerned 
 at the loss of the friendly shelter which the long grass afforded. 
 
 The general colour of the "Whinchat above is blackish brown, with sandy 
 buff margins to the feathers, brightest on the rump. The wings and tail 
 are dark brown, the former having the smaller coverts white and the latter 
 having the basal half white, except the two centre feathers, which only 
 have the extreme bases so. There is a bufly white streak over the eye, 
 round the chin, and along the sides of the neck ; the ear-coverts are black, 
 and the remainder of the under plumage rich rufous, palest on the centre 
 of the belly and under tail-coverts, and deepest on the breast. Bill, legs, 
 toes, and claws black ; irides brown. The female bird, although similar 
 to the male, is much paler in colour, and the white parts that adorn the 
 male are not so pure, and the black parts are brown. The nestling bird 
 is similar to the female, only the spotting of the upper parts is more 
 denned, and the breast is waved and barred with darker brown. After 
 the autumn ^aoult the male birds resemble the females ; the rufous tints 
 are not so dark, and the broad pale margins to the feathers give the bird a 
 much lighter appearance. 
 
316 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 As we previously stated, the eastern range of the Whinchat is probably 
 the Ural ; but the bird has an eastern representative in the Indian Whin- 
 chat (Pratincola macrorhyncha}. It differs from our bird by having a 
 longer and somewhat more slender bill, is much larger, has very much 
 more white on the tail, and the wing-formula is different. In the Com- 
 mon Whinchat the second primary equals the fifth, but in the Indian 
 bird it is equal to or longer than the seventh. 
 
THE STONECHAT. 317 
 
 PRATINCOLA RUBICOLA. 
 THE STONECHAT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Ficedula rubetra, Briss. Oni. iii. p. 428, pi. 23. fig. 1 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla rubicola, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 332 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Bechstein), (Temminck), (Nautnanri), (Yarrell), (Schlegel), (Newton), (Dresser), 
 
 (Bonaparte), &c. 
 
 Sylvia muscipeta, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 159 (1769). 
 Sylvia rubicola (Linn.}, Lath. Ind. Oni. ii. p. 523 (1790). 
 Saxicola rubicola (Linn.\ Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 220 (1802). 
 Pratincola rubicola (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 192 (1816). 
 Curruca rubicola (Linn.'), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mas. p. 24 (1816). 
 Fruticicola rubicola (Linn.), Macgill. Brit. B. ii. p. 279 (1839). 
 
 The Stonechat closely resembles the "Whinchat in form and general 
 habits, and slightly so in appearance, a circumstance which has caused 
 much confusion to arise between the two species ; for in almost all parts 
 of England the Whiuchat, by far the commonest species, popularly does 
 duty for the Stonechat, and in many parts of Scotland the Wheatear is 
 universally known by that name. But, unlike the Whinchat, the present 
 species is, in our islands at least, a constant resident, and may be seen in its 
 favourite haunts at all times of the year. Its distribution in Great Britain 
 is somewhat local, much more so than that of the Whinchat. The Stone- 
 chat breeds in suitable localities in all the counties of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Hebrides, and is occasionally found 
 on the Orkney and Shetland Isles, but is not known to breed there. On 
 the continent the Stonechat is not found north of the Baltic or east 
 of the valley of the Volga ; but it is a resident in North Africa, Palestine, 
 and Asia Minor. 
 
 The Stonechat has several very near allies, with some of which it ap- 
 parently interbreeds, as intermediate forms occur. In North-east Russia 
 and Siberia P. maura is found, with black axillaries and unspotted white 
 rump. In North-east Africa P. hemprichii occurs, with more white than 
 black on the tail in thorough-bred birds. In South Africa our species is 
 represented by P. torquata, in which the rump is white and the chestnut 
 on the breast more restricted. 
 
 The haun\s of this charming little bird are almost exclusively confined 
 to the heaths and commons and rough open wastes, rock-strewn and 
 overgi-own with tangled briars and brambles and a few stunted bushes. A 
 
318 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 likely place to look for the Stonechat is on the borders of the moors, 
 where their monotony is relieved by patches of broken ground, strewed with 
 rocks and overgrown with bilberry, heath, bracken, and bramble, and 
 studded pretty frequently with bushes, with here and there an occasional 
 birch or mountain-ash tree. But the Stonechat is not exclusively con- 
 fined to the wild barren wastes or to the " roughs " adjoining them, for 
 sometimes it is seen, usually in the winter or spring, in the fields of the 
 well- cultivated districts birds most probably driven in by stress oi! 
 weather, or on migration and merely resting on their journey. 
 
 Although the Stonechat is migratory on the continent, it is a resident 
 bird in the British Islands. It is, however, possible that a few of the 
 birds bred here leave us in the autumn and return in the following 
 spring. In Ireland, although the bird is a resident, its numbers are said 
 to decrease in the summer and again increase in the autumn. 
 
 The Stonechat is usually seen in pairs, indeed it is not improbable that 
 this bird is mated to its partner for life. In its general habits it is very 
 similar to the Whinchat. It flits before the observer, perching on the 
 topmost sprays of heath and bush, or makes long detours to its favourite 
 haunt from which it was first disturbed. Like the Whinchat, its tail is 
 almost incessantly in motion, and its call-note is uttered repeatedly. 
 Always restless and noisy, this little creature is sure to press itself upon the 
 attention, if it be present at all. Perhaps the situations which seem most 
 in harmony with the Stonechat's rich and varied dress are the gorse- 
 coverts in the early spring. The richly attired male bird hops amongst 
 the dense branches of the gorse, or balances himself daintily on some spray 
 of golden bloom, or flutters in the air in butterfly-like flight to poise 
 lightly on some spray where his rich plumage contrasts with the golden 
 tints in such abundance all around. If seriously alarmed, the little creature 
 will seek safety amongst the densest portions of the surrounding vegetation. 
 Rarely, indeed, does the Stonechat visit the ground except for the purpose 
 of searching for food ; nor does it, as a rule, perch as much as the Wheat- 
 ear on the turfs or stones. In the winter the Stonechat may still be seen 
 in its summer haunts. Even though the moorlands are lying deep in snow 
 it will be there to flutter from bush to bush, or start from the places 
 where the snow has been driven past and left ground which may be searched 
 for a scanty sustenance. But if the weather still keeps severe, if the 
 storm continues unabated for any length of time, the Stonechat often 
 comes nearer to the houses, and seeks its food in company with the Robin, 
 the Wren, the Sparrows, and other birds that depend so largely on our 
 bounty in the cold and cheerless winter season. Dixon observes " that 
 one pair of Stonechats keep most closely to a certain locality, from which 
 they seldom stray far. Nor can they be driven away from the haunt of 
 their choice. You may follow them, harass them incessantly, but they will 
 
THE STONECHAT. 319 
 
 merely flit from bush to bush, elude you probably at last, but eventually 
 again appear after some little time on their favourite perching-places. 
 We have thus known portions of rough land, not an acre in extent, always 
 tenanted by a pair of birds, and for years they have not been seen away 
 from it. We would also here note that the name ' Stone '-Chat is a 
 misnomer as applied to this species. The Wheatear is the true Stone-Chat, 
 the present bird and the Whinchat being far more aptly called 'Bush- 
 Chats/ a name applied to them by the ever-discerning and talented 
 Macgillivray." 
 
 The food of the Stonechat is very similar to that of the Whinchat ; but 
 in the winter it eats seeds of various kinds, worms, and small grubs and 
 larvae. Its summer fare is composed almost entirely of insects, and the 
 small beetles and worms found in marshy places and amongst the droppings 
 of cattle. Like the Whinchat, the present species secures much of its 
 insect food whilst hovering in the air, catching flies on the wing just like 
 the Flycatcher or Redstart. It is in these flights that the bird's varied 
 plumage is seen to best advantage, especially if its quarry be pursued 
 for any considerable distance, as is frequently the case. The Stonechat 
 has been known to make flights after small brown moths, and occasionally 
 to take the common white butterfly. In winter, should the frost be 
 severe, the Stonechat is often seen in marshy places, or on the banks of 
 the streams that wander through them, in search of whatever it can 
 find edible at a time when food is so scarce. 
 
 In spring, when all nature seems reviving under the cheerful beams of a 
 brighter sun, the Stonechat's melody is amongst the first to inform us of 
 the change of season. It is the first music heard on the upland wastes, 
 except, indeed, that of the Skylark. Long before the Meadow-Pipits are 
 in song, or the Buntings chant their monotonous music, the little Stonechat 
 may be heard to pour forth his cheering notes. Nothing very remarkable, 
 it is true a short performance, low of strain, and little varied ; yet it 
 forms a pleasant variety in itself, and a cheerful contrast to so much that 
 is wild and lonely in the surrounding country. The little creature starts, 
 may be, from a spray of broom, which rebounds and quivers as he leaves 
 it, and, fluttering in the air, he utters his music and retires to his perch 
 again. His song is like his flight, short and irregular, and no sooner 
 heard and began to be appreciated and listened to with pleasure than 
 it ceases, only to be renewed when the little chorister bounds fluttering 
 into the air again. Its call-notes are somewhat similar to^those of the 
 Whinchat, a sharply uttered u-tsik, tsik, tsik, or, more frequently, but 
 one syllable ^lone, tsik, tsik, tsik, the tail usually being gracefully wafted 
 to and fro as each note is uttered. 
 
 The ban-en moors, the wild uplands and heaths where the furze bushes 
 attain such luxuriance, and where the stunted juniper bushes, brambles, 
 
3.20 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and thorns are interspersed with heath, are the Stonechat's favourite 
 nesting-places. Its breeding-season commences in the third week of April, 
 sometimes not until the beginning of May, according to the state of the 
 season. The nest is invariably on the ground, and always cunningly 
 concealed. Some recess under a gorse bush, perhaps in the very centre 
 of the covert, or in the herbage growing at the foot of a solitary shrub 
 on the open moor, is the site usually selected. The nest is composed 
 of dry grass and moss, occasionally a few rootlets, and is lined with 
 finer bents, hair, feathers, and sometimes a little wool. Although some- 
 what loosely put together and exhibiting but little skill, the nest of this 
 bird is a pretty one. 
 
 The eggs of the Stonechat are from four to six in number, and vary 
 considerably in the extent and intensity of their spotting. They are pale 
 bluish green in ground-colour, clouded and spotted with reddish brown. 
 In most eggs of this bird the spots are confined for the most part to 
 a broad zone round the larger end, and in some specimens the end is 
 covered completely with them. The pattern is very similar to that of the 
 eggs of the Whinchat, only far more intense and more widely dispersed. 
 Eggs of the Stonechat are sometimes found almost spotless, others are so 
 richly marked as to resemble the eggs of the Spotted Flycatcher; and it will 
 also be noticed that clutches of eggs are seldom uniform in the intensity of 
 their colouring, the last-laid eggs being usually paler. They vary in 
 length from '75 to "65 inch, and in breadth from '59 to '55 inch. The 
 
 o * 
 
 Stonechat shows much anxiety for the safety of her eggs and young ; and, 
 once disturbed, she will tire any, except the most patient observer, by her 
 protective wiles. She flits from bush to bush, occasionally alighting in 
 them, as though about to visit her nest, which, however, is most probably 
 some distance away ; or she sits on some slender spray calling incessantly 
 to her mate on a neighbouring bush, Of all the nests of the smaller birds 
 that of the Stonechat is perhaps the most difficult to discover; and the 
 peculiar motions of the birds themselves make the search still more so. 
 In some cases so closely does the female bird sit upon the nest that the 
 bush which shields her home may be rudely shaken ere she will leave 
 it ; and even when thus scared away she usually prefers to creep and glide 
 through the surrounding cover than to take wing. As the Stonechat 
 ceases to sing by the third week in June, it is very probable that but 
 one brood is reared in the season. The young are tended after they leave 
 the nest, as is the case with the Whinchat; shy little creatures they 
 are, and upon the least alarm retire immediately to the shelter of the 
 nearest cover. 
 
 The male bird has the throat, head, and back black, with the feathers of 
 the upper parts slightly edged with brown ; rump white, each feather 
 with a dark centre and rufous margin ; wings and tail dark brown ; base of 
 
THE STOXECHAT. 
 
 321 
 
 the innermost secondaries and the smaller coverts pure white, which forms 
 a patch on the wing, most conspicuous when the bird is flying. Sides of 
 the neck and breast white, the remainder of the underparts rufous-brown, 
 richest on the breast ; bill, legs, and feet black irides dark brown. The 
 female is not nearly so richly clothed as her mate, being browner in every 
 part, and with the white patches of her plumage suffused with a rufous 
 shade. The nestling bird is spotted and streaked above and below, and 
 has broad buff margins to the quills and tail-feathers, and no trace of the 
 dark throat or white patches that distinguish the adult. In the autumn 
 the male Stonechat's plumage is browner, more like the female, from the 
 effect of the broad buff margins to the feathers. The nuptial dress is 
 gained, not by a moult, but by the casting of these buff margins in the 
 spring. 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
322 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus MUSCICAPA. 
 
 The genus Muscicapa was established by Linnaeus in 1766, in his 
 ' Systema Naturae/ i. p. 324. As Linnaeus adopted this name from Brisson 
 (Orn. ii. p. 357), and as the Muscicapa muscicapa of Brisson is the Spotted 
 Flycatcher, that bird may fairly be considered the type. The Flycatchers 
 may be distinguished by the shape of the bill, which is very broad at the 
 base, slightly flattened, and by their numerous and conspicuous rictal 
 bristles. The tarsus also is short, in the British species less than a quarter 
 the length of the wing. 
 
 Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum ' (iv. 
 p. 149), includes twenty species in this genus. The Flycatchers inhabit 
 the Palsearctic, Oriental, and ^Ethiopian Regions, extending southwards 
 to the Moluccas, but not occurring in the Australian Region. Four species 
 are found in Europe, of which two breed in the British Islands and one is 
 an accidental visitor. 
 
 The Flycatchers are essentially arboreal birds, and frequent the out- 
 skirts of woods, groves, and gardens. They seldom alight on the ground, 
 but sit perched on the branches, from which they sally into the air to 
 catch their prey, which is almost exclusively composed of insects. They 
 will also occasionally eat fruit. They are birds possessing small powers of 
 song. Their nests, which are loosely constructed of dry grasses, moss, 
 wool, feathers, &c., are built in holes of trees and walls and in crevices 
 of bark. Their eggs are from four to six in number, and vary from 
 pale blue completely spotless, to pale bluish green mottled and spotted 
 with reddish brown. 
 
SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 323 
 
 MUSCICAPA GRISOLA. 
 SPOTTED FLYCATCHER, 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Mu-oicapa muscicapa, Brigs. Orn. ii. p. 357, pi. xxxv. fig. 3 (1760). 
 Muscicapa grisola, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 328 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 Temnu'nck, Macgillivray, Yarrett, Gray, Gould, Sundecall, Layard, Shelley, 
 
 ton, Sharpe, Dresser, (Hume), &c. 
 Butalis grisola (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 973. 
 Butalis africana, Bonap. Compt. Send, xxxviii. p. 652 (1854). 
 Muscicapa africana (Bonap.'), Gray, Hand-l. It. i. p. 321 (1869). 
 
 The Spotted Flycatcher is one of the latest of our summer migrants. A 
 sombre, unassuming little species it is, and solitary and sedentary in its 
 habits ; yet from its partiality for gardens, and its great familiarity, it is 
 one of the best known of our summer birds of passage. Throughout Great 
 Britain it is a common bird from May until September, breeding in every 
 county, but becoming rather less numerous in Scotland and in the 
 Channel Islands. Northwards the Spotted Flycatcher becomes rarer 
 and far more local in its distribution, and on the islands of Orkney 
 and Shetland it is very rarely seen. Thompson describes it as a regular 
 summer visitant to some parts of Ireland, and perhaps to suitable 
 localities throughout the island; it is, however, but very locally distri- 
 buted, even in those counties in which it is found, as Cork, Kilkenny, 
 Tipperary, Clare, Dublin, and those in the north-east part of Ulster. 
 Throughout the European continent and the islands of the Mediterranean 
 it is a very common bird, and, for the most part, a regular summer 
 migrant. It breeds in tolerable abundance in Scandinavia, as far north 
 as Tromso. In Russia it ranges as far north as Archangel, and is a 
 common species in Central Russia, but does not range far north in the 
 Ural district. Harvie-Brown and I did not meet with it in the Petchora ; 
 but my collectors have sent me skins from Krasnoyarsk. Throughout the 
 rest of Europe it is a common bird, although in some localities it is far 
 more numerous than in others. It has not yet, however, been recorded 
 from Greenland, Iceland, or the Faroes. It breeds in great numbers in 
 Palestine and Turkey in Asia, and was met with by De Filippi and 
 Blanford in Persia, the latter gentleman remarking its exceptional abun- 
 dance in certain localities on the highlands of that country. It is also 
 found in Arrfbia. It is recorded as breeding throughout Turkestan, and 
 has at least occurred as far to the east as Lake Baikal. A few specimens 
 occasionally wander into Western Continental India during the winter 
 
 Y2 
 
324 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 season. In Africa the Spotted Flycatcher is found as far south as Cape 
 colony, in some parts, both of the north and south of the continent, being 
 said to be a resident or partially migratory species. It is apparently a 
 rare bird in Egypt, but common in Algeria, where it occurs on passage, a 
 few remaining to breed. We have no record of this species from any of 
 the Atlantic islands off the coasts of this continent. In China southwards 
 to the Philippines and the Moluccas the Spotted Flycatcher is represented 
 by a nearly allied form, the Muscicapa griseisticta of Swinhoe, differing in 
 being slightly smaller, in being browner above, more broadly streaked on 
 the breast, and with a shorter tail. In Eastern Siberia it is represented 
 by two other nearly allied species, M. latirostris and M. sibirica. In the 
 valley of the Angora the range of the Spotted Flycatcher overlaps that 
 of its eastern representatives. M. sibirica has much darker underparts ; 
 M. latirostris is without the spots on the breast ; and both are much smaller 
 birds than M. grisola. Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the 
 British Museum/ vol. iv., places these three species in three different 
 genera, the characters of which chiefly depend on the form of the bill. 
 This group of birds appears to me to be one in which the general style of 
 coloration is of much greater generic value than slight differences in the 
 shape of the bill. 
 
 The Spotted Flycatcher rarely arrives in its summer haunts in Great 
 Britain before the first or second week in May, generally not until the oak 
 trees are partially in leaf, and the season affords abundance of insect food. 
 It frequents the well-cultivated districts, and delights to haunt the borders 
 of woods and well-timbered parks. It is also found commonly in gardens 
 and pleasure-grounds and in orchards, often on the wooded banks of 
 streams and ponds, and, more rarely, attaching itself to some small clump 
 of trees in the centre of pastures, on whose long, drooping boughs it sits 
 and ever and anon sallies forth to catch the passing insects. Gifted with 
 no great powers of song, and exceedingly sober and chaste of dress, this 
 little bird is very often passed unnoticed, unless its oft-repeated call-notes 
 arrest the attention of the passer-by. Here, in his favourite haunts, 
 you will most frequently observe him sitting upright and motionless on 
 some favourite perch, either on a stake or iron fence, haystack, or long 
 bare branch, watching intently the clouds of insects playing round him. 
 As the flies come near he sallies out repeatedly and, fluttering in the air, 
 secures them with a sharp snap of his bill, returning quickly and silently 
 to his perch again to sit motionless as before. If it be in autumn, 
 his mate and brood will be near him perhaps all sitting in a row on a 
 convenient fence, the parent birds catching insects and feeding their 
 young. Spotted Flycatchers are often seen hovering in airy flight over 
 the meadow-grass, every now and then alighting to secure the small 
 insects and beetles lurking on the stems of the herbage. They will some- 
 
SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 325 
 
 times pursue an unusually large insect for fifty yards or more ; and then 
 the Flycatcher's peculiar flight is seen to perfection. This bird also often 
 visits manure-heaps, feeding on the small beetles; and it may be seen 
 searching old walls for food, by fluttering in front of, and occasionally 
 clinging to, them. 
 
 The Spotted Flycatcher often seeks its meal in the dusk of the evening, 
 pursuing various small moths and beetles ; and it is one of the earliest 
 birds astir in the light summer mornings, its monotonous call-notes 
 being heard just as early as the songs of the Thrush and Blackbird. 
 The food of this species is composed largely of insects, especially 
 of flies and gnats; spiders and beetles are also eaten, as well as various 
 kinds of butterflies and moths ; and, on the authority of Collett, it is said 
 to feed on berries in the autumn months, and is then caught in snares 
 laid for Thrushes, and baited with the berries of the mountain-ash. 
 
 It is very widely and popularly believed that the Spotted Flycatcher is 
 not gifted with any powers of song ; but this is an error. His song is 
 heard but rarely, it is true, and is uttered in such a low tone as to be 
 scarcely heard a few yards away. It is given forth both when the bird is 
 sitting at rest and when fluttering in the air after insects. It consists of 
 a few rambling notes, not unlike part of the Whinchat's song. The 
 monotonous call-note may perhaps be best expressed by the letters zt } zt ; 
 it is uttered in rapid succession from one perching-place, and every now 
 and then the tail is jerked to and fro with graceful motion. Sometimes a 
 second syllable is added to the call-note, which then sounds like zt-chick. 
 
 Although the Spotted Flycatcher is capable of rapid undulating flight, 
 it but rarely avails itself of its powers, and seems unwilling to fly for long 
 distances at a time. Its usual mode of progression is from tree to tree or 
 bush to bush; and when once it has taken up its summer-quarters, it 
 rarely strays far away from them until it leaves them in the autumn for 
 its winter home. The date of its departure is a comparatively early one ; 
 this bird leaves our shores long before the last Swallows take their depar- 
 ture, and is rarely seen after the third week in September. 
 
 Although the Spotted Flycatcher arrives here in May, its nest is seldom 
 found before the latter end of the month, and sometimes not until early 
 June. Its breeding-grounds are gardens, orchards, well-timbered parks, 
 and woods, on the outskirts of which the birds may be repeatedly seen in 
 search of their insect prey. The nesting-site is a varied one in the 
 crevices of the bark of old trees, in trellis-work overgrown with creeping 
 plants, on the horizontal limbs of trees (usually near the trunk), and 
 on wall-traiued fruit-trees. A favourite place is in shallow holes in tree- 
 trunks, such as a small cavity formed by the action of the rain rotting the 
 wood where a branch has been broken away. In all instances, however, it 
 is well supported, on one side at least, either by the trunk of the tree or by 
 
326 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the wall against which the fruit-trees are trained. The materials which 
 compose the nest are dry grass, cobwebs, moss, and perhaps a few feathers, 
 together with the wing-cases of various insects. It is lined with rootlets, 
 a thick bed of hair, and occasionally a few feathers. Owing to the peculiar 
 nature of the site, which affords so much support, the nest is small and 
 but loosely put together. 
 
 The Spotted Flycatcher sometimes builds its nest in very curious situa- 
 tions, without the slightest attempt at concealment. When I used to go 
 to a day-school we had to pass through a doorway that separated the 
 garden from the shrubbery. The door itself had been taken away, but 
 the iron hinges on which it formerly swung still projected from the brick- 
 work. One day one of my schoolfellows pointed out to me a nest stuck 
 behind the upper hinge, just out of our reach. I laughed at him when 
 he told me that a bird had built it there, and pulled it down, telling him 
 that some boy must have put it there for a freak. He, however, assured 
 me that he had seen a bird fly from it, and climbed up and replaced the 
 nest behind the hinge as well as he could. The next morning I myself 
 saw the bird fly from the nest as we approached the doorway, and on 
 climbing up I was astonished to find that the nest contained an egg of a 
 Spotted Flycatcher. 
 
 A very handsome nest of the Spotted Flycatcher in my collection is 
 somewhat larger than usual, and resembles certain nests of the Robin. 
 The lining contains no feathers, but is completely composed of fine 
 dry grass and a few hairs. It is deeply cup-shaped and the frontage 
 to the nest is broad. Externally it is chiefly composed of moss, long 
 stems of water-plants, grass-blades, and leaves of herbage now dry 
 and withered, but evidently gathered in a green state. Here and there 
 may be seen parts of dead leaves almost skeletonized and a few scraps of 
 green lichens. Nests of this bird are sometimes composed largely of 
 sticks and fibrous, roots, and then they are usually warmly lined with wool 
 and feathers. Each season the Spotted Flycatcher returns to the haunt 
 of its choice and rears its brood for years in succession in one favoured 
 place. Sometimes it will desert a locality for a season, especially if it is 
 repeatedly disturbed, but afterwards return to it again. 
 
 The eggs of the Spotted Flycatcher vary in number from four to six, and 
 range from bluish white to pea-green in ground-colour, blotched, spotted, 
 and clouded with various shades of reddish brown. Some eggs are so 
 richly covered with spots as to hide the ground-colour, and resemble 
 very closely certain varieties of Robin's eggs ; others have the markings 
 confined to a zone round the larger end ; while many are more evenly 
 marked and singularly clouded with a faint roseate tinge, which adds 
 considerably to their beauty, but which soon fades after they are blown. 
 They vary in length from '8 to '7 inch, and in breadth from '62 to '52 inch. 
 
SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 327 
 
 From causes \vlrich it is not easy to explain, the female bird sits upon her 
 eggs as soon as they are laid, and we therefore sometimes find them in 
 various stages of development in the same nest. 
 
 As the Spotted Flycatcher breeds so very late in the season, and departs 
 so early for its southern haunts, but one brood is reared in the year. 
 Instances, however, have occurred where this bird has been known to rear 
 two broods in the season. 
 
 The whole of the upper plumage of the Spotted Flycatcher, including 
 the wing-coverts, is hair-brown, the wings and tail being a little darker, 
 with a few darker spots on the crown of the head. The lower parts 
 are greyish white, suffused with buff on the flanks, and with light brown 
 across the breast, which is streaked with dark brown. Beak dark brown ; 
 irides dark hazel ; legs, toes, and claws black. The female does not differ 
 in colour from the male. The young birds in the nestling-plumage are 
 " spotted " Flycatchers in the strict sense of the word, each brown feather 
 having a buff-coloured centre ; the underparts, however, are very similar to 
 those of the adult. After the autumn moult, the innermost secondaries 
 and the wing-coverts are broadly, and the quill and tail-feathers narrowly, 
 tipped and margined with buff, which colour is suffused more or less distinctly 
 over the entire upper surface, most prominently on the rump and upper 
 tail-coverts. 
 
328 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 MUSCICAPA ATRICAPILLA. 
 PIED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Muscicapa nigra, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 381 (1760, J 1 ). 
 
 Ficedula ficedula, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 369 (1760, ). 
 
 Ficedula rubetra anglicana, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 436 (1760, ex Edwards'). 
 
 Muscicapa atricapilla, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 326 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Yarrell, Gray, Blyth, Bonaparte, Cabanis, Schlegel, Sundevall, Loche, Gould, 
 
 Heuylin, Sharpe, Newton, Dresser, Blanford, &c. 
 Emberiza luctuosa, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 146. no. 215 (1769). 
 Muscicapa muscipeta, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 502 (1795). 
 Muscicapa luctuosa (Scop.), Temm. Man. a" Orn. p. 101 (1815). 
 Muscicapa alticeps, j 
 
 Muscicapa fuscicapilla, | Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. pp. 225, 226, 227 (1831). 
 Muscicapa atrogrisea, 1 
 
 Muscicapa picata, Swains. Jard. Nat. Libr. x. p. 254 (1838). 
 
 Hedymela atricapilla (Linn.), Sundev. (Efv. K. Vet.-Akad. Fork. Stockh. 1846, p. 225. 
 Muscicapa speculigera, Selys,Jide Bonap. Consp. i. p. 317 (1850). 
 Muscicapa speculifera, Selys,Jide Schl. Vog. Nederl. p. 225 (1854). 
 Ficedula atricapilla (Linn), Sund. Av. Meth. Tent. p. 23 (1872). 
 
 The Pied Flycatcher is not nearly so common or so widely dispersed in 
 Great Britain as the Spotted Flycatcher. Its distribution is compara- 
 tively restricted and confined, for the most part, to one or two favoured 
 localities in the north of England and the south of Scotland. Although it 
 breeds in some districts in North Wales and the English counties on the 
 Welsh border, its chief summer haunt appears to be from South-west 
 Yorkshire, extending northwards to the Lake-districts of England and the 
 eastern and midland counties of Scotland, from Berwickshire to Caithness. 
 It is also known to breed in Inverness-shire; and Messrs. Baikie and 
 Heddle assert that it is often observed in the Orkneys ; but it does not 
 appear to have been recorded from Shetland. Returning to the midland 
 counties of England, we find it a rare straggler ; but it has been noticed in 
 the counties of Leicester, Derby, Stafford, Worcester, and Hereford. It 
 has also been obtained in all our eastern and southern counties from Norfolk 
 to Cornwall and the Isle of Wight, and occasionally in North Devon, 
 Somerset, Gloucester, Oxford, Wilts, and Dorset. It has never been 
 recorded from Ireland, nor does it ever appear to reach Iceland or 
 Greenland ; but a small flock was once seen on the Faroes. 
 
 On the Continent the distribution of the Pied Flycatcher is somewhat 
 peculiar. It is common in Scandinavia during summer, having been 
 found breeding up to lat. 69 ; but in Russia it is not found so far north in 
 Finland ranging to lat. 65, and in the Ural Mountains (which appear to 
 
PIED FLYCATCHER. 329 
 
 be the eastern limit of its range) only to lat. 57. It is a common, but 
 somewhat local, summer visitor to France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. 
 In Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, South Russia, and Asia Minor it is prin- 
 cipally known as passing through on migration, though it is possible that 
 a few may remain to breed. It is found in the Caucasus and North Persia, 
 but whether as a summer or winter visitant is not known. In Palestine 
 Canon Tristram says that it is a rare summer visitor ; Heuglin says that it 
 passes through Xorth-east Africa on migration ; but in Algeria it appears 
 to be a resident, and in West Africa it has occurred as far south as the 
 Gambia, but only as a winter visitant, as it is also in the island of Teneriffe. 
 
 Referring to its occurrence in Algeria, Dixon writes : " In many parts 
 of Algeria the Pied Flycatcher is a very common bird throughout the year, 
 and its conspicuous plumage arrests the attention at once. In the 
 luxuriant valley below Constantine it \vas to be seen on the outskirts of 
 the fig-groves, also in the fast drying-up bed of the river Roumel, where 
 its favourite perching-places were the old roots and heaps of refuse brought 
 down by the floods. In the oases^of El Kantara and Biskra it was also a 
 fairly common bird, and was very frequently to be seen perched on the 
 old leaf-stems on the tops of the date-palms. At the former oasis one or 
 two pairs of this bird were breeding in the holes in the apricot-trees, 
 showing no fear of man ; whilst at Oued Taga, at an elevation of 5000 feet, 
 it was an inhabitant of the Arab gardens. In its habits and flight, and in 
 its manner of searching for food, it did not differ from the Spotted Fly- 
 catcher, its inseparable companion." 
 
 The Pied Flycatcher, although it looks such a very different bird, and 
 lays such very differently coloured eggs, has many points in common with 
 the Spotted Flycatcher. Like that bird, it is very fond of gardens. At 
 Valkenswaard we found it in eveiy garden in the village; and in Tron- 
 dhjem its song resounded from every square in the middle of the town. It 
 was equally common in the wildest scenery ; and we took a nest in a hollow 
 elm tree in Romsdal, a magnificent valley, somewhat like Dove Dale in 
 Derbyshire on a large scale. Its choice of a haunt in our own country is 
 given to the wilder districts. In the birch-copses far in the wild it may 
 be seen, also in the deepest and quietest woods it shares the solitude with 
 the Woodpecker ; whilst far amongst the mountains, on the wooded shores 
 of those lakes that sleep so peacefully beneath the frowning hills, it finds 
 a suitable home. Insects abound near the waters, and on such an un- 
 failing supply of food its young are safely reared. Unlike the Spotted 
 Flycatcher, the present species is an early migrant, arriving usually in 
 the last week of April, and soon afterwards commencing the duties of 
 
 ^ 
 
 incubation. 
 
 In many of its movements the Pied Flycatcher resembles its dingy 
 congener. Far more of a restless species than a shy one, it may fre- 
 
330 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 quently be seen hovering, in butterfly-like flight, in the air. Sometimes it 
 sits quietly on some decayed limb, ever and anon uttering its call-notes 
 and incessantly jerking its tail and half opening its wings, as though 
 anxious to sally into the air. Its food consists almost entirely of insects, 
 especially of flies and gnats, which it often takes from the leaves of the 
 forest-trees whilst hovering daintily above them. It is also said to feed 
 on various kinds of berries, such as raspberries, currants, elderberries, &c., 
 and also on worms. Its visits to the fruit-trees, however, are most likely 
 principally for the purpose of catching insects, and not exclusively to feed 
 upon the fruit. 
 
 The song of the Pied Flycatcher is a very pleasing one, short and some- 
 what feeble, something like the Redstart's, yet uttered pretty frequently, 
 especially in the early part of its sojourn in our islands, during the pairing- 
 season. 
 
 The Pied Flycatcher's nest is always placed in a covered site, which 
 varies but little in its situation. It is built in the holes of birch and 
 other trees, sometimes in a deserted Woodpecker's hole, or crevice of a 
 wall or rock, at various heights from the ground, sometimes but a few 
 feet, at others far up the trunks. In these holes a slight nest is formed of 
 dry grasses, dead leaves, moss, and feathers, sometimes a little wool from 
 the sheep on the neighbouring hills, or a few horse and cow's hairs. 
 
 Few of our British eggs are more beautiful in colour than those of the 
 Pied Flycatcher. They are a delicate pale blue, sometimes almost ap- 
 proaching white, perfectly spotless, somewhat frail in texture, and slightly 
 smaller than those of the Hedge-Accentor. In number they vary from 
 five to eight, the latter number, however, being someAvhat exceptional ; and 
 but one brood is, as a rule, reared in the year. The eggs vary in length 
 from '8 to '65 inch, and in breadth from '58 to -52 inch. 
 
 Dixon once found a beautiful nest of this bird near the moorlands a 
 few miles from Sheffield, his attention being attracted to the place by 
 seeing the bird hovering before the nesting-hole. It was built in a large 
 rotten stump of a birch, the wood of which crumbled away easily and 
 revealed the nest, which contained eight pale-blue eggs, almost ready for 
 hatching. Since this nest was disturbed, the bird has not, to his know- 
 ledge, bred there. 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts and tail of the Pied Flycatcher is 
 black, duller and greyer on the rump ; wings brown, with the central 
 coverts white and the innermost secondaries broadly edged with white. 
 A small patch of white on the forehead at the base of the bill ; underparts 
 pure white. Beak black; irides dark brown; legs, toes, and claws black. 
 In the female the black is replaced by brown, and the whole plumage is 
 dingy. Males of the year resemble the adult female, but are slightly 
 darker. Young birds in nestling-plumage are spotted above with buff, 
 
PIED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 331 
 
 and the white of the underparts is irregularly spotted with blackish brown. 
 After the autumn moult, the upper parts of the male are brownish instead 
 of black, the white patch on the forehead is obscured, and the underparts 
 are washed on the breast and flanks with buff. 
 
 The ^Vhite-collared Flycatcher (Muscicapa collaris] was included in 
 the British avifauna by the late Mr. Gould, who saw a specimen in the 
 flesh in the possession of Mr. Leadbeater ; but he knew no particulars 
 concerning it. As this is the only evidence on which the bird's claim to 
 rank as a British species rests, it is certainly premature and inadvisable to 
 include it in our lists. It is found in company with the Pied Flycatcher 
 throughout most parts of South Europe, and differs from it in having the 
 white spot on the forehead much more developed and the white sides of the 
 neck meeting on the nape and forming a white collar. The Pied Fly- 
 catcher does not appear to have any other very near ally. 
 
 L_ 
 
332 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 MUSCICAPA PARVA. 
 
 RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Muscicapa parva, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 505 (1795) ; et auctorum pluri- 
 xnorum Temminck, Naumann, Gould, Gray, Schleyel, (Bonaparte), (Cubanis), 
 Newton, Dresser, (Hume), (Brooks), &c. 
 
 [Nftiscicapa albicilla, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 462 (182G). 
 
 Muscicapa rufogularis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 228 (1831). 
 
 Saxicola rubeculoides, Sykes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1832, p. 92. 
 
 Muscicapa lais, Hempr. et Ehr. Symb. Phys., Aves, fol. t (1833). 
 
 Erythaca tytleri, Jameson, Edinb. Phil. Journ. 1835, p. 214 (descr. nulla). 
 
 Muscicapa iniuuta, Hornsch. et Schill. Verz. Vog. Pomm. p. 4 (1837). 
 
 Muscicapa rubecola, Swains. Jard. Nat. Libr. x. p. 221 (1838). 
 
 Muscicapa leucura, Gmel. apud Swains. Jard. Nat. Libr. x. p. 253 (1838). 
 
 Erythrosterna parva (Bechst.), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 25 (1838). 
 
 Synornis leucura (Gmel.), apud Hodgs. Grays Zool. Misc. p. 83 (1844). 
 
 Synornis joulaimus, Hodgs. Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 83 (1844). 
 
 Erythrosterna leucura ( Gmel), apud Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 171 (1849). 
 
 Thanmobia niveiventris, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1 860, p. 54. 
 
 Erythrosterna albicilla (Pall.), Sivinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 317. 
 
 This pretty little species, so like a miniature Robin in general appearance, 
 is fairly entitled to a place in the British avifauna, three examples (one 
 of which was accompanied by a mate) having been obtained. The first 
 British example of the Red-breasted Flycatcher was obtained on the 24th 
 of January, 1863, by Mr. Copeland, near Falmouth ; and that gentleman 
 supplied Mr. Rodd with the following note of its capture* : " The little 
 Flycatcher alluded to we had seen some days before it was shot. We first 
 observed it on a dead holly tree, which, with the ground around the 
 house, were its favourite resort. It was particularly active, skimming the 
 grass to within about a foot, then, perching itself, darted occasionally with 
 a toss, resting either on a shrub or the wire fencing. Its habits were 
 interesting, partaking in a great measure of those of our summer visitor 
 [the Spotted Flycatcher] . There is another in the neighbourhood, for 
 which a vigilant watch will be kept. I saw it a few days ago in a planta- 
 tion four hundred yards from my house. " The specimen, a female, was 
 unfortunately damaged by mice, the head being completely eaten away. 
 It was sent in the flesh to the British Museum. In the October following 
 of the same year another bird of this species was captured, in company with 
 young Pied Flycatchers, on one of the Scilly Isles by Mr. A. Pechell and 
 a nephew of Mr. Rodd's. This bird turned out to be a young male. A 
 
 * See Gould's ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. ii. letterpress to plate xx. 
 
RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. 333 
 
 third example was shot on the 5th of November, 1865, and was recorded 
 in the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History ' (ser. 3, xvi. p. 447) and 
 the ' Zoologist ' for 1866, p. 31, by Mr. Rodd. This bird was taken on 
 Tresco Island in Scilly ; but from the injuries it received from the shot 
 it was impossible to determine the sex. 
 
 Upon the European continent the range of the Red-breasted Flycatcher 
 is somewhat restricted. It breeds in Germany, Austria, and South Russia 
 as far north as the Baltic Provinces, arriving during the latter end of 
 April or early in May, and departing again in August or September. Its 
 occurrence in Western Europe is only accidental. A single bird was taken 
 in the Baltic near Landsort, off the coast of Sweden, and it has once been 
 obtained near Copenhagen. Two specimens have been killed in the south 
 of France ; one example has been killed and another observed in Spain ; 
 and its occurrence in Italy is almost as exceptional. Loche says that it is 
 found in Algeria, where it may be a rare winter visitor. It passes through 
 Transylvania, Turkey, Greece, and Asia Minor on migration, and winters 
 in Nubia, where it was found by Hemprich and Ehrenberg. It breeds in 
 the Caucasus and winters in Persia. In Asia, Severtzow says that it passes 
 through Turkestan on migration. Radde, Schrenck, and Dybowsky all 
 record it from the Baikal district ; and it is said that skins from Kam- 
 schatka, collected by TYosnessenski, are in the St. -Petersburg Museum. It 
 winters iu North India and South China. 
 
 The Red-breasted Flycatcher is represented by Prof. Newton as forming 
 an exception to the ordinary rules of migration. He suggests that the 
 European birds winter in India. It appears to me, however, that both 
 Prof. Newton, in his edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ and Mr. Sharpe, 
 in his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum/ have entirely 
 misunderstood the geographical distribution of this bird. In my opinion, 
 the range of this bird during the breeding-season extends from Pomerania 
 to Lake Baikal, the Asiatic birds wintering in India and China, the 
 Caucasian birds in Persia, and the European birds in North-east Africa. 
 Eastern examples have been described as another species under the name 
 of M. leucura, which has been said to differ in having the chestnut confined 
 to the throat and not extending onto the breast. It seems probable, 
 however, that the latter are merely not fully adult examples of the former. 
 Radde found both forms at Tarei-nor ; and I have a perfect series from 
 one to the other. The two extremes are both found in India and China, 
 European examples being somewhat intermediate. My Indian skins, 
 showing the greatest development of the chestnut on the breast, are 
 labelled M. hyperythra; but this species may easily be distinguished 
 by the ck*estnut extending onto the flanks and under tail-coverts, 
 and by the nearly black line separating the chestnut of the breast from 
 the slate-grey of the neck. That this bird does not lose this dark line in 
 
334 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 winter, as my friend Mr. Brooks supposes, is abundantly proved by ex- 
 amples shot in January and February in Ceylon *. 
 
 The Red-breasted Flycatcher is not such a rare bird as it was formerly 
 supposed to be. By some observers it has been confounded with the 
 Robin, and by others it has been overlooked altogether, in consequence of 
 its retiring habits. It does not frequent gardens during the breeding- 
 season, like the other European Flycatchers, but seems to live entirely in 
 the forests. Beech-forests are its favourite resort, probably because its 
 favourite food is some insect which is found principally on beech trees. 
 On its first arrival it is frequently seen in open places near the forests ; 
 and..after the young are able to fly it Avill visit any gardens that may 
 happen to be near the beech-forest where it has bred ; but during the 
 breeding-season it seems to live entirely secluded. It arrives in North 
 Germany somewhat late, being seldom seen before May, and is one of 
 the first birds to leave in the autumn, disappearing early in September. 
 
 The Red-breasted Flycatcher appears to be a connecting-link between 
 the Robins and the Flycatchers. It has almost the tail of a Pratincola, 
 with a still wider bill and more developed rictal bristles. This formation 
 of bill shows it to be a true Flycatcher ; and birds of this species in con- 
 finement feed upon the common house-fly with great avidity, preferring it 
 to any artificial food. In the forest its fly-catching propensities are not 
 so obvious ; but it has been observed to catch flies on the wing like its 
 congeners. Its habits are difficult to observe, as it appears to feed prin- 
 cipally on or near the tops of lofty trees, rarely descending until it has 
 satisfied its appetite. In the gardens the currants seem to be the attraction, 
 and it is often seen in the cherry-trees. 
 
 When I was in Pomerania last spring with my son and Dr. Gadow, 
 Herr von Putkammer was kind enough to invite us and our friends, Herr 
 von Homeyer and Dr. Holland, to visit a heronry on his estate, on which 
 is a grand old family mansion, surrounded by a moat, in a noble park 
 about ten miles south-east of Stolp. We spent the day among the Herons ; 
 and after dinner Herr von Homeyer engaged to pilot us to a beech-forest 
 where the Red-breasted Flycatcher used to breed. The carriage was 
 ordered, and our hospitable host drove von Homeyer, Dr. Holland, arid 
 myself through his park to an adjoining estate, where we entered a forest 
 of mixed beech and oak on a hill-side which sloped down to the country- 
 road. We had not proceeded far before we came to the nest of a Spotted 
 Eagle, from which the bird flew as we approached. Leaving our com- 
 panions to watch the Eagle, Dr. Holland and I set off in quest of the 
 
 * This species probably only winters in Ceylon. Brooks found it in summer at Goond, 
 on the Scind river, in Central Cashmere not in Sindh, as erroneously stated by Dresser 
 in his ' Birds of Europe.' It is somewhat remarkable that it has not been obtained on 
 migration in the intervening country. 
 
RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER. 335 
 
 Flycatcher. We soon heard a song which was new to me, but we followed 
 it a long time before we could see the bird. It was a very unobtrusive 
 song, intermediate between the notes of the Robin and the Redstart. For 
 some time the bird kept at the top of the beeches. It was as restless as a 
 Redstart ; and we followed it in vain, until, just as the sun was setting, he 
 came down upon the lower branches and sang his simple song within 
 twenty feet of us. \Ye might have mistaken him for a Robin with his 
 red breast, but every now and then he half spread his tail and showed the 
 white on it. A few days later (on the llth of June) Dr. Holland and I 
 went to a forest beyond Schlave to take the nest of a Honey -Buzzard. 
 In the forest we several times heard the alarm-note of the Red-breasted 
 Flycatcher, a pink, pink, pink, something like the spink of a Chaffinch, but 
 softer, clearer, and quicker. Our guide showed us presently a nest, scarcely 
 six feet from the ground, in a hollow in the trunk of a beech tree. We 
 caught the bird on the nest. He also showed us a second nest which he 
 had taken a few days before, likewise composed principally of green moss ; 
 but it had been built close against the stem of a beech, supported bv a 
 bunch of small twigs, which made a convenient shelf for it. In its habits 
 this charming little bird reminds one both of a Flycatcher and a Tit. It 
 catches insects on the wing with ease, and flutters before the trunk of a 
 tree to pick an insect off the bark. 
 
 The nest of the Red-breasted Flycatcher is a very handsome little 
 structure, almost entirely formed of green moss, with here and there a few 
 scraps of lichen and a downy feather or two. The inside is sparingly lined 
 with fine dry grass and hairs. The nest-cavity measures about two inches 
 in diameter and one and a half inch in depth. Many of the eggs of 
 this bird very closely resemble Robin's eggs in colour, others as closely 
 the eggs of the Spotted Flycatcher. They are the palest of bluish 
 green in ground-colour, closely freckled with reddish-brown and greyish- 
 brown shell-markings. Some eggs are much greener in general 
 coloration, and the amount of spotting also differs considerably. A 
 clutch of five in my collection are an almost uniform pinkish brown, with 
 scarcely a trace of the ground-colour discernible, and somewhat resemble 
 certain varieties of the Blackcap's eggs. Some specimens have most of 
 the markings confined to a zone round the larger end. The eggs are 
 from five to seven in number, and vary from '07 to '06 inch in length, and 
 from '54 to '5 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Red-breasted Flycatcher has the general colour of the upper parts, 
 except the crown, nape, and sides of the head and neck, which are bluish 
 grey, olive-brown; central tail-feathers blackish brown, the outer ones 
 white at bse and broadly tipped with blackish brown ; throat and breast 
 orange-chestnut ; rest of underparts white, suffused on the flanks and under 
 tail-coverts with buff. Beak brown, paler at the base ; irides hazel ; legs, 
 
336 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 toes, and claws dark brown. The female in general coloration resembles 
 the male, except that the rich orange- chestnut throat is replaced by buff, 
 and the bluish grey is wanting on the head and sides of the neck. 
 
 Males of the year scarcely differ from the female, and breed in the 
 following spring in immature plumage (M. minutd). In the second year 
 the chestnut appears on the throat (M. leucura] ; in the third year the 
 chestnut appears on the upper breast (M . parvd) ; and in the fourth year it 
 extends also onto the lower breast, in which plumage they are the M. 
 hyperythra of Cabanis apud Brooks. Young in first plumage are spotted 
 on the breast and upper parts, as in all the allied species ; but this plumage 
 is of course moulted before the birds migrate. 
 
 It is needless to say that this bird, like all the rest of its genus, has twelve 
 tail-feathers, though Newton, in his edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' 
 represents it as only having ten. This is doubtless a misprint ; for every 
 ornithologist will admit that Professor Newton compensates his readers for 
 the slowness of his work by its accuracy. 
 
SYLVIIN.E. 337 
 
 Subfamily SYLVIIN^, OB WARBLEES. 
 
 The Warblers and their allies constitute a large group of birds which 
 vary considerably amongst themselves, and approach so near to the allied 
 subfamilies that it is very difficult to give precise characters by which 
 they may in all cases be distinguished. Their more or less distinctly deve- 
 loped first primary serves to distinguish them from all the other sub- 
 families of the Passeridae, except the Thrushes, Tits, Shrikes, and Crows. 
 Besides the scutellated tarsus which separates them from the Thrushes, 
 and the absence of the distinct well-marked notch in the beak, which 
 separates them from the Shrikes, they may be distinguished from all 
 these subfamilies (except the Crows) by their having a spring moult in 
 addition to the one in autumn. It is more difficult to give precise 
 characters to separate them from the Crows : but the latter family is 
 composed of birds usually of much larger size broadly speaking, ranging 
 from the size of a Thrush up to that of a Raven ; whilst the Warblers 
 range in size from the dimensions of a small Thrush down to that of a 
 AN ren. The Crows are almost omnivorous birds with comparatively stout 
 conical bills ; whereas the Warblers are almost exclusively insectivorous, 
 with very slender bills. In this respect they are not distinguishable from 
 the TurdinaB ; and, like that subfamily in some genera, the bill is widened 
 to enable them to catch insects on the wing. The rictal bristles are some- 
 times absent and sometimes present ; and the notch in the bill is nearly 
 obsolete. The first primary is always present, but varies from an almost 
 obsolete bastard primary to a well developed first primary. The young 
 in first plumage differ very slightly in colour from the adults, both being 
 generally unspotted above and below, and the difference being confined to 
 the shade or degree of colour, a difference which is generally most con- 
 spicuous on the underparts. In the rare instances in which the upper 
 parts are spotted in the adults, the spots are less conspicuous in the young 
 birds. In the first autumn before migration, if a partial moult takes 
 place, it is simply a renewal of certain feathers by feathers of the same 
 colour ; so that, in winter, birds of the year are generally easily recognizable 
 by a difference of shade in the colour, especially in that of the underparts. 
 This difference, however, is lost in the complete moult which takes place 
 in both adult and young in spring a moult which usually occurs in 
 March, sometimes earlier, before the spring migration begins. In autumn, 
 
 VOL. i. z 
 
338 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 usually in September, shortly before the birds return to their winter 
 quarters, a second annual complete moult takes place in adult birds. The 
 autumn plumage is usually intermediate in colour between the spring 
 plumage and that of the bird of the year. 
 
 The Sylviinse are, so far as is known, confined to the eastern hemisphere, 
 one species only having been known to cross Behring's Straits into Alaska. 
 The Sylviitfae might be again subdivided into three groups : the migratory 
 Sylviinse, of which there are about ninety species, principally confined to 
 the Palaearctic Region, with the wings long, pointed, and flat, and the 
 first primary less than half the length of the second ; the non-migratory 
 Sylviinae, of which there are several hundred species, principally confined 
 to the ^Ethiopian and Oriental Regions, having rounded concave wings and 
 the first primary more than half the length of the second ; and, lastly, 
 the wide-billed Sylviinae, of which there are a hundred or more species, 
 inhabiting the tropical portions of the Old World, having, in addition to 
 the wide gape, the rictal bristles very largely developed, both characters 
 being of importance in assisting the birds to catch insects on the wing. 
 About a score species of the Sylviinte have been found in our islands, 
 belonging to five genera, the British examples of which may be distin- 
 guished as follows : 
 
 a. Axillaries yellow. 
 
 a 1 . Bill slender, more or less dark underneath PHYLLOSCOPUS. 
 
 6 1 . Bill stout, pale underneath HYPOLAIS. 
 
 b. Axillaries buff, white, grey, or brown. 
 
 c l . Tail nearly even, or, if much graduated, longer than the wing SYLVIA. 
 d } . Tail with the outside feathers considerably shorter than the 
 
 central ones ; never longer than the wing. 
 a 2 . Outside tail-feathers less than three fourths the length 
 
 of the longest. No rictal bristles LOCUSTELLA. 
 
 V. Outside tail-feathers more than three fourths the length 
 
 of the longest. Rictal bristles moderately developed. AcROCEPHALua. 
 
 Genus LOCUSTELLA. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warblers were originally included by the earliest 
 writers who were acquainted with any of them in the comprehensive 
 genus Motacilla, and were afterwards removed from it into the genus 
 Sylvia with the rest of the Warblers. When the latter genus was broken 
 up, the Grasshopper Warblers were associated by the elder Naumann with 
 the Reed-Warblers in his genus Acrocephalus, in which Prof. Newton still 
 
LOCU STELLA. 339 
 
 retains them. The recognition of such nearly allied groups of birds as 
 genera or subgenera is a purely arbitrary proceeding. I regret that the 
 genus LocusttUa has been so largely used by modern ornithologists ; but 
 it certainly is the most clearly defined of the allied subgenera, and its 
 adoption is perhaps the course which makes the least change in the gene- 
 rally accepted nomenclature. The genus Acrocephalus was divided by 
 Kaup in 1829, in that eccentric book of his, 'Natiirliches System der 
 Europaischen Thierwelt/ into five genera, of which Locustella was de- 
 scribed at page 115, the Grasshopper Warbler being designated as the 
 type. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warblers comprise a small but well defined group of 
 birds nearly allied to the Reed- Warblers (Acrocephalus), agreeing with 
 them in having twelve tail-feathers, and the bastard primary so minute as 
 rarely to extend beyond the primary-coverts, but differing in having a 
 more rounded tail and nearly obsolete rictal bristles. The outside tail- 
 feathers are shorter than the under tail-coverts, except in one instance ; 
 but in no case are they more than three fourths the length of the longest. 
 The bill is long and slender, as in the Calamodine group of Acrocephali, 
 which many of the species further resemble in having the upper parts 
 spotted. The predominant colours are russet-brown and olive-brown. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warblers frequent marshy districts, dense thickets 
 near water, reed-beds, and the luxuriant vegetation on the banks of 
 streams. Their nests are usually built amongst rank vegetation on or 
 near the ground ; and their eggs are from four to seven in number. So far 
 as is known, all the species have the continuous monotonous note which 
 can scarcely be called a song, and which has given them the name of 
 " Grasshopper " Warblers. 
 
 Three of the species breed in Central Europe and winter in Xorth 
 Africa. A fourth breeds in Turkestan and West Siberia and winters in 
 India. Three others breed in East Siberia and winter in the islands of 
 the Malay archipelago ; and one of them is said to visit Eastern Europe 
 accidentally on migration, and has occurred during the breeding-season 
 near St. Petersburg. Two species are British, one of which is a regular 
 summer visitant to our islands ; but the other, although formerly a regular 
 summer migrant, is now probably extinct or only breeds very sparingly. 
 
340 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 LOCUSTELLA LOCUSTELLA. 
 GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca grisea use via, Briss. Orn. vi. Suppl. p. 112 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla nsevia, Sodd. Table PL Enl p. 35. no. 581 (1783). 
 
 Sylvia locustella, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 515 (1790) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 (Koch), Wolf) Vieillot, Temminck, Meyer, Xaumann, Jenyns, Nordmann, (Schlegel), 
 (Gray), Sundevall, (Brehm), (Key ser liny), (Blasius), (Fleming), (Thompson), 
 (Harting), Macyillivray , &c. 
 
 Muscipeta locustella (Lath.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 166 (1816). 
 
 Muscipeta olivacea, Koch, St/st. baier. Zool. i. p. 167 (1816). 
 
 Calamoherpe locustella (Lath.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Ourruca locustella (Lath.), Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. pt. 2, p. 213 (1825). 
 
 Locustella locustella (Lath.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 115 (1829). 
 
 Calamoherpe tenuirostris, Brehm, Vog. DeutscM. p. 440 (1831). 
 
 Salicaria locustella (Lath.), Selby, Brit. Orn. p. 199 (1833). 
 
 Locustella sibilans, Gould, B. Eur. letterpress to pi. 102 (1837). 
 
 Locustella avicula, Ray, fide Gould, B. Eur. pi. 103 (1837). 
 
 Locustella rayi, Gould, fide Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 12 (1838). 
 
 Sibilatrix locustella (Lath.), Macgitt. Br. B. ii. p. 399 (1839). 
 
 Psithyrcedus locustella (Lath.), Gloger, Gem. Handb. Naturg. p. 298 (1842). 
 
 Locustella naevia (Bodd.), Degl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 589 (1849). 
 
 Locustella durueticola, Blyth, White's Selborne, p. 119 (1850). 
 
 Parnopia locustella (Lath.), Neivt. List B. Eur. Blasius, p. 11 (1862). 
 
 Calamodyta locustella (Lath.), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 210. uo. 2972 (1869). 
 
 Acrocephalus usevius (Bodd.), Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 384 (1873). 
 
 Threnetria locustella (Lath.), Schauer, Journ. Orn. 1873, p. 183. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warbler appears to have been first described by 
 Willughby and Ray in their ( Ornithologia ' in 1676, under the heading 
 of Locustella avicula, from information supplied to them by a Mr. D. 
 Johnson, of Brignal, near Greta Bridge, in Yorkshire, possibly the father 
 of Mr. Ralph Johnson, to whom Ray, in his preface, acknowledges that 
 he and Willughby were indebted for much information respecting British 
 birds. They make mention of the spotted back, thighs, and under tail- 
 coverts, and of the very rounded tail, which, together with their allusions 
 to its grasshopper-like note*, leaves no room for doubt that Pennant was 
 perfectly correct in identifying Willughby and Ray's bird with one which 
 
 * Mr. Johnson's letter to Ray is dated 1672, and the habits of the bird described re- 
 semble most those of the Wood- Wren ; but the bird sent to Ray, if correctly described, is 
 certainly not that species, but the Grasshopper Warbler. Possibly Mr. Johnson confounded 
 the two notes together. 
 
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 341 
 
 he himself received from Shropshire, and described and figured in his 
 ' British Zoology 5 in 1766, under the name of the " Grasshopper Lark." 
 Two years later Gilbert White of Selborne sent Pennant a very inter- 
 esting and probably the first correct account published of the habits of 
 this bird ; but both the latter ornithologists had been forestalled in their 
 discoveries, not only by Willughby and Ray, but also by Brisson, who, 
 eight years previous to the last-mentioned date, described and figured an 
 unmistakable Grasshopper Warbler from an example obtained in France, 
 and then in the Museum of Mons. Cotelle, under the name of "La 
 Fauvette grise tachetee," a bird which must not be confounded with his 
 " Fauvette tachete'e " with a forked tail. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warbler is a somewhat local bird in the British 
 Islands ; but there is probably no county in England, Wales, Ireland,"or 
 Scotland south of the Firth of Forth where it does not breed ; and in some 
 places it is found in considerable numbers. 
 
 On the continent the range of this bird appears to be very restricted. 
 It is probably confined to Western Europe, is rare in Spain and Italy, but 
 more common in Xcrth Europe, south of the Baltic, from France to the 
 neighbourhood of St. Petersburg. It is said to be a winter visitor to 
 Morocco and Algeria ; but probably a few remain in these countries to 
 breed ; and a few are said to remain during winter in Spain. It has not 
 been recorded from Turkey. Greece, or Asia Minor, nor does it appear to 
 visit Eastern Africa ; but it is found to the south-east as far as Transyl- 
 vania, and occasionally in South-west Russia. In Siberia (and, it is said, 
 as far west as St. Petersburg) it is replaced by a nearly allied species or 
 subspecies L. lanceolata, whose range extends across Siberia to the Amoor, 
 and possibly to China. A still more nearly allied form, L. straminea 
 (miscalled by many ornithologists L. hendersoni), is principally confined 
 to Turkestan during the breeding-season ; but its range appears to extend 
 northwards as far as Ekatereenburg, where it touches the range of 
 L. lanceolata. It is probable that the latter form may interbreed with 
 both its near allies, as intermediate forms sometimes occur which it is 
 very difficult to determine. 
 
 The chief point of interest in the Grasshopper Warbler is its song. 
 This exactly resembles the note of the grasshopper, except that it is slightly 
 louder, not quite so shrill, and somewhat steadier and more prolonged. 
 It is a rapid trill, absolutely monotonous, and is continued from a quarter 
 of a minute sometimes to a couple of minutes without cessation. The 
 Grasshopper Warbler is said to have ventriloqual powers ; but I have 
 never notice^ any thing of the kind, though the bird is common enough 
 in the neighbourhood of Sheffield, and I have listened to its song at all 
 hours, from before dawn to long after sunset. I have never had the 
 slightest difficulty in following the direction of the sound. It is not 
 
342 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 always easy to judge of the distance; but as much may be said of all 
 sounds. 1 doubt if it varies much in the loudness of its note, which 
 sounds distant when the bird buries itself in the deep grass or other 
 foliage, and near when it runs up some stalk and takes a look round, as it 
 frequently does in early morning. 
 
 It is certainly one of the most skulking birds which visit this country, 
 almost as much so as a Corncrake or a Water-Rail. It is rarely seen on 
 the wing, and seldom perches on a tree. I have followed it for hours 
 backwards and forwards from one clump of underwood to another, rarely 
 obtaining a sight of the bird, but always able to trace its whereabouts 
 from its song. Very often it left the underwood altogether and frequented 
 the Jong grass, and it was only occasionally that it was possible to see 
 th"e bird. So retiring is the Grasshopper Warbler in its habits, that were 
 it not for the peculiarity of its song it would be passed by without notice 
 by the great majority of naturalists. The song is first heard in Yorkshire 
 early in May; but in the south of England the bird arrives somewhat 
 earlier at its breeding-quarters. Gilbert White gives the date as the 
 middle of April. It is consequently, if not the latest bird of passage to 
 arrive on our shores, one of the last batch of spring migrants. It by no 
 means confines itself to swampy places, and is equally abundant on dry 
 open commons amongst the furze bushes and in woods where there is 
 plenty of underwood. Occasionally it is also heard from the tall heather 
 on the grouse-moors. Whenever I have accidentally seen it on the wing 
 its flight has been very peculiar, what might be described as a frightened 
 flight, fluttering over every bush, descending into every hollow appa- 
 rently anxious every moment to dive into some thick shelter, and con- 
 sequently always having its tail depressed and half-spread so as to be 
 ready to alight at a moment's notice as soon as an opportunity offered. 
 On the ground it runs like a Sandpiper, dodging in and out between the 
 clumps of grass with marvellous celerity. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warbler is no doubt almost entirely insectivorous ; but 
 it probably regales itself in autumn on some of the soft fruits which 
 abound in the localities which it frequents, a practice common to most if 
 not all soft-billed birds. 
 
 The following notes respecting this charming bird are from the pen of 
 my friend Mr. A. W. Johnson, who has had an excellent opportunity of 
 observing it in the neighbourhood of Newcastle : " This interesting 
 Warbler is fairly abundant during the breeding-season within a radius of 
 fifteen miles of Newcastle ; and in a few favourite situations it is frequently 
 found in very considerable numbers. It is especially numerous in the 
 county of Durham, perhaps in no locality more so than in the warm and 
 sheltered valley of the Derwent. This valley in parts is well studded 
 with young plantations, where the undergrowth is thick and rank, the 
 
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 343 
 
 ground well exposed to the sun, and concealment for bird and nest good. 
 Such situations as these are the most attractive, as the great number of 
 nests found in them testify. The number of birds breeding here appears 
 to vary very much in different years. Some seasons considerable numbers 
 breed here ; and then for one or two years they are comparatively scarce. 
 The years 1879 and 1880 were what may be termed good seasons, many 
 nests being found ; whilst 1881 and 1882 were poor seasons, the number 
 of nests being found was less than half as many as were taken in the two 
 preceding years. The number of nests taken one season does not seem to 
 affect the number found the following one; and comparatively few nests 
 all together are taken, for the difficulty in discovering them is so great. 
 Besides the plantations already referred to as this bird's breeding-grounds, 
 many nests are found in the bottoms or sides of thick hedgerows. During 
 the season of 1880, of seven nests found by myself the last week in May, 
 five were in young plantations (three nests in one and two in another), 
 whilst the others were in hedgerows. The situation usually chosen for the 
 nest is on the ground or close to it in a thick tuft of dead rank grass, 
 and well concealed. Sometimes, however, this is not the case, and after 
 flushing the bird but little search is needed to discover the nest. I have 
 found the nest built on the ground at the foot of a young larch, and, 
 without moving any of the herbage, the eggs were plainly visible as soon 
 as the bird flew off. The nest is also often placed under a whin bush, 
 and is then sometimes very difficult to find. The sitting bird usually 
 flies off the nest very quietly when flushed, and drops into the under- 
 wood at once. One instance, however, came under ray notice, where the 
 bird flew up and over some tall trees ; and if the eggs are hard sat, or 
 the nest contains young, the bird comes stealing back in and out amongst 
 the grass like a mouse, and will approach within a few yards. The number 
 of eggs laid varies from three to seven : the usual number is five or six 
 (very many of the nests found in May or early in June contain six) ; 
 and seven is very rarely found. The earliest full clutch of eggs I have 
 was taken on the 14th of May. The usual time, in an ordinary season, 
 for the first nests containing a full complement of eggs is from the 
 20th to the 28th of May ; but many nests are found with fresh eggs 
 up to the 10th or 14th of June. Two broods appear to be reared in 
 the season, as fresh eggs may be found in the last week of June, and 
 sometimes even in July. Should the nest be taken, the bird will frequently 
 build another, sometimes within a few yards of the first. One or two 
 clutches of the eggs of this bird in my collection have a distinct and well 
 defined band or zone of dark spots round the larger end; another has 
 streaks dispersed over the eggs, similar to a Bunting's ; whilst those of 
 another clutch are of a uniform pale brown colour without spot or streak." 
 I have taken the nest of the Grasshopper Warbler near Brighton. It 
 
344 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 appears to be a late breeder, and is scarcely likely to have more than one brood 
 in the year. On the 21st of May, two years ago, Swaysland sent me up two 
 nests of this bird, one containing six and the other five eggs. At the same 
 time he informed me of a third nest which then contained only two eggs. 
 On the 28th I went down to Brighton to see it. About half a mile from 
 Hassock's Gate station is a small plantation. Most of the elms had then 
 been cut down, leaving an underwood of nut-trees interspersed with small 
 shrubs of various kinds and tangled vegetation of all sorts. Beyond the 
 wood we looked over a farm onto the downs, behind which was the sea. 
 The nest was about fifty yards from the gamekeeper's cottage, in the middle 
 of the plantation, and was so admirably concealed that, standing over the 
 clump of grass in which it was placed, which was not more than about two 
 feet high, and was mixed with a few wild-rose briars, we could not trace the 
 slightest appearance of any thing of the kind, and only caught a momentary 
 glimpse of the bird as she glided away from the clump. The nest was 
 placed in the centre of a bunch of long coarse grass, which raised it perhaps 
 six inches above the actual level of the ground. It was round, compact, and 
 rather deep, the outside woven principally of green moss mixed with a few 
 dead leaves and a little dry grass. The lining was entirely dry, slender, 
 round grass-stalks. It contained six eggs. We arranged the grass so that 
 we could just see the nest, and left the place, returning again in about ten 
 minutes. In order to get a better sight of the bird, we approached the 
 nest from different sides, and saw her slip off and glide like a mouse through 
 the grass, until she came very near one of us, when she took wing for about 
 a yard, flying with depressed outspread tail, and again took to the grass. 
 A quarter of an hour afterwards we again stole cautiously to the place, and 
 saw her on the nest. On our still nearer approach she slipped off the eggs 
 and ran about at our feet, threading her way in a zigzag course through 
 the grass exactly like a mouse. We never heard her utter a note ; but, 
 according to Naumann, the call-note of the Grasshopper Warbler must be 
 a tic, tic, something like the sound produced by knocking two stones 
 together. In another wood, where the elms were still standing, the game- 
 keeper showed us the place where one of the other nests had been. It was 
 in a slightly open part of the wood, in a similar clump of grass and rose- 
 briars. 
 
 The ground-colour of the eggs of this bird is a pale pinkish white, gene- 
 rally profusely spotted all over with small rufous-brown spots or dots 
 interspersed with paler and greyer underlying spots of the same character. 
 In most eggs the spots are slightly larger towards the large end of the 
 egg, and sometimes very decidedly so. Occasionally the overlying spots 
 are sparsely distributed, and in some instances they are almost absent 
 altogether. Not unfrequently irregular short and thin hair-lines of very 
 dark rufous-brown are observable. The eggs vary in length from '75 to 
 
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 345 
 
 *7 inch, and in breadth from *55 to '5 inch. The number ranges from 
 four to seven. 
 
 The general colour of the upper part of this bird is olive-brown, but 
 sometimes it approaches russet-brown ; each feather has an obscure dark 
 centre, which becomes nearly obsolete on the sides of the neck and on the 
 longest upper tail- coverts. The outer webs of the quills and tail-feathers 
 are edged with olive-brown, most conspicuously so on the innermost 
 secondaries. The chin and the centre of the belly are nearly white, which 
 shades into huffish brown on the breast, flanks, thighs, and under tail- 
 coverts, most of the latter having dark brown centres. Bill dark brown 
 above, pale horn colour below ; legs, feet, and claws pale brown ; irides 
 hazel. 
 
 In birds of the year the whole of the underparts are more or less suffused 
 with yellow, and many of the feathers of the throat and flanks have dark 
 centres. A slight tinge of yellow on the underparts, and some of the 
 pectoral streaks are frequently found in young birds after their first spring 
 moult. 
 
 It is very difficult to form a diagnosis which may always distinguish the 
 Grasshopper Warbler from its two very near allies; but L. straminea 
 appears always to have a more rounded wing than the other two. The 
 second primary is always shorter than the fourth, and frequently shorter 
 than the fifth ; whilst in the other two species it is sometimes equal in 
 length to the third and sometimes only to the fourth, but is never shorter 
 than the fourth. L. lanceolata may usually be distinguished by having the 
 general colour of the upper parts russet-brown instead of olive-brown ; 
 but in a large series the most russet examples of L. locustella are un- 
 distinguishable in colour from the least russet examples of L. lanceolata. 
 As regards the spotting on the under surface, the breast is generally 
 spotted in L. lanceolata and occasionally slightly so in the other two 
 species. The flanks are spotted sometimes in L. locustella, generally in 
 L. straminea, and always in L. lanceolata ; whilst the under tail-coverts 
 are always spotted in L. straminea, and generally so in the other two 
 species. 
 
346 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 LOCUSTELLA LUSCINIOIDES. 
 SAVI'S WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Sylvia luscinioides, Savi, Nuovo Giornale del Letterati, vii. p. 341 (1824) ; et aucto- 
 rum plurimorum Temminck, (Gould), Nordmann, (Gray), (Schlegel), (Salia- 
 dori), (Newton}, (Dresser), 8,-c. 
 
 Locustella luscinioides (Savi), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. 104 (1837). 
 
 Pseudoluscinia savii, Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. 8f N. Amer. p. 12 (1838). 
 
 Salicaria luscinioides (Savi), Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. pp. liii, 180 (1840). 
 
 Lusciniopsis savii (Bp.), Bonap. Ucc. Eur. p. 36 (1842). 
 
 Calamodyta luscinioides (Sari), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 172 (1848). 
 
 Cettia luscinioides (Savi), L. Gerbe, Diet. Univ. d'Hist. Nat. vi. p. 240 (1848). 
 
 Calamoherpe luscinioides (Savi), ScM. Vog. Nederl. p. 149 (1854). 
 
 Lusciniola savii (Bp.), Bonap. Cat. Parzud. p. 6 (1856). 
 
 Locustella savii (Bp.), Salvin, Ibis, 1859, p. 356. 
 
 Lusciniopsis luscinioides (Savi), Newt. List B. Eur. Blasim, p. 11 (1862). 
 
 Pseudoluscinia luscinioides (Savi), Shelley, B. Egypt, p. 89 (1872). 
 
 Acrocephalus luscinioides (Savi), Newton ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 389 (1873). 
 
 Cettia fusca, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. pp. 66, 131 (1873). 
 
 Sylvia (Threnetria) luscinioides (Savi), Schemer, Journ. Orn. 1873, p. 161. 
 
 Threnetria acheta, Schauer, Journ. Orn. 1873, p. 183. 
 
 Potamodus luscinioides (Savi), Blanf. East. Pers. ii. p. 199 (1876). 
 
 Savi's Warbler has every claim to be included in a work on British 
 Birds, though it is in all probability extinct in our islands. The marshes 
 where it formerly bred have been to a great extent drained ; and nothing 
 has been seen of this interesting bird in its old localities during the last 
 five-and-twenty years. So far as is known, the first Savi's Warbler ever 
 obtained was shot ten miles south-east of Norwich, about the year 1819. 
 Temminck pronounced the bird to be a variety of the Reed-Warbler, and 
 afterwards seems to have confounded it with Cetti's Warbler. Savi did 
 not describe the species until five years later ; and it cannot be said to 
 have become generally known until Temminck published his Manual of 
 Ornithology in 1835. Many examples of Savi's Warbler, as well as nests 
 and eggs of this bird, were obtained at various dates from 1843 to 1856 in 
 the fens of Norfolk and Cambridge and in one or two other adjoining 
 counties. It is not known that Savi's Warbler has occurred in any other 
 district in the British Isles. 
 
 On the continent the distribution of this species is also somewhat 
 restricted, though in many localities it is a common bird. It is never 
 found except in reed-beds; but in most places where these occur of suffi- 
 cient size, in Spain, the south of France, Holland, Italy, Austria, and 
 
SAVl'S WARBLER. 347 
 
 South Russia, it has been found. It appears to be equally common in 
 suitable localities in North Africa, and has been obtained in Palestine ; 
 but so far as is known it is entirely absent from North Europe, and also, 
 strange to say, from Germany, Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor, and the 
 Caucasus. In the northern portion of its range it is strictly a migratory 
 bird ; but it is said to remain during the winter in the delta of the Rhone, 
 and a considerable number undoubtedly remain in North Africa to breed. 
 In the delta of the \ r olga, the Kirghis steppes, Western Turkestan, and 
 Persia examples of Savi's Warbler have been obtained ; but the few that I 
 have seen in the collections of Hencke and Severtzow, instead of being of 
 a rich russet-brown on the upper parts (the colour of ground coffee) , were 
 of a more pinky earth-brown (the colour of chocolat-au-lait) . Spanish 
 examples in nestling plumage of Savi's Warbler are similar in colour, but 
 somewhat darker. Severtzow described the Turkestan birds as new, under 
 the name of Cettia fusca (not Cettia fulva, as I erroneously stated in my 
 paper on the Birds of Astrakhan in ' The Ibis ' for 1882, p. 213) ; but he 
 afterwards identified them with Savi's Warbler. It will be an interesting 
 problem for future travellers to solve, whether young birds retain the 
 colour of the nestling plumage beyond their first spring moult until their 
 first autumn moult, and whether the examples hitherto obtained of this 
 species east of the Black Sea have only been birds of the year, or whether 
 these forms are specifically or subspecifically distinct. It is possible that 
 Savins Warbler originally came from Turkestan, and originally had the 
 colour which the Turkestan birds may still retain, and that a long resi- 
 dence in Europe, where the rainfall is so much greater, has directly 
 or indirectly caused the colour of adult birds to become so much more 
 russet, the original colour being still retained in the young in first 
 plumage. 
 
 Savi's Warbler appears to bear the same relation to the Grasshopper 
 Warbler that the Reed-Warbler does to the Sedge- Warbler. In each case 
 the uniformly coloured bird is almost entirely confined to the uniformly 
 coloured reeds, whilst the spotted bird principally frequents the rank 
 herbage, whose foliage is much more variegated. If there is any mutual 
 relationship between these facts, it would be difficult to say which is 
 cause and which is effect. The plain-backed birds may have been exter- 
 minated from the variegated swamps, because the spotted plumage of the 
 allied species gave them a slight advantage in the struggle for existence ; 
 or all four species may originally have had spotted backs, but those which 
 lived in the reeds may gradually have lost their spots to accommodate 
 themselves to their surroundings. 
 
 Savi's Warbler arrives at the reed-beds of Galicia during the first week 
 in May ; but in the south of Spain it must arrive much earlier, since 
 Col. Irby obtained eggs in Andalusia on the 4th of May. He states, 
 
348 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 however, that the birds were all gone by September; so that possibly 
 it may be only exceptionally that it winters in the south of France. 
 It must, however, be remembered that birds of such skulking habits may 
 easily be overlooked after they have ceased to sing. Although most 
 observers agree that Savi's Warbler is by no means so shy as its two 
 European allies, the Grasshopper Warbler and the River- Warbler, yet it 
 seems only to frequent large reed-beds, and can rarely be seen except 
 from a boat or by wading in the marshes. Although it drops down into 
 the sedges for concealment if pursued, it seems to avoid the sedges and 
 other water-plants when feeding, and is seldom seen perched except upon 
 the reeds. It runs up one of these, searching for insects on the stem and 
 leaves, then drops down onto another, up which it runs in like manner, 
 never still for a moment except when it pauses to sing on the top of 
 a reed, where, with outstretched neck, head somewhat thrown back, and 
 extended throat, it runs off its monotonous reel, whence it has been called 
 the Reel-bird (in Dutch Sworr, in German SchwirrvogeT) . 
 
 The song of Savi's Warbler is said to resemble the note of the tree-frog. 
 It is a monotonous whirr or trill, like the note of a grasshopper, and is 
 described as more melodious but less powerful than that of the other two 
 European Grasshopper Warblers. It is pitched in a higher key than either 
 of them, and sounds further or nearer as the bird turns its head from or to- 
 wards the listener. It maybe heard at all hours of the day or night in calm 
 warm weather ; but on cold nights the bird is silent, and in windy weather 
 it either does not sing at all or its voice is drowned by the rustling of the 
 reeds. Its call-note is described as a short krr. It is said to be a very 
 quarrelsome bird, and frequently to chase so eagerly any rival which may 
 invade its domain as to be at such times regardless of danger. In 
 Andalusia it breeds early in May ; but in this country, in Holland, and in 
 Galicia it is recorded to have bred late in May or early in June. Graf 
 Casimir Wodzicki, describing its habits in the latter country (Journ. Oru. 
 1853, Extra-Heft, p. 49), writes : " I have often watched this delicate little 
 bird building its nest, and noticed with what trouble it collects the materials. 
 At first both sexes are thus employed ; but later the female alone collects 
 the leaves, which the male takes from her beak and arranges without her 
 assistance." The nest is carefully concealed amongst the sedges (Carex} } 
 and is placed upon a heap of tangled blades, usually six inches, but some- 
 times two or three feet, above the water. It is composed of flat leaves of 
 broadish grass, generally of sweetgrass (Glyceria], carefully woven together, 
 the narrowest leaves being chosen for the lining. It is a marvellously neat 
 structure, very deep, sometimes deeper than the inside diameter. Graf 
 Wodzicki says that " an inexperienced ornithologist would take it for a 
 nest of the Little Crake, so exactly similar is it, only smaller." He also 
 states that both male and female sit on the nest, and allow themselves to 
 
SAVFS WARBLER. 349 
 
 be watched without leaving it. If frightened off, they soon return. During 
 the breeding-season Savins Warbler is rarely seen on the wing ; but early in 
 spring it sometimes flies up from the reeds and dives down into them again 
 with wings laid back. It is said not to sing on the wing. When it does 
 take wing its flight is said not to be undulating, but with continuous beats 
 of the wing, like the flight of a Wren or a hawk moth. It is not known 
 that Savi's Warbler feeds upon any thing but insects and their larvae. 
 
 The eggs vary in number from four to six. They are French white or 
 pale buff in ground-colour, thickly sprinkled over the entire surface with 
 ashy-brown .spots, most numerous at the larger end of the egg, where they 
 usually form an obscure zone. The pale violet-grey underlying markings 
 are numerous ; and on some eggs there are a few very dark, irregular, hair- 
 like streaks. In many specimens the indistinct zone of colour is largely 
 composed of underlying spots, giving the eggs a scarcely perceptible pink 
 appearance in this part. The eggs of Savi's Warbler somewhat closely 
 approach those of the Grasshopper Warbler, but are always browner. 
 From certain varieties of the eggs of the allied L. fluviatilis they are 
 absolutely undistiuguishable. They vary in length from. '8 to '75 inch 
 (Professor Newton gives a measurement of '84), and from *6 to '55 inch in 
 breadth. 
 
 Savi's Warbler has the general colour of the upper parts uniform russet- 
 brown, slightly duskier on the quills, and somewhat paler on the outside web 
 of the second primary. The underparts are pale huffish brown, shading 
 into nearly white on the throat and the centre of the belly ; the under 
 tail-coverts are pale chestnut, with obscure paler tips. Bill dark brown 
 above, pale horn-colour below ; legs, feet, and claws pale brown ; irides 
 hazel. It is not known that the sexes differ in plumage, or that the 
 autumn moult produces any change of colour. Birds of the year are said 
 to be less rufous on the upper parts and paler underneath. 
 
 Savi's Warbler may be distinguished from its near ally L. fluviatilis by 
 its russet-brown upper parts (which in that species are olive-brown), and by 
 the absence of the striations on the breast so conspicuous in the latter 
 species. 
 
350 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus ACROCEPHALUS. 
 
 The Reed-Warblers were included by Linnaeus in his extensive genus 
 Motacilla, and were afterwards removed by Scopoli, along with the other 
 Warblers, into his genus Sylvia. The elder Naumann was the first to 
 subdivide Scopoli's genus; and in 1811, in the Supplement to his ' Natur- 
 geschichte der Land- und Wasser-Vogel des nordlicheu Deutschlands und 
 angranzender Lander/ p. 199, he founded the genus Acrocephalus for the 
 Reed- Warblers, and placed A. turdoides first on his list. This bird, which 
 is a fairly representative example of the genus, may therefore be accepted 
 as the type. 
 
 The Reed-Warblers are a well-marked group of birds, distinguished by 
 the possession of a very minute bastard primary and a moderately rounded 
 tail. The bastard primary is so minute that in adult birds it does not 
 usually extend as far as the primary-coverts ; but in birds of the year, and 
 in one or two species slightly aberrant in this respect, it is usually some- 
 what longer, occasionally extending beyond them. The bill is typically 
 large, depressed and broad at the base, with moderately developed rictal 
 bristles. In two of the species the bill is somewhat aberrant, being as 
 slender as in the genus Locustella. These two species are also distinguished 
 by a different style of colouring, each feather on the head and back being 
 darker in the centre. The existence of two other intermediate species, 
 however, makes it advisable not to separate them more than sub- 
 generically from the typical Acrocephali, of which they form the Cula- 
 modine group. 
 
 The tail is more rounded than in Hypolais, and much more so than in 
 Phylloscopus, but not so much so as in Locustella, the outside tail-feathers 
 being longer than the under tail-coverts. The general colour of the 
 plumage is a more or less uniform brown, sometimes olive-brown, some- 
 times russet-brown, gradually fading, as the plumage becomes abraded, 
 into a neutral brown or dust-brown, not inaptly described as museum- 
 colour. 
 
 The Reed-Warblers, as their name implies, frequent marshy districts, 
 reed-beds, and the dense vegetation on the banks of still waters. They are 
 possessed of considerable powers of song. They build well-made open 
 nests, sometimes suspended over the water, attached to reeds or twigs, and 
 sometimes in the bushes ; and their eggs are from four to six in number. 
 Their food is principally insects. 
 
 The breeding-range of these Warblers extends over the whole of the 
 Central and Southern Palsearctic Region ; and one species is found as far 
 
ACROCEPHALUS. 
 
 351 
 
 north as the Arctic circle. They Avinter in the tropical regions of Africa 
 and Asia, and are especially common at that season in the islands of the 
 Malay archipelago. Two species apparently migrate south instead of 
 north to breed, and resort to the swamps of Australia for that purpose. 
 Seven other species appear to be non-migratory one having found a 
 permanent home* in South Africa, and the others in the islands of the 
 Pacific, from the Carolines in the west to the Marquesas in the east of that 
 ocean. Five species are regular summer visitors to Europe; and the range 
 of two others extends as far as the extreme south-east of Europe. Three 
 of these breed in the British Islands, and two are accidental visitors. 
 
 WHIXCHAT S XEST. 
 
352 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ACROCEPHALUS PHRAGMITIS *. 
 SEDGE-WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 ? Ficedula curmca sylvestris, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 393 (1760). 
 
 ? Motacilla schcenobaenus, Linn. Syst. Naf. i. p. 329 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla salicaria, Linn, apud Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. 2 (1771). 
 
 Sylvia salicaria (Linn.*) apud Lath. Gen. Sun. Suppl. i. p. 287 (1787). 
 
 ? Sylvia schoenobaenus (Linn*), Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 510 (1790). 
 
 Sylvia phragmitis, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 186 (1802); et auctorum pluri- 
 moruin Wolf, Temminck, Naumann, Menetries, Jenyns, Eversmann, Nordmann, 
 (Koch}, (Boie), (Brehm), (Macgittivray), (Schlegel), (Kaup), (Selbij*), (Gould), 
 (Keyserlmg), (Blasius), (Thompson*), (Lindermayer*), (Hat-tiny), (Bonaparte), 
 (Degland), (Gerbe), (Loche), (Sahadori), fyc. 
 
 Acrocephalus phragmitis (BecJist.*), Naum. Nat. Land- und Wass.- Vog. nordl. Deutsckl., 
 Nachtr. iv. p. 202 (1811). 
 
 Muscipeta phragmitis (Bechst.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 163 (1816). 
 
 Sylvia schcenobaenus (Linn.*), Vieill. Faun. Franq. i. p. 224 (1820). 
 
 Calamoherpe phragmitis (Bechst.*), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Curruca salicaria (Linn.), apud Fleming, Brit. An. p. 69 (1828). 
 
 Calarnodus phragmitis (Bechst.*), Kaup, Naturl. Syst, p. 117 (1829). 
 
 Calamoherpe tritici, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 449 (1831). 
 
 Calamoherpe schoenobaenus (Linn.*), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 450 (1831). 
 
 Salicaria phragmitis (Bechst.*), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 201 (1833). 
 
 Calamodyta phragmitis (Bechst*), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. fy N. Amer. p. 12 
 (1838). 
 
 Calamodyta schcenobeenus (Linn.*), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 209, no. 2964 (1869). 
 
 Acrocephalus schoenobsenus (Linn.*), Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 376 (1873). 
 
 Calamodus schoenobsenus (Linn.*), Blanf. East. Pers. ii. p. 199 (1876). 
 
 Although there can be no doubt that Linnaeus was acquainted with the 
 Sedge- Warbler, yet his diagnoses are so vague that it is impossible to say 
 whether he intended to designate it by the name of Motacilla schcenobeenus 
 or Motacilla salicaria Vieillot, Sundevall, Brehm, and Newton identifying 
 it with the former, and Tunstall, Donovan, Latham, Leach, Forster, and 
 Fleming with the latter. The first clear definition seems to have been that of 
 Pennant, who described and figured the bird in 1766 under the name of the 
 
 * In my opinion no possible good can arise, and much confusion must be caused, by 
 rejecting the name in common use for the Sedge- Warbler, which was well denned 
 by Bechstein, in favour of the ill-defined name supposed to have been given to it by 
 Linnaeus. I admit that the evidence of the ' Fauna Suecica ' leaves little room for doubt 
 that Linnaeus intended to describe the Sedge- Warbler ; but his description was so meagre 
 that it met with the neglect that it deserved. 
 
SEDGE-WARBLER. 353 
 
 Willow-Lark, although Gilbert White appears to have unwittingly done 
 his best to confuse him by confounding the Reed- Warbler with the Sedge- 
 Warbler*. Pennant, however, was indebted to White for a correct descrip- 
 tion of the habits of the bird, which fortunately do not differ much from 
 those of its ally. 
 
 This now well-known bird is a common summer visitor to all parts of 
 England, breeding more or less abundantly in every county. In his 
 ' Birds of Guernsey/ Mr. Smith states that it is local and by no means so 
 common as the Reed-Warbler. In Scotland it is a very abundant species, 
 especially in the western counties, from Wigtown to the north of Argyle ; 
 and it is not uncommon in Western Inverness and Sutherland. It becomes 
 more local in the Western Islands, being found in Mull and Islay, but is 
 apparently absent from the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland the bird is equally 
 common and widely distributed. 
 
 On the Continent the Sedge-Warbler has a somewhat extensive range, 
 being found in Norway as far north as lat. 70, in Sweden and North 
 Russia to lat. 68, and in the valleys of the Obb and the Yenesay to 
 lat. 67. Its extreme abundance in the latter valley makes it very probable 
 that it may occur still further to the east in the valley of the Lena. In 
 the south of Europe it is principally known as passing through on migra- 
 tion ; but it is said occasionally to remain to breed in Spain, the south of 
 France, Italy, and Greece. In Corfu and Crete Colonel Drummond Hay 
 states that it is a resident. In Algeria, Egypt, and Asia Minor it is prin- 
 cipally known as a winter visitor; but a few probably also remain in these 
 localities to breed, as Dixon shot it in the oasis of Biskra in Algeria in 
 May. Canon Tristram states that it breeds in Palestine ; and Bogdanow 
 saw it in the Caucasus in autumn. It does not appear to have occurred in 
 Persia; but it is found in North-west Turkestan. It is perhaps more 
 abundant in Russia than in any other country, and is generally distributed 
 throughout the rest of Europe; but, curiously enough, it is said not to 
 occur in South Norway and in Lombardy two localities apparently well 
 suited to its requirements. Its winter range extends far down into South 
 Africa, as it has been obtained in Damara Land and the Transvaal. I 
 have in my collection two skins from Potchefstrom, in the latter district, 
 one dated February and the other dated 18th of April, both of which are 
 moulting their quill feathers. 
 
 The Sedge-Warbler arrives in its breeding-haunts by the latter end of 
 
 * It is remarkable that such an accurate observer 03 Gilbert White should have con- 
 fused two such distinct birds together. His description, "head, backhand coverts of the 
 wings of a dusky brown, without those dark spots of the Grasshopper Lark," can only 
 applv to the Reed-Warbler : but his further remark, " over each eye is a milk-white 
 stroke," must surely ap^ly to the Sedge-Warbler. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 A 
 
354 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 April, its appearance usually being noted a little earlier in the southern 
 than in the northern counties. In Ireland it appears to arrive even later 
 still. Thompson states that it appears in the neighbourhood of Belfast 
 during the first ten days of May, but he has known it to arrive as early 
 as the 16th of April. It would also appear to depart in the autumn earlier 
 from Ireland, the same careful writer giving the 5th of September as the 
 latest date he has known it to be met with ; but in England it remains 
 until the end of September, and has even been met with in Norfolk on the 
 20th of October. 
 
