)F BRITISH PET BIRDS. -
 
 BIRDS' NESTS AND EGGS, 
 
 WITH DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 BIRD-STUFFING, 
 
 WITH INSTRUCTIONS AS TO THEIR MANAGEMENT. 
 
 COLOURED AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER, 
 
 WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW.
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 THE eggs of birds, like most of the pro- 
 ductions of nature, are wonderfully perfect 
 in the symmetry of their form, as well as beautifully rich and 
 harmonious in their colouring. In form, they range in every 
 curve of the line of beauty, from the round and almost 
 spherical egg of many owls to the acutely pointed oval of 
 the blackbird and most of the small birds. On this diversity 
 of form in the eggs some authorities, thinking they had dis- 
 covered the order of nature, have attempted to form a system of 
 classification ; but a very brief examination dissolves this dream, 
 19 " 
 
 209104.6
 
 NESTS AUD EGGS. 
 
 tor, in the single family of the owls, about whose genera 
 no doubts can exist, we find the widest diversity of form; 
 the egg of the eagle-owl being nearly round, that of the 
 long-eared owl an obtuse oval, while that of the short-eared 
 owl presents a perfectly ovate shape. The rich and beautiful 
 colouring of many of the eggs has also much engaged the 
 attention of some inquirers, as we shall see. 
 
 With returning spring all nature revives; the birds which 
 remain with us all the winter seem restored to life by the first 
 fine day ; those which departed on their journey to a warmer 
 climate in the autumn return from their migration ; and once 
 more the woods and fields re-echo with their song. The rook 
 and the crow give the first intimation that the pairing 
 season is at hand. Their cawing is incessant, as is also the 
 industry with which twigs and branches are conveyed to their 
 intended dwelling-place in the tree-tops. 
 
 A little later, and the smaller birds make the grove sound 
 musical, as their several songs of love are poured forth. From 
 this time the male becomes the slave of the female. He sings 
 to charm her ; he labours incessantly to aid her ; he gathers 
 materials for the nest; he assists her in building, and super- 
 intends the workmanship; and marvellous it is to see them, 
 without other instruments than beak and claws, build and 
 weave or sew the nest, according to their peculiar habits. 
 Observe the materials which they employ with so much effect, 
 and with a discernment which indicates something approaching 
 to intelligence. Look how skilfully one weaves the catkins of the 
 willow, the poplar, and thistle down, surrounding it by stronger 
 fibres, and the address with which it is suspended at the extremity 
 of some slender pendulous branch, beyond the reach of anything 
 that only runs or creeps. Another, having made its calcula- 
 tions, fixes its nest so near to the surface of the water, that aa 
 the wind sweeps through the four reeds to which it is so firmly 
 and yet so delicately attached, its bottom just touches the 
 water without being immersed, even in the most violent storm. 
 
 The eggs of birds vary again according to the species ; not 
 only in respect to their colour, but in their form also. They 
 are white, blue, grey, green, red, or ash -coloured ; and, besides 
 the general predominant colour, they are covered with spots, 
 dashes, or streaks of darker shades, which are regularly or 
 irregularly grouped, sometimes towards one end, sometimes the 
 other. Dr. Carus attempts to explain this diversity of colour : 
 he considers it to be the result of a process of decomposition of
 
 VESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 the blood in the ovary, mixing with the calcareous salts ot 
 which the shell is composed. " It results not only from an 
 excretion of the calcareous salt," he says, speaking of the 
 shell ; " for the blood of the oviduct, being in a sort of inflamma- 
 tory state, mixes itself with these salts, forming certain pro- 
 dmrts, to which may be attributed the divers colours of the eggs 
 of birds. All these varied tints are the result of the decomposi- 
 tion of the blood." It is possible that the colour of eggs may 
 be due to some such cause, but the subject is open to doubt ; 
 for if the source of the colour and spots is in the blood mixing in 
 the uterine vessels with the salts of the shell, it is difficult to 
 conceive why all eggs are not spotted, and why those that are 
 spotted vary in tint. Besides, the colour, whatever it may be, 
 is only external, forming a thin coating only ; whereas, if it 
 had been produced by a mixture of decomposed blood and the 
 component parts of the shell, the whole shell would partake of 
 the prevailing colour. In the meanwhile, the question is still 
 one of doubt ; a doubt, perhaps, which chemical analysis would 
 easily solve were the question one of any moment. 
 
 It has been observed that eggs laid in cavities or dark 
 places, where light is altogether absent, are generally white 
 and free from spots ; such are those of the several species of 
 owls, the kingfisher, the wood-pigeon, which builds its nest 
 in the depths of some deeply-shaded wood, and some others 
 which might be named. Those, on the contrary, which are 
 laid exposed to the light, are generally more or less richly 
 coloured. Might we not conclude from these facts that light 
 has a marked action upon the colouring of the eggs, as it has 
 on other productions of nature ? The flower which blooms in 
 shade and obscurity, is it not pale and shrivelled, like everything 
 denied the vivifying rays of the sun? The birds themselves 
 being a proof of this simple fact; for those of the most 
 brilliant and varied plumage are the inhabitants of inter- 
 tropical countries. 
 
 Now, as eggs are generally spotted, and as the notion pre- 
 vails that the stains increase not in size but in intensity, in 
 proportion as the embryo developes itself, some ornithologists 
 have thought they could trace a resemblance between the spots 
 of the eggs, the nest of the birds, and their plumage. All 
 application, however, of a rule, which would deduce the 
 colour of a bird from the colour of the eggs, appears to be 
 unsupported by any number of facts ; on the contrary, all the 
 facts are opposed to it. Thus, the golden pheasant, a bird so
 
 5ESTS A1O) EGGS. 
 
 richly marked, produces a pale-coloured egg. The colour of 
 eggs has, therefore, no connection with the plumage of the bird. 
 
 Whatever may be the explanation, it is obvious enough, 
 of course, that the pigment is animal matter; but it would 
 appear, from the investigations of M. Geoffrey de Saint-Hilaire 
 and other scientific men, that the egg, immediately before it is 
 deposited, is white. The colour may also be scraped off par- 
 tially immediately after it is laid ; and when " blown " for 
 preservation, that is, when deprived of its albuminous con- 
 tents, the colour fades when exposed to the sun, as any 
 one may satisfy himself by glancing at the collection of 
 birds' eggs in the British Museum, where the efforts of 
 the obliging curator have altogether failed in devising means 
 for preserving their markings ; so that the rich ruddy blotches 
 of the peregrine and other falcons' eggs, which are the ^ JJ( : 
 striking in their markings, as may be seen on our plate, are 
 there reduced to a sober grey. The vividness of the colours 
 also appears to depend on the bird being in a healthy state. 
 Many variations are found in the colour of eggs of the same 
 species, and the eggs of birds disturbed in the act of laying 
 are always deficient in their markings; the animal ecoromy 
 seems to be disturbed by the alarm, and imperfect colouring 
 is the result. 
 
 As to the form and size of eggs, nothing is more variable ; 
 from that which the ostrich deposits in the sands of the 
 desert to that of the wren, or the still more minute humming- 
 bird, what a difference in size, and, above all, what variety in 
 form ! Some experiments, undertaken by M. Geoffrey de Saint- 
 Hilaire in Egypt, and by M. Florent-Prevost in France, 
 enable them, as they assert, to declare, on seeing an egg, the 
 sex of the bird which it contains. After numberless obser- 
 vations, they conclude that the globular eggs, that is to say, 
 those whose extremities are nearly round, are females, and that 
 males come from those more pointed. It appears also, that if 
 the void which appears on looking at an egg across a luminous 
 body occupies one of the ends, the sex is male ; but if situated 
 on either of the sides, it is a female. 
 
 The great variety in their markings has given rise to another 
 notion, that the colour of eggs accords with the locality as well 
 as the materials of which the nest is composed, and that it is 
 intended as a provision for their concealment from those 
 animals which prey upon them. This is not supported, 
 however, by observed facts; nothing can be more in con- 
 
 M
 
 aSTS AND EGGS. 
 
 trast with the brown clay and withered grass and moss of 
 which the nest of the blackbird is composed than the light 
 blue colour and brown spots of its eggs. Again, the brilliant 
 white and delicate pink spots of the wren's or bottle-tit's egg 
 would at once attract attention were the nests of each less care- 
 fully concealed. The idea is, besides, at variance with the 
 more rational doctrine, that the birds themselves are, like 
 all other creatures, gifted with an instinctive power of selection, 
 which is employed in securing the safety of their offspring. This 
 faculty it is which leads them to build their nests in obscure 
 and sometimes inaccessible places, and to cover them with 
 materials calculated to conceal their stronghold from the pry- 
 ing eye of curiosity. If the doctrine receives any support from 
 the facts of natural history, these facts are found connected 
 with those birds whose nest- building scarcely deserves the name. 
 Those familiar with the haunts of the golden plover will have no 
 difficulty in discovering the slight hollow which it has scraped 
 in the wild moorland, but the colour of its four pear-shaped 
 and grey-spotted eggs, the narrow ends of which all meet in 
 the centre, will certainly not assist their search. Nevertheless, 
 as a generally observed fact, the egg presents a decided con- 
 trast to the surrounding colours of the nest. 
 
 If anything were wanting, indeed, to enhance the pleasure of 
 egg-hunting, it would be found in the wonderful skill which 
 many of these little creatures exhibit in the construction of their 
 nests, in the choice of situation, and in the choice of the 
 materials employed. We recognize a provident instinct, which 
 almost amounts to the higher intelligence usually termed 
 reason, in the care with which they guard themselves and 
 their young from the assaults of their enemies and from the 
 weather. It exhibits the hand of the Creator giving its first 
 direction to the art, which results in providing for the perpe- 
 tuation of their species. It marks the all-pervading fiat 
 which has declared that not a sparrow falls to the ground but 
 with His permission. 
 
 Among our home birds remarkable for the architecture of 
 their nests, we may mention the magpie. As we have already 
 seen, this bird's nest is quite an aerial fortress. Built on some 
 tall tree, whose large and branchless stem renders it inaccessible to 
 the most daring of school-boys, the magpie's nest is a conspicu- 
 ous spheroidal mass, composed first of a layer of twigs, curiously 
 interwoven and crossed, on which is spread a quantity of mud ; 
 then is formed a dome of twigs of the sloe or hawthorn, loosely
 
 NESTS AST) EGGS. 
 
 but securely interlaced, while the bottom of the interior ia 
 lined with soft fibrous roots?, an aperture being left in the side 
 of the nest, which is barely sufficient to admit the bird. Why 
 this bird should find it necessary to render its nest so defen- 
 sible, has been a mystery to the naturalist ; but it is probably 
 explained by the fate of an unhappy colony of magpies, whose 
 story is recorded in the Magazine of Natural History. The 
 birds in question had built their nests on a lofty grove of 
 trees, in the neighbourhood of which a pair of tawny owls had 
 also established themselves. To feed their young, the parent 
 owls had made several desperate assaults on several of the 
 magpies' nests, which had been gallantly defended ; the assailing 
 owls had been repeatedly repelled ; but at last the remains of 
 young magpies were observed under the favourite perch of the 
 young owls, an indication not to be mistaken that the strong- 
 hold had been successfully stormed. One morning appeared 
 there the head and feathers of an old magpie, which must 
 have been (bragged from the nest while roosting. 
 
 After this, a sort of truce would seem to have been con- 
 cluded, and for a whole year the owls remained quiet ; but in 
 1845 the same pertinacious attack upon the nest of a pair of 
 magpies, built on the very highest branch of a sycamore, near 
 to their eyrie, commenced. One day Mr. Carr, who records the 
 event, was roused by a shriek of agony like that of a hare 
 caught in a snare ; he rushed to the spot, and arrived just in 
 time to prevent another murder ! One of the owls was in the 
 act of drawing the old magpie out of her nest by the head. 
 By striking the trunk of the tree violently, he succeeded in 
 separating the combatants for the time. In revenge, before 
 the next morning, his only pair of young rooks had disap- 
 peared from their nests, and a decree of doom went forth, the 
 voung owls forthwith paid the penalty of their voracious appe- 
 tites ! It is thus not without reason that the magpie fortifies 
 her nest, and surrounds it with palisades ; for, besides the owl, 
 it is subject to visits from weasels and other prying quadrupeds. 
 
 The nest of the long-tailed tit (Parus caudatus) is ex- 
 tremely beautiful, being of a very regular oval form, six to 
 seven inches long and three and a half to four and a half 
 broad; it is usually composed of moss and wool, crusted 
 externally with grey lichens, the whole kept together by 
 xaeans of the flaxen fibres of plants, some wool, and delicate 
 filmy shreds interwoven in a transverse direction. It is usually 
 attached to, and supported by the twigs of a branch of a tree. 
 
 I
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 The small grey lichens with which it is covered all over form 
 so close an incrustation with the branches of the tree from which 
 it is suspended as effectually to conceal the numerous eggs it 
 contains, for this little creature lays and hatches as many 
 as sixteen eggs. The aperture is round, and only an inch 
 and a quarter in diameter, with an inch and a half of dome 
 above the opening. The outer shell of the nest is an inch and 
 a half thick ; its inner surface is stuck all over with feathers, 
 being not only lined but nearly filled with similar materials ; 
 one nest, described in some MS. notes of the lamented Mr. Mac- 
 gillivray, now before us, containing no less than six hundred 
 and eighty-nine feathers, three-fourths of them large ones, 
 being those of the domestic fowl, pheasants, turkeys, rooks, 
 and other birds. 
 
 But the most artistic specimens of nest-building among 
 British birds are greatly exceeded by some of the tropical 
 birds. The nest of the tailor-bird of Africa and Asia, so 
 called from the skill with which the nest is constructed, is 
 Bewn together by the long fibrous filaments of various plants ; 
 the materials being selected with a wonderful degree of intelli- 
 gence. In form it is not unlike the bottle-tit's nest, but infinitely 
 more elaborate. Even 'this edifice is far exceeded by that of 
 some of the toucans of the Philippine Islands, whose nest, 
 suspended at the extremity of the most slender and flexible 
 branches, and beyond the reach of any beast of prey, consists 
 of a series of chambers, one built above the other, with an 
 entrance from below; the same nest being used by several 
 pairs of birds, all of whom have either laboured simulta- 
 neously at its construction or added to it subsequently. 
 
 The pensile grosbeak, another of these gregarious African 
 birds, makes a basket-nest of straw and reeds, interwoven into 
 the shape of a bag, with the entrance below, the top being 
 fastened generally on trees that grow on the borders of 
 streams, or on those which impend over precipices. On one 
 side of this hanging edifice is the true nest. The bird does 
 not build a distinct nest every year, but fastens its new basket 
 to the lower end of the old one- a very singular arrangement. 
 The object in choosing this position over a precipice or stream 
 for the nest is obviously to secure their offspring from the 
 assaults of their numerous enemies, particularly the serpent 
 race. To increase the difficulty of access to these tree-rocked 
 cradles, the entrance is always from below, and frequently 
 through a cylindrical passage, of twelve or fifteen inches in
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 length, projecting from the spherical nest exactly like the tube 
 of a chemist's retort. The whole fabric is most ingenioively 
 wid elegantly woven of several species of very tough grass; 
 and the wonderful foresight displayed is calculated to excite 
 the highest admiration. Twenty or more of these beautiful 
 nestn have been observed hanging from a single tree. 
 
 Another species, the baya, or bottle-nosed sparrow, is re- 
 markable for its pendent nest, uncommon sagacity, and bril- 
 liant plumage the head and breast being of a bright yellow, 
 giving it a splendid appearance in the rays of a tropical sun. 
 They associate in large numbers, and cover extensive clumps of 
 palmyras, acacias, and date- trees, with their nests. These are 
 formed by long grass, woven together in the shape of a bottle, 
 and suspended by one end to the extremity of a flexible 
 branch, the more effectually to secure the eggs and young from 
 serpents, monkeys, squirrels, and birds of prey. The nest 
 contains several apartments, appropriated to different pur- 
 poses ; in one the hen performs the office of incubation ; 
 another, consisting of a little thatched roof, and covering 
 a porch without a bottom, is occupied by the male. 
 
 The real nest is concealed from exposure by a covering of 
 hay, to secure itself and young ones from their deadly enemy, 
 the squirrel, as likewise from injury by the weather, which it 
 escapes by making the nest like a steeple hive, with winding 
 passages, and before which hangs a penthouse for the rain to 
 pass down. It is suspended by so slender a thread that the 
 squirrel dares not venture on it. Hundreds of these pendulous 
 nests, it is said, may sometimes be seen on the same tree. 
 
 " The industry of these birds," says Paterson, " seems 
 almost equal to that of the bee. Throughout the day they 
 seem to be busily employed in carrying a small species of 
 grass, which is the principal material they use for their 
 ordinary work as well as for addition and repairs. Though 
 my short stay in the country was not sufficient to satisfy me, 
 by ocular proof, that they added to their nests as they 
 annually increased in numbers, still, from the many trees 
 that I have seen borne down by the weight, and with their 
 boughs completely covered, it would appear that this is really 
 the case. One of these deserted nests I had the curiosity to 
 break down. There are many entrances, each of which forms 
 a regular street, with nests on each side, about two inches 
 apart. The grass with which they build is called Bushman's 
 grass, and I believe the seed of it to be their principal food,
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 though I found the wings and legs of several insects in the 
 nests. From every appearance, the nest which I dissected 
 had been inha- 
 bited for several 
 
 im$mmmm\- 
 
 more complete 
 than others." 
 
 The weaver- 
 bird of India 
 constructs a 
 nest of vegetable 
 fibres, which it 
 interlaces in 
 such a manner 
 as to form a sort 
 of purse, as re- 
 presented in the 
 engraving. It 
 is suspended 
 from the higher 
 branches of 
 trees overhanging 
 rivers, and the en- 
 trance is at the 
 lower end. The 
 first year the nest 
 is a simple purse, 
 but in the follow- 
 ing year the bird 
 attaches to this a 
 second, and so it 
 proceeds annually, 
 with a similar ad- 
 dition to the curi- 
 ous fabric. 
 
 This marvellous 
 association of se- 
 veral pairs labour- 
 ing together is particularly apparent in the species to which 
 the French naturalists have given the name of the republican 
 gros-bec, the approaches to their nest being of the most artful 
 description, while the nest is, externally, only one mass ot
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 vegetable fibre. These are onb/ a few of the facts which 
 may be adduced to prove that birds are gifted with an 
 instinctive power of selecting materials and positions calculated 
 to conceal their eggs and progeny from their enemies. By far 
 the most numerous class of birds build their nests in trees or 
 bushes, and a nest, in spite of the arts of the builders, being 
 a bulky excrescence, is easily discovered by a practised eye, 
 and, once discovered, concealment of the eggs would be 
 impossible. 
 
 As to the eggs themselves, their well-known external cover- 
 ing is a light, porous, and brittle shell, of chalky formation, 
 which is pervious to the admission of oxygen and carbonic acid 
 from the atmosphere, which are essential to the development of 
 the vital principle which they contain. Within the shell is a 
 thin membraneous lining, which covers the whole, terminating 
 in a small bag at the obtuse end, which receives the air and 
 communicates with the interior organism of the egg. Within 
 this lining is the white, or albumen, which, under the 
 microscope, reveals some very curious physiological forms, 
 which it would be foreign to our purpose to enter on here. 
 Within this layer is the yellow matter, known as the yolk or 
 vitellus of the egg. 
 
 An examination of the statistics of eggs leads to the conclu- 
 sion that the birds useful to man produce them in the greatest 
 numbers. The domestic fowl and the gallinaceous tribes gene- 
 rally lay an unlimited number of eggs; those smaller birds 
 which live on insects, as if for the purpose of keeping down 
 these enemies to vegetation, lay a large but limited number of 
 eggs. In falcons and owls the number varies from two to five, 
 the largest and fiercest birds having the fewest eggs. 
 
 But our present object is to collect and prepare eggs and 
 nests. The pursuit is sometimes objected to on the score of 
 inhumanity; but it is not impossible to gratify a rational 
 curiosity and avoid the other alternative. One or two eggs 
 taken from a nest does not, probably, much .affect the mother 
 bird : taking the whole nest, indeed, in some species, only leads 
 to their building a second ; for it seems pretty well ascertained 
 that most birds, after a time, will build a second and even a 
 third time, although at each successive laying the eggs are 
 said to be smaller and less numerous. We cannot, then, advise 
 our bird-nesters to take more than one or two eggs from any 
 one nest, and the only excuse for taking the nest itself is when 
 a collection is being formed ; even then, if possible, let the nest
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 remain till the young fledglings have left it on their own 
 independent career. 
 
 A collector can rarely pick np, with his own hands, any large 
 proportion of even a small collection. " How many, for example," 
 asks Mr. Macgillivray, " have robbed the eagle's or the osprey's, 
 or scaled the magpie's nest, or laid their grasping hand on the 
 eggs of the raven (which command half-a-crown apiece among the 
 London dealers), or even the hooded crow or the chough ? Never- 
 theless, let him who can, search for himself, otherwise he will miss 
 much knowledge." It is told of the Abbe Manesse, who ren- 
 dered great service to science by his observations on birds and 
 eggs, and their manner of laying, that the whole of his superb 
 collection was collected by himself; he confided in no one, 
 and added no egg to his collection which he had not verified with 
 his own eyes. His practice was to prepare himself for climbing 
 by putting two spikes on his boots, and encircling the tree as 
 well as his own body with a strong girth, and with this 
 apparatus, when he was far on the shady side of forty, did 
 the good abbe scale the loftiest tree that magpie, or rook, or 
 wood-pigeon, chose for its castle. One of his rules was, to 
 admit no nest or egg into his collection until he saw the bird 
 in or flying out of the nest, thus identifying the species. His 
 home career was cut short by the French Revolution, but, as an 
 emigrant, he took every opportunity of enlarging his collection, 
 which became the most perfect in Europe, and was presented, 
 with his MSS. and drawings, in 1817, to the French Institute. 
 
 The egg collector must pursue his task under many difficul- 
 ties. In robbing the nest situated on lofty trees he will proba- 
 bly have to descend with the treasure in his mouth, for the 
 fewer incumbrances he ascends with the better. On reaching the 
 ground the eggs should be carefully marked, and placed in one of 
 the tin boxes he should carry in a bag. In order to preserve 
 them, drill a hole near each end with a triangular needle, twirling 
 the needle gently between the finger and thumb; then apply 
 the mouth to one of the holes, and blow out the contents at the 
 other, washing it afterwards with a solution of gum and water, 
 gently injected from a syringe ; this gives strength and solidity 
 to the shell, and preserves the membrane ; the holes may after- 
 wards be filled with wax or covered with thin paper, but no 
 gumming, varnishing, nor washing outside. When thus pre- 
 pared, and perfectly dry, the eggs may be fixed upon pieces 
 of cork, or, better still, in small boxes, just large enough to 
 contain them, having glass tops, or they may be kept ia
 
 KESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 drawers, having cotton or chopped moss for them to rest 
 upon; but in whatever mode the collection is arranged, the 
 eggs must be excluded from the light, otherwise the colours 
 will inevitably fade. The names and description should be 
 written on the box or a slip of paper, and not on the egg itself. 
 Where there is a glazed case or case of drawers available, 
 sufficiently large, and capable of having the light excluded, the 
 most useful arrangement would be to place the eggs in the 
 proper nest; but this could only apply to the smaller species 
 of birds' nests. 
 
 The following eggs are represented in the plate, and are 
 
 described in the succeeding pages : 
 
 1. Chaffinch. 
 
 12. Greenfinch. 
 
 23. Jay. 
 
 2. Hawfinch. 
 
 13. Goldfinch. 
 
 24. Starling. 
 
 3. Siskin. 
 
 14. Titlark. 
 
 25. Redwing. 
 
 4. Bullfinch. 
 
 15. Wren.' 
 
 26. Missel Thrush. 
 
 5. Red Shrike. 
 
 16. Linnet. 
 
 27. Water OuzeL 
 
 6. Bottle-tit. 
 
 17. Yellowhammer. 
 
 28. Bhckcap. 
 
 7. Blue-tit. 
 
 18. Robin. 
 
 29. Fieldfare. 
 
 8. Cole-tit. 
 
 19. Kestrel. 
 
 30. Ring OuzeL 
 
 9. Nightingale. 
 
 20. Magpie 
 
 31. Song Thrush. 
 
 10. Woodlark. 
 
 21. Raven. 
 
 32. Blackbird, 
 
 11. Skylark. 
 
 22. Jackdaw. 

 
 BIKD-NESTING IN FIELDS AND COMMONS. 
 
 Away from the busy haunts of town-life, every hedgerow, 
 field, and common, is alive with the song of birds ; the familiar 
 sparrow chirps on the housetops ; a thousand songsters pur- 
 sue their busy avocations in the garden, the orchards, and the 
 hedgerows ; some searching, like robbers as they are, for the 
 seeds just sown in the ground, but the majority of them 
 aiding the cottager to subdue the larvae of insects, which 
 would presently, without this help, overwhelm him with their 
 ravages. It is a bright April morning. All the birds which 
 breed with us are either building their nests, or, that office 
 past, they are engaged in laying or sitting on the eggs, which 
 it is our object to collect. It is to be feared that this our inten- 
 tion is not to be defended on any fair principle of meum and 
 tuum ; on what ground, then, can it be defended ? On scientific 
 grounds surely, for it is one of the records of creation, which it 
 is the object of science to preserve. In our case, let us call 
 it the indulgence of a rational curiosity, which may serve the
 
 NESTS AND EGG5. 
 
 useful purpose of training some future Cuvier or Linnaeus to 
 enlighten the world; and let us add, we shall endeavour to 
 attain our object harmlessly " the act shall please we without 
 hurting she " for we shall deal generously, plunderers though 
 we be, with the feathered owners of the nest. 
 
 The preparations for a bird-nesting expedition are few and 
 soon made : a game-bag of some kind, with boxes strong enough 
 to protect the eggs collected from being crushed, lined with 
 cotton- wool or moss. 
 
 Once clear of streets and houses, we can hardly go astray. 
 Here is the common ; flocks of sparrows harbour in the hedges, 
 keeping up their incessant chatter ; a little farther off, linnets 
 and chaffinches ; and the lark is already carolling high in the 
 air; the hedge-sparrow also shuffles along; slightly raising 
 and shaking its wings, it hops away very quietly and rapidly, 
 till it gets among the roots of the brambles, where it feels 
 secure. There is a nest in that bush, from which the bird has 
 gone with such a sudden rush ; it is a linnet, as you may see 
 by her rapid and undulating flight, which she executes in a 
 curved line by alternate risings and fallings. You want a 
 LINNET'S egg ; and as there are only four in the nest, they are 
 fresh. Well, take two of them, not a very severe case of 
 robbery, and the alarmed mother evidently dreads greater 
 ravages. The nest is very neatly constructed of blades and 
 stalks of grass, mixed with moss and wool, and lined with the 
 fur of various animals, sometimes mixed with thistle-down, the 
 breadth being about four inches. The eggs (fig. 16), of which 
 there are usually five or six, of an oval form, three-quarters 
 of an inch long, and about half an inch in their thickest part, 
 are of bluish white, slightly spotted with brownish grey and 
 red, the spots thickest at the larger end. 
 
 It is a gratuitous piece of cruelty to rob the bird of all the 
 eggs, and usually leads to th nest being deserted. It is a 
 still more barbarous practice to shoot these small birds, except 
 when they are wanted for some useful purpose connected with 
 science, or at least with the rational intention of making a 
 collection; and it may be doubted if a jury of birds would 
 accept even that excuse for murdering one of their number. 
 
 The YELLOWHAMMEK is widely distributed, and especially 
 abundant in wooded districts, although it does not usually 
 select the thicket for nidification; for the nest is usually 
 placed on the ground, under a bush, or among the roots of the 
 willow, overhanging a brook, or among its twigs. The nest ia
 
 BIKD-NESTING IN FIELDS AND COMMONS. 
 
 composed, externally, of coarse grass and twigs, neatly lined 
 with finer grass-fibres and hair of the horse and cow, well 
 matted together. The eggs (fig. 17), four or five in number, 
 are oval in form, of a purplish-white, marked with streaks 
 and a few irregular dots of black, together with some faint 
 purplish-grey markings ; their length about ten-twelfths of an 
 inch by eight-twelfths in diameter. 
 
 The GREENFINCH, sometimes called the green linnet, is a timid 
 bird, but more easily approached than the linnet. It pairs 
 and builds its nest in April, choosing the roots of a furze bush, 
 a close hawthorn hedge, the lower fork of some bushy shrub, 
 or even the ivy on a tree or wall, for its future habitation. The 
 nest is formed of hypna or other vegetable fibre, which it 
 interweaves neatly with fibrous roots and straws mixed with 
 hair ; the external walls are strengthened with slender twigs ; 
 and the lining is a mixture of hairs and fibrous roots and wool, 
 felted together ; the whole forming a compact, well-constructed 
 nest. 
 
 The eggs (fig. 12), from four to six in number, are oval, 
 about three-fourths of an inch in length, a little over half an 
 inch in diameter, of a bluish or purplish white, spotted with 
 purple and grey and blackish brown, more or less streaked 
 with black : two broods are sometimes reared in a season. 
 
 The REDPOLE, like its congeners, nestles among the brush- 
 wood of the common, on the margins of streams, in rocky 
 dells ; but the nest is not common. Mr. Selby describes it as 
 built in a beech or low tree, and formed of moss and the stalks 
 of dry grass, intermixed with the down of the catkin of the 
 willow, which also forms the lining, a soft and warm receptacle 
 for the eggs and young. The birds brood late in the season, 
 the young ones not being fledged till the end of June. The 
 eggs are four in number, of a pale bluish green, spotted with 
 orange-brown towards the larger end. 
 
 Early as we are, the LAKK is before us with his matin carol. 
 There it is, rising against the wind, and pouring forth its song 
 without intermission ; and there it shoots away to the left, in a 
 wide curve, round the wind as it were, and whirling to the 
 right again before it begins its descent into that cornfield, which 
 it does floating, and with expanded wings. Its note is prolonged 
 and more steady ; now it closes its wings, and down it comes 
 with great rapidity, with the body slightly declining ; and now its 
 wild fantasia ceases, as it drops on the ground, after hovering 
 a moment in the air. In the long grass near to the spot where 
 
 303
 
 NESTS AJTD EGGS. 
 
 it has dropped, or very near to it, keen eyes will find its nest ; 
 and there it is. Among the young blades of corn, which is its 
 favourite nesting-place, the lark scrapes a hollow in the ground ; 
 in pasture-ground or common, it selects a place among the 
 long grass, where it builds a nest of stalks and blades of 
 withered grass, rather loosely put together, lining them with 
 softer and finer fibres. The eggs (fig. 11) are four or five, broadly 
 oval in form, and over three-quarters of an inch in length, by 
 about two-thirds in diameter ; they are greenish grey, irregularly 
 freckled with a darker shade of brownish green, most densely at 
 the broader end. The lark usually breeds twice in the season, 
 in June and September, and the female sits so closely on 
 her eggs that she has been taken there. 
 
 The WOODLABK is smaller than the skylark, while it closely 
 resembles it in other respects ; but it is observed to sing while 
 perching on trees and bushes, which the skylark never does. 
 Like the skylark, it may be observed to spring with the dawn 
 from the field or pasture-ground in which it has reposed during 
 the night, ascending perpendicularly, while it pours forth its 
 cheerful song, which is even more melodious than its congener. 
 The nest is generally placed in a cornfield, common, or pasture- 
 ground, near a wood. It is composed of blades of dried grass, 
 loosely put together, lined with finer blades, mixed with hair and 
 wool. The eggs (fig. 10), four or five in number, are smaller than 
 the skylark's, and more elongated, being three-quarters of an inch 
 by four-sixths, of a pale yellowish brown, freckled with umber or 
 greyish brown, with dusky irregular lines at the larger end. 
 
 The TITLABK, or meadow-pipit, as it is more commonly called, 
 is universally diffused from one extremity of the island to the 
 other, sometimes perching on bush or tree, more commonly on a 
 wall or stone, reposing at night on dry grass. The nest usually 
 occupies a grassy bank or grassy tuif, or is so sunk into the 
 ground as not to be easily observed. It is a neatly -constructed 
 nest, formed of stems and blades of grass, lined with finer 
 kinds and tender fibrous roots and hair. The eggs (fig. 14), 
 four to six in number, are of an oval form, three-fourths of an 
 inch by four-sixths in diameter, varying considerably in colour, 
 but generally of a light grey or brownish white ground, dotted 
 and freckled with a purplish grey, especially at the larger end, 
 where they entirely conceal the lighter ground. 
 
 On the verge of the common there is, sometimes, a narrow 
 belt of young timber-trees, with a thick hedge beneath, en- 
 closing a large growth of underwood ; on the skirts of the
 
 BIBD-NESTING IN FIELDS AND COMMONS. 
 
 village green we find, occasionally, a venerable clump of trees ; 
 sometimes a great extent of wall or paling incloses some richly- 
 wooded domain, where the trees skirt the highway; or, in 
 default of better accommodation, there is a tall hawthorn hedge. 
 On each and all of these, in many parts of England between 
 the Trent valley and the south coast, the NIGHTINGALE may be 
 heard, night and morning, pouring forth its joyous song from 
 the lower branches. Beyond these limits, the appearance of the 
 nightingale, if not denied, is, at least, rare; foi, although it 
 has been frequently heard as far north as York, anil, in very mild 
 summers, even in Mid-Lothian, as a rule these are its limits. 
 
 When the nest is sought for, keen eyes aaust be made use 
 of, as the bird displays great sagacity in its concealment, 
 choosing the root of the thickest and most impenetrable hedge 
 for building and placing it, besides which it is completely 
 surrounded by a clump of leaves and bushes similar in colour 
 to those of which it is formed. The foundation of the nest 
 is usually loose grass, rushes, or dry leaves ; the walls of the 
 nest, which is large, and loosely put together externally, are a 
 thick matting of leaves of the neighbouring trees, lined with a 
 thin covering of fine grass, and, in many respects, resembling 
 the nest of the robin. Here the nightingale lays its five or 
 six broadish ovate eggs (fig. 9), three-fourths of an inch in 
 length and seven-twelfths in diameter. They are generally 
 of a brown uniform colour, but occasionally slightly mottled 
 all over with reddish-brown spots. 
 
 20
 
 BIRD-NESTING IN WOODS AND HEDGEROWS. 
 
 Let the reader imagine the verge of a young plantation oi 
 some thirty years' growth, to which memory calls us back 
 after more years than we like to think of. In this plantation, 
 which had been planted by a retired physician, a keen botanist 
 and a lover of science, the rarest trees known eighty yean 
 back were intermingled with the ash, the elm, the birch, and 
 a sprinkling of spruce and other pine-trees. A limpid brook, 
 just large enough to ornament the hanging woods and mingle 
 its murmurings with the song of birds, traverses the wood in a 
 meandering course for upwards of a mile, skirted by the once 
 trim and still pleasant walk, although its gravel is now covered 
 with weeds, and its shrubbery a tangled thicket; but all the 
 better for its feathered inhabitants. Crossing the stile and 
 penetrating the thicket, we are landed in a small triangular 
 meadow, through which the brook meanders, after tumbling over
 
 BIRD-NESTING IN WOODS AND HEDGEROWS. 
 
 a rugged cascade, worn in the bed of the river into a deep black 
 pool, where a handsome trout may always be found. Here, in 
 the days I speak of, a pair of WATER- OUZELS had built their nest 
 in the crevices of the crumbling rocks which overlooked the 
 pool. The nest is bulky and arched, composed externally of 
 various species of moss, firmly matted together with mud, not 
 unlike the swallow's nest, with an aperture in front, of oblong 
 form, three inches and a half wide by one and a half high. 
 Within this is contained the nest itself, a hemispherical mass of 
 soft grass-moss and water-plants, lined with leaves of trees. 
 The eggs (fig. 27) are five or six in number, of an oval form, 
 and rather pointed, about an inch in length and three-quarters 
 of an inch at their thickest end, and of a cream-coloured white. 
 When these little birds have attached themselves to a locality, 
 they are known to return to it for many years in succession, 
 and the pair in question had built here for several years. 
 
 This plantation is so favourably situated in all respects, that 
 every songster of the grove may be found in it. And here, in 
 this high copse, we have a JAY'S nest, occupying the lower 
 branches of a young oak. It is formed of sticks, lined with 
 fibrous roots, on which it deposits five or six eggs, broadly 
 oval (fig. 23), of a pale bluish-green or grey colour, obscurely 
 marked with a darker shade of yellowish brown and pale 
 purple, but varying much in colour. The jay is an object of 
 dread to some of the smaller birds ; for, although not exactly a 
 bird of prey, opportunity offering, it does not hesitate to attack 
 them, and they shun its neighbourhood accordingly. Mr. 
 Durham Weir, a close observer, whose MS. notes are now 
 before us, "trapped one in January, 1837, which he placed 
 with some other birds in his tool-house ; but was astonished to 
 find two of them destroyed in the morning. He soon had 
 proof against their destroyer. A linnet alighting on a branch 
 of a tree on which the jay was sitting, he caught it by the 
 throat with his bill and killed it in a few minutes. Half an 
 hour after, the jay seized upon a green linnet in the same 
 manner, plucked off the feathers, and devoured it bit by bit, all 
 except the head." 
 
 The MISSEL-THRUSH has, however, no fears of this showy 
 bird, but builds his nest where he lists, in the forked branch of 
 some low branch, of a tree, generally at some inconsiderable 
 height, the nest, a bulky mass some six inches and a half 
 externally, and three inches and a half internally. The external 
 walls are composed of twigs, straws, and grasses, intermixed 
 
 307
 
 NESTS AW) 669. 
 
 with leaves and mosses, and flattened patches of mud, between 
 three and four inches thick, with a lining of grass and a 
 few large feathers ; the mouth firmly constructed of interwoven 
 panicles of hair or grass, mingled with twigs, root-fibres, and 
 wool. In this nest the missel-thrush generally lays three to 
 five eggs, of an oblong-ovate form, an inch and a quarter long, 
 by a little over three-quarters thick (fig. 26), of a purplish-white 
 or flesh colour, marked with blotches of light brown and ob- 
 scure purplish red. 
 
 The song-thrush and blackbird both abound in plantations 
 of this description ; but neither of them confine themselves to 
 the woods, a hedgerow or rough bank with moss, or the roots 
 of a hedge, even a hole in a wall or the crevices of a rock, being 
 selected, occasionally, in localities where there are no plantations. 
 The THRUSH'S nest, which is bulky, is composed externally of 
 various kinds of grasses and long tough roots of various plants, 
 tufts of poa and stellaria, mosses, and other substances. Within 
 this is a more elaborate structure of fibrous roots, tufts of 
 straws, and beech leaves, interwoven with clay, or some other 
 binding substance, the whole lined or plastered with a thin 
 compact lining of some substance, supposed to be horse-dung, 
 on the surface of which is a coating of chips of straw and 
 slender grasses. The eggs (fig. 31) vary from four to six, of a 
 broadly ovate shape, and of a bright bluish green, with scat- 
 tered blackish-brown spots, more thickly placed towards the 
 larger end, measuring about an inch and a sixth in length by 
 ten and a half lines thick. 
 
 The nest of the BLACKBIRD is scarcely to be distinguished from 
 that of the thrush, and the locality is nearly the same. The 
 eggs (fig. 32) are also from four to six, of a bluish or grey green, 
 freckled with pale umber-looking or reddish-brown markings, 
 denser towards the thick extremity, where the spots some- 
 times form a sort of ring, slightly longer than the eggs of the 
 thrush, but of the same thickness. 
 
 The FIELDFARE is found in these plantations in great num- 
 bers in the season ; but they do not breed with us. In a paper in 
 the Magazine of Botany and Zoology, on " Birds of Norway," 
 Mr. Hewitson describes them as breeding by hundreds in a 
 very limited space, the nest being placed in the forks of spruce 
 firs, some forty or fifty feet from the ground, the eggs (fig. 29) 
 much resembling those of the blackbird, and being five and 
 six in number. 
 