 The Sedge-Warbler is by no means, as its name would possibly suggest, 
 confined to the sedges and the reeds. Its haunts are as much in the 
 tangled brake and dense vegetation of marshy plantations as amongst the 
 ever-murmuring reeds. It is especially fond of frequenting the stunted 
 willow-bushes by the water- side. The Sedge- Warbler is much more often 
 heard than seen. Like all the Reed- Warblers it is a shy and retiring 
 little bird, although now and then its curiosity seems to get the better 
 of its habitual shyness, and prompts it to mount to the top of some 
 waving spray to take a more extensive view of the world than can be 
 obtained from the seclusion of its shady haunt. Sometimes a hurried 
 glimpse of it may be got as it hops rapidly from one twig to another ; 
 but it soon disappears again, and its harsh notes are the only sign of its 
 presence. Although such a skulking little fellow, the Sedge-Warbler may 
 always be detected by its song. If it is not actually to be seen, a stone 
 thrown into its favourite retreat will rouse it from its reverie, and cause 
 it to start its song at once a song of seeming defiance and mockery, 
 as though the cunning little musician knew full well that it was able to 
 elude detection at will. When thus aroused it will often mount to the 
 top of the bushes and, for a few moments, warble forth its lay in full 
 view, shifting restlessly about in the meantime as if fearful of its own 
 boldness. 
 
 The song of the Sedge-Warbler is most pertinaciously kept up. It 
 somewhat resembles that of the Whitethroat, but has a much larger 
 range of notes. It is quite as vehemently uttered. Some of its notes 
 are round, full, and rich ; but many parts of the song are almost as 
 harsh as the notes of the House- Sparrow. The Sedge- Warbler will also 
 appear to imitate the songs of other birds, and varies its own performance 
 so as often to make the hearer imagine that it is introducing the notes of 
 its neighbours. It not unfrequently sings as it flies ; and it is also one 
 of the few feathered musicians that regularly warble at night. In Ireland 
 this habit has gained for the bird the title of " Irish Nightingale " but 
 the music of that sweet chorister is beyond all comparison finer than the 
 " Sedge-bird's " garrulous song. In the pairing-season especially, it sings 
 so loudly as to often appear but a few feet from the observer when in 
 
SEDGE-WARBLER. 355 
 
 reality it is in the depth of its cover many yards away. The call-note is 
 a harsh churr rapidly repeated ; and its alarm-note is a scold something 
 like that of the Whitethroat. 
 
 The nesting-season of the Sedge-Warbler commences early in May. Its 
 nest is never suspended between the reeds like the Reed- Warbler's, but is 
 supported by the branches. The site is varied a little, according to the 
 nature of the haunts it frequents. On the broads and in marshy places 
 the bird usually selects some convenient place in the willow bushes. In 
 other haunts the nest is often placed in the thick branches of a hedge near 
 a stream ; at other times the brambles growing in wild confusion in its 
 marshy haunts, or the bushes and woodbine drooping over the water, will 
 be selected to hold it. Few of our British nests are so unassuming as the 
 Sedge- Warbler's. It is a small and simple little structure, not very deep, 
 made of dry grass-stems, portions of sedgy plants, sometimes lined with a few 
 hairs, sometimes with scraps of vegetable down. It is sometimes placed as 
 much as ten feet from the ground, but more frequently at a height of one 
 or two feet, and rarely on the ground itself. Writing of the nest in the 
 latter situation, Mr. Stevenson, in his ( Birds of Norfolk/ states : " I have 
 also found it in some few instances in a little hollow on the ground, but 
 so concealed amongst the surrounding moss as to be discoverable only by 
 the bird rising frightened from the spot. Again amongst the sedges, as 
 its name denotes, it seeks concealment in the treacherous nature of the 
 soil, and the nests may ba there found supported, but not suspended, on 
 the dead weed and leaves of the sedge broken down." The eggs of the 
 Sedge- Warbler are five or six in number, and differ considerably in colour. 
 For the sake of convenience it is perhaps best to divide them into two 
 types, very distinct from each other, but connected together by inter- 
 mediate varieties. The ground-colour of both types, when it can be seen 
 (which is not often), is bluish white. The first type is stone-colour, with 
 pale and indistinct rnottlings of yellowish brown. The second type has 
 the same buffish appearance, but the markings are very much more pro- 
 nounced and of a richer brown, in some specimens deep red-brown. 
 Almost all eggs of the Sedge- Warbler, of both types, are also marked 
 with fine scratchy streaks of rich blackish brown; on some eggs these 
 peucillings are not continuous and can scarcely be traced ; in others they 
 are almost as pronounced as the marks on a Bunting's egg. They vary 
 in length from '75 to '6 inch, and in breadth from -55 to '5 inch. 
 
 The food of the Sedge- Warbler is largely composed of insects, which it 
 may often be seen catching in the air whilst fluttering over the waters and 
 reeds. It also feeds upon worms; and Naumann states that it will eat 
 elder-berries. 
 
 The Sedge-Warbler has the general colour of the upper parts russet- 
 brown, each feather having an obscure dark centre. These dark centres 
 
 2A2 
 
356 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 are most conspicuous, becoming nearly black on the head, wing-coverts, 
 and innermost secondaries, and disappear altogether on the rump, which 
 is very tawny. The eye-stripe is very distinct, buffish white, but does not 
 extend to the nape. The underparts are buffish white, darkest on the 
 breast and flanks. After the autumn moult the eye-stripe and the under- 
 parts are still more suffused with buff. After both moults, but especially 
 in spring, the whitish tips to the quills are very conspicuous ; but these 
 are soon lost by abrasion. Bill dark brown above, pale below; legs, feet, 
 and claws pale brown ; irides hazel. 
 
AQUATIC WARBLER. 357 
 
 ACROCEPHALUS AQUATICUS. 
 
 AQUATIC WARBLER. 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 'via schoenobaenus (Linn.), apud Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Xat. p. 158 (1769). 
 r Motacilla aquatica, Gmel. Syst. Nat. \. p. 953 (1788, ex Scop, et Lath.). 
 
 Ivia aquatica (Gmel.), Lath. Ltd. Orn. ii. p. 510 (1790). 
 Sylvia salicaria (Linn.), apud Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 185 (1802). 
 Acrocephalus salicarius (Linn.'), apudXaum. Nat. Land- u. Wats.- Tog. norcU. Deutichl., 
 
 Xachtr. Heft iv. p. 203 (1811). 
 Sylvia aquatica (Gmel.), Temm. Man. <TOrn. p. 131 (1815); et auctorum pluri- 
 
 xnorum (Xaunmnn), (Gould), (Gray), (Schltget), (Salvadori), (Xeicto 
 
 (Drefatr). S~c. 
 
 Muscipeta salicaria (Li>in.), apud Koch, Syst. baitr. Zool. i. p. 164 (1816). 
 Sylvia paludieola. Vieill. X. Diet. d'Hist. Xat. xi. p. 202 (1817). 
 . Sylvia cariceti, Xaum. 1st'*, 1821, p. 785. 
 
 Calamoherpe aquatica (Gmel.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Calamoherpe cariceti (Xaum.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 5-52. 
 
 Calamodyta aquatica (Gmd.), Kaup. Natiirl. Syst. p. 118 (1829). 
 
 Calamoherpe limicola, Brehm. Vog. Deutschl. p. 451 (1831). 
 
 Calamoherpe striata, Brehm. 1'ikj. Deukchl. p. 452 (1831). 
 
 Salicaria aquatica (Gmel.), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. iii. fig. 2 (1837). 
 
 Calamodyta cariceti (Xenon.), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. 8f N. Atner. p. 12 (1838). 
 
 Calamodus salicarius (Linn.), apud Cab. J/HS. Hein. i. p. 39 (1850). 
 
 Acrocephalus aquaticus (Gmel.), Xetrton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 380 (1873). 
 
 As long ago as 18.2.2 the Aquatic AVarbler must have been known to 
 British ornithologists; for Mr. J. H. Gurney,jun., has pointed out ('Trans. 
 Norfolk and Norwich Xat. Soc.' 1871, p. 62) that the figure of the "Sedge- 
 Warbler " in Hunt's ' British Ornithology ' was evidently taken from an. 
 example of the present species. At least three other specimens have been 
 recorded as British. Professor Xewton discovered an example in the 
 collection of Mr. Borrer, and exhibited it at a meeting of the Zoological 
 Society (' Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1866, p. 210), with the following note from its 
 possessor : " My specimen was shot on the 19th of October, 1853, in an 
 old brick-pit a little to the west of Hove, near Brighton, and was stuffed 
 by Mr. H. Pratt of that place. I saw it just after it was skinned. It was 
 observed creeping about amongst the old grass and reeds." In 1867 
 Mr. Harting recorded the second example simultaneously in the 'Zoologist' 
 (p. 946) and ' The Ibis ' (p. 468). It was obtained in the neighbourhood 
 of Loughborough, Leicestershire, during the summer of 1864. The third 
 example waS recorded in the 'Zoologist' for 1871 (p. 2521) by Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney, jun., who detected it amongst a collection of British birds in the 
 Dover Museum. Mr. Cordon, the curator, informed Mr. Gurney that it 
 
358 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 was shot by himself in the neighbourhood, although the date of its capture 
 could not be traced. It is no subject for surprise to find this bird occa- 
 sionally wandering across the English Channel, when we know it breeds 
 pretty commonly on the opposite coasts of France and Holland. As it is 
 also apt to be confused with allied species, it may easily escape notice. 
 
 The Aquatic Warbler has not a very extensive range. It has never been 
 found north of the Baltic, and is only known to pass through Spain on 
 migration. It is a regular, though local, summer migrant to France, 
 Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and South Denmark. South of the 
 Danube it is only known to pass through on migration, a few remaining 
 during the winter in Greece and Asia Minor. In South Russia Goebel 
 found it rare in the valley of the Dnieper ; and Nordrnann once obtained 
 it at Odessa in spring. Bogdanow did not meet with it either on the 
 Volga or in the Caucasus ; but Meves found it abundant in the marshes of 
 the Southern Ural, which, so far as is known, is its eastern limit. It is 
 said to winter in the Canary Islands and in various parts of North Africa ; 
 but our information respecting its winter quarters is very meagre. There 
 is no doubt that a considerable number remain to breed in Algeria and 
 Tunis. 
 
 The only occasion on which I have met with the Aquatic Warbler 
 was on the island of Heligoland. Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, Mr. Frank 
 Nicholson, and I arrived on the island on the 23rd of September. We 
 devoted the 24th to Gatke and his wonderful collection ; but on the 25th 
 we turned out early in the morning before breakfast, and were delighted to 
 find that there had been a considerable migration of birds during the 
 night, and that, out of the crowds that must have passed over, many tired 
 or hungry birds had been left behind, and were to be found feeding on the 
 edges of the cliff, or skulking among the potatoes. It was very curious to 
 see what a mixture of birds we had on our breakfast table after about three 
 hours' desultory wandering on this bare little earth-covered rock out of 
 sight of land. To say nothing of common birds, such as W r heatears, Sky- 
 larks, Woodlarks, Meadow-Pipits, Redstarts, &c., we had shot a Starling, 
 a Peewit, a Snow-Bunting, a Jack-Snipe, a Corncrake, a couple of Grey- 
 headed Yellow Wagtails, and an Aquatic Warbler, and had seen Kestrels, 
 Song-Thrushes, and Ring-Ouzels. The Aquatic Warbler was skulking 
 amongst the potatoes; and a few days afterwards we picked up a second 
 example. 
 
 The Aquatic Warbler is said to arrive at its breeding-haunts in North 
 Germany during the last half of April ; so that it belongs neither to the 
 earliest nor to the latest group of migrants. As its name implies, this 
 bird is only found in swamps, but is said to neglect the large reed-beds, 
 and choose the ditches, ponds, and banks of lakes and rivers, which abound 
 in coarse aquatic vegetation, being especially partial to sedges, in which it 
 
AQUATIC WARBLER. 359 
 
 delights to hide. Tangled masses of wild roses, brambles, and thorn- 
 bushes are also places where it is often found. Like all its congeners it 
 is an active and restless bird, and is remarkably cautious and shy, con- 
 cealing itself on the least approach of danger. The Aquatic Warbler is 
 said never to hop, but on a branch or on the ground to run almost like a 
 mouse. The song is described as much like that of the Sedge- Warbler, 
 but is said to be shorter and more rapidly executed, and to want the clear 
 flute-like notes which make the 'song of that bird so fine. Its food is 
 insects ; and it is not known that it ever feeds upon fruit of any kind. 
 
 Xaumann says that this bird arrives in North Germany a week or two 
 before the Sedge- Warbler, and is also a somewhat earlier breeder. Fresh 
 eggs may be obtained in the last half of May. It never makes its nest 
 amongst the reeds over the water, but chooses a bunch of sedge or water- 
 plants near the bank, or a thorn or willow overgrown with rank herbage. 
 The nest is never placed on the ground, but frequently only a few inches 
 above it ; seldom more than a foot or eighteen inches. It is suspended 
 between the stalks of the plants which grow close to it, and which are 
 woven into the sides. It is described as smaller than the nest of the 
 Sedge- Warbler, somewhat roughly and carelessly finished outside, but 
 inside very deep, round, and smooth. The foundation is of coarse grass, 
 completed with fine round grass-stalks and roots, neatly lined with horse- 
 hair. Occasionally spiders' webs, the flowers of the cotton-grass, and 
 even feathers are used for its construction ; but the final lining is said 
 always to be horsehair. The number of eggs varies from four to five. 
 They are brownish white in ground-colour, thickly mottled and clouded 
 over the entire surface with yellowish brown, and sometimes with one or two 
 streaks of dark brown. They vary in length from '7 to '67 inch, and in 
 breadth from '52 to '5 inch. It is impossible to give any character by 
 which the eggs of this bird can be distinguished from those of the Sedge- 
 Warbler. Those that I have examined are not perhaps so yellow in tint 
 and may be a trifle smaller ; but in a large series it is quite possible that 
 these differences will be found to be only individual ones. 
 
 The Aquatic Warbler has the general colour of the upper parts pale 
 tawny brown. The eye-stripe is very distinct, greyish white, and extends 
 almost to the nape ; and over each eye-stripe a broad, very dark-brown 
 streak passes to the nape, leaving a narrow pale mesial line on the crown. 
 Each feather of the rest of the upper parts, including the wing-coverts, 
 innermost secondaries, and tail, has a more or less distinct dark brown 
 centre, the quill feathers only being uniform brown. In abraded summer 
 plumage tlje underparts are nearly white ; but in spring the throat and 
 flanks are buffer, and in autumn the underparts are more or less suffused all 
 over with buff. In many skins the lower throat and flanks are striated ; in 
 this plumage they are the S. cariceti of Naumann. These striations occur 
 
360 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 principally in birds shot in the pale breeding-plumage, but are sometimes 
 sparingly found in the fulvous plumage after the autumn moult. Some 
 ornithologists ascribe the striated underparts to the adult plumage, and 
 the unstriated to birds of the year ; but I have come to the conclusion, 
 after examining a large series of these birds, that the striated plumage is 
 that of summer and the unstriated that of winter, though this appears to 
 be a somewhat exceptional change. Bill dark brown above, pale below; 
 legs, feet, and claws pale horn-colour; iricles hazel. This bird may be at 
 once distinguished from its near ally the Sedge-Warbler by the difference 
 in the stripes on the head. In that bird every feather on the head has a 
 dark centre, forming, when the feathers are not ruffled, four or five distinct 
 but narrow dark stripes on the crown between the two pale eye-stripes. 
 In the Aquatic Warbler there are only two dark stripes on the crown, very 
 broad, distinct, and conspicuous. 
 
GREAT REED-WARBLER, 361 
 
 ACROCEPHALUS TURDOIDES*. 
 
 GREAT REED-WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Turdus arundinacus, Br.'s*. Orn. ii. p. 219, pi. xxii. fig. 1 (1760) ; Linn. Sysf. JNV. 
 i. p. 296 (1766). 
 
 Acrocephalus lacustris. ACTM/H. Xatur. Land- it. Wass.-Vog. nordl. Deutschl. Xachtr. 
 iv. p. 201 ^1>11). 
 
 Sylvia turdoides, Meyer, Vog. Lit:- u. Esthl. p. 116 (1815) ; et auctorum plurimo- 
 ruin Temmiiu-k I Boie ), yaumunn (Kaiip),Menetries, (Brehm), (Lesson), (Gould), 
 (Bonaparte), Crespon, (Keyserling 4" Blasius), Nordmann, Werner, Kjeerbolling, 
 Sundevall, (Jaubert 4" Barthelemy-Lapommeraye), (Degland <5' Gerbe), (Loche), 
 (Heurjlin), (Dxlerlein), (Salvador*), Fallon, (Shelley), c. 
 
 Muscipita lacustris (Xattjn. ), Koch, Syst. baier. Z*iol. i. p. 166 (1816). 
 
 Calauioherpe turdoides (Meyer), Bo _2, p. 552. 
 
 Turdus junco, Pall. Zooyr. I! **,-.-A*iat. i. p. 4-58 (_!-. 
 
 Hydrocopsichus turdoides (Meyer), Kaitp, Xatiirl. Syst. p. 121 (1829). 
 
 Arundinaceus turdoides (Meyer), Less. Traite d'Orn. p. 419 (1831). 
 
 Calamoherpe lacustris (Xaum.~), Brehm, Voy. Deittsclil. p. 442 (1831). 
 
 Calaaioherpe stagnatilis, Brehm, Vog. Dtutschl. p. 442 (1831). 
 
 Salic-aria turdoides (Meyer), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. cvi. (1837). 
 
 Acrocephalus arundinaceus (Linn.), Gray, Li*t Gen. B. p. 28 (1841). 
 
 Sylvia turdina, Gl,ger, Handb. Xafurg. p. 312 (1842). 
 
 Salicaria turdina (Gloger), Schley. Rev. Crit. p. xxvii (1>44 i. 
 
 Calamodvta arundinacea (Linn.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 172 (1848). 
 
 Calamoherpe media, Malm. CE/v. Vet.-AJ;. HandJ. 1651, p. 159. 
 
 Calamoherpe turdina ( Gloger), Schleg. Vog. Xederl. p. 142 (1854). 
 
 Acrocephalus turdoides (Meyer), Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 289 (1869). 
 
 Acrocephalus arabicus, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 289 (1869). 
 
 Salicaria arundinacea (Linn.), Harting, Handb. iJr. B. p. 14 (1872). 
 
 Acrocephalus fulvolateralis, Sharpe, ed. Layoffs B. S. Afr. p. 289 (1877). 
 
 Linnaeus placed this fine Reed- Warbler amongst his Thrushes, and thus 
 laid the foundation for much confusion in its synonymy, whilst some 
 British ornithologists have confounded it with the Eastern Nightingale, 
 a bird which really is very closely allied to the Thrushes. The only 
 satisfactorily authenticated instance of the occurrence of the Great Reed- 
 Warbler in our islands is the one recorded by Hancock in his ' Catalogue 
 
 * It is to he hoped that British ornithologists will support me in using the name which 
 has been applied to this species by far the greatest number of authors, and which remains 
 in universal use on the continent. It is impossible to protest too strongly against the 
 practice of transferring a name from one species to another a practice which strikes at 
 the root of all attempts to obtain scientific accuracy and precision, and paves the way for 
 endless confusion. There can be no great harm in calling this species A. lacustris or A. 
 junco, but uuder no circumstances should it be called A. arundinaceus. 
 
362 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of the Birds of Northumberland and Durham/ He writes, " A male 
 specimen of this rare casual visitant was shot by Thomas Robson near 
 Swalwell, four miles west of Newcastle, May 28th, 1847. It was skulking 
 in the low herbage by the side of a mill-dam. A notice of this capture 
 is recorded in Annals and Mag. Nat. Hist., August 1847, Vol. xx. p. 135. 
 The specimen is in the possession of Mr. Thomas Thompson, of Win- 
 laton; and was, I believe, the first recorded occurrence of this large 
 "Warbler in the British Islands." 
 
 On one of my visits to Constantinople I spent a day at Ortakoi, on the 
 Bosphorous, with the above-mentioned Mr. Robson, and listened with 
 great interest to the account of his capture of this rare visitant to our 
 shores. I found Mr. Robson an excellent field-naturalist, well acquainted 
 with the songs of all our common birds. He told me that whilst he was 
 a working mechanic at Newcastle he used to devote much of his leisure 
 time to the study of field-ornithology. One morning his attention was 
 suddenly arrested by the song of a bird differing entirely from any thing 
 he had ever heard before. It was so skulking in its habits that he had 
 some difficulty in procuring it. Other occurrences are recorded from 
 Kent, Essex, &c. ; but I cannot learn that in any case the facts of the 
 examples having been killed in this country and having been correctly 
 identified are placed beyond doubt. 
 
 The Great Reed- Warbler is a western Palsearctic species, breeding in 
 Central and Southern Europe, and ranging eastwards into Northern Persia 
 and Turkestan. It also breeds in some parts of North Africa, and winters 
 in South Africa. It is abundant in suitable localities in summer in 
 Portugal, Spain, and all the countries of Europe south of the British 
 Channel and the Baltic. In South Sweden, as in the British Islands, it 
 appears to be only an accidental visitor. Its most northerly recorded 
 locality is the islands at the entrance of the Gulf of Riga. In Russia it 
 has not been found north of the valley of the Volga. In Africa it breeds 
 in Morocco and Algeria; and it is a regular summer visitor to Palestine and 
 Asia Minor. It winters on both the east and west of South Africa, having 
 been obtained in Lower Guinea, Damara Land, Natal, and the Transvaal. 
 From the latter country I have examples in full moult obtained in March 
 and April. 
 
 The Great Reed- Warbler is the Reed-Warbler par excellence, being 
 absolutely confined during the breeding-season to districts where the 
 common reed (Arundo phragmitis] abounds. Hence its distribution is 
 somewhat local. It is, however, very abundant in suitable localities, and 
 frequents the reed-beds on the banks of rivers, in lakes, and even in small 
 ponds. It is somewhat remarkable that this bird is not found amongst 
 the reed-beds of the Norfolk broads. Although it breeds as far west as 
 Portugal, and its northern range extends almost to the Gulf of Finland, 
 
GREAT REED-WARBLER. 363 
 
 and although it is able, on its winter migration, to reach as far south as 
 the Transvaal, and even Natal, for some reason or other it objects to cross 
 both the English Channel and the Baltic. We are therefore obliged to 
 visit the continent to make the acquaintance of this charming bird ; but 
 long before the steamer reaches Rotterdam the ornithologist who crosses 
 over late in May will hear its loud, if not very musical, song in the reeds 
 on the banks of the river, and, before he has become familiar with the 
 note, may possibly mistake it for the croaking of frogs as he hears it 
 for the first time amidst the splashing of water and the muffled jar of the 
 engine. 
 
 Early in May, when many of the commoner summer migrants whose 
 range extends also to our islands are busily engaged in the duties of incu- 
 bation, a few of the most adventurous Great Reed- Warblers arrive at their 
 breeding-grounds ; towards the middle of the month they are tolerably 
 common, and begin to make preparations for building ; but it is vain to 
 look for eggs before the last week in May. One reason for their late 
 migration may possibly be the fact that the reeds in which they build 
 do not reach maturity earlier ; but probably the more potent cause of delay 
 is connected with the supply of food, as they are not only very late in 
 arriving, but are also very early in departing. Their song ceases about the 
 middle of July ; during August their numbers rapidly diminish ; and early 
 in September you may search the reeds for them in vain. 
 
 When the Great Reed- Warbler first arrives at its breeding- quarters it 
 may occasionally be seen in the willows and other bushes which are often 
 found in the marshes near the reed-beds; but usually it is only seen in 
 the reeds. Its loud song causes its presence to be at once detected ; and 
 with a little caution there is no difficulty in obtaining a sight of the bird. 
 In May, last year, I saw a great deal of this bird as I strolled amongst the 
 twenty-two ponds in the grounds of the old Cistercian Monastery at Rid- 
 dagshausen, near Brunswick, now converted into the residence of my friend 
 Oberamtnianu Xehrkorn. Many of these ponds are full of reeds, and are 
 frequented by great numbers of these birds. On the 16th of May I stood 
 for some time under a pollard willow not five yards from a Great Reed- 
 Warbler, listening to his harsh croaking as he sat unconcerned on one of 
 the branches. When finally I frightened him away to see what he would 
 do, he did not plunge into the reeds, which, by the way, were not yet full- 
 grown, but he flew over them to a willow bush, where, conspicuously 
 perched near the top of a perpendicular branch, he resumed his song. 
 Four days later I found his Best ; and on the 22nd it contained one egg. 
 Both birds ^rere in the reeds close by, and flew angrily at me as I bent 
 down the reeds to peep in, croaking at me like a couple of frogs. Later 
 on, in Pomerania, on the 5th of June, in the reed-beds in the Garde 
 See, the Great Reed-Warbler was equally common. Now and then we 
 
364 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 saw a bird run up the reeds, and occasionally flutter along over their tops 
 with hurried flight and outspread depressed tail, as if ready at any moment 
 to alight. The water was above my knees, and the reeds much above my 
 head and very densely planted ; but I soon found a nest containing four 
 eggs. There is no evidence of two broods having been reared in one 
 season ; but Mr. Sclater and I took a nest with fresh eggs on the 29th of 
 June, at Riddagshausen, which may have belonged to a pair whose first 
 nest had been taken. 
 
 The song of the Great Reed-Warbler is something like that of the Sedge- 
 Warbler, but shorter, louder, and harsher. It consists for the most part 
 of variations on the few notes which I wrote down on the spot as kar-r-a, 
 kar-r-a, kee, kee, interrupted with what appears to be the alarm-note, a 
 root of kr-r-kr-r, as loud and as harsh as the croaking of a frog, but which 
 nevertheless sounds like music in the ears of a British ornithologist, who 
 listens to it as the note of a rare bird. Like most of its allies, this bird 
 sings from early morning to late at night. 
 
 Its food is principally insects, which it procures on the reeds small 
 beetles, flies, and various kinds of larva. It is said occasionally to catch an 
 insect on the wing, and sometimes to pick them up from the muddy banks 
 of the river or lake. In autumn, like most other insectivorous birds, it 
 varies its diet with some of the softer wild fruits, especially elder-berries. 
 
 I am not aware of any reliable instance of this bird's breeding other- 
 wise than in reeds. The nest is usually placed in the middle of the reed- 
 bed, about halfway between the top of the reeds and the surface of the 
 water. Three, four, and sometimes five reeds are deftly woven into the 
 outside of the nest, which is a large compact structure, composed almost 
 entirely of the dead grass-like leaflets of the reed interwoven with a few 
 roots, and lined with the dead flowers of the reed and a few slender grass- 
 stalks. The nest is deep and cup-shaped, having an inside diameter of 
 about two inches and a half, and being of about the same depth. Outside 
 it measures about five inches in height, with an outside diameter of four 
 inches. Occasionally the leaves of water-plants are interwoven in the 
 nest, and sometimes moss, wool, a feather or two, and downy seeds (such 
 as those of the clematis and cotton-grass) . The number of eggs is generally 
 four or five, but frequently six. In colour they almost exactly resemble 
 those of the Marsh-Warbler, but are twice the size. The ground-colour 
 is a pale blue, sometimes approaching green, and often tinged with grey. 
 Few eggs are more boldly or richly spotted. Large blotches of olive- 
 brown or russet- brown, sometimes pale but occasionally approaching black, 
 are distributed pretty evenly over the surface, and are relieved by minute 
 spots of the same colour, and by the underlying blotches, which show pale 
 through the ground-colour. The eggs vary considerably in size ; the 
 
GREAT REED-WARBLER. 365 
 
 largest in my collection measures 1*0 by '7 inch, and the smallest '8 by 
 63 inch. 
 
 My friend Captain Verner has sent me the following notes on the habits 
 of this bird: "On May llth, 1875, I observed many Great Reed- 
 Warblers amongst the tall reed-beds in a Laguna in Southern Andalusia. 
 They were flying about iu a restless manner, now and then alighting on 
 the reeds and singing loudly. By taking advantage of the cover afforded 
 by the patches of reeds I was enabled to wade to within three or four 
 yards of single birds, and watch them closely. They varied their song 
 with a chattering note, much like our Sedge-Warbler's, but more noisy. 
 On being disturbed they darted off with a strong and bold flight, doubling 
 the corner of the nearest reed-bed, and settled again to recommence their 
 song with fresh vigour. Although I hunted diligently for some hours, 
 at times up to my waist in water, and amongst reeds some six feet in 
 height, I only succeeded in finding two unfinished nests. They were 
 suspended between the stems of the reeds in a similar manner to the 
 common Reed- Warbler's." 
 
 The Great Reed-Warbler bears some superficial resemblance to a 
 Thrush ; but its slender shape, minute bastard primary, rounded tail, and 
 scutellated tarsus, to say nothing of its double moult and unspotted young, 
 ought to have prevented it from being confounded with the Thrushes, 
 even by cabinet naturalists who were unacquainted with its Acrocephaline 
 song and nest. The general colour of the upper parts is olive-brown, 
 suffused with rufous-brown on the rump, tail, and wings. The under- 
 parts are pale rufous-brown, shading into nearly white on the chin, throat, 
 and the centre of the belly. In the bill the upper mandible is dark brown, 
 and the under mandible pale brown. The irides are brown, and the legs 
 pale horn-colour. In the autumn plumage the brown of both the upper 
 and uuderparts is more rufous than in spring ; but much of this rufous 
 shade is lost by abrasion both in winter and summer. Birds of the year 
 occasionally show traces of streaks on the breast. 
 
 The Great Reed-Warbler has several very near allies, with which it has 
 often been confounded. It is, however, slightly larger than any of them, 
 has a somewhat more pointed wing, and decidedly paler legs. Its nearest 
 ally is the Chinese Great Reed- Warbler (A. orientalis), which breeds in 
 the valley of the Amoor, North China, and Japan, and winters in the 
 Burma peninsula and the islands of the Malay archipelago. The Indian 
 Great Reed- Warbler (A. stentoreus} has a still more rounded wing and 
 a somewhat longer bill and tail. It is much more restricted in its migra- 
 tions, and appears to be a resident in Egypt and Ceylon. In the inter- 
 vening coifhtry, Persia, Turkestan, and the Himalayas, it is partially 
 migratory, breeding in the highlands and wintering in the plains. Two 
 
366 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 slightly smaller species occur in Australia. The Western species (A. longi- 
 rostris) is very rufous in colour ; and the Eastern species (A. australis) has 
 a comparatively shorter bill. Both species breed in the south, retiring 
 north on the approach of the cold season. A fifth near ally of our bird, 
 Kittlitz's Great Reed- Warbler (A. syrinx), appears to have become slightly 
 differentiated by its isolation on some of the Caroline Islands in the 
 Pacific Ocean. There are several other more distantly allied species. 
 
REED-WARBLER. 367 
 
 ACROCEPHALUS ARUNDINACEUS * (Brisson nee Newton) . 
 
 REED-WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca arundinacea, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 378 (1760). . 
 
 ~ Motacilla salicaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 330 (1766). 
 
 Motacilla arundinacea, Liyhtfoot, Phil, Trans. Ixxv. p. 11 (1785); et auctorum 
 plurimorum Gmelin, (Bechstein), (Wolf), (Leach), (Temminck), (Naumann), 
 (Koch), (Jenyns), (Crespon), (Nordmann), (Sundevall), (Salvadon), (Fallori), 
 (Bonaparte), (Macgillivray), (Selys-Longchamps), (ScMegel), (Degland), (Gerbe), 
 (Loche), (Doderlein), (Droste), (Shelley), (Gould), (Keyserling), (Blasius), 
 (Thompson), (Lindermayer), (Fritsch), nee (Gray), (Newton), (Blanford), 
 (Gurney), (Hurting). 
 
 Sylvia ariindinacea (Briss.), Lath. 2nd. Orn. ii. p. 510 (1790). 
 
 Acrocephalus arundinaceus (Briss.), Naum. Nat. Land- u. Wass.-Vb'g. nordl. Deutschl. 
 Nachtr. Heft iv. p. 202 (1811). 
 
 Muscipeta arundinacea (Briss.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 165 (1816). 
 
 Sylvia strepera, Vieill X. Diet. d"Hist. Nat. xi. p. 182 (1817). 
 
 Calamoherpe arundinacea (Briss.), Bute, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Curruca arundinacea (Briss.), Fleming, Brit. An. p. 69 (1829). 
 
 Curruca fusca, Hempr. et Ehr. Symb. Phys. Aves, fol. cc (1833). 
 
 Salicaria arundinacea (Briss.), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 203 (1833). 
 
 Calamodyta strepera (Vieill.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 172 (1848). 
 
 Sylvia affmis, Hardy, Ann. de FAssoc. Norm. 1841, fide Degl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 572 
 (1849, nee Blyth). 
 
 Calamoherpe obscurocapilla, Dubois, Journ. Orn. 1S56, p. 240. 
 
 Calamodyta arundinacea (Briss.), Gray, Hand-l B. i. p. 208, no. 2940 (1869). 
 
 Salicaria strepera ( Vieill.), Harting, Handb. Br. B. p. 14 (1872). 
 
 Acrocephalus streperus ( Vieill.), Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 369 (1873). 
 
 Salicaria inacrouyx, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. pp. 63, 128 (1873). 
 
 * In order to prevent the possibility of being misunderstood it is necessary for the 
 present to add the authority after this name. It was applied to the Great Reed- Warbler 
 by Linnaeus, Gmelin, Latham, Bechstein, Wolf, Temminck, and Vieillot ; but as all these 
 -writers thought the Great Reed- Warbler was a Thrush, and placed it in the genus Turdus, 
 no one was likely to confuse the great Turdus arundinaceus with the modest Acrocephalus 
 arundinaceus. In process of time the earlier ornithologists discovered that they were 
 mistaken in supposing the Great Reed- Warbler tc be a Thrush; and finding that the 
 genus to which it properly belonged already contained an arundinaceus, they most sensibly 
 adopted a new and extremely appropriate name for the Thrush-like Reed- Warbler, 
 turdoides, as a perpetual memorial of their former blunder. For upwards of a quarter of 
 a century all went well, and everybody knew what bird was meant by Sylvia arundinacea, 
 Acrocephalus arundinaceus, Calamoherpe arundinacea, or Salicaria arundinacea. In 1841 
 the first false afep was made by Gray. Led astray by the plausibility of the Stricklandian 
 Code, which received the sanction of the British Association the following year, he 
 transferred the name of the Reed- Warbler to the Great Reed- Warbler, raking up a long- 
 forgotten name for the smaller species. But the pedantry of Gray was not likely to do 
 
368 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Reed-Warbler appears to have been known to Willughby and Ray, 
 who most unaccountably placed it amongst their " Woodpeckers less pro- 
 perly so-called " ! but was not accurately described until Brisson's great 
 work appeared. Gilbert White must have been acquainted with the bird, 
 which he describes as differing from the Grasshopper Warbler by having 
 the head, back, and wing-coverts without the dark spots of the latter 
 species. He also identifies his bird with the Lesser Reed-Sparrow of 
 Willughby and Ray, which is undoubtedly the Reed-Warbler ; but as in 
 a subsequent letter he lays great stress on the white streak over the eye 
 and the tawny rump, many writers, amongst whom are Blyth, Yarrell, 
 and Newton, have concluded that he meant the Sedge-Warbler. He pro- 
 bably confounded the two birds together. Fourteen years afterwards any 
 confusion that may have arisen was cleared up by Lightfoot, who 
 described both the bird, its habits, and its nest, from observations made 
 in West Middlesex. 
 
 The Reed- Warbler is common enough in the south of England ; but in 
 the north it is very rare, and has consequently acquired, in the eyes of 
 northern naturalists, the fascination which naturally emanates from the 
 halo of mystery which surrounds rare birds. It seems very doubtful 
 whether the Reed- Warbler breeds in Great Britain north of the H umber 
 or west of the Mersey. Writing to me of its occurrence in North-east 
 Lincolnshire, Mr. Cordeaux states that it is rare. " In the summer of 
 1876 and two following years two or three pairs nested in a reedy drain 
 in this parish (Great Cotes) . Since that period I have not met with them, 
 which is more remarkable as they were not disturbed in rearing their 
 young. It occurs tolerably regularly on migration through the district in 
 the autumn." It has been recorded from Ireland and Scotland, and is 
 even supposed to breed in Lothian ; but as the writers who mention its 
 occurrence do not appear to have been aware of the singularity of 
 the circumstance, we may fairly imagine that no great pains were 
 taken to verify the statements, and we may consequently accept 
 them with some doubt. On the continent the range of this bird is not 
 very limited. It is found in suitable localities in summer throughout 
 
 much harm ; and his unscientific nomenclature would have been forgotten as a passing 
 eccentricity, if, thirty-two years afterwards, Xewton had not adopted it. As a natural 
 consequence, the minor ornithologists blindly followed their leaders Halting, Blanford, 
 Gurney, Dresser, and nearly every contributor of the ' Ibis ' and the ' Zoologist ' adopted 
 the new names, until the name of Acrocepkalue arundinaceus meant one bird in England 
 and another in France and Germany. English ornithologists must accept the penalty of 
 having followed such blind guides, and must add an authority (Brisson) to their name, 
 or a repudiation of other significations, such as nee Gray, nee Neicton, or nee Dresser, 
 until the confusion produced by these writers has blown over and been forgotten. 
 
REED-WARBLER. 369 
 
 Europe, south of latitude 58, and in Asia Minor, Palestine, South-west 
 Siberia, Turkestan, Persia, Baluchistan, and probably in Afghanistan. 
 It is said to be a resident in Greece and the surrounding islands ; but it 
 - through North Africa on migration, and winters in Central Africa. 
 Severtzow maintains that the Turkestan birds are a distinct species, which 
 he has named Acroctphalus macronyx ; but the last time I was in Moscow 
 we very carefully examined his series of these birds, principally from the 
 valley of the Syr-Darja, where he says his new species is a resident, and I 
 failed to detect any specific difference whatever*. 
 
 The Reed- Warbler, as its name implies, is a denizen of the reed-beds 
 and sedges which often abound on the shallow margins of rivers, lakes, 
 ponds, and ditches. It is, however,, by no means confined to the reeds, 
 and is very partial to brushwood in the vicinity of water, and also frequents 
 gardens, especially where there are ponds. Some continental ornitho- 
 logists have attempted to discriminate between the birds frequenting reeds 
 and those frequenting bushes ; but there does not appear to exist a 
 shadow of evidence in favour of their being distinct. 
 
 The habits of all the Reed- Warblers are almost exactly alike. They 
 are migratory birds, never remaining in this country during the winter, 
 and arriving somewhat late in spring. Even in the south of England the 
 song of the Reed- Warbler is not heard before the last week of April, and 
 many birds do not arrive before May is well advanced. A bird so retiring 
 in its habits is more often heard than seen ; but with care it is not difficult 
 to obtain a sight of the indefatigable songster as it clings to a perpen- 
 dicular reed or willow-twig, or flies across the water from one reed-bed to 
 another, or hurries over the tops of the reeds along a ditch or across a 
 pond. In cold windy weather they do not sing much unless disturbed; 
 but in bright sunny mornings or warm still evenings they sing inces- 
 santly, half a dozen birds apparently trying to outrival each other in the 
 loudness and rapidity of their notes. In calm close weather they will 
 sing almost all night. The song is somewhat more monotonous than 
 that of the Sedge-Warbler ; the whistle is not so full, so rich, or so 
 loud; but, as if to compensate for this, the scold is by no means so harsh, 
 and is decidedly gentler ; but the notes follow each other in rapid suc- 
 cession, and possess considerable variety and some melody. Its call-note 
 
 * Severtzow kindly lent me one of his types for comparison. The wing measures 
 2'85 inches, the tail '2 -3, the culnien -7, the tarsus -98, and the hind toe and claw -63. 
 The second primary is intermediate between the fourth and fifth. The colour is slightly 
 paler than British examples, but does not differ from that of skjng from Savoy, Central 
 Germany, TraiJIylvama, and the Ural river. The size of the feet of these small birds 
 varies considerably, probably in consequence of difference of age or sex; and I have 
 examples of this species from Europe with quite as large feet as those of the Turkestan 
 birds. 
 
 VOL. I. 2s 
 
370 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 is a double choh ; and the alarm-note at the nest sounds like har-r. Like 
 all its congeners, it is principally an insectivorous bird, and is occasionally 
 seen to fly after an insect on the wing. In autumn there seems to be no 
 doubt that it occasionally eats soft fruits, such as currants and elder-berries. 
 I have listened to the lively song of this charming bird for hours whilst 
 boating on the broads of Norfolk and on the extensive fish-ponds where 
 the old monks used to breed their carp in the days when ray friend 
 Oberamtmann Nehrkorn's house was a Cistercian monastery. For an 
 unusually graphic account of the habits of the Reed- Warbler in the 
 former locality I must refer the reader to Stevenson's ' Birds of Norfolk.' 
 
 This bird sometimes breeds in bushes, but generally in reeds. In 1881 
 I made two excursions from London in order to observe them in both 
 these situations. 
 
 On the 3rd of June Mr. Bidwell and I paid a visit to one of the chief 
 breeding-places of the Reed- Warblers on the banks of the Thames, about 
 twenty miles from the city. We kept close to the bank, which was lined 
 with willows from six to twenty feet high, the lower branches dipping into 
 the water. We passed some willows which had been lopped down into the 
 dimensions of an ordinary hedge without hearing the notes of the birds of 
 which we were in search ; but as soon as we reached the taller and wider 
 trees, our appearance seemed to be the signal for intermittent snatches of 
 a rapid song which sounded both angry and defiant, and which became 
 almost continuous when the boat-hook gripped a branch of a tree close to 
 the one in which the Reed- Warbler was protesting against our invasion of 
 his breeding-grounds. 
 
 We very soon discovered a nest. It was about nine feet above the water, 
 and interwoven between three slender willow-twigs, which stretched out 
 at an angle of about 45 from the perpendicular. It was a very compact 
 structure, more than twice as high as it was wide, the bottom two thirds 
 being only foundation. The nest inside was about as deep as it was wide, 
 and quite horizontal. The materials were principally very fine roots, a 
 piece or two of worsted, a feather, a little moss, and some dry grass. The 
 lining was entirely fine roots. There were five eggs in the nest, slightly 
 incubated. We afterwards found four more nests, containing respectively 
 four, four, three, and two eggs, besides several old nests and one or two 
 not quite finished. They were all overhanging the water, and all in the 
 tall willows ; but the distance of the nest from the water varied from six to 
 twelve feet. One old nest was only three feet above the water. At one of 
 the nests, the eggs in which were more incubated than the others, the female 
 remained whilst we were at the nest, flying backwards and forwards, and 
 occasionally perching very near us. Her song seemed to be by no means 
 so loud or continuous as that of her mate, and was little more than a 
 chatter. The materials of all the nests were nearly the same; but one 
 
REED-WARBLER. 871 
 
 was built without preliminary foundations, being not much deeper than 
 wide outside ; whilst others were intermediate in this respect between the 
 two extreme forms. In some two twigs only were interwoven with the 
 nest, whilst one had four twigs passing through its walls. 
 
 The eggs in each nest varied very little ; but some clutches were much 
 darker and more profusely spotted than others. The ground-colour was a 
 pale greenish blue, and the spots or blotches greenish brown, more or less 
 confluent at the larger ends, the underlying spots being paler and greyer 
 than the others. Some eggs show a few streaky spots, almost black. 
 
 A week later I went down to Brighton. About a mile from the railway- 
 station at Shoreham, across the Duke of Norfolk's suspension-bridge, is a 
 plain watered by the river Adur, which flows between the downs and the 
 beach for some distance. This plain is, as might be expected from its 
 position, somewhat swampy ; but it is a highly cultivated farming district, 
 being well drained by natural dykes which wind into the river, assisted by 
 a number of artificial dykes generally cut in an absolutely straight line, 
 reminding one of the Dutch system of broad open drains. In Sussex these 
 drains serve three purposes. By a system of trap-doors they allow the 
 river to take away the surplus water whenever the level of the river is 
 below that of their own, without admitting the floods from the river when 
 the contrary is the case. The second purpose they serve is that of reed- 
 beds, from which a crop is regularly gathered for use as a substitute for 
 straw. The third purpose to which they have been applied (by Nature, 
 and not by Man) is that of a most interesting summer residence and 
 breeding-place of the Reed-Warbler. 
 
 There are very few hedges on this plain, these dykes serving, indeed, a 
 fourth purpose (which I had forgotten), namely of dividing field from field. 
 The absence of hedges is accompanied, as usual, by the absence of birds. 
 Occasionally we saw a few Rooks or a Peewit on the fallows. Now and 
 then a Skylark might be heard singing overhead, or a Corn-Bunting might 
 be seen on the telegraph-wires uttering its monotonous note. Once we 
 saw a Sedge- Warbler singing its harsh song amongst a swamp full of flags 
 and rushes and gay with the yellow iris, and occasionally essaying a short 
 flight in the air after the manner of a Tree-Pipit. 
 
 The Reed -Warblers were in the dykes; but a careless passer-by would 
 have seen nothing of them. The dykes were from four to six feet wide, with 
 steep banks, the level of the water being about two feet below the top of the 
 banks. Most of the dykes were full of reeds, the tallest of which reached 
 another two feet above the banks, so that as we walked along them we looked 
 down upon the heads of the reeds ; but not a Reed- Warbler was to be seen 
 or heard. Tne dykes which we visited may have been a couple of miles 
 long. Sixteen days earlier Swaysland had cleared the dyke of Reed- 
 Warblers, beating up the reeds and driving the birds into a net, returning 
 
372 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 with twenty-four birds, a nest with four eggs, and leaving a nest not quite 
 completed. The latter nest we visited, and found it to contain four fresh 
 eggs. In another part of the dyke, which had not been explored by 
 Swaysland on his previous visit, we also found a nest containing four fresh 
 eggs. These nests were both within six inches of the level of the water. 
 A couple of days after Swaysland's visit a bitterly cold north wind set in, 
 and we had a fortnight's regular March weather, with two days heavy rain 
 in the midst of it, during which time either the Reed- Warblers were not 
 at the dyke or suspended nest -building for the time, or carried it on in a 
 very dilatory manner. The evening before our visit the wind changed to 
 south, and in the afternoon we found it very hot. We divided our forces 
 and began to beat up the reeds on either side of the dyke in what appeared 
 to me at first to be an utterly useless search for Reed-Warblers which did 
 not exist. We had not proceeded more than a hundred yards, however, 
 before the well-known song of a Reed- Warbler suddenly commenced. By 
 gently bending aside the reeds with our sticks, we were able easily to expose 
 the whole situation to view, and in a few yards came to the nest. In this 
 way, without any difficulty, we found in a couple of hours eleven nearly 
 finished nests, built in the reeds from one to two feet above the water- 
 level. The birds were evidently busy building; both male and female 
 were in close proximity to the unfinished nest, the locality of which was 
 at once revealed to us by the male beginning to sing. The birds skulked 
 away among the reeds ; and we could trace their progress by watching the 
 motion of the reeds, which bent under their weight. They never came 
 out into the open, unless suddenly surprised or surrounded. The Reed- 
 Warbler is said to be a very quarrelsome bird, and to drive off all comers 
 from its own particular part of the dyke. Each nest was at some distance 
 from the next ; and when we drove the birds before us into the ground of 
 the next pair the song of the two males sounded loud and angry. The 
 narrower dykes were full of reeds ; but some of the broader ones had open 
 water in the middle. In these broader dykes we saw much more of the 
 birds, as they frequently crossed from one side to the other ; and here we 
 observed that the Reed-Warbler, like the Sedge- Warbler, sings as it flies. 
 We could also watch them with the binocular as they lustily sang, clinging 
 to the reeds, and showing very conspicuously the deep orange of the inside 
 of their mouths. When flying, the tail was generally expanded, especially 
 as they alighted ; but when on the reed, it was usually depressed as if to 
 form an additional support by touching the stem. We never saw them 
 with erected tail ; but this position may probably be assumed when they 
 are defiant. Their great object appeared to be to keep as much out of 
 sight as possible ; and whenever a bird did take wing it flew close over the 
 top of the reeds, dropping into them as soon as it thought itself at a suffi- 
 ciently safe distance. Where the reeds were slender or not close together, 
 
RKRD-WARBLEB, 373 
 
 we found no nests and saw no birds. The nests were very easy to find. 
 Some were long and tapering ; but most had little or no unnecessary foun- 
 dation. There were generally three or four reeds interwoven into the 
 sides of each nest. Swaysland had an idea that the nests were so built 
 that they could rise or fall with the rise or fall of the water ; but we found 
 that most had a leaf projecting close to the nest both immediately above 
 and below the nest on one or other of the reeds, which would make any 
 movement of the kind impossible. 
 
 There was frequently a little wool or thistle-down used in the construc- 
 tion of the nest ; but dry grass-stalks aud roots were the principal materials. 
 Ten days later there would no doubt have been plenty of eggs; but we were 
 afraid that we were too late already. Possibly the cold weather may have 
 been the cause of the delay ; or it may perhaps be accounted for on the 
 theory that Swaysland caught most of the original settlers on this dyke, 
 and that the birds we saw were a later arrival of Reed-Warblers which 
 had been driven out of the adjoining dykes by their quarrelsome neigh- 
 bours. The eggs of the Reed- Warbler vary from -78 to '7 inch in length, 
 and from '55 to '5 inch in breadth, and are from three to five in number. 
 Dixon writes, " It is worthy of remark how very distinct generically the 
 eggs of the British Warblers are. The eggs in each genus, almost without 
 exception, are peculiar. Thus in the Willow- Warblers (Phylloscopus) we 
 have pure white eggs spotted with red ; in the Tree- Warblers (Hypolais) 
 the eggs are salmon-coloured spotted with purplish brown ; in the Grass- 
 hopper Warblers (Locustelld) the finely powdered markings of brown and 
 their general pinky appearance are characteristic of them alone ; whilst in 
 the Reed-^ arblers (Acrocephalus] greens and olive-browns are the predo- 
 minant colours. In the true Warblers (Sylvia), however, there is not so 
 much uniformity ; and this circumstance doubtless to some extent proves 
 the greater antiquity of these birds as compared with the birds of allied 
 genera. It seems to me that the very distinct variations in the eggs of 
 the true Warblers show a wide differentiation of many of the species ; but 
 in the allied groups (Acrocephafus, Lucmtella, Hypolais, Phylloscopus), 
 although the species have become fairly differentiated, the eggs have not 
 yet had time to vary, and consequently a certain type of egg runs through 
 each respective genus. What part these variations play in the economy of 
 the birds still remains to be discovered ; but I think it is very clear that 
 these well marked generic types of eggs prove a not very remote evolution 
 ot the birds in each of these genera severally from a common parent/ 5 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts of the Reed-Warbler is olive- 
 brown suffused with rufous, especially on the rump and upper tail-coverts. 
 The eye-stripe is nearly obsolete; and the inuermost secondaries have 
 broad ill-defined pale edges ; the breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts are 
 rufous-buff, shading into nearly white on the chin, throat, and centre of 
 
374 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the belly. Bill dark brown above, pale beneath ; legs, feet, and claws 
 slaty brown ; irides brown. After the autumn moult the rufous colours of 
 the upper and underparts are more pronounced. The nearest ally to the 
 Reed- Warbler is undoubtedly the Marsh-Warbler, from which it is very 
 difficult to distinguish it, except when freshly moulted. It has also three 
 other very near allies A. dumetorum and A. agricola in the Eastern Palae- 
 arctic and Oriental Regions, and A. bceticatus in the South Ethiopian Region; 
 but these species, as might readily be anticipated in birds whose migrations 
 extend over so much smaller an area, have much more rounded wings, the 
 second primary being always shorter than the fifth. In the more pointed- 
 winged species it is sometimes nearly as long as the third, and never much 
 shorter than the fourth. 
 
 REED-WARBLER S NEST. 
 
MARSH-WARBLER. 375 
 
 ACROCEPHALUS PALUSTRIS. 
 
 MARSH-WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 via palustris. Brchst. Om. Taschenb. p. 186 (1802); et auctorum pluri- 
 moruin Temminck,. Naumann, (SchltgeT), (Neictoii), (Degland Sf Gerbe), 
 (Loche), (Doderlein), (Sahadori), (Gould), (Dresser), $c. 
 
 Acroceplialus palustris (Bechst.), Naum. Nat. Land- u. Was*.- Tog. nordl. Deutschl. 
 Nachtr. Heft iv. p. 202 (1811). 
 
 Calamoherpe palustris (Bechst.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552. 
 
 Calamoherpe musica, Brehm, Vb'g. DetitecM. p. 446 (1831). 
 
 Salicaria palustris (Bechst.), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. 109 (1837). 
 
 Calamodyta palustris (Bechst.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 172 (1848). 
 
 Sylvia I Calamoherpe) fruticola, Naum. Vog. Deittschl. xiii. p. 453 (1853). 
 
 Calamoherpe pratensis, Jaub. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. vii. p. Go (1855). 
 
 Thanks to the researches of Harting and others, the Marsh-Warbler 
 must now be admitted to be a regular though local summer visitor to the 
 south of England. Some English ornithologists, who have never made the 
 personal acquaintance of both species, have almost refused to admit their 
 distinctness. No doubt they are very closely allied ; but in their song, 
 habits, eggs, and geographical distribution they differ as much as a Black- 
 bird differs from a Thrush. 
 
 In Harting's ' Handbook of British Birds ' six occurrences of the 
 Marsh -Warbler (three near Cambridge and three near Yarmouth) are 
 recorded. There does not seem to be any reason to doubt the correctness 
 of the identification in any of "these instances. In the 'Zoologist' for 
 1875, p. 4713, Mr. Cecil Smith satisfactorily proves not only the repeated 
 occurrence, but also the breeding of this species, near Taunton in Somerset- 
 shire. Last year, at least three nests of the Marsh- Warbler were taken, 
 in the same locality. I saw the eggs of one of these nests before they 
 were blown ; and two of the nests are now in my collection. These nests 
 were attached to the stalks of the meadow-sweet, cow-parsnip, and nettle ; 
 and, in one instance at least, the superiority of the song to that of the 
 Reed- or Sedge-Warbler was noted. The eggs which I saw were un- 
 mistakable Marsh- Warbler's eggs ; and those in the other nests were 
 correctly described. Mr. Murray A. Mathew has recorded the first 
 occurrence in the 'Zoologist' for 188.2, p. 265; and the others are 
 mentioned bv Mr. F. Stansell in the same volume, p. 306. 
 
 I am also* indebted to my friend Mr. John Young for the following note 
 of the Marsh-Warbler breeding in England near Bath, and obligingly 
 contributed by Mr. C. Young of Llandaff: "In the summer of 1880 
 
376 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 I found two nests of this species one on July 21st, from which the young 
 ones had flown, the other about a quarter of a mile lower down the brook, 
 which was not finished when I found it on July 3rd, but on the 15th 
 contained four eggs somewhat incubated. The first nest was supported 
 by last year's nettle-stalks and the greater willow-herb, and was about a 
 foot from the ground. The second was about three feet from the ground 
 and supported by figwort and nettle-stalks, and was some distance from the 
 bank of the stream. The eggs are very different from those of the Reed- 
 Warbler, and more resemble those of the Great Reed- Warbler, but are 
 smaller. The nest, though suspended in the same way as that of the 
 common species, is more loosely constructed, of grasses, both stalks and 
 flowers being used ; it is not so deep, and has no wool about it, this being 
 generally a feature in the Reed-Warbler's nest. Nor was the locality one 
 where I should have expected to find the Reed-Warbler, the stream being 
 small, with an entire absence of reeds, the banks fringed with alders and 
 willows, and in places a considerable growth of coarse herbage. I heard 
 the song several times, and noted its difference from that of the Sedge- 
 Warbler, which also frequented the same place. My unmusical ear, 
 however, failed to distinguish it from that of the Reed- Warbler, with 
 which I am well acquainted. I scarcely saw the parent birds, as they 
 were very shy and kept carefully out of sight. The hen bird left the nest 
 when I approached it the second time/' 
 
 On the continent the geographical range of the Marsh-Warbler differs 
 but very slightly from that of the Reed-Warbler. It is a regular summer 
 visitor to most parts of Europe south of the Baltic. In Russia it has been 
 found as far north as Reval in the west and Ekatereenburg in the east. 
 Finsch records it from South-west Siberia. Russow obtained it iu Western 
 Turkestan, and Blanford in South Persia. Its occurrence in Asia Minor 
 or Palestine is doubtful. It winters in Africa, having been recorded 
 from various parts of the valley of the Nile, Egypt, Nubia, and Lado, 
 almost on the equator. It is also said to winter as far south as Natal. 
 
 The Marsh- Warbler is one of the latest birds of passage to arrive at its 
 breeding-grounds, and one of the earliest to leave in autumn. It is said 
 to arrive about the middle of May, and to depart late in August. The 
 Marsh-Warbler does not frequent reeds as the Reed-Warbler generally 
 does, but confines itself principally to swampy thickets, where brambles 
 struggle through the rank herbage that almost smothers them, and tall 
 willows rise above the brushwood, generally near water, but seldom over- 
 hanging the stream. It is not nearly so skulking in its habits as its 
 nearest relation, but is often seen perched conspicuously on the tops of 
 the willows pouring out its song, or making a long flight from one tree 
 to another. It is a far finer singer than its near ally. It sings quite as 
 loud; but its voice is more melodious and its song more varied. Some- 
 
MARSH-WARBLER. 377 
 
 times one might imagine that one was listening to the song of a Reed- 
 Warbler with an unusually rich voice ; but more often the melody recalls 
 the song of the Swallow, the Lark, or of the Tree-Warbler, and often one 
 might come to the conclusion that the singer had had lessons from a 
 Nightingale or a Bluethroat. The song is not so loud as that of the 
 Nightingale, but almost as rich and decidedly more varied. In some 
 parts of Germany both species are common, and in the course of a 
 morning's stroll, you may hear both birds in full song and have a good 
 opportunity of making a comparison between them. I penned the 
 preceding notes three years ago on the banks of the river that winds 
 past Herrenhau;-en, near Hanover, whither my friend Post-Director Pralle 
 had taken me the year before he died, to teach me the difference between 
 the songs of these two birds, both of them special favourites of his. 
 Xaumaun says that the call- and alarm-notes resemble very closely those 
 of the Reed- Warbler. He also asserts that, in addition to their usual 
 insect food, they are fond of currants, elder-berries, and other soft 
 fruits. 
 
 The same excellent observer states that " the nest is never placed over 
 water not even over marshy ground. It is always built over firm ground, 
 though this is generally somewhat moist, as it cannot help being on the 
 bank of a stream, a situation often chosen. But you can always reach 
 the nest dry shod. In the Lowlands I always found it near the large 
 country-houses, especially in the gardens on the banks of the moats, 
 which sometimes were filled with reeds, and frequently contained very 
 little vegetation. The nest was sometimes close to the water, but often 
 many steps away from it, in low bushes overgrown with reeds ; frequently 
 it was built in the nettles, or in a clump of water-sorrel and reeds, or in 
 a small bush overgrown with reeds, nettles, and other plants. It is also 
 said to be found in the rape-fields, generally iii the ditches, seldom deep 
 in the rape itself. The Reed-Warbler often breeds near the Marsh- 
 Warbler, sometimes in the same ditch; but the latter bird always builds 
 in the herbage on the bank near the water, whilst the former as constantly 
 breeds in the reeds over the water. To this rule there seems to be no 
 exception. The nest is generally from one to three feet from the ground, 
 very seldom nearer, and, I am told on the best authority, never on the 
 
 ground itself It is no use to look for the nest in the middle of dense 
 
 thickets, but only on their edges, especially in isolated little bushes close 
 to the borders of ditches and moats. When one knows this they are 
 comparatively easy to find. The greatest difficulty connected with the 
 search is injthe great restlessness of the bird. The male sings now here, 
 and then a hundred yards away. He seems to require for his feeding- 
 ground a much wider circle than his congeners do. The best way to find 
 the nest is to notice where he sings during the night or at early morning 
 
378 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 . . . The nest perfectly resembles that of the Grasshopper Warbler *, but 
 is closer built, and its colour is darker and greyer; it is also more 
 smoothly finished outside. It is as deep as the nests of other Reed- 
 Warblers, neatly rounded, with the upper edge bent inwards. The 
 materials are principally dry leaves and stalks of fine grass, mixed with 
 grass and the fibres of nettles and other plants, and often with insect- 
 webs, all somewhat carefully woven together, in some places almost felted 
 together. Inside it is lined with very fine grass and a considerable quantity 
 of horsehair/' 
 
 The two nests from Taunton were suspended between stems of the 
 meadow-sweet. They are composed almost entirely of fine round grass- 
 stalks mixed with a few dry grass-leaves and some kind of downy fibre. 
 One of them is somewhat sparingly lined with black horsehair ; and the 
 other is lined with a spray or two of green moss, upon which a profuse 
 covering of black horsehair is placed, coming up to the outside rim. The 
 inside is beautifully rounded and deep, the inside diameter being about 
 2} inches and the depth If inches. 
 
 The Marsh- Warbler breeds only once in the year ; but if the nest 
 be disturbed it soon makes another. Pralle told me that he once found 
 a nest of a Marsh-Warbler on an island in one of the parks near Hanover 
 containing fresh eggs, which he took. A week afterwards he revisited the 
 place, and found a second nest with eggs close by the old site. He also 
 took these eggs, and was surprised to find that in the course of another 
 week a third nest had been built, in which the birds successfully reared a 
 brood. 
 
 The number of eggs varies from five to seven ; and in the colour and 
 character of the markings they present two very distinct types, the one 
 apparently as common as the other. The first type has the ground-colour 
 pale greenish blue, with surface-spots and blotches of olive-brown and 
 underlying markings of violet-grey. The peculiarity of this type is that 
 most of the spots are underlying ones, the overlying spots being fewer and 
 smaller. Each of these olive surface-markings generally contains a spot 
 of darker brown in the centre. The second type somewhat more nearly 
 approaches the eggs of the Reed-Warbler, being of a greenish-white ground- 
 colour, richly marbled, blotched, and spotted with olive-brown, and having 
 a few very dark brown specks. In this type the underlying markings are 
 few and usually small. In both types most of the markings are distributed 
 
 * Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe,' also notices the resemblance of the nest to that of 
 the Grasshopper Warbler : but the paragraph in which the remark occurs is so obviously 
 a free translation of Naumann that it cannot be regarded as independent evidence. I have 
 not seen many nests of either of these birds ;. but in all that I have seen, the nest of 
 the Acrocephalm is built of round grass, and the nest of the Locustella of flat grass. 
 
MARSH-WARBLER. 
 
 379 
 
 on the large end of the egg, sometimes so thickly as to almost conceal the 
 ground-colour. They vary in length from '8 to '65 inch, and in breadth 
 from '59 to '52 inch. 
 
 The Marsh-Warbler has the general colour of the upper parts varying 
 from olive-brown in spring plumage to earthy brown in summer plumage, 
 with a scarcely perceptible shade of rufons after the autumn moult, slightly 
 paler on the rump ; the eye-stripe is nearly obsolete ; and the innermost 
 secondaries have broad ill-defined pale edges. The breast, flanks, and under 
 tail-coverts are pale buff, shading into nearly white on the chin, throat, and 
 the centre of the belly. After the autumn moult the underparts are suffused 
 with buff. Bill dark brown above, pale below; legs, feet, and claws pale 
 horn-colour ; iricles hazel. 
 
 Freshly moulted birds of this species may always be distinguished from 
 Reed- Warblers by the colour of the rump. In the Marsh- Warbler it is 
 olive-brown, and in the Reed-Warbler russet-brown. There is no diffe- 
 rence in the wing-formula of these two species. 
 
380 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus HYPOLAIS. 
 
 The Tree- Warblers were included by Linnaeus in his comprehensive 
 genus Motacilla. Bechstein afterwards placed them in the genus Sylvia, 
 which Scopoli had made for the Warblers. Various writers have at 
 different times separated the Warblers into different groups, amongst 
 whom was Brehm, who, in the ' Isis ' for 1828, p. 1283, founded the genus 
 Hypolais for the Icterine Warbler, which therefore becomes its type. 
 Brehm, following Linnaeus, misspelt this word "Hippolais," under a 
 mistaken idea of its derivation. 
 
 The genus Hypolais contains a small group of birds chiefly remarkable 
 for laying eggs having a French-grey or salmon-coloured ground-colour. 
 They form the connecting-link between Phylloscopus and Acrocephalus, 
 having the nearly even tail of the former and the large bill of the latter. 
 From the large-billed subgeneric group of the former (Acanthopneustes}, 
 besides the difference in the coloration of the eggs already alluded to, 
 they can only be distinguished by the absence of the pale tips to the wing- 
 coverts which in Acanthopneustes form one, and often two pale bars across 
 the wings. There are four well-defined species belonging to this genus, 
 three of which do not exhibit any great variation of size, wing- formula, or 
 colour. The other species is perhaps more variable than any other member 
 of this large subfamily, and may be divided into six or more races, which 
 are tolerably distinct, although connected together by intermediate forms. 
 
 The Tree-Warblers frequent wooded localities, bush-covered marshy 
 districts, gardens, and thickets. All the species of this genus possess con- 
 siderable powers of song. They build beautiful cup-shaped nests ; and their 
 eggs are from four to six in number. Their food is chiefly composed 
 of insects, which they search for amongst leaves and twigs and frequently 
 capture in the air. 
 
 The basin of the Mediterranean appears to be the centre of distribution 
 of this genus one or two species extending their range more to the east, 
 one of them as far as Lake Baikal. One species only is a rare straggler to 
 the British Islands. 
 
ICTERINE WARBLER. 381 
 
 HYPOLAIS HYPOLAIS*. 
 
 ICTERINE WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Motacilla hypolais, Linn. Sy<<t. Xat. i. p. 330 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 (Bechsteiri), (Wolf), (Temminck), (Xaumann), (Ecersmann), (Kaup), (Gould), 
 (Nordmaim), (Gray), (Werner), (Schler/el) , (Blamis), (Heugtiti), (Lindermayer) , 
 (Sorting). (Gurney\, (Shelley), (Keyserling), (Sunderall), 8fc. 
 
 Sylvia hypolais (Linn.), Bechst. Orn. Taschtnb. p. 173 (1802). 
 
 Muscipeta hypolais ( Linn.), Koch, Syst. baitr. Zool. i. p. 170 (1816). 
 
 Sylvia icterina, rieill. X. Diet. (THi*t. Xat. xi. p. 194 (1817). 
 
 Hypolais hypolais (Linn.), Kaup, Xatilrl. Syst. p. 96 (1829). 
 
 Hypolais salicaria (Linn.'), apud Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. $ X. Amer. p. 13 (1838). 
 
 Ficedula hypolais (Linn.), Keys. M. Bias. Wirb. Etu: pp. Ivi & 184 (1840). 
 
 Hypolais icterina ( J'itill.), Gerbe, Hei: Zool. 1>44. p. 440. 
 
 Ficedula ambigua (Schl.), apud Durazzo, Descr. di Genora,i. pt. 2, pp. 170, 177 (1846). 
 
 Sylvia obscuraj Smith. III. Zool. S. Afr., Birds, pi. 112. fig. 1 (1849). 
 
 Phyllopneoste h\-polais (Linn.), Schl. Diet: Xederl. Vogels, p. 58 (1861). 
 
 Salicaria italica, Saliad. Atti R. Ac. Sc. Tor. iii. p. 268 (1868). 
 
 It is somewhat extraordinary that a bird so common in the north of 
 France, Belgium, Holland, and North Germany, and, from the peculiarity 
 of its song and the unique character of its eggs, so impossible to escape 
 detection as the Icteriue Warbler, should only have twice been shot in the 
 British Islands. But such appears to be the case. Both these examples 
 were exhibited by Mr. Dresser at the meeting of the British Association at 
 Brighton in 1872. The first was killed on the 15th of June 1848, at 
 Eythorne near Dover, and passed into the collection of Dr. Scott of Chud- 
 leigh. The second was shot ou the 8th of June 1856, by Mr. J. G. 
 Rathbome, at Dunsinea, on the banks of the river Tolka, in the county of 
 Dublin, and was by him presented to the Royal Dublin Society's Museum. 
 In both cases the peculiarity of the song was the cause of special attention 
 having been directed to the birds ; and the details published (of the one 
 in the ' Journal of the Royal Dublin Society/ i. p. 440, and of the other in 
 the ' Zoologist' for 1848, p. 2228) leave no room to doubt the genuineness 
 of the occurrences. 
 
 The rausre of the Icterine Warbler is a very peculiar one. It is a 
 
 * According to the British- Association rules, the name to be adopted for the Icterine 
 Warbler is Iftuna hypvlws : but as the genus Hypolais dates much earlier than that of 
 Iduna, it has been generally retained ; and there seems no reason why the name hypolais 
 should not also be retained in a specific sense, since it has been used by a very large 
 majority of writers. 
 
38.2 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 common summer visitor to the north of France, Belgium, Holland, 
 Germany, Italy, and Sicily, but is very rare in the south of France, and 
 entirely absent from Spain. It is common in Denmark, the Baltic 
 Provinces, and South Scandinavia, but becomes much rarer further north, 
 the limit of its range in Norway being lat. 67 and in Sweden and West 
 Russia about 65. On the Urals it is said only to range as far north as 
 57 ; and it has been recorded east of those mountains from the valley of 
 the Tobol. It is common in Central Russia ; but in South Russia it is very 
 rare, and it has not been recorded from the Caucasus. It passes through 
 Greece, Asia Minor, and North Africa on migration, and winters in South 
 Africa, whence it has been received in collections from Ovampo, Damara 
 Land, and the Bechuana country. 
 
 The Icterine Warbler or Common Tree-Warbler is sometimes known by 
 the misleading name of the Melodious Willow-Warbler. Its song is by no 
 means specially melodious. It has great power, wonderful variety, and 
 considerable compass, but is singularly deficient in melody. Nor is the 
 bird by any means a Willow- Warbler. The Tree- Warblers are a group 
 probably more nearly allied to the Reed-Warblers. 
 
 Like most European migrants which seldom or never visit our islands, 
 the Common Tree-Warbler arrives very late at its breeding-grounds. I 
 first made its acquaintance at Valconswaard in 1876. We had been nearly 
 a fortnight in the village, and had identified seventy-six species of birds, 
 besides taking a great number of nests, but no trace of the Common Tree- 
 Warbler was to be found. At length, about the middle of May, a new 
 song was heard, evidently that of a newly arrived Warbler, who screamed 
 and warbled and chuckled and sang voluminously. On the 23rd of May 
 it had become quite abundant, and its song resounded in every hedgerow 
 and garden ; and we shot two, which both proved to be male Common 
 Tree- Warblers. It was not until the 28th that we found a nest, containing 
 only one egg. A second nest was brought us on the same day, containing 
 four eggs. Since then I have seen more or less of the bird almost every 
 year, and last spring had another opportunity of watching for its arrival. 
 In the neighbourhood of Brunswick the bird arrived in the first week of 
 May, and by the 6th the males were in full song. The weather was mild ; 
 and as Oberamtmann Nehrkorn and I sat smoking our cigars on a bench 
 in his garden, we listened to one of these birds Spottvogel (Mocking- 
 Birds) the Germans call them hour after hour. He did not seem very 
 anxious to feed ; but, perched on a branch, he sang and then apparently 
 listened. Then he flew to another twig and sang and listened, evidently 
 eagerly awaiting the arrival of his mate. The song is somewhat harsh, but 
 very varied, although he repeats every combination of notes two or three 
 times over in rapid succession, like a Song-Thrush. Indeed one might 
 imagine that he had been taught to sing by that bird, exactly as one might 
 
ICTERIXE WARBLER. 383 
 
 fancy a Robin to have had lessons from a Blackbird. Perhaps, on the 
 whole, the song of the Common Tree-Warbler comes nearest to that of the 
 Marsh- Warbler; but often it reminds you strongly of the song of the 
 Sedge-Warbler. At other times you may trace a fancied resemblance to the 
 chirping of the Sparrow, the scolding of the Whitethroat, or the scream of 
 the Swift, but all rattled off at such a rate one after the other, and repeated 
 so often, that it arrests the attention at once. I have heard it in widely 
 different localities, and very often; but in spite of its wonderful variety, I 
 think the song is original and can see no reason for supposing the bird to 
 be more of a mocking bird than the Song-Thrush or Nightingale. Some 
 writers have compared the song to that of the Nightingale ; but in 
 quality of voice, in the richness of its tones, and the melody of its notes it 
 is immeasurably inferior to that bird ; but because in England the Common 
 Tree-Warbler happens to be an occasional visitor, and such a very rare one, I 
 must confess that his song was ten times as attractive to me as that of the 
 Nightingale in the next plantation. But the best one can say of his voice 
 is that it is a very high soprano. If he were a common bird, one might say 
 he screamed, or even shrieked. His song does not fill the ear like that of 
 the Nightingale. 
 
 The Common Tree-Warbler is essentially a lover of isolated trees. He 
 does not seem to care very much for the thick forest, but delights to sing 
 his song and build his nest in the trees in the gardens and the hedgerows. 
 Like the Robin, he seems to like to be close to the houses ; and, like that 
 bird, he has the reputation of being very quarrelsome and very jealous of 
 the approach of any other of his species on his special domain. His alarm- 
 note is a tek, tek, tek, often heard in an angry tone. 
 
 In its habits this bird combines the actions of a Tit with those of a 
 Flycatcher, feeding for the most part on insects; but in autumn he 
 is said to vary his diet with ripe cherries and the fruit of the currant, 
 elder, &c. 
 
 The nest of the Common Tree-Warbler is a very beautiful one, and is 
 generally built in the fork of a small tree eight or ten feet from the ground. 
 It is quite as handsome as that of the Chaffinch, but slightly smaller, more 
 slender, and deeper. It is composed of dry grass deftly interwoven with 
 moss, wool, spiders' webs, thistledown, strips of bark, and lichen, lined 
 with fine roots, grass-stalks, and horsehair. The eggs are four or five in 
 number, very rarely six. They are brownish pink in ground-colour, evenly 
 spotted and more rarely streaked with very dark purplish brown, which 
 occasionally approaches black. The underlying markings are very in- 
 distinct ; and some specimens are very finely streaked with lighter brown, 
 almost like*a Red- winged Starling's egg. Some eggs have the spots much 
 smaller and finer than others. They vary in length from '78 to '65 inch, and 
 in breadth from '6 to '5 inch. They approach very closely the eggs of the 
 
384 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 nearly allied H. polyglotta, but are on an average larger and do not exhibit 
 so many of the faint scratchy markings. 
 
 The adult male Icteriue Warbler in spring plumage has the general 
 colour of the upper parts, including the lores, ear-coverts, and the sides of 
 the neck, olive-green; a somewhat indistinct greenish-yellow eye-stripe 
 extends from the base of the bill, losing itself behind the eye ; the quills 
 are brown, narrowly edged and somewhat more broadly tipped with 
 greenish white ; the wing-coverts and innermost secondaries are still more 
 broadly edged with browner white ; the tail-feathers are brown, with very 
 narrow pale edges and generally with very indistinct traces of transverse 
 bars. The underparts, including the axillaries, are uniform greenish yellow, 
 many of the feathers on the thighs and under wing-coverts having brown 
 centres. Bill dark brown above, pale horn-colour below ; legs, feet, and 
 claws bluish grey ; irides hazel. 
 
 The female scarcely differs from the male. After the autumn moult, the 
 olive-green of the upper parts is slightly greyer and the greenish yellow of 
 the underparts paler and less green. Birds of the year scarcely differ from 
 adults in autumn plumage. 
 
SYLVIA. 385 
 
 Genus SYLVIA. 
 
 The genus Sylvia was established by Scopoli in 1769, in his ' Annus I. 
 Historico-Naturalis/ p. 154, for the reception of the Warblers, which 
 \vere included by Linuseus in his comprehensive genus Motacilla. Scopoli 
 did not designate any type, and his genus has been reduced in its dimen- 
 sions by the removal of various groups of birds at different times by 
 different writers ; but as the Common Whitethroat is the Motacilla sylvia 
 of Linuseus, it becomes of necessity the type of the genus Sylvia, however 
 much restricted. 
 
 The genus Sylvia contains about a score species of birds closely allied 
 to Phylloscopus, Acrocephalus , and Hypolais. The first primary is always 
 very small, and in many species it is so minute that it does not project 
 beyond the primary-coverts ; in none does it project beyond those feathers 
 more than *3 inch, and it is never so long as half the length of the second 
 primary. The tail is nearly even in two species ; in three species the out- 
 side feathers are about '1 inch shorter than the longest, in four species 
 about '2, in four species '25, in four species '35, and in one '4. The bill 
 is shorter and less depressed at the base than in Phylloscopus ; and the 
 rictal bristles are only slightly developed. The feet and tarsus are stout ; 
 and the latter is scutellatecl in front. The males of many of the species 
 have black heads, and most of them have white on the outside tail-feathers. 
 Most of the species have the tail shorter than the wing. In two the tail 
 is slightly longer than the wing, in another more decidedly longer, and in 
 two others the tail is still more lengthened. 
 
 The centre of distribution of the genus is undoubtedly the basin of the 
 Mediterranean, and several species are resident on its shores. One is a 
 resident as far north as the south of England ; but most of the species are 
 migratory, breeding in Europe and wintering in Africa. Several extend 
 their range eastwards as far as Turkestan in the breeding-season, wintering 
 in India ; and one species, at least, has been found in China. Seventeen 
 species are European ; but only half of these have any claim to be con- 
 sidered British birds : one is a resident, four regular summer visitors, and 
 three accidental stragglers on migration to our islands. 
 
 The true Warblers are almost exclusively insectivorous ; but in autumn 
 most, if not all, of the species occasionally feed on fruit. They are all 
 
 VOL. i. 2 c 
 
386 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 songsters of greater or less merit. Their nests are built either amongst 
 bushes or coarse vegetation, are cup- shaped, and are usually slight struc- 
 tures of dry grass-stems, hairs, &c. Their eggs vary considerably in 
 number and colour, and will be treated of in detail under the respective 
 species. 
 
 The genus Sylvia has been subdivided by various writers into no less than 
 eleven genera ; but I see no reason whatever to alter the arrangement I 
 made in the fifth volume of the British-Museum ' Catalogue of Birds/ 
 The only group which might possibly be deserving of generic rank would 
 be that containing the Rufous Warbler and its near ally (if, indeed, the 
 latter be more than subspecifically distinct) the Grey-backed Warbler. 
 It does not seem worth while to make a separate genus to contain only 
 one, or at most two, birds, and for which a new generic name would have 
 to be invented, as that which has generally been applied to them was origi- 
 nally applied to the Nightingale. 
 
BARRED WARBLER. 337 
 
 SYLVIA NISORIA. 
 
 BARRED WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Motacilla nisoria, Bechst. Xaturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 580, pi. xvii. (1795) ; et auctorum 
 plurimoruzn ( VieiUof), (Naumann),(Gray), (Bonaparte), (SchlegeT), (Dresser), 
 
 & 
 
 Sylvia nisoria (Bechst.}, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 172 (1802). 
 
 Curruca nisoria (Bechft.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 434 (18] 6). 
 
 Adophoneus nisorius (Bechst.), Kaup, Xatilrl. Syst. p. 28 (1829) 
 
 Xisoria undata (Brehm), Bonap. Comp. List B. Enr. and 2?. Amer. p. 15 (1838). 
 
 Philacantha nisoria (Bechst.}, Sicinh. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 355. 
 
 The only claim of the Barred Warbler to be considered a British bird 
 rests upon a single example, shot more than forty years ago near Cam- 
 bridge but apparently not brought under the notice of ornithologists 
 until March 1879, when Prof. Newton exhibited it at a meeting of the 
 Zoological Society of London, a record of which may be found in the 
 ' Proceedings ' for that year, page 219. It was shot by a porter of Queen's 
 College of the name of Germany, in a garden not far from the College. 
 There does not seem to be any doubt as to the genuineness of the speci- 
 men, which I had the pleasure of seeing ; and the circumstances described 
 in connexion with its capture agree with what we know of the habits of the 
 bird. It is somewhat remarkable that a migratory bird breeding in South 
 Sweden has not more often strayed accidentally to our islands. Such a 
 well-marked species could scarcely be confounded with any other bird ; 
 but frotn its skulking habits it may have been passed by unnoticed. 
 
 Besides South Sweden, it breeds in Germany east of the Rhine, Tran- 
 sylvania, South Russia, Persia, and Turkestan, as far east as Kashgar. 
 It passes through South-eastern France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Asia 
 Minor, and North-east Africa, on migration, and probably winters some- 
 where in Central Africa, as it is said to pass through Nubia in spring and 
 autumn, but has not been recorded from the Transvaal. Its alleged 
 occurrence in China is probably an instance of mistaken identification. 
 
 As is the case with most continental birds whose range does not extend 
 to the British islands, it arrives late at its breeding-quarters, and leaves 
 them early. The period of the spring migration of birds in Germany lasts 
 about eight weeks, from towards the end of March to the middle of 
 May ; but more than half the summer migrants have arrived before the 
 Barred Warbler is seen. Its notes are seldom heard before the end of 
 April. Although it is very shy, seldom venturing into gardens near 
 
 2c2 
 
388 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 houses, and somewhat local, very rarely being seen in the forest, its lively 
 song prevents it from being overloooked. Its favourite resort is dense 
 underwood, or plantations of young trees. Its song resembles that of the 
 Whitethroat, some of its notes being quite as harsh as those of that 
 bird ; but the finest parts are almost as rich as the warble of the Blackcap. 
 
 Its call-note, according to Naumann, resembles the syllable cliek ; and 
 its alarm-note is said by the same authority to be a snarling rhar, which, 
 when pronounced quickly, sounds like r-r-r-r-r. It also resembles the 
 Whitethroat in its habits and in its harsh call-notes, which frequently 
 resound from some tangled mass of briars and thorns on the margin of a 
 pool or ditch; and also, like the Whitethroat, it tosses itself up from the 
 top of a bush to catch a fly in the air or warble a snatch of song. Shy, 
 active, and skulking, the Barred Warbler is a difficult bird to shoot, and 
 generally a difficult one to find when shot. 
 
 The food of the Barred Warbler is principally insects ; but in autumn, 
 according to Naumann, it lives largely on various fruits, such as currants, 
 elder-berries, &c. It is a bird very rarely seen on the ground ; and in 
 passing from tree to tree its flight, like that of its congeners, is undulating. 
 The Barred Warbler is, according to Naumann, one of the earliest birds 
 to leave for southern climes, many departing in August before the moult 
 is completed. 
 
 The nest is not like that of most Warblers, a slender structure, so 
 loosely made as to be semitransparent, but is somewhat bulky and compact. 
 It is composed of dry grass-stalks and roots, with generally some small- 
 leaved plants, cobwebs, thistle-down, or other woolly material mixed with 
 it. Outside it is rough enough ; but inside it is very neat and round, 
 rather deep, and lined with a few fine roots, cobwebs, or horsehair. The 
 eggs are usually four or five in number, and in rare instances six; they 
 are laid in the last week of May. The nest is well concealed, and is usually 
 built in a thorn-bush not far from the ground. It is said to be some- 
 times built almost on the ground; and an instance is recorded in the 
 ' Journal fur Ornithologie/ (1859, p. 455), of a nest of this species 
 which was built on the topmost twigs of a birch 25 feet from the ground. 
 
 The eggs of the Barred Warbler are very characteristic, and cannot easily 
 be confounded with those of any other bird. Although much larger, they 
 very closely resemble in colour and markings eggs of the Grey Wagtail. 
 The ground-colour is dull huffish white ; the underlying spots are grey, 
 and, though somewhat obscured by the overlying layer of ground-colour, 
 they appear distinct and bold enough when carefully examined. In the 
 greater number of eggs the overlying spots are either absent altogether or 
 are so small and pale as to be observed with difficulty but in some cases 
 though rarely, they are tolerably well defined and are brown, and much 
 more numerous than the underlying spots (which they almost conceal), and 
 
BARRED WARBLER, 
 
 389 
 
 are, like them, principally distributed at the larger end of the egg. They 
 vary in length from '9 to "8 inch, and in breadth from '65 to "6 inch. 
 
 The adult male Barred Warbler in spring plumage has the general 
 colour of the upper parts brownish grey, browner on the quills, wing- 
 coverts, and innermost secondaries, and slightly greyer on the head, rump, 
 upper tail-coverts, and tail ; the wing-coverts, the innermost secondaries, 
 the outside tail-feathers, the feathers of the rump and the upper tail- 
 coverts, and occasionally the scapulars, forehead, and lower back are more 
 or less distinctly margined and broadly tipped with greyish white, the pale 
 tips being emphasized by a narrow transverse subterminal dark brown bar ; 
 similar bars are present more or less distinctly on nearly every feather of 
 the underparts, which are otherwise greyish white, slightly browner on the 
 breast, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts ; the axillaries and under 
 wing-coverts are buffish white, generally transversely barred with dark 
 grey. Bill dark brown above, pale at the base of the lower mandible ; 
 legs, feet, and claws pale slaty brown; irides pale yellow. The female 
 scarcely differs from the male. After the autumn moult the upper parts 
 are slightly browner, and the barring, both above and below, is more 
 distinct. Birds of the year are browner both above and below, and the 
 bars on the under surface are generally confined to the under tail- coverts. 
 
390 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SYLVIA ORPHEUS*. 
 ORPHEAN WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 372 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla hippolais, Linn, amid Bodd. Table PI. Enl. p. 35 (17&3). 
 
 Motacilla hortensis, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 955 (1788). 
 
 Sylvia hortensis (Gmel), Lath. 2nd. Orn. ii. p. 507 (1790). 
 
 Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.), var. y, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 507 (1790). 
 
 Sylvia orphea, Temm. Man. dOrn. p. 107 (1815) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Meyer, Naumann, (Bonaparte'), Cabanis, (Loche), Heuylin, Gray, Salvadori, 
 
 Neivton, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Sylvia grisea, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xi. p. 188 (1817). 
 Curruca orphea (Temm.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 553. 
 Sylvia crassirostris, Cretzschm. Hupp. Atlas, p. 49, pi. 33. fig. a (1826). 
 Curruca crassirostris (Cretzschm.), Bonap. Consp. i. p. 294 (1850). 
 
 The Orphean Warbler was admitted into the British list on the strength 
 of an example said to have been obtained in a small plantation near 
 Wetherby on the 6th of July, 1848. The occurrence of this bird, which 
 was a female, and was said to be accompanied by its mate which was not 
 obtained, was recorded by Sir William Milner in the ' Zoologist ' for 1848, 
 p. 2588. A second example, a bird of the year, was caught in June 1866, 
 near Holloway, in Middlesex, and was kept alive by Sergeant- Major Hanley 
 for nearly six months. This occurrence was recorded by Mr. Harting 
 in the ' Yield.' for the 22nd of April 1871. One or more nests with eggs, 
 supposed to be those of this species, have been taken in England. Under 
 the most favourable circumstances, even supposing no error to have crept 
 into the history or identification of any of these occurrences, the Orphean 
 Warbler can only be looked upon as a very rare and accidental straggler 
 to our islands. 
 
 On the continent the range of this bird is very restricted. It appears 
 to be a summer migrant to all the countries lying in the basin of the 
 
 * The Orphean Warbler has been peculiarly fortunate in its name, which appears to 
 have fascinated both Professor Newton and Mr. Dresser to such an extent that instead of 
 carrying out the rules of the British Association regardless of consequences, as is their 
 wont, they have actually in this case thrown overboard the Stricklandian Code and 
 adopted the auctorum plurimorum principle, allowing themselves, for once in their lives 
 at least, to be guided in a question of nomenclature by common sense instead of orni- 
 thological pedantry. There can be no doubt that, according to the Stricklandian Code, 
 the bird should be called Sylvia hortensis, the name in common use for the Garden- 
 Warbler ; but the absurdity in carrying out the rules in this case is so transparent that 
 not even their most enthusiastic devotees have attempted it. 
 
ORPHEAN WARBLER. 391 
 
 Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and eastward as far as Persia and 
 Turkestan. North of the valley of the Rhone its range extends through 
 the Vosges Mountains into Luxemburg; and it has occurred accidentally 
 in Belgium and on Heligoland. The European birds winter in the valley 
 of the Gambia, and probably also in many parts of Central Africa ; bufe the 
 Turkestan and possibly some of the Persian birds appear to migrate in 
 autumn into Western India. This partial separation of the species into two 
 eolonies has evidently given rise to a variation of sufficient importance to 
 be regarded as subspecific. The difference between the two forms is prin- 
 cipally in the length of the bill. It seems probable, however, that the 
 summer ranges of the two winter colonies overlap, and that where both 
 occur they interbreed, as examples from Asia Minor and Palestine are 
 intermediate. In typical examples of Sylvia orpheus from Europe the 
 culoieu varies in length from 0*68 to 0'6 inch, in intermediate examples 
 from Asia Minor and Palestine from - 74 to 0'64, and in typical examples 
 of Sylvia orpheus, var. jerdoni, from Persia, Turkestan, and India from 
 076 to 0-66. 
 
 In Greece the Orphean Warbler is not one of the latest of the 
 summer migrants, as it arrives during the first half of April. In Asia 
 Minor it is frequently seen in the latter half of March. It is by no means 
 a conspicuous bird, except when singing, which it prefers to do perched 
 on the top of an olive or other small tree. It is at all times very wary, 
 and frequents, for the most part, well- wooded districts. In its winter 
 quarters in India it is described by Jerdon as " not rare in Southern India 
 during the cold weather -" and he adds that " it frequents groves, gardens, 
 hedges, single trees, and even low bushes on the plains ; is very active 
 and restless, incessantly moving about from branch to branch, clinging to 
 the tvrigs and feeding on various insects, grubs, and caterpillars, and also 
 on flower-buds.-" There is no doubt that it is principally an insect feeder, 
 but it is said to be, like most of its congeners, fond of fruit in autumn. 
 
 My first introduction to the Orphean Warbler was among the olives 
 and the vines in the valley on the other side of the mountains east of 
 Smyrna, where Dr. Kriiper called my attention to its song. My first 
 impression was one of disappointment. The song is louder than that of 
 the Blackcap ; but I thought it somewhat harsher. Its alarm-note is very 
 loud, as loud as that of a Blackbird. In the Parnassus I found it very 
 common, and obtained thirteen nests between the 3rd and the 21st of 
 May. They were easy to find in the bushes, which were scattered over 
 the rocky ground above the region of the olive and the vine ; but when 
 we got into fc the pine-region they disappeared. My friend Captain Verner 
 informs me that he has found the nests of this bird in Spain, placed near 
 the summit of young cork-trees about twelve feet from the ground. The 
 nest is a tolerably substantial one, and deep, composed of dry grass and 
 
392 BRITISH BIKDS. 
 
 leafy stalks of plants. Inside it is built of finer grasses, and lined sparingly 
 \vith thistle-clown or the flower of the cotton-grass. Little or no attempt 
 seems to be made to conceal it. It is generally placed on the branch of a 
 tree not more than a few feet from the ground, and sometimes near the 
 top of a bush. Four or five was the usual number of eggs. Some of the 
 nests contained eggs very similar in colour to average examples of those of 
 the Orphean Warbler, but much larger. Dr. Kriiper considered these eggs 
 to be those of the Cuckoo. The latter bird was common enough ; and 
 occasionally we got nests of the Orphean Warbler with Cuckoo's eggs in 
 them of the ordinary type. Similar large eggs of the Orphean Warbler 
 occur also in Spain, and are by many ornithologists considered to be 
 eggs of the Cuckoo; but this matter requires further investigation. 
 