 The KEDWDJG closely resembles the fieldfare in many of its 
 
 Kte *
 
 BOLD-NESTING IN WOODS AND HEDGEROWS. 
 
 habits, and especially in its nest and mode of breeding, the egg 
 (fig. 25) being about the size of the blackbird's, of a pale 
 greenish colour, slightly purplish toward the smaller end, with 
 reddish brown spots at the other extremity. 
 
 Let us skirt the plantation, and listen to the strains which 
 issue from that sycamore ; they are loud, clear, and surpass- 
 ingly melodious ; the notes gush out with rapidity, but always 
 clear and distinct. It is the BLACKCAP warbler, and the nest is 
 not far off, and there it is, in the fork of that bay -tree. It is 
 composed of dried stalks of the goose or some other grass, 
 woven together with tufts of wool and moss, lined with fibrous 
 roots and long hairs. The eggs (fig. 28) are four or five, of a 
 broadly ovate form, three-quarters of an inch long by seven- 
 twelfths thick, nf a greyish-white colour, faintly mottlea with 
 purplish grey, with streaks and marks of blackish brown. 
 
 A little further on, a clump of wild birch and hazel over- 
 hanging the brook gives shelter to a whole colony of the 
 titmice, wrens, redpoles, siskins, and other songsters, whose 
 notes, more or less musical, fill the air with an harmo- 
 nious hum, as they mingle with the murmurings of the 
 brook and with the harsh chir-r-r-iJc of the ox-tit, the twirik- 
 twittJc of the chaffinch, and the alarm note of the robin 
 and tke wren. Here, also, is the more familiar blue-tit, or 
 tomtit, as he is more commonly called, skipping about with 
 a frisking motion, as he peers into every chink and cranny, 
 or behind every leaf, now hanging back downwards, now at the 
 topmost branches, head-feathers erected, and chur-chur-ing with 
 his petulant cry. 
 
 The TOMTIT is the constant denizen of such localities as this ; 
 but in the spring it also makes excursions into the neigh- 
 bouring gardens, where it is a good friend to the gardener, 
 devouring the larvae of many an insect which would otherwise 
 destroy bis hopes of fruit or flower, although John does not 
 always know it. At this season Tom is noisy and vociferous. 
 The nest is built in the chink of a wall, under the thatched 
 roof, in a hole in the trunk of a tree, or, indeed, in any, even 
 the most unlikely localities. In the manuscript notes of 
 Mr. B. D. Duncan, a good ornithologist and close observer, 
 now before us, is described the nest of a pair which had been 
 built in the shaft of a pump-well, at the bottom of his garden : 
 Although the nest was drenched and partly carried away 
 every time water was drawn, still they persevered in building 
 there, endeavouring to fix their nest near to the piston. Gladly
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 would we have suffered them to remain, had they not kept the 
 water in a continually muddy state by the materials they used. 
 After their expulsion from the well, which was not very easily 
 effected, they made choice of a hole in an old wall at the back of 
 the house. One day, when passing the place," he says, " atten- 
 tion was attracted by a loud hissing, somewhat like that emitted 
 by a cat, an adder, or a weasel. On looking at the little crevice 
 in the wall, I soon discovered whence the sound proceeded ; there 
 sat the agitated Tom, employing this vociferous method of 
 ridding himself of my presence. The nest was composed first of 
 a layer of mixed moss, grass, and wool, with a lining of hair 
 and feathers. The eggs (fig. 7) were very numerous, but I 
 did not count them some authors say as many as twenty, 
 of a regular oval form, five-eighths of an inch long, and half 
 an inch thick, white, slightly tinged with red, and marked with 
 irregular spots of darker red. When a family made its appear- 
 ance in this dwelling, the parent birds were so anxious in 
 supplying the wants of their little ones, that I have frequently 
 stood so near, as the birds entered and left the nest, that I 
 might have caught them by stretching out my hand. In the 
 following year they again attempted to build in the well, re- 
 newing their efforts for four successive years." 
 
 All the tits are, more or less, birds of a social habit, the ox- 
 tit being the most retiring, as it is the largest; the ox-tit 
 mixing freely, not only with its own species, but with the blue- 
 tit and cole-tit. A cole-tit's nest sent to Dr. Eobertson from 
 Perthshire is thus described in a note from that gentleman : 
 " It is rather loosely constructed, and of considerable size, 
 measuring internally two inches and a quarter, externally four 
 and a quarter. The outer part is composed of chips of decayed 
 wood, small larch-twigs, fibres of various plants, and moss, then 
 a thick layer of finer moss and fibre ; the inner layers are more 
 compact, and formed of fibres intermixed internally with downy 
 feathers, the fibre being the softer part of the bark of trees, 
 and of the stems and leaves of herbaceous plants. The eggs 
 (fig. 8), six or eight in number, four-sixths of an inch long, 
 and three-sixths thick, white, thickly dotted with light red 
 spots at the larger end, a few similar spots being scattered 
 over the other parts. The nest is usually constructed in the 
 hollow bole of some tree, or in the crevice of an old wall." 
 
 But the most singular of this family is the BOTTLE -TIT, or 
 long-tailed mufflin, poke-pudding, or mum-t*.ffin, and long- 
 tailed mag, to all of which names it hails in different localities.
 
 BIRD-NESTING IN WOODS AND HEDGEROWS. 
 
 Except the gold-crested wren, it is the smallest of British 
 birds; at the same time, its frame is nearly buried in a mass of 
 soft and bulky feathers, which are left loose and tufty, so that it 
 seems to be muffled to the chin, the eyes and nostrils being 
 nearly concealed by the bristly feathers at the base of the bill, 
 while the tail is full six inches long. In such spots as we have 
 described, that is, in plantations and straggling birch and hazel 
 woods overhanging a brook, the long-tailed tit flits along the 
 tops of the taller bushes, searching the leaves and twigs, restless 
 and ever in motion, streaming along in undulating and rapid 
 flight, in which it has been compared to a flying arrow or dart, 
 to which its small body and long tail gives it the appearance. 
 The nest has already been described; the foundation is laid 
 in the cleft of a tree, after a careful examination of the situ- 
 ation, and trying the hole they have chosen by flying in and 
 out again several times. The foundation is formed of moss ; 
 the walls are built up of small portions of lichens, white and 
 grey, mixed with fine green moss, feathers, and the softer 
 leaves of deciduous trees, intermixed and woven with wool and 
 spider's webs, giving them consistence by pressing the whole 
 with their breast, and by turning themselves round repeatedly 
 in all directions. They are very jealous at first at being 
 watched, but soon get tame and accustomed to the observer ; 
 the male bird watching on the branch of a tree, as close to the 
 nest as possible, while the hen bird is building ; when she has 
 disposed of her contribution to the nest, the other goes in 
 while she watches : when both have finished, they fly off to- 
 gether to collect materials. Sometimes the nest is placed in the 
 fork of a tree, a long pyriform, six inches long, formed exter- 
 nally of lichens, bound together with blades of grass, downy 
 filaments, and cotton threads, and lined with feathers. In this 
 nest they lay as many as a dozen of the smallest of eggs 
 (fig. 6) of an oval form, rounded at the smaller end, and 
 about half an inch long and five-twelfths broad, of a colour 
 white, marked with numerous faint-red dots at the larger end. 
 Pursuing our walk, we soon come across the nest of the 
 ROBIN-REDBREAST ; for, although Robin is a very domesticated 
 sort of fellow when the snow covers the ground, and even earlier 
 in the season, when the wild flowers have faded and the trees in 
 the woods become bare, and the evenings chilly, with the first 
 glimpse of spring he disappears from the haunts of men, be- 
 taking himself to woods and thickets, where, doubtless, his 
 pert, forward, and pugnacious character does not fail to exhibit
 
 VESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 itself. Towards the end of April, and even so ear"/ as March 
 in some well-sheltered places, young birds have been found in 
 their nests. Robin is by no means particular where he builds 
 his house; under a hedge or bush, on a mossy bank, in a 
 ditch, even on the ground, but not in tree, shrub, or hedge. It 
 is a bulky nest, rather loosely constructed ; in fact, Robin is 
 not so skilful an architect as poets and naturalists have painted 
 him. Its foundations are a layer of moss and decayed leaves 
 of trees, with broad blades of grass, mosses of several species 
 loosely interwoven with a few skeleton leaves ; the lining is of 
 hair and wool, a quarter of an inch thick, so that it appears 
 Eobin is partial to a soft bed. The eggs (fig. 18) are five 
 or six ; they are of a regular oval form, about three-quarters 
 of an inch long and four-sixths broad, of a delicate reddish 
 white or brownish tinge, fading into a brownish white at the 
 small end, and faintly freckled with palish red, the brownish 
 markings sometimes forming a belt there. 
 
 In our wood the GOLDFINCH is an habitual resident, but is by 
 no means so plentiful as " in the days when we were young ; " 
 for improved agriculture, whose aim is to root out weeds and 
 thistles, from which the smaller birds draw much of their 
 support, has not tended to their increase. They nestle in 
 woods, in orchards, in gardens, and in hedgerows ; sometimes 
 in the tops of tall timber-trees. The nest is composed of grass 
 and moss, with an external covering of lichens elaborately 
 interwoven with thread, twigs, and other substances, and lined 
 with wool and hair, the down of various plants, and other 
 delicate filaments, and will be ready for the reception of the 
 young pair by the middle of April, or thereabouts. The eggs 
 (fig. 13) are four or five, about three-fourths of an inch long, 
 and half an inch thick, of a bluish-white, or rather pale 
 bluish-grey colour, sometimes tinged with brown, and marked 
 with a few spots of greyish purple and brown, and occasion- 
 ally having a dark streak or two. 
 
 Having traversed about half of the plantation, we reach a 
 Bpot where the little river issues from a sort of defile and 
 passes outside the wood, tinder the retaining wall which sup- 
 ports the pathway. Under the banks of this wall, just on the 
 edge of the wood, at the time I write of, Jenny (English) or 
 Kitty WREN (as the Scotch say) had built her nest, and in 
 trees overhanging it a whole colony of wrens made the woods 
 re-echo again with their incessant roundelays as they flitted 
 from branch to branch, or frisked about among the topmost 
 Ml
 
 BIKD-NESTING IS "WOODS AND HEDGEBOWa. 
 
 boughs, with their chirping and not over melodious note. 
 This becomes a sort of prolonged chirr, as you approach 
 nearer, while the bird hops from one bush to another, jerking 
 its tail, which it keeps nearly erect, hopping about with great 
 alacrity, continually uttering its rapid chit, chit, chirr: 
 
 " Thou fairy bird, how sweet to trace 
 The rapid flight of thy tiny race ; 
 For the wild bee scarcely waves its wing 
 More lightly than thine, thou fairy thing." 
 
 In liveliness and activity, indeed, it rivals all its congeners, 
 which has originated a pleasant little fable among the inhabitants 
 of the distant Hebrides : " The birds are all assembled, and the 
 eagle is boasting of his strength. He can mount higher in the 
 air than any other of earth's inhabitants, but is flatly contra- 
 dicted by the wren, which challenges him, and a trial of their 
 powers ensues. Eyeing his piiny rival with great contempt, the 
 majestic eagle spreads his huge wings, in sign of acceptance 
 of the challenge, rises up into the air with rapid gyrations ; not 
 so rapidly, however, but that the wren has nimbly perched on 
 the eagle's back, where it concealed itself among the feathers. 
 Up rose the royal bird, high above the mountain ; up beyond 
 those cloudy streaks of grey vapour; up beyond cirri and 
 cirro-cumuli that float in the blue ether; up till he seems a 
 mere point to goshawk and peregrine; up till he is at last 
 compelled to stop for breath, gasping with swollen eyes and 
 palpitating heart ; he can rise no farther, and, spreading wide 
 his wings and tail, he floats in the dazzling light; he is 
 satisfied the little vain-glorious thing which had defied him 
 is left a mile behind at least. But lo ! up starts the wren 
 from its concealed perch ; with a hop and a jerk of its tail, and 
 with a glance of pride, it springs up into the regions, higher 
 still, where it floats for a moment, and sings its song of triumph ; 
 it seizes a feather from the eagle's neck, and descends to receive 
 the prize, ' for strength is no match for cunning.' " Such at 
 least is the Hebridean moral, as related by Macgillivray. 
 
 In this " bosky dell," just under a mossy bank, which formed 
 a coping to the wall, where a stone had given way, the nest 
 was placed. It was large for so small a bird. Outwardly, 
 it presents the appearance of a mass of decayed vegetable 
 fibre, of an irregularly rounded form; its foundation is a 
 layer of decayed ferns and other plants, herbaceous and 
 voody. The outer wall of the nest is of the same kind of
 
 KESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 material, interwoven with mosses of several species, which are 
 fresh and green, curiously interwoven with fibrous roots and 
 hair of various animals ; the inner surface is spherical, and 
 smooth as a piece of felt, some three inches in diameter, and 
 it is arched over with fern leaves and straws. To the height 
 of two inches there is a lining of soft large feathers, chiefly 
 pheasants and wood-pigeons' with a mixture of ducks' 
 feathers. The oblong aperture in front is low and arched, 
 two inches wide by one and a half in height ; its lower edge 
 formed of slender twigs, herbaceous stalks and grasses, the 
 filling or plastering being " made good," as a workman would 
 say, in a very workmanlike manner. 
 
 Some wren's nests are without the internal layers, and en- 
 tirely of the hypna moss, others have the lining of the feathers 
 of the domestic fowl ; and far away from human habitations, in 
 the wild glens of the Grampians, the nest is found, in some 
 rocky chink, in which an Alpine torrent flows between rough 
 heathery banks, with overhanging blueberry twigs. Nor does 
 the wren disdain altogether the haunts of men for its nest : a 
 hole in a wall, in the thatched roof, in a tree, in an ivy-covered 
 wall; in fact, it is not capricious in its choice, but readily 
 adapts itself to circumstances. 
 
 The eggs (fig. 15), five or six in number, are extremely 
 delicate and pretty, of a rounded oval form, four- sixths of an 
 inch in length and half an inch in thickness ; pure white, 
 with some scattered dots and streaks of light red at the 
 larger end, but varying in number of dots in different eggs 
 even of the same nest. 
 
 The CHAFFINCH is a constant resident on the skirts of such 
 plantations as we have been describing ; avoiding the depths of 
 the woods, and especially fir-plantations, orchards, and hedge- 
 rows, the outskirts of copses and groves are its most favoured 
 haunts. In the fork of a shrub, often on a tall tree, on the 
 ivy-covered wall, or in a thick hawthorn hedge, its nest will 
 frequently be found. Externally, it is composed of moss, covered 
 with ashy -coloured lichens and interwoven with hairs and woolly 
 fibres ; its interior is lined with feathers, mixed with cow and 
 horse's hairs, and the seed-down of such plants as the thistle. 
 
 The eggs (fig. 1) are four or five in number, of a regular 
 oval form, about three-fourths of an inch long and half an inch 
 thick, of a purplish-white or rather a reddish-grey colour, 
 slightly spotted with reddish brown, with a few irregular lines 
 of the same hue. 
 
 314
 
 BIRD-NESTING IN WOODS AND HEDGEKOTTS. 
 
 The HAWITNCH, or grasbeak, is becoming a rare bird in this 
 country, being shot down by collectors for stuffing whereve* 
 it is seen, and naturalists have expressed great doubts of its 
 breeding in this island. It has, however, been not unfrequently 
 found of late years in the hornbeam pollards of Epping Forest, 
 and also in Lord Clifden's grounds at Koehampton, where two 
 nests were seen in 1835. The nest was built at the extremity 
 of the branch of a horse-chestnut tree, near the lodge, and was 
 composed chiefly of the twigs of privet and birch, and lined 
 with hair and fine grass; the nest is shallow, and the twigs 
 loosely put together. 
 
 The eggs (fig. 2) are three to five, of an ashy-grey colour, tinged 
 with green, and marked with brown spots and bluish-black lines. 
 
 The nest of the BULLFINCH is found in similar localities, but 
 later in the season; about the beginning of May it begins 
 to build its nest, being a loosely-formed fabric of dry twigs, 
 placed at no great height on the fork of a spruce-fir tree, or 
 hawthorn-bush, lining it with fibrous roots of small plants. 
 It is a denizen of the woods, and rarely found where roots 
 are absent, for it lives the greater part of the year in 
 thickets and hedges, only betaking itself to the fields in 
 search of seeds, and to the gardens in search of the seeds of 
 flowers and fruits. The eggs (fig. 4), four or five in number, 
 are of a broadish oval form, of bluish or purplish-white colour, 
 spotted and streaked with purplish grey and reddish brown, 
 about three-quarters of an inch long and a little over half an 
 inch in greatest width. The bird is remarkable for its undu- 
 lating flight, occasionally protracted, as it flits along from the 
 hedges and roads ; it is an active, lively bird. 
 
 The SISKIN, while it is found among us in considerable 
 numbers, does not seem to breed south of the Tweed ; at least 
 none of our naturalists have recorded more than an occasional 
 pair. Macgillivray and his correspondents were more fortu- 
 nate ; Mr. Weir, of Boghead, having observed the small nest 
 of a pair built in the fork of a spruce fir. It was built on a 
 branch, about four feet and a half from the ground, one side 
 resting against the stem, and one of the best concealed nests 
 he had seen. The nest is cup-shaped, with walls an inch and 
 a half thick, and the interior of the nest an inch and a quarter 
 in diameter, formed, externally, of hypna moss, held together 
 by hairs and fibrous roots interwoven; the edgss interlaced 
 with grass and root fibre ; the lining, half an inch thick, formed 
 of seed-down and hairs densely matted together. 
 
 815
 
 NESTS AND EGOS. 
 
 The eggs of the siskin (fig. 3) are five or six in number, of 
 an oval shape, five-eighths of an inch in length and half an 
 inch in breadth. They vary considerably in their colour and 
 markings, but the prevailing colour is a pale bluish-white, 
 shaded at the thick end with purple and a few reddish-brown 
 dots. 
 
 BOCK AND WALL-BUILDING BIKDS. 
 
 There are some birds whose breeding-places are neither 
 woods nor commons, but wild rocky places, old nuns, walls 
 near dwelling-places, and lofty trees near to houses. Most of 
 the falcons and the raven belong to the first of these ; jackdaws 
 and owls belong to the second ; starlings, redwings, sometimes 
 the robin and the whitethroat, belong to the third ; the magpies 
 and others of their congeners to the fourth. 
 
 A vision of the past rising before us, presents the ruins of an 
 old sixteenth-century castle, with pointed turrets ; the ancient 
 * pleasaunce" has returned to a state of nature, overgrown 
 with thickets ; a grove of ancient plane-trees, of the largest 
 dimensions, occupy one of its sides. The castle is the haunt of 
 the barn-owl, the jackdaw, and a colony of pigeons, which 
 have almost become wild from the deserted state of the 
 place. Among the trees a colony of magpies had established 
 their home, as long as we can remember, and many a fruitless 
 effort had been made to scale the trees, but their girth was all 
 too large and the branches too high for tiny limbs to accom- 
 plish the adventure. In the mean time, from this vantage- 
 ground, Mag, watching her opportunity, had pounced upon and 
 carried off to her castle many a young chicken, almost from 
 beneath their owner's eye. At length the depredations could 
 no longer be borne ; a war of extermination was declared, which 
 only terminated when the last of the magpies was destroyed. 
 
 The nest of the MAGPIE has been described ;j_ page 293. 
 The eggs (fig. 20), from four to six, although differing" greatly, are 
 generally oval in form, an inch and a half long, rather pointed, 
 and about an inch in diameter. They are frequently of a pale 
 green, freckled all over with brown and purple, rather a dusky 
 looking egg, but handsomely shaped. 
 