 The ground-colour of the eggs of the Orphean Warbler is white, some- 
 times faintly tinted with grey and sometimes tinted with brown. The 
 spots are almost always much more developed at the large end than at 
 the small end, and are sometimes very small, but generally vary in size 
 from dust-shot to No. 4 shot, in rare instances even larger, two or three 
 being confluent and forming irregular blotches. The colour of the over- 
 lying spots varies from olive-brown to nearly black, whilst the underlying 
 spots naturally take the tint of the ground-colour of the egg, and vary 
 from pale grey to buff. They vary in length from '85 to '75 inch, and in 
 breadth from -63 to '56 inch. 
 
 In the adult male in spring plumage of the Orphean Warbler the general 
 colour of the upper parts is dull slate- grey, shading into pale brown on 
 the margins of the innermost secondaries ; the head to below the eyes is 
 brownish black in western examples, and deep black in those from the 
 east ; the outside tail-feather on each side is white on the outside web at 
 the apex, and for some distance on the inside web near the shaft ; and the 
 next two feathers on each side have wedge-shaped white spots at the apex. 
 The underparts are white, shading into pale greyish brown on the sides 
 of the breast, flanks, thighs, axillaries, under wing-coverts, and the centres 
 of the under tail-coverts. In the extreme western portion of its range 
 this pale greyish brown of the underparts becomes a pale huffish brown. 
 Bill dark brown, lower mandible pale at the base. Legs, feet, arid claws 
 bluish grey ; irides pale yellow. In the female the head is only slightly 
 darker and browner than the back. It is not known that any change 
 takes place in the colour of the plumage consequent on the autumn moult. 
 Birds of the year scarcely differ from the adult, except that both sexes 
 appear in the plumage of the female. The plumage of the males after 
 their first spring moult is intermediate between that of the adult male 
 and female. 
 
 The Orphean Warbler, especially the adult males, but also more or less 
 the females and males of the year, may be distinguished from the Blackcap 
 
ORPHEAN WARBLER. 
 
 393 
 
 by its much whiter throat, and by having the cheeks and the nape of the 
 same colour as the head, instead of being, as in the Blackcap, the same 
 colour as the sides of the throat. Although the Orphean Warbler is on 
 an average a larger bird than the Blackcap, the dimensions of the wing 
 and tail respectively overlap ; but the length of the bill appears to be an 
 invariable guide. In the Orphean Warbler the culmen, measured from 
 the angle of its junction with the skull, never measures less than -6 inch, 
 whilst in the Blackcap it varies from '58 to '5. A still more reliable dis- 
 tinction may be found in the colour of the outside tail-feather, which in 
 the Orphean Warbler is always white for some distance from the tip, 
 and in the Blackcap is exactly the same as the other feathers. 
 
 There seems to be considerable difference in the intensity of the colonring 
 of the black head of the adult male of this species so much so that 
 Professor Newton, having apparently had access to too small a series of 
 skins, has arrived at the conclusion that the black head " after the 
 autumnal moult changes to dark grey." This is certainly not the case, 
 as the examples with the blackest heads I have ever seen were collected 
 by Brooks at Etawah in November ; and it seems to me probable that, in 
 addition to having a longer bill, the eastern race (S. orphea, \ar.jerdoni) 
 has also a blacker head. Examples from Asia Minor are somewhat inter- 
 mediate in this respect. 
 
394 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SYLVIA ATRICAPILLA. 
 BLACKCAP. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca atricapilla, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 380 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla atricapilla, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 332 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Latham), (Bechstein), (Tcmminck\ (Gray), (Bonaparte), (Schlegel), (Locke), 
 
 (Newton), (Gould), fyc. 
 
 Sylvia atricapilla (Briss.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 156 (1769). 
 Curruca atricapilla (Briss.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 155 (1816). 
 Monachus atricapilla (Briss.), Kaup, Natilrl. Syst. p. 33 (1829). 
 Curruca heinekeni, Jard. Edirib. Journ. Nat. $ Geogr. Sc. i. p. 243 (1830). 
 Curruca nigricapilla, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 417 (1831, nee Cab.). 
 Curruca pileata, Brehm, Tog. Deutschl. p. 418 (1831). 
 Ficedula atricapilla (Briss.), Blyth, fiennie's Field Nat. i. p. 310 (1833). 
 Curruca rubricapilla, Landbeck, Vog. Wurtemb. p. 44 (1834). 
 Philomela atricapilla (Briss.), Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 240 (1837). 
 Epilais atricapilla (Briss.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 36 (1850). 
 Sylvia naumanni, Von Milller, Naum. 1851, pt. 4, p. 26. 
 Sylvia (Curruca) ruficapilla, Naum. Vog. Deutschl. xiii. p. 411 (1853). 
 Sylvia heinekeni (Jard.), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 213. no. 3018 (1860). 
 Sylvia ruficapilla (Naum.}, Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 213. no. 3020 (1869). 
 
 The Blackcap Warbler, or, as it is generally called, the Blackcap, is one 
 of the best-known of all the Warblers that visit us in spring and remain 
 on our islands during the summer to rear their young. It is also, though 
 by no means the earliest, a comparatively early migrant, and may be 
 noticed in its accustomed haunts by the middle of April. It is even very 
 probable that a few Blackcaps remain in their old haunts through the 
 winter; for many examples have been observed at that season. A female 
 bird of this species was shot in the winter of 1881 near Sheffield, and is 
 now preserved in the Museum there ; and other instances have come under 
 Dixon's notice. Mr. Rodd also states that the bird is sometimes found in 
 winter near Penzance. The Blackcap is a regular spring migrant to most 
 of the wooded parts of England and Wales ; and it would appear to be 
 increasing in numbers in some counties, as, for instance, in Cornwall. 
 Even in England the bird is to a certain extent a local one. Mr. Cordeaux 
 writes that the Blackcap passes regularly through N.E. Lincolnshire in the 
 spring and autumn on migration, but that its nest is rarely found. In the 
 Channel Islands the bird, according to Professor Ansted, is confined to 
 Guernsey ; and Cecil Smith states that it is generally known in that island 
 as the " Guernsey Nightingale," where it is a regular though not common 
 summer visitant. In Scotland the Blackcap becomes less common and 
 
BLACKCAP. 395 
 
 still more local. Mr. Gray states that, although nowhere numerous, it is 
 " widely distributed from near Cape Wrath to the shores of the Solway." 
 It has been obtained as late as the 8th of November in Caithness, and is 
 an occasional visitor to the Orkneys. The late Dr. Saxby was the first to 
 record this] bird as a visitor to the Shetland Islands. He writes : " It 
 is only during the last few years that I have observed it. Now, however, a 
 few males, females, and young appear regularly in the gardens at Buness 
 and Halligarth during the months of September and October. A pair once 
 attempted to build in a currant-bush at Halligarth about the beginning of 
 June, but one of the birds was, of course, killed by an odious cat." He 
 also states that it has been observed there as late as the 10th of November. 
 In Ireland the Blackcap is said to be even more local than in Scotland, 
 though it has been occasionally observed even in winter. 
 
 On the continent the Blackcap is generally distributed throughout 
 Europe in Scandinavia ranging as far north as lat. 66, in the valley 
 of the Dwina to lat. 62, and on the Ural mountains to lat. 57 ; and 
 Dr. Finsch states that in the museum of Professor Slovzow at Omsk there 
 is an example of this bird said to have been obtained in the neighbourhood. 
 To the south its range extends into North Africa ; and it may be said to be 
 a resident in the basin of the Mediterranean, examples being found both 
 on the northern and southern shores at all times of the year. To the 
 south-east it is found in Asia Minor and Palestine, and its range extends 
 through the Caucasus to Western Persia. How far south the winter 
 range of this bird extends is not very accurately ascertained ; but it has 
 been obtained at Senegal and Gambia in the west, and Nubia and Abys- 
 sinia in the east. It appears also to be a resident in the Cape-Verd 
 Islands, Madeira, the Canaries, and the Azores. Curiously enough, in the 
 two latter localities a variety occasionally occurs in which the black on the 
 crown extends to the neck, and in some specimens as far as the shoulders 
 and the breast. To this variety the name of Sylvia heinekeni has been 
 given ; but it seems doubtful whether it be any thing more than a partial 
 melanism, as it is said to occur singly in broods of the normal colour. In 
 South-eastern Europe the Blackcap is very seldom found during the 
 breeding-season, its place being apparently taken by the Orphean Warbler, 
 a species already mentioned as an accidental visitor to this country. 
 There are also in South Europe other Warblers having black heads; but 
 they may always be distinguished by their smaller size, and by having the 
 tail longer instead of shorter than the wings. 
 
 The haunts and breeding-grounds of the Blackcap are in the most 
 secluded places not, as a rule, in the deepest woods, but in shrubberies 
 and plantations where the undergrowth is unusually dense, in gardens, 
 tangled hedgerows, and those country lanes where brambles and briars 
 hang over the hazel- and thorn-bushes. Indeed the Blackcap is to a cer- 
 
396 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 tain extent partial to open places, but to those near some cover to which it 
 can retire the instant it is disturbed. Nothing perhaps in bird-music sounds 
 more beautiful and charming than the song of the Blackcap ; and in the 
 pairing-season it is heard to best advantage, when those combats for the 
 choice of mates so frequently occur. Dixou thus describes its song : 
 " How rich and melodious is the song of the Blackcap ! It is given forth 
 from the topmost branches of the tallest trees, from the more lowly shrubs, 
 and from the midst of the dank and dense vegetation where he builds his 
 nest. His notes are varied, almost as much so as the vernal notes of the 
 Song-Thrush. Of the peculiar richness of its tone no pen can adequately 
 speak : it must be heard to be appreciated. The loudness of its tones will 
 not unfrequently cause you to suspect a much larger bird is uttering them ; 
 and in the spring I have heard him sing as loud as the Thrush. If you 
 wish to see this little warbler in the act of singing you must steal a march 
 upon him by noiselessly creeping amongst the dense undergrowth, and, 
 provided you advance ' with cautious step and slow/ your wish will be 
 gratified. You will find that he sings as he hops from branch to branch 
 in search of insects, or as he remains stationary for minutes together, 
 pouring forth his notes, his little throat quivering and swollen, his head 
 turning restlessly from side to side, and his jet-black crown contrasting 
 so richly with the golden green of the vegetation around. And then how 
 beautifully he modulates his music ! You hear a soft plaintive note sound- 
 ing as though its author were a hundred yards away ; gradually it rises in 
 its tone ; you think the bird is coming nearer ; louder and louder become 
 the notes, till they sound as if a Blackbird, Song-Thrush, Wren, Robin, 
 and Warbler were all singing together. You perchance cast your eyes into 
 the branches above, and there see the little black-capped songster, and 
 after watching him find that all these lovely notes, low and soft, loud and 
 full, come from his little throat alone and when at the same distance from 
 you so great are his powers of modulation." 
 
 It is probable that the Blackcap sings throughout the winter. I have 
 heard it in Italy in full song on the 24th of February. On the outskirts 
 of the city, down along the left bank of the Arno, lies the " Rotten Row " 
 of Florence, the Cascine, a narrow plantation, two miles along, intersected 
 with walks and drives. Some of the trees are spruce-fir ; many are 
 evergreen oak; and many of them are overgrown with ivy; so that the 
 plantation looks quite green even in winter. Although it was very cold 
 in the shade, the blazing sun was hot enough ; and from end to end the 
 Cascine rang with a chorus of bird-music, amongst which by far the most 
 prominent was that of the Blackcap. There were generally three or four 
 singing against each other ; and sometimes they quite drowned the notes 
 of other birds the Robins, the Blackbirds, and the shrill chatter of the Italian 
 Sparrow. 
 
BLACKCAP. 397 
 
 Its call-note is a harsh tac or tec quickly repeated ; and when alarmed it 
 scolds like a Whitethroat. 
 
 The Blackcap is a restless little bird, and it is only now and then that 
 he allows you a brief moment's glimpse of him as he glides about his 
 favourite cover. He hops quickly from branch to branch, sometimes 
 appearing on the topmost twigs or on the outside ones, but generally con- 
 fining himself to the thickest parts of the brake. 
 
 Although the Blackcap arrives somewhat early and pairs soon after its 
 arrival, its nest is rarely found before May, when the vegetation is suffi- 
 ciently advanced to provide the means of concealment. The time of 
 nesting may possibly be regulated by the abundance or otherwise of the 
 food on which its young are reared, such as caterpillars and small insects. 
 The site of its nest is usually in the most secluded part of its haunt. 
 Sometimes it is placed amongst the briars and brambles, growing but a 
 few inches from the ground, in the secluded corner of a plantation or 
 shrubbery, and more rarely in a tuft of herbage growing thickly round 
 some stunted bush, and very often in the hedges, amongst the woodbine. 
 Dixon has also known it in the branches of the holly, and in one instance 
 in an elder tree. It is very often placed near water, amongst the mass of 
 shrubs usually found on the banks of a woodland stream. It is made of 
 dry grass-stems, leaf-stalks, a little moss, and coarse roots, cemented 
 together with a few cobwebs and insect-cocoons, and lined with a few 
 horsehairs. Although very slight in structure, it is well built, very com- 
 pact, and most beautifully rounded. The eggs of the Blackcap are from 
 four to six in number, sometimes only three, in cases where the birds have 
 laid again after their first clutch has been taken. They are subject to 
 considerable variation in colour, although eggs in the same clutch resemble 
 each other. There are certainly three distinct types of the eggs of this 
 Warbler. The usual type is dirty white in ground-colour, suffused with 
 olive-brown or yellowish brown, clouded with darker tints of the same 
 colour, and here and there marked with rich brown spots and sometimes a 
 few streaks. The second type closely resembles certain varieties of the 
 eggs of the Barred Warbler : they are the palest of bluish white in ground- 
 colour ; and most of the markings are underlying ones of violet-grey, with 
 a few surface spots and blotches of yellowish brown, intermingled with one 
 or two spots and streaks of dark brown. The third, and perhaps the most 
 beautiful type, certainly the rarest, is uniform pale brick-red in colour, 
 indistinctly marbled with darker shades, and sparingly spotted and streaked 
 with dark purplish brown. The usual type of the Blackcap's egg very 
 closely resembles the eggs of the Garden- Warbler ; but they are perhaps 
 more uniformly clouded and brighter in colour than those of that bird. 
 They vary in length from '85 to "75 inch, and in breadth from '6 to 
 55 inch. 
 
398 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Shy and wary as the Blackcap is, still in the nesting-season it is 
 often most trustful, or, rather, allows its love for its eggs and young 
 to master its otherwise shy disposition. When the old birds are sitting 
 (either the male or female, for both may be observed to do so), they will 
 allow a very near approach ere gliding from the nest. When thus 
 disturbed the parent bird, especially if it be the female, manifests its 
 displeasure by uttering harsh hissing notes, and will sometimes approach 
 within a few feet of the observer, with feathers ruffled, full of anger at 
 his intrusion. Dixon has more than once observed the male Blackcap 
 sing when sitting on the eggs ; and he was often led by the cock bird's 
 song to the nest ; for the bird warbles some of his loudest strains from 
 the twigs that support it. It is doubtful if the Blackcap rears more than 
 one brood in the year; but should the first nest be destroyed, the old 
 birds will renew their attempts to rear a brood, usually building a fresh 
 nest close to the site of the previous one. 
 
 Although the Blackcap feeds to a very great extent on insects, these 
 are by no means its only food. It is probably more of a fruit and berry 
 feeder than any other of our Warblers ; and it is doubtless owing to this 
 circumstance that the bird occasionally remains in our islands through the 
 winter. In addition to insects it feeds ou all kinds of garden fruit, such 
 as currants, raspberries, and gooseberries, and also on cherries ; and after 
 these fruits are over, it eats the berries of the ivy and the mountain-ash. 
 Upon its arrival here in April the Blackcap may sometimes be seen re- 
 galing on the last year's ivy-berries which still remain. Its young are 
 largely fed on caterpillars and grubs ; and it is sometimes seen to pursue 
 and capture an insect on the wing. It is said by Irby to feed on the 
 seeds of the " pepper-tree " (Schinus molle) and Kriiper states that in 
 July and August, when the figs are ripe, it comes in great numbers to the 
 trees. 
 
 The Blackcap ceases to sing as soon as the young are hatched ; and it 
 is consequently difficult to determine the precise date of its departure. 
 A great many Blackcaps undoubtedly leave our shores in September 
 possibly all our indigenous birds, except the few stragglers tempted to 
 remain during the winter ; and it may be observed that the males are the 
 first to leave in autumn, as they are the first to arrive in spring. 
 
 The Blackcap has the general colour of the upper parts bluish grey 
 slightly suffused with olive-brown, especially on the margins of the quills 
 and tail-feathers; the forehead and the crown are black. The underparts 
 are pale bluish grey, shading into white on the centre of the belly ; the 
 axillaries and the under wing-coverts are white. Bill dark brown ; legs, 
 feet, and claws bluish grey ; irides hazel. The female differs from the 
 male in having the black on the head replaced by rusty brown. After the 
 autumn moult the upper parts in both sexes are more suffused with brown, 
 
BLACKCAP. 399 
 
 and the underparts, cheeks, and nape are huffish brown. The male in first 
 plumage resembles the female, and is said to attain the black head in the 
 first autumn by a change in the colour of the feathers and not by a 
 moult. It is also alleged that this bird has no spring moult ; but these 
 statements require verification. The following facts tend to confirm the 
 natural conclusion that this species does not differ in these respects from 
 its congeners : A male, which I shot in Heligoland on the 2nd of October, 
 evidently a bird of the year, has a black head, but each feather is broadly 
 tipped and margined with reddish brown ; these feathers would probably 
 be moulted early in the following year into the black feathers of the 
 adult. The exact date of the spring moult appears to be very uncertain ; 
 but, as Naumann states, no doubt the spring plumage is attained by a 
 change of feather. I have an example, obtained in Asia Minor on the 
 18th of December, which has begun to moult its tail-feathers ; and I have 
 another, obtained in Heligoland in May, in which one of the outside tail- 
 feathers has not attained its full length, whilst examples obtained in the 
 Florence market on the 1st of March have all the appearance of birds which 
 have only just completed their moult. If this bird moults very early in 
 the year, as the Garden-Warbler certainly does, this fact may explain the 
 arrival of many birds in our islands in spring in somewhat abraded 
 plumage ; but some examples have the edges of the quill- and tail- 
 feathers so extremely perfect that it is impossible not to believe that they 
 have not only had a spring moult, but probably, from some cause or 
 other, they moulted somewhat later than usual, and were fortunate 
 enough to have fine weather during their migration. 
 
400 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SYLVIA HORTENSIS*. 
 GARDEN- WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca minor, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 374 (1760). 
 
 ? Motacilla salicaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 330 (1766). 
 
 Motacilla hippolais, Linn, apud Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. 2 (1771). 
 
 P Motacilla borin, Bodd. Tabl. PI. Enl. p. 35 (1783). 
 
 Sylvia simplex, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 287 (1787). 
 
 ? Motacilla passerina, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 954 (1788). 
 
 SUvia hortensis (Gmel.}, var. /3, Lath. Ind. Om. ii. p. 507 (1790). 
 
 Motacilla hortensis, Gmel. apud Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 550, pi. xiii (1795). 
 
 Sylvia hortensis, Gmel. apud Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 169 (1802); et auctorum 
 plurimorum Wolf, Temminck, Naitmann, Jenyns, Eversmann, Mact/illivray, 
 Keyserling, Blasius, Nordmann, Gray, Sundevall, Lindermayer, Schlegel, Heuglin, 
 Dealand, Gerbe, Salvadori, Gurney, (Sharpe), (Gould), Shelley, Hurting, 
 (Fleming), (Selby), (Cabanis), (Bonaparte), (Thompson), (Locke), fyc. 
 
 Currucua hortensis (Gmel.), apud Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 155 (1816). 
 
 Sylvia sedonia, Vieitt. N. Diet, a"* Hist. Nat. xi. p. 162 (1817, partim). 
 
 Epilais hortensis (Gmel.), apud Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 145 (1829). 
 
 Curruca brachyrhynchos, Brehm, Vb'g. Deutschl. p. 416 (1831). 
 
 Curruca grisea, Brehm, Vo'g. Deutschl. p. 416 (1831, nee Vieill.). 
 
 Adornis hortensis (Gmel.), apud Gray, List Gen. B. p. 29 (1841). 
 
 Sylvia salicaria (Linn.), apud Newton, ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 414 (1873). 
 
 The Garden-Warbler, so far as can be ascertained, was first described 
 by Willughby and Ray from an example which was sent to them by Mr. 
 Francis Jessop, of Broom Hall, Sheffield. Francis Jessop was one of the 
 earliest members of the Royal Society, and appears to have been well 
 
 * Professor Newton and Mr. Dresser have done their best to cause the name of Sylvia 
 hortensis to be rejected in favour of that of Sylvia salicaria. There is considerable cir- 
 cumstantial evidence that Linnaeus intended to describe the Garden- Warbler as Motacilla 
 salicaria ; but it is impossible to understand how the authors above named can reconcile 
 the vague diagnosis of Linnaeus (containing, amongst others, the character "supercilia 
 alba " and the supplementary note " pedes fulvi," neither of which apply to the Garden- 
 Warbler) with the law in the Stricldandian Code requiring that names which have 
 never been " clearly defined " should be rejected. As was to be expected from such a 
 blundering description, this name of Linnaeus has been transferred from one bird t<? 
 another by various writers until it has ceased to have a definite meaning. Motacilla 
 salicaria, Linn., apud Nilsson et Newton, is the Garden- Warbler ; Motacilla salicaria, 
 Linn., apud Bechstein (Orn. Taschenb.) et Meyer et Wolf, is the Aquatic Warbler ; 
 Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Latham et Fleming, is the Sedge- Warbler ; Motacilla 
 salicaria, Linn., apud Brehm, is the Marsh- Warbler ; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud 
 Bechstein (Naturg. Deutschl.), is the Heed- Warbler ; Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud 
 Pallas, is the Booted Warbler ; and Motacilla salicaria, Linn., apud Heuglin et Sharpe, 
 is the Icterine Warbler. 
 
GARDEN-WARBLER. 401 
 
 acquainted with the principal literary men of his day. Ray, in his pre- 
 face to the ' Oruithologia,' acknowledges his assistance in furnishing them 
 with descriptions and examples of rare birds from the neighbourhood of 
 Sheffield. Ray was his frequent guest at Broom Hall ; and Willughby 
 in his will made Ray and Jessop, together with three other gentlemen, 
 his executors. 
 
 From the evidence to be gleaned upon the subject it would appear that 
 the Garden- Warbler and the Blackcap do not get on very well in the 
 same area. Rarely indeed do the two species occur in any great numbers 
 in the same district; and where the Garden- Warbler is abundant the 
 Blackcap seems always to be rare, and vice versa. The Garden-Warbler 
 is pretty generally distributed throughout England, except in the extreme 
 south-west, but becomes exceedingly local in Wales. It does not appear 
 to have ever been noticed in the Channel Islands. Authorities disagree 
 as to its abundance in Scotland, Selby, on the one hand, stating that it 
 occurs in all suitable districts throughout the greater part of the country ; 
 Gray, on the contrary, being inclined to believe that the bird is not so 
 commonly distributed. It has, however, been met with in most of the 
 midland and southern counties, from Banffshire southwards. Dr. Saxby 
 states that it is a rare autumn visitor to the Shetlauds, usually arriving in 
 September ; but it does not appear to have been observed in the Orkneys. 
 The bird is rare in Ireland, Thompson only noting its occurrence in the 
 counties of Cork and Tipperary ; but it has been met with in the 
 counties of Dublin, Wicklow, and Fermanagh; and Sir Victor Brooke 
 states that it nests regularly near Castle Caldwell, in the north-west of 
 the latter county. 
 
 On the continent the geographical distribution of the Garden-Warbler 
 extends throughout Western Europe, and, like that of some other migrants, 
 becomes more and more restricted, both to the north and to the south, as 
 it progresses eastwards. In Norway the bird ranges as far north as lat. 
 70, in Finland and North-west Russia to lat. 65, and in the Ural Moun- 
 tains to lat. 59. I cannot find any evidence of its wintering in any part 
 of Europe and in Southern Italy and Greece it appears to be only found 
 in spring and autumn on migration. Eastwards, in Asia Minor, it has 
 only been recorded as passing through on migration ; but in Palestine 
 Canon Tristram says that it remains to breed. It is a summer visitor to 
 the Caucasus and the extreme north-west of Persia. The only evidence of 
 its occurrence east of the Ural Mountains are some examples in the 
 museum of Professor Slovzow at Omsk, said to have been procured in the 
 neighbourhood. It winters in West Africa and in the oases of the 
 Sahara ; but in Egypt it is only known to pass through on migration, and 
 has been obtained in our winter in Damara Laud, the Transvaal, and the 
 eastern portions of the Cape colony. 
 
 VOL. i. 2 D 
 
402 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Garden-Warbler is one of the latest of our summer migrants, 
 seldom being observed before the first week in May. It is a shy, active, 
 and restless bird, like most of the AVarblers, and frequents the most 
 secluded parts of the districts which it visits. Its haunts are in the dense 
 thickets, amongst the thick undergrowth of plantations and copses, and 
 also in the shady dells near running streams which are almost hidden 
 from view by the mass of overhanging vegetation. As its name implies, 
 the bird is also often seen in large gardens, nurseries, and shrubberies. 
 A few days after its return, when the females have arrived, the male bird 
 maybe heard warbling its sweet plaintive song. The song of the Garden- 
 Warbler is not surpassed by that of any other British member of the 
 genus except the Blackcap. It is softer and not so loud as the song of 
 that bird, and wants the richness of tone and the full round notes which 
 make the Blackcap almost rival the Nightingale. The Garden-Warbler 
 may sometimes be observed singing from the topmost twig of a low tree 
 or a bush ; but usually its notes are heard from the dense vegetation, 
 where the sombre little musician is hid in the seclusion he loves so well. 
 The song may be heard at frequent intervals until the first brood is 
 hatched ; then it ceases for some time, to be again renewed before the 
 second clutch of eggs is laid. Its call-note is a harsh teck rapidly repeated 
 and sometimes varied with a few guttural notes. Blyth aptly describes 
 its note as resembling the sound made by knocking two small pebbles 
 together. 
 
 The Garden- Warbler, like all its congeners, keeps assiduously out of 
 sight as much as possible, hopping restlessly from branch to branch, and, 
 if alarmed, silently retiring to the deepest shade. It feeds both on insects 
 and on berries and fruits of various kinds; indeed, according to Naumann, 
 the latter is its favourite fare in autumn. It eats the berries of the ivy, 
 the elder, and the blackberry ; and in the gardens it consumes the smaller 
 fruits, such as strawberries, cherries, and especially currants. It feeds 
 largely on insects, often pursuing them in the air like a Flycatcher, and 
 incessantly searching for them under and amongst the leaves and twigs. 
 Sweet states that the larvae of the cabbage-butterfly is a favourite morsel 
 with this bird. 
 
 Some little time after their arrival the Garden -Warblers pair, and nesting- 
 duties commence. The site for the nest is usually near the ground and in 
 the quietest and most secluded part of their haunt. The nest is often found 
 under the broad leaves of the brambles, or artfully suspended amidst a 
 network of briars ; sometimes it is placed in the low thorn bushes near 
 the ground, almost buried in surrounding herbage, and less frequently 
 in the branches of the gooseberry-bushes. It may also be seen amongst 
 nettles and similar coarse vegetation. The nest is a simple net-like structure 
 made of the withered stems of grasses and a few small roots ; sometimes 
 
GARDEN- WAK BLEU. 403 
 
 a few cobwebs and a little moss cement the stalks together ; and it is lined 
 with a small quantity of horsehair. The surrounding branches are artfully 
 interwoven with the sides of the nest, which, frail as it is, is well and skill- 
 fully put together. The eggs are four or five in number, in some cases as 
 many as six. They very closely resemble those of the Blackcap, and vary 
 in ground-colour from pale buffish white to greenish white. In some eggs 
 the markings are distributed iu large blotches of greenish brown, varying 
 in richness of colour, and intermingled with smaller and paler underlying 
 spots, with sometimes a few short irregular streaks of dark brown ; in 
 others the underlying spots are the predominant ones large irregular 
 pale violet-grey blotches, sparingly dashed and marbled with brown surface- 
 spots, some of which are very dark in colour ; others, again, have the 
 markings chiefly round the large end of the egg very rich brown spots and 
 irregular streaks intermingled with grey underlying spots. I have never 
 met with the rufous type which occasionally occurs in eggs of the Blackcap 
 and other Warblers as well as the Shrikes &c. They vary in length from 
 85 to "7 inch, and in breadth from '63 to '55 inch. 
 
 Dixon thus writes of the nest of this bird : " The Garden- Warbler's 
 nest is usually well concealed under the leaves of the shrubs and plants that 
 sustain it, often so admirably as to completely hide the eggs or sitting bird 
 from view. It is also made on a flimsy net-like design, and is well adapted 
 to escape the notice of all but the most prying observation. The colours 
 of the sitting bird, too, are highly protective; and its unassuming dress is 
 in strict harmony with surrounding objects. When you approach her nest 
 she will eye you anxiously, but will not move, except perhaps to crouch 
 still lower in her nest. Silent and motionless she will allow you to 
 almost touch her with your hand, ere personal safety masters her maternal 
 love, and, like a shadow, she glides into the neighbouring under- 
 growth." 
 
 The Garden- Warbler is said to rear two broods in the year; but I do not 
 think that such is invariably the case ; and the late broods of this bird 
 sometimes met with may be those of birds whose earlier efforts were unfor- 
 tunate. It leaves our shores usually by the latter end of September. 
 
 The male Garden- Warbler in spring plumage has the general colour of 
 the upper parts olive-brown, darker and greyer on the wings and tail, and 
 slightly paler on the margin of the wing-coverts and innermost secondaries. 
 The underparts are greyish white, purest on the belly and on the edge of 
 the wing, just below the carpal joint, and shading into pale olive-brown on 
 the breast, flanks, and the centre of the under tail-coverts. The axillaries 
 and under \!ug-coverts are buff, the latter with darker centres. Bill dark 
 brown, paler at the base of the lower mandible ; legs, feet, and claws bluish 
 grey ; iridcs hazel. The female scarcely differs from the male. After the 
 
404 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 autumn moult the upper parts are more olive and the underparts buffer. 
 Birds of the year scarcely differ from adults in autumn plumage. 
 
 In confirmation of the fact that the Garden-Warbler has a spring moult., I 
 may mention that I have in my collection an example from Potchefstroom 
 in the Transvaal, dated January 10th, moulting its wings and tail-feathers, 
 and another, shot on February 20th, from the same locality, in which the wings 
 and tail have been completely renewed and the feathers of the throat and 
 breast are in process of being moulted. 
 
WHITETHROAT. 05 
 
 SYLVIA CINEREA*. 
 
 WHITETHROAT. 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca cinerea, Bri*s. Orn. iii. p. 376 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla sylvia. Linn. Sygt. Nut. i. p. 330(1766). 
 
 Ficedula stoparola, Gerini, Oni. Mtth. Dig. iv. p. 35, pi. cccxcvi. fig. 1 (1773). 
 
 r Motacilla rufa, Bodd. Table PI. Enl p. 85 (1783, e.i Dattbenton). 
 
 ~~ Iviacomniunis, Lath. Gen. St/n. Suppl. i. p. 287 (1787). 
 
 Sylvia cinerea, var. ,3, Lath. Lid. Orn. ii. p. 515 (1790). 
 
 ^ Ivia cinerea, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 170 (1802) ; et auctonun plurimorum 
 
 Temmtmck, Vit-illvt. JTV/. Me/u-tn'es, Jenyns, Macgiilivray, Keyserling, Blasius, 
 dmann, Cabanis. Xaumann, Bonaparte, Gray, Schlegel, Sdby, Sahadvri, 
 
 Degland,Gerbe. Sundevall, Lindermayer, Loche, Heuglin, Blanford, Fritsch, Shelley, 
 
 Sevcrtzoic. Gould, . 
 
 Sylvia cineraria, Bechst. Xaturg. Deutsch. 2nd ed. ii. p. 534 ( 1 - 
 Sylvia cinerea (Bechst.}, var., Turton, Brit. Faun. p. 45 (1807). 
 Curruca cinerea (Bechst.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zooi. i. p. 1-57 (1816). 
 Curruca sylvia (Linn.), Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zooi. xiii. pt. 2, p. 210 (1826). 
 Ficedula cinerea (Bechst.), Blyth, Bennies FiM Nat. i. p. 310 (1833). 
 Curruca cinerea (Bechd.), var. persica, Filippi, Viagg. Pers. pp. 162, 348 (1865). 
 Sylvia affims, Blyth apud Salcad. Atii K. Accad. Sci. Tor. iii. p. 291 (1868). 
 Sylvia rufa (Bodd.), apud Newton, ed. Tarr. Br. B. i. p. 406 (1873). 
 
 The Common Whitethroat is, as its name implies, one of the best-known 
 of the Warblers. It is a common and generally distributed species through- 
 out England and Wales. In Scotland it is one of the most familiar birds, 
 but becomes rarer towards the north. Mr. Gray states that in the western 
 counties it is extremely common. It is also found on several of the Inner 
 Hebrides, as Mull and lona; and Dixoii met with it in all the wooded parts 
 of Skye which he visited ; but it is apparently unknown in the Outer Islands. 
 Mr. Gray states that it has occurred in the Orkneys; whilst to the Shet- 
 lands, according to Dr. Saxby, it is a straggler in warm summers. In 
 Ireland the bird is as well known and as widely distributed as it is in 
 Great Britain. 
 
 * It is a thousand pities that Professor Newton should have attempted to disturb the 
 name by which the Whitethroat has been universally known for the last eighty years, 
 both by British and continental ornithologists. It is possible that Daubenton's figure of 
 ' La Fauvette rousse " (PI. Enl. no. 581. fig. 1) may be an exaggerated figure of a young 
 male in first plumage of the Whitethroat ; but there can be no doubt that Boddaert would 
 have been greatly surprised to learn that his name of Motacilla rufa was applied to the 
 Whitethroat, which was figured, in the same work, no. 579. fig. 3, under the name of 
 " La frrisette." and which he correctly identified with the Motacilla sylvia of Linnaeus. 
 Boddaert 's unambitious object was to supply the Latin names of the birds figured in the 
 
406 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 On the continent the Whitethroat is an extremely common bird, breeding 
 throughout European Scandinavia and West Russia, as far north as lat. 65, 
 and in the Ural Mountains as far as lat. 60. Eastwards it is found in Asia 
 Minor, Palestine, Persia, Turkestan, and South-west Siberia. Its breeding- 
 range extends further to the south than that of any other common British 
 Warbler. In Asia Minor I found it one of the few common British birds 
 which were as abundant amongst the olives and the vines during the nesting- 
 season as they are in this country. Canon Tristram says that a few 
 remain during the winter in Palestine. Prof. Newton states that it winters 
 in some of the southern portions of Europe and in several of the islands of 
 the Mediterranean; but I have been unable to find any evidence that 
 this is the case. Irby never observed it near Gibraltar in winter; and 
 Kriiper says that in August and September it disappears entirely from 
 Greece and Asia Minor. It certainly winters in North-west Africa, and is 
 described as passing through North-east Africa on migration. In 
 the British Museum are examples collected by Sir A. Smith in South 
 Africa, and one obtained by C. J. Andersson in Daraara Land in January. 
 It has not been recorded from Madeira or the Azores ; but it has been 
 obtained in the Canaries. In the Altai and Tianshan Mountains it is repre- 
 sented by a form which appears to be subspecifically distinct, examples 
 from these localities being darker, greyer, and larger than our bird, 
 measuring more than 3 inches in length of wing, and laying considerably 
 larger eggs. Hume records an example, probably of this form, from North- 
 west India. I am unable to find any published description of the eastern 
 form of the Whitethroat, of which I have several specimens in my collec- 
 tion; but it maybe called Sylvia fusdpilea, inasmuch as Severtzow includes 
 it in a list of the birds of the Tianshan Mountains in the ' Journal fur 
 Ornithologie' (1875, p. 177), under the name of Sylvia cinerea fi.fuscipilea. 
 The next nearest ally to the Common Whitethroat is undoubtedly the 
 Lesser Whitethroat, especially the large variety to which Hume gave the 
 name of Sylvia althea. 
 
 This pretty and familiar little Warbler, although it is so very common, 
 is by no means one of the earliest migrants to reach our shores in spring, 
 and usually arrives in England in the latter end of April, sometimes not 
 
 ' Planches Enlumine'es/ which Buffon and Montbeillard had neglected to do. Referring to 
 the work of the former gentleman, he finds that the " Fauvette rousse " is the Curruca 
 rufa of Brisson ; and turning over his ' Systema Naturae,' he finds that all the Fauvettes 
 are included by Linnaeus in his genus Motacilla : so he modestly names " La Fauvette 
 rousse " of Daubenton Motacilla rufa, instead of Curruca rufa. This is a glaring instance 
 of the mischief caused by the Stricklandian code. According to the rules which have 
 received the sanction of the British Association, the correct name of the Whitethroat is 
 Curruca sylvia. It must always be borne in mind that no argument, however plausible, 
 can make the British Association responsible for the name of Sylvia rufa for the White- 
 throat. 
 
NVHITETHROAT. 407 
 
 until the beginning of May. As might be expected, it arrives a little 
 later in Scotland, not being usually seen there until early in May. 
 It will also be observed that the males come a little before the females. 
 The Common Whitethroat is a bird of the thickets, and loves those places 
 where vegetation is iutergrown and tangled. You may often hear its 
 harsh call-notes from the thickly matted hedgerows, or catch a hurried 
 glimpse of it in the garden and the shrubbery. It is also one of the 
 commonest birds on waste pieces of land over which there is a luxuriant 
 growth of shrub, briar, bramble, and nettle ; whilst even on the moorlands 
 it is often seen gliding restlessly about the stunted thorn-bushes. The 
 Whitethroat i.s a bird of the lanes, and is not found so often in thick 
 woods and plantations ; nor does it perhaps so commonly mount into the 
 high branches of the trees as the Blackcap, but prefers the lower shrubs 
 and bushes. 
 
 The Whitethroat is a restless little bird, incessantly hopping from twig 
 to twig sometimes hiding from view, at others poised on a topmost spray. 
 Athough by no means a shy bird, still it is one that likes to keep out of 
 sight to a great extent ; and very often the trembling of a twig and the 
 harsh call-note are the only signs of its presence as it rapidly threads its 
 way up the hedgerow buried in the green foliage. But it is also some- 
 times seen in the tallest trees, especially those standing in hedges, into 
 which it will drop down if alarmed. In the tall branches its actions are 
 just the same as near the ground. It hops quickly from branch to 
 branch, is rarely still a moment, and very often nutters into the air to 
 catch passing insects. Soon after his arrival the male bird may be 
 heard to sing. It will be noticed that most birds, even if they be 
 usually shy and wary, are much more tame when warbling forth their 
 songs than at any other time. The Whitethroat is no exception, and 
 when in the act of singing is perhaps one of the boldest and most trustful 
 of our Warblers. He will often perch on a tall twig and warble out his 
 song within a few yards of where you are standing, the feathers on his 
 head erected, and his throat swollen and quivering with the exertion. 
 He is so full of music in the early summer, that sometimes as he 
 flies from hedge to hedge he will soar up into the air above his line of 
 flight and pour out his song like a Pipit or a Lark. 1 have watched the 
 Whitethroat start from a bush and make an excursion into the air for at 
 least fifty yards, singing all the time, every now and then checking him- 
 self with a peculiar jerk of his partly expanded tail, and finally returning 
 to his old perching-place. The song, although short, is in parts very sweet ; 
 but as the ^iotes are so often repeated, it is apt to become monotonous. 
 The Whitethroat may be heard long before dawn ; and sometimes it sings 
 late in the evening. Its alarm-note is almost exactly represented by the 
 sound of chzh, when sounded low resembling chsh. The bird also appears 
 
408 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 to have two notes besides its song and alarm-note. The most frequently 
 heard of these resembles the sound of hweet-hweet-hweet very vigorously 
 repeated, and is generally uttered when the male and female are chasing 
 and toying with each other in some low bush or underwood. The other 
 is a cha-cha-cha, very similar to the chirp of a Sparrow. 
 
 Like the Goldcrest and the Wren, the Whitethroat when pursued hides 
 itself in the cover, and if chased will always contrive to keep on the side 
 of the hedge furthest away. You may follow it backwards and forwards, 
 but rarely will it be induced to leave the cover, and its harsh notes are the 
 only sign of its presence. 
 
 By the beginning of May the Whitethroats are in pairs ; and soon after 
 this date their flimsy net-like abode may be found. The nest is placed 
 at different elevations from the ground. Sometimes it is found amongst 
 the brambles creeping in wild confusion over a waste bit of ground ; at 
 others it is seen in the dense whitethorn or hazel-hedges, in the tangled 
 grass growing round stumpy bushes and shrubs, amongst nettles and 
 other coarse vegetation, and has been known to be built in the heaps of 
 hedge-clippings left in little-frequented corners of gardens and orchards. 
 The nest is made of fine dry grass-stems, and is lined with a few fibrous 
 rootlets and a quantity of horsehair. Although so slight and loosely put 
 together, the Whitethroat's nest is a very pretty one, and may generally 
 be distinguished from the nests of allied birds by its greater depth. The 
 eggs of the Whitethroat are from four to six in number. Some specimens 
 are buffish white, with most of the spots underlying and violet-grey in 
 colour; others are pale bluish white, mottled, blotched, and speckled with 
 yellowish brown, and with large underlying spots of violet-grey ; whilst 
 others are pale green, sparingly marked with olive-green. Some speci- 
 mens of Whitethroat' s eggs are much more richly marked than others. 
 I possess one which has the larger end boldly marked with large brown 
 spots. In some eggs the spots are evenly distributed ; in others they 
 form a zone round the larger half of the egg ; and in others they are all 
 confluent on the large end, forming a round mass of colour. They 
 measure from '8 to '65 inch in length, and from *6 to '5 inch in breadth. 
 Certain eggs of the Whitethroat closely resemble the eggs of the Dartford 
 Warbler ; but, as a rule, the eggs of the latter species are never so green. 
 From the eggs of the Lesser Whitethroat those of the Common White- 
 throat may be distinguished by never having the ground-colour so pure 
 and the markings so rich a brown or so clearly defined. 
 
 The food of the Common Whitethroat during the first month or so of 
 its sojourn here consists almost exclusively of insects ; and on this food 
 its young are reared, especially on the fly popularly known as " daddy 
 longlegs," and which often swarms to an alarming extent in dry summers. 
 In the fruit-time, however, the Whitethroat visits the gardens for currants 
 
AVHITETHROAT. 409 
 
 and raspberries ; and in the woods it will eat the various wild fruits and 
 the softer berries. The Whitethroat may be very often flushed from the 
 corn-fields early in August, where it feeds on the insects found on the 
 grain ; and Dixou states that he has shot them in the act of eating the 
 soft milky corn. He also sajs that the bird sometimes clings to the 
 trunks of trees like a Creeper. 
 
 In the moulting-seasou, which begins in July and lasts until the end of 
 August, the "Whitethroat becomes a very shy and retiring bird, and is 
 also much less garrulous, so much so as to lead to the supposition that the 
 birds have departed. The "Whitethroat leaves its northern haunts during 
 the latter end of September or the first week in October ; but it has been 
 met with as late as the end of the latter month. It is exceedingly pro- 
 bable that these birds perform their migrations in the night; for they may 
 be seen quite common one day, and their favourite haunts may be found 
 deserted the next. 
 
 The adult male Whitethroat in spring plumage has the general colour 
 of the upper parts greyish brown, darkest on the wings and tail, and 
 shading into ash-grey on the head and upper tail-coverts; the wing-coverts 
 and innermost secondaries are broadly edged with pale chestnut ; and the 
 outside tail-feathers are paler than the rest, and broadly edged with white. 
 The underparts are white, purest on the throat and belly, with a vinous 
 tinge on the breast, and shading into buff on the flanks. The axillaries 
 and under wing-coverts are pale grey, the latter frequently with darker 
 centres. Bill dark brown, the lower mandible paler; legs, feet, and claws 
 pale brown ; irides light hazel. The female has the greyish brown of the 
 back extending to the head and upper tail-coverts ; and the vinous tinge 
 on the breast is absent. After the autumn moult the male assumes the 
 colour of the female. Birds of the year have the colour of the upper parts 
 still less grey, almost dull chestnut-brown. 
 
 I am indebted to Mr. Baker, of Sheffield, for a very curious example 
 of this bird with a small but very distinct claw on the shoulder. A mon- 
 strosity of a similar kind has occurred in the Blackbird, and was described 
 by Bonaparte as a new species under the name of Merula dactyloptera. A 
 similar claw is normally developed on the shoulders of some birds for 
 example the Spur-winged Plover (Charadrius spinosus), and many of the 
 Jacanas (ParrincR). 
 
410 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SYLVIA CURRUCA. 
 
 LESSER WHITETHROAT. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula curruca gamila, Bn'ss. Orn. iii. p. 384(1760). 
 
 Motacilla curruca, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 329 (1706) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Latham), (Bechstein), (Temminck),(Naumann), (Bonaparte), (Schlegel), (Gray), 
 
 (Newton), (Dresser}, fyc. 
 
 ? Motacilla dumetorum, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 334 (1766). 
 Sylvia curruca (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 155 (1769). 
 Sylvia sylviella, Lath. Gen. Syn. Sitppl. i. p. 287 (1787). 
 ? Sylvia dumetornm (Linn.), Lath. 2nd. Orn. ii. p. 522 (1790). 
 Motacilla sylviella (Lath.), Turton, Linn. Gen. Syst. Nat. i. p. 588 (1800). 
 Silvia garrula, Bechst. Natura. Deutschl. 2nd ed. ii. p. 540 (1807). 
 Curruca garrula (Bechst.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 157 (1816). 
 Curruca sylviella (Lath.), Fleming, Brit. An. p. 71 (1828). 
 Curruca dumetorum (Linn.}, Brehm, Vwj. Deutschl. p. 422 (1831). 
 Curraca molaria, Brehm, Vb'g. Deutschl. p. 422 (1831). 
 Ficedula garrula (Bechst.), Blyth, Rennie'* Field Nat. i. p. 352 (1833). 
 
 The Lesser Whitethroat was first made known to British ornithologists 
 by Latham, from specimens obtained near Bulstrode, in Buckinghamshire, 
 by the Rev. Mr. Lightfoot, who sent them to that ornithologist, who 
 described them in the Supplement to his ' General Synopsis/ and gave a 
 figure of the bird, its nest and eggs (i. p. 185, pi. cxiii.). It is probable, 
 however, that the bird had already been noticed in this country by Gilbert 
 White, who accurately describes it in a letter to his friend Mr. Barrington. 
 Among continental ornithologists this bird appears to have been known to 
 Linnseus, Brisson, Buffon, and Scopoli. In this country the bird is a 
 somewhat local one, and becomes very rare in the west of England and in 
 Wales. Montagu states that in Lincolnshire, in his time, the bird was 
 more abundant than in any other part of England; but now it appears to 
 be only local there. In the Channel Islands it is only found in Guernsey, 
 and is by no means numerous. In Scotland the Lesser Whitethroat is also 
 very local in its distribution. According to Gray it is sparingly met with 
 in parts of Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, and Dumbarton, and occurs as far 
 north as the middle of Argyleshire. It is equally local on the east 
 coast. Three or four specimens have been observed on the Shetlands ; but 
 the bird appears to be absent from the rest of the Scotch islands, never 
 having been met with in the Hebrides. In Ireland, although its congener 
 the Common Whitethroat is so widely distribiited, there is no reliable 
 evidence of the occurrence of the present species. 
 
LESSER WHITETHROAT. 411 
 
 The Lesser Whitethroat has the most extensive range of any member of 
 this genus, breeding in the Palsearctic region, from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. In such a large range it is not to be wondered at that the bird is 
 subject to considerable variation. This is an excellent example of a species 
 breaking up into four species. Typical examples of each present excellent 
 characters, and have fairly well-defined geographical limits. Unfortu- 
 nately, however, for the student who is anxious to define his species with 
 greater accuracy than Nature has hitherto succeeded in accomplishing the 
 task, intermediate forms occur, and individuals do not always recognize 
 their geographical limits as well-behaved species ought to do. As Hume 
 very justly observes, this is a case in which some ornithologists will treat 
 the birds as four species, whilst others will only consider them four 
 races of one somewhat variable species. I prefer to treat them as sub- 
 species, adopting the provisional hypothesis that the intermediate forms are 
 the result of the interbreeding of the several races where their geo- 
 graphical ranges meet. 
 
 The European or typical form of the Lesser Whitethroat breeds through- 
 out Europe, Asia Minor, and Palestine, extending northwards somewhat 
 beyond the arctic circle, but not quite to the limit of forest-growth. In 
 South Europe it is principally known as a summer visitor ; but Mr. 
 Howard Saunders states that it remains during the winter in South Spain. 
 It certainly winters in the southern portions of North Africa, in the oases 
 of the desert, Xubia and Abyssinia, ^cc. 
 
 In the valley of the Lower Volga, North Persia, Turkestan, the whole 
 of Siberia up to lat. 67, and North-east China, the Siberian form of the 
 Lesser Whitethroat, S. cinerea, var. affinis. occurs in summer, wintering 
 in Baluchistan, the whole of India, and Ceylon. This form only differs 
 from the typical species in having the second primary intermediate in 
 length between the sixth and seventh, in rare instances between the 
 seventh and eighth (in the European species the second primary is inter- 
 mediate in length between the fifth and sixth) . It also differs very mate- 
 rially ill its song, apparently having forgotten or never learnt the trill 
 which its European ally constantly introduces. 
 
 In the Himalayas the Lesser Whitethroat differs from the European 
 form in having the upper parts an almost uniform bluish grey, the back 
 being scarcely suffused with brown at all. In its wing-formula it agrees 
 with the Siberian form, but is, on an average, larger than either of the 
 two forms hitherto mentioned, the length of wiug varying from 2'8 to 2'55 
 inch instead of from 2'65 to 2'45. Hume named this form S. althea. It 
 breeds abundantly in the extreme north-west of Cashmere, and winters in 
 the North-West Provinces of India. 
 
 The fourth form of the Lesser Whitethroat, to which Hume gave the 
 name of S. minuscula, is a small desert race differing from its near allies in 
 
412 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 having the forehead and crown of a pale bluish grey colour, gradually 
 shading into the colour of the back, which is a pale isabelline brown. The 
 length of wing varies from 2 - 45 to 2'3 inch. In its wing-formula it agrees 
 with the Siberian form. It breeds in the Ferghana and Afghanistan, passes 
 through the Pamir on migration, and winters in Baluchistan, Scinde, and 
 North-west India. 
 
 The Lesser Whitethroat is a regular summer migrant to this country, 
 and arrives during the last half of April, sometimes not until the beginning 
 of May. Like its near congener the Common Whitethroat, it is a restless 
 shy little bird, and only frequents those localities which atford it plenty of 
 seclusion and concealment. Its haunts are the tangled hedgerows, in 
 lanes, especially if there be plenty of tall shrubs and trees ; it is also an 
 inhabitant of the thick shrubberies, where the evergreens are interspersed 
 with deciduous trees ; and gardens, small plantations, and copses are also 
 tenanted. 
 
 Unlike the Common Whitethroat, this species is very frequently seen 
 at a considerable distance from the ground, in the higher branches, a 
 difference of habit which may also be remarked between the Chiffchaff and 
 the Willow- Wren. 
 
 From this peculiarity in its habits, and from the luxuriance of the foliage 
 which it frequents, the Lesser Whitethroat very often escapes observation ; 
 but when noticed it will be seen to display the same restless disposition as 
 the other Warblers, gliding quickly from branch to branch, now hiding 
 under the broad leaves, then hovering in the air to catch a fly, or more 
 often to warble its song. Although it does not often prolong its flight far 
 into the open, still when so seen it may be observed that its course is an 
 undulating one. Its song is a monotonous trill, sometimes like the first 
 half of the song of the Yellowhammer ; but it is frequently preceded by a 
 few notes which, though they are not very varied nor very loud, are by 
 no means unmusical, something like the twittering of a Swallow. Its 
 call-note resembles the syllable check several times repeated and some- 
 times varied with a more guttural cry. 
 
 The food of the Lesser Whitethroat is largely composed of insects, which 
 it seeks under the leaves and amongst the twigs, and occasionally attempts 
 to secure on the wing, snapping at them from its perch or pursuing them 
 in the air. It is also fond of small caterpillars and aphides, and, like all 
 its congeners, feeds largely on fruit, especially on cherries and red 
 currants. 
 
 The Lesser Whitethroat is a somewhat late breeder, and the vegetation 
 is usually dense and luxuriant ere its nest is commenced. It is often 
 placed amongst brambles, in furze bushes, in thickets, the topmost branches 
 of a tall hedgerow, or in the bushes which grow over the stream in some 
 shaded dell. It is much shallower than the nest of the Common White- 
 
LESSER WHITETHROAT. 413 
 
 throat, and is often made of coarser materials. It is usually made of fine 
 dry gra-s-stalks, amongst which the twigs that support it are artfully 
 interwoveu. It is generally bound together with spider's webs or the 
 cocoons of caterpillars, and lined with a few fibrous rootlets and some- 
 times a little horsehair. The bird is very easily driven from its uncom- 
 pleted nest, and, if frequently disturbed, will soon forsake it. The eggs 
 of the Lesser Whitethroat are four or five in number, an^d present in 
 their variations two very distinct types. The first type, and perhaps the 
 commonest, is pure white or pale creamy white in ground- colour, spotted 
 and blotched with rich greenish brown, and with underlying shell-markings 
 of violet-grey. The second type has the ground pale buff or stone-colour, 
 and the markings are not so bold and deep in colour. The markings are 
 confined for the most part to the large end of the egg, often forming a 
 zone, sometimes an irregular circular patch. Many of the eggs are streaked 
 with very deep brown ; and usually most of the large spots are paler round 
 the edge than in the centre ; and on all eggs the large spots are inter- 
 mingled with finer markings of pale yellowish brown. They measure from 
 78 to '6 inch in length, and from "55 to -5 inch in breadth. 
 
 The bird is a very close sitter. When the nest is approached the female 
 remains silent and motionless on her eggs until almost touched by the hand. 
 The male bird also generally soon appears upon the scene, and, in com- 
 pany with his mate, hops anxiously from twig to twig, both uttering their 
 harsh and monotonous notes. The more frequently the nest is visited the 
 more wary the birds become ; and Naumann states that when the bird is 
 frightened off the nest it flutters about in the open to attract attention. 
 The Lesser Whitethroat leaves this country for the south during the last 
 half of September ; specimens have been obtained as late as the middle of 
 October ; and in the month of November last year an example was caught 
 at Brighton by Mr. Swaysland. 
 
 In spring plumage the male Lesser Whitethroat has the general colour 
 of the upper parts pale slate-grey, more or less suffused with brown on the 
 back, lores, and ear- coverts. The eye-stripe is almost obsolete. The inner- 
 most secondaries have paler edges ; the wings and tail are brown, the latter 
 broadly tipped with white on the outside feathers. The underparts are white 
 on the chin, throat, the centre of the belly, and the under tail-coverts, shading 
 into very pale brown on the breast and flanks. The axillaries and under 
 wing-coverts are white. Bill dark bluish grey, the under mandible pale 
 at the base ; legs, feet, and claws bluish grey ; irides light brown. The 
 female scarcely differs from the male, but has not even the rudiments of an 
 eye-stripe. After the autumn moult the breast and flanks are somewhat 
 more sufficed with brown. Birds of the year have the upper parts still 
 more suffused with broMn, and the pale brown of the underparts extends 
 to the under tail-coverts. The bill and legs are also somewhat paler. 
 
414 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SYLVIA PROVINCIALIS *. 
 DARTFORD WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Motacilla iindata, Bodd. Table PI. Enl. p. 40 (1783). 
 
 Sylvia dartfordieusis, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 287 (1787). 
 
 Motacilla provincialis, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 958 (] 788) ; et auctorum plurimo- 
 rum (Temminck), (Meyer), (Montagu}, (Crespon), (Keyserliny), (Blasius), 
 (Lmdermayer), (Dubois), (Heuglin), (Boie), (Fleming), (Kaup), (Selby), (Jenyns), 
 (Gould), (Bonaparte), (Cabanis), (Degland), (Gerbe), (Loche), (Doderlcin), (Sal- 
 vadori), (Shelley), (Fritsch), fyc. 
 
 Melizopbilus dartfordiensis (Lath.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. S>-c. Brit. Mtts. p. 25 
 (1816). 
 
 Sylvia ferruginea, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xi. p. 209 (1817). 
 
 Sylvia provincialis (Gmel), Temm. Man. cTOrn. i. p. 211 (1820). 
 
 Curruca provincialis (Gmel), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 553. 
 
 Thamnodus provincialis (Gmel.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 109 (1829). 
 
 Melizopbilus provincialis (Gmel.), Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 219 (1833). 
 
 Ficedula ulicicola, Blyth, Eennie's Field Nat. i. p. 310 (1833). 
 
 Malurus provincialis (Gmel.), Selby, Cat. Gen. B. p. 10 (1840). 
 
 Sylvia undata (Bodd), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 174 (1848). 
 
 Pyrophthalma provincialis (Gmel.), Jaub. et Barih.-Lapomm. Sick. Orn. p. 249 
 (1859). 
 
 Melizophilus undatus (Bodd.), Neivt. ed. Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 398 (1873). 
 
 The Dartford Warbler possesses a special interest for British orni- 
 thologists from the fact that it was first discovered in our islands, though 
 it is possible that fig. 2 on plate ccclxxxxi. of Germi's ' Ornithologia 
 Methodice Digesta' may have been intended to represent this species. 
 In the spring of 1773 a pair were shot on Bexley Heath, near Dartford, 
 and sent to Latham, who communicated the discovery to Pennant, by 
 whom the new bird was described and figured in 1776, in his ' British 
 Zoology/ under the name of Dartford Warbler. Two years later Buffon 
 
 * According to the Stricklandian code that is to say, according to law Boddaert's 
 name should be adopted for the Dartford Warbler, as be was undoubtedly the first person 
 to publish a Latin name for this bird, though it is probable that he never saw it. 
 According to equity there can be no doubt that Latham's name should have the 
 preference, as he appears to have been the first discoverer of this species. But according 
 to custom there can be no question that Gmeliu's name has received the sanction of 
 auctorum plurimonnn ; although there is every reason to believe that Gmeliu was little 
 more than a book-maker, who compiled his works from, the writings of others. The 
 Stricklandian code was published in 1842; and six years afterwards Gray adopted 
 Boddaert's name for this bird in obedience to its rules. Since 1848 the only writers 
 of importance who ha^e followed Gray have been Harting, Newton, Dresser, and Irby. 
 
DARTFORD WARBLER. 415 
 
 published a description of this bird, illustrated by a figure by Daubeutou, 
 under the name of Le Pitchou, from an example which had beeu sent to 
 him from Marseilles. When Latham wrote his 'Index Ornithologicus/ 
 he had already discovered the identity of the Marseilles bird with his 
 Dartt'ord Warbler. 
 
 The geographical distribution of this little Warbler is a somewhat 
 remarkable one. It is not known to be anywhere a migratory bird*. 
 Its headquarters appear to be the basin of the Mediterranean, where it 
 occurs in Spain, the extreme south of France, Corsica, Sardinia, Italy, 
 and Sicily. It has been recorded from Greece and Asia Minor ; but no 
 recent ornithologists have met with it in those countries. Canon Tristram 
 obtained it in Palestine; and Heuglin found it near Alexandria. It is 
 a resident in Morocco and Algeria. On the shores of the Atlantic the 
 mild winters produced by the Gulf-stream have enabled it to push 
 much further north, and it is found in Portugal and the extreme west of 
 France. In England it is principally confined to the counties bordering 
 the Channel, but also occurs in the counties of Surrey, Oxford, Wor- 
 cester, Leicester, and Derby, and has been found as far north as South 
 Yorkshire, where Dixou obtained its nest in the neighbourhood of Sheffield. 
 Its numbers would probably increase, and its range continue to extend 
 further north, were it not that in some years a sudden and heavy fall 
 of snow, or an unusually long-continued frost, almost exterminates it in. 
 some localities. 
 
 In summer the Dartford Warbler lives almost entirely in the furze 
 bushes ; hence its local name of Fiirze-Wreu. In winter, though it niav 
 often be seen in its summer haunts, the necessity of procuring food 
 prompts it to visit the turnip-fields, or to range along the coast. Its long 
 tail and short rounded wings do not seem adapted to extensive flights ; 
 but it has nevertheless been twice seen on Heligoland. It is seldom seen 
 on the wing. At Biarritz I found them frequenting the reeds on the 
 banks of a small lake. The first sight I had of one was that of a little 
 dark bird with a fan-like tail suddenly appearing amongst the reeds, crossing 
 a small patch where they had been cut down, and as suddenly and silently 
 disappearing amongst the reeds on the opposite side. Occasionally, as 
 we walked ou the bank of the lake, we heard a loud, clear, melodious 
 pitch'-oo repeated once or twice amongst the reeds. The note was so 
 musical that for a moment oue might imagine that a Nightingale was 
 beginning to strike up a tune. Now and then we saw the bird appear for 
 
 * The statement in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe,' that " Heuglin says that it is very rare 
 in Lower Egflat, where it appears with the Subalpine Warbler and RiippelTs Warbler 
 between the 20th and 2oth March," is incorrect. Heuglin says that he saw it between 
 those dates, in the company of the birds named : but there is not a word said to 
 that it is migratory, or that the dates given are the times of its arrival. 
 
416 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 a moment above the reeds, as if thrown up by a battledore ; but it dropped 
 down again and disappeared as suddenly. I have very rarely seen so 
 skulking a bird; once only it flew up from the reeds, and perched in 
 a willow near a large patch of furze bushes. Like most other Warblers, 
 this bird is very active, scarcely resting for a moment, except when 
 warbling its hurried little song from the top of a furze-branch. In many 
 of its habits it reminds one of Cetti's Warbler. It flits up a furze bush, 
 dodging in and out amongst the side branches in search of insects, perches 
 for a moment on the topmost spray ; but before you nave had time to get 
 your binocular onto it it has caught sight of your movement and drops 
 down into the furze bush as if shot. 
 
 So far as is known, the Dartford Warbler is almost entirely insecti- 
 vorous. Mr. Booth (Zool. 1877, p. 59) remarks that it " generally feeds 
 its young on the body of a large yellow moth. I have observed several 
 pairs carrying a light substance in their mouths to the nest; and on 
 shooting one bird from each of two nests I discovered that the food was 
 the same in both cases. The wings of the moth were removed, and I was 
 not entomologist enough to name the species ; but I observed that the 
 birds hunted for their prey among the lower part of the stems of the 
 furze/' It can scarcely be doubted that this bird will also eat fruit in 
 autumn. It would seem that it rears two broods in the year, the first 
 clutches of eggs being laid in the last half of April and the second in 
 the last half of June. The nest is described as generally concealed in 
 the thickest furze, amongst the dead branches, not many feet from the 
 ground ; but near Gibraltar it is said to nest in the heather. It is a very 
 slender structure, built principally of the finest round grass-stalks and 
 slender stems of various plants, a good deal of moss being used in the 
 foundation, and small bits of wool being introduced into the lining. The 
 nest is very small and deep ; and though the sides are thick, the materials 
 are so loosely put together that when held up to the light it is possible to 
 see throiigh them. Four or five is the usual number of eggs. In colour 
 they much resemble those of the Whitethroat. The ground is white, 
 sometimes of a greenish and sometimes of a huffish shade. The spots are 
 darker and more numerous than those of typical eggs of the Whitethroat, 
 and are dark brown, largest and most numerous towards the large end of 
 the egg. The underlying spots are, of course, paler, but in closely spotted 
 eggs are not conspicuous. In size the eggs vary from '7 to '65 inch in 
 length by '53 to '5 in breadth. 
 
 In the adult male Dartford Warbler the general colour of the upper 
 parts is very dark sooty brown, shading into very dark slate-grey on 
 the head. The innermost secondaries, wing-coverts, and quills are dark 
 brown, edged externally with pale brown. The tail is very dark grey, with 
 the outside web and the tip of the outside feathers white. The underparts 
 
DARTFORD WARBLER. 
 
 417 
 
 are chestnut- brown, shading into white on the centre of the belly; and 
 the feathers of the chin and upper throat are tipped with white. The 
 under tail-coverts are grey, with whitish tips. Bill very dark brown, 
 paler at the base of the lower mandible ; legs, feet, and claws pale brown ; 
 irides orange-yellow. The female differs from the male in having the 
 general colour of the underparts pale cinnamon-brown, instead of rich 
 chestnut-brown. The autumnal moult causes but little change in the 
 colour of the plumage. Birds of the year are slightly paler and browner 
 above, and have the underparts considerably paler than those of the adult 
 female. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 2E 
 
418 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SYLVIA GALACTODES. 
 RUFOUS WARBLER. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Turdus arundinaceus, Linn., vav. B, Lath. 2nd. Orn. i. p. 334 (1790). 
 
 Sylvia galactotes, Temm. Man. dOrn. i. p. 182 (1820) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Gray), (Bonaparte), (Heuglin), (Degland $ Gerbe), (Gould), (Newton), 
 
 (Dresser), $c. 
 
 Turdus rubiginosus, Meyer, Taschenb. Zus. u. Set: p. 66 (1822). 
 Aedon galactodes (Temm.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 972. 
 Sylvia rubigiuosa, Temm. Man. (TOrn. iii. p. 120 (1835). 
 Agrobates galactotes (Temm.), Swains. Classif. B.'\\. p. 241 (1H37). 
 Salicaria galactotes (Temm.), Gould, B. Eur. ii. pi. 112 (1837). 
 Erythropygia galactodes (Temm.), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. 8? N. Amer. p. 13 
 
 (1838). 
 
 Aedon rubiginosa (Temm.), Dcyl. Orn. Eur. i. p. 507 (1849). 
 Calarnoherpe galactodes (Temm.), Schl. Vog. Nederl. p. 141 (1854). 
 Agrobates rubiginosus (Temm.), Dubois, Ois. Eur. pi. 74 (1862). 
 
 The Rufous Warbler can only be considered a very accidental 
 straggler to the British Islands. The first specimen was shot by Sways- 
 land, the well-known bird-stuffer of Brighton, in the autumn of 1854, and 
 recorded in the ' Zoologist ' for that year (p. 4511) by Mr. Borrer. This 
 gentleman writes that as Swaysland " was driving on the South Downs 
 about six miles from Brighton, near a part of the Downs known as 
 Plumpton Bosthill, he noticed a bird which he at first took for a cream- 
 coloured variety of the Nightingale. Having no gun, he proceeded about 
 four miles to obtain one, and, returning to the spot, found the bird about 
 twenty yards from where he first observed it. It was very wary, flying 
 always to the further side of some furze bushes, and settling on the side 
 furthest from him, mounting into the air some fifteen yards. Swaysland 
 describes its flight as resembling that of the young of the Red-backed 
 Shrike. He at last got a shot at about forty yards, and killed it : this 
 was on the 16th of September last. The bird, on dissection, proved to be a 
 male, and would shortly have moulted, one or two young feathers of the 
 primaries having made their appearance on each wing : these are darker 
 than the old ones. The feathers also on the back and tail, especially the 
 central ones of the latter, are much worn/' In 1859 the late Mr. G. R. 
 Gray writes, in the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History' (iv. p. 399), 
 of the second specimen, stating that it had " been killed near Start Point, 
 South Devonshire, on the 25th of September last. It was shot by William 
 D. Llewellyn, Esq., by whom it was presented to the British Museum. 
 That gentleman observed that its flight much resembled that of a Lark, 
 
RUFOUS WARBLER. 419 
 
 and that it was exceedingly thin. Its visit was probably occasioned by 
 the strong southerly wind which had prevailed for several days/' 
 
 To the above occurrences must be added a third example, shot in a 
 turnip-field near Slapton in Devonshire, on the 12th of October 1876. 
 It was recorded in the ' Zoologist ' for that year (p. 5179) by Mr. Henry 
 Nicholls, who states that it appears to be a bird of the year, and, curiously 
 enough, was taken within a short distance of the specimen obtained in the 
 year 1859. 
 
 The Rufous Warbler has a very restricted geographical distribution, its 
 range being confined to the basin of the Mediterranean and eastwards into 
 Turkestan. Even in this small area it is subject to considerable variation, 
 the eastern form being much greyer on the whole of the upper parts, 
 especially on the central tail-feathers, than the western form, and the 
 Abyssinian form being smaller than either. The typical form appears to 
 be the one that has occurred in our islands, and is a common summer 
 visitor to Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Egypt, and Palestine south of Bevrout. 
 It is known to winter in Abyssinia, and has been said to have been pro- 
 cured at that season of the year on the Gold Coast. 
 
 The small form is said to be a resident in Abyssinia, and is generally 
 known as S. galactodes, var. minor. The grey-backed form S. galactodes, 
 var. familiar is, breeds in Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine north of Bevrout, 
 the Caucasus, Persia, and Turkestan. It winters in Scinde, Baluchistan, 
 and Rajpootana. This form has occurred accidentally on Heligoland; 
 and in the museum at Florence are several examples from Nice and Genoa. 
 
 As might be expected of a bird which only accidentally wanders north 
 of the basin of the Mediterranean, the Rufous Warbler is a migratory 
 species which arrives very late at its breeding-quarters, and leaves early 
 for the south in autumn. In Greece and Asia Minor I found it a very 
 common bird, and shot several examples as they sat in the lowest branches 
 of the olive-trees in the vineyards. Even in these southern latitudes it is 
 a bird of the plains, and was to be fouud in company Math Cetti's Warbler, 
 Bee-eaters, and the Isabelline Chat, but was never observed in the pine- 
 region, where the Wood-Lark, the Chaffinch, and the Wheatear were 
 breeding. It did not arrive until the last week in April, five weeks after 
 the Swallows. Although in some respects this bird resembles the Reed- 
 Warblers, his song is quite different, and reminded me very much of that 
 of the Robin. The bird is very active, and is often seen perched in a 
 somewhat conspicuous position, moving his tail up and down like a Wag- 
 tail. In flying it often spreads its tail, showing very conspicuously the 
 contrast of thj3 black and white on the outside feathers. We had several 
 nests brought us early in June, and remarked that in most of them was a 
 piece of the cast skin of a snake. The Greeks told us that this bird always 
 weaves a small portion into the lining of the nest, to act as a charm to 
 
 2E 2 
 
420 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 prevent the snakes from sucking the eggs. The nest is usually placed not 
 very far from the ground, in the rough hedges which surround the vine- 
 yards and cherry-orchards. The nest is larger than that of most "Warblers, 
 somewhat more bulky, and scarcely so deep. It is composed of roots, 
 straws, dry grass, bits of matting, lichen, &c., and is lined with wool, thistle- 
 down, a feather or two, or almost any soft material. 
 
 Writing of this species in Palestine, Canon Tristram states that it returns 
 to its old haunts by the middle of April, and spreads itself over every part 
 of the country where there are bushes and reeds. He writes (Ibis, 1867, 
 p. 80) : " In no way whatever does it resemble the Marsh- Warblers in 
 action or note. Its song is low, soft, and mellifluous. It is constantly 
 seen, and, instead of skulking in thickets, hops here and there, perching 
 on the outmost bough of any bush or on the stem of a tall cane, expanding 
 and jerking its tail like a Wren." He also informs us that its nest is very 
 easy to find, the bird making no more attempt to conceal it than the Missel- 
 thrush. In his last journey to Palestine Canon Tristram met with this 
 bird in great abundance : and his observations are specially interesting ; for 
 they relate to a great extent to the geographical distribution of the eastern 
 and" the western forms of this Warbler. In ' The Ibis ' for 1882 (p. 409) 
 he informs us that " after the last week in April it is to be seen everywhere, 
 on upland and lowland alike, expanding, jerking, and fanning its tail, with 
 its conspicuous white bar, on the bare fig-trees, among olives, on the top 
 of any little shrub, or on the pathway in front of the horseman, hopping 
 fearlessly on at his close approach. No specimen of its ally (S. familiaris) 
 have I ever noticed among the thousands I have seen, though I was keenly 
 on the look-out for it. But when, after leaving Beyrout, I followed the 
 coast-line northwards, so soon as we had passed the headlands of Lebanon 
 and entered the rich plains of Tripolis, not a solitary S. galactodes was 
 ever seen, while S. familiaris was as abundant everywhere as its congener 
 had been in the south. . . . North and east we have the one species ; south 
 and west, as far as Algeria, Spain, and Morocco, we find the other." 
 
 Dixon, when in Algeria, made the following notes respecting the habits 
 of this bird : "Although the Rufous Warbler was a bird of which I was 
 particularly anxious to make the acquaintance ; for I was curious to know 
 whether it was the present species or the naarly allied Sylvia familiaris of 
 the East that occurred in Algeria, it was not until we reached the oasis of 
 Biskra that I met with it. Biskra is the second oasis, and is situated on 
 the borders of the Great Desert a charming place, almost all date-palm 
 forests and barley-fields. I sought eagerly for my then to me unknown 
 bird in the few places I thought best adapted to a Warbler's require- 
 ments in the fast drying-up bed of the Oued Biskra, in the tangled mass 
 of tall cane-brake and thorns by the side of the artificial canals made for 
 purposes of irrigation but in vain. The delicate little Tree-Warbler 
 
RUFOUS WARBLER. 421 
 
 Hypolais opaca and the Wren-like Cisticola were to be seen, but no 
 Rufous Warblers. The date-palms are chiefly enclosed in mud walls at 
 this oasis ; and the ground let \veeu the trees is sown with barley : these 
 are the Arab gardens ; and in them we first met with the bird. As we 
 wandered between the narrow lanes, a strange bird would now and then bs 
 seen on the tops of these mud walls, in amongst the thorns placed on the 
 top to keep them from falling, spreading its fan-like tail for a moment, and 
 then disappearing again. It was always very shy and wary, and defied all 
 our efforts to shoot it. We also met with it in the large Government 
 garden here, now left neglected and all run wild a perfect paradise for 
 birds, where the palm-trees glistened with the refulgent dress of the Bee- 
 eater and the gaudy Golden Oriole. Amongst the bushes it was just as 
 shy and wary as ever : all we got was a hasty glimpse of its rich chestnut 
 plumage, and the conspicuous markings of its tail as, like a fan, it was 
 watted to and fro just as the bird was about to take wing. We did not 
 succeed in obtaining a single specimen in Biskra ; but when we reached 
 the picturesque oasis of El Kantara, on our return journey, I was fortunate 
 enough to shoot a pair. Here, as at Biskra, we repeatedly saw them on 
 the walls of the Arab gardens. I was walking along the high road, trying 
 to get a few specimens of the trustful and pretty Sahara Bunting, 
 when, in a small prickly-pear garden, I noticed a pair of Rufous Warblers 
 hopping from under the branches, just as a Robin or a Thrush would do. 
 They hopped over the parched and arid ground, ever and anon spreading 
 out their tails, and chasing each other through the cactus. They seemed 
 not to mind my presence at all ; they were too engrossed with their 
 courtship ; and even the discharge of my gun only caused the surviving 
 bird to hide itself for a moment under the branches. I never expected to 
 meet with a Warbler in such diy arid situations as the present species 
 inhabits ; but in all its actions, nevertheless, it is an undoubted Sylvia." 
 
 Writing on the nesting-habits of the Rufous Warbler in Algeria, Salvin 
 states (Ibis, 1859, p. 309) : "Near Ain Djendeli I used frequently to 
 notice the present species about the trees that overhang the dry stony 
 watercourses that run from the hills into the plain beneath. We never 
 found a nest, however, in one of the above-mentioned places ; and it 
 would seem that the bird prefers a moister soil for its breeding-haunts, 
 such as is afforded by the lowlands near lake Djendeli, where the tamarisk- 
 trees grow on the banks of the Chemora and the small Am or spring. 
 The nest we found usually placed conspicuously in the fork or on a branch 
 of one of these trees, and with apparently no attempt at concealment. 
 The heights at which the structure is placed vary from one to six feet from 
 the ground? In one instance I found a nest among the roots of a tree in 
 a bank-side, in a place where one would have expected in England to have 
 found the nest of a Robin. The materials employed are the dead shoots 
 
422 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of the tamarisk, which form the outside, the inside and lining being 
 usually coot's or duck's feathers mingled with wool or camel's hair ; and, 
 in nine cases out of ten, a small piece of serpent's skin is loosely placed in 
 the bottom of the nest/' It should be remarked that Canon Tristram 
 also mentions this strange material in the nest-lining. In Southern Spain 
 the Rufous Warbler is said by Saunders to build its nest between the 
 leaves of the cactus, which forms the hedges in the vineyards. 
 
 The eggs of the Rufous Warbler are from three to five in number, and 
 differ somewhat in the extent and colour of the markings. The usual type 
 is very pale bluish white or French grey in ground-colour, irregularly 
 marked and dashed with large brown spots, and with a few streaks of the 
 same colour and pale violet-grey shell -markings. Another type is very 
 pale blue in ground-colour, finely speckled with pale brown, the spots 
 being most numerous on the large end of the egg. They measure from 
 95 to '8 inch in length, and from '67 to '59 inch in breadth. The eggs 
 of the Rufous Warbler very closely resemble those of the Tawny Pipit 
 (Anthus campestris) ; but, as a rule, the eggs of the latter bird are compara- 
 tively broader in proportion to their length. Canon Tristram states that 
 his Palestine eggs of the Rufous Warbler are much more delicately 
 and sparsely spotted than those from Africa. 
 
 The food of this bird is composed of insects, for which it searches 
 not only in the branches but also on the ground. It may sometimes be 
 seen turning over dung like a Thrush ; and very often it flies into the air 
 to catch a passing insect. 
 
 The typical form of the Rufous Warbler has the general colour of the 
 upper parts pale chestnut- brown, with a buffish-white eye-stripe extending 
 to the nape. The quills and wing-coverts are brown, margined on the 
 outside web with huffish white. The tail is rich chestnut-brown ; the two 
 centre feathers have a more or less obscure broad terminal dark band, 
 which is sometimes obsolete; and the remaining feathers have broad 
 terminal white bands and nearly black subterminal bands. The whole of 
 the underparts are very pale buffish white, slightly darker on the sides of 
 the breast and flanks. Bill brown above, horn-colour below ; legs, feet, 
 and claws pale brown ; irides hazel. The female does not differ in colour 
 from the male ; and the differences caused by age and season are very 
 small. 
 
PHYLLOSCOPUS. 423 
 
 Genus PHYLLOSCOPUS. 
 
 The Willow-Warblers were originally included by Linnaeus in his genus 
 MotaciUa, and were afterwards separated by Scopoli and placed in his 
 genus Sylvia together with the rest of the Warblers. In 1802 Bechstein 
 created thr* subgenus Asilus in his ' Ornithologische Taschenbuch/ p. 173, 
 for the reception of the Willow- Warblers ; but as, in 1767, Linnaeus had 
 already applied that name to a genus of insects in his ' Systema Naturae ' 
 (i. p. 1006), it cannot be also applied to a genus of birds. In 1816 Koch, 
 in his ' System der baierischen Zoologie/ i. p. 158, made an equally unsuc- 
 cessful attempt to erect a genus for the reception of the Willow- Warblers, 
 selecting for this purpose the name of Ficedula, a name which is open to 
 three objections. In the first place, the MotaciUa ficedula of Linnaeus is 
 not a Willow-Warbler, whatever else it may be ; in the second place, in 
 1799 Cuvier made a genus Ficedula to contain the Flycatchers; and, in the 
 third place, the genus Ficedula of Brisson appears to be synonymous with 
 the genus MotaciUa of Linnaeus, and its type was probably a young or 
 female Pied Flycatcher. In the following year Forster, in his ' Synoptical 
 Catalogue of British Birds/ p. 54, was equally unfortunate in adopting the 
 specific name trochilus, which Linnaeus gave to the Willow- Warbler, as 
 the name of his new genus, regardless of the fact that this name had 
 already been applied by Linnaeus (Syst. Nat. i. p. 189) to the Humming- 
 birds. In 1826, however, Boie succeeded in finding a name which is open 
 to no objection, and in the 'Isis' for that year (p. 972) established the 
 genus Phylloscopus for the Willow- Warblers, making P. trochilus the 
 type. 
 
 The Willow- Warblers are a group of about five-and-twenty little birds 
 so nearly allied to the typical Warblers (Sylvia), the Tree- Warblers 
 (Hypolals), the Reed- Warblers (Acrocephalus) , the Grasshopper Warblers 
 (Locustel/a) , and the Grass -Warblers (Lusciniola), and especially to the 
 Indian Flycatcher Warblers (Abrornii), that it is impossible to draw a 
 hard and fast line between any of these genera, except by arbitrarily 
 choosing some character and making it the standard of separation. In 
 such nearly allied genera, where the intermediate species have not yet 
 become extinct, ornithologists must accept with gratitude any cha- 
 racter, however trivial, which seems to classify the species into natural 
 groups. 
 
 The principal characteristic of the Willow- Warblers is their semi- 
 
424 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 domed nest with the entrance at the side, a feature distinguishing them 
 from all the genera alluded to except Abrornis. Typical examples of the 
 Flycatcher Warblers have a very wide flat bill abundantly furnished 
 with long rictal bristles, and have rounded wings, with the first primary 
 half the length of the second, or nearly so. Many species, however, are 
 so exactly intermediate that, when I wrote the volume of the British- 
 Museum Catalogue of Birds containing the Sylvimte, I should most 
 certainly have considered whether some of them ought not to be included 
 in the genus Phylloscojms, if my colleague for the time being had not cut 
 the Gordian knot for me by having already absorbed them into the volume 
 containing the Muscicapidoe. 
 
 From the other allied genera, the various species of which build cup- 
 shaped nests, the yellow axillaries of the Willow -Warblers are a sufficient 
 distinction, with the exception of two aberrant species of the genus 
 Hypolais, which also have yellow axillaries. We must therefore find 
 another character, and are obliged to fall back upon the comparative size 
 of the bill and wing. The Tree-Warblers have large bills, the length of 
 the culmen being about a fifth of the length of the wing ; whilst the sub- 
 generic group of the Willow-Warblers, which, like the Tree- Warblers, 
 have no pale bar across the wings formed by the greater wing-coverts 
 having pale tips, have small bills, the length of the culmen being about 
 one sixth of the length of the wing. 
 
 The Willow-Warblers are essentially fly-catchers in their habits, and 
 may constantly be seen catching flies upon the wing ; but probably the 
 greater part of their food is picked off the leaves. Accordingly their bills, 
 if not very wide, are considerably depressed at the base, and the rictal 
 bristles are well developed. Most of the species are migratory, the range 
 of their seasonal distribution frequently extending over thousands of 
 miles; consequently their wings are long, flat, and pointed, whilst the 
 bastard primary is very small. The migration of others is confined to the 
 plains within sight of the mountains where they breed. In these the wing 
 is shorter, more concaved to fit the body, and rounded, whilst the bastard 
 primary is larger, the vital energy required for its production not having 
 apparently been absorbed in lengthening the adjoining primaries. The 
 tail is generally even and frequently forked. All the species of the 
 genus are soberly coloured, the upper parts varying from yellowish 
 green to buffish brown, and the underparts from yellow to buff or 
 white. 
 
 Probably all the species build a semi-domed nest on or near the ground, 
 and lay white eggs spotted with red. 
 
 In their breeding-range the Willow-W T arblers are Palsearctic, ranging 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Several species extend their range 
 farther north than the limit of forest-growth. Those species which do not 
 
PIIYLLOSCOPUS. 
 
 425 
 
 breed within the Palaearctic region ascend the Himalayas until they reach 
 an elevation where they can enjoy a Palearctic climate. The southern 
 winter range of the genus extends in Africa to the Cape of Good Hope, 
 and in Asia to Ceylon and the islands of the Malay archipelago ; but no 
 species has as yet been found in Australia. Six species breed in Europe, 
 and many more are accidental visitors on migration. Of these, three are 
 regular summer visitors to our islands, and a fourth has accidentally 
 visited our shores. 
 
426 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PHYLLOSCOPUS SIBILATRIX. 
 
 WOOD-WREN. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula asilus major, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 482 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla sibilatrix, Bechst. Naturforscher, xxvii. p. 47 (1793) ; id. Naturg. Deiftschl. 
 
 iv. p. 888 (1795). 
 
 Sylvia sylvicola, Mont. Trans. Linn. Soc. iv. p. 35 (1798). 
 Sylvia sibilatrix (Bechst.), Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 170 (1802) ; et auctorum 
 
 plurimorum Temminck, Naumann, Bonaparte, Gray, (Schlegel), (Gould), 
 
 (Dresser), (Newton), fyc. 
 
 MotaciUa sylvatica, Turton, Gen. Syst. Nat. i. p. 587 (1800). 
 Ficedula sibilatrix (Bechst.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 159 (1816). 
 Trochilus major, Forst. Syn. Cat. p. 54 (1817). 
 Curruca sibilatrix (Bechst.), Fleming, Brit. An. p. 70 (1828). 
 Sibilatrix sibilatrix (Bechst.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 98 (1829). 
 Phyllopneuste sibilatrix (Bechst.), Brelim, Vo'g. Deutschl. p. 425 (1831). 
 Phyllopneuste megarhynclios, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 425 (1831). 
 Phyllopneuste sylvicola (Lath.), Brehm, Vo'y. Deutschl. p. 420 (1831). 
 Sylvicola sibilatrix (Bechst.), Eyton, Cat. Brit. B. p. 14 (1836). 
 Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechst.), Bh/th, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 184 (1849). 
 Phyllopseuste sibilatrix (Bechst.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 33 (1850). 
 
 The Wood-Wren, though the largest species of Willow-Warbler, and 
 perhaps the handsomest of the group, and certainly possessing the most 
 marked song and the most peculiar call-notes, appears to have escaped the 
 attention of Linnaeus. Gilbert White, in his ' Natural History of Sel- 
 borne/ clearly points out, apparently for the first time, the distinctness of 
 this charming bird from the Willow- Wren and the Chiffchaff ; but it was 
 described as long ago as 1676 by Willughby and Ray, who had received 
 an example from their friend Mr. Francis Jessop of Sheffield, on whose 
 property the bird was probably as common as it is now, in spite of the 
 close proximity of the villas of the steel-makers. 
 
 Though somewhat more local than its near allies, it is by no means un- 
 common in England and Wales. In Scotland it has not been recorded 
 north of the Moray Firth ; but our information on the ornithology of this 
 district is so meagre that it may have been overlooked. In Ireland it is 
 only known to have occurred in the counties of Fermanagh and Dublin. 
 On the continent its range is even more restricted than that of the Chiff- 
 chaff. It is not known to have been obtained in Norway ; but in Sweden 
 it is found as far north as Upsala. It is very common in the Baltic pro- 
 vinces, but is rarer in South Finland. Though Alston and Harvie-Brown 
 were mistaken in supposing that they found it near Archangel, it is recorded 
 by Hencke as a rare summer visitor to that locality. It is common in 
 
WOOD-WREN. 427 
 
 Central and Southern Russia, but does not appear to have been found east 
 of Kazan. Bogdanow records it from the latter locality, and also obtained 
 an example in the Terek valley in autumn. Menetries also records it 
 from Lenkoran. SabanaefPs remarks on its occurrence in the Ural, 
 quoted by Dresser, appear to refer to the Icteriue Warbler. It breeds in 
 Transylvania and in Turkey ; but in Greece, Asia Minor, and Palestine 
 it is only known as passing through on migration. To the rest of Europe 
 it is a regular summer visitor. It winters in North Africa, having been 
 found to the west as far south as the Gold Coast, and to the east as far 
 south as Abyssinia. A few appear to remain in Algeria to breed. 
 
 Either the Wood- Wren, or its favourite food, appears to avoid the cool 
 damp summer of countries which come under the influence of the Gulf 
 Stream. It is difficult otherwise to harmonize its absence in Norway and 
 the north of Scotland, and its extreme rarity in Ireland, with its abundance 
 in the Baltic provinces and its occurrence in the warm dry summers of 
 Archangel. Its late arrival in this country also shows how careful it is to 
 avoid the storms of spring. It is possible that the true reason of this 
 peculiarity in the distribution of the Wood -Wren is its objection to cross 
 the sea. In spite of its long and powerful wings, it apparently prefers to 
 migrate over the land as much as possible. In spite of its abundance in 
 the forests of Brunswick and Pomerania, where it seemed to me to be the 
 commonest of the three Willow-Warblers, it is comparatively rare on the 
 island of Heligoland. Whilst thousands of Willow- Wrens and Chiffchaffs 
 are seen on this isolated rock both in spring and autumn, Gaetke writes of 
 the Wood-Wren that " a solitary individual occurs rarely during the warm 
 days of May and August. It is seldom seen amongst the few shrubs and 
 trees which ornament the gardens of Heligoland, but almost always only 
 on the rocky cliffs which surround the island. This is somewhat remark- 
 able ; for such exclusively forest birds as Woodpeckers and Jays avail 
 themselves of the brushwood of the gardens, but the Wood- Wren does 
 not, for some reason or other preferring the naked cliffs. " 
 
 This bird arrives at its breeding-grounds in this country at least a fort- 
 night later than its congeners. Its charming song is rarely heard in the 
 woods and copses of Yorkshire until late in April. Then, when the trees 
 are just bursting into leaf and the woods are gay with anemones and blue- 
 bells and other wild flowers, the ^ood-Wren appears in great numbers. 
 On their first arrival only the long-drawn-out plaintive call-note is heard ; 
 but in a few days they are in full song. On a sunshiny early mornm** the 
 woods seem to be alive with them. They have just completed their spring 
 moult ; and fc having waited for fine weather to cross the Mediterranean and 
 the British ^Channel, they arrive in our woods iu marvellously perfect plu- 
 mage. In the early morning sun they look almost as delicate a yellowish 
 green as the half-grown leaves amongst which they disport themselves. 
 
428 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 In the hand the delicate shading of the eye-stripe, and of the margins of 
 the feathers of the wings and tail, is exquisitely beautiful, but is almost all 
 lost under the rude handling of tire bird-skinner. The Wood-Wren is not 
 at all shy, nor does he frequent exclusively the topmost branches of trees ; 
 and with reasonable caution, a good binocular brings him almost under 
 your eye. During the pairing-season the restless tit-like search for food 
 in and out among the twigs, over and under the leaves, from bush to bush 
 and tree to tree is not so apparent. The little songster seems wholly 
 devoted to his song, and remains singing at intervals from his twig, though 
 ever and anon he leaves it for a short flight after a too tempting insect, 
 which he catches on the wing, and takes to the nearest twig to repeat his 
 song. In such a hurry is he to sing, that often, when flying from one tree 
 to another, he begins his song on the wing, to finish it on his perch. The 
 song, so aptly called by Gilbert W T hite the " shivering " notes of the Wood- 
 Warbler, when once heard can never be forgotten. It commences, for the 
 first note or two, somewhat like that of the Willow-Wren, but rapidly in- 
 creases in speed, finally running into a trill. It might be expressed on 
 paper thus chit, chit, chit, chit, chitr, tr-tr-tr-tr-tr-tre. The final trill 
 somewhat resembles the note of the Grasshopper Warbler or the Lesser 
 Redpole, or the prolonged ''shivering" part of the song of the Common 
 Wren ; and during its utterance the wings and tail, if not the whole body 
 of the bird, vibrate with the exertion. The loud and plaintive call-note is 
 in spring a rapidly uttered dee'-ur, dee'-ur, dee'-ur but in summer it alters 
 somewhat, is less rapidly uttered, and the first syllable is less emphasized. 
 The alarm-note is a whit, not unlike that of the Willow-Wren. 
 
 The food of the Wood-Wren is unquestionably insects of various kinds. 
 Newton says that it eats neither fruit nor berries ; but Naumann asserts 
 that it is especially fond of elder-berries. It can scarcely be probable that 
 it is exceptional in this respect. Almost all insectivorous birds are more 
 or less beccafici in autumn. 
 
 Its flight is undulating, like that of most flat- winged birds ; and it has a 
 habit of dropping down somewhat spirally onto a twig with half-expanded 
 wings, in a manner reminding one of the Tree-Pipit. 
 
 In Yorkshire the Wood-Wren is much commoner than the Chiffchaff, 
 but more local. It is rarely seen in gardens or very small copses, and 
 prefers the larger woods. I have never seen it more abundant than in the 
 large pine- and beech-forests of North Germany. 
 
 The nest, which is extremely difficult to find, is always on the ground, 
 concealed amongst the grass, heath, or bilberry. It is semi-domed, com- 
 posed of dry grass, with sometimes a little moss or a few leaves, and lined 
 with horsehair, not with feathers. The eggs vary in number from five to 
 seven, and are pure white in ground-colour, spotted and blotched with 
 purplish brown, and with numerous shell-markings of violet-grey. Some 
 
WOOD-WREX. 1:29 
 
 are much more thickly marked than others : in some the spots are 
 small ; iu others they are confluent iu places and form several large pale 
 blotches, thickly intermingled with small and darker spots and streaks. 
 They measure from '7 to '6 inch in length, and from '59 to '53 inch in 
 breadth. The peculiarities of the Wood- Warbler's eggs, compared with 
 the eggs of its British congeners, are their average larger size, more nume- 
 rous and richer brown markings, and the underlying spots of violet-grey. 
 So far as is known, the only eggs of any other Willow-Warbler they can 
 be confused with are those of Bonelli's Warbler (P. bonellii] but the eggs 
 of this bird are much smaller : otherwise the markings are precisely the 
 same in colour and distribution. 
 
 The adult Wood- Warbler in spring plumage has the general colour of 
 the upper parts yellowish green, yellowest on the rump and upper tail- 
 coverts. A distinct greenish yellow eye-stripe extends from the base of 
 the bill as far as the crown ; the feathers before the eye, and behind the 
 eye as far as the crown, are olive-green; and the wing-coverts are olive- 
 green with paler edges. The quills are brown, narrowly tipped with 
 greyish white, the outside webs edged with yellowish green, and emargi- 
 nated as far as the fourth primary ; and the margins to the innermost 
 secondaries are broad and pale. The tail-feathers are brown, the outside 
 webs edged with yellowish green, and the inside webs having a narrow 
 greyish- white margin. The general colour of the underparts is pure white, 
 suffused with yellow on the chin, throat, and fore neck, occasionally with 
 a trace of yellow on the flanks and the basal part of the under tail-feathers. 
 The axillaries, under wing-coverts, and thighs are yellow. Bill dark brown, 
 paler at the base of the under mandible ; legs, feet, and claws brown; irides 
 hazel. The summer plumage of the Wood- Wren is very similar to the 
 spring; for, owing probably to its retiring habits and the more limited 
 range of its migration, and possibly to the firmer texture of its feathers, 
 its plumage suffers little from abrasion. The autumn plumage is similar 
 to that of spring. The Wood-Warbler may always be distinguished from 
 its near ally the Willow-Warbler by its bright yellow eye-stripe, by its 
 greener upper parts, larger size, and by its very small first primary, the 
 exposed part only measuring from 0'3 to 0'4 inch, whereas in the Willow- 
 Warbler it is usuallv O'G inch. 
 
 * * * ' 
 
430 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS. 
 WILLOW-WREN. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Ficedula asilus, Briss. Om. iii. p. 479 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla troshilus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 338 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Temminck), (Naumann), (Gould), (Bonaparte), (Dec/land fy Gerbe), (Loche), 
 
 (Gray), (Newton), (Sharpe), (Dresser), fyc. 
 
 Sylvia trochilus (Linn.), Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 160 (1769). 
 Motacilla fitis, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 678 (1795). 
 Sylvia fitis (Bechst.), Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 187 (1802). 
 Ficedula fitis (Bechst.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 159 (1816). 
 Sylvia flaviventris, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xi. p. 241 (1817). 
 Trocliilus medius, Forst. Syn. Cat. p. 54 (1817). 
 Phylloscopus trocliilus (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 972. 
 Regulus trochilus (Linn.), Fleming, Brit. An. p. 72 (1828). 
 Phyllopneuste arborea, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 427 (1831). 
 Phyllopneuste fitis (Bechsf.), Brehm, Voy. Deutschl. p. 427 (1831). 
 Phyllopneuste trochilus (Linn.), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 429 (1831). 
 Sylvia melodia, Blyth, Rennie's Field Nat. i. p. 425 (1833). 
 Curruca viridula, Hempr. $ Ehrenb. Symb. Phys., Aves, fol. bb (1833). 
 Sylvicola trochilus (Linn.), Eyton, Cat. Brit. B. p. 13 (1836). 
 Ficedula trochilus (Linn.), Keys. n. Bias. Wirb. Eur. p. 185 (1840). 
 Sylvia tarnarixis, Crespon, Fauna Merid. i. p. 209 (1844). 
 Sylvia augusticauda, Gerbe, Faun, de FAube, p. 139, Jlde Deal. Orn. Eur. i. p. 549 
 
 (1849). 
 
 Phyllopneuste eversrnanni, Bonap. Consp. i. p. 289 (1850). 
 Silvia meisneri, Pussier, Naum. 1851, p. 56. 
 
 Phyllopneuste major, Tristram, Ann, Nat. Hist. 1871, viii. p. 29 (nee Forster). 
 Phylloscopus gaetkii, Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 92. 
 Phyllopseuste trochilus (Linn.), Giebel, Thes. Orn. iii. p. 121 (1877). 
 
 Of all the Willow- Warblers the common Willow-Wren, as it is generally 
 called, is the most abundant and the most widely distributed. The exqui- 
 site delicacy of its plumage, the slender gracefulness of its form, its active 
 Tit-like habits, its pretty little song, and, above all, its carefully concealed 
 domed nest and beautiful pink eggs make it a general favourite. There 
 is scarcely a plantation, or garden, or copse in Great Britain or Ireland 
 where the Willow- Wren is not a common bird in the breeding-season. 
 On the continent it is equally common. I found it abundant on the fjelds 
 of Lapland both in the Porsanger and Varanger fjords ; and on the tundras 
 of the Petchora and Yenesay, up to lat. 70, wherever the valleys were shel- 
 tered enough to allow of the growth of willow copses. It breeds through- 
 out Central and Western Europe, a few even remaining during summer in 
 North-west Africa ; but towards the east its breeding range does not 
 extend so far south. There is no evidence of its breeding in South Russia ; 
 
WILLOW- WKKN 431 
 
 and Dressers statement that it is generally distributed there in summer is 
 no doubt an error, as Goebel in South-west Russia, Bogdanow in the 
 Caucasus,, and Hencke at Astrakhan all agree that it is only seen on the 
 spring and autumn migrations. Danford and Harvie-Browii found it 
 breeding in Transylvania ; but in Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor, and Pales- 
 tine it is only found in winter. The Siberian birds appear to migrate west 
 in autumn, as the Willow-Wren has not been found in Turkestan, though 
 a few appear to winter in Persia. A few winter in Spain and Sicily; but 
 the great winter quarters of this bird are in Africa. It abounds in the 
 oases of the desert, is very common in the valley of the Nile, and has been 
 sent in collections from the Gambia river, Senegal, the Congo, Damara 
 Laud, the Cape, Xatal, and the Transvaal. From the latter country I 
 have examples in full spring moult. 
 
 The Willow- Wren is pue of the earliest birds in spring to migrate. In 
 the south of England, as in Xorth Germany, it arrives towards the end of 
 March, in Yorkshire during the first week of April, and in the middle parts 
 of Scotland (according to Macgillivray) about the 20th or 25th of April. 
 In the valley of the Petchora, in lat. 65, we first heard its notes on the 
 20th of May ; and on the Arctic circle in the valley of the Yenesay it did 
 not arrive until the 4th of June. It leaves this country in September. 
 In the last week of that month I observed great numbers on Heligoland ; 
 and Gaetke tells us that it frequently appears on that island in considerable 
 numbers as early as the middle of August. 
 
 The Willow-Wren is such a common bird that it is difficult to say where 
 it is not to be found. Its cheerful song may be heard in the copses of our 
 wildest moorlands, or on the few trees that struggle for existence -among 
 the rocks and peat on the banks of the mountain-becks, amongst the furze- 
 bushes on the common, in plantations and woods of all kinds of trees, in 
 the farm as well as the garden, and even amongst the trees and shrubs in 
 front of the villas almost in the middle of our blackest towns. 
 
 The Willow-Wren is especially common in the neighbourhood of Shef- 
 field. All the world kuo\vswhat a black place Sheffield is. The ill-thriven 
 village that forged the penblade wherewith Chaucer whittled his crow- 
 quill was proverbial for its blackness ; and tradition shows us in legendary 
 perspective the tilts on the banks of the Don where the Brigantine warriors 
 took their arrows to be steeled by the half-savage sons of Vulcan the green 
 meadows by the river-side scarred by their coal-pits, and the grand old 
 oaks and silvery birches on the mountain -slope charred by the smoke of 
 their rude forges. The huge armour-plate rolling-mills have brought the 
 town to its climax of blackness. Passengers by the express from the em- 
 porium of gold to Cottonopolis shrug their shoulders as they near the 
 Victoria Station, and fancy they have reached the zero of physical as well 
 as of moral good. The view over the Wicker is indeed a dismal one, 
 
432 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 almost picturesque from excess of gloom. You seem to be looking upon 
 a forest of chimney-studded roofs, hazy and indistinct, and soon lost in the 
 thick smoke which hangs like a great black rain-cloud over the sky, whilst 
 here and there, where the engine-chimneys are thickest, the steam hangs 
 about them like the " sobs" of mist' that rise out of the Wharncliffe woods 
 and hang about the loftiest trees, looking white against the grey rain. 
 Underneath this heaven of smoke, somewhere at the bottom of this valley 
 of chimneys, flows the dirty, sullen, ill-used river Don, groaning under 
 the weight of his labour, monotonously turning his hundred wheels and 
 tilts day and night, and patiently bearing his burden of blackness. In 
 the early part of this century the Don was a gay, laughing stream, purling 
 amongst mossy stones or dropping into dark pools full of trout. Now it 
 is a barren river, muddied by drains and sewers, poisoned by divers acids, 
 redolent of unwholesome gases, and stained with the hideous yellow of 
 " wheelswarfe." About six miles out of the town it nestles close under the 
 Wharncliffe woods ; and about a mile further on, at its junction with the 
 Yewden, the sturdy oaks almost hide the rocky bed of the stream from 
 sight. From the top of the crags at Wharncliffe you look down upon one 
 of the finest landscapes in Yorkshire. Its most marked feature is the 
 Wharn cliffs (Danish Varnclippe} , or bulwark cliffs, which run like a 
 rampart on the hill-sides. Beyond these rampart cliffs is the majestic 
 sea of wood, with its roll of forest wave, almost rivalling the ocean in 
 sublimity. In the distance, to the right, the river winds through the 
 Stocksbridge valley, past the large works of Samuel Fox, parasol- and 
 umbrella-frame maker to the two hemispheres ; and to the left the valley 
 of the Yewden (Yew-den or Yew-dale, the dale or valley of yew-trees) lies 
 spread out like a map, leading up to the Bradfield moors. All this 
 district, from the moor-edges, where Grouse are breeding, down to the 
 last cottage-garden, which looks like an oasis of green in the desert of 
 shops, abounds with Willow- Wrens. 
 
 Early in April they arrive by thousands, and spread themselves over 
 this and surrounding districts. First the males arrive, hungry and silent ; 
 and you may watch them on the pines and larches diligently seeking for 
 insects, never still for a moment, searching every nook and cranny, as 
 often hanging under a leaf or twig as perched upon it. Wonderfully active, 
 they are to be seen in almost every conceivable position ; and not unfre- 
 quently they make a short flight into the air to catch an insect on the 
 wing, or hover over a leaf or under a pine-cone to pick off some beetle or 
 fly which they could not otherwise reach. A day or two after their arrival 
 they commence their simple little song ; and during the pairing-season 
 their half-dozen unassuming notes in a descending scale, like a little peal 
 of distant bells, resound from every tree. In early spring these birds 
 have a sibilant chirp, which sometimes approaches almost a hiss, like the 
 
WILLOW-WKEN. 433 
 
 spitting of a cat, when the male is chasing the female fast and furious 
 through the woods. The usual call-note is a whit, almost like that of the 
 Chaffinch or Redstart ; this is often heard if you approach too near the 
 nest. If you frighten the bird off, especially if the eggs are nearly hatched, 
 a still more plaintive note is heard a rapidly uttered sound, something 
 like na, na, na, na. 
 
 The Willow-Wren is sometimes seen on the ground, where it hops like 
 a Robin ; sometimes it perches on a rail ; but it is essentially a bird of 
 the bushes and trees. Its flight is undulating but rapid. This bird moults 
 early ; and the song is partially resumed in August. Its food consists prin- 
 cipally of small insects ; but in autumn it also eats currants, elder-berries, 
 and other soft fruits. 
 
 The nest is almost always concealed amongst grass on the ground, and 
 is almost impossible to find, except by watching the female drop down on 
 to it, or by accidentally frightening her off. It is semi-domed, the rim 
 which forms the entrance being at an angle of about 45. It is somewhat 
 loosely constructed outside with dead grass, and sometimes a little moss 
 or a few dry leaves. Inside it is more carefully finished, and is lined with 
 fine roots, horsehair, and lastly with a profusion of feathers. 
 
 The eggs vary in number from five to eight, and are white or pale creamy 
 white in ground-colour, blotched, spotted, and speckled with pale brownish 
 red. In some specimens the spots are small and finely powdered over 
 the whole shell ; in others the markings are confluent, usually at the large 
 end of the egg, sometimes forming a zone, and sometimes with a few streaks 
 of rich brown. In some examples the spots are much richer and more 
 numerous than in others. In shape they vary not a little, sometimes 
 being almost rouud. They vary in length from '73 to '56 inch, and in 
 breadth from "5 to '45 inch. 
 
 The eggs of all the British Willow-Warblers possess certain character- 
 istics which readily distinguish them from each other. Those of the 
 Common Willow-Warbler are readily identified by their pale reddish- 
 brown markings, those of the Chiffchaff by their less numerous and very 
 dark red spots ; and those of the Wood-Wren are darkest of all, being 
 thickly marked with purplish coffee-brown and underlying spots of pale 
 violet-grey. From the eggs of many of the Tits it is a more difficult 
 matter to distinguish the eggs of the two former Willow-Warblers ; but 
 the situation and shape of the nest are sufficient for their identification. 
 
 The adult Willow-Warbler in spring plumage has the general colour of 
 the upper parts olive-green, somewhat yellower on the rump. An in- 
 distinct greenish-yellow eye-stripe extends from the base of the bill as far 
 as the crown*; the feathers before the eye, and behind the eye as far as 
 the crown, are dark olive-green. The wing-coverts are olive, edged with 
 olive-green ; and the quills are brown, narrowly tipped with greyish white, 
 VOL. i. 2p 
 
BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and Laving the outside webs edged with yellowish green and emarginated 
 as far as the fifth. The tail-feathers are brown, the outside webs edged 
 with yellowish green, and the inside webs have a narrow greyish-white 
 margin. The general colour of the underparts is white, suffused all over 
 with yellow, and on the breast and flanks with buff. The axillaries, under 
 wing-coverts, and thighs are yellow. Bill dark brown above, slightly 
 paler below ; legs, feet, and claws brown ; irides hazel. In summer 
 the upper parts are greyer; in high latitudes occasionally with all the 
 yellow and green abraded, leaving the general colour earthy brown, the 
 eye-stripe having faded into greyish white. Much of the yellow of the 
 underparts also becomes abraded ; and in high latitudes all, except that on 
 the axillaries and under wing-coverts, disappears, leaving the huffish yellow 
 of the breast and flanks pale grey. The autumn plumage is yellower than 
 that of spring. Birds of the year are even more yellow than adults, the 
 whole of the underparts being uniform huffish yellow. 
 
 WILLOW-WREN'S NEST. 
 
CHIFFCHAFF. 435 
 
 PHYLLOSCOPUS RUFUS*. 
 CHIFFCHAFF. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 Sylvia hippolais (Linn.}, apud Lath. Gen. Si/n. Suppl. i. p. 87 (1787). 
 
 Motacilla rufa et lotharingica, Linn, fide Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. iv. p. 682 (179-)). 
 
 Sylvia rufa, Bechst. Orn. Tasrhenb. i. p. 188 (1802) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 Wolf, Temminck, Boie, Naumann, (Bonaparte), (Schlegel), (Degland Sf Gerbe), 
 (Keyset-ling < Blasiits), Gray, (Sounders), (Fritsck), Heicitson, (Salvador!), 
 (Gould), (Heuglin),(Lindermat/er), (Blyth), (Tristram), Cabanis), (Loche),(Do- 
 derlein), (Howard Sounders), (Shelley), (Godtnan), (Rennie), (Eyton), (Giebel), 
 $c., $c. 
 
 Motacilla hippolais, Linn, apud Tin-ton, Linn. Si/af. Nat. i. p. 587 (1806). 
 
 Ficedula rufa (Bechst.), Koch, Si/*t. later. Zool. i. p. 160 (1816). 
 
 Sylvia collybita, Vlnll. N. Diet. cTHist. Fat. xi. p. 235 (1817). 
 
 Trocliilus minor, Forst. Syn. Cat. p. 54 (1817). 
 
 Sylvia abietina, Ml**. K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1819, p. 11">. 
 
 Regulus bippolais (Linn.), apud Fleming, Brit. An. p. 72 (1828). 
 
 Phylloscopus rufus (Been ft.), Katip, Natiirl. Syst. p. 94 (1829). 
 
 Phyllopneuste sylvestris, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 431 (1831). 
 
 Phyllopneuste solitaria, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 432 (1831). 
 
 Phyllopneuste pinetoruin, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 432 (1831). 
 
 Phyllopneuste ruf-A (Bechst.), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 433 (1831). 
 
 Trochilus rufa (Bechst.), Rennie, Field Nat. i. p. 52 (1833J. 
 
 Sylvia loquax, Herbert, White's N. H. of Selb. p. 55, note (1833). 
 
 Sylvicola rufa (Bechst.), Eyton, Cat. Brit. B. p. 14 (1836). 
 
 Sylvia brevirostris, Strickl. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1836, p. 98. 
 
 Phyllopneuste hippolais (Linn), apud Macgill. Br.B. ii. p. 379 (1839). 
 
 Phyllopneuste brevi"ostris (Strickl.), Bonap. Consp. i. p. 289 (1850). 
 
 Phylloscopus habessinicus, Blanf. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1869, p. 329. 
 
 * The attempt to ignore the well-known name which Bechstein gave to the Chiffchaff 
 more than eighty years ago, and which has been in almost universal use ever since, and 
 to substitute for it an obscure name absolutely unknown, except to the ornithological 
 bookworms, is an example of red tape and pedantry which is almost inconceivable. The 
 reason alleged for this mischievous change is that, according to the Stricklandian code, the 
 name of Phylloscopus rufus cannot be applied to the ChiiFchaff because Boddaert had fore- 
 stalled Bechstein by calling the "Whitethroat Motacilla rufa. To this may be replied : 1st, 
 Boddaert did not intend to apply this name to the Whitethroat ; 2nd, if he did by accident 
 so applv it, the Chiifchaff not belonging to the same genus as the Whitethroat (though 
 Boddaert may have thought it did), its right to bear the name cannot be affected under 
 the rules by airy name previously applied to any bird belonging to a different genus ; 3rd, 
 if the rules can be so twisted as to warrant the change, then they are more honoured in 
 the breach than in the observance. 
 
436 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Phylloscopus brehmi, Homeyer, Erinn. Vers. deutschl. Orn. 1870, p. 48. 
 Phylloscopus abyssinicus, Blanf. Geol. fy Zool. Abyss, p. 378, pi. iii. fig. 2 (1870). 
 Phyllopneuste brekmi (Homeyer), Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 25. 
 Phyllopneuste tristrami, Brookes, fide Dresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 25. 
 Phylloscopus collybita (Vieitt.), Newton, ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 437 (1873). 
 Phyllopseuste rufa (Bechst.), Gieb. Thes. Orn. iii. p. 120 (1877). 
 
 The Chiffchaff, though it has a much more restricted range than the 
 Willow-Wren, and is seldom so abundant, is nevertheless a common bird 
 in most parts of England and Wales. In Scotland and Ireland it is said 
 to be more local, but has undoubtedly occurred in most counties, including 
 the Orkneys, the Shetland Isles, and the Hebrides. In most of the 
 southern counties of England it is a somewhat commoner species than 
 the Willow- Wren ; but in Yorkshire, though common enough, it is rare in 
 comparison with the abundance of the latter bird. 
 
 On the continent the Chiffchaff does not range quite up to the Arctic 
 circle. In Norway and Sweden it is rarely found above lat. 65. It is not 
 uncommon in Finland, and occurs in Russia up to Archangel and the main 
 valley of the Volga. In the valleys of the Petchora and the Kama, and 
 east of the Ural mountains, the Chiffchaff is replaced by the Siberian 
 Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus tristis] . The Chiffchaff breeds in Transylvania ; 
 but in South Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey it appears to be princi- 
 pally known in spring and autumn on migration, instances of its breeding 
 or wintering in these districts being noted as very exceptional. In Persia, 
 Asia Minor, Palestine, and Greece it is a regular winter visitor. In Spain, 
 the south of France, and Italy the Chiffchaff may almost be considered a 
 resident. It is undoubtedly so on the Canary Islands ; but in South-west 
 Europe it is more probable that the birds are migratory, but that in this 
 region the summer and winter ranges overlap. The Chiffchaff is a regular 
 winter visitor to North and North-east Africa as far south as Abyssinia, 
 but it has not been known to remain in any part of the mainland to breed. 
 Occasionally individuals have been known to winter in the south of 
 England, and in mild seasons even in North Germany. 
 
 It is very doubtful if Linnaeus distinguished between the three Willow- 
 Wrens. He was probably but very little of a field -ornithologist, and not 
 much acquainted with the songs of birds. In the ' Fauna Suecica ' and in 
 the tenth edition of the ' Systema Naturae ' he appears to have distinguished 
 the Chiffchaff under the name of Motacilla acredula; but in the twelfth 
 edition he degraded it to the rank of a variety of the Willow- Wren. Gil- 
 bert White, in his charming ' Natural History of Selborne/ seems to have 
 been the first naturalist to clearly discriminate between the three species 
 and in 1768 he announced his discovery to Pennant; but the bookmaker 
 does not seem to have believed the story of the field-naturalist, and in 1776 
 Pennant's ' British Zoology ' records the " Yellow Wren " only. It seems 
 
CHIFFCHAFF. 437 
 
 very extraordinary how birds having such totally different notes could have 
 been confounded together for so long. The song of the Chiffchaff might 
 be confounded with that of the Siberian Chiffchaff, but bears no resem- 
 blance whatever to the song of either the \Vood-Wren or Willow- Wren. 
 It is a loud unmusical double note, chiff, chaff; tsy, tsa; till, tell; chink, 
 chunk, or whatever other monosyllables the listener may fancy it resembles. 
 Occasionally a third or even a fourth note, slightly differing from the usual 
 note, is introduced, but quite as monotonous and unmusical. If these notes 
 were not confined to the spring and summer, and apparently discontinued 
 during the winter, as are also the similar notes of the Siberian Chiffchaff, 
 one might be inclined to regard them as call-notes, and not of the nature 
 of a song at all. Much confusion arises, and many errors are initiated or 
 propagated, by the fact that ornithologists copy each other, instead of going 
 to Nature for their facts. Most of the accounts of the habits of birds in 
 Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' are condensed from Naumann's ' Birds of 
 Germany/ and in many cases are incorrectly translated from the writings 
 of that great field-ornithologist ; but perhaps the most remarkable instance 
 of this kind of ornithological composition is to be found in Morris's de- 
 scription of the song of the Chiffchaff, which is borrowed from Meyer, and 
 spoiled in the borrowing. Meyer says : " Its note, though it cannot be 
 called a song, is not altogether unmusical ; it consists sometimes of only 
 two notes, which have been likened to chiff, chaff, whence it has derived its 
 name ; but we have heard its cry frequently extended to three notes, each 
 differing from the other, as if it were chiff, cheff, chaff, singing amongst 
 the tops of trees like the chime of little bells/' If Meyer had lived in 
 Sheffield in the days of cast-steel bells, some excuse might have been found 
 for his far-fetched simile. Morris seems, however, to have been quite 
 fascinated with this poetical image, and enlarges upon it. Because Meyer 
 says that the notes are not altogether unmusical, and that its cry is fre- 
 quently extended to three notes, each differing from the other, Morris 
 generalizes upon the facts, and writes " the song " is " melodious and 
 varied ;" and, as if anxious to betray the source of his information, adds : 
 ' ' It comes from the tops of the trees with a ringing sound, reminding one 
 of the faint chime of the distant village church bell/' a by no mean* uii- 
 poetical version of a fellow naturalist's description, but, applied to the clear, 
 loud, monotonous, and, in comparison with the more melodious songs of its 
 nearest kinsmen, somewhat harsh notes of the Chiffchaff, to be described 
 only as unmitigated nonsense. The alarm-note of the Chiffchaff is a whit 
 not unlike that of the Willow- Wren, but not so loud, somewhat more pro- 
 longed and slightly shriller. A third note is often heard, something like 
 tr-r-r. ** 
 
 In its habits the Chiffchaff does not differ much from the Willow-Wren. 
 It is quite as active and restless, but perhaps is more often seen near the 
 
438 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 tops of lofty trees, and is undoubtedly a more difficult bird to shoot. Like 
 the Siberian Chiffchaff, it hurries through the woods as if its object were to 
 cover as much ground as possible. Its flight is not so rapid as that of the 
 Willow- Wren, but is more undulating, the rapid motion of its rounded 
 wings apparently requiring frequent short rests. 
 
 Its food consists of gnats, small beetles, and caterpillars, and of small 
 insects of all kinds, which it generally picks up on trees, but sometimes 
 takes in the air or on the ground. It seems to be more confined to woods 
 and plantations than the Willow- Wren, only venturing into large gardens, 
 and seldom visiting the stunted trees on the edges of the moors. In 
 autumn, when the young are fledged, it will come into the gardens to feed 
 on the currants, or frequent the underwoood in the plantations to regale 
 itself with elder-berries. 
 
 The special interest attaching to the Chiffchaff is that it is one of the 
 earliest summer migrants to land on our shores, and in the cultivated 
 districts, where the Wheatear is seldom seen, is the first bird of passage to 
 announce to us the return of spring. 
 
 It seems at first sight difficult to imagine how two such closely allied 
 birds as the Willow-Wren and Chiffchaff, which differ so little in their 
 geographical distribution, could have become differentiated. But if we 
 assume that the common ancestors of the two species lived in Europe 
 before the glacial period, we may conjecture that when the ice drove them 
 across the Mediterranean, half of them took refuge in the valley of the 
 Nile, whilst the other half were isolated in Algeria and the surrounding 
 countries, which then probably formed a large island. During the hundred 
 and fifty thousand years that this state of things is supposed to have con- 
 tinued, the colony in Algeria may have had time enough to develop into 
 Chiffchaffs, whilst that in the valley of the Nile became Willow- Wrens. 
 A third colony may have been isolated in Turkestan, from which the 
 Siberian Chiffchaffs may be descended. Special circumstances in the 
 valley of the Nile may have caused the intermediate colony to alter more 
 than the two outside ones, which may resemble each other because they 
 both have changed but slightly from the common ancestors. After the 
 glacial period was over, each colony would naturally follow the retreating 
 ice, and again spread over its original area of distribution, the central 
 colony overlapping in its new area that of its eastern and western rivals, 
 and possibly destined eventually to supersede and exterminate them. The 
 eastern range of the Chiffchaff reaches the western limit of the Siberian 
 Chiffchaff, about longitude 50; but the Willow- Wren covers the area of 
 distribution of both birds in the breeding-season, except perhaps the 
 Canary Islands in the west and the basin of Lake Baikal in the east. 
 
 In the south of England the Chiffchaff arrives about the end of March, 
 in Yorkshire early in April, and in Edinburgh (according to Macgillivray) 
 
CII1FFCHAFF. 439 
 
 about the third week of April. My friend Gaetke writes to me from 
 Heligoland : " The Chiffchaff visits our rock in considerable numbers, 
 though not so frequently as the Willow- Warblers. It arrives earlier in 
 spring, and lingers later in autumn than any of its congeners, and does 
 not seem frightened of rough weather. The spring migration commences 
 as early as the end of March ; and the autumn migration continues into 
 November. It is somewhat remarkable that a bird which chooses such 
 cold weather for its migrations should not breed so far north as many other 
 AYarblers." 
 
 The nest of the Chiffchaff does not differ from that of the Willow-Wren 
 or that of the Siberian Chiffchaff. It is semi-domed, composed of dried 
 grass, rather loosely made outside, but inside very neat and lined with 
 roots, horsehair, and finally with a profusion of feathers. Like that of 
 the Siberian Chiffchaff, but unlike that of the Willow-Wren, it is often 
 placed a foot or two from the ground. Occasionally, however, both the 
 Chiffchaffs breed in the grass on the ground. 
 
 The eggs are from five to seven in number, and vary from pure white to 
 pale creamy white in ground-colour. There are two types of ChiffchafTs 
 eggs. The commonest type is spotted, chiefly at the large end of the egg, 
 with very dark reddish brown. Belonging to this type are certain varieties, 
 in which the markings are very minute and more evenly distributed over 
 the entire surface of the egg. In the second type the spots are very much 
 larger and likewise paler and not so numerous. Underlying spots of 
 violet-grey are seen sparingly in the eggs of this bird. The eggs vary in 
 length from '65 to '55 inch, and in breadth from '5 to '45 inch. 
 
 The adult Chiffchaff in spring plumage has the general colour of the 
 upper parts olive-green, slightly yellower on the rump ; the eye-stripe is 
 somewhat ill-defined, and is greyish white, with a shade of yellow, and 
 extends only a short distance behind the eye ; the lores and the feathers 
 behind the eye are olive ; the wing-coverts and quills are brown, edged 
 on the outside webs with olive-green, and are emarginated as far as the 
 sixth. The quills are narrowly tipped with white ; and the tail-feathers 
 are brown, the outside webs edged with yellowish green, and the inside 
 webs with a narrow greyish-white margin. The general colour of the 
 underparts is white, shading into grey on the breast and flanks, and more 
 or less suffused all over with yellow ; the axillaries, under wing-coverts, 
 and thighs are yellow. Bill dark brown above, slightly paler below; legs, 
 feet, and claws dark brown ; irides hazel. The Chiffchaff suffers consi- 
 derably from abrasion during the perils of migration : the upper parts 
 fade into olive-grey; the eye-stripe and underparts lose some of their 
 yellow ; and the pale tips to the quills disappear. After the autumn moult 
 the whole of the plumage becomes suffused with huffish yellow, which is 
 almost pure pale buff on the eye-stripe, breast, flanks, and under tail- 
 
440 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 coverts. The huffish yellow pervading the whole of the autumn plumage 
 is never entirely lost by abrasion in winter. 
 
 The Chiffchaff may be distinguished from the Willow- Warbler by its 
 wing-formula. In the present species the second primary is intermediate 
 in length between the sixth and ninth ; whilst in the Willow- Warbler it 
 is almost invariably between the fifth and sixth. A further distinction 
 may be found in the almost black legs of the present bird and its browner 
 plumage. 
 
YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW-WEEN. 441 
 
 PHYLLOSCOPUS SUPERCILIOSUS. 
 
 YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW-WREN. 
 
 (PLATE 10.) 
 
 ? Motacilla superciliosa, Gmel. Syst. JVetf. i. p. 975 (1788) ; et auctorum plurimo- 
 
 rum (Caianwr), (Schrenck), (Blyth), (Radde), (Gould), (Gray), (Neicton), 
 
 (Dresser), (David 8f Oustalet), fyc. 
 
 Sylvia superciliosa (Gmel.), Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 526 (1790). 
 Eegulus modestus, Gould, apud Hancock, Ann. JYtf. Hist. ii. p. 310 (1839). 
 Regulus inornatus, Blyth, J. A. S. Beng. xi. p. 191 (1842). 
 Phylloscopus inodestus (Gould), apud Blyth, J. A. S. Beny. xii. p. 963 (1843). 
 Phyllopneuste modesta (Gould), apud Blyth, Ann. Xat. Hist. xii. p. 98 (1843). 
 Reguloides inodestus (Gould), apud Blyth, J. A. S. Beng. xvi. p. 442 (1847). 
 Sylvia (Phyllopneuste) proregulus (Pall.), apud Midd. Sib. Relse, p. 183 (1&33, 
 
 partim). 
 
 Phyllobasileus superciliosus (Ginel), Cabanis, Journ. Orn. 1853, p. 81. 
 Reguloides proregulus (Pall.), apud Horsf. 8f Moore, Cat. B. Mug. E.I. Co. i. p. 342 
 
 (1854). 
 
 Ficedula proregulus (Pall), apud Schlegel, Yog. Nederl. pp. 130, 241 (1854). 
 Phyllopneuste proregulus (Pall.), apud Blasius, Xaum. viii. p. 311 (1858). 
 Sylvia bifasciata, Gaetke, Xainn. viii. p. 419 (1858). 
 Phvllopneuste (Phyllobasilexis) superciliosa (GmeL), Schrenck, Reis. Forsch. Amttr- 
 
 ' Lande, i. p. 36*3 (1860). 
 Sylvia (Phyllopneuste) superciliosa (Gmel.), Xaum. Vog. Detitschl. xiii. pt. 2, p. 74 
 
 (I860)" 
 
 Reguloides superciliosus (GmeL), Blyth, Ibis, 1862, p. 386. 
 Phylloscopus pallasii, Dubai.*, Ow. Eur. p. 83 (1862). 
 Phyllopneuste superciliosa (Gmel.), Bolle, Journ. Orn. 1863, p. 60. 
 Regulus superciliosus (Gmel), Gray, Cat. Brit. B. p. 54 (1863). 
 Phylloscopus superciliosus (Gmel), Crommelin, Xed. T. D. iii. p. 244 (1866). 
 Sylvia inoroata (Blyth), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 216. no. 3066 (1869). 
 Phyllopseuste proregulus (Pall), apud Giebel, Thes. Orn. iii. p. 120 (1877). 
 
 The breeding-range of the Y'ellow-browed Warbler is supposed to be 
 confined to the pine-forests of North-eastern Siberia, from the valley of 
 the Yenesay eastwards to the Pacific, and from the mountains of Lake 
 Baikal northwards to the Arctic circle. It passes through Mongolia and 
 North China on migration, and winters in South China, Assam, Burma, 
 and North-east India. Like some other Siberian birds which winter in 
 South-east Asia, a few examples appear more or less regularly to take the 
 wrong turning at Yenesaisk, and, instead of accompanying the main body 
 of the migratory species, which follow the course of the Angora through 
 Lake Baikal into the valley of the Amoor, join the smaller stream of 
 migration, which flows westwards into Persia and Europe. 
 
 The history of the Yellow -browed Warbler is quite a little romance, and 
 
442 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 almost as difficult to follow as the most complicated plot of a modern 
 novel. It has been confused with so many of its near allies, discovered 
 and rediscovered, named and renamed so many times, f,hat, even after its 
 synonymy has been cleared from the mere blunders of obscure writers, the 
 list of names, each of which is an alias of the Yellow-browed Warbler, is 
 a most formidable one. It is impossible to say whether Latham's bird 
 was this species or not. He says, on the authority of Pennant, that it 
 occurs in Russia, where, so far as we know, the bird is as rare as it is in 
 England. Neither does he mention the important and conspicuous cha- 
 racter of the two wing-bars. Latham, like Linnaeus and too many 
 modern ornithologists, did not describe his birds, but only gave a short 
 diagnosis, intended to be sufficient to distinguish them from their near 
 allies. Diagnoses are all very well until new species are discovered, when 
 they generally become utterly worthless. 
 
 It is probable that Messerschmidt was the first discoverer of this species. 
 He found it in the valley of the Lena in East Siberia. Pallas did not add 
 any thing to our knowledge of it, except the record of Messerschmidt's 
 birds, which he suggests may be females of his Motacilla proregulus. 
 
 The bird was practically unknown until it was discovered by Hancock, 
 who was fortunate enough to shoot one, on the 26th of September 1838, 
 on the sea-banks near Hartley, about four miles north of the Tyne, in 
 Northumberland. In those days the appearance of a Siberian bird in 
 England was an event in the ornithological world ; but four years later 
 the mystery was increased by its rediscovery by Blyth near Calcutta. In 
 1845 Cabanis had an opportunity of examining two examples which had 
 been caught near Berlin ; and in the ' Journal fur Ornithologie ' for 1853, 
 p. 81 (a resume of which may be found in 'The Ibis' for 1862, p. 54), he 
 attempted to gather up the scattered threads of the history of this bird. 
 Unfortunately he gathered up too many ; and for ten years three species 
 were confused together under various names. Schlegel seems to have 
 been the first to unravel the tangle to some extent (see ' Ibis/ 1863, p. 307) ; 
 but the third species was not detached from the skein until 1878, when 
 Brooks, the great authority on Phylloscopi, described Reguloides humii in 
 'Stray Feathers,' p. 131. 
 
 Meanwhile the interest attaching to the Yellow-browed Warbler had 
 been increased tenfold. A second British-killed example, obtained within 
 a mile of Cheltenham, on the llth of October 1867, by Mr. J. T. White, 
 was recorded in a letter from Gould in ' The Ibis ' for 1869, p. 128, and is 
 now in the collection of Sir John Harpur Crewe. Mysterious reports of 
 its repeated occurrence in Heligoland were doubted by many ornithologists, 
 until it was finally proved that it occurs on migration in small numbers 
 every autumn, and occasionally in spring, on that wonderful island, and 
 that since 1846 scarcely a year has passed without some having been seen 
 
YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW-WREN. 443 
 
 and, frequently, shot. A few examples were obtained in other parts of 
 Europe ; and British oologists were so anxious to obtain eggs of this in- 
 teresting British bird that Mr. Brooks made an expedition to Cashmere on 
 purpose to discover them, returning home in triumph with abundance of 
 spoil. The curious reader may find a most interesting account of Brooks's 
 discoveries in Cashmere in ' The Ibis ' for 1872, p. 24, most of which is 
 copied in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe/ and extracts from which are also 
 given by Xewton in his edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ It was a 
 great disappointment to Brooks, six years later, to be obliged to confess 
 that the eggs he obtained were not those of the British species. By the 
 discovery that the Cashmere bird was a new and undescribed species, his 
 well-deserved success was deprived of half its brilliancy. The egg of the 
 Yellow-browed Warbler again became a desideratum in every collection 
 of British birds' eggs ; and it was not until the summer of 1877 that an 
 authentic egg of this species was obtained, when I had the good fortune 
 to find a single nest not very far east of Brooks's locality, but more than 
 two thousand miles further north. 
 
 Besides the information which I was able to record from personal obser- 
 vation in the valley of the Yenesay, I am fortunate in being able to add a 
 most interesting account of the habits of this bird in Heligoland from the 
 able pen of my friend Mr. Gaetke, whose long-promised work on the 
 ornithology of Heligoland is so eagerly looked for by every lover of birds. 
 
 After mentioning the six or seven times that this bird has been procured 
 in various parts of the continent and England, Gaetke goes on to say : 
 
 " How does Heligoland compare with the rest of Europe with its half- 
 dozen isolated instances of the appearance of this interesting little bird ? 
 Since I first made its acquaintance in 1846, and called the attention of 
 our island sportsmen to its peculiarities, this little Warbler has been seen 
 at least sixty times. Of this there can be no manner of doubt. Some 
 twenty-five or twenty-six examples have been shot and most of them pre- 
 served. In addition to these sixty undoubted occurrences there have been 
 at least twenty cases where boys (my highly-prized blowpipe-shooters) have 
 assured me that they have seen a ' striped flysnapper;' but I have not made 
 a note of it, not liking to record any observation about which there might 
 be some doubt. 
 
 " Of the specimens which I have mounted, four are at present on my 
 table ; two (one of them the first shot on the island, on the 4th of October 
 1846) I presented to the late Colonel von Zittwitz, whose fine collection 
 is now in the possession of the Leyden University ; and two others, which 
 belonged to my late friend Blasius, are now in the Brunswick Museum. 
 The Coburg^^Iuseum has one example; and another is in the possession of 
 the Hon. Percy Fielding in London. I sent Alfred Xewton one finely 
 marked bird and a second somewhat injured with the shot. I gave a 
 
444 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 couple of skins to my friend Seebohm, who, a day or two afterwards, shot 
 a third specimen in my garden, on the 5th of October 1876 ; and, finally, 
 a specimen has found its way into the fine collection of Mr. Benzon in 
 Copenhagen. Besides these I have given away two or three examples, 
 but do not at this moment remember to whom ; and four or five were so 
 badly shot that it was absolutely impossible to prepare them. To this 
 number must be added a couple of birds which were mounted by the Heli- 
 golanders, and sold into private collections on the continent. 
 
 " The time of migration of this Warbler commences on Heligoland 
 about the last week of September, and lasts until the end of October, and 
 sometimes extends to the first week of November. Like almost all 
 Siberian birds which visit our island, it is very rarely seen in spring. As 
 certainly as it may be expected in autumn with favourable wind and 
 weather, so certainly search for it in the spring would be vain. During 
 a period of careful observation extending over thirty years, I have only 
 twice met with it at this season once on April 25th, and once on 25th 
 May. The former was a male in splendid plumage ; but, unfortunately, it 
 was so much injured with the shot that I was not able to skin it. 
 
 " This bird chooses for its journey fine warm weather, with east or 
 south-east wind. On the island it principally frequents the few willows 
 in the gardens between the houses of the upper land. It hops about in 
 these, as well as in the hawthorn, elder, and smaller shrubs, exactly like the 
 Willow-Warbler and Chiffchaff, during which occupation it does not quiver 
 its wings as the Goldcrests are in the constant habit of doing, even when 
 they do not require to use them in flitting from branch to branch. It is 
 also a less restless bird than the Goldcrests, and does not, like them, hop 
 about seemingly without aim or purpose ; but when it alights on a tree it 
 begins at the lower branches and works away steadily up to the top 
 searching for its insect food. 
 
 " The bird seldom utters its note, generally only when flying away. It 
 sounds like hyiif, a little drawn out and softly spoken, slightly reminding 
 one of the note of a Pipit. The note of the male is louder than that 
 of the female. When surprised or alarmed the note is repeated two or 
 three times in rapid succession and somewhat louder. 
 
 " In all its habits this bird has little affinity with the Goldcrests with 
 their restless nervous movements, during which their notes are almost 
 constantly repeated. Nor does it resemble them in the loose texture of 
 their plumage, in their well-known style of nest, or colour of eggs, in each 
 of which particulars it is a true Wilknv-Warbler. I suppose that it was 
 only the small size and the bars across the wings which originally suggested 
 the idea that this bird must be a Regulus. Observations on living birds 
 do not justify such a conclusion in the least. The first birds which were 
 observed here were noted down in my journal as ' Sylvia (Ficedula) 
 
YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW-WREN. 445 
 
 bifasciata,' a name coined on the spot for the unknown wanderer ; and it 
 never occurred to any of the old Heligoland sportsmen, nor even to one 
 of the young blowpipe-shooters, to call it any thing else but the ' Barred 
 }\Ulow-Warbler. 3 
 
 " The custom of this bird to frequent the bushes in the small gardens 
 close to the houses, where it is seldom safe to use a gun, is the reason why 
 so few comparatively of the numerous examples which have been seen have 
 been procured ; and from the same custom arises the fact that so many 
 which have been shot have not been preserved. When you have the chance 
 of a safe shot, you frequently cannot get far enough off to avoid blowing 
 the poor bird all to pieces. Besides this, it is by no means an easy bird to 
 shoot. Few birds understand better how to conceal themselves, how always 
 to keep sufficient foliage between themselves and the eyes of the eager 
 observer to make a successful shot very difficult. 
 
 " The interest attaching to the visits of this little bird to our western 
 island is so great that I have extracted the following references to its 
 appearance from my notebook, as an opportunity of making such obser- 
 vations may never come again : 
 
 " 1846, Oct. 4. A male; the first seen (shot). 
 
 1847, Nov. 9. One seen. 
 
 1848, Oct. 8. A female shot. 
 ,, Nov. 9. One seen. 
 
 1849, Apr. 25. A fine male shot. 
 Sept. 20. One seen. 
 
 25. One seen. 
 
 1850, Oct. 1. One seen. 
 
 6. A pair seen. Female shot. 
 
 13. One seen. 
 
 17. One seen. 
 
 1853, Oct. 12. One seen. 
 
 ,, 17. A male shot. 
 
 1854, Sept. 28. One seen. 
 30. One seen. 
 
 Oct. 6. A young bird shot. 
 
 1857, Sept. 20. One seen in my garden. 
 
 1858, Sept.22. A bird badly shot. 
 
 Oct. 12. One seen in my garden. 
 
 1859, Oct. 7. A pair seen. One shot. 
 8. A fine male shot. 
 
 13. A pair shot. One fine old male. Both in my 
 
 * collection. 
 
 1861, Oct. 10. Three birds seen in Jacob Dehn's willows. 
 
 1863, Oct. 9. A male shot. 
 
446 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 " 1864, Oct. 4. A pair. Both stuffed. 
 
 1865, Oct. 24. A pair seen. Female shot. 
 
 1867, Sept. 19. A pair shot. 
 
 Oct. 11. One seen. 
 
 1869, Oct. 1. One seen. 
 
 1870, Sept. 19. A pair in my garden. Gun missed fire. 
 20. A male shot. 
 
 1873, Sept.24. A pair seen. 
 25. One shot. 
 
 26. A pair seen. 
 
 30. A male shot. 
 
 Oct. 16. One seen. 
 
 1874, Oct. 10. One seen. 
 ,,11. One seen. 
 
 1875, Sept. 17. A pair seen. 
 
 1876, May 25. One seen in my garden. 
 Sept. 26. One seen. 
 
 29. One seen. 
 
 ,, 30. One seen. 
 
 Oct. 3. One seen in my garden. 
 
 4. A male seen in my garden. 
 
 5. A male shot by Seebohm in my garden. 
 
 6. One seen from the steps. 
 
 7. One seen in my garden. 
 
 26. One seen in my garden." 
 
 I first made the acquaintance of the Yellow-browed Warbler in Gaetke's 
 garden in Heligoland. The general direction of the wind during the last 
 week of September and the first week in October was east, varying from 
 north-east to south-east. Birds were generally very abundant, many of 
 them arctic species, such as Grey Plover, Little Stint, Little Bunting, 
 Snow-Bunting, Knot, Sanderling, Red-spotted Bluethroat, Richards's 
 Pipit, Brambling, &c. On the 26th we heard that a Yellow-browed 
 Warbler had been seen ; and on the 29th and 30th other examples were 
 reported. On the 3rd both Mr. Sharpe and myself had an excellent view 
 of the little bird in Gaetke's garden, and had a shot or two at it : but we 
 were so nervous and excited in the presence of the Siberian stranger that 
 we both missed it. On the 4th we had a stiff gale from the south-east ; 
 but the Yellow-browed Warbler \vas still there. On the 5th I succeeded 
 in shooting it. It was a most active little bird, and was very partial to 
 two trees, a willow and a hawthorn. Its note was a plaintive weest, 
 Other examples were seen on the two following days. 
 
 Eight months afterwards I saw the Yellow-browed Warbler in its 
 breeding- grounds on the Arctic circle, in the valley of the Yenesay. We 
 
YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW- WREN. 417 
 
 had six feet of snow on the ground until the first of June. The sun was 
 burning hot; but it generally froze hard in the shade. Very few migratory 
 birds had arrived. The Snow-Buntings and the Mealy Redpoles (thick- 
 billed seed-eating birds), and the Hen-Harrier, the Peregrine Falcon, the 
 Merlin, and the Sparrow -Hawk (hook-billed Bunting- and Redpole-eating 
 birds) were almost the only representatives of the many summer visitors 
 which flock annually in countless thousands to the tundra to breed. 
 Flocks of Geese and Swans had passed over, it is true, during the last half 
 of May whenever a thaw had commenced ; but the returning frost soon 
 drove them back again, and to all intents and purposes it was midwinter. 
 Summer, in league with the sun, had been fighting winter and the north 
 wind for months, but was hopelessly beaten, until, on the 2nd of June, she 
 formed an alliance with the south wind, and the great annual battle of the 
 Yenesay the great event of the year in these regions, like the rising of the 
 Kile in Egypt the battle between summer and winter began, and raged 
 for about a fortnight. The snow melted down south so rapidly, and the 
 great river rose so suddenly, that it began to flow up all its tributaries in 
 the north. The ice broke up suddenly ; thousands of acres were marched 
 up stream and then marched back again. Ice-floes were driven against 
 islands and promontories and piled up into broken masses, which froze 
 together and came down in the shape of icebergs when the river rose high 
 enough to float them. The brilliantly clear skies to which we had become 
 accustomed changed to stormy clouds, followed by drizzling rain and mist. 
 All nature seemed to share in the excitement. The revolution in the ice 
 took place to the accompaniment of a perfect babel of birds. Above our 
 heads we continually heard the gag gag of Geese and the harsh bark of 
 Swans, as flock after flock hurried past us to the tundra. Wherever there 
 was a little open water between the ice-floes and the pack-ice, crowds of 
 Gulls were fishing as if they had not had a meal for a week ; and their 
 derisive laugh, as they quarrelled over their prey, seemed to mock our 
 misfortunes as we struggled to save our half- wrecked ship : whilst ever 
 and anon the wild weird cries of the Black- throated and Red-throated 
 Divers, like the distant scream of tortured children, came from the creek 
 opposite. Flocks of Ducks arrived ; and Bramblings and Shore-Larks 
 came in small parties. 
 
 The next day White Wagtails and Wheatears were seen running on the 
 snow which covered the ice-floes ; and on the 4th the willows and birches 
 on the steep banks of the river, where the snow had melted, abounded with 
 Warblers, amongst which I found the Willow- Warbler, the Siberian 
 Chiffchaff, and the Yellow-browed Warbler. 
 
 It was ve^y difficult to get about in the melting snow ; but in the willows 
 on the steep bank of the river little birds were feeding, industriously 
 picking up insects on the naked branches, and sometimes making little 
 
448 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 flights in the air to catch a gnat upon the wing. Presently I heard a plaintive 
 weest, which reminded me of Heligoland ; and on shooting the bird I picked 
 up a Yellow-browed Willow- Warbler, as I expected. There was quite a 
 little party of these diminutive creatures ; and they were so tame after their 
 long journey that I watched them for some time hopping from twig to 
 twig, diligently searching for food ; I was often within four feet of one of 
 them, and could distinctly see its white eye-stripe and the two bars across 
 its wing. 
 
 For twelve days more the ice was still passing up and down the river, 
 and migratory birds arrived at the rate of five new species a day. The 
 snow melted rapidly; the river, three miles wide in this latitude, rose 
 seventy feet in height ; and wood-anemones, marsh-mallows, pansies, &c. 
 were in full bloom. 
 
 At last the final march-past of the beaten winter forces, in their fourteen 
 days' battle, took place ; and for seven days more the ragtag and bobtail 
 of the great Arctic army came straggling down the Koo-ray'-i-ka worn 
 and weather-beaten little icebergs, dirty ice-floes, that looked like floating 
 mudbanks, and straggling pack-ice in the last stages of consumption. 
 Winter was finally vanquished for the year ; and the fragments of his 
 beaten array were compelled to retreat to the triumphant music of 
 thousands of song-birds, and amidst the waving of green leaves and the 
 illumination of gay flowers of every hue. 
 
 But although the Yellow-browed Warbler was thus early in arriving, it 
 did not appear to be in any hurry to commence breeding- operations. It 
 soon became very common, frequenting almost exclusively the pine-forests 
 on the banks of the Koo-ray'-i-ka and the Yen-e-say'. It was not particu- 
 larly shy ; and on more than one occasion I watched it for some time at a 
 distance of only a few feet. On one occasion only I heard it make any 
 attempt at a song ; this was on the 21st of June. The bird was perched 
 upon the extreme summit of a spruce, and stood shivering its wings, uttering 
 a few plaintive notes, most of them poor and feeble variations on its call- 
 note. On the 26th of June I was fortunate enough to find its nest. 
 Curiously enough I was this time also in company with a Heligolander, 
 Mr. Boiling, the ship-builder of Yen-e-saisk'. Late in the evening we 
 were strolling through the forest between the Koo-ray'-i-ka and the Yen- 
 e-say'. As we were walking along a little bird started up near us, and 
 began most persistently to utter the well-known cry of the Yellow-browed 
 Warbler. As it kept flying around us from tree to tree, we naturally came 
 to the conclusion that it had a nest near. We searched for some time 
 unsuccessfully, and then retired to a short distance, and sat down upon a 
 tree-trunk to watch. The bird was very uneasy, but continually came back 
 to a birch tree, from which it frequently made short flights towards the 
 ground, as if it were anxious to return to its nest but dare not whilst we 
 
YELLOW-BROWED WILLOW- WREX. 449 
 
 were in sight. This went on for about half an hour, when we came to the 
 conclusion that the nest must be at the foot of the birch tree, and com- 
 menced a second search. In less than five minutes I found the nest, with 
 six eggs. It was built in a slight tuft of grass, moss, and bilberries, semi- 
 domed, exactly like the nest of our Willow- Warblers. It was composed 
 of dry grass and moss, and lined with reindeer-hair. The eggs are pure 
 white in ground-colour, spotted very thickly at the large end, in the form 
 of an irregular zone, with reddish brown, and more sparingly on the 
 remainder of the surface ; some of the spots are underlying and paler, 
 but not grey, and on one or two of the eggs they are confluent. They 
 measure '6 inch in length and '45 inch in breadth. The markings are 
 well defined, like those on the eggs of the Chiffchaff; but the colour is 
 decidedly more like that of the Willow- Warbler's ; but they approach 
 much more closely the eggs of the Indian Willow- Warbler, P. kmnii, both 
 in colour and size. 
 
 On account of the great interest attaching to the Yellow-browed Willow- 
 Warbler, I append the following detailed description of its several plumages. 
 The adult bird in spring plumage has the general colour of the upper parts 
 olive-green, yellower on the rump and upper tail-coverts; a well-defined 
 narrow greenish-yellow eye-stripe extends from the base of the bill to the 
 nape ; an irregular and very obscure greenish-yellow mesial line extends 
 from the forehead to the nape ; the feathers before the eye and behind the 
 eye to the nape and the crown, and the nape between the mesial line and 
 each eye-stripe, dark olive-green, a few still darker feathers emphasizing the 
 eye-stripe on the nape ; wing-coverts brown, the lesser wing-coverts with 
 broad olive-green margins, the median and greater wing-coverts with 
 broad well-defined greenish-yellow tips, forming two conspicuous bars 
 across each wing ; quills brown, all the secondaries and four or five of the 
 primaries with conspicuous well-defined yellowish-white tips ; outside webs 
 of the quills margined with yellowish green, fading into yellowish white, 
 and becoming broad and conspicuous on the terminal half of the innermost 
 secondaries ; quills emarginated as far as the sixth ; tail-feathers brown, 
 the outside webs edged with yellowish green, and the inside webs with a 
 narrow greyish-white margin. The general colour of the underparts is 
 white, suffused all over with traces of yellowish green ; axillaries yellow ; 
 under wing-coverts and thighs greyish yellow. Bill dark brown, paler at 
 the base of the under mandible ; legs, feet, and claws brown ; irides 
 hazel. 
 
 In summer plumage nearly all the yellow and green with which both the 
 upper and underparts were suffused has been lost by abrasion ; the upper 
 parts have faded into a grey-olive, tracss only of the yellowish green 
 remaining on the ru ; np, upper tail-coverts, and the edges of the wing- and 
 tail-feathers ; all trace of yellow has gone from the eye-stripe and win^- 
 
 VOL. i. 2 G 
 
450 BRITISH BIKDS. 
 
 bars, and nearly all from the underparts, leaving the colour greyish white ; 
 the conspicuous pale tips to the secondaries and some of the primaries 
 have generally entirely disappeared ; the lower wing-bar and the pale edges 
 to the innermost secondaries have become very narrow ; and traces only 
 of the upper wing-bar are left. The autumn plumage is similar to that 
 of spring, but more brilliant, the eye-stripes and the wing-bars yellower, 
 and the upper parts a yellower green ; the mesial line on the crown remains 
 as obscure, and the uiiderparts scarcely yellower. In winter the same 
 amount of abrasion takes place as in summer ; but the upper parts do not 
 become so grey, and the eye-stripe and wing-bars retain a trace of yellow. 
 The Yellow-browed Warbler has several near allies. Two of these, which 
 breed in the Himalayas, P. erochroa and P. maculipennis , may be at once 
 distinguished by having the inner web of the two outside tail-feathers on 
 each side pure white. A third, P. proregulus, breeding in the Himalayas 
 and in the subalpine districts of South-eastern Siberia, differs from its 
 northern representative in having a bright yellow rump. Two other species, 
 P. subviridis and P. humii, also breeding in the Himalayas, but ranging 
 westwards, the one into Gilgit, north of Cashmere, and the other into 
 Turkestan, are more difficult to discriminate. They may generally be told 
 by their wing-formula, the second primary being usually intermediate in 
 length between the eighth and the ninth, whilst in the Yellow-browed 
 Warbler it is usually between the sixth and seventh. Fresh-moulted 
 examples of P. humii may be discriminated by their buff eye-stripe, of 
 P. subviridis by the much yellower green of its upper and the greener tint 
 of its underparts, and of both by their obscure upper wing-bar. 
 
PARIXJE. 451 
 
 Subfamily PARINJE, OB TITS. 
 
 The Tits and their allies are a group of little birds, connected with the 
 Turdinae through the Accentors, and with the Sylviinse through the Gold- 
 crests. From both these subfamilies they are distinguished by their 
 conical bills with no dental notch. From the former they are further 
 distinguished by their scutellated tarsi, and from the latter by their single 
 moult. Though they resemble the Laniinae in many points, the deep 
 tooth in the bill of the latter is Sf sufficient mark of distinction. It is a 
 much more difficult matter to separate the Tits from the Crows. The 
 latter appear to be a distinct group of birds, which, like the Warblers, moult 
 in spring as well as iu autumn. In other respects the Tits are remarkably 
 like miniature Crows. Sharpe attempts to define the two groups by 
 supposing that in the latter the chin-angle is produced before the line 
 of the nostrils,, whilst iu the former it only reaches as far as the line of 
 the auterior margin of the nasal suture. I confess I am quite unable to 
 perceive aiiy constant difference in this respect, and am obliged to take 
 refuge iu the unscientific character of size, and diagnose the Corvinae as 
 always bigger than Sparrows and the Parinse as always less. 
 
 The Paring are almost cosmopolitan. They are found throughout the 
 Palaearctie, Xearctic, and Oriental Regions, and more sparingly in the 
 Neotropical, ^Ethiopian, and Australian Regions. They number about 
 three hundred species and subspecies, of which about thirty are found on 
 the continent of Europe. Of these, half have occurred in the British 
 Islands, belonging to nine genera, which may be distinguished as follows : 
 
 a. Bill short, uot so long as the tarsu< . 
 
 a 1 . Tail graduated, outside tail-feathers less than half the length of 
 
 the longest. 
 a 2 . Bill yellow, the feathers on the side of the throat elongated 
 
 into a moustache PAXXTBUS. 
 
 b 2 . Bill black ; no nioustachial feathers ACREDHLA. 
 
 b l . Tail nearly even. 
 
 c 3 . Nostrils covered with feathers. 
 
 a 3 . Bill stout, the height at the nestrils about half the 
 
 length PAKUS. 
 
 b 3 . Bill slender, the height at the nostrils about one eighth 
 
 the length REGULUS. 
 
 d*. Nostrils bare. 
 
 c 3 . Bastard primary more than half the length of the 
 
 second TROGLODYTES. 
 
 2o2 
 
452 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 d?. Bastard primary much less than half the length of the 
 
 second ACCENTOR. 
 
 6. Bill long, equal to or longer than the tarsus. 
 
 c 1 . Tail graduated, the feathers st.lf and pointed CERTHIA. 
 
 d l . Tail nearly even. 
 
 e 2 . Bill slender, the height at the nostrils about one eighth of 
 
 the length TICHODROMA. 
 
 / 2 . Bill stout, the height at the nostrils about one fourth of 
 
 the length SITTA. 
 
 Genus KEGULUS. 
 
 Brisson appears to me to have had a better appreciation of the true 
 affinities of the Goldcrests when he placed them in the genus Parus than 
 Linnaeus or Scopoli, the former of whom included the Goldcrests in his 
 extensive genus Motacilla, whilst the latter removed them in company 
 with the Warblers into his restricted genus Sylvia. In 1816 Koch 
 separated them from the latter group of birds, and in his ' System der 
 baierischen Zoologie/ i. p. 199, established the genus Regulus for their 
 reception. Common sense demands that the Goldcrest be accepted as the 
 type, because it is the Motacilla regulus of Linnseus. 
 
 The yellow or red mark on the crown is a sufficient generic distinction. 
 The bill is short, slender, and straight. The nostrils are generally con- 
 cealed by a single feather. The wings are rounded, with a small bastard 
 primary; and the tail is slightly forked. The scutellse on the tarsus are 
 generally obsolete. 
 
 The geographical range of the genus appears to be precisely that of the 
 genus Certhia, being the central and southern portions of the Palseartic 
 and Nearctic Regions, extending into the extreme north of the Oriental 
 and Neotropical Regions. This genus contains four or five species, some 
 of them divisible into subspecies or varieties. Two of these species are 
 found on the continent of Europe, one of which is a resident in our islands, 
 and the other an irregular winter visitor. A third species is a resident in 
 the island of Madeira. 
 
 The Goldcrests feed almost entirely on insects, and resemble the true 
 Tits very closely in their habits. In the mode of construction of their 
 nests, and in the colour and shape of their eggs, they approach more nearly 
 the slightly aberrant genera Acredula and ^Egithalus. 
 
GOLDCREST. 453 
 
 REGULUS CRISTATUS. 
 GOLDCREST. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Parus calendula, Sriss. Om. iii. p. 580 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla regulus, Linn. Syst. Xat. \. p. 338 (1766). 
 
 Sylna regulus, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Sat. p. 161 (1769). 
 
 Regulus cristatus, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 199 (1816) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Gray, Bonaparte, Deyland, Gerbe, Xeicton, Dresser, $c. 
 Regulus aureocapillus, Meyer, Taschenb. p. 108 (1622). 
 Regulus flavieapillus, yaum. Vog. Deutschl. iii. p. 968 (1823). 
 Regulus auricapillus (Meyer), Seiby, Brit. Oni. i. p. 229 (1833). 
 Regulus vulgaris, Fhm.jidt Bonap. Consp. i. p. 291 (18oO). 
 
 The Golden-crested Wren, or Gold-crested Kinglet, or Goldcrest as it is 
 often called, is very generally distributed throughout the British Islands. 
 It is found at one season or another all over England in wooded districts ; 
 and there are few such localities in which it does not breed. Its history 
 in Scotland is specially interesting ; for it is one of those species that have 
 within the last half-century or so considerably extended their range. 
 According to Mr. Gray the bird appears to have been a very scarce one 
 seventy years ago ; but now it is widely dispersed and evidently on the 
 increase. This is undoubtedly owing to the great improvements being 
 rapidly made ; for wherever the bare country has been planted with larches 
 and firs, and extensive plantations made, they form a great attraction to 
 this bird. Although the Goldcrest is found in Skye, Islay, and many 
 parts of the Inner Hebrides, it does not frequent as yet the Outer Islands. 
 It does not appear to breed in the Orkney or Shetland Islands, but is 
 abundant there on the spring and autumn migrations ; and at these periods 
 it is occasionally found on the Faroes. Curiously enough the Goldcrest 
 has not been recorded from the Channel Islands. 
 
 The Goldcrest, in a more or less modified form, is found throughout the 
 Paleearctic Region ; in Scandinavia as far north as the Arctic circle, but 
 in North Russia only as far as Archangel in lat. 63, and in the Ural 
 Mountains and eastwards not extending above lat. 60. The southern 
 limit of its range in the east appears to be the Himalayas and China; in 
 the west it is doubtful if it has occurred south of the Mediterranean. In 
 the northern*portions of its range it is more or less migratory, but in the 
 south it is a resident. 
 
 The Goldcrests may be distinguished from the nearly allied Firecrests 
 
454 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 by having the space above the forehead separating the sides of the crest 
 olive-brown instead of black. There appears to be only one species of 
 Goldcrest, which is subject to considerable local variations, apparently 
 only of subspecific value. In Japan a form having the nape greyish brown 
 occurs (R. cristatus, var. japonicus) . Examples from Asia Minor, Turkestan, 
 and the Himalayas are intermediate. On the Azores a form is found having 
 the olive-green nape of R. cristatus, but with a much larger bill, the cul- 
 men measuring *5 inch instead of "45 to *4. I propose to call this form 
 Regulus cristatus, var. azoricus. In comparing Goldcrests from different 
 localities it is important that examples of the same sex and season should 
 be selected for comparison. Females seem always to be slightly greyer 
 than males ; and newly-moulted birds of both sexes in autumn plumage 
 resemble each other much more closely than breeding birds. In some 
 localities the olive-green appears to undergo very little change throughout 
 the year, whilst in others it changes on the nape and upper back almost 
 into a slate-grey before the breeding-season is over. 
 
 The haunts of the Goldcrest are almost exclusively well-wooded districts ; 
 for although often seen in the barest of situations, where small bushes 
 take the place of trees, it is at a time when the birds are migrating, and, 
 tired with their long flight, are glad to settle anywhere to rest ere passing 
 on again. It is found perhaps the most commonly in larch- and fir-planta- 
 tions and in dense shrubberies ; it also frequents gardens, orchards, and 
 birch-copses, and in autumn and winter may often be seen in company 
 with Tits exploring the tall hedges in the fields. The low shrill call- 
 note is generally the first intimation of the presence of the bird ; so low 
 and shrill does it sound that it is often difficult to discover the direction 
 from which it is proceeding, and after a close search some twig vibrating 
 attracts the attention, and eventually the little creature appears in sight. 
 It is not necessary to hide for fear of alarming it as it hangs on some 
 drooping branch ; for it is one of the most trustful of birds, and will often 
 search the twigs and branches' within arm's length of the observer without 
 any show of fear. In its motions it very closely resembles a Tit or a 
 Willow- Warbler, exploring the slender twigs, hanging irom the drooping 
 sprays, or going under the leaves in search of its food. One moment it 
 will appear in the centre of the bush; the next it will be concealed from 
 view near the roots, or daintily poised on the topmost twig. Then it 
 passes on in unsteady flight to the next tree or bush, where the same 
 motions are repeated, and the same low and piercing notes are given forth 
 as it calls to its companions ; for it is a very sociable little creature, ex- 
 cept in the breeding-season, and often associates with Tits and Creepers. 
 Perhaps the best place to study the habits of the Goldcrest is in fir- 
 plantations. Perched, it may be, on the topmost twig of some wide- 
 spreading fir it will sit and warble forth its notes, perhaps as it hangs 
 
GOLPCKEST. 455 
 
 suspended from a drooping spray, or not unfrequently as it glides like a 
 little meteor through the foliage in chase of its mate. The song is not a 
 very loud or long one, but is very melodious. Prominent amongst' the 
 songs of early spring are the notes of this delicate little species, which may 
 be heard waking the stillness of the fir-plantations early in February, and 
 long before the arrival of the Willow- Warblers which frequent the same 
 breeding-grounds. These are the breezy uplands where pine-woods and 
 fir-plantations abound, just on the borders of the moorlands; and in 
 shrubberies where the dense and impenetrable yew-foliage affords the 
 bird a requisite^helter. The nesting-site of the Goldcrest is generally 
 in the branches of pines, firs, or drooping yew-twigs, usually the very 
 extremity of the branch being selected where two or three twigs branch 
 out, and where the nest is wafted to and fro by every breath of air. The 
 end of a drooping branch of spruce is the site usually chosen. The nest is 
 almost spherical, slung under the branches like a hammock, and made 
 outwardly of the greenest moss, a few grass-stems, and hairs, and felted 
 with spiders' webs and sometimes a few lichens, and then usually lined 
 with a quantity of feathers. The foliage on the selected branches is care- 
 fully interwoven with the nest-materials, so that at a casual glance it 
 appears nothing but a tangled mass of vegetation. 
 
 The eggs of the Goldcrest are from five to eight in number, sometimes 
 as many as ten. Usually they are a most delicate reddish white speckled 
 with tiny red markings, which often form a zone round the larger end of the 
 egg. Some specimens are pure and spotless white, whilst others have the 
 spots confluent and so numerous as to give the egg a uniform reddish or 
 yellowish-brown appearance. They measure from *6 to '52 inch in length, 
 and from '43 to '4 inch in breadth. The bird is a very close sitter; and 
 the female will often only quit her home when the branch which sustains 
 it is shaken violently ; and even when disturbed she will generally perch 
 some little distance away, but without betraying any great anxiety. 
 
 When the young are able to quit the nest they still keep in company 
 with their parents, often forming a little party that keep together until the 
 following spring. Dixon writes : " It is in the balmy days of autumn 
 that we have the best opportunity of studying the habits of the Goldcrest. 
 It is then, and throughout the winter, that we see them in the hedgerows. 
 The birds almost invariably keep in pairs, and flit from bush to bush, now 
 in the centre, now on the topmost spray, then again diving into the leafy 
 depths, the only sign of their presence being the trembling twigs which 
 mark out their course. But it is in the birch-woods, when October's mellow 
 month paints those lovely trees in yellow of the brightest dye, that we 
 notice these charming little creatures in greatest abundance. Their low, 
 sweet, but singularly piercing call-notes are heard in all directions. Some- 
 times the sunlight catches their fiery streak of plumage on the crown of 
 
456 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the head, causing it to shine with metallic splendour like burnished gold. 
 Now they hop from branch to branch ; then, fluttering in the air, they catch 
 a passing insect, and with feeble though piercing notes pass on to the next 
 bush ; for they seem to prefer the lower branches and bushes to the tops of 
 the trees, though if repeatedly disturbed they take refuge in the tallest trees. 
 Now they hang suspended from a long slender twig, their weight causing it 
 to swing to and fro with graceful motion ; and then on fluttering pinion 
 they hover above some tempting seed-case or bud which promises to reward 
 their search. Then they drop silently into the heather and explore its wiry 
 branches in search of seeds and insects, or chase each other in sportive glee, 
 darting like animated meteors through the branches. Now they alight in 
 the gorse bushes, and hop from spray to spray, their lovely crests appearing 
 like the golden blooms. As the males, conspicuous by their brighter 
 crests, course over the twigs, they sometimes, autumn though it be, burst 
 out into song, and litter a few notes of matchless melody." 
 
 The food of the Goldcrest consists of the insects found amongst buds, 
 twigs, and leaves, and also those flying through the air, which it sometimes 
 catches like a Flycatcher. Small seeds are also eaten, notably those of 
 the birch and heather, also various small berries. 
 
 The migration of the Goldcrest is one of the most interesting portions 
 of its history. How such a tiny little creature can sustain such long flights 
 is wonderful. In Scotland the Goldcrest, Mr. Gray remarks, does not 
 return by the same route in spring as it pursues in autumn; and this 
 observant naturalist informs us that the birds make their appearance sud- 
 denly in April on their return journey. In Norfolk Mr. Stevenson has 
 much to tell us of the annual wanderings of this charming little bird ; and 
 in his work on the birds of that county will be found several most inter- 
 esting accounts of its migration. Even in many of our inland districts the 
 migrations of the Goldcrest may be studied. Near Sheffield every autumn 
 the resident birds are largely increased in numbers. Their line of migration 
 is directly through some large birch copses in the Rivelin valley, about five 
 miles to the west of the town ; and it is worthy of remark that the same 
 locality appears to be a favourite line of route with the Song-Thrush. The 
 Goldcrests arrive there during October, in company with Tits of various 
 species, especially the Coal Tit; and for about a week they literally swarm, 
 the trees being alive with birds, and their peculiar notes fill the woods with 
 a delicate melody. Few of these birds remain to winter in this locality ; 
 and in a week or so from the time of their arrival you may search every 
 part of the woods without meeting with a trace of them. Mr. Cordeaux 
 states that these little birds are so well known as migrants on the east coast 
 of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire as to gain for themselves the name of 
 " Woodcock-pilots." Every year they appear in flocks at Flamborough 
 and Spurn, and are sometimes killed by flying against the lighthouses, 
 
GOLDCREST. 
 
 457 
 
 attracted by the dazzling glare of the lantern. I have also seen great 
 numbers on Heligoland on migration, where many fall victims to the 
 blowpipe-shooters. 
 
 The general colour of the upper parts of the European form of the 
 Goldcrest is olive-green, more or less suffused with yellow according to 
 the season, being brightest in autumn ; extending from each side of the 
 forehead are two black streaks, which gradually widen and enclose a bright 
 orange-yellow patch which covers the crown and forms a crest. The wings 
 and tail are brown margined with yellowish green ; the primary -coverts 
 are dark brown ; and the median and greater wing-coverts are tipped with 
 white, forming two white bars across the wings. The general colour of 
 the underparts is greyish brown. Bill very dark brown ; legs, feet, and 
 claws brown ; irides hazel. The female has the colours less brilliant than 
 the male, and the crest is lemon-yellow. The young in nestling plumage 
 have no trace of black or yellow on the crown, the head being almost 
 uniform with the back. 
 
 GOLDCREST'S XEST. 
 
458 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 REGULUS IGNICAPILLUS. 
 FIRECREST. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Sylvia ignicapilla, Brehm,fde Temm. Man. cTOrn. i. p. 231 (1820). 
 
 Regulus ignicapillus (Temm.), Meyer, Taschenb. iii. p. 109 (1822); et auctorum 
 
 plurimorum Naumann, Tcmminck, Gray, Bonaparte, Deyhtnd, Gertie, Ncu'ton, 
 
 Dresser, fyc. 
 
 Eegulus pyrocephalus, Brehm, Beitr. Vogelk. ii. p. 130, pi. 1. fig. 1 (1822). 
 Regulus mystaceus, Vieill. Faun. Fran?, p. 231 (1822, partim}. 
 
 It is only within a comparatively recent period that the charming little 
 Firecrest has been known to be an occasional visitor to Great Britain. It 
 was first recorded as a British bird from a specimen killed by a cat in a 
 garden near Cambridge in August 1832 (see Proc. Zool. Soc. 1832, p. 139). 
 Four years afterwards another specimen was caught at sea off the Norfolk 
 coast, and came into the possession of Mr. Hancock. A great many Fire- 
 crests have since been obtained on our shores ; so that it may fairly be con- 
 sidered an accidental visitor on migration to the south and south-western 
 portions of England. In Scotland it has only once occurred : a specimen 
 was shot by Dr. Turnbull in Gladsmuir woods in the summer of 1848. In 
 Ireland Thompson states that one has been observed in a garden at Tralee ; 
 but he does not appear to attach much importance to the evidence. It is 
 a rare straggler to Guernsey ; according to Dr. Saxby has been seen in the 
 Shetlands in winter; and has once occurred on the Faroes. 
 
 The Fire-crested Wren has a very restricted range. Its northern limit 
 appears to be the Baltic Provinces, where, however, it is very rare. To 
 the west it breeds throughout Europe south of the Baltic, and is extremely 
 abundant in Algeria, although it has not been recorded from North-eastern 
 Africa. Eastwards its range does not apparently extend beyond the Crimea 
 and Asia Minor. 
 
 The Firecrests are distinguished from the Goldcrests, to which they are 
 very closely allied, by having the black band on the sides of the crest 
 meeting across the forehead *. There appear to be four good species of 
 Firecrests. The nearest ally to the European species is R. maderensis, 
 which may easily be distinguished by the colour of its nape, which is dark 
 grey instead of olive-green, by the size of the culmen, which measures '5 
 instead of '42 inch, and by the fact that the black of the lores does not 
 
 * Dresser hi his ' Birds of Europe ' describes this feature correctly, but by some accident 
 omits it in his figure of the male Firecrest. 
 
FIRECREST. 459 
 
 extend behind the eye. This species appears to be confined to Madeira. 
 The next nearest ally to the Common Firecrest is apparently confined to 
 the Canary Islands. It has the olive-green nape of R. ignicapiUus and the 
 large bill of R. maderensis ; but may be distinguished from either of them 
 by having the lores greyish white as in R. cristatus. As these differences 
 have apparently escaped the notice of naturalists, I propose to call the bird 
 Regulus tenerrffa. The fourth species, R. satrapa, is confined to the 
 Nearctic Region. It has the greyish-white lores of R. teneriffa, but may 
 easily be distinguished from that species by its very small bill, which only 
 measures --i inch. The eastern form of this bird has the upper back greyish 
 brown instead of olive-green ; but the western form approaches the Palae- 
 arctic species in colour. 
 
 The haunts of the Firecrest are very similar to those of the Goldcrest; 
 and the habits of the two birds bear great resemblance. The Firecrest is 
 a very common bird in the pine-woods near Arcachon ; and wherever you 
 come across a party of Crested Tits or Coal Tits they are generally accom- 
 panied by either the Goldcrest or the Firecrest, whether you happen to be 
 in the pine forests or in the gardens of the villas where Scotch firs are the 
 prevailing trees. Their presence is at once betrayed by their soft notes, a 
 monotonous zit-zit, which is continually uttered as they are busily employed 
 feeding on insects under the leaves of the overhanging trees, and becomes 
 a rapid ~-~-~-~it as they chase each other from tree to tree, or fly off in 
 alarm at your movements. If you remain perfectly still they will some- 
 times come and feed close to you, occasionally two or three of them within 
 a few feet of your head. It is very curious then to watch their movements. 
 They twist in and out among the slender twigs, sometimes with head down 
 and sometimes with feet up j but by far the most curious part of the per- 
 formance is when they come to the end of the twig and examine the under 
 surface of the leaves at its extremity. They have nothing to stand upon ; 
 so they nutter more like bees than birds from leaf to leaf, their little wings 
 beating as hard as they can go, indeed beating so fast that they look trans- 
 parent, their bodies all the time being nearly perpendicular. Of course it 
 is only on large-leaved oaks, and the shrubs that form the underwood in 
 the garden, that you can examine them closely. In the pine forest, where 
 all the branches for twenty feet are broken off for fuel, you require a glass 
 to see them well. The Firecrest seems a much more restless bird than the 
 Goldcrest, and does not apparently examine each tree so patiently. It 
 seems to be more in a hurry, and to prefer the pines to the underwood. 
 
 Dixon, when in Algeria, made the following notes respecting this 
 bird ; TJie Firecrest is a fairly common bird in some parts of the Djebel 
 Aures, both in the evergreen-oak forests above Lambessa and the cedar 
 forests south-west of Batna. These forests clothe the steep mountain- 
 sides, which are here and there split into romantic ravines, on the sides of 
 
460 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 which you hear the harsh cawee cawee of the Barbary Partridge as it 
 nestles amongst the stones and scrub. Ever and anon the soft note of the 
 Hoopoe, or the cry of Levaillant's Woodpecker, or of the Algerian Jay falls 
 upon the ear; whilst in the bushes near at hand may be seen the charming 
 little Moussier's Buschat, the Algerian Chaffinch, and, more rarely, a 
 gorgeous Roller. The trees are full of life. Here, in close company with 
 the rare Algerian Coal Tit, the Firecrest is very common. It is seen in 
 the tall cedar trees, and is restless and busy amongst the branches fifty 
 feet above, exploring all the twigs in search of its favourite food. The 
 Firecrest is also almost as common in the evergreen-oak forests, searching 
 the lower branches all amongst the lichens and tree-moss for insects ; and 
 every now and then its brilliant crest glistens conspicuously in the sunlight. 
 Its note sounds shriller to me than a Goldcrest' s ; but I think it was quite 
 as familiar and trustful as that other little favourite bird of mine. In its 
 motions it puts you in mind of the Willow-Wrens ; and when, as I have 
 sometimes seen it, hanging with one leg from a drooping bough, picking 
 out the insects from a bud, it looks precisely like a Tit. Although we 
 were in these forests in May, the birds did not seem to have begun to 
 breed." 
 
 The nest of the Firecrest does not differ from that of the Goldcrest. As 
 in that species, it is suspended under the drooping branches of a fir tree, 
 usually near the extremity of the branch, amongst the twigs of which it is 
 artfully concealed, these twigs being also interwoven Avith the sides of the 
 nest. It is made chiefly of the greenest moss, felted together with spider's 
 webs and studded with lichens. Inside it is lined with a profusion of 
 feathers. When placed amongst branches thickly clothed with lichens and 
 tree-moss, this material almost entirely forms the outside of the nest ; for, 
 like the Chaffinch and the Long-tailed Tit, the Firecrest imitates most 
 closely the surroundings of its home, and in this fact doubtless its safety 
 rests. The eggs of the Firecrest are as numerous as those of the Goldcrest, 
 and are usually nine or ten in number, sometimes less, and, in rare in- 
 stances, more. They may always be distinguished from the eggs of the 
 Goldcrest by their much redder tinge. They are reddish white in ground- 
 colour, richly marbled and speckled over the entire surface with brownish 
 red. Some specimens are only so richly coloured on the larger end of the 
 egg ; but usually the whole surface is covered. On some specimens a few 
 minute streaks of brown are found. They measure from '56 to - 5 inch in 
 length and from *45 to '4 inch in breadth. It is not known that the 
 Firecrest has ever bred in the British Islands. 
 
 The food of the Firecrest is similar to that of the Goldcrest small 
 insects, little seeds, and probably berries, as in the allied species. The 
 Firecrest, it would appear, performs its annual migrations in company with 
 its close congener the Goldcrest to a large extent ; and the specimens that 
 
FIRECREST. 461 
 
 have been obtained on our shores (usually at the migration period) have in 
 many instances been in company with parties of those birds. 
 
 The Firecrest has the general colour of the upper parts olive-green, 
 brighter on the sides of the neck below the nape ; the forehead at the base 
 of the bill is huffish white, above which is a black line extending along 
 each side of the crest, which is rich orange-yellow in the centre and- lemon- 
 yellow on the sides ; from the gape, extending through the eye, is another 
 du>ky black streak ; and another and less distinct moustachial streak passes 
 from the base of the bill downwards ; the wings and tail are dark brown, 
 margined with yellowish green ; and the greater and median wing-coverts 
 are tipped with white, forming two white bars across the wings ; the primary- 
 coverts are dark brown ; the ear-coverts are slate-grey. The general 
 colour of the underparts is dull buffish white. Bill very dark brown ; 
 legs, feet, and claws dark brown ; irides hazel. The female only differs 
 from the male in having the crest much paler and the colours generally 
 less brilliant. Young birds do not show any trace of the yellow crest until 
 after the first moult, and have the crown uniform in colour with the rest of 
 the upper parts; but the black stripes on the head are similar to those of 
 the adult birds, though sometimes less distinct *. 
 
 The Ruby-crowned AVreu, Regulus calendula, of Xorth America has been 
 included in the British fauna by several writers ; but the evidence is very 
 unsatisfactory. The specimen upon which its claim to be a " British " 
 bird rests is said to have been shot in the summer of 1852 by Dr. Dewar 
 in Kenmore wood, near Loch Lomond. It was not until six years after- 
 wards that the bird was identified by Dr. Dewar and exhibited by Mr. Gray at 
 a meeting of the Natural-History Society of Glasgow and it is therefore 
 extremely probable that during such a lapse of time an American skin 
 had unwittingly found its way into the drawer in which Dr. Dewar placed 
 the Goldcrests which he shot on the day of its reputed capture. The 
 bird differs so strikingly from its allies, the Goldcrest and the Firecrest, 
 that it is impossible to conceive how it could have been overlooked for the 
 space of six years ! The bird has been known to visit Greenland (see 
 ' Ibis/ 1861, p. 5), thus making its accidental occurrence in Scotland more 
 probable ; but until more conclusive evidence is obtained it is extremely 
 unadvisable to admit it into our fauna. It may easily be distinguished from 
 the Goldcrest and the Firecrest by its ruby-coloured crest, by the absence 
 of both the white and the black eye-stripes, and by having the nostrils 
 covered with feathers instead of a single feather. The bird killed in 
 Durham, and which has been referred to the American Regulus calendula 
 
 by Bree, Gray, and others, is nothing but the Firecrest (R. ignicapillus] . 
 fc 
 
 * Dresser (or his careless translator) states that Xaumann describes the young bird just 
 
 fledged as lacking the black markings on the crown. Xaumann does nothing of the sort, 
 but especially states that the young of the Firecrest may be easily distinguished from the 
 young of the Goldcrest by their possessing the whitish and blackish eye-stripes. 
 
462 .BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus PARUS. 
 
 The genus Parus was established by Linnseus in 1766, in his ' Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 341. As Koch placed the Great Tit first upon his list, and 
 as it is also the first species mentioned in Brisson's genus Parus, it has 
 been universally recognized as the type, although the evidence for its being 
 so is not very satisfactory. The Tits included in the present genus may 
 be distinguished from the birds in allied genera (Panurus, Acredula) by 
 their nearly even and short tails. The wing is typical, and the bastard 
 primary is small. The nostrils are covered with feathers ; the bill is short 
 and stout ; the tarsus is scutellated ; and the feet are large and strong. 
 
 The birds in the present genus are almost exclusively confined to 
 the northern hemisphere. They are principally found throughout the 
 Palsearctic, Nearctic, and Oriental Regions, only a few species occurring in 
 the Ethiopian Region. This genus contains upwards of sixty species and 
 subspecies, of which only twelve are found on the continent of Europe, 
 four of which are residents in our islands, and one an accidental visitor. 
 
 The Tits are found in well-timbered districts, in gardens, woods, groves, 
 and orchards. They are restless, active birds, incessantly in motion, 
 searching the branches and twigs in every conceivable attitude for their 
 food. Their call-notes are usually harsh ; but some are not at all unmusical, 
 and, rapidly repeated, form their only attempt at song. Their food consists 
 of insects, small seeds, and, more rarely, flesh and other refuse found near 
 houses. Their nests are all either loosely made in holes of trees and walls, 
 or suspended from the branches, artfully woven, and domed, where the 
 sitting bird is hid entirely from view. Their eggs are numerous, from five 
 to twelve in number, pure white in ground-colour, spotted with reddish 
 brown or dark brown, but sometimes spotless. 
 
GREAT TIT. 463 
 
 PARUS MAJOR. 
 GREAT TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Parus major, Eriss. Orn. iii. p. 539 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. I p. 341 (1766) ; et 
 auctorum plurimorum Latham, Gmelin, Bechstein, Naumann, Temminck, 
 Gray, Bonaparte, Dealand, Gerbe, Neivton, Dresser, fyc. 
 
 Parus friogillago, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 555 (1826). 
 
 Parus robust us, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 461 (1831). 
 
 The Great Tit, one of the largest species of its genus, is a common bird 
 throughout the wooded portions of Great Britain, occasionally straggling 
 as far north as the Shetlauds, but appearing never to visit the Outer 
 Hebrides. Gray states that in Scotland it becomes less frequent north of 
 Argyllshire. It is generally distributed throughout Ireland in suitable 
 localities. 
 