 The JACKDAW as well as the owl was a constant inhabitant in 
 the ruins we have indicated. The former's nest is built in some 
 dark recess, but generally beyond the reach of the curious, under 
 
 316
 
 HOCK AND WALL-BTJODHfO BIRDS. 
 
 some projecting coping or ancient waterspout. On a founda- 
 tion of sticks a quantity of straw is laid, and a lining of 
 feathers and other softer materials; here are deposited from 
 four to seven eggs (fig. 22), of a broadly oval form, an inch 
 and a half long and an inch in diameter, of a pale greenish 
 blue or bluish white, with small round spots of dark brown or 
 purple at the larger end, laid about the middle of May. 
 
 The JER- FALCON never having been known to breed in this 
 country, its nest is only known to us by description, and the 
 eggs by imported specimens ; they are, in size and shape, like 
 those of the domestic fowl, of a reddish brown, dashed over with 
 irregular markings and spots of a darker shade. The peregrine 
 falcon is becoming very rare with us, but breeds on many parts 
 of our shelving rocky coasts, from the Isle of Wight to the 
 Murray Frith, and at many intermediate stations. It is by 
 no means particular as to its nest, and very commonly appro- 
 priates one deserted by the raven, or some other bird, in which 
 it lays its three or four eggs, of a deeper reddish brown than 
 the jer -falcon ; two inches and an eighth in length, by an inch 
 and three-quarters in diameter, blotched with a deeper brown 
 and in larger blotches than the former. 
 
 The elegant Falco ^salon, or MERLIN, haunts the heaths and 
 moors which abound in the North of England and in Scot- 
 land. Some authors say it builds a nest of sticks externally, 
 thickly lined with wool, in the pine woods of Norway, which is 
 at variance with the habits of the bird, as far as is known in 
 this country, where it lays its four or five eggs in a hollow in 
 the ground, without further preparation. Of the same reddish- 
 brown with those of the peregrine and jer-falcon, but without 
 the blotches, being slightly dotted over with greenish-black 
 spots, the egg is about an inch and a half in length by an inch 
 and a quarter in diameter. 
 
 The KESTREL, which is the only falcon's egg our space per- 
 mits us to illustrate, is more widely diffused, and better known 
 than any of the other hawks. Breeding in rocks, in some old 
 crumbling ruins, or in the trunks of hollow trees, and gene- 
 rally appropriating the deserted nest of the jackdaw or the 
 magpie, it lays four eggs (fig. 19), smaller than any of those 
 previously described, being only an inch and a half long and 
 an inch and a quarter in breadth, but strongly resembling 
 that of the peregrine falcon in colour and markings. The 
 eggs vary from three to five, are of a broadly elliptical or 
 roundish shape, of a pale reddish-orange, patched all over 
 
 317
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 with a dull brownish-red. The GOSHAWK has the largest egg 
 of all the falcons, being in shape and colour as well as size 
 very much lite that of the common duck ; it is scarce with us, 
 but common in the North of Scotland, breeding, as Mr. Low 
 informs us, on the rocks of the sea-coast, on the rocky Gram- 
 pians, and on the wooded banks of the Dee. In the forests of 
 Germany it builds in a high tree on the outskirts of the forest, 
 laying three or four eggs of a bluish-white colour, two inches 
 and a quarter in length by an inch and a quarter in diameter, 
 and without spots. 
 
 The egg of the SPARROW-HAWK is the most marked of all the 
 falcons' eggs, but remarkable also for its variations ; it forms 
 a roundish oval, an inch and four-eighths long by an inch and 
 three-eighths broad, of an ashy -grey colour, covered at the larger 
 end with brown blotches and streaks. The sparrow-hawk is 
 most frequently found to appropriate the deserted nest of a 
 crow or magpie. Sometimes the eggs are found on the ledge 
 of a rock or some lofty cliff. Mr. Selby says it also builds a 
 shallow nest in some low tree or thorn-bush, the material 
 used being slender twigs, on which it lays. 
 
 The OWLS make little preparation in the way of nests ; a 
 hollow in the ground, lined with the compressed castings of the 
 birds, or a similar accommodation in the hollow of some tree, 
 the ledge of a rock or a hole in the wall of some ghostly ruin, 
 seems all the preparation to which they have recourse ; on this 
 bed, sometimes so shallow that the wind would seem able to 
 roll their eggs away, the owls lay their two or three eggs, which 
 vary much, both in size and shape, but are almost invariably of 
 one colour ; a whitish blue, without spots, some of them round, 
 others oval, more or less acute. 
 
 He who would find the nest of the RAVEN must now follow 
 him far from the abode of men, scale the rocky cliffs of the 
 seashore, or the shelving rocks of remote hilly countries, the 
 centre of a grove, or some ancient oak ; for persecution has 
 driven this " bird of evil omen," as it is sometimes considered, 
 away from its old haunts, the ruined tower or ancient steeple. 
 Sometimes, however, it is still known to build its nest in some 
 lofty tree, and if left undisturbed it will return successively for 
 many years, refurnishing its nest annually with a lining of 
 the fur of the rabbit and other animals. The nest is large, com- 
 posed of a foundation of sticks crossed and plastered together 
 with clay, with a lining first of fibrous roots, and inside a 
 carpet of fur, wool, or hair. The eggs (fig. 21) are four, five, 
 
 318
 
 ROCK AND WALL-BTJILDING BIRDS. 
 
 or six in number, two inches in length and an inch and five- 
 twelfths in diameter, of a dirty greenish brown, with thick 
 blotches on the larger end, but with several important varia- 
 tions, from a greenish grey with streaks of reddish brown, up 
 to greenish brown in different eggs. 
 
 The STARLING builds its nest early in May or towards the 
 end of April, in the crevices of rocks, in caverns, in holes under 
 grassy banks, in holes in a wall, or in the trunk of trees. It is 
 a bulky structure, composed of grass and other plants, with a 
 rough lining of hair and feathers. The eggs (fig. 24) are five 
 or six, of an elongated oval form, of a delicate feeble greenish 
 blue, and about an inch and a quarter long by three-quarters 
 in diameter. 
 
 The REDSTART, like the starling, places its nest in the cavity 
 of a wall or the trunk of a tree, in the chink of a rock, or 
 among stones. The nest is bulky, composed of fibrous roots 
 and moss, plentifully lined with hair and feathers ; the eggs, 
 six or seven, of an oval form, three-quarters of an inch long by 
 half an inch in diameter, and of a light greenish-blue, and the 
 favourite locality which it affects for nidification is the old wall 
 of a garden. 
 
 The RiNG-OuZEL, on its arrival in April, betakes itself to the 
 open hilly country, sheltering itself in the furze and juniper 
 bushes, i'" within its reach, in preference to any other. In this 
 situation its nest is usually found; sometimes also under the 
 face of a rough bank or in fragments of rock. It is composed 
 of rough coarse grass, plastered internally with mud and lined 
 with finer grasses. The eggs (fig. 30) are from four to six, of 
 an oval form, about an inch long by over three-quarters 
 in diameter, of a pale bluish green, freckled all over with pale 
 brown. 
 
 The red-backed shrike BUTCHER-BIRD, or fly-catcher, as this 
 bird is sometimes called, is common enough round London, 
 and in the western counties, especially among the orchards of 
 Gloucestershire. It frequents the margins of woods, thickets, 
 and tall hedgerows, furze-covered commons, and open downs 
 in the north as well as the south, being, in fact, very widely 
 diffused. About the middle of May, 
 
 When buttercups and daisies deck the ground, 
 And blackbirds whistle clear, 
 
 by the borders of some grassy meadow, ere the oak or the ash 
 have yet unfolded their buds, when the apple-blossom and the 
 
 319
 
 NESTS AND EGOS. 
 
 pink-eyed florets of hawthorn rival each other in the hedge- 
 rows, the sparrow-like note of the shrike may be heard, and 
 the bold black head seen, as he perches, sentinel-like, on some 
 twig or spray. The nest is also found in some shady locality, 
 a laige mass of twigs on the outside, with fibrous roots of 
 plants and green moss, with an internal lining of hair, put 
 together in a somewhat slovenly manner, not very unlike the 
 nest of the missel-thrush, is the butcher-bird's performance. 
 
 In this nest the red shrike lays four or five eggs, of an oval 
 shape, about an inch in length by about five-eighths in breadth, 
 of a reddish white, covered with brown spots, which form a 
 band round it at the thick part. 
 
 The nest is sometimes selected to receive the egg of the 
 cuckoo, and the bird even bestows its paternal care on the 
 young cuckoo when hatched. In the Linnean Transactions 
 for 1861, a paper states that a pair of red shrikes were 
 observed feeding a young cuckoo which was perched on the 
 branch of an oak, a fact which has been confirmed by 
 Temminck, who says that the cuckoo will sometimes lay its 
 agg in the nest of this bird.
 
 SKELETON OF THE OSTRICH. 
 
 PREPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 THE art of preserving objects of natural history, to which 
 the name of taxidermy is sometimes given, from the Greek 
 word implying the arrangement of skins, is of French origin 
 and of recent date, probably not later than the present cen- 
 tury ; the more ancient collections, including the celebrated 
 one of Keaumur, having been only a simple collection of dried 
 skins suspended on the walls of the saloon. The Germans 
 appear to have been the inventors of a mode of preparing and 
 setting up birds by placing feather over feather upon paper so 
 as to imitate nature ; but they were very imperfect imitations, 
 scarcely conveying an idea of the bird represented. In our 
 day the taxidermist rivals Nature herself, studying the passions 
 as well as the attitude and shape of the object he wishes to 
 preserve. At the same time he has, by the use of scentless 
 disinfectants, overcome much of the disagreeable smell which 
 21
 
 PBEPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 lonnerly rendered a collection of preserved animal forms so 
 offensive in a private house. 
 
 Looking back, then, for about 200 years, we come to the 
 age when the germ of the art of taxidermy was practised by 
 Reaumur. In the cabinet of this learned Frenchman the first 
 traces of taxidermy seem to have been found as now prac- 
 tised, although it was in truth of a most imperfect kind. The 
 ideas of Re*aunmr were caught up and described by Manduyt. 
 The letters of Kuckau on the method of embalming birds 
 succeeded. Several zealous disciples followed, and in 1797 the 
 Abbe Manesse published a method of collecting and arranging 
 animals, and preserving their skins. The poisons and aromatw 
 products were the materials he employed at first, but he after* 
 wards abandoned these for the acids and alkalis. Daudin, in 
 his " Ornithology," quotes all these processes, and adds to 
 them those of Dufresne. About 1801, Nicolas published his 
 method of preserving animals of all kinds, for which he made 
 use of a paste or pomade consisting of camphor, potash, alum, 
 oil of petral, and a kind of liquor which had the property of 
 tanning the skin. But these preservatives, and many others, 
 have been superseded by the composition of Becoeur,* which is 
 the only one employed in the present day, especially for large 
 
 The art of preparing and stuffing any animal is one of great 
 simplicity, but requiring clever manipulation, good taste, and 
 habits of observation so as to note the attitude assumed 
 by the different animals. Every one can, with a very little 
 preparation, be made to perform the process ; but this is not 
 sufficient; as in painting and other fine arts, so there is an 
 immense gulf between the mere mechanical process by which 
 a bird or animal is set up and mounted, and another in which 
 the exact form and attitude is imitated, and the divers 
 colours which ornament it are preserved. In order to imitate 
 its attitude, the manners and habits of the species must be 
 
 * The arsenical soap prepared by Be"cceur was as follows : Five ounces 
 of camphor, two pounds of arsenic (in powder), two pounds of white soap, 
 four ounces of white chalk (in powder), and two ounces of salt of tartar. 
 Mix the ingredients by melting the soap, previously cut into thin slices, 
 in a pipkin, with water, and over a gentle fire. When melted, add the salt 
 of tartar and chalk, and withdraw the pipkin from the fire ; now add the 
 arsenic, stirring it in by degrees with a wooden spatula ; then, having 
 reduced the camphor to a powder in a mortar, add it to the mixture, and 
 stir till thoroughly incorporated, adding spirits of wine, till it is of the 
 consistence of a thick paste ; pour it into jars, and cover, when cool, with 
 a bladder, and put it away for use, marking it " Poison."
 
 PEEPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 studied profoundly ; not less so, indeed, than is required from 
 the painter ; and he who would succeed in the art of mounting 
 animals, must have something nearly approximating to the 
 painter in his powers of observation and representation. 
 
 Some writers have attempted to reduce the various attitudes 
 assumed by animals to a rule. Conventional arrangements of 
 this nature have no counterpart in nature, and must result 
 in abortions outrageous to good taste. There is only one rule 
 to be followed by those who would follow and represent nature. 
 Study the habits of your model, and understand well the 
 anatomy of the animal to be reproduced. Then only can you 
 hope to impress the natural and life-like character which really 
 belongs to it. 
 
 The means of preserving the skins of vertebrated. animals 
 from insects is now pretty well understood. The Memoirs of 
 Duhamel, Pinel, Chaptal, and some others, possess informa- 
 tion of great value. To these Dupont has added his own 
 practice, to which Swainson, the Bowditches, the late Captain 
 Brown, and Mr. Waterton, and some of their more humble 
 practical followers, as the Gardeners, Wilson, Cooke, and some 
 others, have scarcely left anything undiscovered. And now taxi- 
 dermy, in the hands of many men of great ability and obser- 
 vation, has reached a point of great perfection. 
 
 I must not forget, in my enumeration of artists, the ad- 
 mirable collection of life-like animals which ornamented the 
 German section of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Those re- 
 markable specimens of the taxidermist's art were exhibited by 
 H. Ploucquet, of Stuttgart, and represented a boar-hunt and a 
 stag-hunt of the natural size, and the same in miniature; groups 
 and nests of different birds of prey ; several hawks pouncing 
 upon their prey; numerous groups, in which stuffed animals 
 are made to imitate the attitudes and actions of men, with such 
 an expression of comic intelligence as will not soon be for- 
 gotten by the spectators who gave their attention to the 
 subject. They were, perhaps, the most beautiful specimens of 
 the art ever produced ; at the same time, the mirth-exciting 
 groups owed quite as much to the comic invention of the artist 
 as to the taxidermist's art. 
 
 It is almost impossible to estimate the extent to which a 
 taste for natural history has been promoted' by this art ; for if, 
 at first, curiosity has been the chief motive which led to its pur- 
 suit, that motive has been inevitably followed by a higher one, 
 namely, the study of the habits and actions of animals, which
 
 A5D STUKTWe ANIMALS. 
 
 leads to other habits of observation; and many a collection com- 
 menced from motives of mere curiosity, as it increased in ex- 
 tent, has of necessity led more or less to the study of compara- 
 tive anatomy. The art which brought the facts together, and 
 which necessarily leads to analysis, conducts insensibly to 
 synthesis to tracing effects to their cause. Even the capture 
 of the animals makes the collector acquainted with the peculiar 
 habits of different species. The chase makes him acquainted 
 with the instinctive shifts by which animals of all kinds evade 
 their pursuers. 
 
 HINTS TO TKAYELLEES. 
 
 An internal decay, named putrefaction, tending to sepa- 
 rate, and resolve the components of the body to its elements, 
 attends all animal and vegetable substances immediately after 
 the vital principle crtos ; and unless this tendency to decay is 
 counteracted, the form and characteristics of these bodies would 
 soon become valueless, either for the investigations of science 
 or as the objects of a rational curiosity. There are various 
 processes by which this is accomplished. In the case of birds, 
 and most animals, this is done by removing the skin and 
 drying it, after purifying it by preservatives. Others, as 
 serpents and smooth-skinned animals, are preserved by being 
 plunged in liquids which have the power of checking this 
 tendency to decomposition. 
 
 Water dissolves divers parts of certain bodies, not by 
 checking decomposition, but, on the contrary, by accelerating 
 it in some cases. Water charged with alum acts as a preser- 
 vative on skins of animal fibre, but in so weak a manner that 
 it cannot be relied on for any constant results, especially when 
 the skin is charged with common salt ; its use is limited to 
 fruits, which it will preserve for some time. The spirits of 
 turpentine, sometimes employed, damages the tissues, and 
 has a tendency to become thick and viscous, and should be 
 avoided. Oil may preserve some animals, as mollusks and 
 certain fish. Sea-salt, or muriate of sodium, presents no advan- 
 tages as a preservative ; it alters both the form and colour of 
 objects submitted to its influence. Some fishes with very thick 
 and hard ski is are subjected to it with advantage ; however, 
 in such cases it should be frequently changed and fresh salt 
 added. Employed with care, it may be used when arsenical
 
 HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
 
 eoap or paste cannot be obtained in sufficient abundance. A 
 solution of the finest table- salt in water is even recommended 
 by some as a substitute for alcohol ; but it is doubtful 1 if this 
 has been yet sufficiently tested. Corrosive sublimate has been 
 proscribed by Peron, the French naturalist, who enumerates 
 its defects ; but, carefully employed, and taking proper pre- 
 cautions to avoid its poisonous effects, it is highly effective 
 in a variety of eases. The sublimate salt operates as a rapid, 
 enduring, and energetic desiccating medium, reacting power- 
 fully upon all animal matter, modifying its character in a 
 peculiar manner, and rendering the matter subjected to it 
 unalterable when it has been sufficiently saturated. Exposed 
 in the open air, it facilitates drying and prevents the slightest 
 movement towards decomposition in the skins. The sublimate 
 seems to combine entirely with the air; the liquor, which 
 contains only a weak proportion of this very insoluble salt, is 
 soon exhausted unless the precaution is taken to add fresh 
 sublimate from time to time, as the process of saturation goes 
 on. Filially, when the skins will no longer absorb the liquor, the 
 preservative process is complete ; they are then laid out to dry. 
 But the medium for preserving on which we may rely most 
 securely is alcoholic liquors, especially brandy or spirit dis- 
 tilled from the vine. Arrack, rum, and spirits distilled from 
 grain, while they serve the purpose, are less adapted for 
 Ecological preparations than the spirits obtained from the 
 vine; and where it is necessary to employ the alcohol of the 
 country, the most highly rectified spirit will be found best 
 adapted to the purpose. Nevertheless, alcohol has the dis- 
 advantage of deteriorating the tissues as well as disfiguring 
 them, and tte strength of the liquor should be reduced in order 
 to avoid this. The more perfect the transparency of the liquor 
 the better is it adapted for the purpose. Pure alcohol destroys 
 the colour of animals immersed in it ; much concentrated, it 
 destroys the animal tissues. Alcohol united with acids has 
 been very successful, when diluted with water. For larger 
 animals, however, the strongest alcohol may be used. In the 
 absence of pure alcohol or spirits of wine, add to the spirits 
 of the country some dissolved camphor, which, without adding 
 to the strength of the liquor, is found to be sufficient for the 
 preservation of most animals ; while the camphor protects the 
 colours from change. A mixture in the proportion of two parts 
 distilled water and one part alcohol, adding two ounces of 
 sulphate of aluminum to every quart of the liquid, is recom-
 
 PBEPABING AND STRIPING ANIMALS. 
 
 mended; bnt the liquor prepared by M. Guyot, having a high 
 reputation in France, is made as follows : Take twenty pints of 
 the best Cognac brandy, and withdraw by distillation five pints ; 
 add to what remains equal parts of well water and a pound of 
 the green flowers of lavender, and again distil them to dryness. 
 This done, take twelve parts of the spirits of wine which has 
 been distilled. Mix them with sixty -nine pints of well water, 
 and add to the mixture equal parts of the liquid furnished by 
 distillation. This is the Guyot preserving fluid, which is per- 
 fectly pure and limpid, and of a bitter taste and slightly 
 aromatic smell, containing only one part of alcohol to thirty of 
 water. Monro adds small doses of nitric or muriatic acid to 
 this liquor. Euysch used spirits of wine distilled with the 
 black powder of cardamine ard camphor. 
 
 Before immersing objects of natural history in this liquid, 
 they should be carefully washed in many baths of pure water 
 at a moderate temperature, more especially all marine animals 
 and Crustacea, which would be destroyed without this precau- 
 tion. When immersed they require to be watched, and the 
 liquor rendered weaker or stronger, as may be required. 
 