 The Great Tit appears to be found throughout the Paltearctic region, 
 from the British Islands to the Pacific. In Norway, under the influence 
 of the gulf-stream, it ranges as far north as the arctic circle (lat. 66^). 
 In West Russia it has not been recorded north of lat. 64. In the valley 
 of the Obb, Finsch and Brehm did not observe it north of lat. 62 ; whilst 
 in the valley of the Yenesay I did not find it north of lat. 58. On the 
 Pacific coast, Middeudorff did not obtain it further north than lat. 55. It 
 extends in the west as far south as the Canary Islands, Algeria, Palestine, 
 and Persia, and in the east as far as North Turkestan and the Arnoor. In 
 Mongolia, China, and Japan its place is taken by a nearly allied but 
 apparently quite distinct species, P. minor, which is on an average a 
 slightly smaller bird, and has the yellow of the underparts replaced by 
 buffish white. In examples from South China the upper back is greyer; 
 and every intermediate form between P. minor and P. cinereus of the plains 
 of India occurs there, in which latter species, in the adult bird, all traces 
 of green have disappeared from the back, leaving it slate-grey. In the 
 mountains of India, Ceylon, and Java a large race of P. cinereus occurs, 
 P. atriceps, in which the black on the belly and centre tail-feathers is 
 somewhat more developed. In Turkestan a pale form of P. atriceps occurs, 
 P. bokarensis, differing also in having the tail considerably more rounded. 
 All these tropical and semitropical forms appear to be specifically distinct 
 from P. major, but are probably only subspecifically distinct from each 
 other. Th^s most remarkable fact connected with the geographical distribu- 
 tion of the Great Tit is that, whilst its range differs from those of the Blue 
 Tit and the Crested Tit, which are confined to Europe, and agrees with 
 
464 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 those of the Marsh-Tit and the Coal Tit, which are also found across 
 Asia, the Great Tit differs from the two latter in the following remarkable 
 particulars. First, it scarcely varies at all in colour or dimensions, whilst 
 the two latter species may be subdivided into numerous local races, 
 -differing slightly from each other both in colour and dimensions. Second, 
 it appears to be specifically distinct from its tropical and semitropical 
 allies, which in the other species are more or less connected by intermediate 
 forms. And third, the range of the tropical form of the Great Tit extends 
 much further south than that of the tropical forms of the other species. 
 
 The Great Tit is rarely seen except in well-wooded or cultivated districts. 
 Plantations and shrubberies, where deciduous trees and dense underwood 
 occur, in addition to evergreens, are its favourite haunts; but it also 
 frequents open woods, copses, orchards, and gardens. Like the other 
 Tits, the Great Tit may be tempted close to the houses in winter by hang- 
 ing out a bone or a lump of suet, or even a tallow candle, upon which it feeds 
 eagerly, and where its habits may be watched at leisure. It is a lively bird ; 
 and the attitudes it assumes in searching for its food are almost endless. 
 The best time to observe it is in winter, when the trees and shrubs are 
 bare, and when it is often found in little parties although in this respect 
 this bird is not perhaps quite so gregarious as its congeners. If you 
 wander out into the fields and woods on a winter's morning, or even stroll 
 into the orchard, the sharp unmistakable note of the " Oxeye/' as it is 
 often called, will most probably be the first sign of bird-life you notice. 
 The bird itself is in some bare and leafless tree, sprightly and active in 
 spite of the cold and snow, searching for its food amongst the buds and 
 twigs. You may notice how deftly it poises upon the extremity of a dead 
 limb, and may hear its little taps at the bark, as it dislodges some insect 
 from the crevices. But it is ever in motion ; and after a moment's pause 
 it probably flits with undulating flight to another tree, where its actions 
 may possibly remind you of those of the Creeper; for it clings to the bark 
 on the trunk, though it does not run up it as the latter bird is in the habit 
 of doing. Ever and anon its sharp notes may be heard ; and its restless 
 nature soon sends it to another tree, perhaps a birch. In addition to the 
 insects which it finds on the leaves, the bird also picks out the small seeds 
 of this graceful tree, and very often to obtain them hangs suspended from 
 a drooping spray, all the time swaying backwards and forwards like a 
 pendulum. Now it is head downward; a moment after it is upright; 
 then clinging to the twigs with its back towards the ground and its head 
 thrust forward. In a word, it assumes every attitude that it is possible for 
 a bird to take, and seems equally at home in them all. No wonder it is 
 a great favourite with the lover of bird-life. By the gardener, however, 
 it is too often considered an enemy ; for its visits to the fruit-trees in 
 spring often lead to the destruction of many promising buds. But the 
 
GREAT TIT. 465 
 
 " Oxeye " has an object in searching these buds ; for lurking within them 
 are grubs which might eventually prove quite as injurious, not only to the 
 bud which it pulls to pieces, but to many others on the same tree. The 
 Great Tit is not unfrequently seen on the ground under the trees, where 
 no doubt it finds a plentiful supply of insects amongst the fallen leaves. 
 
 The site of the Great Tit's nest varies considerably. Holes in walls and 
 decaying timber are favourite places ; so, too, are the deserted nests of 
 Crows and Magpies, as also amongst the sticks in the foundation of Rooks' 
 nests. Most curious situations are sometimes chosen by this bird in which 
 to build its nest. Like the Robin, it appears to have the same weakness 
 for a flower-pot ; or it will sometimes select an old pump. Stevenson, in 
 his ' Birds of Norfolk/ i. p. 141, gives a long and interesting account of 
 a nest of this bird in a cupboard ; and Dixon has known it build in a hole 
 in the ground. The Great Tit has also been known to make a hole for 
 itself in a tree-trunk by picking out the rotten wood with its beak ; and 
 according to Montagu the eggs are sometimes laid on the powdered wood 
 at the bottom of the hole without any nest whatever. The nests of the 
 Great Tit may be divided into two classes. First we have those nests 
 which are placed in covered sites, as holes in walls or trees ; and, secondly, 
 those which are built in the deserted nests of other birds or amongst the 
 sticks of Rooks' nests. If we examine nests from these several situations, 
 we find that they differ considerably. Those from covered sites are open 
 and very loosely put together ; whilst those from the open sites are domed 
 like a Wren's and comparatively well made. Dixon has taken a nest of 
 this latter variety from inside an old Magpie's nest. It resembled a ball of 
 moss, and was so cunningly woven as to render it necessary to pull it to 
 pieces ere the eggs could be obtained. This is an analogous case to the 
 two very distinct types of nest of the common House-Sparrow. The nest 
 of the Great Tit is made of dry grass, a quantity of moss, which is thickly 
 interwoven with hairs and wool, sometimes a few withered leaves, and is 
 generally lined with a thick bed of feathers. 
 
 The eggs of the Great Tit are from five to eleven in number, usually 
 seven or eight, and vary somewhat in size and markings. They are pure 
 white in colour, sometimes with a faint yellowish tinge, spotted and 
 blotched with light reddish brown. Some specimens are far more richly 
 marked than others, the colour being distributed in bold blotches; on others 
 it consists of mere specks, sometimes partly confluent and forming a zone 
 round the larger end of the egg. They measure from "8 to '65 inch in 
 length, and from '55 to '5 inch in breadth. 
 
 It is absolutely impossible to distinguish the eggs of the Great Tit from 
 those of the6ther Tits except by their size ; and even then small varieties of 
 its eggs are undistinguishable from certain large varieties of the others 
 or of those of the Creeper. In the latter case the nest and its site must 
 
 VOL. i. 2ja 
 
466 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 
 
 be taken into consideration, if a view of the parent birds cannot possibly 
 be obtained. From small eggs of the Nuthatch the eggs of the Great Tit 
 are very difficult to be distinguished ; the only sure guide is to see the 
 parents belonging to a nest ere taking the eggs. 
 
 In many instances the Great Tit rears two broods in the year. The 
 actions of the parent birds when the nest is approached are very bold. 
 They will endeavour to repel your intrusion by angry cries ; and should 
 the sitting bird be caught on the nest, as it most easily can be, it will hiss 
 and bite vigorously without any show of fear. The young birds are almost 
 exclusively fed on caterpillars and grubs, which the old birds obtain from 
 the neighbouring trees and bushes. 
 
 The food of the Great Tit is composed of insects of various kinds. It 
 also eats small seeds, which it often shells by placing them in a crevice 
 and hammering them with its beak like a Nuthatch. Like the Crows, it 
 is almost omnivorous, and is very fond of picking a bone. Dixon has 
 known fields, which had been manured with refuse from slaughterhouses, 
 frequented by large numbers of Tits, prominent amongst them being 
 the present species, which fed on scraps of flesh on the bones and even 
 on entrails. It was a curious sight to see such tree-haunting birds 
 hopping about on the ground and feeding in company with Starlings 
 and Rooks. The Great Tit also feeds on fruit, as may often be noted in 
 autumn. Its young, however, are almost entirely fed on small caterpillars 
 and grubs. It is also said sometimes to kill small birds by repeated blows 
 on the head, and then to eat their brains ; but such instances are certainly 
 far from common. 
 
 The notes of this bird are varied ; and in spring it is often heard to utter 
 a double note,peek-ur, peek-ur, very much like the monotonous sound of a 
 rusty axle of a cart or wheelbarrow creeking with every revolution of the 
 wheel. Its other notes are a. si, si, si, or a metallic ping, ping, and a harsh 
 spluttering chur-r-r-r-si. Its only attempt at song is heard in spring, 
 and consists of a loud but not unmusical note or two. The flight of 
 the Great Tit is undulating, uncertain at times, and performed with quick 
 beats of the wings with occasional long pauses. Although gifted with no 
 small powers of wing, it rarely flies for long distances, but goes in little 
 jerking flights from tree to tree. 
 
 In autumn our resident Great Tits undoubtedly receive accessions to 
 their numbers by migrants. From what may be gathered from the annual 
 reports on migration made by numerous observers on our lighthouses and 
 light-ships, " Titmice " appear sometimes as early as the first week in 
 August ; but notes specially referring to the present species on the east 
 coast of England show that the second week in October is an average date 
 for their appearance, as is the case with the Goldcrest. It would also 
 appear that these little travellers sometimes choose to cross the sea by 
 
GREAT TIT. 
 
 467 
 
 night ; and many dash against our lighthouses, attracted possibly by the 
 glare of the lamps. 
 
 The Great Tit has the forehead, crown, sides of the neck, and throat 
 rich glossy black with a steel-blue lustre ; the cheeks, ear-coverts, and a 
 small patch on the nape are white ; the upper back is yellowish green, 
 gradually merging into bluish grey on the lower back and upper tail-coverts. 
 The wing-coverts are pale blue, the greater ones tipped with white, forming 
 a bar across the wing ; the primaries are dark brown, margined with greyish 
 white on the terminal half, and slate-grey on the basal half ; the secon- 
 daries are margined on the basal half of the outer web with yellow, whiter 
 on the terminal half; the tail is dull black washed with bluish grey, the 
 outside feather on each side white on the outer web and also on the inner 
 web at the tip ; the next feather tipped with white. The underparts below 
 the throat are bright greenish yellow, with a broad black line from the black 
 on the throat down to the vent ; the under tail-coverts are white varied 
 with black. Bill black ; legs and feet lead-grey ; irides dark brown. The 
 female very closely resembles the male in colour, but is not quite so bril- 
 liant, and the black line on the underparts is not so broad. Young birds 
 are duller in colour than their parents, and the white parts are yellowish. 
 The Great Tit may be distinguished from all the other British species by 
 its size (wing 2-9 inch), and by the broad streak of black on the underparts 
 from the chin to the vent. 
 
468 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PARUS (LERULEUS. 
 BLUE TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Parus cseruleus, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 544 (1760) : Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 341 (1766) ; et 
 auctorum plurimorum Latham, Gmelin, Bechstein, Naumann, Temminck, 
 Gray, (Bonaparte), Deyland, Gerbe, Newton, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Cyanistes ceeruleus (Linn.), Kemp. Natilrl. Syst. p. 99 (1829). 
 
 Parus coerulescens (Linn.'), Brehm, Voy. Deutschl. p. 463 (1831). 
 
 The Blue Tit is one of the most widely spread and certainly one of the 
 best -known of our native birds. It is found in all suitable districts 
 throughout the British Islands, from the Channel Islands in the south to 
 the Orkneys and the Shetlands in the extreme north, where, however, it is 
 a very rare straggler, but one specimen having been obtained in the first - 
 mentioned of the latter two groups of islands. 
 
 The geographical distribution of the Blue Tit is very restricted ; and con- 
 sequently the bird does not present any of the differences which we shall 
 find in treating of some of the other species of this group. Each species 
 of Blue Tit appears to be subject to very little variation, and to be separated 
 from its congeners by a hard and fast line. The Blue Tit is distributed 
 over the whole of temperate and Southern Europe, as far east as the Ural 
 Mountains and the Caucasus. In Norway, owing to the comparative 
 mildness of the climate, it is found as far north as lat. 64; but in Russia 
 it has not yet been obtained further north than lat. 61. Meves states 
 that it is said to have been found at Archangel ; bat neither Hencke, Piot- 
 tuch, Harvie-Brown, nor myself met with it there. Its nearest ally is 
 P. persicus, from Persia, which differs in being much paler in colour and in 
 having broader white margins to the greater wing-coverts. In Tunis, 
 Algeria, and Morocco the Blue Tit is represented by P. ultramarinus, a 
 well marked species, differing principally in having the back slate-grey 
 instead of yellowish green, and the black on the throat more developed. 
 In the Canary Islands P. ultramarinus is replaced by P. teneriffa, an island 
 form, only differing from its ally of the mainland by the absence of the 
 pale tips to the greater wing-coverts, the very indistinct tips to the inner- 
 most secondaries (which in its ally are broad and conspicuous), and by 
 having a slightly longer tail. The next nearest ally of the Blue Tit is 
 P. pleskii, from Central Russia, a blue-backed pale form with the portions 
 of the underparts that are yellow in the Blue Tit pure white, with the 
 exception of a pale yellow spot on the breast. Another European species 
 found in Russia and Siberia is the Azure Tit, P. cyanus, somewhat similar 
 to the last mentioned, but still paler blue on the back, with a nearly white 
 head, without the black throat and gorget, without the yellow on the 
 
BLUE TIT. 469 
 
 breast, and with the white on the outside tail-feathers very largely deve- 
 loped. P. cyanus is represented in Turkestan by a very nearly allied bird, 
 P. flavipectus, which only differs from it in being slightly darker on the 
 upper parts and in having the breast lemon-yellow. 
 
 The Blue Tit is one of the most familiar and best-known of our smaller 
 birds. All the Tits are interesting little creatures, and most grotesque in 
 the attitudes they assume ; yet none surpass in these respects the pert little 
 " Bluecap." There is something exceedingly droll about a Blue Tit ; he 
 is such a knowing pert little fellow that he engages the attention at once. 
 He is not shy, and will allow the observer to watch his actions at a few 
 paces. With what patient perseverance he searches for his food, examining 
 every little twig and bud in his way ! how deftly he clings to the extremity 
 of the twigs,* pecking vigorously at the large buds, shelling off their cases 
 in eager search for the grub concealed within ! How merry are his notes 
 of exultation as his search is rewarded, and he pops quickly off to another 
 twig where the same performance may be renewed ! He is a noisy little 
 creature, ever restless, and, when not engaged in picking out the insects 
 from the buds and twigs, continually signalling to his companions in a lively 
 series of call-notes. 
 
 His actions in spring cause the gardener some anxiety for his fruit-trees. 
 In the search for insects many promising buds are injured ; but when we 
 consider the number of grubs destroyed, his good services must be set 
 against the trifling damage. In autumn the habits of the Blue Tit are to 
 a great extent changed. During the breeding-season his notes are rarely 
 heard or only at long intervals ; and at this time of the year he ceases to be 
 gregarious. But when the anxious cares of rearing their brood are over, the 
 birds roam about the fields, woods, and gardens in small parties ; they 
 seem to be in the height of their enjoyment ; and the brood and their parents 
 make the trees resound with their cheerful notes, and the twigs seem full 
 of life as the gay little creatures poise and twist and turn amongst the 
 leaves. Throughout the autumn the birds will keep together, and some- 
 times join parties of Coal Tits or even a stray Creeper. In winter the 
 Blue Tit is often to be seen in places which at other times of the year he 
 appears to shun for example the corn-stacks, to the sides of which he will 
 cling in company with Sparrows or the open fields, where he may often 
 be seen picking the bones thrown on the laud with the manure. At this 
 season he may sometimes be seen searching walls for insects by clinging to 
 them, and often picking out bits of plaster to get at his prey ; or he will 
 not unfrequently visit the heaps of old wood in the farmyard in search of 
 any thing gdible. 
 
 In their wanderings the Blue Tits visit almost every variety of scene, 
 except, of course, the most barren and treeless wastes. The orchard trees 
 are searched just as closely as the tall elms, oaks, and beeches in the depths 
 
470 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of the forest ; the birch copses have an equal charm with the hedgerows, 
 the garden, or the fir-plantations ; whilst in the dense shrubberies, espe- 
 cially at nightfall, Blue Tits are almost sure to be found, repairing thither, 
 after exploring the deciduous trees in the neighbourhood, to roost amongst 
 the perennial foliage of the laurel, the yew, or the ivy. At dusk they 
 become exceedingly garrulous ; and as the little party wander about through 
 the dense cover they seem to disturb all the birds they meet with, if we 
 may judge from the number of bird -notes one hears from all parts of the 
 cover, as the noisy Tits wander through it. The Blue Tit usually roosts 
 amongst ivy or in yew trees ; but sometimes a whole party will fix upon 
 the warm sheltered side of a haystack in which to spend the night. 
 
 The Blue Tit is almost omnivorous. It will eat or endeavour to eat 
 almost any thing, from a hard pear or even a turnip to a currant or a 
 cherry, from a grain of corn to the tiny seeds of the chickweed or the 
 dock. Many kinds of insects are eaten, grubs, caterpillars, beetles ; and 
 a small butterfly or a moth is often chased on the wing by these birds. In 
 winter a bone hung out in the garden is sure to attract their attention. 
 The Blue Tit is also very fond of pecking at fruit, very often being seen in 
 winter on a pear or an apple that has still remained on the trees. 
 
 The flight of the Blue Tit is performed with rapid beats of the wings, 
 and is undulating and uncertain. Like its congeners, it rarely flies for 
 long distances, and its movements in the air are usually confined to 
 passing from one tree to another ; and very often it will go the whole 
 length of a wood without once engaging in a protracted flight. Its call- 
 notes are harsh and rapidly repeated, resembling the syllables chicka-chicka 
 chee-chee-chee, varied with a harsh churring sound almost like a hiss. It 
 has no song beyond a simple si, si, si. 
 
 The Blue Tit seldom builds its nest before the first week in May. A 
 little earlier the birds may be often seen pulling out bits of plaster from 
 walls, and, in fact, squeezing themselves into all kinds of nooks and crannies 
 likely or unlikely to afford them a site for their home. The Blue Tit's 
 breeding-grounds are in well-wooded districts, in gardens and orchards, 
 near houses, in the holes of outhouses, and in walls. A favourite place for 
 the nest is in an old gate-post or a pump ; and the bird will return each 
 year to the same spot for the purpose of rearing its young, should it be left 
 unmolested. Mr. C. Bygrave Wharton has recorded two instances of this 
 bird nesting in holes in the ground ('Zoologist/ 1874, p. 4034, and 
 1879, p. 219). Many strange situations have been chosen by this bird 
 for nesting-sites. Scarcely any of the numberless biographies of the 
 Blue Tit fail to give us fresh instances of its peculiar choice. As soon as 
 the site is selected the nest is begun. Like all other nests built in holes, 
 it is but a poorly made structure, so loosely put together that it is difficult 
 to remove it without breaking it to pieces. The materials usually selected 
 
BLUE TIT. 471 
 
 are moss and dry grass; and it is lined with wool, hair, and great quantities 
 of feathers. Many nests of the Blue Tit contain as many as twelve eggs; 
 in other and more usual instances the number varies from five to eight; and 
 cases have been recorded where as many as twenty eggs have been said to 
 have been found in one nest ; but these stories require verification. The 
 eggs are very similar in shape to those of the Great Tit, and are white in 
 ground-colour, speckled, as a rule, rather faintly with light red ; they 
 measure from '7 to - 55 inch in length and from '5 to '42 inch in breadth. 
 Both the male and female Blue Tit assist in hatching the eggs ; and you 
 can rarely drive the sitting bird from its charge. Bravely it remains upon 
 it, and, by hissing, biting, and puffing up its plumage, endeavours to defend 
 its little home. How often does the enthusiastic oologist start back in 
 alarm as the bird utters a sound like the warning hiss of a snake, fearful 
 that instead of eggs the hole in which he is about to thrust his hand con- 
 tains some poisonous reptile ! Even when you take the bird in your hand 
 its courage is none the less, and, erecting its tiny crest, it will bite most 
 viciously, and its little black eyes sparkle again with anger. So attached 
 is the little creature to its hole that no small amount of annoyance or 
 disturbance will cause it to forsake, and many indeed are the instances 
 on record of its attachment to, the site of its choice. The nests of this 
 bird are sometimes found entombed in branches and trunks, where the bark 
 has grown over, and the natural growth of the tree during the course of 
 years has closed the aperture. 
 
 The number of our resident birds appears to be increased in autumn; for 
 the Blue Tit is included in several of the reports of the arrival of migratory 
 birds on our shores ; and on the interesting island of Heligoland it is 
 yearly taken as it passes over in its annual wanderings. 
 
 The Blue Tit is a very handsome little bird. It has a broad white line 
 extending from the forehead over the eyes and completely encircling the 
 crown, which is azure-blue ; another and narrower line of dark blue 
 extends from the base of the bill through and behind the eye, where it 
 meets another and broader band of the same colour, which curves down- 
 wards behind the ears and meets on the throat ; the cheeks and ear- coverts 
 are white ; the nape is bluish white, and the back and upper tail-coverts 
 are yellowish green ; the wings and tail are blue, the greater wing-coverts 
 being tipped with white. The general colour of the underparts, from 
 below the throat, is greenish yellow, paler on the centre of the belly, and 
 with an obscure bluish-black streak on the breast. Bill dusky horn- 
 colour; legs, feet, and claws lead-colour; irides dark brown. The female 
 scarcely diners from the male; but her colours are a little less brilliant. 
 Young birds have similar markings to their parents ; but their plumage is 
 yellower. The Blue Tit may be readily distinguished from all its British 
 congeners by its beautiful azure-blue crown. 
 
472 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PARUS ATER AND PARUS BRITANNICUS. 
 EUROPEAN COAL TIT and BRITISH COAL TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Of the various subspecific forms of the Coal Tit, two at least are found 
 in our islands, of which the synonymy is as follows : 
 
 PARUS ATER. 
 EUROPEAN COAL TIT. 
 
 Parus atricapillus, Sriss. Orn. iii. p. 551 (1700). 
 
 Parus ater, Linn, Syst. Nat. i. p. 341 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum Latham, 
 
 Gmelin, Bechstein, Naumann, Temminck, Gray, Bonaparte, Degland, Gerbe, 
 
 Newton, Di'esser, &c. 
 
 Parus carbonarius, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat. i. p. 556 (1826). 
 Poecile ater (Linn.*), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 114 (1829). 
 
 PARUS BRITANNICUS. 
 BRITISH COAL TIT. 
 
 Parus britannicus, Sharps fy Dresser, Ann. Nat. Hist, (series 4) viii. p. 437 (1871). 
 Parus ater, Linn, apud Newton, &c. . 
 
 The Coal Tit is one of those species which has extended its range within 
 our islands during comparatively recent times. Early writers state that 
 this bird was far rarer than the Marsh-Tit ; now it is certainly the reverse, 
 although no perceptible decrease in the numbers of that species has been 
 noticed. The Coal Tit is found pretty generally throughout the British 
 Islands in all suitable localities. It breeds throughout all the counties 
 of England, Wales, and Scotland, as far north as Sutherlandshire. Its 
 distribution in Scotland is somewhat local and greatly influenced by 
 the presence of pine-woods, although there can be little doubt that it 
 will extend its distribution as the planting of pines and firs increases. 
 With the exception of Mull and Skye, the Coal Tit is absent from the 
 Western Isles, nor does it ever appear to have occurred in the Orkneys or 
 the Shetlands. In Ireland it is pretty generally distributed. 
 
 The geographical distribution of the Coal Tit presents several points of 
 interest ; for we find in this species a somewhat similar and parallel series 
 of variations in colour to those of the Marsh-Tit and the Nuthatch. The 
 British form, P. britannicus, appears to be peculiar to our islands. The 
 typical form, P. ater, appears continually to visit our islands on migration, 
 
EUROPEAN AND BRITISH COAL TITS. 473 
 
 and apparently to interbreed with the British subspecies, as intermediate 
 forms between them can be obtained. Our bird is distinguished by having 
 the slate-grey of the upper parts suffused with brown, which in the typical 
 form is observable on the rump only, and by having more brown on the 
 flanks. The typical form appears to be found throughout the continent of 
 Europe south of the Arctic circle. Examples from Western and Central 
 Siberia scarcely differ, except that the white parts are somewhat purer, the 
 slate-grey of the upper parts a little brighter, and a tendency to a crest 
 is occasionally developed. In examples from Eastern Siberia, the valley of 
 the Lower Amoor, the Ussuri, Japan, and Kamtschatka the upper parts 
 scarcely present any difference, but the brown on the flanks extends to 
 the breast and belly. In North China this is still more the case, and a 
 decided crest is observable in adult males, so that this form has been 
 described as distinct under the name of P. pekinensis. The brown on the 
 underparts reaches its greatest development in Turkestan; and to this 
 form the name of P. rufipectus has been applied. In birds from both 
 these latter localities the upper parts also are suffused with brown, but not 
 to quite such an extent as in examples of the British form. In the 
 Himalayas the Coal Tit (P. temodius) is, as might be expected, a still more 
 tropical form : the buff on the underparts is slightly more pronounced ; the 
 white on the cheeks is not so pure ; the size is slightly smaller, and the 
 crest more developed. It is not known which form of the Coal Tit inhabits 
 South Russia ; but in the Caucasus a form is found, P. michalowskii, almost 
 exactly like the British form in colour, but a trifle larger ; and further east 
 in South Persia these differences are exaggerated : the upper parts are still 
 browner, inclining to olive ; and the brown on the flanks is as much deve- 
 loped as in the Turkestan birds. This form has received the name of 
 P. ph&onotus. It is impossible to look upon any of these forms as specific. 
 We know that most of them are connected together by intermediate 
 examples ; and the series is only broken in districts from which we have 
 been unable to obtain specimens. 
 
 There are numerous tropical forms of the Coal Tit inhabiting the Hima- 
 layas. Several of these may be distinguished by the absence of the wing- 
 bars ; another, more nearly allied to our bird, P. melanoJophos, is distin- 
 guished by its dark slate-grey belly and well-developed crest. In Algeria 
 the Coal Tit, P. ledoucii, appears to have been so long isolated from its 
 relations as to have become specifically distinct, differing in having the 
 underparts, including the cheeks and the nape, yelloAv instead of white or 
 buff. The Coal Tit does not appear to have any representative in America. 
 
 The Corfl Tit, although as interesting in its habits and appearance, is not 
 quite so well known a bird as its congeners the Blue Tit and the Great 
 Tit. It does not so often come into notice ; for it usually confines itself to 
 the woods and the wilder tracts of country, and is not commonly met with 
 
474 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 near houses. Its favourite haunts are the plantations and the copses near 
 the moorlands ; and it is often seen in little parties in furze-brakes and 
 tangled thickets near streams. Perhaps the best place to study the habits 
 of the Coal Tit is in the birch-copses late in autumn, when the foliage is 
 thin and the birds readily seen. At this season they are in small parties 
 (broods of the year probably and their parents), and are usually accom- 
 panied by a few Blue Tits, a Great Tit or two, and possibly a Creeper. 
 Their call-note, something like if-hee, if-hee, if-hee, will probably arrest 
 the attention long before the birds themselves are visible. Their actions 
 are precisely the same as those of the other Tits : the same grotesque 
 attitudes are assumed ; each twig is explored in the same business-like way 
 as with their congeners. Sometimes the Coal Tit visits the ground in 
 search of food; and it may often be seen clinging to walls and posts, 
 searching the crannies, the moss, and the lichens for insects. 
 
 Dixon thus writes of the Coal Tit : " Perhaps their actions, though some- 
 what resembling those of the Titmice in general, are more rapid than those of 
 other members of the family. You sometimes see them dart through the 
 foliage with great rapidity, chasing each other apparently in sportive glee. 
 There is scarcely a tree or a bush that the Coal Tit does not visit. Now 
 hanging from the long pendent branches of the graceful birch, now searching 
 the thorny sprays of the hawthorn, now on the topmost branches of the oak 
 or ash, then onwards to the drooping elm ; now on the lowly twigs of the 
 hazel or elder-bushes ; then the evergreens in turn are visited ; and even 
 the ivy on the ground is frequently explored. A favourite place to meet 
 with the Coal Tit is on the spreading branches of the fir tree, notably 
 those which are studded with cones. There you see him dexterously 
 ejecting the tiny seeds from their scaly bed, the bird very often clinging 
 to the cone, it may be on the extremity of a slender twig, and its active 
 motions causing the branch and its living burden to sway backwards and 
 forwards like the steady beat of a pendulum. A merry little party of 
 wanderers they are, and busy themselves with their own affairs alone. 
 When the sun nears the western horizon the Coal Tits, if it be winter time, 
 repair to the verdant branches of the evergreen to roost, or sometimes seek 
 shelter in the warm side of a haystack, always seeking that side opposite 
 to the direction in which the wind is blowing. I have also often witnessed 
 the migration of this charming little bird in the mellow days of October. 
 It comes with the Goldcrests, and with them departs ; for in this neigh- 
 bourhood (Rivelin valley) the bird is only represented in the winter 
 months by the few pairs that breed in the woods in this wild romantic 
 place. I have seen them in scores in the birch-woods here, tarrying for 
 a week perhaps, and then disappearing as suddenly as they had arrived." 
 
 The food of the Coal Tit is largely composed of insects ; but this bird is 
 also to no small extent a seed-eater. Mr. Tegetmeier gives an instance in 
 
EUROPEAN AND BRITISH COAL TITS. 475 
 
 the f Field ' of its feeding on filberts ; and Montagu states that a nest of 
 young birds kept in a cage were fed chiefly on small green caterpillars. 
 The flight of the Coal Tit differs very little from that of the Blue Tit. It 
 is performed by rapid and incessant beats of the wings, and is seldom pro- 
 longed for any great distance. 
 
 The Coal Tit's breeding- grounds are the birch- woods, pine- and fir-plan- 
 tations, alder-swamps, and, more rarely, orchards and gardens." Early in 
 spring we hear this bird's song a performance scarcely deserving the 
 name, it is true, but which is perhaps the closest attempt at music 
 made by any of the Tits. The nest of the Coal Tit is generally found 
 in holes of trees and stumps; but sometimes a hole in a wall will be 
 selected. Birch- woods are favourite haunts of this bird during the breeding- 
 season, where the abundance of holes suitable for nesting-purposes are most 
 probably the chief attraction. Here, it may be, where a large limb has 
 fallen in premature decay, leaving a hollow cavity in the parent stem, or 
 where a trunk has been riven by the storm, the bird will build its nest. It 
 will also select a hole in a large pine tree, or in the decaying alders near 
 the stream . Orchard trees are more rarely chosen ; but a hole in some 
 stump in a hedgerow is a favourite place. The bird will also occasionally 
 seek out a nesting-site in the ground, generally a hole under some half- 
 exposed root or old stump. In some cases the bird will enlarge a hole for 
 its purpose. The nest resembles those of the other Tits, and is very loosely 
 put together. It is made of dry grass, moss, in some cases thickly felted 
 with hair, and lined very warmly with feathers. The eggs, from five to 
 eight or nine in number, are usually pure white spotted and freckled with 
 light red. In some specimens the spots are bold and rich in colour, chiefly 
 massed on the large end of the egg; in others they are evenly distributed 
 over the entire surface in small dots. A beautiful clutch of eggs from 
 Pomerania in my collection, nine in number, have the ground-colour 
 delicate creamy white ; many of the markings are confluent, and all are 
 very pale and chiefly distributed in broad wavy streaks. One egg in this 
 clutch has the colour distributed in the minutest of specks over the whole 
 surface. They vary from '7 to '58 inch in length, and from '5 to '45 inch 
 in breadth. 
 
 The British form of the Coal Tit has the head, the sides of the nape, 
 and throat black, glossed with blue on the former; the ear-coverts and 
 the cheeks are yellowish white ; and the nape is white ; the rest of the 
 upper parts are brown ; the wings and tail are greyish brown ; the 
 median and greater wing-coverts are tipped with dull white, forming a 
 double bar across the wings ; the breast and belly are dull white, shading 
 into buffish brown on the 'flanks. Bill black; legs, feet, and claws lead- 
 colour ; irides hazel. Females are not so brilliant in colour, and the white 
 patches of plumage are not so pure. The Coal Tit may at once be distin- 
 guished from the Marsh-Tit by the white patch on the nape. 
 
476 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PARUS PALUSTRIS. 
 
 MARSH-TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Parus palustris, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 555 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 341 (1766) ; et 
 auctorum plurimorum Latham, Gmelin, Bechstein, Temminck, Naumann, 
 Gray, (Bonaparte), Newton, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Pcecile palustris (Linn.}, Kaup, Naturl. Syst. p. 114 (1829). 
 
 Poecile communis, Degl. et Gerbe, Orn. Eur. i. p. 567 (1867, ex Baldenstein). 
 
 The Marsh-Tit inhabits the whole of Europe, Asia Minor, Turkestan, 
 Siberia south of the Arctic circle, and North China, but is apparently 
 absent from Persia, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. The difference of climate 
 in such an extensive range has given rise to variations in size and in colour, 
 which are said to be characteristic of varieties, subspecies, or species, 
 according to the views of the writer. British examples are of a somewhat 
 more sandy brown than those from the continent of Western Europe, but 
 scarcely sufficiently so to warrant their separation. The variety of the 
 Marsh-Tit which is generally accepted as the typical form of P. palustris 
 is found throughout South-western Europe as far north and as far east 
 as St. Petersburg. In this form the tail is nearly even and short, the 
 upper parts are sandy brown, and the flanks are pale sandy brown. In 
 Scandinavia, north of lat. 61 up to the Arctic circle and in North-west 
 Russia, a form occurs having the tail rounded and slightly longer, the 
 upper parts are slate-grey, and the flanks are only slightly suffused with 
 brown : this form has been named P. borealis. In North-east Russia 
 and West Siberia the birds have the tail still further increased in length, 
 but the colour of the plumage does not exhibit any perceptible change : 
 to this form the name of P. baicalensis has been applied. In birds still 
 further to the east, in East Siberia and in the neighbourhood of Lake 
 Baikal, the tail again becomes nearly even and appears to reach its greatest 
 length, the bill is much smaller, and the slate-grey upper parts are slightly 
 suffused with brown : to these birds Taezaiiowski has given the name of 
 P. brevirostris ; and he assures me that the difference between the two 
 forms is well known to the bird-fanciers of Irkutsk, where they both occur. 
 The long-tailed, short-billed form is said to be useless as a cage-bird, not 
 possessing the powers of song which distinguish the other. In Kamt- 
 schatka a race, to which Bonaparte gave the name of P. kamtschatkensis *, 
 
 * The P. kamtschatkensis described by Dresser in his ' Birds of Europe ' is nothing but 
 the Siberian form of P. borealis (P. baicalensis). The true P. kamtschatkensis has lately 
 been rediscovered by Dybowsky. 
 
MAKSH-TIT. 
 
 477 
 
 is found which, were it not probable that intermediate forms occur, might 
 fairly be considered specifically distinct. The tail is rounded, slightly 
 shorter than that of the East-Siberian birds ; the upper parts are sandy 
 white, and the flanks pure white. This bird may be looked upon as the 
 extreme arctic form. Southwards, in Japan the Marsh-Tit, to which I 
 have g^veu the name of P. japonicus *, has the tail, although rounded, still 
 further decreased in length, and the colour of the upper parts is only 
 slightly paler than in South-European examples ; but the flanks are only 
 faintly suffused with brown. In North China the Marsh-Tit of South- 
 west Europe (P. palustris) reappears : the tail is nearly even, and equal in 
 length to that of its European ally ; and the only perceptible difference is 
 that it is a trifle paler on the upper parts than examples from the British 
 Islands t- The Marsh-Tit of Turkestan, P. songarus, is apparently speci- 
 
 * To better and more clearly express the differences found in the Marsh-Tit, I have 
 drawn up the following Table : 
 
 Locality. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Length of 
 Tail. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 South-west Europe, P. 
 including British 
 Islands. 
 
 Scandinavia and North- P. borealis 
 west Russia. 
 
 North-east Russia and P. baicalfnsis 
 
 West Siberia. 
 
 East Siberia P. brertrostrts . 
 
 inches. 
 1-9 to 2-1 
 
 2-1 to 2-35 
 2-4 to 2-5 
 2-5 to 2-6 
 
 Kamtschatka P. kamtschatkejisif.. 2'4 to 2-3 
 
 Japan P. japvnicus -2-2 to 2'1 
 
 China .... P. palustns 
 
 2-0 
 
 Turkestan 
 
 P. songarus | 2-3 to 2-25 
 
 - 
 
 Tail nearly even ; upper park 
 sandy brown. British ex- 
 amples most sandy; flanks 
 pale sandy brown. 
 
 Tail rounded; upper parts 
 slate-grey ; flanks white, 
 slightly suffused with brown. 
 
 Tail rounded ; upper parts 
 slate-grey ; flanks white, 
 slightly suffused with brown. 
 
 Tail nearly even ; bill small : 
 upper parts slate-grey, with 
 a slight shade of brown ; 
 flanks white, slightly suf- 
 fused with brown. 
 
 Tail rounded; tipper parts 
 sandy white; flanks pure 
 white. 
 
 Tail rounded: upper parts 
 pale sandy brown; flanks 
 white, slightly more suffused 
 with brown than in P. bai- 
 caknsis. 
 
 Tail nearly even ; upper parts 
 sandy brown, very slightly 
 paler than British examples; 
 flanks pale sandy brown. 
 
 Tail rounded ; upper parts 
 rich sandy brown ; flanks 
 sandy brown. 
 
 * Dresser. ' Birds of Europe,' iii. p. 120, is in error in saying that the Chinese form most 
 nearly resembles P. borealis. 
 
478 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 fically distinct, being very much browner both above and below, especially 
 on the flanks, than even examples of P. palustris from the British Islands ; 
 it has also the rounded tail which characterizes the birds of North Europe, 
 Siberia, and Japan. It may be looked upon as a semitropical form, and is 
 possibly more nearly allied to the Sombre Tit (P. lugubris] of South-eastern 
 Europe, a species somewhat larger in size and having the black on the 
 throat much more clearly denned, like the North-American representatives 
 of the Marsh-Tit, P. atricapillus and P. carolinensis. The range of P. son- 
 garus extends from the Thianshan and Alashan mountains eastwards to 
 Kansu. 
 
 All these forms undoubtedly interbreed wherever their ranges meet, 
 and can only be regarded as varieties of one variable species, which 
 presents a striking example of scarcely distinguishable eastern and western 
 forms connected together by a central semiarctic form, and represented 
 in the south by a semitropical form a peculiarity of geographical dis- 
 tribution characteristic of many species of migratory Palsearctic birds. 
 
 The Marsh-Tit has scarcely a right to its name. It is never seen on the 
 reeds or in the sedge, which are the special characteristics of a marsh, but 
 in bushes or trees of all kinds, great or small, on the confines of the reeds, 
 on the bushes by the river-side, or in the garden ; even in the suburban 
 gardens on the outskirts of London or Sheffield, it is almost sure to be 
 found. Nevertheless it is less partial to very dry districts than some of 
 the other Tits. For example, in the Parnassus, though Kriiper told me 
 that he had found it down in the plains, I never met with it in either the 
 pine-region or the district where beeches or oaks once flourished, but which 
 is now only a grass region, whereas the Coal Tit, the Great Tit, and the 
 Sombre Tit were all there. Again, in the endless pine-forests which sur- 
 round Arcachon, both in the newer forests, where the ground is little more 
 than bare sand, and in the older forests, where a subsoil of peat has esta- 
 blished itself, though the Great Tit, the Crested Tit, and the Coal Tit are 
 common, and we once saw a Blue Tit, we never met with a Marsh-Tit. 
 The latter species, however, was not rare in the cultivated districts round 
 Pau. 
 
 In its habits the Marsh-Tit scarcely differs from its near allies. Though 
 smaller than most of them, it is as active as any of them, and, like the 
 Goldcrests and the Willow-Warblers, may be seen in almost every con- 
 ceivable position searching for insects on the buds at the end of a branch. 
 Sometimes it peers down from above, and sometimes from below. Now it 
 twists to this side, and now to that. Sometimes it hangs by one leg; and 
 sometimes it may be seen poised in front of the end of the bough, with 
 half-spread tail and its little wings buzzing like those of a hawkmoth. On 
 the whole it is a silent bird ; but sometimes, as it passes through the wood 
 you may hear its four loud and rather plaintive notes uttered in rapid 
 
MARSH-TIT. 479 
 
 succession, tay, tay, tay, tay ; and by following the sound you may trace 
 the rapidity with which the bird flits from tree to tree, probably calling for 
 its mate. At other times a much lower and still more plaintive wee, wee, 
 is heard. In spring I have heard it utter a loud ti-ted ' , ti-ted' , something 
 like the still louder note of the Great Tit, which I always fancy is an 
 imitation of a rusty-axled wheelbarrow creaking as it is trundled along. 
 Its song is a very simple sis, sis, sis, see, scarcely deserving to be called 
 a song at all. 
 
 In most parts of its range the Marsh-Tit is a resident ; but in autumn 
 these birds wander about considerably, and I have frequently noticed that 
 in some localities they suddenly become common for a few weeks and then 
 disappear. In Norfolk it is said that in autumn an arrival of Marsh-Tits 
 from the continent has been observed ; and this is confirmed by the appear- 
 ance of these birds on Heligoland. Of all the British Tits the Marsh-Tit 
 is apparently the most hardy. Its range continues considerably further 
 north than any of the rest, and, indeed, than any of the Palaearctic Tits, 
 with the single exception of the Lapp Tit. Like most of the other species 
 of this family, it is a very sociable bird, except perhaps during the breeding- 
 season. In this country I have generally seen it in company with the Blue 
 Tit and the Great Tit. In the south of France it often joined a party of 
 Goldcrests ; and in Siberia it was in the same flock as the Lapp Tit and 
 the Nuthatch. The tendency of birds to flock together when food is scarce 
 is almost universal, and probably is of great service, especially in countries 
 where the winters are severe, not only in discovering supplies of food, but 
 also in giving timely notice of the approach of danger. 
 
 The Marsh-Tit may almost be said to be omnivorous; nothing comes amiss 
 to it. In winter you may easily obtain an opportunity of watching its habits 
 in frosty weather by hanging up a bone, or a lump of suet, or even a tallow 
 candle in the garden. It is very fond of seeds of all kinds ; and scarcely 
 any sort of fruit, soft or hard, is neglected ; but perhaps, on the whole, 
 this bird is chiefly insectivorous. 
 
 I have always found the nest of the Marsh-Tit in a hole in a tree, 
 generally near the ground, and almost always in such a narrow hole that 
 it was necessary to use a wire to draw out the eggs with part of the nest. 
 Many other situations, however, are on record. It has repeatedly been 
 observed to excavate a hole for itself in a decayed tree, the entrance being 
 then as round as the hole of a Woodpecker, and small in proportion to the 
 size of the bird. Occasionally it breeds in a pollard willow, and has even 
 been known to build in a rabbit-burrow or an old rat's hole. The inside 
 of the hole, if too deep, is filled up with bits of wood or small twigs, and 
 upon this k *foundation a moderately neat nest is composed of moss, wool, 
 hair, and any other soft material that may be within reach. Fresh eggs 
 may be found in May ; and it is said that a second brood is often reared. 
 
480 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The number varies from five to eight, and some writers say even twelve ; 
 but no such case has ever come under my notice. They are white with a 
 scarcely perceptible yellowish tinge in ground-colour, spotted and speckled 
 with light red. The markings are usually most numerous on the large 
 end of the egg. Some specimens have the spots very small and more 
 evenly distributed than others, and on some eggs there are a few short 
 streaky spots of blackish brown. They vary from -67 to '6 inch in length 
 and from *52 to *47 inch in breadth. It is impossible to distinguish the 
 eggs of the Marsh-Tit from those of its allies. They are, of course, slightly 
 smaller than Great Tit's ; but the only safe guide to the correct authenti- 
 cation of the eggs of this bird, and indeed of those of all the Tits, is by 
 observing the parent birds. 
 
 The typical form of the Marsh-Tit has the head, from the base of the 
 bill to the nape, bluish black ; the cheeks and sides of the neck are white ; 
 the rest of the upper parts are sandy brown, paler on the rump ; the wings 
 and tail are dark brown, the feathers of the former with lighter margins; 
 but there are no pale tips to the wing-coverts. The chin and upper throat 
 are black, the feathers more or less margined with dull white ; the breast 
 and belly are dull greyish white tinged with buff on the flanks and lower 
 belly. Bill black ; legs, feet, and claws lead-colour ; irides dark brown. 
 The female does not differ in colour from the male; and young birds closely 
 resemble their parents, but the colours are duller. 
 
CRESTED TIT. 481 
 
 PARUS CRISTATUS. 
 
 CRESTED TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 Parus cristatus, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 008 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 340 (1766; : et 
 auctorum plurimoruxn Latham, Gtndin, Bechstein, Naumann, Temminck, 
 Gray, (Bonaparte), Degland, Gerbe, Newton, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Lophophanes cristatus (Linn.}, Kaup, Xatiirl. Syst. p. 92 (1829). 
 
 Parus mitratus. Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 467 (1831). 
 
 The Crested Tit is one of the most local of our indigenous birds. Its 
 only known breeding-grounds in the British Islands are in Scotland, in the 
 valley of the Spey and in the adjoining counties of Ross and Inverness on 
 the west, and Aberdeen on the east. In winter its distribution is a little 
 more extended, and Mr. Gray remarks that it has been obtained as far south 
 as Perthshire. In the western counties of Scotland but two specimens 
 have been obtained one in 1838 near Barcaldine House in Argyleshire, 
 and another, of which the exact date is not known, taken near Dumbarton. 
 Although, on the authority of Jardine, it has been said to have occurred in 
 Lanarkshire, Mr. Gray has been unable to trace it in any part of that 
 county during the last twenty years. In England, Mr. Harting, in his 
 ' Handbook/ records eight instances of its occurrence ; Mr. Simpson re- 
 cords another in the ' Zoologist ' for 1872, p. 3021, and Baron Von Hiigel 
 one more specimen in the same periodical for 1874, p. 4065. Although 
 not included by Thompson, the bird has occurred in Ireland, as shown by 
 Sharpe and Dresser, upon the authority of Mr. Blake Kuox, who mentions 
 two specimens. 
 
 The Crested Tit, though its range is very restricted, is much commoner 
 and less local on the Continent, being a resident in most of the pine-forests, 
 though it does not appear to range further north than lat. 64, whence 
 Meves records it. To the east it has only with certainty been found as far 
 as the valleys of the Don aud the Volga above Sarepta. Bogdanow thinks 
 that its occurrence in the Caucasus rests upon insufficient evidence. To 
 the south it is found in many localities as far as the Mediterranean, but its 
 range does not appear to extend to Africa. Kriiper found it in Turkey ; 
 but it has not yet occurred in Italy south of the Alps, Greece, Asia Minor, 
 or Palestine. 
 
 There are several species of Tit which are distinguished by having a 
 crest ; but*since in the Coal Tits there seems to be a series of intermediate 
 forms between the crested and non-crested varieties, it would be extremely 
 unadvisable to separate them from the genus Parus, otherwise than merely 
 
 VOL. i. 2 1 
 
482 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 subgenerically, although they have been so separated by Kaup under the 
 generic name of Lophophanes. Some of these crested Tits inhabit the 
 Himalayas, and others are found in North America ; and it does not appear 
 that there are any other characters by which to separate them from the 
 non-crested Tits. The Crested Tit has no near ally in the eastern hemi- 
 sphere. The only species which approaches it is P. wollweberi, which in- 
 habits Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, and Western Texas. The most 
 important difference between the two species is that the American bird 
 has the white on the crest replaced by slate-grey. 
 
 The Crested Tit can scarcely be called a migratory bird, though in 
 autumn it partially forsakes the pine-forests, where it breeds, and is seen 
 in winter in many of the small woods and plantations, and even the gardens, 
 in the neighbouring districts ; but even in these localities it prefers the pine 
 to any other tree. 
 
 The Crested Tit is not a bird of the desert ; but it is emphatically a bird 
 of the sand not on account of the sand, but for the pines that grow on 
 the dunes and sand plains. The first step in the transformation of sand 
 into arable land is to plant pine trees, under which a soil is gradually 
 accumulated from the decayed bark, spines, cones, and branches of the 
 trees, together with the grass, moss, and underwood which the moisture 
 under the perennial shade causes to grow. In the south-east of Holland, 
 at Valconswaard, and in the south-west of France, at Arcachon, you may 
 travel for miles over country where sand and pine trees are almost the only 
 feature in the landscape. These forests are the paradise of the Crested Tit. 
 I spent a summer at Valconswaard and a winter at Arcachon, and in both 
 districts I was struck with the abundance of this handsome little bird. It 
 is not only the commonest Tit of the pine-forest, but the commonest bird. 
 Most birds prefer the outskirts of the forest, near to the patches of cultivated 
 land. In the heart of a forest birds are generally rare, in winter especially 
 so. What few birds there are, seem to be more or less gregarious. In 
 wandering through the pine-forests of Arcachon we sometimes did not see 
 a bird for half an hour. Then a Crested Tit would be heard ; three or 
 four more would be sure to be in its company, and most likely a Great 
 Tit or two, and a few Goldcrests or Firecrests. In most of these batches 
 of birds there were a few Chaffinches, and very often a Creeper. Now and 
 then Long-tailed Tits formed a portion of the party, and rarely a few Coal 
 Tits ; but Crested Tits were always there. They are very active, flitting from 
 branch to branch, running over the pine-cones in search of insects ; and 
 they seem to have taken a leaf out of the book of their associate the 
 Creeper, and may often be seen on the trunks of the pines, where they 
 search for insects in the crevices of the bark. Sometimes they runup the 
 stems of the pines exactly as the Creeper does. It is not difficult to recog- 
 nize the Crested Tit on the wing. In the bright sunshine which is such a 
 
CRESTED TIT. . 483 
 
 distinguishing feature of the Arcachon winters the white edges to the black 
 feathers of the head of the Crested Tit are generally very conspicuous 
 during flight ; and often enough when the little bird is hanging under a 
 branch of a lofty pine, the outline of its erected crest is easy to see against 
 the sky. But the surest way of detecting its presence is to listen for its 
 note. Its call-note is a not very loud si, si, si, which seems to be common 
 to many of the Tits ; but this is often followed by a spluttering note diffi- 
 cult to express on paper, which, as far as I know, is peculiar to the Crested 
 Tit. It is a lame attempt at a trill, a sort of ptur, re, re, re, ree. The pine 
 trees in the Arcachon forest are tapped for their resin. Three or four 
 longitudinal scores are made on the trunks ; and these are lengthened as 
 they dry up until they reach a considerable height from the ground. When 
 the tree gets old the weather rots the part where the bark has been re- 
 moved, and the trunk swells out and cracks, and all kinds of convenient 
 nooks and crannies are formed, where Tits and other birds who like such 
 situations for their nests can breed. Some of these trees in the old forest 
 of La Teste attain a diameter of four, and even five feet ; and occasionally 
 one comes across a fine old oak. The Crested Tits seem, however, to prefer 
 the pines ; and although the Great and the Coal Tits are very fond of 
 searching for insects on the ground amongst the fallen oak-leaves, I have 
 never seen the Crested Tit on the ground. In the pine-forosts of Pome- 
 rania and of the Alps I found this bird equally common. 
 
 In Scotland the haunt of the Crested Tit is the pine-woods, and more 
 rarely the birch-plantations. The breeding-season of the bird, both in 
 Scotland and in Pomerania, commences about the middle of April ; and the 
 eggs are laid by the first week in May. Russow says that in the Russian 
 Baltic Provinces it often has a second brood early in June. 
 
 The Crested Tit generally builds its nest in a hole in a tree, and usually 
 at no very great height from the ground ; but in forests where there are 
 not many old trees, and suitable holes are not easily found, it will often 
 construct its nest in the foundations of large nests (those of birds of prey, 
 Crows, &c.), or it lays its eggs in the forsaken nests of the Magpie, 
 the Crow, or the Squirrel, or even of the Wren. More than one orni- 
 thologist has maintained that it builds a nest of its own with a hole in the 
 side, like that of the Wren. It has been known to breed in the little 
 wooden boxes which the Germans are so fond of putting up for the accom- 
 modation of their favourites the Starlings ; and it is said often to hollow 
 out a hole for itself in decayed trees and old half-rotten pallisades. 
 
 The nest is put together in a somewhat slovenly fashion, and made of 
 dry grass, jnoss, wool, feathers, and very often the fur of the " blue hare " 
 thickly felted together. The eggs of the Crested Tit are from four to six 
 or seven in number, and differ considerably in the amount and distribution 
 of the markings. They are pure white in ground-colour, some specimens 
 
 2i2 
 
484 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 spotted and speckled over the whole surface with brownish red, others with 
 the markings in a confluent zone round the end. In some specimens this 
 band is increased into an irregular patch, which almost conceals the ground- 
 colour of the large end of the egg ; whilst in others the spots are very rich 
 and bold, forming bands of colour round the egg. The colour of the spots 
 is also subject to variation; and usually those eggs which are evenly and 
 minutely marked have the spots darker red than those specimens in which 
 the markings are larger. Clutches are sometimes obtained in which the 
 spots are almost absent, or displayed on one of the eggs only ; but as a 
 rule the eggs of the Crested Tit are more richly and boldly spotted than 
 those of its allies. They measure from '7 to '6 inch in length, and from 
 55 to -47 inch in breadth. 
 
 The food of the Crested Tit is composed of insects and small seeds of 
 various kinds ; and, like all its congeners, it is of great service in ridding 
 the twigs and buds of vast quantities of injurious pests. It is also said to 
 feed on juniper-berries. 
 
 The Crested Tit has the general colour of the upper parts from below the 
 nape huffish brown, becoming dusky brown on the wings and tail ; the 
 feathers of the head are black, broadly margined with dull white, those 
 from the crown backwards considerably elongated and recurved, forming a 
 graceful crest ; from the base of the bill through the eye to the back of 
 the head, thence coming downwards to below the cheeks, is a black band ; 
 another band of the same colour, and separated from the foregoing by a 
 white band, crosses the head, neck, and, passing round the white ear- 
 coverts and cheeks, joins the black on the throat. The breast is dirty 
 white ; and the belly, flanks, and under tail-coverts are pale buffish brown. 
 Bill black; legs and feet lead-colour; irides brown. The female is 
 similar to the male in colour, but has the crest shorter and the black on 
 the throat less developed. Birds of the year resemble females. 
 
ACREDULA. 485 
 
 Genus ACREDULA. 
 
 Both Brisson and Linnaeus included the Long-tailed Tit in the genus 
 Parus, a course which is still followed by many naturalists. The Long- 
 tailed Tit was simultaneously removed from the genus Parus in 1816 by 
 Koch and Leach, the former writer establishing the genus Acredula, in his 
 ' Systema der baierischen Zoologie/ p. 199, and the latter, in his ' Syste- 
 matic Catalogue/ p. 17, adopting the name of Mecistura for the bird. It 
 is impossible to say which writer has the precedence ; but as Koch carefully 
 pointed out the characters on which his new genus was based, and as Leach 
 merely changed the name without giving any diagnosis whatever, it is only 
 bare justice to adopt that of the former writer. As A. caudata was the 
 only species known to Koch, it becomes of course the type. 
 
 The Long-tailed Tits differ from the true Tits (Parus) in having the tail 
 much longer than the wing and graduated. In other respects they do not 
 differ much ; but their plumage is of a looser texture, and their style of 
 coloration is peculiar. 
 
 The birds in this genus are apparently confined to the Palsearctic Region; 
 but in the Nearctic Region they are represented by the very nearly allied 
 genus Psaltriparus. It contains about seven species, of which four are 
 European, one of which is a common resident in and the other an occa- 
 sional straggler to our islands. 
 
 The Long-tailed Tits do not differ much in their habits from their con- 
 geners ; they are perhaps more gregarious, and wander about in small 
 parties in search of food. The haunts they frequent are similar to those 
 of the other Tits. They do not possess any song. They build beautiful 
 dome-shaped nests of moss, lichens, feathers, wool, &c., usually placing 
 them in bushes. Their eggs are numerous, pure white in colour, sparingly 
 speckled with reddish brown. 
 
486 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 ACREDULA CAUDATA AND ACREDULA ROSEA. 
 
 CONTINENTAL LONG-TAILED TIT and BRITISH 
 LONG-TAILED TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 9.) 
 
 These two forms are united together by a series of intermediate examples, 
 which are found in those districts where their respective ranges meet, 
 leading to the supposition that they are only subspecifically distinct and 
 interbreed wherever they have the opportunity. The synonymy of the two 
 forms is as follows : 
 
 ACREDULA CAUDATA. 
 CONTINENTAL LONG-TAILED TIT. 
 
 Parus longicaudus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 570 (1760). 
 
 Parus caudatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 342 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Gmelin, Bonaparte, Crespon, Malhcrbe, (Eeetutein), (Neumann), (Newton), &c. 
 Acredula caudata (Linn.}, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 200 (1816). 
 ^Egithalus caudatus (Linn.}, Boie, Isis, 1825, p. 556. 
 Orites caudatus (Linn.), Sundev. Sv. Fogl. p. 92 (1856). 
 
 ACREDULA ROSEA. 
 BRITISH LONG-TAILED TIT. 
 
 Acredula vagans, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 17 (1816). 
 
 Mecistura rosea, Blyth, White's Nat. Hist. Selborne, p. Ill, footnote (1836); et 
 
 auctorum plurimorum (Gray), Sharpe, Dresser, Giglioli, Ehves, Buckley, 
 
 Danford, Harvie-Brmun, &c. 
 
 Mecistura longicaudata, Macgill. Hist. Brit. B. ii. p. 454 (1839). 
 Acredula rosea (Blyth), Sharpe, Ibis, 1868, p. 300. 
 Parus roseus (Blyth), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 234 (1869). 
 Acredula caudata (Linn.), apud Newton fyc. 
 
 The British Long-tailed Tit is by no means confined to the British 
 Islands. In England and Wales it is generally distributed and probably 
 breeds in every county, although it becomes somewhat local in certain 
 districts. In the Channel Islands, Mr. Cecil Smith remarks that he 
 has never met with it; but Professor Ansted, in his list, states that it 
 occurs in Guernsey and Sark. In Scotland, although generally distributed, 
 it is rarer, doubtless because the districts suited to its habits are fewer; but 
 it is more numerous in winter. It is also found on some of the Inner 
 
LONG-TAILED TITS. 487 
 
 Islands of the west, as, for instance, Islay and Skye, in which latter 
 locality Dixon met with it. A party of four were seen by Dr. Saxby 
 in Unst in the middle of April 1860; but that gentleman states that he has 
 never met with the bird in any other part of the Shetlands ; nor does it 
 ever appear to have visited the Orkneys or the Faroes. In Ireland the 
 Long-tailed Tit, according to Thompson, is distributed through the wooded 
 districts, especially in the northern portions of the island, although not 
 commonly. 
 
 The British form of the Long-tailed Tit is found in France, Western 
 Germany, Northern Italy, and some parts of Turkey, and apparently 
 interbreeds with the Continental form A. caudata, which differs from it 
 in the adult bird having a pure white head. The latter form ranges 
 throughout Northern and Central Europe between the Arctic circle and 
 the Alps, its range extending eastwards through Southern Siberia to the 
 Pacific. In the north, from St. Petersburg eastwards, the tail is somewhat 
 lengthened, varying from 3 1 7 to 4 inch, instead of from 3'3 to 3 - 5 inch. 
 This form has received the name of A. macrura, and is replaced in the 
 valley of the Amoor by A. caudata, although, curiously enough, it 
 reappears on the island of Askold. In Kamtschatka, the North Island of 
 Japan, and in Manchuria one of these two forms occurs ; but on the chief 
 island of Japan A. trivirgata is found, which is, in fact, a reappearance 
 of A. rosea, whose only claim to rank as a distinct species rests on the 
 fact that in the majority of skins, though not in all, the black supercilium 
 passes across the lores to the base of the bill. In Spain, Central and South 
 Italy, and Sicily A. irbii is found, in which the vinaceous colour on the 
 scapulars is replaced by grey; but in Lombardy it would appear that 
 A. irbii and A. rosea interbreed, as intermediate examples occur. In the 
 Balkan peninsula, Asia Minor, Persia, and Turkestan a distinct species, 
 A. tephronota, occurs, resembling A. irbii, but differing from it in having 
 a black patch on the throat. It is not known how far east this bird 
 ranges ; but in China it is represented by A. glaucogularis, a species only 
 differing from it in having the white forehead replaced by black. 
 
 The Long-tailed Tit is a lover of the woods and groves ; and unless the 
 district is a well-timbered one, it is almost useless to expect to fall in with 
 it. Like all its little congeners, it may often be seen in the vicinity of 
 houses, haunting the gardens and orchards. Favourite places are the 
 broad pasture-lands divided from each other by tall hedges, with here and 
 there a little plantation, or a waste corner left to grow bushes of gorse 
 and blackthorn. It may often be seen on the borders of the forest, on the 
 land which is, as it were, struggling against the encroachment of the trees, 
 and studifed with tall hawthorns, a few birches, and plenty of thicket, in 
 which the " Bottle-Tit " loves to build its nest. 
 
 As with all the Tits, the present species is perhaps the most engaging 
 
488 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 in winter : certainly it is by far the most frequently seen at that season ; 
 and its gregarious habits, adopted after the family are safely reared, 
 seldom fail to arrest the observer's attention, as in a merry little party 
 they flit along from bush to bush before him. The Long-tailed Tit 
 is a thorough nomad in winter, and wanders far in search of its food. 
 Nor does it appear to congregate with other Titmice to any great 
 extent, a family of birds usually keeping to themselves. Ever restless, 
 they flit from tree to tree. Here and there you may see the branches 
 tremble as the " Bottle-Tits " explore the twigs. Sometimes one or two 
 of the party are on the outside branches, and their peculiar attitudes 
 amuse and interest you. But not a moment are they still. First one 
 leaves the twigs, uttering its oft-repeated call-note, and in a some- 
 what slow and undulating flight comes still nearer to you. It is soon 
 followed by another, another, and another, until the little party are all 
 together again, busy and lively as before. You may follow them the whole 
 length of the shrubbery and into the tall hedges of the fields beyond ; yet 
 their actions are precisely the same. They will flit from spray to spray 
 before you, rarely taking a long flight, and always keep close company. 
 Sometimes they will visit the bushes close to the ground ; and often they 
 will explore every twig on the topmost branches of the tallest trees. They 
 are not at all shy birds, although their rapid movements are sometimes apt 
 to lead the observer to suppose that they are full of wariness. 
 
 The Long-tailed Tit is a pretty common bird in the woods near Pau. 
 The winter before last I was often much amused by observing the habits 
 of this species. These little birds seemed to find few or no insects on the 
 branches of the trees; but gnats were numerous in the sunshine, and it was 
 amusing to watch their efforts to catch them on the wing. On the whole 
 they seemed to be successful flycatchers, judging from the pertinacity with 
 which they kept up the pursuit ; but their long tails seemed to be dread- 
 fully in their way. When they were flying from branch to branch they 
 had no difficulty in getting sufficient " way " on to make the tail follow 
 horizontally ; but the moment they began flycatching, and their flights 
 became shorter and slower, they were entirely unable to hold up their 
 tails, and the little things had to fly up at the flock of gnats, their tails 
 hanging down and their little wings going with all their might. In this 
 way I watched them suspended in the air under the gnats for some seconds, 
 when they glided into a branch, either because their wings were tired or 
 because they had caught a gnat and took a rest to swallow it. 
 
 In early spring the Long-tailed Tit ceases to be a gregarious species, 
 and the families of those birds that have lived together throughout the 
 autumn and winter pair and disperse for the purpose of breeding. Its 
 nesting-grounds are the well-timbered districts, in shrubberies, woods, 
 plantations, gardens, and orchards, also in tall hedges and in thick under- 
 
LONG-TAILED TITS. 489 
 
 wood. Unlike the birds forming the genus Pants, the Long-tailed Tit 
 builds a nest in the branches of trees and shrubs a nest of matchless 
 beauty, which costs the little owners at least a fortnight's incessant 
 labour to complete. In the slender twigs near the lichen-covered branch 
 of a hoary oak tree, in the branches of the hazel or the whitethorn in the 
 hedgerows, or amongst the prickly branches of the furze, where the fresh 
 green foliage and bright-yellow blooms form a contrast of the greatest 
 beauty in all these situations the Long-tailed Tit's nest may be frequently 
 found. But it is perhaps seen in the branches of the holly or the white- 
 thorn more frequently than in any other situation. It is built at various 
 heights from the ground, sometimes only a few feet, at others, as mentioned 
 by Mr. Wharton, at an elevation of fifty feet. Apropos of this matter 
 several interesting communications may be found in the ' Zoologist 3 for 
 1882, pp. 187, 233, 234, made by the above-named naturalist and several 
 others. Mr. J. Cordeaux also gives an instance in the ' Zoologist/ 1873 
 (p. 3558), of a nest of this bird placed at the very summit of a spruce-fir 
 fourteen feet from the ground. The nest is oval in shape ; and a small 
 hole in the side near the top admits the parent birds. The materials that 
 compose it are very similar to those used by the Chaffinch the greenest 
 moss, lichens, and cobwebs all felted artfully together, and lined with an im- 
 mense number of feathers and hairs. The nest of this bird is undoubtedly 
 the finest piece of bird-architecture found in our islands. The eggs of the 
 Long-tailed Tit vary considerably in number. Some nests only contain 
 six eggs, whilst others may be found with eleven, and in rare instances as 
 many as sixteen or twenty have been known. It is the opinion of some 
 observers that where so many eggs are found in the nest they are the 
 production of more than one female. We have, however, no direct 
 evidence that such is the case. The eggs are pure white or pearly grey 
 in ground-colour, with a few small spots of light-red, and fainter marks of 
 purple, although many specimens are spotless or appear to have the scanty 
 colouring-matter delicately suffused over the entire surface ; sometimes they 
 are without any trace of markings. They measure from "63 to '52 inch in 
 length and from '48 to -4 inch in breadth. The eggs of this bird are less 
 spotted than those of any other Tit. 
 
 Several naturalists, amongst whom may be included Selby, have asserted 
 that the nest of this bird contains two holes ; but if such be the case, it 
 is a most exceptional occurrence. The bird when sitting places its long 
 tail over its back ; in fact it would be difficult for it to sit in any other 
 manner. When we bear in mind how numerous their family, it is indeed 
 wonderful how the little creatures rear them. That they safely do so is 
 proved by the fact that in a few short weeks they may all be seen in 
 the company of their parents, with whom they keep in a family party through 
 the coming autumn and winter. 
 
490 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The food of the Long-tailed Tit, though chiefly, is not entirely composed of 
 insects ; for it also eats small seeds of various kinds, such as those of grasses 
 and of the birch. Its call-notes are not perhaps quite so varied as those 
 of the other Tits. Besides the usual clear and shrill zi-zi-zi or pe-pe-pe it 
 has a different note, something like what I call the spluttering note of the 
 Crested Tit a sort of ptge, impossible to express on paper, which is 
 constantly repeated when feeding. It has no note that can be called a 
 song. 
 
 The British form of the Long-tailed Tit has the head white ; on each 
 side of the crown, extending from just before the eye to the nape, is a 
 black band ; the back is black, shading into a rosy pink on the rump and 
 scapulars ; the wings are brownish-black, the innermost secondaries are 
 broadly edged with white ; the tail, which is very long, is black, the three 
 outside feathers white on the outer web, and on part of the inner web at 
 the end, the white only extending over half of the third feather ; bill 
 black ; legs, toes, and claws dark brown ; eyelids red ; irides hazel. 
 The female does not differ from the male, except that the black band 
 on the head and nape is broader. Young birds are duller than their 
 parents. 
 
 The Continental form of the Long-tailed Tit, whose chief point of dis- 
 tinction has been already noticed, has occurred several times in the British 
 Islands. In November 1852 a specimen was picked up dead at Tyne- 
 mouth, and is now in Mr. Hancock's collection. Another is in the New- 
 castle Museum ; but there appears to be no reliable information concerning 
 it, and therefore it is only with great doubt that it can be classed as a 
 " British specimen/' Mr. John Gatcombe records, in the ' Zoologist ' 
 (1872, p. 2943), the occurrence of another specimen, observed by him in 
 the October of the previous year. And, lastly, Mr. John Cordeaux states, 
 in the ' Zoologist' (1873, p. 3401), that he saw an example in North 
 Lincolnshire in the winter of 1872. Both the birds in the last two 
 instances were in company with a flock of the British form of this bird. 
 
 The habits of this subspecies are not known to differ from those of its 
 British representative ; nor is there any difference in its nest and eggs, 
 rendering a further description of them quite unnecessary.- 
 
PAXURUS. 491 
 
 Genus PANURUS. 
 
 The Bearded Tit was separated from the genus Parus, in which both 
 Linnaeus and Brisson included it, by Koch and Leach in 1816. As the 
 latter naturalist did not assign any characters to his new genus Calamo- 
 philus, it is only right that Koch's genus Panurus should have the 
 preference, which he established and clearly defined for this bird's reception 
 in his 'System der baierischen Zoologie/ p. 201. As this species was the 
 only one known to Koch, it must be regarded as the type. 
 
 The Bearded 1 Tit is a very aberrant member of the subfamily Parinae, 
 but no more so than the Creeper or the Nuthatch. Some writers have 
 placed it near the Buntings, some of which it much resembles in its habits 
 and the markings of its eggs. The cranial and palatal characters are said 
 by competent authorities to show its relationship to the Tits; and its 
 probable place in this subfamily is between the Long-tailed Tits and the 
 Penduline Tits, as it has the long graduated tail of the former and the 
 minute bastard primary of the latter. A distinctive character appears to 
 be the elongation of the feathers of the sides of the throat into a moustache. 
 The bill, though orange-yellow in colour, does not differ much in shape 
 from that of typical Parux, with which the bird also agrees in the structure 
 of its feet and in the position of the nostrils. 
 
 The Bearded Tit haunts marshy places, fens, and reed-tracts. But one 
 species of this genus is known, whose geographical distribution, habits, 
 food, nest, &c. will be treated of in the following article. 
 
492 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PANURUS BIARMICUS. 
 
 BEARDED TIT. 
 
 (PLATE 12.) 
 
 Parus barbatus, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 567 (1760). 
 
 Parus biarmicus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 342 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Degland), (Gerbe), Naumann, Temminck,(Gray), (Neivton), (Dresser), &c. 
 Calamophilus biarmicus (Linn.}, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 17 
 
 (1816). 
 
 Panurus biarmicus (Linn.}, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 202 (1816). 
 Mystacinus biarmicus (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 556. 
 ^Egytbalus biarmicus (Linn), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 975. 
 Calamophilus barbatus (Briss.}, Keys. u. Bias. Wirb. Eur. p. xliii (1840). 
 Paroides biarmicus (Linn.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 193 (1847). 
 Panurus barbatus (Briss), Saunders, Ibis, 1871, p. 208. 
 
 The Bearded Tit is not yet extinct in this country, though it seems to 
 be in a fair way to become so, in consequence of the drainage of its 
 favourite marshes, of occasional severe winters, and of the incessant perse- 
 cution to which it is subjected by reed-men in the commission of bird- 
 fanciers and egg-collectors. It is still found in the fen-districts of Norfolk, 
 in Devonshire, and more or less accidentally in some of the intervening 
 country, and the south-east counties of England. Formerly its range 
 extended more to the north ; but it is doubtful whether it has ever been 
 obtained in Scotland or Ireland, or even Wales. 
 
 On the continent the range of the Bearded Tit is an extensive one ; but 
 it has not been recorded south of the Mediterranean or north of Pomerania. 
 In the latter country and in Holland and Hungary the Bearded Tit is a 
 summer visitor. In Germany and France it is principally known as passing 
 through in spring and autumn ; but in Spain, Italy, and Sicily it appears 
 to be a resident. In Greece and Asia Minor it is said to be extremely 
 rare, its place being apparently taken by the Penduline Tit. Eastwards it 
 is much more common. It is resident in many suitable localities in South 
 Russia for example, at Sarepta ; it is extremely common in the delta of 
 the Volga, and is also a resident in the delta of the Terek, as well as in 
 Turkestan. Finsch obtained it in the swamps of the Kara Irtish, south 
 of Lake Zaisan, on the borders of Chinese Tartary ; and Prjevalsky found it 
 in North-eastern Thibet. Like other members of the subfamily of Parinae, 
 it is not to be wondered at that, in a range extending from Spain to Thibet, 
 it shows considerable local variations of colouring. British examples are 
 
BEARDED TIT. 493 
 
 the most rufous, those from Holland are somewhat paler ; examples from 
 Transylvania are still more so ; but those from Central Asia are the palest 
 of all. Compared with British skins, this pale eastern race, to which 
 Bonaparte gave the name of Panurus sibiricus (Calamophilus sibiricus, 
 Bonap. Compt. Rend. 1856, p. 414), is an excellent species ; but the inter- 
 mediate forms from the intervening localities compel us to consider the 
 difference between them only subspecific*. 
 
 The Bearded Tit, as much as the Reed- Warbler or Savi's Warbler, and 
 much more than the Reed-Bunting, is a bird of the reeds. In the Broads 
 it is called the Reed-Pheasant from its pheasant-like tail ; and by writers 
 who for some reason or other think it is not one of the Parinae, it is often 
 called the Bearded Reedling. The reed-beds of the Broads are particularly 
 adapted to the requirements of this remarkable-looking bird, and also 
 afford excellent opportunities for watching its habits. You can quietly 
 punt down the stream that winds through the reed-beds ; and where it 
 widens into a broad you can force your way amongst the reeds in many 
 directions ; and where the stream is narrow you can land on the banks 
 and wade far into the marshes on either side. The time to choose for a 
 visit is the last half of April. The earliest date at which eggs are laid is, 
 according to Stephenson, the first week in April ; but the Bearded Tit 
 has probably two broods, as I have eggs taken in the second week of June. 
 When I was there on the 15th of May, the young were already hatched. 
 We landed within a few yards of a nest of these charming birds ; it con- 
 tained three young ones, an egg in the process of hatching, and a rotten 
 egg. It is very important to have a calm day for studying the habits of 
 the Bearded Tit. Its long tail is sadly in the way in windy weather, and 
 forces it to keep almost entirely to the shelter of the reeds. Unfortunately 
 a light breeze had sprung up during the morning, which also prevented us 
 from hearing the notes of the parent birds as well as we otherwise should 
 have done. Of course, so late in the breeding-season, we did not expect 
 to hear the song, which is said to be only a few simple notes, something 
 like those of the Blue Tit. The call-note appeared to be a musical ping, 
 ping, something like the twang of a banjo. The alarm -note is said to be a 
 chir-r-r-r, something like the scold of a Whitethroat. The cry of distress 
 
 * There seem* to be a conspiracy to deprive Bonaparte of the merit of his discovery 
 altogether. The editors of the continuation of the Appendix to Nauunnn's ' Birds of 
 Germany/ published after the death of the great ornithologist, say that the example which 
 Bonaparte described was only a young bird of the Common Bearded Tit ; and Dr. Gadow 
 in his volume of the British-Museum < Catalogue,' containing the Tits, regards the pale 
 examples obtained by Finsch as birds in abraded summer plumage, and moulting on the 
 2nd of June I If it is possible that this is the case (of which, after a careful examination 
 of the skins, I can see no evidence), it would be best to remove the Bearded Tit at once 
 to the Warblers. 
 
494 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 is described as a plaintive ee-ar, ee-ar. Both parents were busy in feeding 
 their young with what, as far as we could judge through our binoculars, 
 were small flies. They were not particularly wild or timid, and allowed us 
 to watch them closely as they clung to the swaying reeds ; but if we 
 approached too near they dropped down the stalks of the reeds, and were 
 immediately hidden in the undergrowth of sedge. The nest was built 
 about a foot from the ground, on a clump of sedge (Carex], and was partially 
 concealed by overhanging reeds. It was built of flat grasses, rather deep, 
 and was lined with the flower of the reed. Whether perched upon a reed 
 rocking with the wind, or flitting across the bows of the boat over the 
 channel from one reed-bed to the other with uncertain undulating flight, 
 or passing over the tops of the reeds with what one might almost describe 
 as a dancing motion, this bird is most fascinating, not only to an ornitho- 
 logist, but to the casual observer. It does not look like a common British 
 bird, but has all the charms of a distinguished foreigner : we have birds far 
 more elegant, but none more aristocratic-looking ; we have birds far 
 handsomer, but none more distinffuSs. 
 
 Like other Tits it is a resident in our islands, and flocks in winter in 
 small parties which sometimes wander far from their breeding-grounds in 
 search of food ; and like them, too, it feeds both upon insects and seeds. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist ' for 1875, p. 4693, is a very interesting account (written 
 by my friend Mr. John Young) of the breeding of this bird in confinement : 
 two hens, accompanied by a cock, laid the astonishing number of forty- 
 nine eggs between the 30th of May and the 2nd of August. The usual 
 number of eggs varies from four to seven. They cannot be confused with 
 the eggs of any other British bird. They most closely resemble in some 
 respects the eggs of the Buntings, but always possess peculiar character- 
 istics which readily distinguish them. They are white slightly suffused 
 with brown in ground-colour, similar to the Stock-Dove's, possess consi- 
 derable gloss, and are somewhat sparingly marked with short wavy lines, 
 specks, and streaks of dark brown. Some specimens are a trifle more 
 thickly marked than others ; but otherwise little variation is seen. The 
 eggs are remarkably large for the size of the bird, and vary from '75 to 
 65 inch in length, and from - 6 to '53 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Bearded Tit has the head slate-grey ; the lores, a streak extending 
 halfway over the eye, and a long moustachial patch of pointed feathers 
 are black ; the nape, back, and rump are in British examples rich rufous- 
 brown ; the scapulars are buflfish white ; the lesser wing-coverts are greyish 
 brown tipped with buff; and the greater are black, with broad margins and 
 tips of rufous-brown ; the wings are dark brown, the primaries broadly 
 edged and tipped with white, the secondaries with rich rufous-brown; the 
 tail is rufous-brown like the back, the external feathers tipped with greyish 
 white, which colour forms a margin to the two outermost feathers, which 
 
BEARDED TIT. 
 
 495 
 
 are black at the base. The chin and throat are pale grey, the sides of the 
 latter suffused with rosy pink, which colour also extends across the breast ; 
 the flanks are rich rufous-brown, the centre of the belly huffish white, 
 and the under tail-coverts are black. Bill orange-yellow ; legs, feet, and 
 claws black ; irides yellow. The female differs from the male by having 
 the head brown, by having no moustachial stripe or black lores ; the 
 underparts are browner, the under tail-coverts are rufous, and her plumage 
 generally is less brilliant. Young birds resemble the female ; but the 
 crown and back are streaked with black. 
 
 LOXG TAILED TIT^S XKST. 
 
496 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus ACCENTOR. 
 
 The genus Accentor was established in 1802 by Bechstein, in his ( Ornitho- 
 logisches Taschenbuch/ i. p. 191, for the reception of the Alpine Accentor, 
 which consequently becomes the type. 
 
 The Accentors are a very aberrant group of the Parinse, inasmuch as 
 they have spotted young like the Turdinse. In other respects they resemble 
 typical Tits in having straight and somewhat conical bills, rounded wings, 
 with a small bastard primary, and scutellated tarsi. 
 
 The geographical range of the genus extends over the whole of the 
 Pala3a*ctic Region and the extreme north of the Oriental Region. There 
 are about a dozen species in the genus, two of which breed in Europe. 
 One of these is a resident in the British Islands, and the other an accidental 
 visitor. A third species (Accentor montanellw), which breeds in Northern 
 Siberia, is occasionally seen in Eastern Europe. 
 
 The food of the Accentors is principally insects in summer and small 
 seeds in winter. They build their nests sometimes in bushes, sometimes 
 on the ground, and sometimes in holes in rocks. The eggs, so far as is 
 known, are always blue and unspotted. 
 
HEDGE-SPARROW. 497 
 
 ACCENTOR MODULARIS. 
 
 HEDGE-SPARROW. 
 
 (PLATE 12.) 
 
 Curruca sepiaria, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 394 (1760). 
 
 Motacilla modularis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 329 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum. 
 (Bonaparte), (Tcmminck), (Dealand), (Gerbe), (Naumann), (Xetcton), (Dres- 
 ser), \-c. 
 
 Sylvia modularis (Linn.), Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 511 (1790). 
 
 Prunella modularis (Linn.), VieiU. An. Xouv. Orn. p. 43 (1816). 
 
 Accentor modularis (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 196 (1816). 
 
 Curruca eliotse, Leach, Si/st. Cat. JIamm. $c. Brit. Jfus. p. 24 (1817). 
 
 Tkarrhaleus modularis (Linn.), Kaup, Not. Syst. pp. 137, 192 (1829). 
 
 The Hedge-Accentor, or Hedge-Sparrow, is another of those birds 
 which, from its trustful habits, is familiar to all. It is one of the most 
 widely distributed of our native birds, being found throughout the British 
 Islands except in the barest and most barren situations. It is found on all 
 the Hebrides, except a few of the most desolate islands ; in the Orkneys it 
 is of only accidental occurrence, chiefly in winter ; and in the Shetlands but 
 one specimen has with certainty been seen in October. In the Channel 
 Islands the bird is, according to Mr. Cecil Smith, as common as in England, 
 and resident. Dresser's statement that the Hedge-Sparrow was obtained 
 in Persia is a mistake. There is no record of its occurrence east of the 
 Ural Mountains and the Caucasus. None of the various species of Accentor 
 found in Persia, Turkestan, the Himalayas, Siberia, and Japan are very 
 nearly allied to our bird. The Persian bird appears to be quite distinct 
 from the Japan bird ; and the examples of the latter figured by Gould in 
 his ' Birds of Asia/ and now in the British Museum, seem quite distinct 
 from the A. rubidus of Temminck and Schlegel figured in the ' Fauna 
 Japonica/ Neither of these two species has yet been named by ornitho- 
 logists. 
 
 The Hedge- Sparrow breeds throughout Europe, except in the extreme 
 north. In Scandinavia its range extends as far as the limit of forest- 
 growth (about lat. 70). In West Russia a few wander as far as Archangel 
 (about lat. 6i c ), and in the Ural Mountains it occurs as far north as lat. 60. 
 Towards the northern limit of its range it is a summer bird of passage, 
 only remaining during the winter in rare instances. In South Europe it 
 is principally a winter visitant ; but in Spain, Italy, Asia Minor, Palestine, 
 and the Caucasus a few retire to the mountains to breed. In North Africa 
 it is only known as an occasional straggler in winter. As a rule, the 
 
 VOL. I. 2K 
 
498 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Hedge-Sparrow inhabits well-cultivated districts, and frequents groves, 
 shrubberies, and hedges, and especially gardens. From its unobtrusive 
 habits and its sombre dress it attracts little attention ; but there is no 
 mistaking it when seen, as it shuffles along under the evergreens, as if 
 anxious to elude notice. At all seasons of the year it may be found in its 
 usual haunts, drawing nearer to the houses in winter, and often feeding 
 on the crumbs scattered for the Robin and the Sparrows. In the farm- 
 yards it is frequently seen hopping about the ground near the barndoor, 
 or gliding in and out amongst the heaps of old wood. It often enters the 
 cart-shed, and searches for insects under the carts and other farm imple- 
 ments ; manure-heaps are also favourite haunts, where it may generally 
 be seen amongst the Sparrows. The Hedge- Sparrow is a bird of the 
 undergrowth and bushes ; it rarely mounts into the higher branches, and 
 is incessantly in motion in a half Chat-, half Tit-like manner. It passes 
 through the tangled hedgerows more like a sombre shadow than a bird, 
 and will hide under the broad leaves of the cabbages in the garden. In 
 autumn many Hedge-Sparrows frequent the turnip-fields not in a sociable 
 way, but here and there you may flush them from the cover or catch a 
 hurried glimpse of them as they glide under the leaves ; for the bird is one 
 that only takes flight when absolutely compelled. The Hedge- Sparrow is 
 one of the latest birds abroad in the evening. Its low complaining call- 
 note is often heard when the bird is lost in the evening gloom ; and in the 
 shrubberies it is one of the last birds to seek a roosting-place. 
 
 The Hedge-Sparrow must be classed with the Robin and the Wren as a 
 perennial songster ; but it is only in well-sheltered districts that its music 
 is heard regularly through the winter, nor is it ever so free a songster as 
 those two little birds. A lull in the wintery storm, or a few hours' genial 
 sunshine, even in midwinter, will not uufrequently cause it to mount to the 
 topmost twig of a hedgerow to sing. There is nothing very attractive in 
 its song ; but it always sounds lively and cheerful, though somewhat plain- 
 tive : it is not unlike the first half of the song of the Wren. Its call-notes 
 are low, and uttered in a peculiarly plaintive complaining tone. The 
 Hedge-Sparrow pairs very early in the season. About Christmas the birds 
 congregate in little parties of perhaps five or six a peculiar habit, never 
 observed in this species except at mating-time. The birds are then un- 
 usually clamorous, show a pugnacious disposition, and often chase each 
 other through the branches with every sign of anger. This lasts but a 
 short time ; and afterwards they are almost invariably seen in pairs until 
 the breeding-season. 
 
 This interesting little bird is one of the earliest to begin building its 
 nest, usually doing so in March. It is never built far from the ground; 
 and the situations in which it is found are very varied. The thick hedge- 
 rows of whitethorn and holly are favourite places ; the dense thickets of 
 
HEDGE-SPARROW. 499 
 
 wild rose and bramble heaped together in one confused mass are also very 
 frequently selected. Less frequently we may find it in a heap of pea-sticks, 
 or amongst the masses of ivy growing over a wall, or even on a tree-trunk. 
 The nest is a handsome little structure, full of rustic beauty, composed of 
 green moss, a dead leaf or two, a little dry grass, and strengthened with a 
 few fine twigs ; moss usually forms the greater part of the nest ; and it is 
 lined with a thick warm bed of hair, feathers, and wool. It is a curious 
 fact that in the nests of this bird, when placed amongst thorns, a large 
 thorn often penetrates the nest, the bird making no attempt to cover 
 it. Dixon has the following note respecting its nest : " I watched this 
 season the fortunes of a nest of the Hedge- Sparrow, from the time the 
 first few twigs were laid until it contained four eggs. The nest was only 
 a couple of feet from the ground, in a tangled mass of wild rose and 
 bramble, felted closely with withered leaves. From some cause, which 
 baffled all my attempts to explain it, the nest was forsaken the day after 
 the bird commenced to sit on her four eggs. Whether she had been killed 
 or not I cannot say ; but the eggs were never sat upon again. I left them 
 in the nest, thinking that, after all, the bird might return ; and I was in 
 the habit of looking into it each day. I was rather surprised, about a 
 week after the bird had forsaken it, to find the nest apparently empty ; 
 and I then removed it, but was astonished to find the eggs still in the nest 
 and a fresh lining built entirely over them. Whether this was an attempt 
 to make a nest with little trouble by another pair of birds can only be 
 conjectured ; and as I had pulled the nest from its position, I was prevented 
 from seeing the finale to this interesting circumstance." Curious sites are 
 sometimes chosen by this bird for its nest. Gray, in his ' Birds of the 
 West of Scotland/ mentions one which was built in a cave in the mass of 
 rocks known as Ailsa Craig. It was placed in a ledge of the rock at the 
 base of a tuft of hart Vtoiigue fern ; and the floor of the cave was covered 
 with water. 
 
 The eggs of the Hedge- Sparrow are from four to six in number, and 
 differ very little in shape or colour. They are a beautiful greenish blue in 
 colour, spotless and somewhat rough in texture a character which will to 
 some extent serve to distinguish them from eggs of the Redstart. They 
 vary from '82 to '72 inch in length, and from "65 to '55 inch in breadth. 
 The Hedge- Sparrow often rears three broods in the year. It is one of the 
 earliest to breed, and also one of the latest ; for fresh eggs may often be 
 found late in July. 
 
 The food of the Hedge-Sparrow is largely composed of insects and 
 worms, which it obtains principally on the ground ; it also feeds on small 
 seeds of v*arious kinds. Its flight is slow and somewhat uncertain, and is 
 rarely prolonged for any distance. It is in the habit of jerking its wings, 
 from which it has received the local name. of " Shufflewing." 
 
 2K2 
 
500 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Hedge-Sparrow is a migratory bird in the northern portions of its 
 range ; and many of these little wanderers not only pass Heligoland, but 
 reach this country. My friend Mr. Cordeaux writes to me that the bird 
 is a regular immigrant to N.E. Lincolnshire. 
 
 The Hedge- Sparrow has the head, nape, and ear-coverts slate-grey 
 streaked with brown ; the remainder of the upper parts is reddish brown 
 streaked with dark brown ; the upper tail-coverts are unstreaked olive- 
 brown ; the wings are dark brown, margined and tipped with reddish brown ; 
 the tail is also dark brown, most of the feathers edged with light brown ; 
 the chin and throat are slate-grey, gradually shading into buffish white on 
 the lower breast and belly ; the flanks are pale brown streaked with dark 
 brown. Bill dark brown, paler on the lower mandible ; legs, feet, and claws 
 light brown ; irides hazel. The female only differs from the male in the 
 colour of her plumage in having the head and flanks a little more spotted. 
 Young birds have no slate-grey on the head or underparts, and are much 
 more spotted than adults. 
 
ALPINE ACCENTOR. 501 
 
 ACCENTOR ALPINUS. 
 
 ALPINE ACCENTOR. 
 
 (PLATE 12.) 
 
 Sturnus collaris, Scop. Ann. I. Hut. Nat. p. 181 (1769). 
 
 Sturnus moritanns, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 804 (1788). 
 
 Motacilla alpina, Gmel. Si/st. Nat. i. p. 057 (1788) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 (Brchstriti), (Teinmi/iclc), (Naumami), (Bonaparte), (Degland $ Gerbe), (Gray), 
 (Giebel), (Mucyillicray), (Heiriteon), (Salvadori), (Severtzow), (Hurting), (Bog- 
 (l(tnou'), (Nordina/in), (Radde), c. 
 
 Accentor alpinus (Gmel.), Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. i. p. 191 (1802). 
 
 Accentor collaris (Scop.), Newt, ed Yarr. Br. B. i. p. 296 (1873). 
 
 The Alpine Accentor is a purely accidental visitor to the British Islands. 
 It does not appear to have ever occurred in Scotland or in Ireland. It 
 was first recorded as a British bird by the late Dr. Thackeray, who men- 
 tions, in the ' Zoological Journal' for 1824 (p. 134), a female that was 
 shot in the garden of King's College, Cambridge. It was obtained on the 
 22nd of November 1822. An example of the Alpine Accentor had, how- 
 ever, been previously obtained in this country in the autumn of 1817, 
 although the fact was not chronicled until 1832, in the ' Magazine of 
 Natural History/ vol. v. p. 288. Ten other examples have been obtained 
 in England, chiefly in the southern counties, although one specimen has 
 been captured near Scarborough ; and Mr. Howard Saunders met with a 
 bird of this species on one of the Welsh mountains. . 
 
 The Alpine Accentor breeds throughout the mountains of Southern 
 Europe, the Sierra Nevada in South Spain, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the 
 mountains of Greece and Asia Minor, and the Caucasus, extending into 
 Northern Persia. Examples from Turkestan are more chestnut on the 
 Hanks, approaching A. nipalensis in this respect ; otherwise they do not 
 differ in colour from European specimens. The latter species is found in 
 the Himalayas and the mountains of Western China, being represented in 
 South-eastern Siberia by a very nearly allied form (A. erythropygius) with 
 a much more rufous rump. 
 
 I have never had the good fortune to meet with the Alpine Accentor on 
 any of my excursions. It is therefore necessary to do as Newton, Dresser, 
 and even Naumann have been obliged to do compile a history of this bird 
 from the writings of others. Naurnann's information was principally 
 supplied* to him by Dr. Schinz of Zurich ; and the ( Journal fur Omitllo- 
 logie ' contains observations by Alexander von Homeyer in the mountain- 
 range which separates Bohemia from Silesia, by Graf Wodzicki in the 
 
50.2 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Tatra Mountains and the Galician Carpathians, by Baron von M tiller in 
 the Alps, and by Victor Ritter von Tschusi in the Rieseugebirge. The 
 Alpine Accentor is a summer visitor to the grassy slopes where a brilliant 
 arctic flora, watered by the ever-melting ice, covers the ledges of the rocks 
 and the little plateaux amongst the boulders, between the highest limit of 
 forest-growth and the lowest boundary of perpetual snow. Its migrations, 
 however, are very limited. When its breeding-grounds are covered with 
 snow it descends into the valleys, and in severe winters will sometimes 
 wander further from home and be seen in unwonted localities. Except, 
 perhaps, when actually engaged in the duties of nidification, it is a more 
 or less gregarious bird ; and in winter they are usually seen in small parties 
 of ten or a dozen individuals. It is extremely tame, and allows itself to be 
 approached within ten or twelve paces without showing alarm. It is both 
 insectivorous and graminivorous. In spring it finds abundance of small 
 beetles, flies, gnats, moths, ants, and their larvae amongst the gentians, 
 saxifrages, anemones, primulas, and poteutillas which adorn its breeding- 
 grounds ; in autumn the alpine ground-fruits strawberry, crowberry, cran- 
 berry, &c. plentifully supply it with food; and in winter it feeds upon 
 a variety of seeds, especially those of grasses of different kinds. The 
 song is described as something like that of the Lark ; and the male is said 
 frequently to ascend thirty or forty feet into the air, and then descend 
 again, singing like a Tree-Pipit or a Snow-Bunting. At other times they 
 will sit motionless for a long time basking in the sun on a rock, with head 
 drawn in, plumage puffed out, and wings and tail depressed. The call- 
 note is a plaintive tree, tree, tree. They are said not to hop, but to run 
 on the grass and on the rocks. The flight is undulating. 
 
 It is said that they breed twice in the year, about the middle of May 
 and the middle of July; but this requires confirmation. The nest is 
 placed on the ground, under an overhanging rock or rhododendron shrub, 
 and is neatly finished and rather deep. It is composed of dry round grass- 
 stalks, intermixed with fine roots and a few lichens. It is said sometimes 
 to be lined with moss, wool, or hair. The eggs vary in number from five 
 to six, and in size from I'O by '7 inch to '9 by '63 inch. In colour they 
 are unspotted pale greenish blue. 
 
 From the colour of the eggs it might be supposed that the Accentors 
 were related to the Chats. The song of many of them is also somewhat 
 Chat-like. In its habits the Alpine Accentor is much more Chat-like than 
 either the Hedge- Sparrow or the Mountain- Accentor. Both these species 
 perch freely in trees ; but the Alpine Accentor, like the Chats, is essentially 
 a rock bird, and when perched on a rock is said often to drop its head and 
 the fore part of its body suddenly, at the same time jerking its tail and 
 drooping its wings a very Turdine habit. 
 
 The Alpine Accentor has the colour of the head, neck, and ear-coverts 
 
ALPINE ACCENTOR. 
 
 503 
 
 ?rey, indistinctly striped with darker grey ; the rest of the upper parts are 
 brown, lightest on the rump, streaked with darker brown ; the Avings are 
 dark brown, with reddish-brown margins and white tips ; the greater and 
 median wing-coverts are reddish brown variegated with black and tipped 
 with white ; the tail-feathers are dark brown, with pale buff tips ; the 
 chin and throat are white, spotted with black ; the breast, belly, and under 
 tail-coverts are dark grey, shading into rich chestnut on the flanks, each 
 feather of which is margined with pale buff. Bill black at the tip, yellowish 
 at the base ; legs and feet light brown ; claws black ; irides hazel. The 
 female does not differ from the male in colour, except that her plumage is 
 a trifle more dingy. The young birds in nestling-plumage are spotted both 
 above and below like a young Robin, and the white throat is absent. 
 
504 BRITISH T5TEDS. 
 
 Genus TROGLODYTES. 
 
 The genus Troglodytes was established in 1807 by Vieillot, in his 
 ' Histoire naturelle des Oiseaux de 1'Amerique Septentrionale/ ii. p. 52, 
 for the reception of the American House- Wren (Troglodytes aedori) . Some 
 ornithologists, with a perseverance which is almost inconceivable, have 
 been pedantic enough not only to try and make this species the type,, but 
 to exclude the European Wren from the genus. It seems to me that there 
 can be no doubt that Vieillot, in adopting the specific name which Linnaeus 
 gave to the European Wren for his new genus, thereby confessed that 
 bird to be the type, though the modern idea of a " type " was unknown 
 to him. 
 
 The Wrens are intermediate between the Creepers and the Goldcrests 
 in the shape of the bill, which is somewhat long, slender, and slightly 
 curved. Their wings are much concaved, and the bastard primary is very 
 large. The tarsi are scutellated. The Old-world species have short tails ; 
 but in some of the American species the tail is as long as the wing. 
 
 The geographical range of this genus is somewhat more extensive than 
 that of the other genera in the subfamily, being throughout the central 
 and southern portions of the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions, extending 
 into the extreme north of the Oriental and throughout the Neotropical 
 regions. No fewer than twenty-four species and subspecies of this genus 
 have been described ; but probably not more than half a dozen are worthy 
 of specific rank. One species only occurs in Europe, having a dark pluvial 
 form on the Faroes, and represented by a pale desert form in Algeria. 
 
 The Wrens are Timeliine in their habits, skulking in underwood, and 
 without undulation in their flight. They are partly insectivorous and 
 partly graminivorous. They build domed nests ; but their eggs are like 
 those of the true Tits, white spotted with red. 
 
WREN. 505 
 
 TROGLODYTES PARVULUS. 
 
 WREN. 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Ficedula regulus, ris#. Orn. iii. p. 425 (1760). 
 Motacilla troglodytes, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 337 (1766). 
 
 ia troglodyte? (Linn.) Scop. Ann. I. Hi?t. Xat. p. 160 (1769). 
 Troglodytes parvulus. Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 161 (1816) ; et auctorum pluri- 
 
 morom Naumann, Gray, Cabanis, Lindermayer, Degland, Gerbe, Doderlein, 
 
 " -cmlori, J\V?rfvH, Dresser, &c. 
 Troglodytes europaeus, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. 3fu*. p. 25 (1816). 
 
 'dytes punctatus, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 551 . 
 Troglodytes regulas (,- r, Taschenb. p. 96 (1- L 
 
 _.oiytes vulgaris, Flem. Brit. An. p. 73 (1828). 
 
 Anorthura communis, Rennie, Mont. Orn. Diet. 2nd ed. p. 570 (1831). 
 Troglodytes communis (Rennie), Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1834, p. 51. 
 Anorthura troglodytes (Linn.), Macg. Brit. B. iii. p. 15, fig. 188 (1840). 
 Troglodytes troglodytes (Linn.), ScJJegel, Rev. Crit. p. xliv (1844). 
 
 The Common Wren is generally distributed throughout the British 
 Islands, even in the wildest and most desolate districts. It is a common 
 bird in the most secluded of the Outer Hebrides ; and even on such bare 
 islets as the Bass and Ailsa Craig its lively song may be heard from the 
 heather and the scanty brushwood. It ranges as far north as the Orkneys 
 and the Shetlands, where a few breed, and is generally distributed in the 
 Channel Islands. 
 
 Ornithologists have treated the Wren and its varieties even more capri- 
 ciously than they have treated the Creeper. Sharpe, though sufficiently 
 far in advance of his fellow ornithologists to recognize varieties under the 
 name of subspecies, most unaccountably does not do so in the case of the 
 Wren, but actually subdivides it into nine full species. These are nothing 
 but climatic races. The Wren is an inhabitant of both hemispheres ; and 
 during the warm period which followed the Glacial epoch it was probably 
 circumpolar ; now it is not found anywhere so far north as the Arctic circle. 
 Even in Scandinavia, under the influence of the Gulf-stream, it has never 
 been recorded from any locality north of lat. 66. It is rare at Archangel, 
 in lat. 63. In Siberia it has not been found north of lat. 54, and in 
 America not north of lat. 56. Its southern range appears to be bounded 
 by the Atlas mountains in North Africa, by Central Persia, the Himalayas, 
 and Japan in Asia, and by the plateaux of Southern Mexico in America. 
 
 Distributed over such a large range of country, it meets with various 
 climates, and varies somewhat in colour accordingly. 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. nipalensis, is found in the Himalayas and the 
 
506 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 mountains of Western China. Examples from Darjeeling, where the rain- 
 fall is excessive, are very rufous and very dark, and represent the extreme 
 form. 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. fumigatus, is found in Japan and North 
 China. Examples from the south island of Japan are undistinguishable 
 from the paler examples from the Himalayas,, whilst those from the north 
 island are paler still. 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. alascensis, from the Pribiloff and Aleutian 
 islands, holds an intermediate position between the variety from the 
 Kurile Islands and 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. pacificus, which is found on the west of the 
 Rocky Mountains, and leads on through 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. hyemalis, from the east of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, a form which is generally slightly more rufous and darker than 
 average examples of 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. borealis, from the Faroes, or the somewhat 
 paler typical form 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, from Europe, which is represented by a still paler 
 and greyer form, 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. neglectus, in Cashmere. 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, var. pallidus, from Turkestan, is the palest and 
 greyest variety ; but examples from Algeria are intermediate. 
 
 There appears to be a perfect series from T. pallidus to 71 nipalensis ; 
 and the selection of any one of these to be dignified with a special name 
 seems to be arbitrary. There is not much variation in size ; but on an 
 average the island forms, contrary to usual experience, are slightly the 
 largest. 
 
 The Wren is a resident bird in the British Islands. So closely associated 
 in youthful minds with the Robin, so prominent amongst the birds 
 gathered round our doors in the winter, the Wren is every one's 
 favourite. It is one of our most familiar birds, and will often enter 
 houses, old sheds, and out-buildings, hopping about with tail erect, without 
 any show of fear. But it is only in winter that the Wren is seen in any 
 numbers near houses ; for as soon as spring arrives it retires to the garden 
 or the woods to breed. No bird, not even excepting the Tits, is more 
 active than the Wren. It is rarely observed to remain stationary for two 
 minutes together ; it is a regular little busybody, exploring all the intri- 
 cacies of the cover, occasionally pausing a second to look round, or to 
 warble forth his little song. Ever and anon you catch a hurried glimpse 
 of it as, crouching low with tail erect, it jerks its head up and down and 
 seeks the deepest part of the cover. Now it twists in and out amongst 
 the gnarled roots, or even ventures to the topmost spray of the tree for a 
 moment, where it commences its wild joyous song. Then, as if alarmed 
 
WREX. 507 
 
 at its own boldness, down it drops, and you lose sight of it under a 
 tangled mass of ferns. If alarmed, the Wren will often, seek safety by 
 creeping into holes in walls, and sometimes will even bury itself amongst 
 dead leaves. It does not appear to like the open, and rarely indeed can be 
 driven from its cover, often allowing itself to be chased backwards and for- 
 wards until from very exhaustion it may be taken with the hand. 
 
 The Wren is a perennial songster. With the exception of a few weeks 
 in early autumn, during the moulting-season, its loud carol may be 
 heard at all times of the year. In spring, when all nature is full of life 
 and vigour, the Wren's wild lay is prominent amongst all the bird-songs, 
 as it pours from the little creature buried and unseen in the dense growth 
 of sprouting ferns, of anemones, and graceful bluebells. In summer he 
 warbles at all hours of the day as he hops restlessly through the cover, and 
 cheers his sitting mate. In autumn, amidst the showers of falling leaves, 
 the Wren's melody is almost the only bird-music we hear; and in 
 winter his song is just as cheerful amongst the icicle-draped roots and 
 snow-covered branches of our islands as amongst the ruins of the 
 Colosseum at Rome, in the brilliant sunshine of an Italian winter sky. 
 The song of the Wren is remarkably loud for the size of the bird, and is 
 composed of a series of jerking notes with a few beautifully sweet modu- 
 lations, followed by a rapid trill, the whole abruptly terminated as though 
 the bird had been frightened. Its call-notes are a grating tit-it-it, loud, 
 and uttered in quick succession, becoming more rapid should it be alarmed. 
 The Wren rarely sings from the high branches ; and often its pleasing 
 strains are commenced as he flits along, to be finished when he has reached 
 a perching-place. 
 
 Although the Wren pairs as early as the beginning of March, we rarely 
 find its nest until the latter end of April. The Wren is almost universal 
 in its choice of breeding-grounds ; for wherever tangled vegetation 
 occurs of sufficient density to afford it the required seclusion its nest may 
 be looked for. It may be found in the deepest woods, the tangled 
 hedgerows and fences, in gardens and plantations, and even on the barren 
 moors wherever a thicket or a few bushes overgrown with brambles relieve 
 the monotony of the waste. Many of the Wren's breeding-haunts are 
 also similar to those of the Dipper by the sides of rapid flowing stream- 
 lets where vegetation is luxuriant and suitable rock-crevices abound. The 
 site for the nest is sometimes far under overhanging banks amongst the 
 gnarled roots of trees ; at others it is in the ivy growing on trees and 
 waDs, and is frequently in bushes. Dixon has often known its nest built 
 in a drooping yew-branch, and once found it hanging suspended from an 
 elder tree over a stream. Another situation in which to look for its nest 
 with tolerable certainty is amongst thick brushwood, such as roses and 
 brambles, amongst whose trailing branches the withered leaves have been 
 
508 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 driven in large quantities by the wintry blasts. Here the little Wren will 
 build a nest which almost completely defies detection. Numerous, indeed, 
 are the instances recorded of this bird selecting the most curious situations. 
 It has been known to choose the inside of a shed ; and, stranger preference 
 still, Stevenson, in his ( Birds of Norfolk/ mentions a nest that was built 
 amongst the leaves of a Savoy cabbage. In fact it is almost as eccentric 
 in this respect as the Robin. The materials employed in the construc- 
 tion of its nest vary according to the peculiarities of the site selected ; but 
 the outside at least is generally made of one material alone. Thus, when 
 the nest is in a haystack, the outside of the nest is made of dry grass ; when 
 in bushes and brambles full of dead leaves, the latter material is the only 
 one selected ; when placed in a moss-covered stump, green moss is chosen ; 
 and should the trunk be covered with lichens, they will be utilized. Some 
 of the most beautiful Wrens' nests which I have ever seen have been 
 composed principally of dead fronds of bracken. The Wren builds a 
 domed nest, not semi-domed like the nests of the Willow-Warbler, but 
 completely domed like those of the Dippers. As often as not, the outside 
 is composed of moss and withered leaves, the latter in great number. 
 Round the hole which admits the parent birds are woven straws, which 
 also do much to strengthen the whole structure. The inside is lined with 
 fine moss, hair, and a large quantity of feathers ; but these materials are 
 not always found. Although so loosely put together, the Wren's nest is 
 a marvel of architectural skill. When we bear in mind that leaves and 
 moss form its chief materials, and consider the method by which these two 
 substances (ill adapted, one would think, for weaving-purposes) are formed 
 into such a compact cradle, we cannot but pause in admiration before its 
 little home. When in the branches, the nest is only slightly attached to 
 them, and very few twigs are interwoven with the materials of the nest. 
 Elaborate, indeed, is this beautiful structure, and upwards of thirty times 
 more bulky than the little builders. It sometimes takes a fortnight to com- 
 plete it ; and the female bird alone is the builder, the male sometimes con- 
 veying the greater part of the materials. In some cases the birds are very 
 much attached to their nesting-site. Dixon has removed their nest as many 
 as four times ; but so attached were the little creatures to the home of their 
 choice, that they persisted in building fresh structures in the same place. 
 
 The eggs of the Wren vary from four to six, and even eight or nine in 
 number. Clutches of still larger numbers are on record, but are very 
 exceptional. They are pure white in ground-colour when blown, with 
 a few red spots usually congregated round the large end of the egg in a 
 zone. Occasionally they are entirely without markings ; and sometimes 
 the spots are evenly distributed over the egg. In form they differ consi- 
 derably, some being almost round, others more elongated. They vary 
 in length from '75 to '65 inch, and in breadth from '55 to -48 inch. 
 
WREN. 509 
 
 By imitating closely the surroundings of her nest by using materials 
 similar in colour, the Wren usually provides for its safety; and most 
 effectually are her wiles exercised. Professor Xewton, however, states 
 that this prudence is not always shown ; and gives us an instance of a 
 nest of this bird which was built year after year in a hole in a wall, where 
 the bright green moss with which it was made was very conspicuous 
 against the blocks of white chalk. I have frequently observed the same 
 of the nesting of the Dipper; but in both cases its very conspicuousness 
 was most probably its safety. Although exposed thus, they escape detection, 
 because they do not look like nests, but resemble closely large masses of 
 withered fern-fronds which here and there stud the rocks. 
 
 Another very curious fact connected with the Wren's nesting economy is 
 the number of unoccupied dwellings of this species which are so frequently 
 observed, and are widely known as " cock-nests/' Most country people, 
 and not a few scientific naturalists, assert that these nests are either made 
 for the male laird's reception, or that they are for the purpose of sheltering 
 the birds during the inclement winter season. The explanation of this 
 singular habit is still unknown, although many ingenious theories have 
 been offered. 
 
 The food of the Wren is composed largely of insects ; and the bird may 
 often be seen near ants' nests searching for their eggs. In autumn 
 it will also eat fruit ; and Macgillivray states that he has found small 
 seeds in its stomach. This fare is also varied with the crumbs and small 
 scraps thrown out in the winter for the Robins and Sparrows; for the 
 Wren is almost sure to make his appearance at these gatherings and 
 share the meal with them. 
 
 Many erroneous statements have been made as to the manner and the 
 place in which the Wren roosts during winter. It is said that numbers 
 of these birds will huddle together for warmth iii holes. The Wren roosts, 
 like many other small birds, in the dense evergreen, amongst ivy, and 
 not unfrequently in the sides and amongst the thatch of haystacks. At 
 no season of the year are Wrens gregarious. Perhaps the only time 
 when they are seen in companies is when the young have just quitted 
 the nest and are being as it were started in life by their parents. But 
 this only lasts for a few days, and then, until the following breeding- 
 season, the Wren is one of the most solitary of birds. 
 
 The custom of hunting the Wren in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the 
 south of France, on certain days has already been dwelt upon by many 
 writers; and as the subject more concerns the antiquary than the orni- 
 thologist, ^ may be dismissed without further comment, beyond a 
 reference for the curious reader to such authorities as Thompson ( f Birds 
 of Ireland') and Brand (' Popular Antiquitit - . 
 
 The European form of the Wren has the general colour of the upper 
 
510 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 parts dark rufous-brown, darkest on the head and nape, brighter on the 
 wings and tail, and barred from below the neck (including the wings and 
 tail) with dark brown. The upper tail-coverts have a few half-concealed 
 spots of white ; and the greater and lesser coverts have a small white spot 
 at the tip, which form a double wing-bar ; the primaries are also barred 
 with whitish ; above the eye is a buffish-white streak. The underparts 
 are greyish brown, becoming rufous on the flanks, belly, and under tail- 
 coverts, which are barred with dusky brown. Bill dark brown above, 
 paler below; legs, feet, and claws light brown; irides dark brown. The 
 femnle is smaller than the male, and not quite so rich in colour. Young 
 birds resemble their parents ; but the bars on the wings, tail, and belly 
 are not so distinct, and the underparts are a little more rufous. 
 
 WREN S NEST. 
 
CERTHIA. 511 
 
 Genus CERTHIA. 
 
 The genus Certhia was established by Linnaeus in 1766, in his 'Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 184. Of course he did not indicate any type ; but subse- 
 quent ornithologists have removed the other twenty-four birds which 
 Linnaeus associated with the European Creeper into other genera, leaving 
 that bird as the type. As it is the first species in his genus, and is also 
 the Certhia certhia of Brisson, no fault can be found with the result. 
 
 The Creepers as thus restricted are somewhat aberrant members of the 
 subfamily Parinae. Sclater and Salvin, guided by ornithological instinct, 
 place the family " Certhiidfs " between the " Paridee " and the " Troglo- 
 dytidfe" amongst the "OscixES DENTIROSTRES," in spite of their having 
 no notch in the bill. Sharpe, trying to avoid the conflict of logical with 
 ornithological instinct, raises the genus Certhia and its allies into a group 
 " CERTHIOMORPH.E/' to which he assigns even a higher than family rank. 
 To such extremes does the old superstition of the importance in classifica- 
 tion of the form of the bill lead its votaries. 
 
 In the genus Certhia the bill is long, slender, and curved, like that of a 
 Sun-bird, whilst the tail is rounded, with the feathers stiff and pointed, 
 like that of a Woodpecker. In their rounded wings, small bastard primary, 
 scutellated tarsus, and large feet with well-developed hind toe, the species 
 of this genus are typical Parinae. 
 
 The geographical range of the genus is throughout the central and 
 southern portions of the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions, extending into 
 the extreme north of the Oriental and Neotropical regions. The genus 
 only contains three species, all more or less divisible into subspecies. One 
 species only is found in Europe, which is a resident in our islands. 
 
 The Creepers feed almost entirely on insects, and are intermediate in 
 their habits between the Tits and the \Voodpeckers. In the position aud 
 construction of their nests, and in the colour of their eggs, they resemble 
 the former. 
 
512 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 CERTHIA FAMILIARIS. 
 COMMON CREEPER. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Certlria certhia, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 603 (1760). 
 
 Certhia familiaris, Linn. Sysi. Nat. i. p. 184 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Latham, Gmelin, Naumann, Temminck, Gray, Bonaparte, Dec/land, Gerbe, 
 
 Neivton, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Certhia fusca, Barton, Fragm. Nat. Hist. Penn. p. 11 (1799). 
 Certhia americana, Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. and N. Amcr. p. 11 (1888)*. 
 
 The unassuming little Creeper is one of the smallest of our British 
 birds. It is generally, though locally, distributed throughout the wooded 
 districts of Great Britain and Ireland, occasionally found in the Orkneys 
 and Shetland, but apparently absent from the Outer Hebrides and Western 
 Isles. It is found in all the Channel Islands, probably excepting Alderney. 
 It is a resident bird, but occasionally turns up at Heligoland on 
 migration; and its occurrences on the Orkneys and Shetlands are probably 
 those of Scandinavian birds driven westwards by excessive cold or gales. 
 
 The Common Creeper may almost be considered a circumpolar bird, 
 
 * The above is the synonymy of the typical or temperate form, which is the only one 
 found in our islands. The synonymy of the Arctic or pale form is as follows : 
 
 CERTHIA FAMILIAEIS, var. SCANDULACA. 
 
 Certhia scandulaca, Pallas, Zooyr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 432 (1826). 
 Certhia uattereri, Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. and N. Amer. p. 11 (1838). 
 Certhia costse, Bailly, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. de Savoie, Jan. (1852). 
 Certhia hodgsoui, Brooks, Journ. As. Soc. Bent/, xli. pt. 2, p. 74 (1872). 
 
 The synonymy of the tropical or rufous form is as follows : 
 
 CEKTHIA FAMILJABIS, var. NIPALENSIS. 
 
 Certhia nipalensis, Hodys.fale Blyih, Journ. As. Soc. Beny. xiv. p. 582 (1845). 
 
 Certhia niexicana, Gloger, fide Reich. Handb. i. p. 266 (1851). 
 
 Certhia mandelli, Brooks, Journ. As. Soc. Ben;/, xlii. pt. 2, p. 256 (1873). 
 
 Hodgson never distinguished between C. nipalensis, C. discolor, and C. himalayana. 
 His types in the British Museum of C. nijpaJensu (no. 598) are some of them C. discolor 
 and others C. himalayana. I cannot find any drawing of a Certhia in his MSS. in the 
 British Museum ; but I have a copy (made by my friend Mr. Brooks) of a drawing in the 
 Hodgson MSS. in the possession of Mr. Hume, which undoubtedly represents C. discolor. 
 As, however, Hodgson appears never to have published his name, it cannot now be used 
 for either of the species with which he was acquainted, but must be applied to the third 
 species, which will stand a.s C. nipalensis , Blyth, Jerdou, Hume, &c., nee Hodgson nee 
 Brooks. 
 
COMMON CREEPER. 513 
 
 though it has evidently retreated southward as the cold in the Arctic 
 regions has increased. In Western Europe it appears to range to about 
 63 N. lat., in Eastern Europe to about lat. 60. In Siberia it has not 
 been recorded from further north than lat. 57 ; whilst on the American 
 continent, where the severity of the Arctic climate is not tempered by a 
 gulf-stream, it does not range beyond lat. 50. In the south it frequents 
 the pine- and cedar-forests of Algeria, and has once been recorded from 
 Tangiers. It is also found in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Turkestan, 
 Cashmere, North China, and Japan. In America it is found as far south 
 as Guatemala. With such a wide distribution considerable local variation 
 must be expected ; and consequently the Common Creeper has been divided 
 into several species, varying in colour. These variations, however, appear 
 to me climatic rather than geographical. The palest form appears to be 
 that found in Central Siberia. Examples from the Amoor are slightly 
 more rufous, but not quite so much so as examples from North China, 
 Japan, and Asia Minor, which appear to approach the eastern North- 
 American form. In western North America the Creepers are still more 
 rufous, and are uudistinguishable from British and Central European 
 examples, the more rufous individuals of which are again scarcely distin- 
 guishable from the palest examples from Mexico and Cashmere, which 
 latter are tropical forms, much darker on the upper parts, much more 
 rufous on the rump, and somewhat darker on the flanks. Modern orni- 
 thologists, fettered by the binomial system, and biased by the notion of 
 geographical regions, are obliged to be alternately lumpsrs and splitters, 
 according to the hemisphere with which they have to deal, instead of simply 
 recording the facts of nature. In the present case the Old-world tropical 
 variety of the Common Creeper has been called Certhla nipalensis, and has 
 been separated from the New-world tropical variety, which has been called 
 Certhia me.ricana, whilst the far more distinct semiarctic forms Certhia 
 famiJiaris and Certhia scandulaca have been confounded together, because 
 they are both Palaearctic. The Mexican variety of the Common Creeper 
 may, however, be usually distinguished from the Himalayan variety by 
 having the grey of the underparts extending further on the breast. 
 
 There are other local variations in the Common Creeper ; for example, 
 the Creepers of South Europe in the Pyrenees and the Alps are much 
 paler than those found in the valleys ; and in all parts of its distribution 
 small examples occur, generally having the hind claw somewhat shorter 
 than usual, which has given rise to the term C. brachydactyla, which many 
 continental ornithologists consider a good species : these latter birds are 
 probably immature. In Turkestan and India there are two near allies of 
 the Common Creeper which appear to have become good species, although 
 each of them is divisible into two subspecies. C. himalayana from the 
 Himalayas, and its long-billed pale form C. taniura from Turkestan, 
 
 VOL. i. 2 L 
 
514 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 may always be distinguished at a glance by their barred tails. The other, 
 C. discolor, with a brown throat and breast, and its allied form C. sto- 
 liczkce, with a white throat, both from the Himalayas, are distinguished by 
 their long rufous tails. 
 
 This engaging little bird, from the nature of its haunts, its sombre 
 dress, and unobtrusive ways, is one that is too often overlooked. The 
 Creeper, like the Woodpeckers, is only found in well-timbered districts. 
 It is most common in old forests, where the trees are large, aged, and 
 decayed, and not too close together. It is very partial to large parks 
 thickly studded with fine old trees ; but sometimes it is met with away 
 from these localities, in orchards and gardens, and more rarely in the 
 vicinity of old sheds and buildings. But these places are only visited by 
 the Creeper now and then ; his home is in the woods. 
 
 The Nuthatch has the bill of a Woodpecker; but the Creeper has the tail 
 of that bird. The stiff pointed feathers are of the greatest use in ascend- 
 ing the perpendicular trunks of trees. The tail is always depressed, so that 
 the points of the feathers touch the bark ; and thus it forms a prop or third 
 leg, most useful in ascent, but useless in descent. We therefore find that 
 the Creeper, like the Woodpecker, but unlike the Nuthatch, ascends the 
 trunks with the greatest ease, but is rarely, if ever, seen head downwards. 
 He will often commence his operations within a few inches of the roots of 
 a tree, and, working round and round, slowly traverse the whole stem and 
 many of the larger limbs ere he drops down to the foot of another tree to 
 renew his labours. How quickly he passes over the rough and lichen- 
 covered bark, more like a mouse than a bird ! He will thus go perhaps 
 for about a yard with wonderful speed. Then for a few moments you will 
 lose sight of him as he traverses the other side of the trunk, and you may- 
 hap think he has departed ; but after a few moments his sharp little head 
 pops round, and you catch a glance of his silky white underplumage as he 
 pauses for a moment pecking vigorously away at an insect he has discovered 
 in one of the chinks of the bark. During the whole time he is on a tree he 
 rarely uses his wings at all, but creeps about from branch to branch and 
 then to the trunk, until, satisfied that no more food can be found, he 
 passes on, uttering a feeble little cheep-cheep, to another tree, where pre- 
 cisely the same operations are repeated. To a great extent he is a wary 
 bird, although not what we can call a shy one. You have but to keep still 
 and be careful not to alarm him, and he will continue to feed just as 
 freely as though you were not there. Sometimes he is seen upon the 
 ground (but this is not often), searching amongst the vegetation at the foot 
 of the tree ; and he may also be observed to explore dead branches lying 
 on the ground. He may also be noticed occasionally on the stacks of 
 wood piled in the forest to be burnt for charcoal ; and in these situations 
 his actions put you in mind very much of those of the Wren. According 
 
COMMON CREEPER. 515 
 
 to Naumann, the Creeper sometimes visits the ground in winter in those 
 places where the sun has melted the snow, and searches amongst the moss 
 and coarse grass for its insect food, and possibly for the small seeds which 
 this observant naturalist states are sometimes found in its stomach. He 
 also states that the bird may be observed, usually in the morning and 
 evening, by the side of watercourses and ditches, either for the purpose of 
 drinking or of bathing itself. 
 
 In winter the Creeper is often found in company with Goldcrests and 
 Tits. When I was wandering about the woods of Southern France last 
 winter, I noticed that in almost every flock or party of Tits we came across 
 a Creeper was in their company the Tits obtaining their food from the 
 twigs and buds, whilst he sought for his fare in the clefts and crevices of 
 the bark of the trunk. At Bayonne, in the plantation between the railway- 
 station and the river, Creepers were commoner than I had ever seen them 
 before. I must have seen at least a dozen birds. I have generally 
 observed them as a comparat ively silent solitary pair amongst a noisy flock 
 of Tits. Here they were chasing each other from tree to tree, sometimes 
 on the thick trunks, but as often on the slender branches ; and all the time 
 they were making the plantation quite noisy with their loud shrill cry of 
 cheet-cheet. This (9th of March) was evidently their pairing-season ; and 
 their habits seemed quite altered for the occasion. The Creeper cannot 
 be called a gregarious bird ; it is a social one ; and its sociability is only 
 to be observed in the nonbreeding-season. The song of the Creeper 
 is only rarely heard, usually in March and April, and puts one in mind 
 of the notes of the Marsh-Tit, and is compared by Mr. Gray to the song of 
 the Goldcrest. 
 
 The breeding-season of the Creeper commences in April; audits nesting- 
 site is somewhat varied. A site is usually chosen on some decaying tree, 
 where the thick bark has peeled away from the trunk for some distance 
 and left a hollow space behind in which the bird can build its nest. Less 
 frequently it will choose a site in some crevice in a wood-stack; and 
 Stevenson, in his ' Birds of Norfolk/ publishes a note from the pen of 
 Mr. Norris showing that the bird will sometimes build in a suitable hole 
 in a shed or outbuilding. The nest is a handsome little structure. There 
 is a rustic beauty about a Creeper's nest which few others possess. The 
 crevice behind the bark which the bird usually selects is often too large 
 for the nest itself; and the superfluous space is filled up with a quantity of 
 fine twigs, chiefly of beech and birch. Round the edge of the nest is art- 
 fully woven a series of the finest twigs ; and the lining is made of roots, 
 grass, moss, and sometimes feathers. But the chief characteristic of the 
 Creeper's nest is the lining of fine strips of inside bark which is probably 
 invariably there. The Creeper rears two broods in the year, according to 
 Naumann ; but the second brood is not so large as the first, usually of from 
 
 2L2 
 
516 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 three to five. The eggs of the first clutch are from six to nine in number. 
 They are, when blown, pure white or creamy white in ground-colour, 
 rather richly marked with brownish red spots, and with a few greyish 
 underlying markings. They differ considerably in the amount and 
 arrangement of the markings ; but it will usually be noticed that all the 
 eggs in one clutch are very similar. In some clutches the spots are con- 
 fined to a zone round the large end of the egg ; some are very rich in colour, 
 others pale. In other clutches this zone is almost confluent ; whilst in 
 others the markings are few, and composed of very deep-reddish-brown 
 spots almost like those on the egg of the Chiffchaff. They vary in length 
 from '7 to '58, and in breadth from '5 to '45 inch. 
 
 The food of the Creeper is composed principally of the insects which lurk 
 in the crevices of the bark. Spiders are also a favourite morsel with the 
 bird. Its flight is undulating, and not very rapid. 
 
 The typical form of the Creeper has the general colour of the upper parts 
 dark brown, streaked with rufous-brown and buffi sh white, paler on the 
 rump and darkest on the head ; the wing-coverts are brown, tipped with 
 pale buff; the wings are dark brown, barred with paler brown, and the 
 secondaries are tipped with dull white ; the tail-feathers, which are stiff 
 and pointed, are reddish brown, with yellow shafts. The colour of the 
 underparts is silvery white, suffused with buff on the flanks and under 
 tail-coverts. Bill dark brown above, pale brown below ; legs, feet, and 
 claws brown ; irides hazel. The female does not differ in colour from the 
 male. Young birds closely resemble their parents, but the bill is much 
 shorter and almost straight. 
 
TICHODROMA. 517 
 
 Genus TICHODROMA. 
 
 Both Brisson and Linnaeus included the Wall-Creeper in the genus 
 Certhia. In 1811 Illiger removed it and established the genus Tichodroma 
 for its reception in his ' Prodromus systematis Mammalium et Avium/ 
 p. 210. As this was the only species known to Illiger, it must therefore 
 be the type. 
 
 The peculiar style of coloration of this species is a sufficient generic 
 distinction to separate it from the allied groups of Certhia and Sitta, 
 From Certhia it may at once be distinguished by the tail-feathers, which 
 are rounded and soft, not pointed, and from Sitta by its slender beak ; and 
 from both of these genera it also differs in having the wing-coverts and part 
 of the primaries rich crimson. The bill is long, slender, and somewhat 
 curved ; the tail is rounded ; the wings are long and broad ; the gape is 
 not furnished with any rictal bristles ; the tarsus is scutellated ; and the 
 feet are armed with strong claws, to enable the bird to firmly grasp the 
 rocks. 
 
 But one species of Wall-Creeper is known. It is confined to the 
 southern portions of the Palsearctic Region, in the west not crossing the 
 Mediterranean, but in the east encroaching upon the Oriental Region in 
 the Himalayas and China. It appears to have only twice wandered as far 
 as the British Islands. 
 
 The Wall-Creeper is closely allied to the true Creepers (Certhia}, and 
 appears to bear the same relation to that genus as the Rock-Nuthatches 
 do to the Tree-Nuthatches. Unlike the true Creepers, it frequents rocks 
 and mountain-ranges, searching for its food in the clefts and fissures and 
 in the crevices of walls. Its habits, food, nest, &c. will be fully described 
 in the following article. 
 
518 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 TICHODROMA MURARIA. 
 WALL-CREEPER, 
 
 (PLATE 18.) 
 
 Certhia muralis, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 607 (1760). 
 
 Certhia muraria, Linn. Si/st. Nat. i. p. 184 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Gmelin, Latham (Deyland), Gerbe, (Gray), (Bonaparte), (Dresser), &c. 
 Tichodroma muraria (Linn.}, llluj. Pi'odr. p. 210 (1811). 
 Petrodroma muraria (Linn.), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxvi. p. 106 (1 818). 
 Tichodroma phoenicoptera, Temm. Man.cTOrn. i. p. 412 (1820). 
 Ticliodroma europaea, Stcph. Shmtfs Gen. Zool. xiv. pt. i. p. 187 (1826). 
 Tichodroma phcenicoptera, Temm., v. subhemalayana, Hodys. in Gray's Zool. Misc. 
 
 p. 82 (1844). 
 
 Ticliodroma nepaleusis, Bonap. Consp. i. p. 225 (1850). 
 Tichodroma rnuralis (Briss.), David fy Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 88 (1877). 
 
 From the evidence to be obtained bearing upon the subject, there can 
 be little doubt that this charming bird has a remote claim to be included 
 with the species that occasionally wander from their natural habitat to our 
 islands. So long ago as 1676 Willughby and Ray stated that the bird was 
 said to have occurred in this country ; but as their evidence was not from 
 personal observation, or from that of any specified authority, it must be 
 accepted with doubt. However, as stated by Mr. Bell (' Zoologist/ 1875, 
 p. 4664), Mr. Marsham, of Stratton Hall, in Hampshire, an accurate and 
 observant naturalist and a Fellow of the Royal Society, in a letter to his 
 correspondent, Gilbert White, dated October 30, 1792, writes :- -" My man 
 has just now shot me a bird which was flying about my house. I am 
 confident I have never seen its likeness before. But on application to 
 Willughby I conclude it is the Wall-Creeper or Spider-catcher. I find he 
 had not seen it in England. It is very beautifully coloured, though the 
 chief is cinereous ; but the shades of red on the wings, and the large 
 spots of white and yellow on the quill-feathers are uncommonly pleasing." 
 In the ' Zoologist 7 for 1876 (p. 4839) a second specimen is recorded from 
 Lancashire by Mr. F. S. Mitchell. He writes : " On the 8th of May, 
 1872, a fine specimen of this continental species was shot at Sabden, a 
 village a few miles from here, at the foot of Pendle Hill ; and as I am not 
 aware of its ever having been noticed before in this country, I send below 
 the particulars. It was seen flying about by itself its bright colours 
 drawing the attention of a lot of mill-hands did not appear to have a 
 mate, and was at length shot by a man named Edward Laycock, who took 
 it to Mr. W. Naylor, of Whalley, an accomplished naturalist, and who has 
 for many years been President of the Accrington Naturalists' Society. 
 
WALL-CREEPER. 519 
 
 Large slugs had been used to kill it, and it was so mangled that 
 Mr. Xaylor could not determine the sex, and had great difficulty in 
 making it all presentable; however, it was managed somehow, and 
 remains in his possession still." Following these remarks is a description 
 of this specimen, which places its authentication beyond all question. 
 
 The range of the Wall-Creeper is a somewhat wide one, extending 
 across the Palsearctic Region between lat. 30 and 50, and just entering 
 the limits of the Oriental Region in the Himalayas and China. Probably 
 in all portions of its range it is a resident, only leaving the higher districts 
 in winter to retire lower down the mountain. It breeds in nearly all the 
 mountains of Central and Southern Europe, from the Sierra Nevada in 
 Spain, the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps, the Vosges Mountains, Italy, Sardinia, 
 Greece, Asia Minor, to the Caucasus. In Asia it inhabits the mountainous 
 portions of Turkestan, Afghanistan, Cashmere, the Himalayas, and the 
 mountains of Kansu. It occasionally wanders into Northern Germany ; 
 according to Riippell it has been found in Egypt and Abyssinia (the only 
 authority for the bird south of the Mediterranean) ; and it has been 
 obtained in China in winter near Pekin and Foochow. Although the 
 range of this bird is such a wide one, it does not exhibit any great variation 
 in colour, and skins from Samarkand in Turkestan are not any paler than 
 those from the Pyrenees, although the climate of these two countries is, 
 as has often been shown, well adapted to produce variations in the colour 
 of the plumage. 
 
 The haunts of the Wall-Creeper are amongst the mountains, in wild 
 defiles and gorges, amongst the cliffs and rocks. During my visit to the 
 Pyrenees in the winter of 1881-2 I made the acquaintance of this charming 
 bird in the mountains near Pierrefitte. Near the highest point of the pass 
 which we reached, and which must have been 2500 feet or more above the 
 sea, we caught sight of the bird on the rocks. When we first saw it the 
 sun was shining in our eyes, and all we could see was a bird flitting round 
 an angle of the rocky cliff, and looking almost black, on its shadow side. 
 The moment we saw the bird, however, we recognized it as the species 
 we were in search of. The flitting, uncertain, bat-like or butterfly-like 
 flight was most peculiar, and arrested the attention at once. The bird 
 disappeared up the cliff on a wall of an old road above. Finding no trace 
 of it beyond, we turned back and caught sight of it again flying down 
 from the wall to the face of the cliff. As it flew it showed so much white 
 on the wing that for a moment we thought it was a Lesser Spotted Wood- 
 pecker ; but when it alighted on the face of the cliff head downward, and 
 began to proceed in a somewhat zigzag course by a series of jerks, we 
 should have been quite sure of the identity of the species even if the red 
 on the wings had not been visible in the sunshine. We had scarcely shot 
 the bird when we saw its mate sitting on a projecting spur of rock. It 
 
520 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 did not seem at all alarmed, but came down from its high perch and flitted 
 to the face of the perpendicular rock, where we brought it down with a 
 half-charge of dust-shot. We did not hear either bird utter any note. 
 
 Canon Tristram frequently met with this bird in his ornithological 
 wanderings through Palestine, and found it a permanent resident in the 
 rocky defiles of the northern and central parts of that country. He 
 writes : " We never saw it in the south, where probably the cliffs are too 
 parched and dry to supply it with its insect food. I know few ornitho- 
 logical sights more interesting than to watch this beautiful little creature 
 as it flits along the face of a long line of cliff, with a crab-like siding 
 motion, rapidly expanding and closing its wings in a succession of jerks, 
 and showing its brilliant crimson shoulders at each movement. It gene- 
 rally works up the gorge at nearly the same elevation, with its breast 
 towards the face of the rock, and moves close to its surface in a perpen- 
 dicular position, rapidly darting forth its bill and picking out minute 
 insects as it passes along. In a few minutes it would return down the 
 valley again, quartering the rock in a line parallel to its former course." 
 
 The Wall-Creeper is a bird most probably united to its partner for life, 
 and is therefore usually seen in pairs, and each season the same nesting- 
 place is chosen. They certainly are not very noisy birds, and their call- 
 note, according to Bailly, resembles the syllables pli-pli-pli-pli. Naumann 
 compares their note to that of the Bullfinch, and also states that they have 
 a song somewhat resembling that of the Creeper ; but several careful 
 observers affirm that they have never heard the birds utter a call-note at 
 all. Bailly states that the bird is constantly in motion, fluttering like a 
 butterfly from one rock to another, sometimes remaining in mid-air sus- 
 pended before a cleft in the rocks. It does not climb so easily or so 
 gracefully as the Woodpeckers and the Creepers, nor does it support itself 
 by its tail as those birds continually do. Sometimes, according to this 
 naturalist, the bird will also visit the branches of trees growing on the 
 rocks in its haunts. 
 
 The breeding-season of this bird varies a little according to the situa- 
 tion; in some localities it commences in the latter part of April, in 
 others not until the beginning of June. The nest is placed in the 
 crevices of the rocks, sometimes in places quite inaccessible. A hand- 
 some nest of this bird in my collection is very elaborately built. Its chief 
 material is moss, evidently gathered from the rocks and stones, inter- 
 mingled with a few grasses, and compactly felted together with hairs, 
 wool, and a few feathers. The lining is almost exclusively composed of 
 wool and hair, very thickly and densely felted together. The nest is about 
 one and a half inches deep inside, and the internal diameter is about three 
 inches ; outside it measures two and a half inches in depth and is about 
 six inches in diameter. The eggs of the Wall- Creeper are from three to 
 
WALL-CREEPER. 
 
 521 
 
 five in number, and are white in ground-colour, very finely freckled near 
 the large end with reddish brown, and with numerous minute violet-grey 
 underlying spots. They vary from - 8 to '75 inch in length and from -6' to 
 52 inch in breadth. 
 
 The food of the Wall-Creeper is chiefly composed of insects which it 
 picks from the crevices of the rocks, spiders, small beetles, and larvae 
 which lie concealed under the moss on rocks and stones. Bailly states also 
 that it feeds on ant's eggs and small worms ; and sometimes it catches an 
 insect ou the wing. 
 
 The male Wall-Creeper in breeding-plumage has the general colour of 
 the upper parts slate-grey, darker on the head, and darkest on the rump ; 
 the lesser wing-coverts are crimson, the greater ones the same, but shading 
 into brownish black at the tip; the quills are black, tipped with ashy 
 brown, all, except the first three, crimson on the basal half of the outer 
 web, and the second to the sixth with two large white spots ; the tail 
 is black, broadly tipped with grey, which becomes almost white on the 
 outermost two feathers at each side. The throat and breast are black, 
 the rest of the underparts very dark grey, the under tail-coverts tipped 
 with greyish white. Bill and legs black ; irides brown. The female in 
 breeding- plumage is similar to the male ; but the black on the throat is not 
 so much developed. In winter plumage, in both sexes, the throat is 
 greyish white, the head is suffused with brown, and the upper parts are 
 lighter and browner. Young birds resemble adults in winter plumage ; but 
 the crimson on the wings is not so developed, the bill is shorter and nearly 
 straight, and the spots on the wings are buff. 
 
 
522 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus SITTA. 
 
 The genus Sitta was defined in 1766 by Linnseus in the twelfth edition of 
 his ' Systema Naturae/ i. p. 177. Sitta europaa must be accepted as the 
 type, though it is not the Sitta sitta of Brisson, a bird with which Linnaeus 
 was unacquainted. But since S. europaa and S. casia are only climatic 
 races of one species, it is of no consequence. 
 
 The Nuthatches are aberrant members of the subfamily Parinae, and 
 may be distinguished by their large, straight, conical "Woodpecker-like 
 bills. The wing is typical, with a small bastard primary. The tail is 
 short and even, like that of the Wren. The tarsus is scutellated, and the 
 feet are very large. 
 
 The geographical distribution of this genus ranges throughout the 
 Palsearctic Region south of the Arctic circle, the Oriental Region, the 
 Nearctic Region south of about lat. 54, and extends into the extreme 
 north of the Neotropical Region. There are nearly twenty species in 
 the genus ; but only two are found in Europe, and one of these may be 
 subdivided into several climatic races, of which one is a resident in our 
 islands. 
 
 The Nuthatches are both insectivorous and graminivorous. In their 
 habits they resemble the Woodpeckers and the Creepers more than the 
 true Tits. Some of the species build mud nests on the rocks, whilst others 
 build in holes in trees, plastering the entrance only with mud. The eggs 
 are white spotted with red. 
 
NUTHATCH. 523 
 
 SITTA C^SIA. 
 NUTHATCH. 
 
 (PLATE 12.) 
 
 .sitta. Eri*s. Orn. iii. p. 588 (1760). 
 Sitta cjesia, Wolf, Tatchenb. i. p. 123 (1810) ; et auctorum plurimorum Gray, 
 
 Bunaparte, Degland, Gerbe, Neuton, Dresser, &e. 
 Sitta afSuis, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xv. p. 288 (1846). 
 Sitta europsea, Linn, aptid Latham, Montagu, MacgMitray, Bewick, Fleming, Gould, 
 
 fte. 
 
 In the southern and central counties of England the Nuthatch is a 
 common and fairly well-known bird; but it becomes much rarer and 
 more local in the northern counties. It breeds, however, sparingly, 
 even in the extreme north of England. In Scotland it is very rare ; 
 Mr. Gray only mentions three instances of its recent occurrence there : 
 one, killed in a garden near Duuse in Berwickshire in 1856; another, shot 
 in the summer of 1865 near Hermiston in Haddingtonshire ; and a third, 
 shot at Bressay in Shetland in 1867. The bird appears not to have hitherto 
 been noticed in Ireland. 
 
 The Nuthatches which are the most closely allied to that found in the 
 British Islands may be distinguished from the numerous other species in 
 the genus by the colour of the under tail-coverts, which are white broadly 
 margined on the basal half of each feather with rich chestnut. They are 
 found in most parts of Europe and Asia. In such a large area they are 
 subject to different influences of food and climate. Their enemies are 
 probably more numerous and more important in some localities, and the 
 necessity of their assuming protective tints in the colour of their plumage 
 may consequently be more imperative ; and the difference in the prevailing 
 colour of their surroundings may cause a similar variation in the tints 
 which are protective. The effects of these influences are intensified by the 
 habits of the birds. They probably pair for life, and are generally seen in 
 winter in pairs, which attach themselves to a gipsy-party of Tits and other 
 birds, in whose company they search for food. Though they may cover a 
 great deal of ground in the course of the winter, they probably never 
 wander very far from home, and thus miss those opportunities for inter- 
 marriage with individuals of their own species from distant breeding- 
 grounds that migratory birds, which meet in common winter-quarters and 
 choose a fresh mate every spring, enjoy. 
 
 The British Nuthatch is undistinguishable from the Nuthatches which 
 inhabit Central and Southern Europe, whose range extends to the south as 
 far as Algeria and to the east as far as Asia Minor and West Persia. In 
 Scandinavia and West Russia the Nuthatches have almost lost the pale 
 
524 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 chestnut on the breast and belly, though they retain the dark chestnut on 
 the flanks and the margins of the under tail-coverts. Newton and Dresser 
 treat these two forms as good species, and give the additional characters 
 that in the Scandinavian form (Sitta europcea] the colours of the upper 
 parts are brighter and the legs are lead-coloured, whilst in the southern 
 form (Sitta caesia) the colours of the upper parts are duller and the legs 
 light brown. It is impossible to agree with this conclusion. The colour of 
 the upper parts of Scandinavian and South-European birds is precisely the 
 same, though the colour of the upper parts of British examples may be a 
 trifle duller than in those from the continent, as is the case with many 
 other birds. A difference in the colour of the legs would be a very good 
 character; but, unfortunately, it only exists in the imagination of the 
 writers above named. All the Nuthatches nearly allied to our bird have 
 the same pale brown legs and feet a character which distinguishes them 
 from the Rock-Nuthatches of the Palaearctic Region and the tropical forms 
 of our Nuthatch which inhabit the Oriental Region, both of which have these 
 parts lead-colour. The remaining character, the colour of the underparts, 
 is equally untrustworthy as a specific distinction, since in Denmark, 
 Pomerania, the Baltic provinces of Russia, Poland, and the Crimea, in 
 fact wherever the ranges of the two supposed species coalesce, a complete 
 series of intermediate forms may be obtained. Further east the variation 
 in the colour of the Nuthatches is still continued. In North Russia the 
 chestnut on the flanks decreases in extent, the white of the underparts 
 becomes purer, and the size (which in the Scandinavian bird had increased 
 from the 3'3-3'15 inches of British and South-European examples to 3'5- 
 3'35 in length of wing) returns to the dimensions of the Southern form, 
 until on the Ural Mountains, extending across Northern Siberia as far as 
 Lake Baikal, the amount of chestnut on the flanks has decreased by one 
 half, the white on the underparts of adult males has become absolutely 
 pure, and the size has diminished until the length of wing only measures 
 from 3'2 to 2'9. This form has received the name of Sitta uralensis. 
 East of Lake Baikal our information is less complete ; but there can be 
 little doubt that the changes which take place are equally gradual, and that 
 it is only the want of a series of skins from the intervening localities 
 which makes the forms appear more specifically distinct. In Kamtschatka 
 a form occurs which has been described by Taczanowski as Sitta albifrons. 
 It differs in having the head and nape slightly paler in colour, and in 
 having the feathers of the forehead at the base of the bill white instead of 
 black. The forehead is also white at the base, and the greater wing-coverts 
 are tipped with white. Some of my specimens from the Yenesay are 
 somewhat intermediate ; and an example in Dresser's collection from 
 Hakodate, in the north island of Japan, approaches still nearer the 
 Kamtschatka bird. Examples from the Amoor, the island of Askold, and 
 
NUTHATCH. 525 
 
 Yokohama, to which the name of Sitta amurtmsis has been given, scarcely 
 differ from examples from the Baltic provinces : the colour of the lower 
 breast and belly is pale chestnut ; that of the throat and upper breast is a 
 purer white ; and the chestnut on the flanks is scarcely so much developed. 
 This species is said to range as far south as North China; but in 
 Central China and East Thibet a form occurs, to which the name of 
 Sitta sinenis has been given, which only differs from South-European 
 birds in being slightly smaller, the length of wing measuring from 3*0 to 
 2'9 inch. 
 
 All these various forms of the Nuthatch can only be considered local 
 varieties of one species, being in most cases certainly, and in the others 
 probably, connected together by intermediate forms. In comparing these 
 forms one with another it is important to bear in mind the fact that the 
 females are slightly less than the males, and generally have the pale chest- 
 nut on the breast and belly more strongly developed than in the male, and 
 the rich chestnut on the flanks and under tail-coverts slightly less so. In 
 the tropical species with dark legs, which are most nearly allied to our 
 Nuthatch, the underparts are of a still richer and deeper chestnut, except 
 . nagaensis, which was obtained by Col. Godwin-Austen in Assam. It is 
 somewhat remarkable that no Nuthatch belonging to this group has been 
 found in Eastern Persia or in Turkestan. 
 
 To the casual observer the Nuthatch is a small Woodpecker, as the 
 Swift is mistaken for a large Swallow. In both cases the superficial 
 resemblance is very striking. The habits are the same ; and if the foot 
 differs, there is little or no difference in the form of the bill. Modern 
 biologists tell us that these external characters are of little value in classi- 
 fication, that internal characters alone are reliable, and that the Nuthatch 
 is more nearly related to the Swallow than to the Woodpecker, and that to 
 find the common ancestors of the Woodpeckers and the Swifts the geolo- 
 gical record (the genealogical tree) need not be searched so far back as 
 would be necessary to discover the common ancestors of the Swifts and 
 the Swallows. It cannot be denied that, in the struggle for existence, 
 birds have been obliged to change their habits to accommodate themselves 
 to the changes of climate which have taken place in the district where 
 they have resided. The Rock-Nuthatch, so common in Greece and Asia 
 Minor, bears so close a resemblance to our bird, that it is difficult at first 
 to believe that its habits are so different. No character is so variable as 
 the form of the bill, which seems to have the power of adapting itself with 
 astonishing rapidity to the nature of the food with which it has to deal; 
 and it is somewhat surprising that it should still be considered of so 
 much gene*fb importance by some writers. At the same time it must be 
 admitted that no one can compare the results of different dissectors 
 without coming to the conclusion that, even in what are supposed to be 
 
5.26 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 important internal characters, individual variation in many species is so 
 great that there is no lack of material for natural selection to choose 
 from, and that wherever a change could benefit the species, there does 
 not appear to be any adequate reason why an internal change should not 
 be as rapid as an external one. If like causes produce like effects in 
 external characters, why not in internal characters also ? Why may not 
 the superficial resemblance between a Woodpecker and a Nuthatch, and 
 between a Swift and a Swallow, date as far back as, or further than, the 
 osteological resemblances between the Woodpecker and the Swift or 
 between the Nuthatch and the Swallow ? If the Picarian birds be the 
 least-changed descendants of the common ancestors of the Picarian and 
 Passerine birds, why may not the Woodpeckers be the least-changed 
 descendants of the common ancestors of the Woodpeckers and the Nut- 
 hatches, and the Swifts the least-changed descendants of the common 
 ancestors of the Swifts and the Swallows ? Or is it necessary to assume 
 that all the Passerine birds were developed from one branch only of the 
 semi-Picarian ancestors ? Is it not possible that the geological revolutions 
 which changed the food, climate, or other surroundings of the ancestors 
 of the Passerine birds, and was the ultimate cause of their attaining 
 to their present high state of development, affected many of the then 
 existing genera, and produced a rapid advance of development from several 
 centres in parallel directions, and that after all there may be more truth 
 in the conclusions of the casual observer than the anatomist is yet 
 prepared to admit ? 
 
 But whatever may be the genealogy of the Nuthatch, every egg-collector 
 will agree that, in spite of its Woodpecker-like bill, it belongs to the 
 Parinse, together with the curvirostral Creeper. Even in its habits the 
 Nuthatch differs widely from the Woodpeckers. Like the latter birds, 
 the Nuthatch obtains its food almost exclusively on the bark of trees, but 
 also, like them, seeks it occasionally on the ground. The Nuthatch, 
 however, being furnished with a well-developed Passerine hind toe and 
 claw, is able to run up the trunk of a tree with the greatest ease. So 
 does the Woodpecker, in spite of his feebly developed Picarian hind toe, 
 thanks to his having reversed the position of one of his stronger fore toes, 
 and, at the same time, pressed his tail into the service to prevent his 
 slipping back. But however useful the tail of the Woodpecker may 
 be in ascending, it is of no use in descending; so the Woodpecker 
 generally begins at the bottom of a tree and works his way up to the 
 top, and then drops down to the bottom of the next tree and begins 
 again. The Nuthatch, on the other hand, being independent of support 
 from his tail, can descend with as much ease as he can ascend, and con- 
 sequently flits on from tree to tree like a Tit. Another peculiarity in 
 which the Nuthatch agrees with the Tits and differs from the Woodpeckers 
 
NUTHATCH. 527 
 
 is that it perches freely across a twig, whilst the latter birds prefer to 
 rest upon it with the body parallel. In its movements upon the trunk of 
 a tree the Nuthatch is not unlike a fly on a wall. It progresses by a series 
 of little runs, now in this direction, now in that. It seems to be quite 
 immaterial whether the direction be up or down; indeed it seems to 
 prefer to stop with its head down, possibly to see better who is watching it 
 from below. It is restless and active, ever lively, and ever in motion 
 amongst the tall forest trees. From its somewhat shy and retiring habits 
 it is far more often heard than seen, and its shrill call-note is very 
 frequently the only sign of its presence. The Nuthatch, as its name 
 implies, is extremely fond of hazel-nuts. It often carries a nut to some 
 crevice in the bank, placing it securely, and hammering at it with its 
 strong bill until the shell is broken and the kernel obtained ; and it has 
 in many cases a favourite chink which serves it for a vice, just as the 
 Flycatcher or the Shrike will have a favourite perch or a Falcon a regular 
 diniug-table. In time quite a heap of broken shells will accumulate 
 l)eueath the tree evidence of the bird's unwearying patience and skill. 
 The beech- woods in autumn are the Nuthatch's paradise, if the year has 
 been a favourable one for the mast. Beech-nuts are not so hard to break 
 as hazel-nuts ; but they are treated in a similar manner ; and the bird also 
 eats acorns, fir-seeds, the stones of the hawthorn and other fruits. The 
 Nuthatch feeds on insects when the nutting-season is over ; and it is just 
 as diligent in its search for them as the Creepers and the Tits are. It 
 explores not only the rugged trunk of the tree in a hurried zigzag course, 
 but also the buds and branches ; and sometimes it will pay a hurried visit 
 to the ground to regain a fallen nut or feed upon the beech-mast under 
 the trees. 
 
 The Nuthatch is a resident, and does not appear to wander far from 
 its chosen haunt. In severe weather a solitary bird will sometimes make 
 its appearance in places where it is not usually seen ; and birds will 
 also come from the woods in the filbert-season to these trees to regale 
 themselves upon their favourite food. The call-note of this engaging 
 little bird is a sharply uttered liquid whit-whit, rapidly repeated, not 
 unlike the sound produced by striking the air with a cane. It has no 
 song ; but in the pairing-season the call-note is much louder, more plain- 
 tive, and drawn out into two syllables, wee-it. 
 
 Like most non-migratory birds, the Nuthatch is a somewhat early 
 breeder, and begins to build towards the middle of April. The site of the 
 nest is almost invariably in a hole in a tree; but other situations are 
 sometimes chosen, as, for instance, in a hole in a wall, as mentioned by 
 Hewitsor^^-and, stranger still, in the side of a haystack. An example of 
 one taken from the latter site, and now in the British Museum, is a most 
 remarkable structure, the mass of clay connected with it weighing some 
 
528 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 eleven pounds, and measuring thirteen inches in height. The entrance to 
 the hole usually selected is often too large for the bird's taste, and it 
 plasters up the opening with clay, leaving a small hole for ingress. The 
 nest, placed generally at some little distance from the entrance, is crude 
 and simple in the extreme. Sometimes a little dead grass or a few dry 
 leaves are gathered together into little more than what might be termed a 
 substitute for a nest ; at others a few scraps of flaky bark from the fir trees 
 are used instead. Should the clay at the entrance to the nest-hole be 
 broken down, the birds will soon rebuild it again ; for they show a striking 
 affection for the locality they have chosen. The eggs of the Nuthatch are 
 from five to eight in number, and are pure white in ground-colour, 
 blotched and spotted with reddish brown, with underlying markings of 
 purplish grey. There are several striking varieties in the eggs of this 
 bird; but the eggs of a clutch generally resemble each other. For 
 instance, all the eggs in one clutch are evenly spotted over the entire 
 surface; the eggs in another clutch have the markings almost exclusively 
 confined to a semiconfluent zone round the large end of each egg; whilst 
 other clutches are finely and uniformly powdered with minute specks, 
 intermingled on the larger end of the eggs with larger and paler spots. 
 The markings differ considerably in size ; and on a few specimens fine specks 
 of very rich blackish brown are seen, and more rarely one or two very fine 
 streaks of the same colour. The type with the semiconfluent zone very 
 closely resembles certain varieties of the eggs of the Greenfinch; but the 
 pure white ground-colour and reddish instead of purplish tinge of the 
 spots serve to distinguish them. They vary from '85 to '75 inch in length, 
 and from *6 to '53 inch in breadth. 
 
 In confinement the Nuthatch makes an engaging and cheerful pet, as 
 those persons who have kept them abundantly testify. But the bird must 
 be taken young ; otherwise its inherent restlessness causes it to make its 
 cage-life one long effort to escape, which finally proves its death. So tame, 
 however, have these birds become when brought up from the nest, that 
 they have been known to creep over their owner's body in the same 
 way that they do on a tree-trunk, as mentioned by Jardine in his edition 
 of Wilson's ' American Ornithology/ 
 
 The southern form of the Nuthatch has the general colour of the upper 
 parts, including the two central tail-feathers, the secondaries, and the 
 margins to the primaries, clear slate-grey ; from the base of the bill a 
 black band reaches to each eye and extends behind the eye along the 
 side of the neck; all the tail-feathers except the two centre ones are 
 black for about three fourths of their length, broadly tipped with slate- 
 grey, and with a white patch separating these two colours on both wets 
 of the outermost feather and on the inner web of the next two feathers 
 on each side. The cheeks and ear-coverts, the upper throat, and the 
 
NUTHATCH. 
 
 529 
 
 centres of the under tail-coverts are huffish white ; the rest of the under- 
 parts are huff, shading into rich chestnut on the flanks and the margins of 
 the under tail-coverts. Bill lead-colour, paler on the lower mandible; 
 legs, feet, and claws pale chestnut-hrown ; irides hazel. The female very 
 closely resembles the male in colour ; but the chestnut on the flanks is 
 not so pronounced. In young birds the chestnut on the flanks is almost 
 obsolete; the plumage generally duller, and the bill much paler. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 2 M 
 
530 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Subfamily CORVINE, OR CROWS. 
 
 The Crows and their allies are distinguished from all the allied sub- 
 families, except the Sylviinae, by having a spring moult as well as an 
 autumn one. From the latter subfamily they are principally distinguished 
 by their larger size ; the bill is generally large and conical, though in some 
 groups, as the Choughs, it is long and curved. The emargination of the 
 bill is sometimes well developed and sometimes quite obsolete. The wings 
 are rounded, the first primary being almost always more than half the 
 length of the second. The tail is subject to great variation, being some- 
 times short, sometimes long, sometimes even, and sometimes rounded, and 
 consists of twelve feathers. The feet and claws are strong, and the tarsus 
 is scutellated. The Corvinse are cosmopolitan, and number about two 
 hundred species. About ten species are found in the British Islands, 
 belonging to six genera, which may be distinguished as follows : 
 
 a. Tail less than three fourths the length of the wing. 
 
 a 1 . Bill feathered to the base, but nostrils bare OBIOLUS. 
 
 b 1 . Bill feathered to the base and nostrils covered with bristles, or 
 
 base of bill and nostrils bare. 
 a 2 . Bill black or brown. 
 
 a 3 . Throat spotted ; tail black and white NUCIFHAGA. 
 
 b 3 . Throat unspotted ; tail black COHVITS. 
 
 6 2 . Bill orange or yellow PYEHHOCORAX. 
 
 b. Tail more than three fourths the length of the wing. 
 
 c 1 . Tail much graduated PICA. 
 
 d\ Tail nearly even GARHULUS. 
 
 Genus CORVUS. 
 
 The genus Corvus was established by Linnaeus in 1766, in his ' Sy sterna 
 Naturae/ i. p. 155. Since Linnaeus does not give us the slightest clue as 
 to which species he considers typical, we must fall back upon Brisson, 
 whose Corvus corvus is undoubtedly the Raven and the Corvus corax of 
 Linnaeus^ which we may accept as the type. 
 
CORVUS. 531 
 
 The true Crows belong to the long- winged group of the Corvinte, in which 
 the tail is always less than three fourths the length of the wing ; in the 
 other groups, the Magpies and the Jays, it is more than three fourths the 
 length. From the Nutcrackers they may always be distinguished by never 
 having the tail particoloured, and from the Choughs and the Orioles 
 by having the bill black. The bill is stout and conical ; the wings are 
 long and somewhat pointed, and the first primary is more than half the 
 length of the longest ; the tail is slightly rounded ; and the tarsus is 
 scutellated. 
 
 The geographical range of the genus is cosmopolitan, with the exception 
 of South America, New Zealand, and most of the Pacific Islands. This 
 genus contains from forty to fifty species and subspecies. Ornithologists 
 have amused themselves by splitting the Crows into numerous genera, 
 apparently with no other object than to satisfy the desire for novelty, 
 and with no other result than to confuse the ornithological student. My 
 friend Mr. Sharpe admits no fewer than twelve of these pseudogenera, 
 founded upon so-called structural characters of the most trivial kind ; but 
 he informs me that he does not now think these genera can be maintained. 
 Five species belonging to this genus are found in Europe, all of which are 
 British, whilst three others are included in the western Palaearctic Region, 
 being found in North Africa and Palestine. 
 
 The Crows are almost omnivorous, and are found in most localities, how- 
 ever bare and sterile. They are birds of powerful though rather heavy 
 flight, and on the ground walk with ease. Their notes are harsh and 
 unmusical. They build bulky nests of sticks, moss, roots, &c., in the 
 branches of trees, on cliffs, and in holes in tree-trunks, walls, and rocks. 
 Their eggs are from four to eight in number, and vary from almost white 
 to green, and in one or two instances red, in ground-colour, spotted and 
 blotched with green of varying degrees of intensity. 
 
532 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 CORVUS CORAX. 
 EAVEN. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 COITUS corvus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 8 (1760). 
 
 COITUS corax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck, Naumann, Gray, Schlegel, Salvadori, Gould, Dresser, Sharpe, &c. 
 Corvus maxiuius, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 34 (1769). 
 COITUS carnivorus, Bartr. Trav. E. Florida, p. 290 (1793). 
 COITUS leucophseus, Vieitt. N. Diet. cTHist. Nat. viii. p. 27 (1817). 
 Corvus major, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 27 (1817). 
 Corvus leucomelas, Wagler, Syst. Av., Corvus no. 4 (1827). 
 Corvus cacalotl, Wagler, Isis, 1831, p. 527. 
 Corvus nobilis, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 79. 
 Corvus vociferus, Cabot, Bost. Journ. Nat. Sci. 1844, iv. p. 464. 
 Corvus lugubris, Agass. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 1846, ii. p. 188. 
 Corvus tibetanus, Hodgs. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1849, iii. p. 203. 
 Corvus ferroensis, Schl. Bijdr. Dierk. Amsterd. folio, art. Corvus, 1858, p. 6. 
 
 The Raven, once so famous in fable, and held by the ancients in 
 such respect as a bird of destiny, is now rapidly becoming scarce in 
 England. Formerly it was a very common species and pretty generally 
 distributed in all parts ; but at the present day it appears to have either 
 forsaken or been exterminated from the central parts of this country ; and 
 almost the only places where a few scattered pairs are found are the bold 
 rocky headlands of our coasts, in districts little frequented by man, where 
 the bird, gifted as it is with no small amount of sagacity and prudence, is 
 able still to maintain its ground. But slowly and surely these English 
 Ravens are fast passing away ; their deserted eyries possess only historical 
 interest ; and the day is probably not far distant when it can no longer be 
 counted as an English bird. It bred regularly in quite recent years on the 
 cliffs at Flamborough ; but now a Raven is rarely seen, and does not tarry 
 long; it is probably only attracted to the place by memories of more 
 prosperous days. In Scotland, however, the Raven is a fairly common 
 bird in some parts of the mainland and adjacent islands, especially on 
 the Outer Hebrides and the Western Isles, extending to the Orkneys, 
 the Shetlands, and even to St. Kilda. According to Thompson it is 
 generally distributed in Ireland in all suitable localities. 
 
 The Raven is a circumpolar bird, being found both in the Palsearctic and 
 Nearctic Regions. In the former region it extends as far north as land 
 occurs, both in Europe and Asia. Its southern range in Europe appa- 
 rently does not reach beyond the Mediterranean, although it is a common 
 
KAYHN. 533 
 
 bird in most of the larger islands; but in Asia it frequents the Hima- 
 layas. In the Xearctic Region it is found as far north as lat. 81^, and 
 extends southwards to Mexico, Guatemala, and possibly to Honduras. 
 It is found in all suitable localities throughout South Russia, Asia Minor, 
 Palestine, Turkestan, Persia, Afghanistan, and Cashmere, wintering in 
 Sciud and the plains of the Punjab. Eastwards it is found throughout 
 the valley of the Amoor, the Ussuri, the island of Askold, and the Kurile 
 Islands. 
 
 If we regard those birds which have the feathers of the throat long 
 and narrow and the wings elongated (the first primary longer than the 
 innermost secondaries, and the second primary intermediate between the 
 fifth and sixth) as Ravens, then the nearest relation to the Raven will 
 be Corvus umbrinus from Palestine, North-east Africa, and Baluchistan. 
 This species differs from the Common Raven in having the black of the 
 head and neck all round glossed with reddish purple instead of green or 
 bluish purple. 
 
 The only other near allies of the Raven having the same wing-formula 
 are : C. ajfinis from North-east Africa and Palestine, which differs from 
 our Raven in being much smaller, in having very long secondaries, and in 
 having the upper nasal bristles pointed upwards; and C. tingitanus from 
 North-west Africa, the Canary Islands, and Madeira, also differing in its 
 much smaller size (although it retains the large bill of the Raven) and in 
 wanting the hackles on the breast. In South Africa south of the Sahara 
 and in Madagascar a Pied Raven occurs, C. scapulatus, with the pattern of 
 colour similar to the C. torquatus of China, but with the white on the 
 breast extending to the belly. 
 
 One of the best places in the British Islands to study the Raven's habits 
 is the TVestern Isles of Scotland. Here, no matter what the season of the 
 year, when strolling over the breezy mountain-sides knee-deep in heather 
 you will often meet with the Raven in your wanderings, and his hoarse 
 croak will resound amongst the rocks as he flies off to a safer retreat. Lower 
 down the valley you may expect to meet him on the broad sheep-pastures, 
 or searching the outskirts of the birch-woods by the side of the burns. 
 \ ou are almost sure to see him by the ocean, either as he sails out from his 
 home in the tall cliffs or, more frequently, as he searches the beach for 
 garbage thrown up by the restless \vaves. To view the Raven in his 
 haunts will take you amongst the grandest mountain-scenery in our islands. 
 He is found on the wide -stretching moors in company with the Red 
 Grouse ; he haunts the bare mountain-tops where the Ptarmigan crouch 
 like stones amongst the rocks, and also the bare plains, where an almost 
 boundless -view can be obtained. When not so sorely persecuted, the 
 Raven was an inhabitant of more woodland districts ; and a pair was often 
 considered the pride and the pest of the parish, generally choosing for 
 
534 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 their nesting-place some large tree, to which they had retired to breed 
 time out of mind. 
 
 Dixon thus describes the Raven's habits in Skye : " Next to the 
 Crows the Raven is certainly the commonest predaceous bird one meets 
 on these bare and sterile shores. You may see him on the large sheep- 
 farms beating about and prying into every hole and corner in search of 
 food. Should a lamb fall sick, or a sheep in browsing too near the edge 
 of the cliff lose its footing and be dashed to pieces on the rocks below, the 
 Raven is perhaps the first bird to discover the prize the first either, on 
 the one hand, to go and torture the poor creature until death mercifully 
 relieves its sufferings, or, on the other, the first to speed in gluttonous 
 haste and tear out the favourite morsels from the still warm and mangled 
 carcass. He is everywhere. Nothing escapes his prying vision. Ever 
 on the alert, too, you cannot approach him within gunshot, and he lazily 
 flaps away, bearing with him too often the curses of the shepherd. See 
 him on the ' storr ' yonder, croaking dismally to his mate. Something 
 has aroused them ! It is a Peregrine speeding to her nest on the cliffs of 
 Talliska ; and the quarrelsome sable thieves sally out to resent her intru- 
 sion. But the Falcon is too busy with her own affairs, and beyond a sharp 
 bark of anger and a quick swerve to the right she heeds them not. Now 
 watch them both circling gracefully in mid air, their rich plumage shining 
 brilliantly in the sun. There is a dead sheep in yonder field, decaying and 
 putrid ; and thither they betake themselves. But, ever wary and cunning, 
 notice how they wheel above it, scrutinizing it closely, as if fearful that it 
 may contain some ambuscade ; and finally they alight some little distance 
 away to bound forward in heavy leaps, assisted by their wings, to the 
 tempting feast. A Herring-Gull now appears upon the scene ; but the 
 Ravens will admit of no such intrusion, and it is beaten off. See how 
 they tear out the entrails ; observe with what seeming savage haste they 
 tug at the flesh, as though fearful every moment of being surprised at 
 their work. You approach them a little nearer, the better to observe 
 them, and with a croak of displeasure they are off in slow laboured flight 
 to the rocks whence they came a short half-hour before. Then, again, on 
 these treacherous coasts many is the lamb that meets a watery grave, and 
 when thrown up by the waves makes a meal for the Raven. Observe him 
 out yonder a few yards from shore following the devious windings of the 
 coast, and searching closely for any garbage that may be cast up, ever and 
 anon being mobbed by the small Gulls and Terns whose plumage shines so 
 pure and brilliant against his own sable dress. In fact, wherever you may 
 wander in these out-of-the-way solitudes the Raven will almost invariably 
 turn up, unexpectedly it may be \ but still he is there to croak at your in- 
 trusion, to engage you with his droll antics and cunning ways, or to cause 
 you no small amount of disgust as he, mayhap, rises half stupefied before 
 
RAVEN. 535 
 
 you from some decaying carcass. To my own observation the Raven is a 
 bird very early astir in the morning ; and I have heard his unmistakable 
 croak long after darkness had wrapped the hills in gloom, and caught a 
 hurried glimpse of his sable form as he slowly flapped along to his retreat 
 amongst the hills." 
 
 The Raven, from its predaceous habits, is a bird hunted down without 
 mercy by the gamekeeper and the shepherd ; and, in fact, in some places 
 taxes have been imposed for its destruction, as, for instance, in the Faroe 
 Islands. It is omnivorous, and will take almost every thing in its power. 
 Like the Hawks, it catches small birds and quadrupeds, kills a weakly lamb 
 or fawn, and carries off the eggs of poultry and game should it happen to 
 discover them ; and it will never refuse to make a meal on carrion of 
 any kind. Most animal substances are eaten every creature which the 
 sea casts up on the beach, from a dead whale to a mollusk ; and it may 
 sometimes be seen searching the pastures for moles, worms, and even 
 insects. In autumn the Raven will also feed largely on grain, a habit 
 noticeable in several other of its congeners. The Raven congregates in 
 flocks not because the bird is at all sociable or gregarious in its dis- 
 position, but from a common impulse to congregate where food is abun- 
 dant. Macgillivray mentions a flock of Ravens that congregated on 
 one of the islands in the sound of Harris, to feed upon a large herd of 
 grampuses that had been driven on shore; whilst on another occasion, 
 where a whale had been stranded, the birds flocked in numbers to the 
 feast. In Finmark I have generally seen it in flocks, even during the 
 breeding-season. According to Bogdanow, the Raven in Kazan will some- 
 times feed on fish; and that naturalist states that he has often watched the 
 bird fishing and also capturing frogs. It will also eat fruit in the season. 
 
 The Raven's breeding-season, in many instances, is said to commence 
 early in January. By the latter end of that month or early in February 
 the old birds may be noticed patching up their nest to which they re- 
 turn yearly, for they undoubtedly pair for life. The eggs, however, are 
 seldom laid before March. The nesting-site varies according to the 
 locality which the birds frequent. In some districts a lofty tree is selected ; 
 arid this was probably the bird's favourite choice when it was commoner 
 in England; but now the incessant persecution to which it is subject 
 almost everywhere drives it to the remoter wilds of Scotland and the 
 cliffs which skirt the ocean. In the province of Kazan Bogdanow states 
 that the Raven breeds in towns on the towers and the roofs of store- 
 houses, and that in Kazan itself a pair of birds breed annually on one of 
 the water-p^ipes of the theatre. On the sea-cliffs, especially in the west of 
 Scotland and the Hebrides, the Raven still breeds pretty frequently. 
 Dixon thus describes a nest of this bird he visited in Skye : " I had the 
 opportunity of inspecting a Raven's nest today. It was built on some 
 
536 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 small rocks near Dunvegan Head, overlooking the loch. The cliffs them- 
 selves were not more than fifty yards high, although the broken ground 
 sloped considerably from their base to the water's edge. The nest was 
 some twelve feet from the summit, in the least accessible part of the rocks. 
 A little grassy platform was near the nesting-place ; and the nest itself was 
 built under an overhanging ledge, quite invisible from above, and only 
 partially so from below. The site commanded a grand look-out seawards, 
 and was indeed the very place in which one would expect to find a Raven's 
 nest where these arch-robbers could obtain an uninterrupted view of the 
 surrounding district. The nest was a bulky structure, made of a pile of 
 sticks, large and small twigs and branches of the heather bleached with 
 age, and evidently the accumulation of years. On some of the sticks large 
 masses of sheep's wool hung. The lining was of finer twigs, roots, tufts of 
 grass, and a little wool, the whole forming a very rude-looking nest, yet 
 most strongly and compactly built, not in any way wedged amongst the 
 rocks, but simply built upon the smooth ledge, which was devoid of all 
 herbage whatever. The sides of the nest and the rocks were white with 
 the droppings of the birds ; and in the crevices were numerous castings of 
 food refuse." When built in trees, the Raven's nest is a bulky struc- 
 ture, best described as a huge pile of sticks, and added to each year. 
 My friend Harvie-Brown describes a nest of this bird, which was placed in 
 a hole in a cliff about thirty feet from the ground, as a " large structure of 
 sticks, and inside about two fishing-basketsful of sheep's wool." One of 
 the largest trees is selected for the purpose, and one with but few branches, 
 as though the birds were conscious that their safety depended upon the 
 inaccessibility of the site selected. 
 
 The following graphic notes on the storming of a Raven's nest near 
 Earls Colne in Essex have been obligingly communicated by Mr. Edmund 
 Capper : " It was a splendid day in March, warm for the time of year ; 
 and we wandered through the preserves, crossed some fields, and entered 
 the copse in which we understood the Ravens had built their nest. It 
 was just such a spot as one could have fancied a Raven might have selected 
 for its home a well-preserved large copse with densely thick undergrowth, 
 together with little patches of open glade in which were a few tall elms 
 and other trees. On the afternoon of our visit it was intensely silent : 
 the sun was bright in the heavens ; and only the cooing of the Ring-Doves 
 and the whirring of the Pheasants and other game served to give evidence 
 of animal life in the wood. We silently entered, creeping along the glen 
 up into its centre; but so little did we see of the objects of our search 
 that we began to fear that we had missed the right plantation, when all at 
 once we came to a little clearing in the middle of the copse ; and there 
 straight before us, on the top of an immense elm, was the Raven's nest. 
 The hen slipped off the moment we emerged from the undergrowth ; and 
 
HAVEN. 537 
 
 we did not see her again ; but the cock instantly flew down towards us 
 with a menacing bark to give us battle. We were well acquainted with 
 his complacent pruk, pruk, as he used to sail over the valley in his daily 
 rambles ; but this was an angry hoarse growl. The nest had been fre- 
 quently robbed ; and he had grown bold from experience. We were soon 
 at the foot of the tree, and, throwing a line over the lowest available 
 bough, were soon in a position whence we could ascend further, aided by 
 our hands and feet. The nest was at an immense height ; and as we drew 
 nearer to it the Raven became bolder, and we had to stop occasionally and 
 menace him. At times he must have been within a few yards of us, sailing 
 from one tree to another, and darting at us as he passed. At last we 
 reached the nest a large structure of twigs of many years' accumulation, 
 ver\ compact, and very difficult to reach round. It was built almost at 
 the top of the tree, in a fork at the end of a bough, and in a position not 
 very safe to hold on by. With care, cap between our teeth to keep our 
 friend off, we got one hand over the nest, and could just balance ourself 
 sufficiently to look over its edge. There to our delight, on the lining of 
 sheep's wool and fine fibre, rather deep down, lay three fresh eggs, just 
 like the ones in the second figure of Hewitson's third edition. By great 
 care, and by keeping the bird at bay with our handkerchief, we succeeded 
 in getting them safely down. We slowly retired as we came, the cock 
 bird tearing off the twigs and driving us before him, with ruffled feathers, 
 savage barks, and short menacing sallies ; and it was not until we were 
 some little distance from his nesting-place that we really felt out of danger. 
 At this lapse of time we confess our robbery seems rather cruel ; but never 
 shall we forget our visit to the ' Raven's tree.' ' 
 
 The eggs of the Raven are from four to six in number, five being not an 
 unusual clutch. In colour and markings they do not differ from those of 
 the Carrion-Crow and the Rook, and go through the same variations as the 
 eggs of those birds. They are bluish green or greenish brown in ground- 
 colour, more or less thickly marked with dark olive-brown. In some 
 specimens the markings are very sparse; in others so thick as often to 
 hide the ground-colour. Certain varieties have the colour confined to a 
 few streaks of yellowish brown, whilst others are sparingly blotched with 
 rich greenish brown (almost black), intermingled with greyish underlying 
 spots. A rare and beautiful variety of the Raven's egg is sometimes 
 obtained reddish white in ground-colour, spotted with rich reddish brown 
 and splashed with violet-grey. This type of egg closely resembles certain 
 varieties of those of the Moorhen, and also approaches very closely in colour 
 to the eggs of a South-African Crow, C. capensis. In size and shape 
 Raven's eggs vary considerably, some specimens being quite undistinguish- 
 able from eggs of the Carrion-Crow. They vary in length from 2'1 to 
 rr inch, and in breadth from 1'4 to 1*25 inch. 
 
538 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 During the whole time that incubation is in progress the Raven is 
 remarkably wary, ever on the alert to defend its home from intruders. 
 Now a Peregrine or a stray Eagle will come too near the cliff that contains 
 their nest, and both the old birds will sally out and buffet the unwelcome 
 stranger ; or, mayhap, a Carrion-Crow or Hoodie, in search of plunder, 
 unconsciously approach, and are beaten off by the ever-watchful birds. 
 Both birds sit upon the eggs, although the greater part of the duties of 
 incubation is performed by the female. When the young are hatched, the 
 birds' thieving propensities become more strongly marked, as the wants of 
 a clamorous brood engage their attention from dawn till dusk. Even when 
 the young are able to leave the nest they are tended by their parents for 
 some considerable time, until, when able to gain their own living, they 
 are ruthlessly driven from their birthplace for ever. 
 
 The usual note of the Raven is a hoarse croak, something like the word 
 crude, cruck ; and early in the year, during the pairing-period, it sometimes 
 utters a few more musical cries. The Raven is very commonly kept in 
 confinement ; for it is a bird very easily tamed, and soon becomes most 
 familiar. Its habits and oddities in confinement would furnish anecdote 
 enough to fill a volume; and when so tamed the bird often displays 
 great powers of voice, imitating the notes of other birds, the cries 
 of cats or dogs, whistling a tune, or correctly copying any sound it 
 may hear. 
 
 The Raven has the entire plumage black, glossed with steel-blue and 
 purple, most richly on the upper parts and the feathers of the throat, 
 which are considerably elongated like the hackles of a Cock. The tail is 
 slightly rounded. Bill, legs, feet, and claws black ; irides brown. The 
 female is slightly smaller than the male ; and its plumage, as well as that of 
 the young, is not so metallic. 
 
 In the Faroes and Iceland, and sometimes in various parts of Scotland, 
 pied Ravens are sometimes observed, to which Vieillot applied the name 
 of Corvus leucophaeus ; but these birds possess no claim to specific distinc- 
 tion, and are but accidental varieties of the Common Raven. Wolley 
 states, in a paper on the birds of the Faroe Islands, published in Jardine's 
 ' Contributions to Ornithology/ that two pied specimens of the Raven were 
 shown to him that had been taken from a nest containing young of the 
 normal colour. 
 
CARRION-CROW. 539 
 
 CORVUS CORONE. 
 CARRION-CROW. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Corpus comix, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 12 (1760). 
 
 Corvus corone, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766) ; et auctortun plurimomm 
 
 Temminck, Gould, Bonaparte, Schkgel, Degland, Gerbe, Dresser, &c. 
 Corvus orientalis, Eversm. Add. Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. ii. p. 7 (1841). 
 Corvus pseudocorone, Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 410 (1874). 
 
 The Carrion-Crow closely resembles the Raven in its appearance and 
 habits. In spite of the incessant persecution to which it is subjected by 
 game-preservers and farmers, it is still a fairly common bird in the wooded 
 districts and on the rocky coasts of England, the Channel Islands, and 
 South Scotland ; but in Central and Northern Scotland it certainly is less 
 common and more local in its distribution. Gray, however, states that 
 throughout the mainland of the latter country the Carrion-Crow is generally 
 distributed. In the Hebrides and Western Islands it is rare ; whilst to 
 the Orkneys and Shetlands it is usually only known as an accidental 
 straggler after severe gales. In these localities its place appears to be 
 taken by the Hooded Crow. Dixon, however, in spring met with the 
 bird in some of the wildest parts of the Cullin Hills in Skye. He also saw 
 it at Portree, Dunvegan, and Talliska in that island ; but in all districts it 
 was rare. In Ireland the Carrion-Crow is much rarer than in England, 
 and is partially replaced by the Hooded Crow, which is commonly distri- 
 buted. It was known by Thompson to occur in the north, east, and west 
 of the island ; but in the south it certainly becomes rare, and the parti- 
 culars of its distribution are meagre. 
 
 The geographical distribution of this species is most remarkable. The 
 Carrion-Crow is, strange to say, an East-Siberian bird. Its home is in the 
 vast forest lying between the great river Yenesay and the Pacific, a district 
 perhaps twice the size of Europe. Northwards the colony extends in 
 summer almost to the limit of forest-growth, and southwards to the con- 
 fines of the desert of Mongolia, the Corea, and Japan. Here, unharmed 
 by man or beast, they appear to have multiplied to such an extent that 
 emigration became necessary. West of the Yenesay the country was held 
 by an equally powerful colony of Hooded Crows ; and in China, India, and 
 the Malay archipelago a large-billed ally stopped the way. They seem to 
 have followed the mountain-ranges of Southern Siberia into Turkestan, 
 and, crossing the Caspian, to have forced a passage through the colony of 
 Hooded Crows, by way of the Caucasus, the northern shores of the Black 
 
540 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Sea, and the valley of the Danube, until they reached the western boundary 
 of the colony of their rivals, beyond the Elbe and the Alps, and spread 
 over Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and England. In Scotland 
 they again met with a small colony of Hooded Crows (which crossed over 
 from Scandinavia) ; and there, as well as in the valleys of the Elbe and the 
 Yenesay, they fraternize with their rivals and intermarry with them. 
 
 Besides the Large-billed Crow C. macrorhyncha, which has been men- 
 tioned as inhabiting the Oriental Region, and which is divisible into three 
 races, the Carrion-Crow is represented in Australia by C. australis, which 
 differs in having the feathers of the hind neck rounded instead of pointed. 
 In America there are several species of Crows, bearing a somewhat super- 
 ficial resemblance to our bird, but distinguished by having the feathers of 
 the head and neck rounded, not lanceolate as in the Carrion-Crow. 
 
 The haunts of the Carrion-Crow are similar to those of the Raven. 
 Like that bird, it is an inhabitant of the wildest mountain-districts, the 
 upland sheep-farms, and the rock-bo.uud shores. It is also the game- 
 keeper's bane, and takes up its residence in the thick coverts and woods 
 in those sequestered haunts which, in earlier days, so frequently resounded 
 with the hoarse croak of the Raven. 
 
 The Carrion-Crow is one of the first birds astir in the morning. He is 
 up before the dawn ; and from that time till after sunset he appears to be 
 in one incessant search for food. His flight seems a more laborious one 
 than that of the Rook. He is not particularly a shy bird, but an extremely 
 cautious and vigilant one the result, most probably, of incessant per- 
 secution. He passes through the air on regular beat of wing, sometimes 
 slowly, sometimes with considerable velocity ; and his powers of flight may 
 be witnessed to perfection when he chases his mate through the air or 
 buffets the smaller Hawks and Gulls. Upon the ground he walks with 
 ease, like the Rook, and sometimes leaps forward, aided by his wings. 
 