 " The spirituous liquor," says Dufresne, " is still preferable 
 to all other modes of preservation." We recommend to travel- 
 lers to put into the spirit all the fish they preserve ; but let us 
 indicate the precaution to be taken for their transport. In 
 long voyages furnish yourself with little barrels, holding from 
 thirty to sixty pints, with iron hoops. At one of the ends make a 
 species of valve, with a bevel about six inches long, fill the cask 
 with the liquor to about two-thirds. When you have a fish to 
 preserve, and having taken note of all connected with it, roll it 
 up in a piece of linen and tie it, attaching to it a piece of wood 
 on which a figure has been carved corresponding with that in 
 the note-book, and plunge it into the liquor through the 
 valve, which is again hermetically closed. Should the fish 
 show by the swelling ovarium that she is full of eggs, they 
 should be removed by an incision in the anus, plunging the 
 knife towards the anterior part of the ventre, and extracting the 
 eggs, which would soon escape, and reduce the liquor below the 
 required strength, if left in the fish. 
 
 Aa a layer of fish is deposited in the barrel, a layer 
 of cotton should follow, so as to prevent them from shaking 
 with the motion of the ship. The barrel should net contain 
 more than two-thirds of fish, the remainder being made up 
 with cotton and liquor
 
 PROCURING SUBJECTS. 
 
 The preservation of serpents requires still fewer accessories. 
 Smaller species are usually plunged at once into a bottle of 
 spirits, previously making a cut in the abdomen, by means of 
 which the spirits can be introduced so as to preserve the intes- 
 tines from decay. In the larger species skinning becomes 
 necessary, when great care is required to avoid injury to the 
 scales, as much as must be taken with the tails of lizards. 
 The head also requires some care, being the most valuable 
 characteristic of its zoological character. 
 
 PKOCUKING SUBJECTS. 
 
 He who would be his own procurator as well as his own 
 curator must rise with the sun, or, rather, before it. The 
 equipment required, supposing the locality fixed upon to be 
 within walking distance, is a warm rough coat, which is not 
 too cumbersome and which will not be damaged by brushing 
 through the underwood, for the objects of our search lie in the 
 depth of the woods ; strong boots and leather gaiters, for he 
 will have to dash the early dew from many a blade of grass ; 
 a game-bag well furnished with inside-pockets, in which the 
 smaller birds or animals may be placed when secured, and 
 subjected to such necessary preparation as can be bestowed on 
 them on the spot. Besides these, a box or boxes in which such 
 eggs as fall in his way can be deposited. 
 
 He has next to provide himself with a gun, that indispens- 
 able object of the fowler's occupation. My own practice is to 
 keep a gun at two or three farmhouses in the country where 
 I am known, choosing the best localities I can conveniently 
 select, and when I require specimens or my leisure permits, I 
 can either slip down by a very late or very early train, and be 
 on the ground I have selected by early dawn. My gun is a 
 double-barrel, 13 bore. I load one barrel with two drachms of 
 the best powder and an ounce and a half of No. 8 shot; the 
 other with the same quantity of powder and No. 6 shot. I 
 am thus prepared for whatever may turn up : with the smaller 
 shot I can bring down any of the smaller birds without injury 
 to the plumage, and should any of the larger kinds come in 
 my way, I am also prepared for them advantages which are 
 obviously unattainable with a single barrel; for, to shoot a 
 small bird with the larger shot would be to tear it all to pieces, 
 and render it quite unfit for stuffing. The bird being shot, I
 
 AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 have found by experience that it is best to let it lie until 
 the blood round the wound has coagulated, and then, carefully 
 pulling the surrounding feathers on one side, I remove it with 
 a penknife, put a little cotton-wool into the wound and also into 
 the mouth. After this I smooth down the feathers, wrap it 
 carefully in a sheet of soft paper, and place it in one of the 
 pockets of my knapsack, while I pursue my sport. 
 
 I am quite aware that some fowlers prefer the smaller dust- 
 shot ; and for some of our more delicate birds, as the golden- 
 crested wren, the bottle-tit, and some others even in our own 
 country, and the humming-birds of the tropics, I believe that 
 the concussion of the powder and wadding is enough to bring 
 them down. But I think less damage arises from No. 8 than 
 even the smaller shot, inasmuch as the latter is thrown in a 
 denser mass against the bird, and does infinitely more damage 
 to the plumage. 
 
 Having provided himself with the necessary appliances of 
 his intended sport, the young naturalist has next to consider 
 the character of the object of his pursuit. All animals have 
 their assigned place in creation. Some are only to be found 
 in the corn-fields ; others haunt the woods ; while others again 
 abound in rocky and mountainous districts, on the sea-shore, 
 or on the river's bank ; and he who has set his mind on any par- 
 ticular object must acquaint himself with the locality which it 
 affects most. It is equally indispensable to know the best season 
 for its capture or destruction ; that is, the season when its fur 
 or plumage is brightest, or when the skin is in the most proper 
 state for preservation. Nor is it unimportant, in anticipation 
 of a successful search, to know the hour of the day at which it is 
 abroad. It has been attempted to construct a floral time-piece ; 
 another might be constructed of greater exactness, calculated 
 upon the basis of the regularity with which animals pursue 
 their avocations : some creatures are only abroad at noon-day ; 
 others, like the lark, are abroad with the dawn. At night the 
 nightingale becomes the most prominent songster of the grove : 
 
 " An April night 
 
 Would be too short for him to utter forth 
 His love-chant, and disburden his full soul 
 Of all its music 1 " 
 
 Accordingly it is pretty well established that the nightingale, 
 if it does not sing all night, sings late in the summer even- 
 ing and early in the dawn. Farther on in the night the owl is
 
 PBOCUBING SUBJECTS. 
 
 heard haunter of ancient ruins he flits about with melan- 
 choly, sepulchral sounds, with his Too-whoo, too-whoo ! fitting 
 sounds for the " ivy-mantled tower," his usual abode. Some 
 knowledge of the animal or bird which is to be the object of pur- 
 suit is thus indispensable. In the season of reproduction, when 
 incubation has made some advance, it would be both wicked 
 and cruel to destroy the female. Again, in the moulting season, 
 it would be waste of time as well as cruelty to attack them. 
 The best season, perhaps, is the early pairing season : the plu- 
 mage or fur is then most brilliant ; the migratory species have 
 recovered from the effects of their long journey, and their lives 
 are redolent of hope and joy. It is, perhaps, a piece of cruelty 
 to intercept so much happiness ; but then how are collections to 
 be made without exposing collectors to the -charge ? In my 
 own experience I have found the best localities to be some one 
 or other of those long green lanes, between high hedgerows, 
 which form the charm of our rural scenery. If an occasional 
 clump of young plantations intervene, there will be found the 
 titmouse, chaffinch, yellowhammer, and most of our songsters, 
 in great abundance ; and should there be a watercourse by the 
 side of the hedgerow, blackbirds and thrushes will be found. 
 For larks you must look in the open grassy fields, or among the 
 waving corn in summer ; in winter they nestle and shelter 
 themselves under the broad leaf of the turnip and other green 
 crops. 
 
 Magpies, jays, woodpeckers, and the wood-pigeon haunt the 
 more densely -wooded districts ; and there also must the owls 
 and the falcon tribes, which breed with us, be sought. Books, 
 as is well known, affect some ancient grove near some ancestral 
 home, the loftiest branches of which they colonize, hundreds of 
 them together ; whilst the carrion crow, often confounded with 
 the rooks, builds in some solitary tree in a hedgerow. Star- 
 lings are found in short decayed trees and deserted towers, 
 when not assembled in flocks. I have a kindly recollection of 
 one of these amusing birds which I once possessed. His usual 
 morning's salutation to me was a " Good morning, sir. Pretty 
 creature. Jacob's mistress pretty creature," Jacob being his 
 own name. He would then imitate the canary so closely 
 as to render it nearly impossible to distinguish one from the 
 other in the lower notes. 
 
 The haunts of the moor-fowl, dabchick, and coot, and other 
 fresh-water birds, are, of course, widely different from these 
 localities. Among the flags and reeds by the river-side their
 
 PREPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 neete will be found. There also the reed-warblers build a nest, 
 which they suspend by means of a glutinous clay to the stumps 
 of four reeds, idjusted to it so exactly, that while it almost 
 touches the water, the most boisterous wind rarely immerses it. 
 The water-ouzel builds a nest and lives in it under some old 
 mossy bank overhanging the water of some running stream, 
 and in similar situations the kingfishers are found to nestle 
 under the bank sometimes in the hole of a water-rat. 
 
 Nests and eggs are somewhat foreign to my present pursuit, 
 but I cannot avoid giving a word of advice on this subject. 
 Both are important accessories to mounting birds, and I 
 find great advantage in using the real nest and eggs in that 
 way; unfortunately the nests are generally too bulky to be 
 easily moved. I find the most convenient way of preserving 
 the nest is to wrap cotton round it until I get home. As 
 for the eggs, I dispose of them for the moment in round 
 wooden boxes filled with cotton-wool, which I provide myself 
 with for the purpose. On reaching home, I take the eggs 
 and bore a small hole at each end with a small drill, which I 
 make myself by filing a piece of wire to four square sides, 
 and then to a sharp point ; having drilled a hole with thia 
 point, I blow out the contents of the egg with a small pointed 
 blow-pipe and place a label over the hole containing the name 
 of the bird. I recommend the young collector to do what I 
 did place the eggs back in the nest until he gets perfectly 
 acquainted with it. In this manner I preserved, and made 
 myself acquainted with a large collection of good eggs. 
 
 While on this subject I may mention some of the various 
 places in which many birds construct their nests, so that the 
 learner may have some idea where to look for such birds or 
 eggs as he may require. The kestrel and sparrow-hawk 
 usually build in trees in woods, or they take the deserted 
 nest of a rook or crow ; owls, woodpeckers, titmice, wrynecks, 
 nuthatches, and starlings, frequently build in the hollows of 
 old trees ; blackbirds and thrushes in old stumps, a little above 
 a bank near to some watercourse; nightingales nestle among 
 the dead leaves at the bottom of a thick hedge, requiring sharp 
 eyes to distinguish them from the mass of leaves ; the missel- 
 thrush, or storm-cock, as he is sometimes called, chaffinches, 
 goldfinches, and greenfinches, build in orchards, near dwelling- 
 houses ; while the larger falcons and eagles build on precipitous 
 and nearly inaccessible rocks. 
 
 The kind of cabinet I would recommend for eees is a stout 
 
 ? .. oo
 
 PKOCUKTNG SUBJECTS. 
 
 case, three feet high, a foot and a half wide, and a foot deep, 
 the four top drawers two inches deep, with twenty-seven divi- 
 sions for eggs, the fifth drawer three inches deep, with forty- 
 five divisions, the bottom drawer four and a half inches deep, 
 with six divisions : in all making nine drawers. A small piece 
 of wadding should be put into each compartment, to keep the 
 eggs from contact with the wood, and cracking. I have already 
 said that winter is a good season for procuring birds in fine 
 plumage. 
 
 On the approach of winter those birds that remain the whole 
 year with us assume their thick wintry garb ; but except in very 
 severe weather most animals are difficult to discover at this 
 season. The animals which hybernate have now sought refuge 
 in their holes ; the mice and reptiles are concealed in the bosom 
 of the rocks and crevices of walls ; nature has sealed up in her 
 frozen caves the fish and other inhabitants of the deep. The 
 season of love, therefore, is the most favourable one for the 
 naturalist, as the moulting season is the worst. The sexes 
 have then assumed the nuptial robe. They are more easily 
 approached at that season also ; there is, therefore, reasonable 
 hopes of a successful expedition. 
 
 With the exception of the hare, fox, and rabbit, there are 
 hardly any of the mammiferse of this country on which it is 
 necessary to hunt with the gun ; and to shoot a fox is, in most 
 English counties, a high crime against the social laws. But 
 if Reynard is wanted he must be found. His den is in hilly 
 countries crowned with copse wood, over the bank of some 
 stream or under a bank of furze, and, ten to one, if there is a 
 retired hen-roost within a reasonable distance of it, he will not 
 require to be sought, but may be met prowling about it half 
 way, at early dawn ; in this case he is fair game, at least to 
 the naturalist who wants a specimen ! We need hardly tell 
 where a hare or rabbit is to be found ; in a corn or turnip field, 
 or in young plantations and grass meadows, they will be found 
 gambolling about at early dawn, from September to March, after 
 which they are sacred till the season rolls round again. Mice, 
 rats, weasels, and other mammiferae, may be taken in traps, or 
 destroyed in many ways when found. Some of them, however, 
 as the weasel, are difficult to find when wanted. It is generally 
 during the night or evening such creatures venture abroad. 
 
 There are a few precautions to be taken with skins of ani- 
 mals. To prevent damage to the fur large shot is used, as we 
 have seen. Spots of blood may be washed from the fur either
 
 PREPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 before or after skinning, and generally the same steps may be 
 recommended for the feathers of birds. 
 
 It sometimes happens that after death a viscous humour 
 issues from the beak and nostrils, moistening and .injuring the 
 head feathers. It also happens that some of the birds of prey, 
 and certain water-birds, will disgorge portions of the food 
 which remains undigested in the crop, and this is calculated 
 to damage their plumage. To prevent these accidents, the 
 fowler, as soon as the bird falls, should either proceed to arrest 
 the flow of blood, or leave it to congeal, and then proceed 
 to stuff the beak with cotton, and tie the upper and lower 
 mandibles together by means of a thread, the object being to 
 prevent the plumage from being soiled by any evacuations 
 whatever. After this, if the bird is a large one, dispose of it 
 in such a manner that the feathers are not disturbed ; if, on 
 the contrary, it is small or of middle size, and delicate plumage, 
 slip it head foremost into a paper bag, or cornet, such as 
 grocers use for small packages, and place it in the pockets or 
 boxes in the bag. Birds taken in the snare require the same 
 care ; they are easily killed by pressing the sides of the breast 
 opposite the heart, or even the throat, between the finger and 
 thumb, and placing them in the paper-bag when dead. 
 
 Birds taken by means of limed twigs generally have the plu- 
 mage much soiled by the bird-lime, which it is necessary to re- 
 move before it gets hard. It is removed by using a little fresh 
 butter or olive-oil, rubbed on the feathers. When the lime and 
 the butter are thoroughly mixed which is indicated by the lime 
 losing its adhesive power scrape the feathers one by one with 
 the edge of a scalpel, or knife, until every particle of the grease 
 is removed, when it may be washed with water containing a 
 strong solution of potash, and finally with pure water, drying 
 them by dusting plaster of Paris over them. Soap lees or 
 sulphuric ether are better adapted for washing feathers im- 
 pregnated with fatty matter. 
 
 One thing the naturalist fowler should not forget is to note 
 the colour of the eyes of the animal, in order to replace them in 
 the stuffed specimens ; for all species confined in cages lose part 
 of their natural colours in confinement, and present little of the 
 freshness either of eye or plumage which distinguishes the wild 
 animal. 
 
 REPTILES are chiefly to be sought for in May and June ; in 
 these months they have generally just changed their skin. They 
 require less care than either of the preceding class of
 
 PBOCTJKING SUBJECTS. 
 
 as the glossy skin which covers them requires fewer precautions 
 for its preservation. The species which can be captured with 
 least injury, as the chelonians, or tortoises, have their softer 
 parts protected by a special organization or shell. It is other- 
 wise with the saurians and ophidians, or lizards and serpents. 
 Here, to real danger in the pursuit, is added the difficulty of 
 taking them without injuring the external skin. In the lizards, 
 for example, especially those of small size, the skin is so deli- 
 cate that the slightest blow damages it ; and it is extremely 
 difficult to procure them without such violence. Some persons 
 recommend that they should be approached without being dis- 
 turbed, and struck on the back by a slight blow with a small 
 pliant twig or cane. This blow, could it be delivered, would 
 suffice to break the vertebral column, and thus effectually pre- 
 vent them from running away. But the first difficulty is to 
 approach them unperceived. It is like putting salt on the 
 bird's tail ; and when they can be so approached, the blow 
 must be very slight indeed, in order to avoid breaking the skin, 
 and yet strong enough to accomplish the end in view, which 
 requires discrimination. In fact, they are not easily obtained. 
 
 The spring is the period when it is most desirable to attack 
 them. At the commencement of this season, the sun, for 
 which they crave, leads them to issue from their winter retreat, 
 while the heat in which they display themselves seems rathei 
 to render them torpid than to vivify them, as it does later in 
 the season. Slow to move at this season, they will suffer 
 themselves to be approached without stirring. In this state 
 their hole may be covered with a handkerchief, and their re- 
 treat cut off. Having no place of refuge, they may now be 
 caught by the hand without injuring them, taking care at the 
 same time to avoid their bite ; not that it is dangerous, but it 
 causes a considerable bruise and a livid contusion. The tail is 
 very fragile, and must neither be seized nor struck. Never- 
 theless, in spite of every precaution, if it is separated from the 
 body, it should be secured, and, with a little ingenuity and 
 care, it may be replaced in mounting. 
 
 The chase of ophidians is, without contradiction, a dangerous 
 occupation, the bite of many of them being venomous, but their 
 skin is less delicate than the lizard's. They are slower in their 
 motion, and consequently more easily secured. Should any of 
 my readers have a fancy for this pursuit, which, I confess, I 
 have not, let them furnish themselves with a pair of long- 
 handled pincers and a bag made of skin, with a mouth formed
 
 PREPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 with two semicircular rims attached, and tested and secured 
 by a cord ; the bag being sprinkled over copiously with snuff, 
 the trap being laid and baited, when the reptile approaches it 
 the pincers are employed, and if they are adroitly used, the 
 serpent is introduced into the bag, which instantly closes, and 
 the serpent soon dies, for snuff is a deadly poison to it. 
 
 BATRACHIANS, or frogs and toads, are neither dangerous nor 
 difficult to take. They are cold-blooded, slow, and heavy, and 
 cannot escape by flight. They haunt dark and humid places, 
 and the safest way to take them, so as to avoid injury to the 
 skin, is to seize them with the hand, either naked or gloved. 
 With the exception of the larger species, reptiles are not usually 
 mounted. The vivid and brilliant colours of the majority of 
 them are extremely beautiful, and are best preserved in spirits 
 of wine. 
 
 FISH are captured by many different processes : in soft 
 water by line and bait of many kinds ; in the sea these means 
 are insufficient, but give place to other processes, on which we 
 need not enter here. Fish are sometimes stuffed, but generally 
 are only divested of the intestines, and plunged into alcohol ; 
 sometimes the dead skins are mounted on paper. 
 
 CRUSTACEA are preserved for a long time in salt water. After 
 many years in this water their colours are only slightly altered. 
 They may be transported to any distance in this preservation 
 of colour. This process preserves the animal perfectly intact. 
 
 MOLLUSKS are procured with equal ease, but they are un- 
 fitted for mounting. The animal discolours, and even gets 
 as hard as horn, without some means of preserving it in its 
 natural state. They are generally sought for their shells. 
 
 INSECTS. Among insects, butterflies and moths are the most 
 attractive ; and in indicating the locality in which they are to 
 be found, I might content myself with the well-known advice 
 of an eminent entomologist, in reply to a similar question, 
 " Search everywhere," I will, however, specify a few places 
 where I have found some of the most beautiful of them. The 
 white admiral, distinguished by the silvery blue and browr 
 markings below, with bands and spots of pure white, is found 
 in June and July, its favourite haunt being oak woods in 
 Kent, Essex, and Sussex, and, I believe, also in the north of 
 England. The purple emperor, so named from the splendid 
 purple of its wings, is also a denizen of the woods, being found 
 near Colchester in the Great and Little Stone Woods, in the 
 Forest of Dean, in Darenth Wood, and other and similar locali-
 
 SKINNING AND PREPARING BIRDS. 
 
 ties. Others, as the wood white, are found near fields of legumi- 
 nous plants, and are very generally diffused. Another, which is 
 often mistaken for it at a distance the marble white has, on 
 a nearer view, streaks of black and a pale yellow, feeds chiefly 
 on grasses, and is found in Sussex and Hampshire, and on 
 the Surrey hills in July and August. But my space does not 
 permit of my entering on this interesting subject further, and 
 as I cannot return to the subject, I shall here say a few words 
 on the best mode of killing and preserving insects. Some col- 
 lectors carry chloroform in a small bottle. When an insect is 
 captured, a little chloroform is dropped on the blotting-paper 
 at the bottom of the box in which it is placed ; this kills the 
 insect ; but the more usual way is to give it a quick nip between 
 the finger and thumb just under the wing, which kills it instantly. 
 It is then transfixed by passing a pin through the thorax, fixing 
 the sharp point in the cork of the box. 
 
 On returning home set it out in the following manner : 
 Having provided yourself with a setting-board, which is sold at 
 any of the naturalists' shops ; place the body of the insect in 
 the centre of the board in which there is a groove to receive it, 
 so as to let the wings spread out smoothly without any curve. 
 Having spread out the wings very gently, take four pins and 
 four small pieces of cardboard of an angular shape, with the 
 base rounded off; place the pointed end over the four tips of 
 the wings just far enough to hold them down, and fix each 
 down firmly to the board by passing a pin through the card 
 into the cork. All the beauty of the preparation depends on 
 the wings being evenly spread and lying smooth on the board, 
 and care only is required to make them lie so. 
 
 SKINNING AND PKEPAEING BIRDS. 
 
 In skinning and preparing the animals whose capture we 
 have been plotting, certain instruments are necessary. These 
 are, 1. a case of scalpels ; 2. a knife with toothed blade sharp 
 towards the point, the other a straight blade ; 3. two pairs of 
 scissors of different sizes, one six inches long, another ten inches, 
 and one with a short blade, the other straight and sharp- 
 pointed ; 4. two pairs of cutting-nippers ; 5. two pairs of pliers 
 for stretching wire, one stronger than the other ; 6, a smith's 
 portable vice for holding the wire ; 7. a scoop for removing the
 
 PREPARING AND STUTFIN& ANIMALS. 
 
 brains ; 8. many files of different sizes and grains, from five 
 to twelve inches long ; 9. a quantity of iron wire of different 
 sizes ; 10. a hand-saw ; 11. a small hammer and some nails of 
 different sizes ; 12. some flat files, needles of different sizes, 
 bodkins with triangular blades; 13. pencils in horsehair and 
 badger-hair, the one for spreading the arsenical soap, the other 
 for smoothing the feathers; 14. thread and cotton for sewing 
 up and stuffing the skins of animals; 15. three stuffing- 
 wires about seven, twelve, and eighteen inches long; 16. a 
 pair of caliper compasses; 17. several stilettos, or bodkins, 
 varying in length, bradawls of different sizes, and a supply 
 of arsenical soap or paste, which is prepared according to 
 the following prescription: To four pounds of white curd 
 soap add one pound of arsenic and one ounce of camphor; 
 cut the soap into thin slices and dissolve it in one pint 
 of water. When melted, add the arsenic and camphor, 
 stirring them well up together, and boil again until the 
 substance of a thick paste is attained, and pour it into 
 jars while hot. When cold tie it up carefully with bladder, 
 and it will retain its qualities for years in any climate. 
 A useful preservative powder is prepared as follows : 
 To four pounds of alum add one pound of arsenic and two 
 ounces of the flour of sulphur; mix them well together and 
 pound them in a mortar to break the lumps. The use made 
 of this powder is to rub it into the skin during the process 
 of skinning. The wire used in bird and animal stuffing varies 
 from two sizes smaller than a pin, used for the smallest birds, 
 as humming-birds ; to two sizes larger than a pin, used for 
 sparrows, canaries, and similar sized birds and animals. Black- 
 birds, thrushes, oreoles, and others of the same size, require 
 two sizes larger again ; while squirrels, hares, and foxes among 
 quadrupeds, and the eagle among birds, require a wire strong 
 in proportion to their size.* 
 
 With these implements all kinds of fl.nima.1a may be skinned 
 and mounted whose size does not exceed that of the wolf. 
 Larger animals amateurs will probably be disposed to leave to 
 professional hands. 
 
 In skinning a bird, having first provided all the articles for 
 anointing the skin, a little fine tow cut short, a little cotton- 
 
 * Arsenical soap, preservative powder, boxes containing all the requisite 
 .instruments, corked boxes, and apparatus for butterfly collecting, and 
 glazed cases of all sizes, may be obtained in great variety at Messrs. 
 Buffon & Wilson's, Naturalists, 391, Strand, London.
 
 SKINNING AND PREPARING BIRDS. 
 
 irool, and some absorbing powder, either burnt alum powdered, 
 flour of sulphur, or plaster of Paris ; and having stuffed a little 
 cotton into the mouth, and tied or sewed the mandibles together 
 to prevent the mucous discharge which sometimes takes place, 
 to the great injury of the plumage, lay the bird on its back 
 on a bench or table covered with a clean white cloth, with the 
 head towards the left hand of the operator ; part the feathers 
 carefully on the breast, and with a sharp knife or scalpel, the 
 handle of which it will be convenient to have with a spatula, 
 make an incision from the sternum or breast-bone to the vent, 
 just deep enough to cut the skin without penetrating the flesh 
 or intestines. Eaise the edge of the skin with the sharp edge 
 of the handle of the knife, and turn it back, cutting with the 
 knife where necessary, until the thigh-bone is reached. Having 
 done so, seize the leg and foot with one hand and the skin 
 with the other, and push the skin forward over the thigh 
 until the middle joint condyles of the thigh-bone become visible; 
 cut this through so as to leave the thigh-bone and leg attached 
 to the skin. Having done the same with the other side, the 
 lower part of the bird is entirely divested of its skin as far 
 as the tail. Having introduced the blade of a small knife 
 between the skin and the back -bone, under the root of the tail, 
 draw it upwards so as to cut through the rump-bone, taking 
 care that the skin is not injured in so doing. Now lay hold 
 of the carcase by the rump-bone with one hand, or, better still, 
 attach a hook to the rump -bone and suspend the carcase by 
 it, and draw the skin gently but forcibly towards the head ; 
 the skin will readily peel off as far as the wings, the plumage 
 being of course inverted. The wings are now separated from 
 
 the bod/ by cutting off the humerus, or fore-arm, where it joins 
 the body. The skin will now fall over the head, and, by gently 
 pulling it over the vertebrae of the neck, the crown will be 
 exposed. The bird is now as represented in the engraving ; the 
 22 m
 
 PREPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 kin inverted and drawn over the head, the femur or thigh- 
 bone attached as well as the first .vertebrae of the tail b, the 
 articulation of the humerus or pinion-bone c, where it was 
 separated from the body, the membranes of the ear d, with- 
 drawn from their cavities e, and the skin cut round the 
 cavities of the eyes /. 
 
 The head is now separated from the body at 
 the last vertebrae, or rather a little beyond, 
 being cut through the occipital opening a, to 
 facilitate the removing the brains, which are 
 withdrawn through the opening. The carcase is 
 now entirely disposed of. 
 
 The next operation is to remove the fleshy parts from th 
 head and cheekbones, clean out the occiput or cavity, and fill 
 the opening as well as the orbits of the eyes with cotton-wool, 
 having first given them a good coating with the preservative 
 paste. Having replaced the flesh removed from the cheeks and 
 crown with soft tow, turn the skin back over the head. The 
 wings are now to be skinned as far as the humeral bones by 
 pushing the skin backward over them ; the bones are carefully 
 cleaned, all flesh, muscles, and tendons removed, the bones as 
 well as the skin covered with the preservative paste, and tow 
 or cotton-wool wrapped round them to replace the flesh and 
 give the appearance presented in life ; the skin is then replaced. 
 The legs and thighs now undergo the same process. Taking 
 hold of the feet, the skin is gently pushed back over the tibia, 
 or leg-bones, to the knee-joint, and the flesh and tendons re- 
 moved ; by passing the knife round the head of the bones, the 
 flesh and tendons will be found to strip off cleanly from the 
 bone ; a coating of soap is now given to the bone and skin, the 
 bone is covered with tow so as to give its natural appearance, 
 and the skin replaced ; the same operation is performed on 
 the vertebrae attached to the tail, the flesh being removed as 
 far back as the insertion of the tail feathers, the skin and bones 
 stripped, covered with the soap, and the skin replaced as before. 
 The entire skin now receives a coating of the preservative 
 paste, and is ready for stuffing and mounting. It is impor- 
 tant that, as these different parts are finished off, the feathers 
 should be arranged and made to fall into their places while 
 the skin is damp, otherwise it may be difficult to get them to 
 lie smooth and in their nattaral order afterwards. 
 
 ^ The process we have just described is applicable to all land- 
 V)irds, and to most water-birds also ; but there are some, as the
 
 SKINNING AND PREPARING QUADRUPEDS. 
 
 penguin, dabchick, and some others, whose natural position is 
 nearly upright, and their breast plumage thick, white, and 
 feathery ; from their upright attitude, sewing up the breast would 
 leave a very obvious mark in the pure white plumage. To 
 obviate this defect, the cut is sometimes made in the side under 
 the wing; I myself prefer making it in the back, where I 
 can rely on finding plumage to conceal the stitches. In other 
 respects the process is the same ; but all sea-birds being very 
 oily in their flesh, it is more necessary with them to use some 
 absorbent for the fatty matter and blood a subject I have 
 purposely avoided, in order to prevent confusion in my descrip- 
 tion of the different processes. 
 
 There are, indeed, several modes of performing the operation 
 of skinning, differing in their details, but alike in all essentials, 
 the object being to obtain cleanliness, and avoid soiling the 
 plumage. Mr. Waterton employs for this purpose soft cotton- 
 wool, with which he covers the carcase up to the knife, pushing 
 it forward as the skin is raised ; others use burnt alum pounded 
 to a powder, and flour of sulphur. The French naturalists use 
 powdered plaster of Paris. For my own part, from long prac- 
 tice, I can skin almost any animal without the slightest stain 
 on the plumage ; but to those who have not had my experience 
 I would recommend plaster of Paris, as perfectly efficient, and 
 being the least offensive powder. It should not be too copiously 
 applied, but just dusted over the body as the skin is removed 
 in sufficient quantity to absorb the moisture, and no more. 
 It is also useful in removing any stain from the plumage, 
 and is easily brushed off when dry. 
 
 Mr. Waterton also uses corrosive sublimate dissolved in 
 Bpirits of wine as a substitute for the arsenical soap, and this 
 composition is strongly recommended by other naturalists, 
 but I have not found anything so perfectly satisfactory as 
 M. Becour's soap. At the same time let me remind the reader 
 that it is a very deadly poison, and should be applied with 
 great caution, with gloves, on the hands, kept for the purpose, 
 to prevent its getting under the nails or other parts, and that 
 it should never be suffered to be about within the reach of 
 children or animals ; moreover, that it should always be marked 
 " poison " on the jars. 
 
 SKINNING AND PREPAEING QUADRUPEDS. 
 
 The fox admits of most picturesque attitudes and accesso- 
 ries, and will admirably serve our purpose as an example.
 
 PKEPAKI5& AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 Therefore, Keynard being procured, we need not say how, lay 
 frm on his back in the same position a8 before recommended ; 
 and, having first stuffed the mouth with cotton and tied 
 it up, and measured his neck and body with rule and calipers, 
 and noted them, proceed. Make an incision from the last rib 
 nearly to the vent, but not quite up to it. Having done so, pro- 
 ceed to raise the skin all round the incision as far as the thighs, 
 first skinning one side and then the other, using the flat end of 
 the knife in preference to the blade to raise the skin. Having 
 reached the hind legs, separate the latter at the femur or 
 thigh-bone close to the back-bone, leaving the legs attached 
 to the skin. Now skin the head-quarters close up to the tail, 
 and separate it from the body at the last vertebrae, taking care 
 not to injure the skin. Pull the skin over the heads of the hip- 
 joints, and now the carcase may be suspended by the hind- 
 quarters, while the skin is stripped by pulling it gently and cut- 
 ting towards the fore-quarters. The fore legs are separated from 
 the body, as the hind ones had been, close to the shoulder-bone, 
 and the skin fairly pulled over the head and close to the nose, 
 when the head is separated from the body by cutting through 
 the last vertebrae of the neck. Eeynard is now skinned, the 
 head, legs, and tail being all attached to the skin, from which 
 the carcase is separated. 
 
 The flesh is now cut entirely away from cheek-bones, the 
 eyes removed, the brains taken out by enlarging the occipital 
 opening behind the cranium, the whole cleaned and suppled 
 with a coating of arsenical paste, and stuffed with tow or wool 
 to the natural size. 
 
 The legs are now successively skinned by pushing out the 
 bones and inverting the skin over them until the foot-joint is 
 visible ; every portion of flesh and tendons must be cut away, 
 and the bone cleaned thoroughly, and a coating of arsenical 
 soap laid over it as well as the skin. Wrap tow, or cotton, or 
 any other suitable material, round the bone, bringing it to its 
 natural shape, and draw the skin over it again. Do this to 
 each leg in succession, and the body itself is ready for stuffing 
 and mounting. 
 
 The utmost care will not prevent accidents: the fur and 
 plumage will get sullied, and before stuffing it is well to ex- 
 amine the skin, for stains and spots are calculated to deteriorate 
 its appearance. Grease or blood-spots may be removed by brush- 
 ing over with oil of turpentine, which is afterwards absorbed 
 by dusting plaster of Paris over; Macgillivray recommends
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR REPTILES. 
 
 that all skins, whether they are to be put away in a cabi- 
 net or stuffed, should receive a washing of spirits of turpentine 
 sprinkled on, and gently brushed in the direction of the feathers 
 or fur. Not to trust too much to memory, it is desirable to 
 measure and note the proportions of the animal before skinning, 
 first taking the muzzle to the tail. Afterwards, from the junc- 
 tion of the tail to the tip. Secondly, from the middle of the 
 shoulder-blade, or scapula, to the articulation of the femur, or 
 thigh-bone. Thirdly, the animal being placed on its side, 
 measure from the upper part of the scapula to the middle of 
 the sternum that is, to the spot where the two sides meet 
 above, and finally from the socket of the scapula to the socket 
 of the articulation of the femur or thigh-bone. In addition to 
 these, note, by measurement with caliper compasses, the size 
 of the head, the neck, the tail, and other points which affect the 
 shape of the animal. These measurements will serve as a guide 
 in stuffing, and for the size of the case and length of the mount- 
 ing wires. In the process of skinning, it is important to avoid 
 penetrating to the intestines, or separating any of the abdominal 
 muscles which lead to the intestines : any such accident would 
 be very disagreeable, as well as injurious to the skin. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR REPTILES. 
 In preserving reptiles, many different modes are adopted by 
 different naturalists. The first and most simple of all usually 
 employed by travellers, is to put them, when small in size, into 
 a vase or bottle of spirits of spirits of wine, for example but 
 before plunging them in, it is necessary to make an incision in 
 the belly, so that the liquor may enter the interior of the body, 
 and preserve the intestines. This may be employed for lizards, 
 frogs, toads, serpents, and for all reptiles not too large. For 
 the larger kinds, as the crocodile, for instance, it is neces- 
 sary to skin them ; and this is done in the same way as in 
 the larger mammiferse, only their skins being excessively hard 
 and provided with scales, it is necessary to prolong the incision 
 from the belly to the throat. Without turning the skin inside 
 out, raise it from the body. For the turtles, it is necessary to 
 have recourse to a hand-saw ; their envelope, especially in the 
 terrestrial species, being so hard that it cannot be cut. The 
 plastron, or breastplate, is separated from the carapace by 
 making an incision on each side, and cutting through the skin 
 which surrounds the anterior and posterior members with a
 
 MUSPAKENG AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 scalpel, thus leaving the plastron free, and withdrawing all the 
 intestines from the place. The skin ia now removed from 
 the other members, which are furnished with a paw so hard 
 that it is necessary to cut it open from top to bottom in 
 order to remove the fleshy parts beneath the shell. With re- 
 gard to the head, the skin need not be completely inverted, 
 because the plates or scales upon it can be detached from the 
 superficies ; it is only necessary, therefore, to scoop out the eyes 
 without damaging the orbits and the brain, enduing all the 
 parts thoroughly with arsenical paste before covering them 
 with the tow on which the shell is to be replaced. The 
 breastplate thus restored is held in its place by means of iron 
 wire properly inserted. 
 
 Some serpents are so large that it is necessary to skin them in 
 order to their preservation. This is sometimes done by making 
 a cut round the neck immediately behind the head, raising 
 the edge of the skin round the incision, and drawing the body 
 through it, thus turning the skin inside out, a process which 
 might, in some instances, be attended with danger as well as 
 difficulty. A more convenient process is to make a longitudinal 
 incision into the belly, but a little on one side, taking care to 
 avoid damaging the large scales by cutting on one side of 
 them. This done, the skin is raised by means of the scalpel, 
 the head separated from the body at its last vertebrae, 
 leaving the head attached to the skin. When entirely sepa- 
 rated from the vertebrae, the brain removed, and the cavity 
 cleaned out, cover the inside of the skin with a coating of 
 arsenical paste, or wash it with spirit of turpentine and sew it 
 up neatly, placing a layer of cotton-wool under the seam, 
 taking care not to catch it up with the thread so as to prevent 
 the stuffing from showing itself through the interstices. This 
 done, fill it with dry sand, or, better still, with sawdust or 
 bran. It is important in all instances to preserve the head 
 of serpents as perfect as possible, as on its construction much 
 of the zoological character of the animal depends. 
 
 PRESERVING AND SKINNING FISHES. 
 
 The same means applied to serpents may be employed for 
 preserving fishes ; but before putting it into practice the fish 
 must be washed in a mucilage which prepares them for the 
 spirit in which they are to be preserved. This is best done by
 
 PRESERVING AND SKINNING PISHES. 
 
 making an incision under the belly, a little on one side, so as 
 to avoid cutting the fins ; then, raising the skin from the sides 
 by the handle of the scalpel, separate the body from the tail, 
 and turn the skin towards the back in order to save the 
 dorsal fin, detaching the body from the head near the occiput, 
 and withdrawing the gills in order to wash and dry them. 
 The skin is now ready either for stuffing, sewing up, and 
 mounting, or for stretching between sheets of paper, which 
 preserves its colours ; in this process the fins are afterwards 
 fixed upon plates of cork or cartridge-paper by means of pins. 
 There is not much to commend in this last> process, for the 
 fins, which are the most striking characteristics of the fish, 
 soon become defaced. 
 
 PRESERVING CRUSTACEA. Small Crustacea are easily pre- 
 served by plunging them into spirits, or even into chalky 
 water, in which they may be preserved some time ; after which 
 they may be taken out and dried. Marine salt also preserves 
 them ; but for larger species other means must be employed, 
 which approach to the skinning process although not quite 
 belonging to it. In order to get rid of the fleshy matter and 
 the gills, it is necessary to raise the shell which covers the 
 back of most of the species. The carapace, as the shell upon the 
 back is called, is replaced, after covering the bed with arsenical 
 soap and stuffing with cotton to replace the flesh removed. 
 The shell is held in its place by being gummed round the 
 edges. When operating on species furnished with formidable 
 claws, the smaller opposing claw may be removed, the flesh ex- 
 tracted through the orifice, and the claw restored to its place. 
 Mollusks, as the occupants of these shells are called, are some- 
 times covered by a shell, in other species the body is always 
 naked. Both the marine, fluvial, and terrestrial species, may 
 be preserved in alcohol. The shelless mollusk may be other- 
 wise preserved alive; but those with the shell, where it is desired 
 to preserve that appendage apart from the animal, the only 
 mode is to plunge it into some spirit in which it can only live 
 a few minutes ; when dead, it is easily withdrawn from its shell 
 by means of a piece of wire. When it is wished to preserve 
 the shell and bring out its fine colours, a weak solution of nitric 
 acid is employed, brushing it with a hard brush ; for a second 
 washing use pure water. After which it is again plunged 
 into fresh water to remove any of the acid which may remain, 
 when it may be wiped dry with a soft rag, and a coating of 
 oil applied which brings up its colours.
 
 PBESEBVING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 There are some marine creatures, such as the star-fish, 
 echinites, and some others, which are dried with very littlo 
 preparation. The echinites are difficult tc preserve, however, 
 with their spikes, and the only certain mode is to place them 
 in spirits of wine, and wrap them up in linen, which may b< 
 double or even triple when they are to be carried any distance. 
 It is necessary first, however, to put them in fresh water in 
 order to make them disgorge certain saline matters, withdrawing 
 them afterwards and putting them into a dry place. 
 