 Carrion-Crows are comparatively solitary birds ; but at times they are 
 seen to congregate in flocks, and even to associate with other birds. Many 
 of these gatherings are simply caused by the abundance of food in one 
 locality, to which all the Crows of the district will repair ; and when their 
 hunger is satisfied they separate again. At other times the birds have been 
 known to mingle with flocks of Rooks and Jackdaws, and in winter to 
 roost with them. Waterton, however, states that the Carrion-Crow is 
 sometimes gregarious in autumn and winter ; and in Siberia I found them 
 decidedly so until the breeding-season. In winter they sometimes visit the 
 newly manured fields in search of food. The call-note of the Carrion-Crow 
 is a hoarse croak, absolutely undistinguishable from that of the Hooded 
 Crow, not so loud or so harsh as the Raven's, but much more so than the 
 Rook's. It is also often heard to make many different sounds ; and its 
 call-note is uttered in various tones. 
 
CARRION-CROW. 541 
 
 The Carrion-Crow makes almost as engaging a pet as the Raven. Its 
 sagacity and cunning form the subject of many interesting anecdotes, and 
 have gained for the bird an amount of awe and reverence amongst the 
 superstitious country-folk only exceeded by that attached to the Raven 
 itself. 
 
 The food of the Carrion-Crow is principally composed of animal sub- 
 stances; but so voracious is his appetite that nothing at all edible is 
 refused ; in fact, he might justly be called omnivorous. Such a varied 
 diet naturally sends the Carrion-Crow into almost all situations in search 
 of it. Sometimes he seeks his food much after the manner of the Gulls, 
 hovering above the water and taking garbage floating on the surface. As 
 a rule, though, he keeps well inshore, following the margin of the waters, 
 ever and anon alighting to prey upon the varied diet the ever-restless 
 ocean sets before him. Now it is a drowned sheep or lamb; then a 
 stranded fish; or more rarely a mussel, with which, with a cunning we 
 cannot help admiring, he flies up to some height in the air and then drops 
 it to the ground to break open the shell. He will find out any carrion 
 lying in secluded corners, visit the pastures which have been manured 
 with refuse from the slaughterhouses, and greedily devour the entrails, 
 pick the bones, or revel in the decaying flesh. He will also search the 
 pastures and the newly sown lands in search of insects, grubs, or grain with 
 as much pertinacity as the Rook, the only time perhaps in his thieving 
 life that he is of any great service, if we do not look upon him in the light 
 of a scavenger. But we must now glance at that portion of the Carrion- 
 Crow's food to obtain which brings the bird into such evil repute. In the 
 lambing-season the bird is dreaded by the shepherds quite as much as they 
 dread the Raven, and helpless lambs and weakly ewes too often fall victims 
 to this bold and relentless robber. The game-coverts and the Grouse- 
 moors are also visited and plundered ; the eggs are diligently searched for 
 and devoured ; and later in the year the young birds fall victims. The 
 hen-wife also has just cause to dread the Carrion-Crow ; and, in close 
 attendance on the poultry-yard, he will carry off the young chicks the 
 moment an opportunity is offered. Waterton, in his charming ' Essays,' 
 thus writes of the Carrion- Crow's love for poultry : " The cook had in her 
 custody a brood of ten ducklings, which had been hatched about a fort- 
 night. Unobserved by anybody, I put the old duck and her young ones 
 in a pond nearly three hundred yards from a high fir tree in which a 
 Carrion-Crow had built its nest ; it contained five young ones almost 
 fledged. I took my station on the bridge, about one hundred yards from 
 the tree. Nine times the parent Crows flew to the pond, and brought 
 back a duckling each time to their young. I saved a tenth victim by 
 timely interference." But his prey is not confined to birds alone ; young 
 rabbits, leverets, moles, and other small animals are captured. He will 
 
542 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 feed on grain, like the Rook also, when hard pressed for food, on berries. 
 Waterton states that he will feed voraciously on ripe cherries, and in 
 autumn on walnuts. 
 
 The breeding-season of the Carrion-Crow is somewhat late ; and in this 
 respect it differs considerably from the Raven or even the Rook, approaching 
 most closely the Jackdaw. The Raven's eggs are said to be often laid in 
 February, the Rook's in March ; but the Carrion-Crow seldom commences 
 nesting-duties until the latter end of April or beginning of May. It is very 
 probable that this bird pairs for life ; and each season the old nest will be 
 visited and used again, provided the owners are not molested. If one of 
 the birds be destroyed, its partner soon finds a fresh mate. The site for 
 its nest depends considerably on the nature of its haunts. In hilly 
 districts, and in the neighbourhood of the coast, its bulky nest is made in 
 the rocks, usually in the least accessible part. In the wooded districts it 
 selects some tall tree for its purpose, a large oak or pine being very often 
 chosen ; whilst, according to my friend Mr. Labouchere, on the coast of 
 Holland, where trees and rocks are scarce, it often builds its nest upon the 
 ground. The Carrion-Crow will sometimes seek out a nesting-site in a 
 very exposed situation, and although so shy and wary at other times of the 
 year, will in the nesting-season often become most trustful a habit, by 
 the way, also observed in the Missel-Thrush and the Ring-Dove. The 
 nest of the Carrion-Crow is a large structure, well made, and usually, 
 if in a tree, in the topmost branches. From the fact that the nest is 
 added to each season, some of them are remarkably large. It is made of 
 large sticks, usually dead ones, stems of heather, masses of turf, fine twigs, 
 and roots, and lined with wool, moss, dead leaves, fur, feathers, and any 
 soft material the bird can find. In shape it is rather flat ; and the interior 
 is smooth and compact. 
 
 The eggs are from three to six in number, usually five, and are 
 very similar to those of allied birds. They vary from pale bluish green 
 to clear green in ground-colour, spotted and blotched with olive-brown 
 of different shades, with violet-grey underlying spots. They are sub- 
 ject to no small amount of variation. Some specimens are so thickly 
 spotted and blotched as to almost conceal the ground-colour ; others are 
 very sparingly marked. A very handsome egg in my collection is covered 
 with short streaky semiconfluent lines of pale olive-brown, intermingled 
 with similar lines of violet-grey. On some specimens the markings are 
 much darker than on others ; and sometimes a few almost black spots and 
 wavy scratches occur. They are usually well marked; but occasionally 
 specimens are obtained almost spotless, or merely marked with a few 
 yellowish-brown dashes. They vary in length from T8 to 1*5 inch, and 
 in breadth from 1'3 to I'l inch. It is impossible to distinguish the eggs 
 of the Carrion-Crow from those of the Hooded Crow ; but the eggs of 
 
CARRION-CROW. 543 
 
 both these birds are generally larger than those of the Rook and smaller 
 than those of the Raven. 
 
 When the young are hatched, the old birds become even more trouble- 
 some to the gamekeeper and the hen-wife ; and until they are able to fly, 
 the neighbourhood is scoured in search of food for them. The Carrion- 
 Crow only rears one brood in the year ; and the young are soon left to 
 forage for themselves. Although the Carrion-Crow is a resident in this 
 country, its numbers are evidently increased in autumn by birds from 
 Holland. In Norfolk they are said to be regular spring and autumn 
 migrants; and it is only in this character that they probably appear 
 in parties on our eastern coasts. 
 
 The Carrion-Crow has the entire plumage black, glossed on the upper 
 parts, wings, and throat with purple and green. Bill black ; legs, feet, 
 and claws black ; irides brown. The female does not differ from the male 
 in colour ; but young birds differ from their parents in having no gloss on 
 the plumage. The Carrion-Crow may be distinguished from the Rook by 
 its much stouter bill, by the prevailing green instead of violet gloss to the 
 plumage, and by never having the base of the bill denuded of feathers. 
 In the Carrion-Crow the nostrils are always covered with thick bristly 
 feathers. 
 
544 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 CORVUS CORNIX. 
 HOODED CROW. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Corvus comix cinerea, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 19 (1760). 
 
 Corvus cornix, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766) : et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Naumann, Gould, Gray, Schlegel, Salvadori, Dresser, &c. 
 Corvus cinereus, Briss., Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. fyc. Brit. Mus. p. 18 (1816). 
 Coroiie cornix {Linn.}, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 99 (1829). 
 
 This handsome and well-known bird can only be regarded as a winter 
 visitant to England and Wales, where it is commonest on the eastern coasts, 
 only occasionally wandering inland in some localities, but in others appear- 
 ing as a regular migrant. In the Channel Islands it is only known as an 
 accidental straggler in autumn and winter. A few pairs, however, have from 
 time to time remained and reared their young in various parts of England 
 and Wales ; otherwise these portions of the British Islands appear to be 
 tenanted in the breeding-season exclusively by Carrion- Crows. In Scot- 
 land the Hooded Crow is pretty generally distributed throughout the main- 
 land and the islands, including the Orkneys, the Shetlands, St. Kilda, and 
 the Faroes ; and it is also an occasional visitor to Iceland. In Ireland it 
 is equally common and widely distributed throughout the country. 
 
 The Hooded Crow is the western form of the Carrion-Crow. Though 
 the area of its distribution is intersected by the narrow belt of Carrion- 
 Crows which connects the East-Siberian colony with the Turkestan colony, 
 and the latter with the West-European colony, it cannot be said to be dis- 
 continuous, unless the colonies in Scotland and Ireland be regarded as 
 isolated from the main colony, which extends eastwards from Scandinavia. 
 On the continent the Hooded Crow is found throughout Europe east of 
 about long. 10, and in Asia extends north of Turkestan as far as the valley 
 of the Yenesay, and south of Turkestan through Asia Minor and Persia into 
 Afghanistan, and through Palestine into Egypt. Examples from the 
 Persian Gulf have the pale slate-grey replaced by nearly white, and have 
 been called C. capellanus ; but Siberian birds are intermediate in colour, 
 and the Persian birds can only be looked upon as a local race. In China 
 and in South Africa Crows are found in which the black is distributed in 
 a somewhat similar manner ; but these birds are probably all specifically 
 distinct. 
 
 The Hooded Crow is a migratory bird in the northern portion of its 
 range. Although it is a permanent resident in Scotland, great numbers of 
 
HOODED CROW. 545 
 
 the Scandinavian birds migrate to Holland, Belgium, and Northern France, 
 and even to England, to winter ; and many of the Siberian birds, together 
 with hybrids of every degree, winter in Turkestan. This bird migrates 
 by day. When I was in Heligoland, during the first week of October 
 large flocks of Hooded Crows were frequently passing over, and sometimes 
 a scattered and straggling stream continued all day long. Their flight 
 was heavy and laborious, and frequently at no great height above the sea, 
 many of them on landing having to rise to the edge of the cliff, where 
 they stopped a short time and then passed on. 
 
 Dixon made the following notes on this bird in Lincolnshire : " In 
 many parts of England the Hooded Crow is a well-known migratory bird, 
 whose arrival in the autumn is looked for with almost as much interest as 
 that of the Swallow and the Cuckoo in spring. One of the localities 
 where Hooded Crows abound in autumn is on the low-lying coasts of 
 Lincolnshire, from a few miles south of Skegness to the Boston Deeps. 
 On this noble expanse of salt marsh, whose monotony is enlivened with 
 hordes of wading birds, with Gulls and Ducks, the Hooded Crow is one of 
 the commonest of birds from October till the following spring. They 
 make their appearance about the middle of October so regularly, in fact, 
 that the fisherfolk and coastguardsmen, well versed in the bird-life of the 
 district, will tell you that by no chance will the Swallow and the Crow 
 be seen in the air together ; the date of departure of the one bird is 
 the signal for the approach of the other. They appear to migrate in the 
 daytime; and I have seen them, in little parties, in pairs, or singly, arriving 
 from the sea during the whole day. This migration goes on for weeks; 
 if the weather be favourable they are incessantly pouring in from the 
 east. Upon these extensive marshes the Hooded Crow obtains the 
 greater part of its food. It also Hies inland for considerable distances, 
 and is as frequently seen on the ploughed fields, the stubbles, and the 
 pastures as the Rook. I must confess that, in spite of the dark tales of 
 plunder and his questionable mode of getting a livelihood, the Hooded 
 Crow is a favourite bird of mine, and his habits and regular movements 
 never fail to interest me. The powerful flight of this bird may be 
 witnessed to perfection here as he flies over the sea-banks from the flow- 
 ing tide to the pastures. He is not by any means a shy bird, and by 
 advancing in a side direction I have often succeeded in shooting him. 
 Many authorities state that the Hooded Crow does not feed on grain ; 
 but this is not the case. Here, especially in the neighbourhood of 
 Friskney, the Hooded Crow during the time autumn sowing is going on 
 lives almost exclusively on grain, seeking it just like the Rook. This I 
 have ascertained beyond doubt by dissection. It will also feed on grass 
 and slender shoots of herbage. Upon the marshes it is actively engaged 
 in search of sand- worms, small crabs, and cockles. With the marsh-men 
 
 VOL. i. 2 N 
 
546 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the Hooded Crow bears a bad name from his habit of devouring the birds 
 caught in the ' flight-nets/ Over these broad mudflats and marshes 
 miles of netting is set to ensnare the countless thousands of birds con- 
 tinually flying over them. If the owners of the nets are not at them 
 in good time in the morning the relentless Crows make a meal of the 
 captured birds. Many a wounded bird on these marshes also falls a victim 
 to the cunning Crow, ever on the look-out for prey. I have seen the 
 Hoodies congregate in countless numbers here in autumn ; and they also 
 do the same in spring, probably for the purpose of pairing and not as 
 ' craas' courts' for administering justice or punishment, as even some 
 modern ornithologists affirm to be the case/' 
 
 The habits of the Hooded Crow in summer do not differ very much from 
 those of the Carrion-Crow ; and the haunts it frequents are similar. It is 
 an inhabitant of the wild upland farms, the rocky coasts, and moors, where 
 it wages an incessant war upon all creatures it is capable of overpowering. 
 It is detested by the gamekeeper and the shepherd as much as the Carrion- 
 Crow ; and a ceaseless persecution is waged against it. 
 
 Sometimes the Hooded Crow may be seen searching for its food on the 
 water like a Gull. When carrion is scarce the Hooded Crow is a perfect 
 pest, and his depredations extend in wide directions. In spring he searches 
 diligently for nests and plunders them, from the eyry of the Golden Eagle, 
 only accessible to a winged enemy, to the little homes of the Pipits and 
 the Larks amongst the meadow-grass. He will rob the sea-birds of their 
 eggs, also the game-birds ; and even poultry are not safe from his attacks. 
 Nor are his inroads confined to the eggs ; he will also carry off the young 
 chicks, conveying both eggs and birds to some quiet corner, where he can 
 dispose of them unmolested. Booth is of opinion that the Hooded Crow 
 sometimes visits the eyries of the larger birds of prey to plunder the larder 
 provided for the young. Saxby gives a most graphic account of a colony 
 of Terns which beat off and ultimately drowned a Hooded Crow that, 
 bent on plunder, invaded their breeding-ground. These birds gathered in 
 force round their common enemy so thickly and pertinaciously that he was 
 unable to rise. Gradually driving him out to sea they beat him still lower 
 and lower towards the water, until at last he fell into the sea exhausted. 
 
 The note of the Hooded Crow is like that of the Carrion-Crow. It 
 is a hoarse kra, repeated at intervals, and sometimes drawn out into the 
 syllables karruck, karruck, almost like the call-note of the Gannet. In the 
 pairing-season, which is early in March, he will also utter many pleasing 
 sounds ; and at this time he is certainly a most engaging bird, for his 
 notes are usually uttered as he opens and closes his wings, spreads his tail, 
 and sometimes performs various graceful aerial evolutions. 
 
 The Hooded Crow probably pairs for life, and is a somewhat late 
 breeder. The Raven's eggs are laid long before the snow is off the moun- 
 
HOODED CROW. 547 
 
 tains; [but the Hooded Crow waits for a more temperate season, and 
 seldom sets about nesting-duties before the middle of April. Its nest is 
 sometimes placed in a tree, sometimes on the rocks, both inland and on 
 the ocean cliffs. It will also, where large trees and rocks are scarce, make 
 its nest in bushes and small birches and firs only a few feet from the 
 ground ; and Gray states that it will sometimes build on the roofs of huts. 
 The nest is composed of almost every material which can be applied to the 
 architect's purpose. Large sticks and twigs, stalks of heather, bones, moss, 
 turf, wool, and feathers are all used. From the fact that the bird returns to 
 its old habitations year after year, many nests are very bulky structures, 
 and the greater part of the outside material is bleached by the weather. 
 The inside is smooth, soft, and compact, and rather deep. The eggs of 
 the Hooded Crow are four or five in number, and are absolutely undistin- 
 guishable in size and colour from those of the Carrion-Crow. They exhibit 
 precisely similar types and variations as the eggs of that bird, rendering a 
 description of them unnecessary. 
 
 'When I was in Siberia in 1877 I had an excellent opportunity of investi- 
 gating the question of the interbreeding of the Hooded and Carrion-Crows. 
 The boundary-line between the enormous colony of Hooded Crows in 
 Russia and West Siberia and the equally vast colony of Carrion-Crows in 
 East Siberia lies between the towns of Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk, which 
 are about 350 miles apart. As you travel eastwards from Tomsk, for about 
 120 miles the Hooded Crow only is to be seen on the roadsides, and during 
 the last 120 miles before reaching Krasnoyarsk the Carrion-Crow alone is 
 found. But in the intermediate hundred miles or more a very curious 
 state of affairs presents itself. About one fourth of the Crows are thorough- 
 bred Hoodies ; one fourth are pure Carrion-Crows ; and the remain- 
 ing half are hybrids of every stage mulattoes, quadroons, octoroons, and 
 so on, ad infinitum. The fact that these hybrids present every intermediate 
 form between the two species is primd fade evidence of their fertility. I 
 succeeded, however, in getting positive evidence of this fact. On the 
 Arctic circle, in the valley of the Yenesay, early in May, whilst the ground 
 was still covered with six feet of snow, a couple of hybrid Crows paired 
 together and built a nest near the top of a pine tree. On the llth it 
 contained an egg; on the 21st I climbed again up to the nest and found 
 it to contain five eggs, two of which I took. On the 31st one egg was 
 hatched and the other two were chipped ready for hatching. On the 26th 
 of June I again climbed up to the nest and found that one of the young 
 birds had either died or flown. I took the other two and shot the female. 
 She proved to be at least three parts Carrion-Crow. The feathers on the 
 sides of the neck and on the lower part of the breast and belly are grey, 
 with dark centres. I was unable to shoot the male; but I had on various 
 occasions examined him through my binocular. He had more Hoodie 
 
 2 \2 
 
548 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 blood in him than the female, having a very grey ring round the neck, 
 and showed a good deal of grey on the breast and under the wings. My 
 total bag of Crows at the Ku-ray'-i-ka was three thoroughbred Hoodies 
 (two males and a female), ten thoroughbred Carrions (nine males and one 
 female), and fifteen hybrids (seven males and eight females). These 
 figures, as far as they go, lead me to the 'conclusion that the female 
 Carrion-Crows were all breeding, away in the woods, so that I rarely got 
 a shot at one ; whereas the female hybrids were most of them barren, so 
 that I was able to shoot as many of one sex as of the other. 
 
 Some writers who have not succeeded in overcoming their pre-Darwinian 
 prejudices against the interbreeding of allied forms have endeavoured to 
 show that the interbreeding of the Carrion and the Hoodie Crows is an 
 exceptional case an instance of so-called " dimorphism/' and that the 
 offspring of these " mixed marriages " partake of the peculiarities of either 
 one or other of their parents or revert back to them before they become 
 fully adult. So far as I have been able to discover, the evidence in favour 
 of this view rests upon the unsupported testimony of gamekeepers and 
 shepherds, than which no evidence could be more unreliable. I have no doubt 
 that the comparative rarity of intermediate forms between these two sub- 
 species is caused entirely by their comparative barrenness. The two 
 Crows are probably more differentiated than the two European Nuthatches 
 or the two Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, or than some of the nearly allied 
 Tits; but the difference between them can only be considered of subspecific 
 value, and the full name and title of the Hooded Crow is Corvus corone, 
 var. comix, though, as in other similar cases, the binomial name will 
 generally be used for the sake of brevity. 
 
 The thoroughbred Hooded Crow has the wings, tail, head, throat 
 (extending as far as the upper part of the breast), and thighs black. The 
 rest of the body is ashy grey, slightly darker on the under tail- coverts. 
 The upper tail-coverts begin grey, gradually become darker in the centre, 
 until they are only edged with grey, and finally become black as they join 
 the tail. Legs, feet, and claws black ; irides dark brown. The female 
 resembles the male in colour, but is slightly smaller in size. The nestling 
 plumage does not differ from that of the adult except in being much 
 duller. 
 
ROOK. 549 
 
 CORVUS FRUGILEGUS. 
 ROOK. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Corvus cornix frugilega, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 16 (1760). 
 
 Con-iis frugilegus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Temminck. Xainnann, Gould) Schleyel, Gray, Salvation, Dresser, Xeicton, &c. 
 Coloeus frugilegiis (Linn.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 114 (1829). 
 Corvus agricola, Trist. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 444. 
 Trypanocorax frugilegus (Linn.), Loche, Expl. Set. Alg&r., Ois. i. p. 113 (1867). 
 
 Few birds are better known than the Rook ; its noisy gatherings and 
 its habit of building in colonies make it a bird well known and in- 
 teresting to all. It is found commonly in most parts of England and 
 Wales, as well as of Ireland, wherever the country is not too barren 
 to afford it a pasture and a nesting-place. Few indeed are the country 
 mansions or villages that do not possess their rookery. But the Rook does 
 not always settle close to man's habitation ; for in the High Peak, for 
 instance, there are several rookeries in small plantations on the bleak 
 hills above Castleton, whilst in the trees near Peveril Castle in the same 
 district another small colony occurs. Northwards the Rook becomes less 
 common. In Scotland it is rapidly increasing in numbers and extending 
 its range as tree-planting is more extensively pursued. It is found, although 
 at present locally, throughout Scotland as far north as the Orkneys and 
 Shetlands, but is said only very recently to have begun to breed in the 
 latter localities. In Skye the Rook is spreading; and at Dunvegan 
 there is an extensive rookery quite recently established in a large planta- 
 tion, the most westerly breeding-place of the bird in Scotland. It has 
 established colonies even in the wilder parts of Argyleshire and West 
 Sutherlandshire. Large flocks of Rooks sometimes wander across to the 
 Outer Hebrides ; and it is very probable that the day is not far distant 
 when colonies will be formed there. It also occasionally strays to the 
 Faroes. This increase of the Rook is viewed by shepherds and farmers 
 with no little anxiety ; and in some parts ot Scotland the bird is rigorously 
 persecuted ; for it may be harmless enough in England, where its feeding- 
 grounds are so large, but in Scotland, where its pastures are small, it may 
 possibly take a leaf from the Carrion-Crow's book and become a pest. The 
 Rook does not breed in the Channel Islands, and is only an accidental 
 visitant t Guernsey, in severe winters sometimes occurring in large 
 flocks. 
 
 The Rook breeds throughout Central and Southern Europe as far 
 
550 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 north in Scandinavia as the Arctic circle, but in Russia and in West 
 Siberia only up to lat. 64. In the northern portions of its range it is a 
 migratory bird, being found in summer in Scandinavia, North Russia, 
 North Germany, Denmark, and the north of France. In all these countries, 
 where the winters are much more severe than in England, the Rook leaves 
 for the south, and is a common winter visitant to Southern Europe, being 
 found at that season in the south of France, Portugal, Spain, South 
 Germany, Italy, Greece, the islands of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, 
 and North-east Africa. Eastwards the Rook is found breeding throughout 
 Turkestan and West Siberia as far east as the valley of the Irtish, where 
 I saw large flocks slowly migrating southwards in autumn. The Asiatic 
 birds winter in North Persia, Afghanistan, Cashmere, and North-west 
 India. Still further to the east the Common Rook is replaced by a nearly 
 allied species, Corvus pastinator. This bird differs from its western con- 
 gener in having the plumage glossed with reddish purple instead of bluish 
 purple ; and the bare space round the beak is confined to the upper man- 
 dible, the throat being feathered to the base of the lower mandible, as in 
 the Carrion-Crow. The eastern Rook ranges through Eastern Siberia to 
 China and Japan. 
 
 The Rook is a bird of the well-cultivated districts broad pasture-lands 
 and fallows, where the timber is large and distributed in plantations, 
 groves, avenues, and woods. Parks are favourite places with the Rook 
 and also pleasure-grounds. From the great changes that have taken 
 place in some districts, many breeding-haunts of the Rook are singularly 
 situated. It is a bird evidently with a strong attachment to its old 
 quarters, and occasionally still remains to rear its young in situations 
 that have changed from country to town. In some places the Rook may 
 be seen rearing its young in trees in gardens which have once formed 
 portions of some park now demolished by the enterprise of some specula- 
 lative builder. In others (as, for example, the rookery in Curzon Street) 
 a colony has allowed itself to be "built in," and the Rooks continue to 
 breed amidst the din of the traffic below. Once established, few things 
 will cause the birds to forsake the rookery. Even the rumble of the rail- 
 way does not give them any perceptible annoyance ; and many are the 
 rookeries in England where the line has been carried through the planta- 
 tion that holds their nests. The favourite haunts appear to be large 
 parks studded with tall trees, from which an easy flight will take them to 
 arable land. 
 
 The habits of the Rook are exceedingly regular. From year to year 
 each season finds the orderly colony engaged in operations peculiar to the 
 season, whether it be the busy time of nest-building and rearing the 
 young, their summer and autumn gatherings (of ten in enormous numbers), 
 or their nomad life in winter. 
 
ROOK. 551 
 
 In all its habits the Rook is a gregarious bird ; and its gatherings are 
 very often not confined to the inhabitants of one colony ; for after the 
 breeding-season the birds of several rookeries often unite and form one 
 vast gathering, feeding, flying, and roosting in company. In autumn and 
 winter the Rooks belonging to the smaller colonies visit their old nests. 
 They will leave the larger flock feeding sometimes at a considerable dis- 
 tance, and pay a hasty visit to their old homes ; but having apparently 
 satisfied themselves that the rookery is c< all right/' they rejoin their com- 
 panions. As the season advances they make a longer stay at their nests, 
 and apparently hold a consultation as to the wisdom of beginning to repair 
 them. As food becomes more plentiful they seem less and less anxious 
 to rejoin the large flock, which we may presume to have been the original 
 parent colony, and feed independently of them, on pastures nearer their 
 breeding-grounds ; but at nightfall the old social feeling seems to predo- 
 minate, and they wing their way to the common roosting-ground. It is 
 interesting to watch them flying home, with slow steady beats of the wings, 
 like the flight of a Heron, as if they were tired with the day's search for 
 food, straggling one after another to one point, as if after a long journey. 
 In some cases, probably when food is scarce, they seem not to return home, 
 but to camp out all night near their feeding-grounds ; for I have some- 
 times, when returning home in the country late at night, passed a few 
 exposed trees by the roadside black with Rooks, in a situation which one 
 cannot suppose to have been their habitual roosting-place. 
 
 The note of the Rook is a loud krah-krah, varied to kraw-kraw, subject 
 to considerable modulations as the birds are angry or simply calling to 
 their fellows when disturbed or alarmed. In the night Rooks may be 
 often heard uttering a variety of low notes ; whilst quite a different sound 
 to the usual caw, a sort of krck, is uttered when the sitting bird is being 
 fed by its mate or when awaiting its arrival with trembling wings on the 
 edge of the nest. 
 
 The Rook's many services to man have placed it in greater favour than 
 all its other sable congeners ; and although the farmer will often shoot a 
 few birds in sowing-time, to serve as scarecrows on his fields and potato- 
 patches, he is usually candid enough to admit that he receives no small 
 amount of benefit from the bird's visits to his lands and pastures. Various 
 indeed is the food of the Rook ; and there is not a field that he does not 
 visit at some season of the year. His visits to the pasture-lands are 
 regular and incessant, to prey upon the worms, snails, and grubs that 
 abound there, especially in the morning. He frequents the corn-lands 
 chiefly during the sowing- season ; but his little pilferings of grain are 
 amply repaid by the wireworms and the grubs of the cockchafer and the 
 craneflies which he greedily devours. The Rook is also seen upon the 
 potato- and turnip-fields, where his visits are equally beneficial, although 
 
552 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 in winter, when almost starved by a long-continued frost, he will often 
 bore into the turnips with his strong beak. Perhaps the most favourite 
 feeding-grounds of the Rook are the stubbles, especially when ploughing 
 is going on and worms and grubs are to be found in the newly turned up 
 soil. When feeding, the Rook is very wary, and a sentinel is usually 
 perched on some neighbouring tree to give the alarm on the approach of 
 danger. Towards evening, when their appetites are satisfied, they often 
 fly round and round, and toy with each other in the air, before setting off 
 for their roosting-quarters. 
 
 Towards the end of February they begin to repair their nests. Every 
 day they stop longer and longer ; and when the eggs are laid they roost at 
 the rookery. Rooks may be tempted to form a new rookery, by putting 
 up artificial nests in suitable trees. During the process of building they 
 are often very quarrelsome. When the birds break off twigs from the 
 nesting- trees, they fly clear of the tree and gain the nest by an uninter- 
 rupted course, probably because, were they to convey the twig through 
 the tangled branches, it would be an extremely troublesome and difficult 
 task. During the building-period one of the birds usually stays to guard 
 the unfinished nest whilst its mate is seeking materials ; for Rooks are 
 pilfering birds ; but when once the nest is completed it may be left 
 with safety. When I was residing at Sheffield I had several Rooks' nests 
 in my garden, my next-door neighbour had fourteen, and there were about 
 as many more on the other side of the road all no doubt forming part of 
 the old rookery in Broomhall Park, which must originally have been 
 scattered over a mile or more, as there are isolated trees left in the streets 
 which are still tenanted with their old occupants every spring. Towards 
 the end of February the Rooks began to be very busy about their old 
 nests. One year only one nest had survived the storms of winter. The 
 birds appeared to have a quarrel about it ; and finally it was completely 
 pulled to pieces. They fairly began to build in good earnest about the 
 1st of March, when they might be seen, sometimes three or four in a tree 
 at once, tugging at the twigs and breaking off a piece, which they often 
 transferred from their beaks to their claws, apparently to rest from the 
 exertion of breaking it off. They seemed to be very quarrelsome all the 
 time they were building, continually stealing twigs from each other's 
 nests. Once they fought so desperately that one poor Rook fell down 
 dead. It was no uncommon thing to see a good foundation for a nest 
 laid by breakfast-time, and to find not a vestige remaining at noon. Both 
 parents assist in the duties of incubation; and Dixon assures me that he 
 has repeatedly seen them change places on the nest. 
 
 The nest is composed outwardly of sticks, varying in thickness from 
 slender twigs to branches more than half an inch in diameter, and is 
 cemented with mud and clay and lined with large masses of turf, a few 
 
ROOK. 553 
 
 roots, moss and dry leaves, straws, and a few feathers. It is somewhat 
 flat in shape outside ; but inside the hollow is rather deep. Although 
 in rare instances nests of the Rook may be seen loosely made, the 
 majority are singularly strong and compact. Numbers of nests are built 
 near together, in many cases touching one another, the largest and most 
 bulky ones being those which have withstood the storms of many winters 
 and have been added to and strengthened yearly. 
 
 The eggs of the Rook are from three to five in number, and differ con- 
 siderably in size, form, and markings. Some specimens are oval ; others 
 are rounder, whilst many are considerably elongated. Many have the 
 ground-colour green of various shades; whilst in some it is very light 
 blue, almost white. The markings are greenish brown of different degrees 
 of intensity, sometimes interspersed with spots of deep blackish brown. 
 The markings are often so thickly distributed as to hide the ground- 
 colour. They measure from 1'8 to ]/55 inch in length, and from l - 25 to 
 T05 inch in breadth. Should the first clutch of eggs be removed, others 
 will be laid, but in smaller numbers. 
 
 During the second week of April the feeble notes of the young Rooks, 
 swayed to and fro in their elevated cradles, may be heard ; and then the 
 old birds are taxed to the utmost to furnish them with food. From early 
 morning until the dusk of evening the old birds may be seen passing 
 in almost noiseless flight to and from the fields with food for their 
 young. For weeks this goes on, until, in the most forward nests, we see 
 the young birds sitting outside on the branches. The leaves are then 
 rapidly expanding, and partly hide the young from view, who try their 
 wings with little flights from tree to tree and eventually follow their 
 parents to the pastures, and are there fed and tended, returning at 
 nightfall to the nesting-trees. 
 
 It is an interesting sight to watch their evening movements. The 
 babel of sounds is deafening as they wheel round and round previous to 
 alighting. One by one, or in little parties, they perch on the topmost 
 branches, now struggling for a post of vantage or taking short flights, 
 uttering their hoarse caws. In the distance, parties of three or four are 
 winging their way to join the throng. The noise becomes louder, the 
 somewhat shrill cry of the Jackdaw sometimes mingling with the homely 
 caw of the Rook. At last a lull occurs, as the Rooks, perched on every 
 available bough, turn their heads from side to side or preen their glossy 
 plumage. But it is not to last, even though the sun has sunk below the 
 horizon and night is at hand. One of the birds, perched on a dead limb, 
 utters a hoarse caw; another and another answer; now two or three 
 together ; tmd speedily the din is loud, nay, louder than before. Many 
 change their places, their dark forms showing out against the clear western 
 sky. Others hop about the boughs, to be pushed off by their companions 
 
554 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and to be compelled to seek refuge elsewhere. But at last their caws are 
 heard in lessening numbers ; and finally all is silent. 
 
 "When the young are able to fly, the whole colony, both young and old, 
 frequently soar to an immense height directly above the nest-trees, and 
 wheel round and round in circles, ever and anon buffeting each other. 
 Then, when anxious to alight, they often perform the motion known to 
 country-people as " shooting/-" coming down with great rapidity on wings 
 a little raised and in a zigzag direction. To see a large number of Rooks 
 so engaged is indeed a grand sight. By many people this peculiar flight 
 is thought to portend wind ; but it is merely the birds' mode of alighting 
 on ground or trees directly beneath them. As a rule the Rook alights 
 more slowly and warily, and often passes and repasses over the same 
 ground. 
 
 Like most other species of the Crow tribe, Rooks are almost omni- 
 vorous. They are very fond of picking a bone, if they can get the 
 chance. In autumn they vary their fare with acorns, which they obtain 
 very often by flying up to the slender twigs and breaking them off by 
 their own weight, hanging suspended from them. Of their propensity 
 for egg-stealing little need be said. That they will sometimes despoil a 
 nest cannot be denied; but such cases are very exceptional. They have 
 also been said to feed on small birds and mammals. Rooks often frequent 
 the sea-coast in search of the numerous animal substances to be found 
 there. Sometimes they may be seen preying upon mussels, obtaining the 
 mollusk by carrying the shell up to some considerable height and dropping 
 it on a rock or stone, just as the Crows do. Fruits of various kinds also 
 form part of their diet, as well as beech-nuts and berries. Although a 
 rookery is not to be encouraged in the neighbourhood of a Grouse-moor, 
 we have no bird of greater use to the agriculturist ; and its few little 
 failings are amply repaid by its countless good offices in ridding fields 
 and pastures of some of their greatest pests. 
 
 Much controversy has taken place, and considerable diversity of opinion 
 exists, as to the nature of the bare patch at the base of the mandibles of 
 the Rook. That this bareness is produced by the bird rubbing off its 
 feathers when digging in search of food is impossible ; for if such were 
 really the case, why should not the Carrion-Crow, the Jackdaw in fact, 
 all others of its kindred exhibit a similar peculiarity ? for all dig just as 
 much. There can be but little doubt that these small feathers drop off 
 a peculiarity which began in some remote ancestor of the Rook and, 
 proving to the advantage of the species, was developed by natural 
 selection. 
 
 The Rook has the entire plumage black, beautifully glossed, especially 
 on the upper' parts, with rich bluish purple, especially on the head and 
 neck. At the base of both mandibles, and extending some way down the 
 
ROOK. 
 
 555 
 
 throat, the skin is bare of feathers, warty, and whitish gray in colour. 
 Bill, legs, toes, and claws black; irides brown. The female is slightly 
 less in size than the male ; and her plumage is less brilliant. Young birds 
 resemble the adult ; but their plumage has little gloss, and the base of the 
 beak is feathered, probably until the spring moult, as in the Carrion-Crow, 
 from which they may always be distinguished by their more slender beak 
 and the different gloss of the plumage. 
 
556 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 CORVUS MONEDULA. 
 JACKDAW. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Corvus monedula, Brins. Orn. ii. p. 24 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 156 (1766) ; et 
 auctorum plurimorum Temminck, Schlegel, Gould, Salvadori, Heuglin, 
 ~Dresser, &c. 
 
 Corvus sperrnologus, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 40 (1817). 
 
 Lycus ruonedula (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 551. 
 
 Colceus monedula (Linn.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 114 (1829). 
 
 The pert Jackdaw, whose lively gambols iii the air and familiar cries 
 make it a favourite, breeds in most districts, both in Great Britain and 
 Ireland, in inland localities as well as on the coasts, in forest districts 
 as often as in rocky ones, in the busy thickly populated cities as much as 
 in the quiet tower of the village church. It is not found as far as the 
 Outer Hebrides, and appears only accidentally in the Shetlands, though 
 sometimes in large flocks ; but, according to Baikie and Heddle, a few 
 pairs breed in Ronaldsha, one of the Orkneys. An occasional straggler 
 sometimes reaches the Faroes, and, it is said, even Iceland ; but these are 
 obviously only stray birds which have accidentally wandered beyond their 
 ordinary limits. The Jackdaw is usually a resident bird ; but in the 
 northernmost portions of its range it is a migrant ; and it appears to be a 
 bird which is gradually extending its range. In Mezen we were told that 
 it had only appeared during the last twenty years. 
 
 On the continent the Jackdaw is distributed throughout Europe south 
 of the Arctic circle, but becomes very local in the basin of the Mediter- 
 ranean. It is found in all the countries of Europe, most of the islands of 
 the Mediterranean, and has occurred as a straggler in the Canaries. Its 
 northern range is greater in the west than in the east. Harvie-Brown and 
 I, when at Mezen in lat. 66, found the Jackdaw common, but we only 
 saw one example at Uist Zylma in lat. 65; and Hoffmann did not obtain 
 it in the Ural Mountains north of lat. 61. In Western Siberia Finsch 
 found it as far north as lat. 60 ; whilst in the valley of the Yenesay I did 
 not observe it further north than Krasnoyarsk, in lat. 56. The valley of 
 the Yenesay is probably the eastern limit of its range. In North Africa, 
 although collectors have not obtained it in Tangiers, Dixou found it in all 
 the rocky parts of Algeria which he visited ; but there is no reliable infor- 
 mation of its occurrence in Egypt. Tristram met with it in Palestine, and 
 Dauford in Asia Minor. It is very common in South Russia and the 
 
JACKDAW. 557 
 
 Caucasus, and breeds throughout Turkestan, although it does not appear 
 to inhabit Persia. Colonel Swinhoe found it breeding at Kandahar ; it 
 also breeds in Cashmere, and is a winter visitant to the plains of North- 
 west India. 
 
 Examples from Western Europe have the collar grey. To the east 
 birds having exceptionally white collars are frequent ; and in Central 
 Siberia, between Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk, a new form appears, slightly 
 smaller on an average than our Jackdaw, and having the nape, the sides 
 of the neck, the lower breast, and the belly white. This species (C. dauricus) 
 extends eastwards as far as North China, and is everywhere found in 
 company with C. neglectus, together with intermediate forms between the 
 two, no doubt produced by interbreeding. The thoroughbred dark form 
 differs in colour as well as in size from our Jackdaw, the grey on the head 
 and neck being nearly obsolete. Ornithologists differ as to the explana- 
 tion of these facts. Middendorff and Dybowsky consider the dark form 
 (C. neglectus} an immature bird; and Dybowsky, who found it breed- 
 ing, states that it does not obtain the mature dress until the third year. 
 Swinhoe, on the other hand, states that he has taken young birds, with the 
 characteristic markings of the adult, from the nest; and there is an 
 example in his collection to bear out this statement. Probably Dybowsky 
 was in error. 
 
 Like the House-Sparrow, the Jackdaw possesses the peculiar aptitude 
 of speedily adapting itself to new surroundings, and often breeds in the 
 strangest of places. It makes itself perfectly at home even in the great 
 metropolis, where in certain localities it may be regularly seen amongst 
 the grimy chimneys, or in company with the Rooks in the parks and public 
 gardens. We also find Jackdaws in the forest nestling amongst the grand 
 old oaks ; we see them in the broken battlements of castles and in ruined 
 abbeys, or amongst the gothic architecture of cathedrals and churches ; 
 wliilst in the mountain-limestone districts almost every rock at all suitable 
 for the purpose contains their nests. On the sea-coast Jackdaws are also 
 common birds on all the bold rocks where sea-birds congregate. At Flam- 
 borough the Jackdaws are very abundant. A republican might call them 
 the aristocracy of the cliffs. Like the modern noble or the monks of the 
 middle ages, they contrive to eat the fat of the land without any osten- 
 sible means of living. They apparently claim an hereditary right in the 
 cliffs ; for they catch no fish and do no work, but levy blackmail on the silly 
 Guillemots, stealing the fish which the male has brought to the ledges for 
 the female, upsetting the egg of some unfortunate bird who has left it for a 
 short time, and devouring as much of the contents as they can get hold of 
 when the egg is broken on some ledge of rock or in the sea. 
 
 In its habits the Jackdaw very closely resembles the Rook, with which 
 bird it freely associates ; and its movements are just as regular. It is 
 
558 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 strictly gregarious and lives in colonies of greater or less extent according 
 to the accommodation of the site selected. In the morning they may be 
 seen passing through the air in rapid flight to their distant pastures, where 
 they spend the day ; and when evening approaches they collect together, 
 and either join the large flights of Rooks or return by themselves to their 
 own homes. Dixon gives the following description of this peculiar 
 habit : " I have often been struck with the great regularity of movement 
 practised by the Jackdaw ; and it is one of the most interesting sights an 
 ornithologist can see, to take your station near some large haunt and 
 watch the birds approach to roost. A large colony of Jackdaws live in the 
 mighty limestone cliffs which are crowned with the now crumbling ruin of 
 the Keep of the once famous Peveril Castle in the High Peak. Their nests 
 are built in the holes of this inaccessible cliff, whose base is tunnelled by 
 the famous cavern known as ' Devil's Hole/ Here at sunset perhaps not 
 a bird can be seen, for they are away on the pastures ; but as the darkness 
 gathers their well-known cries disturb the air, and the birds appear in 
 view flying closely together and perhaps accompanied by a few Rooks. 
 Then may be seen their pleasing aerial motions ; the whole flock seem in 
 commotion, and buffet each other, wheel and glide and circle in the air, 
 ere they perch a few at a time on the stunted trees growing out of the 
 rocks. Then begins a noisy tumult not in one long uproar, but in fit- 
 ful clashes like a peal of bells as the birds strive for points of vantage on 
 the branches, or crowd each other off the rocks. Many will be seen to 
 visit their nest-holes ; but I do not think they roost in them, but summer 
 and winter alike select the branches of these few trees for a roosting- 
 place. Notice, too, how the birds sit in pairs, marks of affection often 
 passing between them ; for the Daw most certainly is mated to its partner 
 for life. As darkness deepens the noise subsides ; but even now the hoary 
 old chasm will resound with their cackling notes as some fresh disturbance 
 arouses the colony roosting so high above our heads." 
 
 The flight of the Jackdaw differs considerably from that of the Rook, 
 and, indeed, from that of all the larger Crows. It is performed by a series 
 of rapid flappings, very unsteady and wavering at times, but remarkable 
 for its singular evolutions. The Jackdaw's wing is comparatively long 
 and pointed ; and the bird will glide with great rapidity from side to side 
 or stoop like a Hawk, and then, bounding upwards with a peculiar sidelong 
 motion, again pursue its course. The note of the Jackdaw is a cry some- 
 thing like quick, often varied with a shrill kind of scream. Although 
 harsh, it is perhaps less so than that of the other Crows we have in our 
 islands. It is said that in many districts the Jackdaw has driven away 
 the Chough from its old haunts on our maritime cliffs ; and it is not 
 improbable that such is really the case. 
 
 The Jackdaw builds its nest almost wherever it can find a suitable hole 
 
JACKDAW. 559 
 
 either in the cleft of a cliff, it matters not whether maritime or inland, or 
 in a hole in a building, it may be new or ruined, naked or ivy-clad, or in 
 a hollow tree, sometimes in the main trunk, sometimes in a side branch. 
 Where the hole is too deep to suit its purpose it makes a foundation of 
 sticks, and will sometimes deposit bushels of twigs to raise the level high 
 enough. In places where no suitable hole is to be found the Jackdaw 
 has been kuowu to build in a rabbit-burrow. 
 
 Jackdaws breed in colonies like Rooks, and may be observed in the 
 neighbourhood of their nests all the year round, frequently visiting them 
 like those well-known birds. This bird is a later breeder than the Rook, 
 seldom commencing operations before the beginning of April. The nest 
 of the Jackdaw varies in its construction, and is adapted to the peculiarities 
 of the hole selected. In some cases, where the hole is a small and shallow 
 one, the merest rudiments of a nest are made, and the cavity contains a 
 few stray twigs, and mayhap a little moss or withered grass ; whilst in 
 others, where the hole is larger, the nest is a bulky structure. 
 
 A large colony of Jackdaws breed in Sherwood Forest. That part of 
 the forest which adjoins the village of Edwinstow is called Birklands, and 
 is full of grand old oaks, which have spread their fantastic arms over 
 bracken and heath for a thousand years, and which now, old and hoary 
 and hollow and fast decaying, form a striking contrast to the elegant 
 silver-stemmed birches growing between them and giving the name to the 
 district. Some of these old denizens of the forest are very large. The 
 " Major Oak " is about thirty feet in circumference of stem ; and a hundred 
 others are nearly as large. They are all, or nearly all, dead at the top and 
 hollow, or full of hollow places. In these old oaks there are thousands of 
 Jackdaws' nests (at a rough guess twenty thousand), as many nests of the 
 Starling, a small sprinkling of those of the Stock-Dove, and a stray 
 Kestrel and Owl which have escaped the lynx-eyes of the keeper. The 
 Jackdaws generally make a most formidable nest a foundation of oak- 
 twigs, sometimes half a wheelbarrow load, and upon that a substantial 
 lining of dry grass, roots, moss, and rabbit-down. A stranger to these 
 woods would not be very successful in a search for eggs. In nine cases out 
 of ten he would only obtain after a heavy climb a perspective view of an 
 inaccessible nest full of eggs, at the bottom of a deep hollow trunk. It is 
 only by obtaining the services of some one who knows the forest and can 
 remember which nests, are accessible that many eggs can be obtained. 
 
 The Jackdaw's nest is made of sticks, moss, grass, leaves, feathers, wool, 
 together with the food-refuse pellets cast up by the birds, and which, in 
 addition to being found in the nests, also strew the ground below them. 
 Numbers cf the nests will be built close together, in some cases as many 
 as a dozen in one single hollow tree. The eggs of the Jackdaw are usually 
 six in number, sometimes only four or five. They vary considerably in 
 
560 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 size, shape, and markings. Some specimens are bluish green in ground- 
 colour, richly and boldly spotted and blotched with dark greenish brown, 
 chiefly at the large end of the egg, and with a few violet-grey underlying 
 spots ; others are much paler in ground-colour, and have the markings 
 smaller, deeper in colour, and more evenly distributed over the entire 
 surface, deep greenish brown, olive-brown, and pale grey ; whilst others are 
 the palest of blue, almost white, and quite free from markings. Jackdaw's 
 eggs are never so thickly and beautifully marked as Crow's or Raven's. 
 They measure from 1*6 to 1'3 inch in length, and from !! to "95 inch in 
 breadth. After leaving the nest the young birds are taken by their 
 parents to the pastures, and keep company with them for some time, like 
 Rooks. 
 
 The Jackdaw does not win much favour, and its reputed ill-deeds, on a 
 much smaller scale of course than its larger congeners, are considered 
 a sufficient excuse by the ignorant gamekeeper and farmer for taking 
 its life. It is quite as harmless a bird as the Rook, and at certain 
 seasons of the year is very useful. You have but to watch its actions 
 in the fields to be convinced of this. 
 
 Like the Rook, the Jackdaw obtains by far the greatest portion of its 
 food on the fields and pastures, and accompanies its congeners to these 
 situations with precisely the same object in view. Its food consists 
 largely of insects, worms, grubs, and even the parasites on cattle. It is 
 to be seen on the turnip- and potatoe-fields, where the wire-worms are 
 the object of its quest ; whilst in sowing-time it goes with the Rooks to 
 the newly sown land, and picks up the scattered grain that has escaped 
 being covered by the harrow. In autumn the Jackdaw will eat 
 fruit and also acorns and beech-mast ; and in winter, when food is often 
 hard to get, carrion or the refuse of slaughterhouses is eaten. On the 
 coast the Jackdaw may often be seen, side by side with the Hooded Crow 
 and the Rook, searching for shell-fish and other marine substances. 
 
 The Jackdaw has the crown of the head rich black, glossed with 
 purple ; the ear-coverts, nape, and sides of the neck are grey ; the rest 
 of the upper parts are black, with violet and green reflections, especially 
 on the wings and tail ; the underparts are dull black, Legs, claws, and 
 bill black ; irides greyish white. The female resembles the male in colour ; 
 but the grey nape-patch is not so large and pure in colour. Young 
 birds are dull black, and the grey collar is almost absent. 
 
PICA. 561 
 
 Genus PICA. 
 
 The genus Pica is another of the genera " additional to those of 
 Linnaeus" which are admitted exceptionally under the Stricklandian 
 code. It was defined by Brisson, in 1760 in his ' Ornithologia/ ii. p. 35 ; 
 and the Common Magpie, his Pica pica, is universally admitted to be 
 the type. 
 
 The Magpies are the representatives of several very nearly allied 
 tropical genera (Cyanopolius, Urocissa, Cissa, Dendrocitta, &c.), all having 
 a long graduated tail ; but the latter have rounded or non-migratory 
 wings. In the genus Pica the first primary is decidedly a bastard primary, 
 generally slightly less than half the length of the second, and proportion- 
 ally narrow . The bill is stout, the nostrils covered by bristly feathers, 
 and the tarsus scutellated. 
 
 The Magpies are confined to the Nearctic and Palsearctic Regions, ex- 
 tending beyond the latter region to the Himalayas and South China. Only 
 one species is found in Europe, which is subject to considerable varia- 
 tions in its wide range ; but two fairly separable though very closely 
 allied species are found one in California, and the other in Algeria. 
 
 The Magpies do not differ much from the Crows in their habits, 
 and, like those birds, are almost omnivorous. Although shy and wary, 
 they are social, and are often found close to houses. The haunts 
 they affect are well-wooded districts ; but they sometimes frequent 
 the moorlands and the coasts. Their flight is graceful and buoyant, and 
 their notes are harsh and discordant, like the Crows. They build large 
 bulky nests, domed and placed in the branches of lofty trees, as well as in 
 bushes. Their eggs are from five to nine in number, and vary from pale 
 greenish to pure white in ground-colour, spotted and streaked with greenish 
 brown. 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
562 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PICA CAUDATA. 
 
 MAGPIE. 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Pica pica, Brisa. Orn. ii. p. 35 (1760). 
 
 Corvus pica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 157 (1766;. 
 
 Pica varia, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. ii. p. 40 (1769). 
 
 Picacaudata, Gerini, Orn. Meth. Dig. ii. p. 40(1769); Keys. $ Bias. Wirb. Eur. 
 p. 45 (1840); et auctorum plurimorum Gould, Yarrell, Giglioli, Gray, 
 Blyth, Bonaparte, Middendorff, Fritsch, Linderrnayer, Filippi, Doderlein, Tristram, 
 Lilford, Schrenck, Radde, Salvadori, Shelley, Baird, Severtzow, Hartlaub, Alston, 
 Harvie-Brown, Cavendish Taylor. 
 
 Corvus rusticus, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 38 (1769). 
 
 Pica rusticorum, Forst. Syn. Cat. Br. B. p. 48 (1817). 
 
 Pica melanoleuca, Vieill N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxvi. p. 121 (1818). 
 
 Pica europsea, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 551. 
 
 Corvus hudsonius, Sdbine, App. Narr. Frank!. Journ. p. 671 (1823). 
 
 Pica albiventris, Vieill Faun. Franc, p. 119 (1828). 
 
 Garrulus picus (Linn.), Temm. Man. d'Orn. iii. p. 63 (1835). 
 
 Pica hudsonica (Sabine), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. 8f N. Amer. p. 27 (1838). 
 
 Pica bottanensis, Deless. Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 100. 
 
 Pica niegaloptera, Blyth, Journ. As, Soc. Beng. xi. p. 193 (1842). 
 
 Pica media, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xiii. p. 393 (1844). 
 
 Pica sericea, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1845, p. 2. 
 
 Cleptes hudsonicus (Sabine), Gambel, Journ. Acad. N. Set. Phil. i. p. 46 (1847). 
 
 Pica tibetana, Hodgs. Ann. Nat. Hist. iii. 1849, p. 203. 
 
 Pica varia japonica, Temm. et Schl. Faun. Japon., Aves, p. 81 (1849). 
 
 Pica japonica (Schl.),Jide Bonap. Consp. i. p. 383 (1850). 
 
 Pica chinensis (Schl.)jfide Bonap. Consp. i. p. 383 (1850). 
 
 Cleptes pica (Linn.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 229 (1851). 
 
 Pica leucoptera, Gould, B. Asia, pt. xiv. (1862). 
 
 Pica rustica (Scop.), Dresser, B. Eur. iv. p. 509 (1873). 
 
 Pica melauoleuca (Vieill.), var. hudsonica (Sabine), Coues, Key N. Amer. B. p. 164 
 (1872). 
 
 Pica caudata (Gerini), var. bactriana (Bonap.), Severtz. Ttirkest. Jevotn. p. 64 (1873). 
 
 Pica caudata (Gerini), var. hudsonica (Sabine), Baird, Brewer, fy Itidgiv. N. Amer. 
 B. ii. p. 266 (1874). 
 
 Few birds are better known than the graceful, wary Magpie, although 
 those seen in confinement give but a small idea of its elegant form and 
 the almost matchless beauty of its plumage. The bird must be seen in its 
 native haunts, flitting buoyantly and slowly over a breezy waste or the 
 tops of the trees, or, perhaps better still, when searching the pastures for 
 its food ; then the rich variety of its dress lends a charm to the surround- 
 ings, and its chattering cry imbues them with life. The Magpie has the 
 misfortune to be included in the list of those birds that are proscribed 
 by the game-preserver and the poul try -keeper ; hence its numbers are 
 
MAGPIE. 563 
 
 rapidly decreasing, and districts that once were its favourite retreats are 
 quickly becoming deserted or have already ceased to afford it a con- 
 genial home. In spite of this persecution, however, the Magpie is fairly 
 common, and breeds in almost all parts of England; but in the 
 Channel Islands it appears to be very local. In Scotland, according to 
 Mr. Gray, it is found in all the wooded districts from Wigtown to Suther- 
 landshire, and is very common in some parts of Ayrshire, although it 
 appears not to visit the Outer Hebrides, and only occasionally to stray 
 to Islay and Mull, where it does not breed. It has never occurred 
 in the Orkneys or the Shetlands. In Ireland the Magpie is pretty 
 common in suitable localities ; and it would appear that it was formerly 
 much rarer than it is at the present time, if not actually absent altogether, 
 as the general belief in Ireland is that this bird was imported by the 
 English. 
 
 The Magpie is found throughout the Palaearctic Region north of the 
 Mediterranean, Syria, South Persia, and of the lowlands of Baluchistan ; 
 in the Oriental Region it is found in the Himalayas, Japan, South China, 
 Formosa, and Hainan ; and in the Nearctic Region it is found throughout 
 the western United States, but only occurs east of the Missouri river in 
 winter. In the north it extends up to and occasionally beyond the Arctic 
 circle. It is migratory in the northern portions of its range ; and on migra- 
 tion it appears that individuals occasionally stray beyond their usual limit, 
 as it has been recorded from Egypt and Aleppo. Throughout its extensive 
 range it is subject to slight variations ; and two forms have apparently 
 become sufficiently differentiated to rank as good species. The most 
 distinct of them, P. nuttalli, is apparently confined to South California. 
 Its only distinction from the common species appears to be that the bill 
 and the naked skin behind the eye are yellow instead of black. In 
 Morocco and Algeria P. mauritanica occurs, a species differing from 
 typical examples of the common bird in being slightly smaller, in having 
 no light patch on the rump, and the bare spot behind the eye more deve- 
 loped and blue in colour. The black rump, however, is a very doubtful 
 character. The amount of white varies very considerably in European 
 individuals, and is entirely absent from some specimens from Portugal 
 and South Spain, and from Bhotan in the North-east Himalayas, birds 
 from the latter district having been consequently described as a distinct 
 species under the name of P. bottanensis. Besides these variations, there 
 is a considerable difference in the extent of white on the primaries, and in 
 the length of the first primary and the tail. The white on the primaries 
 is most developed in birds from Siberia and Central Asia ; and in some 
 adult maleS from these localities it frequently extends to the point of the 
 feather on some of the primaries. This form has received the name of 
 P. leucoptera. The white is least developed in examples from Thibet, in one 
 
564 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 example in the British Museum not reaching within two inches of the end 
 of any of the quills. To this form Hodgson gave the name of P. tibetana. 
 Siberian and American birds have, on an average, the longest tails ; to the 
 latter the name of P. hudsonica has been applied. Most examples from 
 the western Palsearctic Region have the second primary shorter than the 
 innermost secondaries; whilst in examples from the eastern Palsearctic 
 and the western Nearctic Regions it is as long or longer than they are ; but 
 examples having this peculiarity are occasionally found in the western 
 Palsearctic Region. These four latter forms may possibly rank as sub- 
 species, but cannot be considered species; and there seems to be some 
 doubt if the two first mentioned are specifically distinct ; for some of the 
 Spanish birds may be considered somewhat intermediate, and examples 
 having a yellow bill are said sometimes to occur in the British Islands. 
 
 The Magpie is not altogether a woodland bird, although it is the 
 commonest in well-timbered districts, and especially in game-coverts 
 thickly interspersed with tall trees. Parks are its favourite haunts ; but 
 it may often be seen beating in easy uncertain kind of flight over the 
 moors, whence it retreats to the fir-plantations on the hillsides. In the 
 pastures near these situations the Magpie may be often seen wandering 
 about amongst the feeding cattle or even perched on the back of a sheep. 
 If alarmed it usually betakes itself to the nearest cover, and always 
 appears averse to flying any great distance. In autumn and winter flocks 
 of Magpies are occasionally seen, generally before they retire to roost. 
 Dixon has known these birds collect from wide stretches of country, 
 and regularly repair at night to a small fir-plantation, where they 
 evidently roosted. During the whole day not more than two birds 
 were to be seen in company ; but as night approached, by concealing 
 himself under the trees, he saw them come to the trysting-place in 
 pairs and little parties, alighting in noisy converse on the tree-tops, 
 until by sunset at least a score individuals were gathered there for the 
 night. Apropos of this gregarious instinct in the Magpie may be quoted 
 the following rhyme : 
 
 " One for sorrow, 
 
 And two for mirth ; 
 Three for a wedding, 
 And four for a birth." 
 
 Although subject to such incessant persecution, the Magpie loves to 
 frequent the neighbourhood of houses ; and in many places, where it is 
 left unmolested, it will come quite close to the threshold, and even rear its 
 young in some tall bush open and exposed to the view of all. It is but 
 rarely that the bird will allow you to approach within gunshot. Shy 
 and wary, made timid by the knowledge that it receives no favour, it flits 
 from tree to tree before you, sometimes alighting on the ground, but only 
 
MAGPIE. 565 
 
 to take wing again as you approach. Upon alighting it elevates its tail, 
 which is often spread out like a fan and repeatedly wafted gently up and 
 down. Even when no danger threatens, the Magpie is a restless bird, inces- 
 santly on the move now down upon the ground or in the lower bushes, 
 then up in the topmost branches, every movement usually accompanied by 
 chattering cries. 
 
 Magpies often breed year after year in the same place. My earliest 
 recollections of bird-nesting are associated with a pair of Magpies which 
 bred every year in my father's garden. He was very fond of them ; and 
 in order to secure the young from being stolen by the children of the 
 woolcombers in the neighbouring village, he used to send the under groom 
 up the tree and have the young Magpies hung up in a cage in an old 
 oak tree, where their parents regularly fed them the right of property in 
 birds in a cage being respected by these embryo poachers, who naturally 
 looked upon trespass in pursuit of Magpies or game as an innocent crime. 
 After many years'* observation my father came to the conclusion that these 
 Magpies were weather-wise, and that if they built their nest in a thick 
 sycamore we might confidently calculate upon a stormy spring, whilst the 
 position of the nest near the slender top of a lofty poplar was a sure indi- 
 cation of fine weather. 
 
 Although in the British Islands the Magpie is found almost everywhere, 
 its breeding-grounds are to a certain extent restricted. To almost every 
 variety of scenery Magpies lend a charm ; but it is only in the wooded 
 districts that their nests may be found in any great numbers. Sometimes, 
 however, the bird will rear its young in hedges or in trees standing alone ; 
 or on the wide-stretching lonely moor its nest may not unfrequently be 
 observed in the stunted bushes that, in spite of wind and storm, manage 
 to take root in the scanty soil. But these places are exceptional. Almost 
 every forest tree is used by this bird for a nesting-place. The towering 
 oaks and elms in the wooded solitudes the pines, the firs, and the alders, 
 either in' plantations or standing alone the graceful silver birches, the 
 mountain-ash, or the more lowly hawthorn, holly, and crab-tree all in 
 turn are selected to hold its large and bulky nest. More rarely it will 
 build in tangled thickets ; and in Norwegian Lapland, where .the bird is 
 protected, I have seen its nest under the eaves of houses, in heaps of 
 brushwood, and in low hushes. 
 
 The Magpie is an early breeder, and begins to build towards the latter 
 end of March or early in April. It probably pairs for life. The nest is 
 usually placed 011 one of the topmost branches, and seldom near the trunk, 
 unless in its most slender part. Here, in a suitable fork, the sticks are 
 arranged 'which form the outside of the nest. These sticks are cemented 
 with mud and clay, which also forms the first lining to the stick-built 
 nest. More sticks are now added, until the nest itself is covered with a 
 
566 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 large dome or roof, yet not sufficiently dense to hide the eggs from view 
 when the observer is but a short distance from them. At this stage the 
 nest will most probably be left for a day or so ere the birds commence 
 lining it with a bed of fine rootlets. No other materials but these are 
 ever used by the Magpie in lining its nest ; and they are placed so evenly 
 that the eggs lie as bare and exposed as if in a basin. The nest is very 
 bulky and almost impenetrable, from the fact that the birds usually select 
 sticks with large thorns upon them. The nest-cavity is very deep for its 
 breadth ; and the hole in the side of the basket-like roof, just above the 
 edge of the nest, is generally well concealed. 
 
 The eggs of the Magpie are exceptionally numerous. Dixon has, in a 
 few instances, found as many as nine ; but from six to eight is the usual 
 number. They are very small in proportion to the size of the bird, many 
 of them being no larger than exceptionally large eggs of the Blackbird. 
 They vary from bluish to yellowish green in ground-colour, with greenish- 
 brown markings thickly and evenly distributed over the entire surface. 
 They are subject to considerable variation : some specimens are almost 
 white, with a few pale olive-green markings at the larger end; whilst 
 others are green in ground-colour, boldly marked with deep brown and a 
 few faint underlying greyish-purple blotches. A less frequent variety is 
 precisely like the eggs of the Pied Wagtail in colour. They measure 
 from 1*45 to 1'25 inch in length, and from TO to '9 inch in breadth. 
 
 The Magpie only rears one brood in the season ; but if the first clutch 
 be destroyed, other eggs will be laid, this circumstance probably explain- 
 ing the late broods of this bird that we sometimes meet with. Both birds 
 sit upon the eggs, although the female performs the greater part of the 
 duties of incubation. As soon as they are able to leave the nest the 
 young birds are tended by their parents, who usually lead them to 
 the neighbouring fields in search of food. When the nest of the Magpie 
 is approached, should it only contain fresh eggs, the bird slips quickly off 
 them ; should she, however, be sitting, it often requires repeated*blows on 
 the trunk of the tree to dislodge her ; and when the young birds are 
 hatched, both the parents will fly round the tree at some considerable 
 elevation uttering cries of alarm ; and their actions become still more 
 uneasy and troubled should the notes of the young birds be imitated by 
 the observer. 
 
 The food of the Magpie is varied ; and its propensity to feed upon any 
 kind of fare too often costs the bird its life. It is charged with the 
 destruction of newly born lambs and weakly sheep; but certainly the 
 evidence that it does so is not very clear. In the poultry-yard and the 
 game-covert, however, the mischief it works by carrying off the eggs and 
 young chicks is a sufficient crime to render it liable to persecution. But 
 when we bear in mind the numerous artifices adopted by birds for the safety 
 
MAGPIE. 
 
 567 
 
 of their eggs and young, we feel bound to admit that the Magpie's few small 
 failings are amply counterbalanced by the good it undoubtedly performs. 
 After its young are reared and the game-birds and poultry are well able to 
 take care of themselves, the Magpie repairs to the pastures in search of 
 noxious insects and grubs. It will devour snails and worms, and is said 
 to take vermin from the sheep and cattle. In autumn it levies a trifling 
 tribute from the fruit-trees, and will eat acorns and beech-mast. When 
 hard pressed for food, it will not object to carrion, and has been known to 
 take small birds, whilst in sowing-time it may often be seen on the land 
 picking up the grain. 
 
 The note of the Magpie is a harsh chatter, most frequently heard at 
 nightfall, when the birds are about to seek a roosting-place ; but in the 
 breeding-season it is said to utter a softer and more pleasant note. 
 
 The Magpie, according to Sebright, affords an excellent quarry for 
 hawking ; and in his well-known work a most interesting description of this 
 sport may be found. 
 
 The typical form of the Magpie has the head, neck, back, and breast 
 rich black glossed with greenish reflections ; the scapulars and belly are 
 pure white ; the lower part of the back and rump are greyish white, the 
 upper tail-coverts and the wings black, the latter richly glossed with 
 green and having an elongated patch of pure white, varying in length, 
 upon the inner web of each feather. The tail, which is much graduated, 
 is dull black below, but iridescent above on both webs of the two central 
 feathers, and on the outer web of all the others, and beautifully glossed 
 with greenish bronze and purple, and having a subterminal band of violet- 
 black. The under tail-coverts and thighs are dull black. Bill, legs, toes, 
 and claws black ; irides dark brown. The female and young birds resemble 
 the male. 
 
568 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus GARRULUS. 
 
 The genus Garrulus is one of those genera which were established by 
 Brisson, and which are additional to those recognized by Linnseus. The 
 explanation of Rule 2 of the Stricklandian code asserts that they " are 
 therefore of perfectly good authority," but most illogically omits to 
 explain why the genera of other contemporaries of Linneeus, ci which are 
 additional to those in the twelfth edition " of the great naturalist's works, 
 are not of equally good authority. Linnaeus did not separate the Jays 
 from the Crows, but included both in his genus Corvus ; but Brisson had 
 established for the former in 1760 the genus Garrulus in his ' Ornitho- 
 logia/ ii. p. 46, calling the Common Jay Garrulus garrulus, thereby 
 designating it as the type. 
 
 The Jays belong to the short-winged group of the Corvinse, in which 
 the tail is always more than three fourths of the length of the wing. 
 From the Magpies, which belong to the same group, the Jays are easily 
 distinguished by having the tail only slightly rounded and not longer 
 than the wing. The upper tail-coverts, except in some Indian species, 
 are white. The bill is stout ; and the tarsus is scutellated. The most 
 characteristic feature of the Jays is their wing-coverts, which are barred 
 with blue, black, and white. The nostrils are covered by bristly feathers. 
 
 The true Jays are confined to the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions. 
 The genus contains about twelve species, some of which are divisible into 
 subspecies. Only one species is found in the British Islands ; but two 
 others are found in Eastern Europe, and a fourth in North Africa. 
 
 Like the rest of the Corvinse, the Jays are almost omnivorous. They 
 principally frequent woods, where their harsh cries are heard, and where 
 they breed, though rarely at any great elevation. Their nests are com- 
 posed of twigs lined with roots ; and their eggs are greenish white with 
 brown spots and streaks. 
 
COMMON JAY. 569 
 
 GARRULUS GLANDARIUS. 
 
 COMMON JAY. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Garrulus garrulus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 47 (1760). 
 
 Corvus glandarius, Linn. Syst. Xat. i. p. 156 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 (Gray), (Bonaparte], (Cabanis), (Schleocl), (Gould), (Dresser}, &c. 
 Glandarius pictus, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 99 (1816). 
 
 Garrulus glandarius (Linn.'), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamtn. $c. Brit. Mus. p. 18 (1816). 
 Lanius glandarius (Linn.), JN7/s. Orn. Safe. i. p. 75 (1817). 
 
 The Jav is one of the most beautiful of our native birds ; but on account 
 of its proneness to pilfer from gardens and orchards and occasionally 
 to strangle a young Pheasant or Partridge, it finds no mercy from the 
 gamekeeper or gardener, and doubtless from this cause is decreasing in 
 numbers. It is still found more or less commonly in all the wooded 
 parts of England, and in some districts appears even to be increasing in 
 numbers, as, for instance, in North Lincolnshire ; but in Scotland it has 
 of late years become much rarer. According to the facts collected by 
 Mr. Lumsden (' Scottish Naturalist/ iii. p. 233) the bird is evidently 
 extending its range northwards. In the days of Macgillivray the woods 
 skirting the Grampians were apparently its northern limits ; but now it 
 occasionally ranges north of this boundary. It is only in the counties of 
 Forfar, Perth, the central parts of Argyll, Dumbarton, parts of Stirling, 
 Clackmannan, and Kinross that the Jay is at all common ; and throughout 
 the country, from the reports received, it appears that the bird is less 
 common than it used to be, most observers stating that incessant persecu- 
 tion is the cause. It has once been observed in Shetland, and also in 
 Caithness, but cannot be traced to the Orkneys, nor does it ever appear 
 to visit the Outer Hebrides or the Western Isles. It is only in the 
 southern half of Ireland that the Jay somewhat locally occurs, although, 
 according to Thompson, the bird evidently at one time bred in the 
 northern portions of the island. 
 
 The geographical distribution of the " true Jays " forms the subject of 
 a very interesting map placed as a frontispiece to Wallace's ' Island 
 Life/ It must not, however, be supposed that all the species whose range 
 is there denoted are nearly allied to our bird. We may reject Garrulus 
 lldthi as not being a true Jay at all ; G. lanceolatus may be also dismissed 
 as subgenerically distinct from our bird, having quite a different pattern 
 of colour 'on the wings, tail, and head; G. bupecularis, G. sinensis, and 
 G. taivanus are local races of the tropical form of our Jay, which have 
 become completely differentiated from it, having lost every trace of black 
 
570 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 on the head except on the cheeks. The rest of the Jays, with one or more 
 forms then unknown to Wallace, are nothing but local races of our 
 Common Jay. 
 
 The typical form of the Common Jay is a resident bird throughout 
 Europe except in the south-east. In Scandinavia it is found as far north 
 as the Arctic circle ; in Russia up to lat. 63, ranging eastwards to the 
 valley of the Volga. Eastwards through South Siberia, the valley of the 
 Amoor, and the north island of Japan, extending southwards into North 
 China, G. brandti occurs, differing in being greyer on the back, and in having 
 the ground-colour of the head and nape rich chestnut, instead of pale 
 vinous on the former shading into darker vinous on the latter. In the 
 south island of Japan, however, the European form almost reappears, 
 G.japonicus differing from our bird only in having the ground-colour 
 of the head somewhat whiter, and in having the black on the cheeks 
 extending upwards to the lores. In Eastern Turkey, Asia Minor, the 
 Caucasus, Palestine, and South Persia a black-headed Jay is found, 
 G. atricapillus, which principally differs from our bird in having the crown 
 and nape black and the feathers of the forehead and throat nearly white. 
 In Asia Minor many examples (G. anatolice) have the darker forehead and 
 throat of our bird, but retain the black head. On the south-western 
 shores of the Caspian the Jays have the upper and underparts a much richer 
 vinous, and the black feathers of the head have indications of rufous 
 margins. This species I have named G. caspius, which is represented 
 further to the south in North Persia by G. hyrcanus, which is still richer 
 in colour, and has the margins to the dark feathers of the head almost as 
 much developed as in the typical form. A slightly modified form is also 
 found in Algeria, G. cervicalis, differing principally from the Common Jay 
 in having the cheeks much whiter, the feathers on the crown almost 
 entirely black, and the nape a much richer rufous than the back. It is 
 probable that all these forms interbreed whenever they get the opportunity. 
 In Asia Minor intermediate forms occur between G. anatoliae and G. atri- 
 capillus. Bogdanow states that the Jay which is found in the valley of the 
 Kama, and which he names G. sewerzowii, is intermediate between G. glan- 
 dariusand. G. brandti; and Messrs. Alleon and Vian say that in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Constantinople intermediate forms between G. glandarius and 
 G. atricapillus occur. The peculiarity in the present species which makes 
 it somewhat exceptional is that the Siberian bird (G. brandti}, instead of 
 being an arctic, has the appearance of being a tropical form, which may 
 possibly be accounted for by its being only found in the extreme south of 
 Siberia. 
 
 The Jay is essentially a bird of the woods. Like most showy birds, it 
 loves seclusion and finds a congenial haunt in our game-coverts, forests, 
 and shrubberies. "Woods thickly interspersed with large clumps of hollies 
 
COMMON JAY. 571 
 
 are favourite places of this bird ; and in these situations if you do not 
 meet with it, you have but to thank the cruel gamekeeper and observe 
 the bird's gaudy plumes swaying to and fro in the wind as it hangs nailed 
 in the keeper's " museum," in company with a whole army of weasels, 
 Magpies, and a few Sparrow-Hawks and Kestrels, once ornaments of the 
 solitudes around you. The Jay is also found in the large shrubberies 
 near houses, especially if a thick growth of underwood is there, whence 
 at nightfall you may often hear its discordant scream as it searches out a 
 roosting-place. It is a very shy and timid bird and nine times out of ten 
 its note is the only sign of its presence, or mayhap you will catch a hasty 
 glimpse of its varied plumage as it flits noisily away into the deepest parts 
 of the cover. 
 
 Sometimes, especially in spring, fortune may favour you, and you will 
 see a regular gathering of these noisy birds. It is their pairing-time; and 
 by exerting the utmost caution you may approach them sufficiently close 
 to hear their warbling notes, confined to this season. It is only at this 
 time that the Jay displays a social disposition; and the birds may 
 often be heard to utter a great variety of notes, some of the modulations 
 approaching almost to a song. But their wariness is none the less; and 
 if you unwittingly tread upon some dead twig, or cause a branch to rustle, 
 the whole troop, greatly alarmed at your intrusion, scurry off, and their 
 harsh screams, now faint and indistinct in the distance, are the only signs 
 of their presence. The usual note of the Jay is a harsh discordant 
 scream, a hoarse rake, rake, or sometimes a clever imitation of some of the 
 notes of the other birds of the forest. Respecting this presumed imitative 
 power of the Jay numerous observations have been made by careful 
 naturalists. Montagu states that he has heard the bird imitate the 
 mewing of a cat, the hooting of an Owl, or the neighing of a horse ; 
 Bewick has heard it copy to a nicety the sound made by a saw; whilst 
 other observers have heard it utter correct imitations of the notes of 
 various singing-birds. In confinement (where the bird is often seen) 
 these powers are even more fully displayed ; and consequently the bird is 
 a great favourite. The Jay becomes noisiest in the evening; and its 
 discordant notes may then be heard together with those of the Pheasant 
 and the Magpie. Numbers of the birds call together, or answer each 
 other from different parts of the cover, and, with the note of the Wood- 
 Owl and the purr of the Nightjar, make a concert sounding singularly 
 uncanny amidst the gloom of the forest. The flight of the Jay is a some- 
 what laboured one, performed very irregularly and with rapid beatings of 
 the wings. The Jay's peculiar flight is seen to the greatest perfection 
 when the bfrd is flying in the open ; for in the thick cover they appear to 
 scurry off amongst the branches, anxious to conceal themselves as soon as 
 possible. In spring the Jay may sometimes be observed to fly at a con- 
 
572 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 siderable elevation above its native woods, and, suddenly closing its wings, 
 to shoot downwards like an arrow into the cover below. Although capable 
 of long-sustained flight, in this country it rarely flies far, preferring to go 
 from tree to tree or to pursue its way through the tangled undergrowth. 
 When perched in a tree the Jay sits well upright, its tail sometimes 
 wafted to and fro, its head constantly turned from side to side, and its 
 crest erected or depressed, its restless actions showing its wanness and 
 timidity at being so far from cover. When thus perched the Jay can 
 sometimes be approached very closely ; and it is a noteworthy fact that 
 singularly beautiful and conspicuous as the bird's plumage is, it is rarely 
 seen until its harsh note proclaims its departure to a safer retreat. 
 
 Like all its congeners, the Jay wins no favour from the game-preserver 
 or gardener, although there is little doubt that its ill-deeds are greatly 
 exaggerated by its persecutors. In summer, when the garden-fruits are 
 ripe, the Jay appears to overcome its wariness and ventures near our 
 houses to satisfy its appetite for this fare. In the game-coverts it is 
 charged, and with some reason, with the serious offence of devouring 
 young Pheasants and sucking the eggs not only of small birds but also of 
 game. This makes the keeper its sworn enemy, who never loses a chance 
 to shoot or trap a Jay. Dixon has seen the Jay in close pursuit of a 
 Great Titmouse, who only escaped capture by taking refuge in a thick 
 bush; and on other occasions he has seen it strike at small birds, only 
 apparently deterred from following up the chase by the presence of a 
 human being. In autumn the Jay is extremely fond of acorns, beech- 
 mast, and nuts, which it will sometimes hide in holes of the ground or in 
 crevices, burying one here and there ; but whether the bird ever returns 
 to these buried stores is difficult to say. In winter the Jay subsists upon 
 whatever it can find. At this season it may often be seen clinging to the 
 sides of pea- and bean-stacks ; and if hard pressed, carrion will not be 
 refused. In the early part of the year the Jay is indeed the farmer's and 
 gardener's friend; for he lives almost entirely on worms, grubs, and 
 noxious insects, searching for them both in the open pastures and under 
 hedges and bushes perhaps, by the way, the only time the Jay visits the 
 ground, where it is not seen to walk, like the true Crows, but to pursue its 
 way in a series of hops. 
 
 It is very probable that Jays pair for life. At all seasons they may be 
 observed in pairs; and the noisy gatherings of these birds early in 
 the year, probably for the purpose of pairing, are most likely composed of 
 single birds and the young of the previous season. Further, pairs of these 
 birds will frequent one locality and regularly nest in certain places, pro- 
 vided you do not molest them. In April, when the woodlands are rapidly 
 becoming dense and secluded under a thick canopy of foliage, the Jay 
 searches out a site for its nest. This is rarely at any great height from 
 
COMMON JAY. 573 
 
 the ground. Unlike the Crow and the Rook, the present species almost 
 always selects a suitable situation in the lower branches of the tall 
 hollies, yews, fir trees, or whitethorns, or in a thick hazel bush. Sterland 
 mentions a nest he found at the top of a beech tree, 50 or 60 feet from the 
 ground. A favourite place for a Jay's nest is in some thick clustering mass 
 of woodbine growing over a shrub ; and it has been said to nest in a hole 
 of a tree ; but this was probably only where the hollow was much exposed. 
 Slicks (not so coarse, however, as those used by the Magpie), sometimes 
 cemented with mud, and fibrous roots are the materials used. In form 
 the Jay's nest is cup-shaped, deep, and very bulky. It is generally very 
 neatly made, and on the same model as the nests of the Bullfinch, the 
 Hawfinch, and the Sparrow-Hawk. The coarsest twigs are selected for the 
 foundation. As the construction of the nest proceeds, finer and finer twigs 
 are chosen ; and, finally, the lining is composed of roots, which often project 
 above the outside structure. The eggs are laid by the latter end of April, 
 more frequently in the first or second week of May, and are from five to 
 seven in number. They are bluish green in ground-colour, usually evenly 
 and thickly speckled over the whole surface with olive-brown, and sometimes 
 marked with a few streaks of rich brown. Some specimens are not so 
 closely marked and have a greener appearance, as more of the ground- 
 colour is visible ; whilst others have the greater part of the spots collected 
 in an indistinct zone round the egg. They vary in length from l - 35 to 
 1'2 inch, and in breadth from 1*0 to '85 inch. 
 
 At most times of the year the Jay is a noisy bird, and its harsh screams 
 are ever heard, reminding the observer of its presence ; but in the breeding- 
 season its habits undergo a marked change in this respect. It is rarely 
 heard to call, save when alarmed, during the whole period of incubation, 
 and keeps so close to the cover that it will build in the shrubberies close 
 to our houses, and we are only made aware of the fact when the old birds 
 lead their noisy young through the trees. Only one brood is reared in 
 the season ; and usually the old birds and their young form a family- 
 party, and keep together through the autumn and winter. 
 
 The migrations of the Jay are an interesting feature in its history ; and 
 although the bird's flight appears so slow, uncertain, and laborious, it is a 
 fact that, in some autumns, the bird passes over enormous distances. In 
 the ' Zoologist ' for 1883, p. 1, a most graphic account bearing on this 
 portion of the Jay's economy may be found, from the able pen of Mr. John 
 Cordeaux. From observations which he has been able to collect from 
 various sources, but chiefly from that veteran observer of bird-life, my 
 friend Mr. Gaetke of Heligoland, he establishes most clearly the fact that 
 the bird i a migratory one not from its northern forests in Scandinavia, 
 but from the east, across Germany, from the forests of the Oder and the 
 Vistula, and probably from the eastern limits of its range. From this able 
 
574 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 article we learn that great numbers of Jays passed Heligoland in the 
 autumn of 1876. In the words of Gaetke, " Thousands passing the island ; 
 some landed, caught ; coming, never ending/' Since that date the bird 
 does not appear to have been observed at Heligoland until last autumn, 
 when immense numbers occurred again, Gaetke stating that " a perfect 
 storm of Jays has passed over and on both sides of the island, during the 
 last three days. No one living has ever seen the like here." In Norfolk, 
 Stevenson remarks that at times the resident Jays are sometimes largely 
 increased in numbers in autumn ; and this naturalist gives an instance, 
 coming under Messrs. Shepphard and Whitear's observation, of an 
 enormous flight of these birds that appeared in that county. As to the 
 cause of this singular movement on the part of the Jay we are at present 
 in the dark ; but it may possibly be a similar one to that which influenced 
 the extraordinary migration, or rather emigration, of the Sand- Grouse 
 that is, a superfluous population in search of a home. 
 
 The Jay has the head covered with a long crest, whitish buff in 
 colour, each smaller feather tipped with black, which in the more 
 elongated ones becomes a median stripe ; and in the hinder feathers these 
 stripes merge into vinaceous brown freckled and barred with a darker 
 shade. The nape, scapulars, and back are vinous brown ; the rump and 
 upper tail-coverts pure white ; the tail black, indistinctly barred on the 
 basal half with blue ; the primaries are dull black, margined with white ; 
 the secondaries are glossy black, each with an elongated white patch on 
 the basal half of the outer web; the innermost secondary is chestnut, 
 obliquely tipped with black ; the wing-coverts are black on the inner web, 
 but barred alternately on the outer web with black, white, and blue. On 
 each side of the gape is a broad moustachial patch of black ; the chin and 
 throat are dull white ; the breast and belly are pale vinous, darkest on the 
 flanks; and the vent and under tail-coverts are white. Bill blackish 
 horn-colour ; legs, feet, and claws brown ; irides pale blue. The female 
 resembles the male in colour ; and the young birds, even in their nestling 
 or first plumage, do not strikingly differ from their parents. 
 
 
PYRRHOCORAX. 575 
 
 Genus PYEEHOCOEAX. 
 
 Linnaeus included the Choughs in his genus Corvus ; but they had been 
 previously separated by Brisson and placed in a new genus, to which he 
 gave the name of Coracia. This name cannot be used, in consequence of 
 its bearing too close a resemblance to the Linnaean genus Coracias, which 
 contains the Rollers. The first author after Linnaeus who separated the 
 Choughs appears to have 1t>een Scopoli, who in 1769 established for their 
 reception the genus Gracula. This name must also be rejected, in conse- 
 quence of its having been in 1735 applied by Linnaeus to the Cormorants, 
 and in 1758 by the same naturalist to a genus of Starlings; both which 
 names have been so extensively used by later writers as to make it unadvi- 
 sable to retain the name for a third genus. We therefore fall back upon 
 the name Pyrrhocorax, which \vas first used in 1771 by Tunstall in his 
 ' Ornithologia Britannica/ p. 2, and afterwards in 1816 by Vieillot in his 
 ' Xouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle/ vi. p. 568. As the Common 
 Chough was the only bird of the genus known to Tunstall, it must be 
 accepted as the type. 
 
 The Choughs belong to the long- winged group of the Coryinae, in which 
 the tail is always less than three fourths the length of the wing. The 
 Choughs are scarcely separable generically from the Crows, but are said 
 to have the nostrils placed lower in the maxilla, nearer to its lower edge 
 than to the culinen, while in the Crows the position is the reverse. The 
 Choughs may be readily distinguished from all the other Corvinae by their 
 red or yellow legs and bills. From the Orioles they may be separated by 
 the covered nostrils, which in those birds are bare and exposed. The bill 
 is comparatively slender and somewhat curved ; the tarsus is scutellated. 
 
 The Choughs inhabit the southern half of the Palaearctic Region, 
 encroaching on the Ethiopian Region in Abyssinia, and on the Oriental 
 Region in the Himalayas and China. The genus contains but two species, 
 one of which is a resident bird in, and the other very doubtfully recorded 
 as a straggler to the British Islands. 
 
 The Choughs are principally inhabitants of mountainous districts, and 
 more rarely of rocky coasts. In habits and food they do not appear to 
 differ much from their congeners, but are possibly not quite so omnivorous. 
 They are shy and wary birds, gregarious at all times, and also freely con- 
 gregate with allied species. Their nests, placed in clefts of rocks, are 
 made of sticks, roots, hair, moss, wool, &c. ; and their eggs, from four to 
 tive in number, vary from greenish to pure white in ground-colour, with 
 brown spot* and purplish-grey shell-markings. 
 
576 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 PYRRHOCORAX GRACULUS. 
 THE CHOUGH. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Coracia coracia, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 3 (1760), 
 
 Corvus graculus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 158 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Schkgel, {Bonaparte), (Cabanis), (Fritsch), (Heugliri), (Sharpe), (Dresser), &c. 
 Corvus eremita, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 159 (1766). 
 Gracula pyrrhocorax, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 42 (1769, nee Linn.'}. 
 Coracias montana, Gerini, Orn.Meth. Dig. ii. p. 38, pi. clii. (1769). 
 Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linn.), Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. 2 (1771). 
 Corvus docilis, Gmel. Reis. Russl. iii. p. 365, pi. 39 (1774). 
 Graculus eremita (Linn.), Koch } Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 91 (1816). 
 Fregilus graculus (Linn.), Cuv. Regne An. i. p. 406 (1817). 
 Coracias erythroramphos, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 2 (1817). 
 Fregilus europseus, Less. Traite,^. 324 (1831). 
 Fregilus erythropus, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 268 (1837). 
 Coracias gracula (Linn), Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 321 (1846). 
 Fregilus graculus, var. orientalis, Dybowski, Journ. Orn. 1868, p. 332. 
 Fregilus graculus, var. brachypus, Swinh. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 383. 
 
 The Chough is another of those birds that are becoming rarer in our 
 islands from no apparent cause. The encroachment of man, as Mr. Gray 
 justly remarks, can scarcely be a reason for its disappearance ; for the 
 bird's haunts are practically inaccessible and are usually places far 
 removed from his industries. It is, however, worthy of note that most 
 observers agree that the Chough's decrease has been marked by an increase 
 of another rock-bird, the Jackdaw ; but whether this be merely a coinci- 
 dence, or an instance of the weak being driven off and replaced by the 
 strong, is a matter for investigation. Formerly the Chough bred in many 
 inland localities in England ; but now it is only known to frequent a few 
 favoured spots on the coast. Years ago the bird bred on almost all the 
 suitable cliffs of the south coast ; but at the present day most of its breed- 
 ing-stations are deserted. It still breeds in Cornwall, the north of Devon, 
 on Lundy Island, and at many places on the Welsh coast, in Glamor- 
 gan, Pembroke, Anglesey, Flint, Denbigh, and possibly on the rocks 
 of the Calf of Man. On the east coast of England, More states (' Ibis/ 
 1865, p. 132) that a few pairs were known to nest near Fast Castle in 
 Berwickshire, and Hancock corroborates the statement, whilst in the 
 Channel Islands the bird, although local, still breeds. In Scotland it 
 appears to have been much commoner quite recently than at the present 
 
CHOUGH. 577 
 
 time, and to have now completely deserted its inland haunts, being only 
 found on the ocean cliffs. It formerly haunted Burrow Head, the Mull of 
 Galloway, Troup Head, and St. Abb's Head in considerable numbers ; but 
 now in some localities only a few pairs remain, whilst in others the bird 
 tuished altogether. The great stronghold of the Chough is in the 
 island of Islay. On the west coast of Skye (which locality now appears 
 to be its northern limit in our islands), in Wigtownshire, and Kircud- 
 bright shire a fevr pairs are still known to breed. Although found in the 
 Long Island in Macgillivray's day, it is now absent, as also from Coll, 
 Rum, and Canna and other stations on the Western Islands. In Ireland 
 its numbers have also decreased. It appears to have deserted all its 
 inland haunts, and only a few chosen places on the coast and the adjacent 
 islands are now frequented by it ; but it is still common on the coasts of 
 county Kerry, and I specially remember its abundance on the magnificent 
 cliffs at Sybil Head, west of Dingle. 
 