 STUFFING AND MOUNTING BIEDS. 
 
 Skins are sometimes kept so long as to have become hard 
 and dry ; or they may be the skins of other climes which it 
 is desired to stuff and mount. I have already given directions 
 for preserving and moistening the skins of larger animals, but 
 there are hundreds of skins of birds and small animals sent daily 
 from India, Africa, America, and various other places, which re- 
 quire a different mode of treatment from those that are stuffed 
 immediately after being skinned. These skins, by the time 
 they reach England, are of course very dry, and require to be 
 thoroughly relaxed before they can be brought to a fit state 
 for stuifing. One plan is to get an earthenware pan with a 
 lid, and put three quarts of silver sand in it ; after well washing 
 it, drain the water off and put a sheet of blotting-paper on 
 the top of the sand, and on this place the dry skins, as many 
 as will cover it without crowding, then put the lid on and 
 allow them to remain several days, when they will be found quite 
 fit for stuffing. Another method, which I find to answer very well 
 in most cases, is to take the wadding carefully out of the skins, 
 damp it, and replace it ; then get a clean damp cloth and roll 
 the skins in it ; by this process, in the case of the skins of 
 small birds, they will be ready in twenty -four hours, when they 
 .can then be stuffed in the manner I am about to describe. 
 In the case of birds of paradise and humming-birds, whose 
 skins are extremely delicate, it is found sufficient in practice to 
 suspend the skins over damp tow or moss after unstuffing them. 
 
 The same remark applies to specimens requiring remounting, 
 the old stuffing being drawn, out with a hooked wire and re- 
 placed by wet tov, while a wet cloth is folded round, the skin 
 Boon becomes moist and pliable, unless they have become very 
 hard indeed, when hot water, or the bath already described
 
 STUFFING AND MOUNTING BIRDS. 
 
 might be used. I assume, however, that we have to do with 
 a recently removed skin which requires no such preparation. 
 
 Having all the required materials at hand, which consist of 
 some fine cut tow or cotton-wool, or both ; suitable sized wires, 
 a stuffing wire (which consists of a strong wire, one end of which 
 has been beaten out into a spoon-like shape), a pair of cutting- 
 nippers and pliers, and the other tools already described; lay the 
 skin on its back, as before, with its head to the operator's left ; 
 take a piece of wire of suitable size, and of sufficient length to 
 project an inch or so beyond the head and rump of the bird. 
 Having filed both ends to a point, t ake a piece of cork long enough 
 to reach from the rump to the si le bones of the wing, pass the 
 wire through this piece of cork e_M double up one end of it so 
 as to form a loop or staple, the loose end of which is also fixed 
 in the cork. Now proceed carefully to stuff the head and 
 neck if not already done, imitating the form of the head and 
 the muscles of the neck to the best of your ability. This part 
 of the process, as well as stuffing the head, requires great care ; 
 no inequalities of surface must appear except those natural to 
 the attitudes and natural muscles of the part. The head stuffed, 
 let it be carefully examined, and any defects in the stuffing cor- 
 rected ; this may be done by means of a hooked wire or pointed 
 bodkin inserted through the openings of the eyes ; but it re- 
 quires great care, otherwise the orbits may be irretrievably 
 injured. Having arranged the head and neck in a satisfac- 
 tory manner, bearing in mind that all parts of the skin and 
 bone should be covered with soap or some other preservative, 
 the pointed wire may be pushed up the stuffing of the neck, 
 and through the crown of the head, until it projects an inch 
 or so beyond the cranium. 
 
 Two other wires are now selected of sufficient strength to 
 support the bird ; these are also filed to a point at one end, 
 and of a length suited to the legs of the bird, and are passed 
 through the feet by the side of the leg-bone. One end of the 
 wire is left projecting three or four inches through the foot ; 
 the other end, after being regulated to a suitable length, and 
 bent so as to accord with the shape of the body, is pushed 
 through the cork at the point where the legs were separated 
 from the body, and firmly riveted into it, or at least twisted at 
 the opposite side. 
 
 According to some methods, no cork is made use of, but a 
 loop is formed in the body wire at this point, to which the wires 
 of the leg are twisted on each side, and the place of the cork
 
 PREPARING AND STUFFING ANIMALS 
 
 supplied by stuffing ; in either case the position of the legs is 
 a very important element of success. In posing a bird, the 
 talons should never extend beyond the rump-bone, but much 
 will depend on the attitude the bird is to assume. 
 
 Where the tail is a small one, and is intended for a sitting or 
 perching bird, the single wire loop attached to the cork will 
 generally support it. But where the tail is long, or is intended 
 to be expanded, a second wire of smaller dimensions is used ; this 
 wire, being filed to a point, is also bent in the form of a staple, 
 with a broad or narrow exterior according to the shape of the 
 tail to be supported. The sharp points of this staple are forced 
 through the portion of the rump-bone left attached to the tail, 
 and inserted into the cork, while the bone rests against the first 
 wire, which thus acts as a fulcrum to the tail. The bird now 
 
 shows, as represented in the en- 
 graving, the body wire occupying 
 the centre of the body, and coming 
 jut zi *He tail and through the 
 cranium bottfccr the eyes, while 
 the wires of the lcgt> and wings 
 are attached by a loop to the body 
 wires. 
 
 The process of stuffing the body 
 now commences ; the tow or other 
 material used being wound round 
 the wires until something like the 
 shape of the bird is attained. The 
 legs and thighs claim particular 
 care ; the wires which represent the 
 tendons may be twisted in any 
 direction, but considerable skill 
 will be required to represent truly 
 the form of the thighs and bend of the knees. 
 
 The set of the tail also requires much care ; the flesh and 
 bone removed are replaced by tow or cotton-wool, which is pushed 
 in with the stuffing wire. 
 
 The operation of sewing up is now performed, during whicl 
 the stuffing is completed, all vacant places being filled in with, 
 soft tow or cotton by means of the stuffing wire. As the work 
 proceeds, the caliper compasses will now be found useful if the 
 previous measurement of the dead bird were carefully made. 
 The sewing should be very neatly done, with fine cotton-thread, 
 taking care that none of the feathers are caught by the thread.
 
 STUFFING AND MOUNTING BIRDS. 
 
 The stuffing and sewing up finished, and the feathers brushed 
 and placed in their proper order, a perch is provided for the 
 bird if it is a perching bird. Two holes are bored in the perch 
 at proper distances, through which the wires of the feet are 
 pushed and riveted on the other side. 
 
 The wings are the next consideration. Having fixed upon 
 the position they are to occupy, cut two pieces of wire of suf- 
 ficient length to carry out the design ; if they are to lie close 
 to the body, a small wire passed through the first pinion joint 
 through the stuffing, and into the cork, will keep them in their 
 position. When they are expanded as in flying, the tail must 
 be expanded also ; in this case the wire should be long enough to 
 support both joints of the wing, through which it is passed into 
 the cork in the body. I am not sure that one wire long enough 
 for both wings would not be an improvement on this arrange- 
 ment. Each end of the wire being pointed, it could be pushed 
 through the joints and the wire twisted into the required form, 
 support being given to the wings by cardboard, cork, or by 
 double wire, as with the tail, where they were too heavy for one 
 wire. And now, it is only necessary to fix the eyes, which 13 
 done in various modes : some eyes, being provided with a shank, 
 are stuck into the matter used for stuffing the head, using a 
 little gum round the edges ; others fix them in with a little 
 putty ; the orbits are dressed and painted, the feathers neatly 
 arranged in their places ; and some naturalists wash the whole 
 surface with rectified spirits of turpentine, both as a preserva- 
 tive and to give gloss and brilliancy to the plumage. 
 
 The operator's taste may now be displayed in giving the 
 finishing touch to the setting of the bird. If the work has 
 been well executed, and the wires firmly inserted and riveted, 
 the neck, head, wing, feet, or tail, may be twisted in any 
 direction without fear of dislocation, and a good memory will 
 enable him to give it a natural and life-like appearance. 
 
 The attitude must of course rest with the operator ; but a few 
 words on the subject may direct his attention to certain ana- 
 tomical results which should accompany particular attitudes. 
 A bird seizing its prey, for instance, stretches out its leg with 
 extended claw and with head and neck bent forward, wings 
 raised in an arched form, and tail spread out vertically, and the 
 body also bending forward. In flying, the wings are spread out 
 to their whole extent, the tail in a line with the body and ex- 
 panded, the claws closed, and the legs drawn close to the body. 
 In a bird surprised, the side on which the alarm has originated
 
 PKEPABING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 is raised, the wing on that side slightly elevated, the head turned 
 in the same direction, and the foot advanced, the tail drooping, 
 but raised slightly towards the point of alarm. Perhaps, how- 
 ever, the tyro will obtain a better lesson on this subject than we 
 can give by studying the attitudes given to birds in the sketches 
 of Mr. Harrison Weir, some of whose drawings illustrate the 
 series of books to which this belongs. The Landseers, Ansdell, 
 Wolff, and several artists of well-known repute as painters of 
 animals, may also be studied with advantage. 
 
 But his task is not yet finished ; however carefully the skin- 
 ning may have been performed, there will be a difficulty with 
 some of the feathers. In order to keep them in their place, and 
 get them to be smooth, it is sometimes necessary to dress them 
 with a modeller's iron, heated, taking care that the iron is not 
 hot enough to scorch the feathers. Having 
 got them into a proper state, the French 
 curators bind long bands of soft paper 
 round them to keep them in that position, 
 fixing the paper by means of pins, as in 
 the engraving. My own practice, and, I 
 believe, that of most English 
 naturalists, is to keep the 
 feathers in their place and 
 position by winding cotton- 
 thread round them. By this 
 (means, having smoothed a 
 feather into its proper curve 
 at the hollows and twists 
 of the neck, for instance, 
 by winding a thread round it in two or three places while it is 
 damp I can be certain that it will retain that position when 
 dry; the thread wound round the body keeps every feather in 
 its place. This, I think, cannot be accomplished by a paper 
 band, however skilfully placed. 
 
 STUFFING AND MOUNTING QUADRUPEDS. 
 Before commencing operations, it is necessary to have the 
 materials which are to form the carcase at hand/as well as the 
 wires which are to form the framework, which must be propor- 
 tioned to the size of the animal. Cut the wire into five pieces, 
 rf which four are for the limbs and the fifth for the body Thii
 
 STOPPING AND MOUNTING QUADBUPEDS. 
 
 last is the frame to which all the others are attached ; for mam* 
 mifers which have a tail of any length, it is necessary to have a 
 sixth wire, a little slighter than the others, to represent that 
 appendage ; each wire intended for the limbs and tail being, of 
 course, as long as it is intended to make the member, with 
 six inches over to insert in the board rm which it is to be 
 placed ; the central wire or framework the length of the animal ; 
 and a third longer, for loops and projections. 
 
 Commencing with the tail, which is made up of the vertebrae 
 cleaned as far as possible from all fleshy ligaments, whose office 
 is now performed by the wire which has been thrust through 
 them ; round these tow is wound in regular order, until it has 
 acquired in its whole length the necessary degree of thickness : 
 this done, cover it well with a coating of arsenical soap or cor- 
 rosive sublimate, and, thus prepared, introduce it into the caudal 
 envelope in such a manner as to resemble the natural tail of 
 the animal. 
 
 And now the wires for the fore legs, being reduced to the 
 proper length, are inserted into the foot and pushed through 
 by the side of the bone, and tow is wound round them in 
 ouch a manner as to represent the muscles and flesh upon 
 the limbs, terminating, as in the case of the tail, at the upper 
 part; the limbs, being each, in their turn, thus shaped and 
 covered with a coating of preserving paste, are inserted in the 
 skin, the wire projecting through the centre of the foot ; but as 
 it is not always possible to give the exact form to the limbs in 
 this stage of the operation, it is attained afterwards by stuffing cut 
 wool into the parts to fill out to the proper shape of the model. 
 The hinder limbs are prepared in the same manner, but with 
 greater difficulty, from the complicated character of the tendons. 
 At the Musee de I'Histoire Naturelle at Paris, Madame Char- 
 pentier gets over the difficulty by taking out the tendon and 
 replacing it by a second wire, which is made to enter the bone 
 of the foot, and is afterwards attached to the knee-bone. The 
 bones of the hind leg being properly endued with preserving 
 soap, the form of the limb is exactly imitated and inserted into 
 the skin, as we have indicated for the others. 
 
 The four members and tail thus disposed of, the head demands 
 the utmost attention, especially the lips and eyes. The arrange- 
 ment of the lips consists in replacing the fleshy parts, which 
 have been removed, by stuffing. The cotton-wool is not suffi- 
 ciently plastic for this operation, and requires to be well mixed 
 with arsenical soap, so as to form a sort of thick paste of the
 
 fKEPAKING AND STUFFING ANIMALS. 
 
 consistence of putty. With this the form of the animal's lips 
 are moulded, or modeller's wax may be used for the same pur- 
 pose, so as to fill up the more delicate fleshy parts, which have 
 no hairy covering ; the cheeks being stuffed with fine cotton- 
 wool, retained in its place sometimes by a piece of fine calico, 
 which surrounds the head, the whole being covered with soap 
 The skin is now drawn over the whole as far as the cartilages 
 of the ears, which are sewed on and fixed in their place. 
 
 The sixth wire or framework is now fixed in the middle of 
 the body, from the neck to the tail, penetrating the bones of 
 the head between the eyes, as represented in the engraving, the 
 wires for the four feet and tail being attached in the following 
 manner, having previously surrounded the wire with tow 
 approximating to the thickness of the neck of the animal: 
 At the junction of the anterior members with the body, a loop 
 is made in the body wire to which those forming the limbs are 
 firmly attached ; a cork is sometimes placed at the end of the 
 body wire, to which the tail is attached, as in the case of 
 
 birds, but in general the wire 
 which forms the tail is only 
 twisted round the central wire 
 in such a manner as to form a 
 sufficient fulcrum for carrying 
 the tail. All the wires being 
 attached, and the members 
 placed in the position they are 
 to retain when the animal is 
 mounted, the stuffing may pro- 
 ceed. We have now to do with 
 the neck, which was roughly 
 stuffed to receive the body wire. 
 It now requires more careful 
 stuffing with fine material to 
 bring out the contour and mus- 
 cular swellings. This should be 
 stuffed with great care, first 
 giving it a coating of soap; 
 no void must be left near the 
 head, nor must it be thicker 
 than in nature. As the opera- 
 tor approaches the body, as 
 much natural form should be 
 In sewing np, also, the suture of the two 
 
 given as possible.
 
 STUFFING AND MOUNTING PISH. 
 
 edges of the skin should be neatly executed so as to be covered 
 with the hair, commencing at the breast, which permits the 
 tow used to be more easily supplied when it fails, the stuffing 
 should be finished as the sewing proceeds; using a stuffing- 
 wire and fine tow or cotton-wool for the purpose. 
 
 The animal is now fixed upon the board it is to occupy, four 
 holes being pierced in it at proper distances, the lower extre- 
 mities of the wires, forming the limbs, are placed in them, and 
 riveted beneath the board in such a manner as to render the 
 figure of the animal immoveable. And now the eye of the 
 artist comes into play ; the attitude which is most natural to the 
 animal when living is now to be imitated, and on the taste of the 
 operator will depend whether the imitation is successful or not. 
 
 The mouth is now to be arranged, and the lips moulded into 
 form, the nostrils reduced to order and filled with cotton to 
 hinder them from shrivelling. Finally, the orbits of the eyes 
 are put in proper condition to receive artificial eyes, which are 
 held firmly in their place by an application of gum to the edge 
 of the pupils, while the ears are held to their places by pieces 
 of cardboard or linen, occupying the place of the cartilages. 
 And now the animal is left to dry, during which it should be 
 looked at daily to see that the skin does not in drying get 
 puffed out in some place, or show differences in another acci- 
 dents which should be remedied at once by means of the bodkin 
 already described. 
 
 STUFFING AND MOUNTING FISH. 
 
 In most fishes there is a line from head to tail in the middle 
 of the body. Place the fish on its side, and, with a sharp knife 
 or pair of scissors, clip the gills ; then proceed to clip the skin 
 from head to tail down that line ; a paper-knife is the best 
 thing for dividing the skin from the body. Having separated 
 the skin from one side, cut the back -bone through at both ends, 
 and proceed to skin the other in the same way. Remove tne 
 eyes, and a little flesh under each eye, and rub the skin well in 
 the inside with preservative, and sew up the skin again, begin- 
 ning at the tail, and sew up by degrees, as it is fitted to its 
 proper shape, using wet bran, putting a flat piece of wood in 
 the middle of the body, with two pieces of wire fastened in it, 
 to support the fish. The wood must be the length of the fish. 
 Be careful to mould the fish to its proper shape while it is 
 damp ; then let it dry.
 
 PBEPAKING SKELETON LEAVES. 
 
 Gather the leaves from the middle of summer to September, 
 put them in one gallon of soft water, let them soak for almost 
 a month, and then take out a leaf and try it ; if it is ready, 
 the green coat will rub off directly and leave the fibre ; some 
 will take two months before they are ready; but you can 
 always tell by rubbing the leaf rather gently. After ob- 
 taining the skeleton of the leaves, place them in one quart 
 of water, with two table-spoonfuls of chloride of lime, well 
 mixed; let them remain about twelve hours, and they will 
 be perfectly white. Keep them in a close box until you want 
 to use them. The best and most ornamental way to mount 
 them, is to get either round or oval shades and gilt or black 
 stands ; cover the stand with velvet, black or coloured, accord- 
 ing to taste, and then arrange the leaves so as to form a pretty 
 group ; when the shade is placed over it, with chenille, it will 
 be a very handsome ornament. 
 
 SKELETON OP THE RKINDEBB.
 
 CRIES & CALL-NOTES 
 OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 A POPULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES EMPLOYED 
 
 BY OUR COMMONER BRITISH BIRDS IN 
 
 THEIR SONGS AND CALLS. 
 
 With JVCusieal Illustrations 
 
 BY C. A. WITCHELL, 
 
 Author of "Evolution of Bird Song," dec. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STEAND, W.C. 
 1899.
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 THE " SURBITON TIMES," LIMITED, 
 SURBITON HILL, S.W
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 BIRD-LANGUAGE is a fascinating subject, expressed, as it often 
 is, in pleasing tones, and accompanied by interesting gestures 
 of the bird which employs it, or of that to which it is addressed. 
 Unfortunately, this theme is a rather difficult one to investi- 
 gate, necessitating much close observation before even the 
 alphabet of bird-language the call-notes and the alarm-cries 
 can be understood. It is with a view to lessen this difficulty 
 that the present work has been undertaken, the immediate 
 object of the author being to so describe the notes of our most 
 familiar birds that the reader may easily acquire a tolerably 
 intimate knowledge of them, and thus be led to make indepen- 
 dent observation in a new and delightful region of scientific 
 investigation. 
 
 There is not the least doubt that in every part of the country 
 many individual birds exhibit interesting variations from the 
 common language of their species ; and these variations, which 
 might be so suggestive and valuable to the scientist, are un- 
 noticed, simply because the people in the vicinity have never 
 troubled themselves to acquire a knowledge of the habitual 
 notes of the species in question. To avoid repetition, the 
 reader is here referred to the subsequent notes on the sparrow, 
 chaffinch, and cuckoo, for illustrations of this argument.
 
 yiii PREFACE. 
 
 The author hopes that readers who acquire a knowledge of 
 the usual notes of the birds mentioned in these pages will 
 proceed further in their investigations and observe and record 
 the variations above mentioned, so that ultimately the much 
 wider theme of the evolution of bird-song may rest upon a 
 basis of observations conducted over a very large area by a pro- 
 portionate number of investigators. 
 
 This book contains no classification in the ordinary sense of 
 the word; and yet the author has followed the common 
 scientific method of passing from the general to the special. 
 In this case, the commonest species (within certain limits) are 
 treated first, and the commonest and most noticeable cries of 
 each species have precedence, the object being to facilitate the 
 observation of the reader rather than to impose upon him any 
 particular method of conducting his investigations. 
 