 The Chough is essentially a bird of the rocks, and is in no part of its 
 range a migratory species. In the British Islands it finds suitable haunts 
 on the coast but on the continent it breeds almost exclusively on the 
 mountains. It is found in the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, and 
 the mountains of Sicily and Sardinia, the Carpathians, the Parnassus, the 
 Caucasus, and the Urals, and on many of the intervening lesser ranges of 
 hills. In the Atlas and the Aures, Abyssinia, the rocky mountains of 
 Arabia Petnea, and the hills of Persia, the mountain districts of Southern 
 Siberia, Turkestan, the Himalayas, Mongolia, Tibet, and North-east China 
 the Chough also breeds. It appears to be a maritime bird only on the 
 Atlantic coast. South of the British Islands Saunders records it from 
 Belle Isle, on the coast of Brittany. It also breeds in Palma, one of the 
 Canaries (exceeding 7000 feet above the level of the sea) ; but here it is 
 said to nest in the clefts of the sides of the crater and not on the coast. 
 It is a mistake to suppose that Belle Isle is the only maritime resort of the 
 Chough outside of the British Islands. It is certainly a maritime bird in 
 South-west Portugal. Dresser mistranslates the account of this colony 
 given by Dr. E. Rev (Journ. f. Orn. 1872, p. 145)*. Accidental wanderers 
 are occasionally caught in other parts of Europe. The Chough is a 
 southern bird ; and there is no evidence whatever of its being found north 
 of lat. 58 except in Scotland. The stories of its having been seen in 
 the Archangel government are no doubt myths. Sabanaeff distinctly 
 states that in the Ural Mountains the northern limit of its range is 
 
 * I'. : Dr. Key writes, "At the end of the valley I found the nests, but 
 
 in a place where I could not possibly reach them." The correct translation has an 
 entirely different meaning, and is : " Outside the valley I found the nest-colony, but 
 unfortunately in an absolutely inaccessible part of the coast." 
 
 VOL. I. 2P 
 
578 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Tagilsk, the chief locality where the celebrated iron-mines of Prince 
 Demidoff are situated. 
 
 The Chough of Eastern Asia and China (var. orient alls] has been sepa- 
 rated on the ground of its having a shorter tarsus and foot. This seems, 
 however, to be principally a question of sex, the female having a shorter 
 tarsus than the male. Examples from the Himalayas were described as a 
 distinct species by Gould (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862,, p. 125), under the 
 name of Fregilus himalayanus. This local race is undoubtedly worthy of 
 mention, although it can only be regarded as a subspecies, as inter- 
 mediate forms are found. Specimens from Europe and China measure 
 from 11 1 to 10^ inch in length of wing; whilst those from India vary 
 from 13j to 11 j inch. Birds from intermediate localities are intermediate, 
 however, as a series from Asia Minor, Persia, and Turkestan vary from 
 12 to Hi inch. 
 
 The Chough, like the Rook and the Jackdaw, lives in colonies. Its 
 haunts are the tall beetling cliffs, the rugged rocks which descend sheer down 
 into a boiling sea and are quite inaccessible to all but the most intrepid 
 cragsman or venturesome oologist eager to enrich his cabinet with 
 " British-taken" specimens of its eggs. A haunt of the Chough is usually 
 also a sea-bird's haunt. On the face of the stupendous cliifs the Puffin 
 and the Guillemot sit quietly ; and lower down the noisy Kittiwakes ever 
 and anon nutter into the air and join the black-coated Choughs, whose 
 notes mingle with the cries of the sea-birds and the dull roar of the ever- 
 restless waves below. 
 
 Dixon met with the Chough in Algeria, and made the following notes 
 of its habits there : " It was not until we reached the highest parts 
 of the Djebel Aures that we met with the Chough. At Constantine the 
 place seems admirably suited to its needs ; but the Jackdaw is the only 
 Corvine inhabitant of these magnificent rocks. When making the ascent 
 of Djebel Mahmel, some twelve miles south-east of Lambessa, we observed 
 quite a colony of the birds in a low ridge of rocks, on the side of one of 
 the barren stony valleys near the snow-capped summit of this fine moun- 
 tain. Fifty or more birds could be seen in the air together, beating slowly 
 along the rugged face of the cliifs ; and every now and then one or two 
 would enter their nest-holes, or just as frequently a pair would fly 
 hurriedly out of them. How the birds obtained a sustenance up in these 
 sterile mountain solitudes might well give cause for wonder ; yet we could 
 repeatedly see them upon the stony ground apparently in search of food. 
 I sometimes noticed one of the birds as it flew along the cliffs drop 
 suddenly down amongst the rocks ; but, as they were exceedingly shy, I 
 could never get an opportunity of finding out the cause of the bird's visit 
 to the earth : it may have been to capture a small insect or beetle or a 
 locust. Upon another occasion we met with a smaller colony of Choughs 
 
CHOUGH. 579 
 
 in that portion of the Aures known as the ' Cedar range/ south-west of 
 Batna. This colony had its headquarters at the very summit of one of the 
 highest mountains, in a ridge of rocks commanding a fine view of the 
 forest-clad hills. As we slowly rode up the steep path on our mules, 
 the report of our guns as we occasionally secured a specimen of some 
 bird startled the Choughs from their nests in the rocks far above us, 
 and they commenced circling about in the air, displaying great powers of 
 flight ; and their shrill notes resounded through the woods, echoing again 
 amongst the rocks. I now and again saw them alight upon the little 
 open spaces of herbage, searching amongst dung for insects and beetles. 
 Although living amidst the cedar-forests, I never noticed the birds alight 
 in the branches, but always on the rock-shelves, or in the crevices, in which 
 they doubtless build their nests. It should be mentioned that the Jack- 
 daw is very rare in both the localities above mentioned ; and it may be that 
 bird's abundance at Constantine that explains the Chough's absence." 
 
 When I was at St. Jean de Luz last spring with my friend Howard 
 Saunders, we drove about five miles to the base of the steep part of the 
 hill, and then, leaving our conveyance, we proceeded on foot. We soon 
 entered the clouds that enveloped the mountain ; and after a long and 
 tedious walk winding along a mule-track through the "Scotch mist" or 
 sea-fog, we at length found ourselves on the top of la Petite Rhune in 
 brilliant sunshine. The most interesting birds were the Choughs, which 
 did not seem to be very rare. We very frequently heard their notes a 
 Jackdaw -like cry like khee'-o, khee'-o. We had no chance of a shot at 
 them : they were very wild, and flitted about the rocks far away beyond 
 range ; they would not allow us to come near them, though they never 
 took long flights. When they did fly, they moved their wings somewhat 
 irregularly and rapidly, as if their bodies were heavy, the exact opposite of 
 the Kite, which we had watched at intervals on the same ascent. On the 
 rocks their movements were light enough, toying with each other and 
 sometimes tumbling over each other like big black butterflies at play. 
 
 The Chough, like the Rook, leaves its roosting-place early in the 
 morning, and repairs to the neighbouring pastures in search of food, some- 
 times even being seen to follow the plough to pick up worms and grubs. 
 It is always a restless and a wary bird, never remaining long in one spot, 
 but shifting its ground in short uncertain flights. Upon the ground it 
 walks about like a Rook, often mingling amongst the browsing sheep 
 and cattle, and turning over their droppings in search of insects or 
 grain. 
 
 The food of the Chough consists of beetles, the various animals to be 
 obtained on the shore, worms, grubs, caterpillars, berries, grain, and even, 
 it is said, carrion, although we have no direct evidence to prove that 
 such is really the case. 
 
580 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The Chough is seen in pairs at all seasons of the year ; and there can 
 be little doubt that it is mated to its partner for life. Its breeding- 
 season in our islands commences early in May. The nesting-site is often 
 in the most inaccessible part of the cliff, where the rocks overhang and 
 drop down almost smooth as a wall to the ocean below. Macgillivray and 
 Newton, however, state that the bird will make its nest in buildings ; and 
 it is very possible that, as with the Jackdaw, these situations were a 
 favourite choice in the legendary days when the bird was a resident of the 
 inland districts. The nest is usually placed in some crevice or hole in a 
 rock, sometimes at a considerable distance from the opening, where it 
 is absolutely impossible to obtain the eggs. It is made of sticks and 
 heather-stems, and lined with dry grass, roots, and wool, sometimes with 
 hair. It is often a large structure, but, as is usual with birds nesting in 
 holes, seldom very compactly made. The eggs of the Chough are from 
 three to six in number. They range from creamy white to greenish 
 white in ground-colour, spotted with brown of various shades, and dashed 
 with underlying markings of purplish grey ; they vary considerably as to 
 the amount of markings upon them. In some eggs the spots are large and 
 bold, scattered irregularly over the surface ; in others they are finer and 
 more evenly dispersed, or are collected together in a mass at the larger 
 end, many of them being confluent. One egg in my collection (from 
 Rathlin Island) has almost the whole of the colouring-matter distributed in 
 small underlying markings ; and the entire egg is suffused with a delicate 
 rosy tinge. Some specimens have a few dark streaks upon them. They 
 measure from I 1 65 to 1-4 inch in length, and from I 1 15 to 1 inch in 
 breadth. That the Chough will sometimes breed in confinement is proved 
 by an interesting note communicated to the ' Zoologist' (1882, p. 431) by 
 Miss Nevill. 
 
 The Chough has the entire plumage rich black, beautifully glossed, 
 especially on the upper parts, with steel-blue ; the wings and tail, in addi- 
 tion to the steel-blue gloss, also display violet and purple reflections. The 
 beak, which is long and curved, and the legs and feet are vermilion-red ; 
 claws black ; irides brown. The female does not differ from the male in 
 colour, but may do so a little in size, being a trifle smaller. Young birds 
 resemble the adults, but are duller, and the plumage exhibits but little 
 gloss. The beak and legs when the bird is very young are, according to 
 Mr. Lumsden, quoted by Dresser, brownish grange, gradually becoming 
 reddish orange as the bird gets older, then finally, red. 
 
 One specimen of the Alpine Chough (P. alpinus] has been twice recorded 
 in the pages of +lae ' Zoologist ' (1881, pp. 422, 471, and 1882, p. 431) . It 
 appears to have been shot by a keeper at Broughton Castle, Banbury, 
 Oxfordshire, on the 8th of April 1881. Although the appearance of the 
 bird bore no evidence of its ever having been kept in confinement, still 
 
CHOUGH. 
 
 581 
 
 great doubt must attach to the example in question ; for P. alpinus is not a 
 migratory species, and, further, is a bird very likely to be imported into this 
 country. It is found in the mountain-ranges of Southern Europe and the 
 Himalayas, and may always be distinguished from the British species by 
 its short yellow beak. The egg of this bird has been figured (Plate 16) 
 for the sake of comparison with that of the British species. I found it 
 breeding in the Parnassus. 
 
582 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus NUCIFRAGA. 
 
 The genus Nucifraga was established by Brisson in 1760, in his 'Orni- 
 thologia/ ii. p. 58. He designated the Common Nutcracker as the type, 
 calling it Nucifraga nucifraga. This genus contains only four species, 
 easily distinguished from the British Corvinae by their spotted throats and 
 black-and-white tails. They belong to the long-winged group of the 
 Corvinae, in which the tail is less than three fourths the length of the 
 wing. The bill is rather long, straight, and pointed; the nostrils are 
 covered with bristly feathers ; and the tarsus is scutellated. 
 
 The Nutcrackers are confined to the Palsearctic Region and to the Rocky 
 Mountains in the extreme west of the Nearctic Region. But one species 
 is found in Europe, which is an accidental straggler to the British 
 Islands. 
 
 The Nutcrackers inhabit the northern forests, and in more southern 
 latitudes the mountain-forests. Their habits resemble those of the Jays; 
 but they are not so omnivorous as the rest of the Corvinae, feeding chiefly 
 on nuts and fruits. Their notes are harsh and shrill. Their nests are 
 large cup-shaped structures ; and their eggs are greenish or bluish white, 
 spotted with brown. 
 
NUTCRACKER. 583 
 
 NUCIFRAGA CARYOCATACTES. 
 NUTCRACKER. 
 
 (PLATE 16.) 
 
 Xudfraga imcifraga, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 59 (1760). 
 
 Corvus caryocataetes. Linn. Syst, Nat. i. p. 157 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimo- 
 
 rum (Tanminck), (Naumann), (Gould), (Gray), (Salvadori), (Dresser), 
 
 (Sharps), (Newton), &c. 
 
 Nucifraga guttata, Vieill. N. Diet. cCHist. Nat. v. p. 354 (1816). 
 Caryocatactes maculatus, Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 93 (181C). 
 
 Nucifraga caryocatactes (Linn.), Leach, Sysf. Cat. Mamm. $c. Brit. Mus. p. 18 (1816). 
 Caryocatactes nucifraga, Nilss. Orn. Suec. i. p. 90 (1817). 
 Caryocatactes guttatus ( Vieill.), Niks. Skand. Faun. i. p. 149 (1835). 
 Caryocatactes caryocatactes (Linn.), Schl. Rev. Crit. i. p. Iv (1844). 
 
 The Nutcracker has very little claim to be considered a British bird ; 
 but as nearly a score examples have been seen or obtained in various parts 
 of England and Scotland, it may be looked upon as an irregular straggler 
 to our islands during the autumn migration. The Nutcracker is essen- 
 tially a forest bird ; and is found in all suitable localities throughout the 
 Palsearctic Region, but very rarely breeding north of the Arctic circle. In 
 Norway it has not been recorded north of lat. 64 ; but in Sweden it has 
 been observed as far north as lat. 67. Harvie-Brown and I did not find 
 it in the Petchora ; but Dr. Hoffmann observed it in lat. 62 near the 
 sources of that river. In the valley of the Yenesay I found it between lat. 
 64 and 67 ; Dybowsky mentions its abundance near Lake Baikal ; Midden - 
 dorff found it as far east as the Stanavoi Mountains, north of the sea of 
 Ochotsk, about lat. 64 ; and Schrenck and Radde found it common in the 
 valley of the Amoor. In Europe it breeds in the pine-forests of South 
 Norway and Sweden, on some of the islands in the Baltic, and probably also 
 in the mountains of Southern Spain and Sardinia. It certainly breeds in the 
 Black Forest, in the Alps, and the Carpathians, and probably also on all the 
 mountains of Central Asia. The Nutcracker appears everywhere to be a 
 resident ; but in autumn the birds gather together in large flocks, which 
 frequently wander very far from home, especially during winter, when 
 they irregularly appear in various parts of Europe, Japan, and North 
 China. 
 
 In Cashmere the Nutcracker is represented by a very nearly allied 
 species, Nucifraga multipunctata, differing only in being considerably larger 
 in size, apd in having the white on each feather much more developed and 
 the brown much darker. To the south-east, in the Himalayas, where the 
 climate is more tropical and the rainfall much greater, our bird is replaced 
 by N. hemispila. This is as large a bird as the preceding ; but the change 
 
584 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 in the colour of the plumage has been in a diametrically opposite direction ; 
 for the brown parts are browner, and the white on the feathers is less 
 developed. 
 
 The Nutcracker is one of those birds to which a special interest seems to 
 attach, in consequence of the mystery which for so many years surrounded 
 its nest and eggs. When Naumann wrote his great work on the birds of 
 Germany, and Macgillivray published his wonderful ( History of British 
 Birds/ nothing whatever was known of the nidification of the Nutcracker. 
 We have consequently only very meagre accounts of this bird from the two 
 great ornithologists, who, more than any others, seem to have combined an 
 intimate acquaintance with the life-history of birds in their native haunts, 
 founded on a habit of accurate observation and the necessary opportunities 
 for its exercise, with the requisite literary ability and the patient mastery 
 of detail without which it is impossible to write graphically on these 
 interesting subjects. Of late years, however, a flood of light has been 
 thrown on the history of this bird. Not to mention many excellent articles 
 in continental publications, it is only necessary to refer to the interesting 
 accounts communicated by Prof. Newton of the discovery of the nest in 
 Bornholm by Pastor Theobald (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 207), and of the 
 eggs two years later (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 162, pi. xv. fig. 2), and an 
 equally interesting account of the discovery of both nest and eggs in the 
 Black Forest by Herr Schiitt (Ibis, 1862, p. 365, translated from the 
 1 Journal f iir Ornithologie ') . In the face of such interesting and elaborate 
 details, Morris's account of the Nutcracker, in the second edition of his 
 ' British Birds/ published in 1870, " revised, corrected, and enlarged/' in 
 which this bird is represented as being " dispersed throughout America," 
 and breeding " in holes of decayed trees, which they scoop out like the Wood- 
 peckers," can only be looked upon as the work of an impostor. 
 
 The Nutcracker is one of those birds which seems entirely to change its 
 habits during the breeding-season. In winter it is remarkable for its 
 extraordinary tameness. During my visit to Siberia in 1877 I saw 
 a great deal of this bird. As we sledged over the snow above the ice 
 down the Yenesay in April, we saw the first Nutcracker in lat. 64. From 
 that time we rarely missed these birds at the different places where we 
 stopped to change horses. At most stations one or two were silently 
 flitting round the houses, feeding under the windows amongst the Crows, 
 perching on the roof or on the top of a pole, and, if disturbed, silently 
 flying, almost like an Owl, to the nearest spruce, where they sat con- 
 spicuously perched on a flat branch, and allowed themselves to be 
 approached within easy shot. I had no difficulty in securing eight 
 examples with which to give my " muddle-headed Hebrew " lessons in 
 bird-skinning. When we reached our steam-yacht the ' Thames/ we 
 found them quite common and remarkably tame. Outside the door of 
 
NUTCRACKER. 585 
 
 the sailors' room half a dozen were busy picking amongst the refuse 
 thrown out by the cook. Their tameness was quite absurd. They allowed 
 us to go within three feet of them ; and sometimes they even permitted us 
 to touch them with a stick. They are wonderfully sociable birds. At 
 one time I counted as many as eight in one tree together. "Whilst the 
 sailors were working at the ship, cutting away the ice all round her, there 
 were frequently two or three Nutcrackers in different parts of the rigging, 
 apparently watching the operations with great interest. They seem to be 
 well aware of the fact that scraps of food are always to be picked up where 
 men are congregated. Sometimes the Ostyak children shot one with a 
 bow and arrow ; and now and then one was caught by the dogs. On the 
 bushes round the houses they allowed us to approach within four or five 
 feet of them, and when disturbed moved to the nearest tree with a peculiar 
 slow, undulating, Jay-like flight. In the forest they flew from tree to 
 tree, screaming at each other. They have two distinct notes, both harsh 
 enough. One, probably the call-note, is a little prolonged and slightly 
 plaintive a sort of kray, kray ; the other is louder and more energetic, 
 and appears to be the alarm-note a kr-kr-kr, almost as grating to the ear 
 as the note of a Corncrake. I was anxious to obtain a series of Nut- 
 cracker's eggs ; so all through May, whilst the snow was deep on the 
 ground, I carefully protected them, and fed them with the bodies of the 
 birds which I skinned. I even took the trouble to cut up the bodies into 
 small pieces for them, and was delighted to find how eagerly they devoured 
 this food ; but they treated me in a most ungrateful manner. They con- 
 tinued to be abundant until about the 7th of June, when the snow was 
 pretty well melted from the ground ; they then vanished altogether ; and, 
 with the exception of a couple of birds I picked up (one on the 25th of 
 June in full moult), I saw no more of them until they reappeared in flocks 
 migrating south in August. The breeding-season of the Nutcracker in the 
 Arctic regions is evidently June and July at least ten weeks later than 
 in Central Europe. Where they retired to breed I was unable to discover; 
 but it was doubtless on the higher ground which forms the watershed 
 between the Obb and the Yenesay, and between the latter river and the 
 Lena, far from the haunts of men Russian or Ostyak, who all come 
 down to the great rivers to fish as soon as the snow melts and the ice 
 breaks up. 
 
 The Nutcracker, like most other members of the Crow family, is almost 
 omnivorous. Caterpillars, wasps, and insects of various sorts have been 
 taken from its stomach. Its favourite food is the seeds of the Siberian 
 cedar, which it extracts from the cone with its bill very dexterously. It 
 also eats nuts, acorns, berries, and even land-shells of various kinds. It 
 has also the reputation of robbing the nests of other birds of their eggs 
 and young, 
 
586 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 When I was in Copenhagen both Mr. Benzon and Pastor Theobald gave 
 me an animated account of their discovery of the nest of the Nutcracker. 
 It seems always to choose a not very tall pine tree, and there, from 18 to 
 25 feet from the ground, it builds a bulky nest on a branch against the 
 stem. The outside diameter is about a foot, and the outside depth about 
 five inches. The hollow containing the eggs is four inches in diameter, 
 and from one and a half to two inches deep. The foundation is composed 
 of lichen-covered twigs of larch and spruce, finished off with fresh birch- 
 twigs, and lined with dry grass and the inner bark of trees with a little 
 loose earth; the final lining is grass, generally dry, but sometimes fresh. 
 At the nest the birds are extremely shy and quiet. All their former 
 trustfulness and familiarity is gone, and they flit noiselessly about the 
 forests, approaching and leaving the nest in the most wary manner possible. 
 It is said never to utter a cry unless its nest is threatened. Eggs have 
 been taken in Central Europe from the 10th of March to the 27th of April. 
 Herr Schiitt, speaking of the nest which he found in the Black Forest, 
 says : " It was about 25 feet from the ground, and was built close to the 
 stem, and was difficult to see from below. It was found on the 19th of 
 March ; the first egg was laid on the 23rd, the second on the 26th, and 
 the third on the 29th. On the 1st of April, no further egg having been 
 laid, the boy, to my regret, took the nest. When we first found the nest 
 the bird did not utter a cry until we were close to its treasures, when we 
 heard it in the distance ; and an hour after we had left it the cries of the 
 bird were still to be heard. When the nest was taken it did not fly off 
 until the boy was climbing up the tree, when it perched upon the top of 
 the tree and saw the fate of its nest without uttering a cry." The duties 
 of incubation are said to devolve upon the female alone, who sits very 
 close and is assiduously fed by the male. 
 
 The number of eggs varies from three to five. They are very pale bluish 
 white in ground-colour, sometimes creamy white, thickly spotted with 
 olive-brown, and freckled over most of the surface with faint underlying 
 markings of violet-grey. Some specimens are much more sparingly 
 marked than others, and have the spots chiefly on the large end and very 
 small. In others a few of the surface-spots are large, intermingled with 
 smaller markings of the same colour ; and in one specimen in my collec- 
 tion there are traces of a streak of rich brown. They vary from 1-4 to 
 1'26 inch in length and from TO to '92 inch in breadth. The eggs of the 
 Nutcracker very closely resemble a certain type of the egg of the Magpie ; 
 but the ground-colour appears always to be paler in the Nutcracker's in 
 about the same proportion that a Starling's egg bears to a Rose-coloured 
 Pastor's. From pale varieties of the Jackdaw's eggs they may be distin- 
 guished by the much finer grain of their shell, which is also thinner, and 
 
NUTCRACKER. 
 
 587 
 
 from the sparingly marked eggs of that bird by their never having the 
 spots so rich and deep in colour. 
 
 The general colour of both the upper and underparts of the Nutcracker 
 is chocolate-brown, thickly spotted, except on the crown and nape, with 
 white (these spots are largest on the breast and least developed on the 
 rump) ; the under tail-coverts are pure white; the wings are black glossed 
 with green, some of the secondaries being tipped with white ; the tail is 
 rich black, the two central feathers narrowly and the others broadly tipped 
 with white ; the white on the tail-feathers varies considerably in extent. 
 Bill brownish black; legs, toes, and claws black; irides brown. The 
 female is similar in colour to the male. Young birds resemble their 
 parents ; but the brown parts are duskier, and the white parts are not so 
 pure. 
 
588 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus ORIOLUS. 
 
 The genus Oriolus was established by Linnseus in 1766, in his ' Sy sterna 
 Naturae/ i. p. 160, to contain the Orioles and other more or less dis- 
 tantly allied birds. Vieillot appears to have been the first ornithologist 
 who removed from this genus several groups of birds which had been 
 previously generically characterized by Brisson. In 1816 Vieillot, in his 
 e Analyse d'une nouvelle Ornithologie elementaire/ p. 33, restricted the 
 genus to its present dimensions, designating Le Loriot (Oriolus galbula] as 
 the type. Ornithologists differ in opinion as to the position of the Orioles ; 
 but there seems to be no valid reason for removing them from the Corvinse, 
 of which they form a somewhat aberrant genus. As regards the average 
 length of the wings and tail the Orioles form an intermediate group. The 
 chief distinction between the genus Oriolus and the other genera in this 
 subfamily is the fact that the nostrils are exposed and the sexes are different 
 in colour; but the latter may possibly not be an important character. 
 Like the rest of the Corvinse, they appear to have a spring moult. There 
 is nothing in the bill or feet to separate the Orioles from the allied 
 genera ; but the tarsus may be, on an average, slightly shorter. The pre- 
 vailing colours are also very different, being principally yellow or red 
 variegated with black. 
 
 The Orioles appear to be essentially a tropical group of birds. There 
 are about forty species and subspecies known, of which fifteen are resident 
 in the Oriental and about the same number in the Australian Region, 
 seven reside in the ^Ethiopian Region, and two of the species which inhabit 
 the first-named region also extend their range into the extreme south of the 
 Paleearctic Region. One species alone appears to be confined to the Palse- 
 arctic Region during the breeding-season ; this is the only species found in 
 Europe, and is a rare summer visitor to the British Islands. 
 
 The Orioles are found in gardens, groves, the outskirts of woods, orchards, 
 and other well-cultivated places. Their food consists principally of insects 
 and caterpillars ; but fruits of various kinds are eaten. Their call-notes 
 are clear and musical ; and many species rank amongst the finest songsters. 
 They build open cup-shaped nests in the forks of branches. These 
 nests are skilfully woven, and made of roots, grass, vegetable fibres, and 
 lined with hair, moss, feathers, &c. Their eggs, from three to five or six 
 in number, vary from pure white to cream- and salmon-colour, spotted with 
 liver-brown and with purplish underlying markings. 
 
GOLDEN ORIOLE. 589 
 
 ORIOLUS GALBULA. 
 GOLDEN ORIOLE. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Turdus oriolus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 320 (1760). 
 
 Oriolus galbula. Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 160 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Nauman/t, Gray, Bonaparte, Schlegel, Gould, Salvadori, Sharpe, Dresser, Newton, 
 
 &c. 
 
 Coracias oriolus (Briss.), Scop. Aim. I. Hist. Nat. p. 41 (1769). 
 Coracias galbula (Linn.), Bechst. Naturg. DeutscM. i. p. 1292 (1805). 
 Oriolus galbula (Linn.), var. virescens, Hempr. Sf^Ehr. Symb. Phys. Aves, fol. z (1829). 
 Oriolus aureus. Brehm, Vog. DeutschJ. p. 158 (1831). 
 
 The Golden Oriole breeds throughout most parts of the continent of 
 Europe south of the Baltic, though comparatively few remain to spend the 
 summer iu the extreme south. In South Finland it breeds as far north as 
 lat. 63 ; but in Russia it has not been found north of lat. 60. It is only 
 known as a very rare straggler to Sweden, and appears never to have 
 occurred in Norway, although it is said once to have been obtained in 
 Iceland. It breeds in suitable localities in Holland, France, Germany, 
 Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, South Russia, the Caucasus, and, south of 
 the Mediterranean, in Algeria. It appears sometimes to wander to the 
 Azores. Eastwards its breeding-range extends through Persia, Turkestan, 
 and Southern Siberia as far east as the Tian-Shan Mountains and the 
 Altai. My Siberian collector has obtained a specimen at Krasnoyarsk; 
 Taczanowski says that he has seen an example from Irkutsk ; and Radde 
 states that in the museum of the Siberian section of the Russian Geogra- 
 phical Society there are examples from the same neighbourhood. The 
 Golden Oriole passes many of the islands of the Mediterranean, Greece, 
 Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, and Nubia on migration, and winters in 
 Africa as far south as Madagascar, Natal, and Damara Land. 
 
 The Golden Oriole has numerous allies, which may be distinguished by 
 having black on the head and nape. The species most closely allied to it 
 is O. kundoo, which partially replaces it in Turkestan, and ranges east- 
 wards to India. It may be distinguished by having the black of the lores 
 extending round and behind the eye, and by having the black on the out- 
 side tail-feathers nearly or quite obsolete. In Africa, south and east of the 
 Sahara a* far as the equator, it is represented by O. auratus, which is 
 replaced by another closely allied species, O. notatus, throughout the main- 
 land of South Tropical Africa. Both these latter species may be distin- 
 guished by their yellow lesser wing- coverts, which are black in the European 
 
590 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 and Indian birds, 0. notatus being distinguished by not having the black 
 bases to the outer tail-feathers, which are uniform yellow. 
 
 It seems probable that the Golden Oriole was never much more than an 
 accidental summer visitor, or at most a rare straggler during the breeding- 
 season, to our islands. Though it is common in South Finland, it seems, 
 for some reason or other, very rarely to cross the Baltic into Sweden ; and 
 though it may be seen every day in Holland, the English Channel appa- 
 rently presents difficulties in the way of its further migration northwards, 
 which it does not often attempt to surmount. Its late arrival on the con- 
 tinent is also an argument against its having a northerly range. I have 
 repeatedly noticed, when birds'-nesting on the continent, that those birds 
 whose breeding-range extended to Britain or Scandinavia were the earliest 
 to breed, whilst those whose eggs I was most anxious to obtain, those 
 whose breeding-range did not extend to our islands, were very late in 
 arriving. At Brunswick the Golden Oriole did not arrive until the 5th of 
 May ; and at Valconswaard we did not hear its well-known song before the 
 13th of May, some time after many of the earlier migrants already had 
 eggs. We found the first Golden Oriole's nest on the 25th of May, con- 
 taining only two eggs, and the second on the same day, with only one egg 
 in it. Another was brought to us on the 27th with only two eggs, and a 
 fourth on the following day with four eggs ; and it was not until the 29th 
 that we found one containing five eggs. Naumann says that this bird is 
 one of the first to leave North Germany in autumn, migrating southwards 
 in August. Even in such a southerly latitude as Smyrna, where it is only 
 known as passing through on migration in spring and autumn, Kriiper 
 says that it is seen from the middle to the end of April, and again on the 
 return journey from the last week of July to the first week of September. 
 It is therefore not to be wondered at that this handsome bird is not of tener 
 seen in England. 
 
 Though it frequents the trees in the gardens close to the houses and on 
 the roadsides, it is a very shy and skulking bird, and is not often seen on 
 the wing. Its presence, however, is at once revealed by its unmistakable 
 song, though even in regard to this some little caution must be exercised, as 
 in places where it is a common summer visitor I have heard an excellent 
 imitation of it produced by a Starling. Although careful to conceal itself, 
 it by no means avoids the haunts of man, and I have often heard the song 
 and caught an occasional glimpse of the bird in the trees almost in the 
 middle of Diisseldorf and other large continental towns. At Valconswaard 
 we most frequently saw it crossing the road from one oak tree to another. 
 Its voice is marvellously rich and flute-like. The call-note during the 
 pairing-season sounds like the words " Who are you ?" in a full rapid 
 whistle ; and its song is a wheet, li, vee-o, whence its vernacular name in 
 Holland of " Kiel-i-vee-vo." Some slight modifications in its song are 
 
GOLDEN ORIOLE. 591 
 
 apparently produced by prefixing or interluding its call-note. It is a pity 
 the song is so short ; for in quality it is scarcely exceeded by the song of 
 any other bird. Naumann describes its ordinary call-note as a clear 
 gyake, yake, yake, and its alarm-note as a harsh khrr. 
 
 The food of the Golden Oriole is principally insects ; but in autumn it 
 is very fond of fruit, especially cherries. 
 
 The nest of the Golden Oriole is unlike that of any other European 
 bird. This wanderer from the tropics, the date of whose immigration into 
 the Palsearctic Region is probably comparatively recent, seems to have 
 retained his tropical habits of nest-building. The nest is perhaps more 
 curious than beautiful. It is most artistically made; but the art is that of 
 the mechanical kind. The nest is always suspended from the fork of a 
 horizontal branch, sometimes of a pine tree, but generally of an oak, and 
 is usually placed from twenty to thirty feet above the ground. The out- 
 side is composed of broad sedges and strips of inner bark, which are wrapped 
 round the two branches forming the fork from which the nest is pendent. 
 I have generally found intertwined with these long narrow strips a few 
 withered leaves, and almost invariably a scrap or two of a Dutch newspaper. 
 The lining is composed of the slender round grass-stalks, very frequently 
 with the flower of the grass attached. It is said that the male relieves the 
 female in the duties of incubation, and drives off any intruder with great 
 daring. It has the general reputation of being a quarrelsome bird, and in 
 spring the males are often seen fighting either for the possession of the 
 females or for the range of some favourite plantation. Like the Jay, the 
 Golden Oriole has some peculiarities which are not altogether Corvine. 
 His flight is undulating, not straight ; and on the ground he hops, not 
 walks. 
 
 A full clutch of eggs is usually four or five. They are creamy white in 
 ground-colour, sometimes with an almost imperceptible tinge of pink, 
 sparingly spotted with very dark purplish brown. The spots vary con- 
 siderably in size and shape, but are almost invariably well defined ; on 
 many specimens there are a few underlying spots of purplish grey. The 
 shell is somewhat rough in texture, but highly polished. They vary in 
 length from T35 to I'l inch, and in breadth from '93 to "8 inch. The 
 eggs of the Golden Oriole cannot be mistaken for those of any other 
 British bird. 
 
 Dixon made the following notes on this bird : " In Algeria the Golden 
 Oriole haunts the palm-studded oases, full of tropical verdure, equally as 
 much as the groves of timber on the sides of the noble Aures Mountains. 
 It is one t>f the shyest birds I know ; and usually the observer has to 
 content himself with a hurried glimpse of its beautiful plumage, as, like a 
 flash of burnished gold, the bird glistens in the bright sunlight a moment, 
 and then disappears in the gloom. At this time of the year (May) all 
 the Orioles seem in pairs, and fly from grove to grove in company. 
 
592 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 In the charming oasis of Biskra the Golden Oriole was a very common 
 bird, and frequented the thickest part of the government garden there. 
 It would sometimes stay in the dense foliage of the trees until I wan- 
 dered beneath them. But notwithstanding its showy dress, it was a most 
 difficult bird to discover in the branches ; and a nutter of wings 
 overhead, a hasty glimpse of yellow in the leaves, and it had gone. I 
 sometimes flushed it from the ground, where it was possibly searching for 
 food. At Lambessa it frequented the tufts of evergreen oaks on the 
 borders of the forest ; and there very often its charming song, heard at 
 dawn and even, filled the air around with gladness. Its habits and flight 
 are very similar to a Thrush." 
 
 The general colour of the Golden Oriole is rich golden yellow ; from 
 the base of the bill to the eye is a black streak ; the wings are black ; the 
 primary- co verts have the terminal third of each feather yellow, forming 
 a conspicuous spot on the wing ; the outer edge of the primaries (except 
 the two outermost) and the tips of the secondaries are yellowish white ; 
 the two central tail-feathers are black, except at the base, which is 
 dull greenish yellow, and the tip, which is bright yellow ; the other tail- 
 feathers have the basal two thirds black on the outer web and about a third 
 of the inner web in the centre black, the remainder bright yellow. The 
 amount of black on the tail varies considerably. Bill dull orange-red ; 
 legs, feet, and claws dark brown ; irides red. The female is said by most 
 ornithologists to differ considerably from the male. In what is taken to 
 be the adult plumage the upper parts are olive-green, brightest on the 
 upper tail-coverts ; the black patch at the base of the bill is replaced by 
 dusky brown ; the wings are duller and browner than in the male, and the 
 secondaries and wing-coverts are tinged with green ; the spot on the wing 
 is dull white ; the tail is similar to that of the male, but the colour is 
 duller and not so clearly defined. The throat, breast, and centre of the 
 belly are greyish white ; the flanks and under tail-coverts are bright yellow, 
 and the throat, breast, and flanks are streaked with dark brown. Youn- 
 birds resemble this plumage of the female. Birds in nestling plumage 
 have the upper parts olive- brown, spotted with yellow; the underparts are 
 yellowish white, streaked with brown; the flanks and under tail-coverts 
 bright yellow ; the wings and tail similar to the adult's. It is extremely 
 probable that the female Golden Oriole is similar to the male in colour 
 when fully adult ; but the mature plumage is more slowly acquired, the 
 above-described plumage of the female being nothing but an intermediate 
 phase. 
 
LANIIN^E. 593 
 
 Subfamily LAXIIN^E, OE SHEIKES. 
 
 The Shrikes and their allies form a considerable group of birds whose 
 exact affinities are very difficult to determine. The general form of the 
 bill resembles that of the Crows ; but in the typical Shrikes it is much 
 more decidedly hooked and has the upper mandible deeply notched. 
 The wings vary from flat pointed migratory wings to rounded concave 
 sedentary wings ; the first primary is sometimes very small, but usually well 
 developed. The tail is generally much graduated. The tarsus and feet 
 resemble those of the Crows and Tits. The young in first plumage in 
 some species differ but slightly from the adults, whilst in others this dif- 
 ference is more marked, the upper and underparts being more or less 
 barred and spotted and the colours generally less brilliant. 
 
 It is very difficult to obtain accurate information respecting the 
 moulting of the Shrikes; but it seems probable that the Great Grey 
 Shrike, which can scarcely be called a migratory bird, has a regular 
 autumn moult, whilst the "Woodchat, the Red-backed and the Lesser Grey 
 Shrikes appear to be anomalous in this respect. These birds migrate in 
 their worn and faded breeding-plumage, and are said to begin to moult 
 immediately upon their arrival in their winter quarters ; but the process 
 appears to be a slow one, as birds which have not completed their moult 
 are sometimes obtained as late as the beginning of spring. 
 
 The Laniinse are an Old-world group of birds. A few species are 
 found in the Xearctic Region ; but they can only be regarded as strag- 
 glers from the Palsearctic Region. They are tolerably well distributed 
 over the Palaearctic Region ; but by far the greatest number of species are 
 found in the Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian Regions. They number 
 about two hundred and fifty species and subspecies, of which eight are 
 found on the continent of Europe ; five of these, all included in the genus 
 Lanius, are British. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 Q 
 
594 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Genus LANIUS. 
 
 The genus Lanius was established in 1766, by Linnaeus in his ' Systema 
 Naturae/ i. p. 135, for the reception of a heterogeneous collection of birds, 
 many of them belonging to different and somewhat distantly connected 
 families. From this motley group Cuvier removed the Tyrant Shrikes in 
 180] ; and Vieillot restricted the genus to its present dimensions in 1816, in 
 his ' Analyse d'une nouvelle Ornithologie elementaire,' p. 40. Vieillot 
 designated le Pie-Gridche grise (Lanius eoccubitor] as the type. 
 
 In the genus Lanius the bill very closely resembles that of a Falcon, 
 but is elongated like that of a Crow, the upper mandible being strongly 
 hooked and deeply toothed ; the nostrils are partly hidden by short 
 feathers and stiff bristles like those of the Crows ; the wings and tail are 
 very variable. 
 
 This genus contains about forty species. It is well represented in the 
 Nearctic, Palsearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, but is apparently 
 absent from the Australian and Neotropical Regions. Six species are 
 found in Europe, one of which is a regular summer visitant to the British 
 Islands, whilst four others are only accidental stragglers to our shores. 
 
 The Shrikes are birds closely resembling the Raptores in many of their 
 habits. They are solitary birds, and frequent the outskirts of wooded 
 districts and the bushes on commons, usually perching on the topmost 
 twigs, like Flycatchers, to secure their food, which consists of large 
 insects (beetles) and, more rarely, small birds, mice, frogs, and lizards. 
 They have the peculiar habit of spitting their captures on thorns or 
 placing them in the forks of branches, for the purpose of securing them 
 while they pull them to pieces. Their call-notes are harsh ; but many 
 species are possessed of considerable musical powers. They build some- 
 what bulky open nests, placing them in bushes and tall hedgerows ; the 
 nests are constructed of twigs, rootlets, the stems of plants, sometimes with 
 the flowers attached, and are lined with hair, wool, and feathers. Their 
 eggs are very characteristic, boldly spotted with brown of various shades 
 on a ground-colour varying from nearly white to buff or pale green. 
 
PALLAS'S GREY SHRIKE. 595 
 
 LANIUS MAJOR. 
 PALLAS'S GREY SHRIKE. 
 
 Lanius major, Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 401 (1826) ; et auctorum pluri- 
 morum Cabanis, Tacsanotcski, Brandt, Meves, Reinhardt, Collet, Schalow, See- 
 bohm, &c. 
 
 Lanius excubitor, var. major, Pall., Radde, Heis. Stid. Ost-Sibir. ii. p. 274 (1863). 
 
 Lanius borealis europseus et Lanius borealis sibiricus, Bogdanow, Monogr. Russian 
 Shrikes and their Allies, p. 102 (1881). 
 
 Lanius excubitor, Linn., juv., auctorum multorum Dresser, Sharpe, Newton, &c. 
 
 Pallas's Grey Shrike is as distinct from the Great Grey Shrike as the 
 Carrion-Crow is from the Hooded Crow. Its distinctness is recognized 
 by nearly all modern continental ornithologists. In both cases the allied 
 species interbreed where their geographical ranges meet ; and the existence 
 of intermediate forms has caused some ornithologists to consider them in 
 each case only subspecifically distinct ; and if we are to attach any definite 
 meaning to the word species, this is unquestionably the fact. The correct 
 scientific name of Pallas's Grey Shrike is Lanius excubitor, var. major, as 
 that of the Hooded Crow is Corvus corone, var. comix ; but there is no 
 harm in using the binomial name for the sake of brevity, so long as the 
 fact that it is only a contraction of the correct name is not forgotten. 
 It is difficult to explain the perversity of British ornithologists in per- 
 sisting to ignore the differences between these two Grey Shrikes. Sharpe 
 and Dresser state that the young of the Great Grey Shrike has only one 
 wing-bar ; but in their description of the young bird they do not allude to 
 this fact, which is probably a pure myth. In Dresser's collection is a 
 skin of a nestling of a Great Grey Shrike from Baden, in which the white 
 at the base of the secondaries is as much developed as in typical skins 
 of fully adult birds ; and similar examples are in the British Museum. 
 Xewton quotes Sharpe and Dresser without venturing to correct their 
 blunder, but betrays a suspicion of the unreliable nature of their state- 
 ments by saying that young birds often have the double white spot on 
 the wing feebly developed. It seems very extraordinary that none of 
 these writers should have discovered that the Grey Shrikes with only one 
 wing-bar, which are found in England, Scotland, and various parts of 
 Europe, were nothing more or less than Pallas's Grey Shrike. 
 
 This Shrike, like so many other Siberian birds, is an accidental visitor 
 to West Eih'ope, but one which has occurred so frequently that it may 
 almost be looked upon as a regular through rare straggler. It is very 
 likely that many of these Siberian species breed in Europe, in the valleys 
 of the Upper Petchora and the Kama, districts of the ornithology of which 
 
 2Q2 
 
596 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 we are for the most part profoundly ignorant. In the case of the Grey 
 Shrikes, however, this would not appear to be the case ; for two examples 
 obtained by Hoffmann (one in lat. 63^ and the other in lat. 64|, on the 
 western slopes of the Ural Mountains) are identified by Bogdanow, than 
 whom a more competent judge could not be found, as L. excubitor (see 
 his excellent Monograph of the Russian Shrikes and their allies, p. 135). 
 
 There are several examples of Pallas's Grey Shrike in the museum at 
 Edinburgh. Gray, in his ' Birds of the West of Scotland/ mentions 
 having seen at least two dozen examples of Scotch-killed Grey Shrikes 
 with only one wing-bar. In Mr. Borrer's collection are two examples 
 killed in Sussex. It has been shot near Cardiff ; my friend Mr. Back- 
 house has an example in his collection obtained near York ; and in the 
 British Museum is an example killed in this country. So far as is known, 
 all these examples have been obtained in autumn, winter, or early spring. 
 On the continent it has been found at Sarepta in March, in the Crimea in 
 December, in the Baltic Provinces at the end of August, near Stockholm 
 in autumn, near Bergen in October, besides many localities in Germany, 
 Austria, &c. 
 
 Pallas's Grey Shrike breeds throughout Siberia south of lat. 65, where 
 it is a partial migrant, wintering in Turkestan. Examples from the 
 Tchuski Land, Kamtschatka, Vladivostok, Lake Baikal, Krasnoyarsk, and 
 Toorokansk appear to be thoroughbred; but many of the examples 
 obtained on Heligoland and near Constantinople on migration are 
 decidedly intermediate, and are probably the result of the interbreeding 
 of the Great Grey Shrike with Pallas's Grey Shrike somewhere in North- 
 eastern Europe. It is, however, possible that the birds breeding in North- 
 eastern Europe, or even in North-western Siberia, may be an intermediate 
 race; but two examples obtained by Finsch in the valley of the Obb 
 appear to be one a half-bred and the other a quadroon. In Turkestan 
 Pallas's Grey Shrike is represented by a near ally, Eversmanii's Grey 
 Shrike (Lanius mollis), and in North America by the Great Northern 
 Shrike (Lanius borealis). Both these forms are distinguished by never 
 losing the vermiculations on the underparts, which are only found in 
 immature examples of Pallas's Grey Shrike, and by having the colour of 
 the upper parts much darker and browner. In South-west Siberia, 
 extending eastwards to Lake Baikal and southwards into Turkestan, 
 another Grey Shrike, the White-winged Grey Shrike (Lanius leuco- 
 pterus], resides. Instead of having the white on the wing less 
 developed than in the Great Grey Shrike, it is much more so. This 
 is especially noticeable on the secondary quills, which have the basal 
 half of both webs and nearly the entire inner web pure white. The 
 range of the White-winged Grey Shrike overlaps that of Pallas's Grey 
 Shrike about the middle of the valley of the Yenesay; but the two 
 
PALLAS'S GREY SHRIKE. 597 
 
 birds appear to have become so far differentiated as to have lost the 
 power (or at least the desire) to interbreed. In South-east Russia the 
 ranges of the White-winged Grey Shrike and of the Great Grey Shrike 
 impinge ; and on the Lower Volga by far the greater number of exam- 
 ples are intermediate forms between them which have been described 
 as a new species under the name of Lanius homeyeri, and which occur 
 sparingly in Siberia. There is every reason to believe that these inter- 
 mediate forms are the result of interbreeding. If this be so, we have the 
 interesting fact that, whilst the two extreme forms L. major and L. leuco- 
 pterus are so different that they no longer interbreed and are therefore 
 specifically distinct, they both interbreed with the intermediate form 
 L. excubitor, which is therefore only subspecifically distinct from either of 
 them. Curious as this mutual relationship of these three Grey Shrikes 
 is, many explanations might be easily imagined. The probable one is, 
 that the Grey Shrike which inhabited the Palaearctic Region before the 
 Glacial epoch was during that period driven southwards and isolated in 
 three colonies one in South Europe, one in Turkestan, and one in 
 Eastern Mongolia. The difference produced directly or indirectly from 
 the change in the surroundings seems, in this instance, to have been 
 somewhat similar to what appears to be the rule in the variations in birds 
 which extend across the Palaearctic Region. The western form varies 
 considerably from the central form; but in the east, instead of the 
 variation increasing, it diminishes, and the western form reappears with 
 comparatively slight modifications. After the passing away of the ice, 
 the central colony, L. levcopterus, does not seem to have spread north- 
 wards again to any great extent ; but the other two colonies appear to 
 have extended their ranges round it, until they met somewhere near the 
 Ural Mountains. 
 
 Of the habits of Pallas's Grey Shrike little can be said. They probably 
 do not differ materially from those of its near allies. As I travelled along 
 the banks of the Yenesay from Yenesaisk to Krasnoyarsk and across 
 country to Tomsk, Grey Shrikes were very abundant ; but it is difficult 
 to say to which species they belonged. I had no opportunity of shooting 
 any ; but as the skins sent me since from this locality belong to both 
 species, I probably saw both. They were very conspicuous birds, often 
 perched on the extreme summit of a small tree, and extremely fond of the 
 telegraph-posts and telegraph-wires. 
 
 Of the nest and eggs of Pallas's Grey Shrike nothing definite appears 
 to be know}*. 
 
 The thoroughbred adult male is a handsome bird, differing from the 
 Great Grey Shrike in having a white rump and with the white bases of 
 the primaries of less extent than in that bird, whilst the white bases of 
 the secondaries are altogether absent. 
 
598 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 LANIUS EXCUBITOR. 
 GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Lanius cinereus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 141 (1760). 
 
 Lanius excubitor, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 135 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Latham, Gmehn, Naumann, Temminck, Bonaparte, Deyland, Gerbe, Newton, 
 
 Dresser, &c. 
 Collyrio excubitor (Linn.), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 390 (1869). 
 
 The Great Grey Shrike is a regular though somewhat rare autumn and 
 winter visitant to the British Islands. Although it has been observed 
 during summer, there is no reliable evidence to prove that it has ever 
 reared its young in this country ; and it has also been repeatedly confused 
 with Pallas's Grey Shrike, and even with the much commoner Red-backed 
 Shrike. In Scotland it is of occasional occurrence, more frequent in the 
 eastern and midland counties than in the western ; but it has never been 
 observed in the Hebrides. It is an occasional winter visitant to the Ork- 
 neys ; and a " Grey Shrike " was once observed by Saxby at Balta Sound 
 in the Shetlands. It has been obtained several times in Ireland ; and 
 Professor Newton states that a specimen was observed by Mr. J. Pell, the 
 falconer, in Iceland. 
 
 The Great Grey Shrike breeds in the north of France, Belgium, Holland, 
 Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Scandinavia (up to about lat. 70), and 
 North Russia. In all these countries south of the Baltic it is found 
 throughout the year ; but the birds breeding north of the Baltic migrate 
 southwards in winter, at which season they are found in every part of 
 South Europe. On the Ural Mountains its range joins that of Pallas's 
 Grey Shrike (L. major); and in South Russia, in the valley of the Volga, its 
 range coalesces with that of another Siberian species, L. leucopterus, with 
 both of which the present species interbreeds. It is, however, a very inter- 
 esting fact that in Siberia, where these two latter species occur, they seem 
 to have become so widely differentiated as to have ceased to interbreed, 
 although both of them do so with the intermediate form L. excubitor. 
 
 The evidence that the birds of Central Europe are resident, and that 
 they do not migrate southwards in winter, leaving their places to be taken 
 by birds from North Europe, is to be found in the fact that the examples 
 which cross the Bosphorus on migration consist of L. excubitor and L. major, 
 and of intermediate forms between them, whereas L. leucopterus and the 
 intermediate forms between it and L. excubitor, which are so common in 
 the valley of the Volga, do not appear to wander into Asia Minor. Besides 
 
GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 599 
 
 the two Siberian species already alluded to, the Great Grey Shrike has 
 several near allies. In China a Shrike is found (L. sphenocercus) which 
 is a highly developed form of L. leucopterus, but has a longer tail and grey, 
 instead of white, upper tail-coverts. In Turkestan L. mollis occurs, which 
 is apparently the least changed descendant of the common ancestor of all 
 these Shrikes. Throughout the American continent north of the United 
 States L. borealis is found, immature examples of which are very difficult 
 to distinguish from adult L. mollis from Turkestan. The only other two 
 species belonging to the slender -footed broad-tailed group of Grey Shrikes 
 are L. robustus from California and L. seebohmi from the Amoor, each of 
 which is only known from a single example. In Spain, North Africa, and 
 Southern Asia the stout-footed narrow-tailed Grey Shrikes occur, and are 
 capable of being subdivided into many species and subspecies, many of which 
 have been most unaccountably confused together by Sharpe and Dresser 
 in the ( Birds of Europe/ 
 
 If the Great Grey Shrike ever was a resident in the British Islands, it 
 must have been many years ago. A bird which is by no means uncommon 
 across the Channel might naturally be expected to reside also with us. It 
 does not object to cross the sea, as its regular appearance on Heligoland 
 proves ; and a bird which is found in Norway and Sweden ought, one would 
 think, to find a congenial climate in England. A tradition of its former 
 residence in our island may perhaps be found in the ' Ornithology' of 
 AVillughby, published in 1678, wherein he records of the Greater Butcher- 
 bird : "Moreover we are told that it is found in the mountainous parts 
 of the north of England, as for instance in the Peak of Derbyshire, where 
 it is called HierangeL" A bird so conspicuous may possibly have been 
 exterminated at an early date but it could scarcely have had any formidable 
 enemies except man. On the continent it holds its own against most birds 
 of prey. Xaumann writes : " This Shrike is an extremely courageous and 
 bold bird, and seldom allows any great bird, even an Eagle or a Buzzard, to 
 fly past his domains with impunity, persecuting them incessantly. His 
 warning cry announces to the rest of the birds the approach of a bird of 
 prey, whence is derived his name of sentinel (Wachter) . In the breeding- 
 season he is especially watchful, and no Crow or Raven dare approach his 
 perch." 
 
 In many of its habits this Shrike resembles a bird of prey. He is 
 described as sometimes hovering over a mouse like a Kestrel, and at others 
 pursuing a small bird like a Merlin, and fairly flying it down. 
 
 The Gr*at Grey Shrike merits the name of Butcher Bird more than his 
 smaller allies. He uses his hooked and notched beak, not only to tear up 
 mice and little birds like a Raptorial bird, but also, because his feet and 
 claws are comparatively weak, to assist in catching them. Even when he 
 has caught his prey, unraptorlike, he seems to think his claws are not strong 
 
600 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 enough to hold it, and he sticks it on a thorn to devour it at his leisure, a 
 proceeding which one would think would require great strength. It is 
 evident that the strength of the Great Grey Shrike lies in his neck, and 
 not in his legs. Like many birds of prey, he has his favourite feeding- 
 place, some convenient spot in a hedgerow, probably chosen because the 
 footing was good and the thorns sharp ; and to this place he brings his 
 prey during the day ; and there an accumulation of the remains of his 
 meals are discovered. Probably he has a dozen such places in various 
 parts of the district in which -he hunts. I remember finding one of these 
 so-called larders in a hedge on a road-side a few miles from ValconsAvaard, 
 close to a gate. The thorns were very long and sharp ; and there were the 
 dried-up remains of half-a-dozen mice, which had evidently been eaten 
 except the feet, tail, and part of the skin. The discovery of these feeding- 
 places has given rise to the myth that the Shrikes catch more than they 
 can eat, and hang up the surplus in a larder for future use. In addition 
 to mice it also eats small birds and insects. Naumann says that it will 
 even attack birds almost as large as itself, and has been known to take 
 Redwings. He writes : ' ' In summer it contents itself principally with 
 insects (especially beetles and grasshoppers), small frogs, lizards, and 
 blindworms. This is proved by an examination of the pellets which they 
 cast up. In winter, on the contrary, these consist chiefly of the hair and 
 bones of mice and the feathers of birds. He is very fond of newly fledged 
 birds, and will plunder nests of their young ; but in the breeding-season he 
 seldom attacks adult birds. " 
 
 Although the Great Grey Shrike retires into the outskirts of the woods 
 to breed, or selects some plantation where he is concealed from observa- 
 tion, he is a bird of the open country, and is very fond of a conspicuous 
 perch a post, or the top of a small tree, wherever he can command a good 
 view and descry not only the approach of danger but also the chance of a 
 meal. In these positions he seems to balance himself, like the Magpie, 
 with his tail, which is never still. He is not a very noisy bird ; but now and 
 then his alarm-note may be heard, a sharp shake, shake. The song is 
 something like that of a Starling. Naumann gives the call-note as truu. 
 
 At Valconswaard this Shrike is in great request by the falconer. As the 
 Hawks are passing over on migration the Shrike, pinioned near the 
 falconer's net, attracts the attention of the birds of prey by its cries, which 
 are the signal for the falconer to display a decoy-pigeon and thus lure the 
 falcon into his net. 
 
 When I was in Heligoland I was fortunate enough to see the Great 
 Grey Shrike in the act of migration. We were breakfasting on the 2nd of 
 October in a room looking out over the cliff towards the sea, and watched 
 one of these birds arrive. On the wing its black and white plumage made 
 it look like a small Magpie ; but its flight was more like that of a Wood- 
 
GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 601 
 
 pecker, very undulating. Jt was probably very tired ; for an hour or two 
 afterwards a boy brought it up to our room, and was delighted to receive 
 fourpence for it. Several more arrived later. 
 
 In ornithology there seem to be very few rules without exceptions. 
 Almost, all resident birds are early breeders. Many of them pair for life; 
 and it is only natural to suppose that birds which are hardy enough to 
 brave a Dutch winter will begin to breed as soon as the April sunshine 
 and the April flowers announce the return of spring. The Great Grey 
 Shrike appears to be an exception to this rule. When I went to Valcons- 
 waard to study the habits of some of the rare or accidental visitors to our 
 islands at their breeding-grounds, the eggs of the Great Grey Shrike were 
 one of the objects of my special care; but though there were three of us (I 
 was accompanied by my friends Mr. C. By grave Wharton and Mr. H. M. 
 Labouchere), and though we had every boy in the village engaged in our 
 service, it was not until the 19th of May that we took a nest containing 
 four eggs. We had taken eggs of nearly all the common birds, even of 
 such migrants as the Sedge- Warbler, Cuckoo, Nightingale, and Blue- 
 throat, before the Great Grey Shrike's nest was discovered, within a couple 
 of feet of the top of a slender Scotch-fir, about eighteen feet from the 
 ground, in the middle of a pine-wood. On the 21st another nest was 
 brought to us, contaiuing'five eggs. On the 27th one of our best pioneers, 
 a Dutch lad of perhaps fourteen, came in to announce to us that he had 
 found the nest of a klapekster, the local name of the Great Grey Shrike. 
 It was a dismal, rainy day ; but we soon put on our waterproofs, and a long 
 walk brought us to an open space in a small wood. The nest was in the 
 fork of an oak-tree about thirty feet from the ground. The bird was on 
 but flew off as the boy was ascending the tree, and began to fly anxiously 
 about. Sometimes it settled in a tree, often on the topmost branch ; and 
 once it hovered in the air, with its body almost perpendicular, opposite the 
 nest, which contained only two fresh eggs. The nest of the Great Grey 
 Shrike is a somewhat bulky structure, as large as that of a Blackbird. 
 Outside it is composed of slender twigs, dry grass, a few leaves, and a little 
 moss, and is lined with roots, wool, hair, and feathers. The number of 
 eggs varies from five to seven. They are buffish or greenish white in 
 ground-colour, blotched and spotted with olive-brown of different shades 
 and with underlying markings of violet-grey. Usually most of the spots 
 are on the large end of the egg, where many of them are confluent. 
 Sometimes they form an irregular zone, and are generally somewhat ill- 
 defined. ^ JThe eggs of this Shrike do not differ very much ; and the red 
 type of egg, found in those of L. collurio and L. rufus, appears never to 
 occur. They vary in length from 1-1 to 1-0 inch, and in breadth from '8 
 to '75 inch. 
 
 The Great Grey Shrike has the general colour of the upper parts clear 
 
602 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 slate-grey, shading into greyish white on the scapulars, the rump, and 
 upper tail-coverts ; the lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts are black ; the wings 
 are black, with white bases to both the primaries and secondaries, forming 
 a double bar, and with white tips, broadest on the secondaries ; the wing- 
 coverts are black, those on the shoulder broadly margined with slate-grey ; 
 the two centre tail-feathers are black with white bases ; the next pair are 
 black, narrowly tipped with white ; on the succeeding pairs the white 
 increases in extent until the outermost feathers are almost uniform white. 
 The underparts are white. Bill black, paler at the base of the lower 
 mandible ; legs, feet, and claws brownish black ; irides dark brown. The 
 female is similar to the male in colour ; but the underparts are not so 
 pure and are barred with faint greyish brown. Young birds are much 
 duller than their parents, and the bars on the underparts are more con- 
 spicuous. 
 
 SPOTTED FLYCATCHER S NEST. 
 
LESSER GREY SHRIKE. 603 
 
 LANIUS MINOR. 
 LESSER GREY SHRIKE. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Lanius auriculatus, Mull. Syst. Nat. SuppL p. 71 (1766). 
 
 Lanius cinereus medius, Gerin. Orn. Meth. Dig. i. p. 73, pi. liv. (1767). 
 
 Lanius minor, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 308 (1788) ; et auctorum plurimorum 
 
 Naumann, Temminck, Bonaparte, Degland, Gerbe, Newton, Dresser, Bogdanoic, 
 
 fee. 
 
 Lanius italicus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 71 (1790). 
 Lanius vigil. Pall. Zoogr. Rosso- Asiat. i. p. 403 (1826). 
 Lanius longipennis, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. XT. 1846, p. 300. 
 Enneoctonus italicus (Lath.'), Bonap. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1853, p. 438. 
 Lanius roseus, Bailly, Orn. de la Sav. ii. p. 26 (1853). 
 Enneoctonus minor (GmeL), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 393 (1869). 
 
 The Lesser Grey Shrike can only be considered a very accidental 
 straggler to the British Islands, only four examples of this bird having 
 been recorded. The first specimen, a female, was killed during the first 
 week in November 1851, at St. Mary's, on the Scilly Islands. It was 
 recorded in the ' Zoologist ' for that year (p. 3300) as an example of the 
 Great Grey Shrike by Mr. E. H. Rodd, who afterwards sent it to Mr. 
 Gould, who corrected the error in its identification. The second specimen 
 was forwarded to Mr. Murray A. Mathew from the immediate neighbour- 
 hood of Great Yarmouth. It was obtained early in the spring of 1869, 
 and recorded by that gentleman in the 'Zoologist' for the year 1870 
 (p. 2060). The third example, a male, is recorded by Mr. Stevenson in 
 the 'Zoologist' for 1875 (p. 4633). It was caught alive in a greenhouse 
 near Great Yarmouth, in the same locality as the last-named specimen, 
 during the last week of May 1875. On the 2nd of June it was brought 
 to Mr. Stevenson in the flesh, having died in the cage in which its captors 
 had placed it. It is now in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. Lastly, 
 Mr. J. Gatcombe recorded in the 'Zoologist' for 1876 (p. 5178) a fourth 
 specimen, caught alive in the neighbourhood of Plymouth. It was obtained 
 by a birdcatcher, and was brought to a Mr. Peacock, a local bird-preserver, 
 who was under the impression that it was an example of the Great Grey 
 Shrike. 
 
 The Lfesser Grey Shrike breeds in Eastern France, Germany, Switzer- 
 land, Italy, South Russia (up to lat. 57), Austria, Turkey, Asia Minor, 
 Palestine, Turkestan, Persia, and South-western Siberia (as far north as 
 Omsk, in lat. 57, and as far east as Lake Zaisan, in long. 84). On 
 migration it has occasionally occurred in South Sweden, Holland, Den- 
 
604 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 mark, the British Islands, and Spain. So far as is known, its only winter 
 quarters are in Africa, where it has "been found in the valley of the Nile 
 and southwards as far as Damara Land. It has been suspected that a few 
 remain to breed in all parts of its winter range, even in Damara Land ; but 
 such an exceptional circumstance requires absolute confirmation. Unlike 
 the Great Grey Shrike, the Lesser Grey Shrike has no very near ally, nor 
 does it seem subject to any great variation of plumage. 
 
 The Lesser Grey Shrike is strictly a migratory bird, and is never seen 
 in Europe in winter. It arrives in Greece, according to Kriiper, about the 
 middle of April, and in Germany, according to Naumami, early in May. 
 It is consequently one of the latest summer visitors to Europe, and also 
 one of the earliest to depart in autumn, disappearing towards the end of 
 August. In both Greece and Asia Minor I occasionally met with this 
 bird ; but it was nowhere so common as either the Woodchat or the Red- 
 backed Shrike, nor did it, like the latter bird, ascend into the pine-regions. 
 It seemed also to be very rare in the forests of olives which fill many of 
 the plains. The ground it preferred was the outskirts of cultivation, 
 where trees and bushes of various kinds small oaks, hollies, oleanders, 
 pomegranates, white and pink roses, and abundance of clematis struggle 
 for existence amongst the broken rocks. Here and there a little patch is 
 cultivated with wheat, tobacco, or Indian corn, with a tree or two in the 
 middle (olive, almond, or walnut) ; and abundance of cleared places grown 
 over with rank vegetation attest the former presence of a dying-out 
 civilization. In these places the Lesser Grey Shrike was to be seen, 
 occasionally perched conspicuously on the top of a bush. It also frequented 
 the gardens near the villages, and is said to regale itself on the cherries, 
 figs, and mulberries which grow in the hedges that divide them from 
 each other. Its principal food is undoubtedly beetles (that swarm to an 
 incredible extent in these climates), butterflies, grasshoppers, and other 
 insects. The flight of this Shrike, like that of its congeners, is undu- 
 latory, but easy and comparatively noiseless ; and it skims through the air 
 like a Partridge for a moment or two before it alights on some perch, onto 
 which it drops with a scuffle of the wings. The song of the Lesser Grey 
 Shrike is a not unmusical chatter, something like the twitter of the 
 Swallow or Starling, but louder and mixed with some harsher notes. It 
 has a variety of notes, some very harsh, which are probably alarm-notes, 
 and others somewhat plaintive, which may be call-notes. 
 
 This bird is said occasionally to impale insects on thorns, as most of his 
 congeners are in the habit of doing. 
 
 The Lesser Grey Shrike breeds early in June. The nest is placed in 
 the thick branches of poplars or fruit-trees, at least ten feet from the 
 ground. One which I took in an olive-tree at Nymphion, east of Smyrna, 
 on the 3rd of June, contained four fresh eggs. With the exception of a 
 
LESSER GREY SHRIKE. 605 
 
 twig or two, a piece of flag- like rush, and a little wool at the foundation, 
 the whole nest is composed of a downy-leaved cudweed (Gnaphalium 
 dioicuni), some in flower and some in seed, and most pulled up by the 
 roots. Xaurnaim describes the nest as usually built in Germany of dry 
 roots, twigs, couch-grass, hay and straw, lined with wool, hair, and 
 feathers. 
 
 The eggs vary in number from four to seven. Some are very round, 
 measuring '95 by - 8 inch. Others are much longer and more pointed, as, 
 for example, 1'05 by '7 inch. The average size and shape lies between 
 these extremes. The ground-colour is a pale bluish green. Some eggs have 
 a few small greenish-brown spots, chiefly towards the larger end. Typical 
 eggs have also larger spots or blotches; whilst in examples which are 
 exceptionally rich in their markings the spots round the egg towards the 
 large end are confluent, but do not assume the form of a uniform band 
 round the egg, because the underlying spots, which in all the varieties are 
 paler and greener than the overlying spots, are distinctly visible amongst 
 the others. The eggs of this bird may easily be distinguished from those 
 of the Great Grey Shrike by their smaller size and much greener colour. 
 From the largest and greenest varieties of the eggs of the Woodchat it is 
 not quite so easy to separate them ; but the latter are very seldom if ever 
 quite so large or quite so green. It is not known that rufous varieties of 
 the eggs of the Lesser Grey Shrike ever occur. 
 
 The Lesser Grey Shrike is a handsome bird, very similar in colour 
 to the Great Grey Shrike, but with a black forehead, and with pale 
 reddish-buff breast and flanks. Like Pallas's Grey Shrike, it has only 
 one wing-bar. The female scarcely differs from the male. In the young 
 the grey back is replaced by brown, and most of the feathers are trans- 
 versely barred, and the reddish tinge on the underparts is nearly obsolete. 
 Curiously enough, the moult of this bird appears to take place in winter ; 
 adult birds leave in their faded summer dress, and young birds in theii 
 barred plumage. Examples from South Africa in full moult are dated 
 January and February. 
 
606 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 LANIUS COLLURIO. 
 
 RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Lanius collurio, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 151 (1760); Linn. Si/st. Nat. i. p. 136 (1766); et 
 auctorum plurimorum Latham, Gmelin, Naumann, Temtninck, (Gnu/), 
 (Bonaparte), Degland, Gerbe, Newton, Dresser, &c. 
 
 Lanius spinitorquus, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. ii. p. 392 (1791). 
 
 Lanius dumetorum, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 234 (1831). 
 
 Enneoctonus collurio (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 973. 
 
 The Red-backed Shrike is by far the commonest Shrike met with in the 
 British Islands. It is a common and well-known, though local, summer 
 visitor to most parts of England south of Yorkshire, being most numerous 
 in the extreme southern counties. Curiously enough, it does not appear 
 to have yet been noticed in Lincolnshire and is only occasionally seen in 
 Cornwall. In the northern counties of England it becomes much rarer 
 whilst in Scotland it is of only accidental occurrence, usually on migration 
 (although instances are on record of its having nested there) , chiefly in 
 the eastern counties. It has been met with in the Shetlands, where Dr. 
 Saxby was inclined to believe that a pair reared their young during the 
 summer of 1870. Its occurrence in Ireland has only once been recorded 
 ' Zoologist/ 1878, p. 437). A male specimen was shot on the 10th 
 of August in a glen near Castlereagh, county Down, about three miles 
 from Belfast ; and five or six other examples were said to have been in its 
 company. 
 
 The Red-backed Shrike is a summer visitor to the whole of the continent 
 of Europe up to lat. 64, with the exception of the Spanish peninsula, 
 where it is only an occasional straggler to the north-east. In Greece, Asia 
 Minor, and Palestine it is only found in the pine-regions. Eastwards its 
 breeding-range extends through Northern Persia and throughout Turkestan 
 as far as the Altai Mountains. It passes through Asia Minor and North- 
 east Africa on migration. A few winter in the valley of the Indus ; but 
 the great stream of migration appears to follow the valley of the Nile to 
 South Africa, where it is abundant during our winter in Natal, Damara 
 Land, the Transvaal, Angola, and the Cape colony. More than one South- 
 African ornithologist states that it breeds during its visit to South Africa; 
 but such a very anomalous circumstance requires the production of the 
 nest and eggs before it can be accepted as a fact. Meyer's statement, quoted 
 by Morris, that this bird is a native of North America, is quite erroneous. 
 
RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 607 
 
 Like the Lesser Grey Shrike, the Red-backed Shrike has no very near ally, 
 nor does it appear to be subject to any local variation. 
 
 The Red-backed Shrike is one of the very latest summer migrants to 
 arrive on our shores. It is rarely seen in its favourite haunts before the 
 beginning of May ; and as it seldom courts concealment, its arrival may 
 be detected at once. Unlike many other of our summer birds of passage, 
 both sexes appear to arrive together ; and having once chosen a haunt, 
 they seldom stray far away from it. The haunt of this interesting bird is 
 in the open. Like the Flycatcher, it seems to prefer a locality which 
 affords a good look-out, and at the same time a place of concealment to 
 which it can retire if alarmed. You may often see the bird in localities 
 abounding in tall hedgerows, or on the borders of woods, on heaths and 
 commons, and more rarely near houses in large gardens. The habits of 
 all the Shrikes are strikingly alike, and closely resemble those of the 
 Flycatchers. Like that soberly dressed little bird the Spotted Flycatcher, 
 the Red-backed Shrike will sit for hours on some bare perch, ever and 
 anon sallying forth to capture a passing insect. Sometimes it will choose 
 a bare bough on the side of a hedgerow, sometimes the topmost twig of a 
 dense bush all overgrown with brambles, or sometimes a rail or stump 
 in fact any situation from which a good view may be obtained. Here the 
 wary Shrike will sit, occasionally turning its head from side to side and 
 jerking its tail, waiting patiently for prey. Although so small and insig- 
 nificant, the little birds are in almost as much danger from him as they are 
 from the bold relentless Sparrow-Hawk. When the occasion offers, he will 
 pounce down upon some small bird sitting unsuspectingly near him, or he 
 will chase the shrew-mice and deftly seize them as they wander through 
 the grass. So bold is the Red-backed Shrike in search of food that it has 
 been known to attack the call-birds, and is often taken in the birdcatcher's 
 net a victim to its own rapacity. 
 
 At times the bird will alight upon the ground and search for beetles ; 
 but the bulk of its food is either caught on the wing or dropped down 
 upon unawares. In addition to small birds and mice, the Red -backed 
 Shrike feeds upon lizards, many kinds of beetles, and also on bees, wasps, 
 and grasshoppers. Like its congeners, it conveys many of its captures to 
 some bush covered with sharp thorns, on which it impales its victims and 
 devours them at leisure. This peculiar habit in the Shrikes of thus 
 spitting their food is probably caused by the birds not having sufficiently 
 powerful feet to grasp their prey until torn in pieces by the sharply toothed 
 bill. They therefore secure their food on sharp thorns, and are able then, if 
 it be a Urrd, to pluck it, or if an insect, a lizard, or a mouse, to tear it 
 to pieces. In places frequented by this bold little bird, it is no uncommon 
 thing to see in the bushes the remnants of its meal of many meals ; for 
 the bird will regularly retire to one place for its purpose ; and the bleached 
 
608 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 bones of a bird or mouse, the wing-cases of insects, portions of bees and 
 wasps, will all tell their tale of this little plunderer's voracity. As an 
 instance of this bird's rapacity, may be mentioned Mr. Clark-Kennedy's 
 account in the ' Zoologist' (1875, p. 4722), where he describes the thorn- 
 trees "decorated" with the bodies of the Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed 
 Tit, Robin, and Hedge-Accentor, once with a young Thrush, twice with 
 old Blackbirds, and once with young Partridges. It has also been known 
 to feed on young Pheasants. Sometimes the bird will be seen to poise 
 and hover above some bush or hedgerow, then pass onwards for a few 
 yards, and again repeat the fluttering movements, like a miniature Kestrel. 
 Its usual flight is a very drooping one, something like that of the 
 Green Woodpecker. The Red-backed Shrike does not pursue small birds 
 through the air ; its powers of wing are not sufficient to allow it to engage 
 in such chases with success ; but it drops suddenly down upon them, either 
 on the ground or when they are sitting on a twig, killing them with its 
 powerful bill. 
 
 The call-note of the Red-backed Shrike is a harsh chirp; and its 
 alarm-note, more rapidly and frequently repeated when its nest is ap- 
 proached, is a harsh chaclc. The song is very short and simple, merely 
 a few notes quickly repeated; but in confinement it is said to imitate 
 readily the songs of other birds. 
 
 Soon after its arrival, usually by the second week in May, the Red- 
 backed Shrike searches out a nesting-site. The situation chosen is usually 
 in the tall hedgerows (the bird's favourite retreat) or in the dense bushes 
 overgrown with brambles. It appears to show very little care for the con- 
 cealment of its nest, and will often build it in a bush or hedge by a much- 
 frequented roadway. The nest is a bulky one, large for the size of the 
 bird, and made of dry stems of plants, dead grass, rootlets, and moss, and 
 lined with horsehair and sometimes a little wool. The eggs are from four 
 to six in number, and are subject to such considerable variation that it 
 would almost be impossible to describe each in turn. For the sake of 
 convenience, they may be divided into four very distinct types. The first 
 is pale green in ground-colour, spotted and speckled with olive-brown and 
 with numerous underlying markings of violet-grey ; the second is pale buff 
 in ground-colour, spotted and blotched with pale olive-brown and with 
 underlying spots of pale brown and violet-grey ; the third is almost pure 
 white or creamy white in ground-colour, finely speckled and spotted with 
 rich reddish brown, and with larger underlying spots of violet-grey ; the 
 fourth has a salmon-coloured ground, spotted and blotched with brownish 
 red of different shades, with violet-grey underlying spots and sometimes 
 a few hair-like lines of deep brown. The character of the markings also 
 varies considerably. Some eggs are uniformly spotted over the entire 
 surface; most frequently the markings take the form of a zone, and 
 
RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 609 
 
 sometimes are so thickly massed on the large end of the egg as to entirely 
 conceal the ground-colour. In some eggs the markings are finely powdered 
 on .the shell ; in others they take the form of bold spots and blotches ; and 
 in all eggs the underlying spots are both numerous and well defined. The 
 eggs vary in length from '95 to '8 inch, and in breadth from '7 to '62 inch. 
 It is very difficult to distinguish between the eggs of the present species 
 and those of the TVoodchat Shi-ike. The latter bird's are, however, on an 
 average larger, not so bright, and usually more boldly marked. 
 
 When the young are being reared, the parent birds are even more daring 
 and vigilant in search of food ; and when the young birds quit the nest 
 they are still accompanied by their parents a noisy little band, exciting 
 the attention of all observers by their harsh notes as they chase the insects 
 and fly from bush to bush. It is very probable, as the Red-backed Shrike 
 only rears one brood in the season, that these parties keep together and- 
 migrate in company. As is the case with most late immigrants, the birds 
 quit our shores early in autumn, leaving for their winter quarters in 
 September. Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser mention an instance, however, 
 where a young bird of this species was seen by them as late as the llth 
 of November. 
 
 The male of this beautiful bird has the head, nape, upper back, rump, 
 and upper tail-coverts clear slate-grey ; the back and scapulars are rich 
 chestnut-brown ; the wing-coverts are black, broadly edged with rich chest- 
 nut ; the wings are black, the primaries very narrowly and the secondaries 
 broadly margined with chestnut. The two central tail-feathers are black ; 
 the rest have the basal half white, the terminal half black tipped and 
 narrowly margined with white. A narrow frontal line, the lores, the 
 feathers round the eye, and the ear-coverts are black ; the underparts are 
 rosy red, shading into white on the chin and under tail-coverts. Bill 
 black ; legs, toes, and claws black ; irides dark brown. The female 
 usually differs considerably from the male. She has no black about the 
 head ; and the whole of the upper parts are reddish brown ; above the 
 eye is a pale buff streak; the wings are similar in colour to those of 
 the male, but the rufous margins are paler and not so broad ; the tail 
 is brownish red, tipped with buff and margined on the outer web of 
 the outside feather with dull white. The general colour of the under- 
 parts is buffish white, transversely barred on the sides of the neck, the 
 breast, and the flanks with brown. Young birds resemble the female 
 above described, but have the upper parts also barred and the eye-stripe 
 very indistinct. 
 
 VOL. i. 2s. 
 
610 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 LANIUS RUFUS*. 
 WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 
 
 (PLATE 11.) 
 
 Lanius senator, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 94 (1758) ; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 393 (1869). 
 
 Lanius rufus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 147 (1700) ; Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl. i. p. 283 (1787) ; 
 et auctorum plurimoruin Naumann, Temmiiick, (Bonaparte), Degland, Gerbe, 
 (Kaup), Filippi, Heuglin, Brehm, Tristram, Krilper, Salvadori, Salvin, Hartlaub, 
 C. A. Wright, LUford, Hemprich, Ehrenberg, Blanford, Blasius, &c., nee Linn. 
 
 Lanius minor primus, Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. 2 (1771). 
 
 Lanius pomeranus, Sparrm. Mm. Carls, t. i. (1786). 
 
 Lanius collurio, y. rufus, Gtnel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 301 (1788). 
 
 Lanius rutilus, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 70 (1790). 
 
 Lanius ruficeps, Bechst. Naturg. Deutschl. ii. p. 1327 (1805). 
 
 Lanius ruficollis, Shaw, Gen. Zool. vii. pt. 2, p. 316 (1809). 
 
 Phoneus rufus (Briss.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 33 (1829). 
 
 Lanius melanotos, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 238 (1831). 
 
 Enneoctonus rufus (Briss.), Bonap. Comp. List B. Eur. and N. Amer. p. 26 (1838). 
 
 Lanius rutilans, Temm. Man. d'Orn. iv. p. 601 (1840). 
 
 Enneoctonus pomeranus (Sparrm.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 73 (1851). 
 
 Enneoctonus rutilans (Temm.), Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 73 (1851). 
 
 Lanius badius, Hartl. Journ. Orn. 1854, p. 100. 
 
 Lanius auriculatus (Miill.), apud Cassin, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1864, p. 238. 
 
 Enneoctonus auriculatus (Miill.), apud Gurney, Ibis, 1868, p. 159. 
 
 The Woodchat Shrike is an accidental visitor to England, chiefly during 
 the seasons of migration. At least a score of examples have been obtained 
 since the specimen which was sent to Gilbert White, and mentioned in a 
 letter sent by that naturalist to Pennant in 1769. It has even been stated 
 that this bird has once or twice nested at Freshwater in the Isle of Wight 
 (see c Ibis/ 1865, p. 1 7) . Most of the specimens obtained in England have 
 occurred in the southern and eastern counties. Although Don included 
 it in his list of the birds of Forfarshire, the bird appears never to have 
 been seen or obtained in Scotland by subsequent observers. 
 
 Upon the continent the Woodchat Shrike breeds in the basin of the 
 Mediterranean, its northern range extending into South France, Holland, 
 Germany (as far north and east as Pomerania), and Austria. Eastwards 
 it is found as far as Western Persia, its range extending northwards into 
 
 * This is a melancholy instance of the mischief produced by the " Stricklandian Code," 
 the votaries of which appear to be pretty evenly divided on the subject, half of them 
 voting for L. auriculatus and half for L. pomeranus. It is a pity that these ornithological 
 socialists cannot let existing institutions alone, and allow us to retain the time-honoured 
 name of L. rufus without dispute. 
 
WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 611 
 
 the Caucasus. It winters in Africa south of the Sahara and north of the 
 equator. The Woodchat Shrike has no very near ally ; nor does it appear 
 to be subject to any local variations in the colour of its plumage. 
 
 The habits of the Woodchat Shrike do not differ from those of its con- 
 gener the Red-backed Shrike. Its haunts are in comparatively open 
 places districts sparsely studded with bushes and a few trees. Here it 
 takes up its perch on some topmost spray or on the outside limb of a tree, 
 where its bright plumage is most conspicuous, and where it sits for a 
 lengthened period on the look-out for food. Ever and anon it will be 
 seen to open and jerk its tail; and it is incessantly turning its head from 
 side to side in close search for prey. It is not a wary bird, and, with 
 due precaution, may be quite closely approached. Usually it is seen in 
 pairs ; and when disturbed, both birds will fly off in company. 
 
 In Greece aud Asia Minor I found the TVoodchat very common. "With 
 the exception of the Black-headed Bunting, I found more of its nests than 
 those of any other bird. It is only a summer visitor to both these coun- 
 tries, belonging neither to the earliest nor to the latest birds of passage. 
 It arrives about the first of April, at least three weeks after the Swallows, 
 whose range extends into the Arctic regions, but three weeks before the 
 Tree-Warblers (Hypolais elaica and H. oUvetoruin), whose range does not 
 extend north of the basin of the Mediterranean. It is a very conspicuous 
 bird, and cannot easily be overlooked, and is very common in the olive-forests. 
 As you descend the mountains the olives in the valley look like a dense 
 forest, often extending twenty miles or more ; but when you descend into 
 them you find that the trees are planted at some distance from each other, 
 and that a considerable cultivation of vines, mulberries, and sometimes 
 Indian corn, is carried on between them. But it is perhaps on the lower 
 slopes of the hills, where the trees are more stunted and the ground is 
 less cultivated, that the "Woodchat is oftenest to be seen. Perched con- 
 spicuously upon the top of a bush, or even a lofty tree, it appears ever 
 to be on the watch for the chance of pouncing down upon some unwary 
 insect that may come within its range. Its song is by no means unmu- 
 sical, and very gentle to proceed from such raptorial jaws. It reminded 
 me very much of the twittering of a Swallow or the warble of a Starling. 
 Some of its call-notes, however, are loud and harsh enough ; and I at first 
 thought it was imitating the notes of other birds in order to attract them 
 within reach ; but inasmuch as the greater number of notes it apparently 
 imitated were of birds far too powerful for it to grapple with, such cannot 
 be the case. The first nest I found in Greece was at Delphi, not very far 
 from the rtuns of the Temple of Apollo. The nest contained six eggs on 
 the 5th of May. Higher than 2000 feet above the level of the sea the 
 bird became much rarer ; and in the pine-region, 4000 feet above the sea- 
 level, its place seemed to be entirely taken by the Red- backed Shrike 
 
612 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 but as soon as we descended below the pine-region it again became 
 extremely common ; and we found the greater number of full clutches 
 during the last fortnight of May. The nest was almost always placed 
 in the fork of an olive-tree, and composed principally of cudweed 
 (Gnaphalium) a little hairy-stemmed hairy-leaved plant, with three or 
 four little thistle-like flowers, growing from two to four inches high. 
 These the Woodchats pulled up by the roots and wove together into a 
 compact warm nest, which did not differ very much in colour from the 
 bark of the olive-trees. Occasionally a twig or two was introduced ; but 
 for the most part the cudweed, with its flowers and its root, was foundation, 
 wall, and lining to the nest. 
 
 Dixon, when in Algeria, made the following notes on this bird : " The 
 Woodchat Shrike is one of the commonest birds in Algeria. It arrives 
 from its winter haunts, far beyond the desert, at the end of March, and 
 speedily spreads itself over the entire country. In such a wide area as 
 Algeria its haunts are very varied from amidst the waving palms of the 
 oases to the juniper-clothed sides of the Aures in a district of almost per- 
 petual snow. We saw it chasing the grasshoppers amidst the wild luxuriant 
 scenery round Philippeville, its showy dress making it a conspicuous object 
 a quarter of a mile away as it sat quietly on the bush-tops. I repeatedly 
 watched the cock bird perched on the bare branches of a fig-tree, and 
 listened to his low warbling song notes that at once put me in mind of 
 those of the Starling. On the wayside, even in most barren districts, 
 provided a few shrubs occurred, we noticed this bold little bird perched 
 upon them. In the oases it flitted from stump to stump, and sometimes 
 perched on the dead leaf -stems of the palms. But it was perhaps the 
 commonest in the evergreen-oak forests not in the shady depths of the 
 forests, but in the open places where a good look-out could be kept. It 
 is not a shy bird, and is almost invariably accompanied by its mate. 
 When seriously alarmed, it would often seek seclusion in the dense thorn- 
 bush upon which it had previously been sitting. Its favourite food 
 appears to be grasshoppers; but it will also attack small birds and 
 mammals." 
 
 The food of the Woodchat Shrike is composed of beetles, grasshoppers, 
 and many other insects, which, like the other Shrikes, it will spit on 
 thorns for the purpose of securing them until they are eaten. As already 
 remarked, it will also feed on small birds and mammals. It is often seen 
 on the wing, like a Flycatcher ; and when the capture of an insect is made 
 it returns to its old perching place, ever watchful for an object for a fresh 
 sally into the air. Its song is a pleasing one, uttered in a low strain, and 
 sometimes varied by the introduction of a few carefully imitated notes of 
 its neighbours. Its call-note is a harsh kra-kra; and when alarmed it will 
 utter a loud scream. 
 
WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 613 
 
 The nest of the "Woodchat Shrike is a very handsome structure, loosely 
 put together, it is true, but with a rustic beauty about it almost peculiar 
 to the nests of this group of birds. It is usually placed in the fork of a 
 small tree sometimes in the branches of an olive-tree, sometimes in an 
 evergreen oak, a cork-tree, or a tamarisk ; and Dixon has found it, twenty 
 feet from the ground, close to the stem of a tall poplar growing in the bed 
 of the river Roumnel at Constantine. The bird appears to take as little pre- 
 caution for the concealment of its nest as our well-known Missel-Thrush ; 
 and it is often very conspicuous. It is made chiefly of the stems and 
 flowers of the cudweed (much of it torn up by the roots), intermingled with 
 a little grass, coarse herbage, and sometimes masses of wool. The lining is 
 composed of the flowers of the plant, a few small dead leaves, and a 
 little vegetable down. The eggs of this bird are from four to six in 
 number. They are exceedingly variable in size and colour. They may 
 be separated into three very distinct types, connected with each other by 
 innumerable intermediate varieties. In the first the ground-colour is pale 
 green, spotted and dashed, chiefly at the larger end, with olive-brown, 
 and thickly marked with obscure underlying spots of pale violet-grey and 
 ashy brown. In the second type the ground-colour is very pale huffish 
 white, sparingly spotted with dark greenish brown, and thickly marked 
 with underlying spots of grey. In the third type the ground-colour is 
 reddish buff, the surface spots are dark reddish brown, and the underlying 
 ones are pale lilac. In the greater number of the eggs of this bird the 
 markings are most numerous on the large end, and very often form a 
 zone. The spots, too, differ considerably in size ; and, as a rule, the under- 
 Iving ones are the largest. In some few instances the zone is round the 
 small end of the egg. They vary in length from T05 to '86 inch, and in 
 breadth from '72 to '65 inch. 
 
 Mr. C. A. Wright states (' Ibis/ 1864, p. 59) that in Malta this bird may 
 be seen during a great part of the year. " Perched on the uppermost twig 
 of some tree, its shining white breast forms one of the most conspicuous 
 objects in the ornithological landscape in April. On the first appearance 
 of danger it flies off to another and more distant tree, and, taking up a 
 similarly elevated position, scans the country round till the danger which 
 had excited its alarm has passed away. It builds here in May and June, 
 constructing a compact and well-formed nest in the fork of a carob or 
 almond tree. Its affection for, and the courage it displays in the protection 
 of, its young are remarkable. AVaiy as it is at other times, on these 
 occasions it seems to lose all fear ; uttering piercing cries, it will fly close 
 round tb head of the intruder, and actually make a feint of dashing in 
 his face." Canon Tristram states that this Shrike breeds as plentifully 
 in the seething glens of the Dead Sea as on the bleak hills of Samaria, 
 and that he once found a nest of this bird near a village lined entirely with 
 
614 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 cotton threads of a piece of stocking, evidently torn to pieces by the bird. 
 He also states that in Palestine the bird never appears to use wool or hair 
 in the construction of its nest. 
 
 The Woodchat Shrike is a very handsome bird. The male has the 
 crown of the head and the nape, extending onto the upper back, rich 
 chestnut ; lores white ; the forehead, the space round the eye, the ear- 
 coverts, the sides of the neck, and the upper part of the back are black ; 
 the rump is white, shading into grey on the lower back and longest upper 
 tail-coverts ; the wings are black, the basal part of the primaries white, 
 forming a conspicuous spot, and the secondaries tipped with white ; the 
 tail is black, all the feathers, except the two central ones, white at the base 
 and tipped with white, the two outermost feathers being almost uniform 
 white on the outer web. The general colour of the underparts is pure 
 white. Bill black; legs, toes, and claws dark brown; irides hazel. The 
 female resembles the male, but has the red parts duller, and the parts 
 which are black in the male are brown suffused with red ; the underparts 
 are buffish white, shading into pale buff on the flanks. The young in 
 first plumage are reddish brown above, mottled and barred with dark 
 brown and rufous ; the wings are brown, broadly margined and tipped 
 with rufous-brown ; the tail is brown tipped with rufous, the outermost 
 feathers much paler; the underparts are pale buff, thickly barred with 
 brown; the bill is pale brown; and the legs and claws are also much 
 paler than in the adult. 
 

 
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