 The standpoint from which the relative commonness of 
 species is surveyed is neither the sea nor the plain, but an 
 ordinary English country town surrounded by a woodland 
 district. 
 
 With reference to the musical notation in this book, it must 
 be borne in mind that there is no instrument which will auto- 
 matically reproduce the different tones of birds, and that differ- 
 ence of tone or of timbre is generally more important than 
 difference in musical pitch. The thrush, for instance, often 
 repeats two notes in the interval of the cuckoo's call, and in 
 the same " time " ; but notwithstanding this, he never cries 
 "cuckoo." I think that the notation in question is best in- 
 terpreted by whistling it with the mouth, which is rendered 
 easier by first playing the passages on a piano. In some 
 instances syllables are written under the notation, to suggest 
 the bird's tone. I have omitted notation of the blackbird,
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 thrush, robin, and lark, because each one of these sings some- 
 Avhat differently from others ; and in the case of a former 
 publication containing the music of these birds, several readers, 
 not hearing the particular birds in their gardens give my music, 
 at once concluded that my records were wrong, whereas it would 
 have been indeed wonderful if my birds had sung the same 
 notes as theirs. 
 
 CHAS. A. WITCHELL. 
 Eltham, 
 
 February, 1899.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. TOWN BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard in and near Town Gar- 
 dens : SPAKKOW. ROBIN. STABLING. 
 HEDGE-SPABBOW. BLACKBIBD. THBUSH. 
 GBEAT-TIT. BLUE-TIT. COAL-TIT. CHAF- 
 FINCH. GBEENFINCH. SWALLOW. HOUSE- 
 MABTIN. SAND-MABTIN. SWIFT. BBOWN 
 WREN. BLACKCAP. - - TBEE-CBEEPEB. - 
 GOLD-CBEST. ROOK. JACKDAW. CBOW. 
 OWL. REDWING - 1 40 
 
 CHAPTER II. WOODLAND BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard in and near Woodland 
 Gardens: MARSH-TIT. LONG-TAILED TIT. 
 NUTHATCH. SPOTTED FLYCATCHEB. PIED 
 FLY-CATCHEB. BULLFINCH. REDSTABT. 
 WHITETHBOAT. - GABDEN - WABBLEB. - 
 LESSER WHITETHBOAT. CHIFFCHAFF. 
 WILLOW- WHEN. NIGHTINGALE. YELLOW 
 BUNTING, OB YELLOWHAMMEB. - - CIBL - 
 BUNTING. - COBN-BUNTING, OR COMMON 
 BUNTING. TREE-PIPIT. WOOD-PIGEON. 
 TBEE-SPABBOW. LESSEE REDPOLL. GOLD- 
 FINCH. HAWFINCH. CUCKOO. SKYL ABK.
 
 CONTENTS. X 
 
 PAOK 
 
 MlSTLE-THBUSH. LiANDKAIL. - - JAY. - 
 
 MAGPIE. LINNET. WOOD-WKEN, OB WOOD- 
 WABBLEB. - - WBYNEOK. - - PABTBIDGE. - 
 LES&EB SPOTTED WOODPECKEB. GBEATEB 
 SPOTTED WOODPECKEB. GBEATGBEENWOOD- 
 
 PECKEB. TUBTLE-DOVE. - STOCK-DOVE. 
 
 PHEASANT. FIELDFABE. STONECHAT. 
 GBASSHOPPEB WABBLEB. NIGHTJAB. 
 
 BuTCHEB-BlBD, OB RED-BACKED SHBIKE. 
 KESTBEL. CBOSSBILL. MEALY REDPOLL - 41 70 
 
 CHAPTER III. UPLAND BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard from the Upland Gar- 
 dens : PEEWIT. MEADOW-PIPIT. WHEAT- 
 KAB. TWITE. WHINCHAT. QUAIL. RING- 
 OUSEL. ROCK-PIPIT. RKI>G:ROUSE. RAVEN 71 73 
 
 CHAPTER IV. WATERSIDE BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard in and near Riverside 
 Gardens : SWANS, DUCKS AND GEESE. WAG- 
 TAILS. SEDGE- WABBLEB. REED- WABBLEB. 
 
 - MOOBHEN. SISKIN. REED- BUNTING. - 
 COMMON HKIION. KINGFISHER. DIPPEB. - 
 COMMON SAXDPIPEB. REDSHANK. CUBLEW. 
 
 - DUNLIN. RINGED PLOVEB. GOLDEN 
 PLOVEB. COOT. COMMON SNIPE. LITTLE 
 GBEBE, OB DABCHICK. HOODED CBOW. 
 MABSH-WABBLEB - - - 74 80
 
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 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES 
 
 OF 
 
 WILD BIRDS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard in and near Town Gardens. 
 
 Sparrow. Robin. Starling. Hedye- Sparrow. 
 Blackbird. Thrush. Great Titmouse. Blue Tit. Coal- 
 Tit. Chaffinch. Greenfinch. Swallow. House-Martin. 
 Sand-Martin. Swift. Brown Wren. Blackcap. Trec- 
 Creeper. Golden-Crested Wren. Rook, Jackdaw, and 
 Crow. Owl. Redwing. 
 
 The Sparrow. 
 
 THIS is the commonest bird of the town. It is noisy, and 
 its language is therefore particularly suitable for preliminary 
 investigations, the more especially because some of its notes 
 may be usefully referred to in describing some similar notes of 
 other species. 
 
 The commonest cries of the sparrow differ with the seasons, 
 but perhaps the most noticeable ^cry is that of spring, a sound 
 which may be suggested by " chissick." It is the cry of the 
 
 B
 
 2 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 male, which, perched near his nest or the site of a nest, will 
 repeat this cry at the rate of about one per second, for minutes 
 without a rest. It is obviously addressed to the female bird, 
 and sometimes, when she approaches, the cry is repeated more 
 quickly and at a higher pitch indicating the excitement of the 
 performer. The cry varies somewhat in different birds, but it 
 nearly always contains only two syllables. On three occasions, 
 however, I have heard three given (" chississick "), and this 
 suggested the beginnings of a more elaborate cry. This 
 variation should be carefully noted whenever observed. 
 Although the adult female sparrow never cries " chissick,'' 
 the young birds of both sexes utter it in practically the same 
 tone as the adult male, though less sharply. From August 
 to December this cry is abandoned. 
 
 The next note which may be mentioned is one given by the 
 adults at all seasons of the year, but never by the young. It is 
 often employed as an alarm-note, and indeed it appears to be 
 always of the nature of a warning, except when it is given in 
 attempts at song. This cry may be called " tell " ; but it is not 
 often uttered singly, and it may therefore be more aptly given 
 as " tell, tell." This is especially used when a hawk is in the 
 neighbourhood, though at some distance, or when the nest is 
 threatened by another bird or by a cat. Both sexes utter it, 
 but chiefly the male. When a male gives it repeatedly from an 
 elevated perch, and the other sparrows are keeping near trees 
 or low bushes, there can be small doubt that he is watching 
 the movements of some hawk or other bird which he fears, and 
 is acting as sentinel to his companions. 
 
 A common incident of sparrow life is the noisy clustering, 
 and what looks like fighting, of many birds around one. It is 
 no fight properly so-called, but is a group of males around a
 
 TOWN BIEDS. O 
 
 female, to whom they are " showing off," and whose attention 
 they seek to engage, not only by display, but even by bumping 
 against her and pushing her lightly with their bills. She 
 resents these attentions, rattles her bill (thereby producing a 
 sound like " gup-gup," which is analogous to the noise 
 of the gnashing of teeth by an angry dog), and she 
 certainly pecks and pinches her persecutors. They, be it 
 known, never pecjc her in retaliation, but each seems fully 
 satisfied if he can prevail on her to attack him rather than any 
 of the others. I have twice seen the female in one of these 
 clusters hold a male suspended in her bill, and a writer in the 
 Field witnessed a similar incident. Finally, one male is 
 left master of the ceremonies, and he continues to hop about 
 and " play " to the female, undisturbed by rivals. 
 
 The female, during these noisy riots, continually repeats one 
 of the alarm-cries, a sound which may bs suggested by 
 " shikikikik " pronounced very rapidly. This alarm-note is 
 very commonly employed towards the young when they are in 
 danger. It always consists of many syllables, never of one, 
 like the " tell, tell " cry. There can be small doubt, however, 
 that it originated in the repetition of one cry ; and, indeed, I 
 nave heard the " tell " cry gradually repeated faster and faster 
 until the " shikikikik " was produced. 
 
 The most emphatic alarm-note of the sparrow is a curious 
 rather low note, never repeated rapidly. It may be rendered 
 " tourr," or " tear," or " tyaaa." This is the particular note 
 always employed when a hawk is near. It is also given 
 occasionally under other alarming circumstances, as when a 
 sparrow is surprised by another animal, or when a man ap- 
 proaches with a gun. 
 
 In the autumnal months sparrows are very abundant in the 
 
 B 2
 
 4 CBIKS AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIKDS. 
 
 fields,' and drift in large clusters along the hedges. When one 
 of these companies is disturbed, it rises uttering quite a chorus 
 of one cry a short note which may be suggested by " whee." 
 The cry is often inflected slightly, so as to sound like " whea " 
 or " wheey," and it is repeated with rapidity directly propor- 
 tioned to the urgency of the occasion. This may be termed 
 the autumn call ; but it is also heard at all other seasons. It 
 is addressed to the young to lead them from place to place ; and 
 in winter, when the sparrows are settling to roost in the thickets, 
 the perched birds commonly call in this tone to the others 
 which are passing above. Both sexes have this cry when 
 adult ; but it is never uttered by the young. 
 
 In the breeding season sparrows sometimes utter a repeated 
 loud note of rather plaintive tone, which may be written " tew- 
 tew-tew." It will generally be noticed that this note proceeds 
 from sparrows hopping about in the spouting. It is the 
 sparrow's love-note. Both sexes utter it, although, from the 
 fact that the pair generally give it at exactly the same pitch, 
 the whole seems to be produced by one bird. I have some- 
 times, however, heard it given at a different pitch by male and 
 female, proving that it is not solely the accomplishment of 
 either sex. The female seems to make most use of it, and gener- 
 ally accompanies it with a fluttering or shaking of her wings. 
 
 The male sparrow, when perched comfortably in sunshine, 
 often rehearses his vocabulary in a way which indicates an 
 attempt at song. If reared under birds of another species in 
 a cage, the sparrow has their notes, and not sparrow notes, 
 though he retains the sparrow tone of voice, and he may then 
 become quite a pleasing singer. The faculty of mimicry would 
 nevertheless seem to be very latent in the wild sparrow, for 
 though for many years I have closely listened for any sign of it,
 
 TOWN BIRDS. O 
 
 I have only heard one bird imitate, and that one very cleverly 
 reproduced the alarm-cry of the starling. Curiously, some 
 time after, my brother, Mr. E. N. Witchell, to whom I had not 
 mentioned the incident, heard a sparrow in the same place 
 imitating the " twink, twink " alarm of the blackbird, and " the 
 whistle" of the chaffinch. 
 
 There is a curious note which I have heard from sparrows 
 in London, as well as in many parts of the country : it seems to 
 be a song-note, and is given only by the male. It is a short 
 double cry, the first syllable descending rapidly in pitch, and 
 the second, in fuller tone, ascending slightly. The whole may 
 be suggested by " teeoo-woh." It undoubtedly indicates con- 
 tentment. This cry I have written down as follows : 
 
 Tee...uu woh. 
 
 The Robin. 
 
 There are very many country people who are fond of the 
 birds and feed them daily, yet do not know the song of the 
 robin when they hear it, unless at the same time they see the 
 red-breasted singer. The common note of alarm, however, 
 " lit-it-it-it," is very generally recognised, and we will therefore 
 consider it first. In order to imitate this exclamation, take two 
 pebbles, of about the size of a hazel-nut, and strike them to- 
 gether many times as fast as you can. If the number of blows 
 be varied very much, from one to twenty being given at one 
 effort, a very good representation of the robin's alarm will result.
 
 {) CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The first feature which one notices in this cry is the extent 
 to which the number of sounds constituting it is varied, as above 
 indicated. The next incident is the varied emphasis which the 
 bird accords to the ticking sounds, the accent being generally 
 on the first and the last sounds. On close observation it will 
 be discovered that the louder notes are at a slightly higher 
 pitch than the others for this rattling cry has a " pitch," the 
 key of which can be easily ascertained, although the notes are 
 so exceedingly acute. If on the piano the note F, two octaves 
 above the top line in the treble stave, or another note near this 
 one, be struck very rapidly in the manner of the pebbles above 
 mentioned, and if the repetition is preceded and followed by 
 the striking of the next higher note, a very good suggestion 
 of the robin's alarm-cry will be produced ; and if a robin 
 in the garden can then be heard giving this cry, the observer 
 will find that he is within a note or two of the actual pitch 
 of the cry. 
 
 But it will be found that the robin not only accentuates 
 certain " ticks " in his cry : he varies the rate of repetition, the 
 first few ticks and the last being generally given slower than the 
 middle sounds. These observations on rate of repetition may 
 seem very trivial, but the importance of the matter in question 
 lies in this : the nightingale, which is a very near relation of the 
 robin, has a note of alarm which is always called a croak and 
 a croak it is, utterly coarse, harsh, and hideous one of the 
 most unlovely sounds in nature. But the nightingale does not 
 always give this croak in the same way ; it sometimes utters it 
 even more coarsely than is usual, so that the cry is spread out, 
 as it were, into a succession of ticking sounds, sharp and clear 
 like the ticks in the robin's alarm. It should be borne in mind 
 that several common allies of the nightingale, such as the white-
 
 TOWN BIKDS. I 
 
 throats, sedge-\varbler, and some others, croak when alarmed ; 
 that is, they utter a low " currr " or similar sound which, if a 
 tiifle coarser, would be practically the same as the croak of the 
 nightingale. The croak would therefore seem to be the original 
 type of alarm for this class of birds, and the question is, 
 whether the nightingale is gradually diverging from this mode 
 of expression, and whether the robin has diverged, so as to give 
 a succession of ticking sounds instead of the archetypal croak. 
 
 Does the robin ever croak ? Habitually, never. But I hiave 
 heard two robins near Stroud which croaked like a whitethroat, 
 seemingly to express alarm ; and near Eltham I heard one 
 wheeze in a peculiar manner. The last instance might have 
 been the result of a cold ; but the others were not apparently 
 due to this cause. 
 
 It is quite possible that in some districts the robins croak 
 like the warblers, and in the event of such birds being dis- 
 covered, ornithologists might be able to establish the occur- 
 rence of relative physical features of resemblance between these 
 robins and the warblers. This would tend to prove that the 
 robin's language has diverged, and that the ticking croak of the 
 nightingale may now be diverging, from the warbler's note. 
 
 Although the " lit-it-it-it " is certainly an alarm, it is often 
 uttered when no cause for alarm exists as often before song ; 
 but in this feature it resembles the rattling alarm of the black- 
 bird, which is often given when the bird appears to be pleased 
 rather than alarmed, especially at evening in January. 
 
 The young robins do not acquire the cry until they moult ; 
 but it is used by both sexes when adult. The first notes are 
 accompanied by a rapid bow or dip, and the wings are also 
 moved very slightly during the exclamation. It is often given 
 during flight.
 
 8 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 The song of the robin is familiar to most of us, and the red 
 breast and olive-green plumage of the singer at once obviate 
 any necessity to describe the song. When caged at a dis- 
 tance from its natural habitat, the bird is found to be 
 very imitative; and the young, if reared under foster- 
 parents of another species, exhibit the same lack of inherited 
 notes as occurs in the sparrow, and like that bird they 
 acquire for a language the tones of the species by which they 
 are reared. This fact affords material for interesting experi- 
 ments with wild birds. Change the eggs between sparrows' 
 and robins' nests in the garden, and write to the Zoologist, 
 Field, or other journal, describing the result. 
 
 The wild robin is very imitative, and will sometimes render 
 the cry of another species so accurately that a listener might be 
 puzzled to know which bird was near. An instance of this 
 occurred in 1896 in my garden, where an old robin from the 
 near thicket had perfectly acquired the double alarm of the 
 swallow (which breeds close by), and would give it half-a-dozen 
 times in succession. At first I thought it was a swallow calling. 
 Later in the year this robin would include some repetitions of 
 the cry in his song. The birds most frequently imitated by the 
 robin seem to be the titmice, sparrow, gre3nfinch, and lark ; but 
 the mimicry is always given in the song if at all, and I have 
 never known an acquired note to be repeated many times by 
 itself, except in the case of the swallow's cry above mentioned. 
 
 The song of the robin may be heard from the first week in 
 July till the middle of June, but it ceases during severe cold, 
 after which the first strains are short and feeble, as they are in 
 July. There is no difference between the spring song and the 
 autumn song, except that the former is rather more vigorous, 
 as might be expected. I state this because it has been authori-
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 9 
 
 itatively alleged that the robin " strikes up " a distinct spring 
 .song in October, which is absurd. 
 
 Although the songs of birds are generally supposed to be 
 .addressed to their mates (actual or prospective), and in very 
 many instances are clearly so employed, it is also certain that 
 the song often answers the purpose of a battle-cry, and is vehe- 
 ;mently uttered by fighting birds. This is especially the case 
 with robins, which, in autumn and winter, are continually at war 
 with each other, and precede and accompany each combat with 
 
 .a song. The same incident may be observed in thrushes, 
 nightingales, and willow-wrens in spring, and also in the brown 
 wren. 
 
 The call-note of the robin is heard much less often than the 
 
 rsong or the alarm. It is a short squeak, not varied in pitch, 
 
 .and never repeated quickly. It is also the cry of the young. 
 It may be imitated by taking an ordinary cork, wetting it, and 
 lightly striking it along a pane of glass so as to produce a sharp 
 
 clear sound not a confused blurring note. If the squeaks are 
 made at the same pitch, and about a half-second in duration, 
 they will well represent the call-note of the robin, and also 
 
 'those of the hedge-sparrow and common flycatcher, which are 
 very similar to the robin's note. 
 
 This cry is heard very often in August and September, and 
 especially in dull, foggy weather. It is also frequently heard 
 in March, when the birds are thinking of nesting. 
 
 There is another cry of the robin, which is particularly 
 interesting because it is practically identical with a note of the 
 
 ;same purport given by the blackbird. I have named this cry 
 the " distress-note," for it is generally given when the nest or 
 the young are threatened, or when a mate has been destroyed. 
 
 Tt is a somewhat prolonged squeak, slightly inflected. It
 
 10 CBIES AND CALL-NOTES OP' WILD BIBDS. 
 
 occupies nearly a second and a-half in duration, and has a 
 wailing accent, slightly descending in pitch. Like the call- 
 note, this is often heard in the autumnal months, and with the 
 call-note it c institutes some part of the first songs of the young 
 robins. Sometimes this note is given very clearly at the com- 
 mencement of the song a fact which suggests that the original 
 songs of the robin may have principally consisted of repetitions- 
 of these notes. In many other species the song has not 
 advanced beyond this elementary method. Dr. A. G. Butler 
 told me of a female robin which called her mate by uttering the 
 distress-note when she quitted the nest. The reader should 
 watch for incidents of this kind, and record them. 
 
 The Starling. 
 
 This is not the next species in order of abundance, but it 
 seerns to be next in order of notableness ; and if the reader 
 has not sufficient garden to attract the bird, he can, by walking 
 a short distance, enjoy the songs of starlings on other premises. 
 
 The song of this dusky, but glossy bird, will be easily ob- 
 served, for it may be heard from the housetop in every month 
 of the year except June and July, in which period most star- 
 lings are abroad in the fields with their broods. But even 
 here the birds seem to sing much, and in the first autumnal' 
 months those that remain in flocks utter an almost continuous, 
 chorus of mostly song-notes, which is abruptly terminated, how- 
 ever, should any sign of danger be discovered. In the hazar- 
 dous life of a country bird, this event often happens ; and the 
 noisy gabbling of the starlings has therefore many pauses. 
 
 There is no song more suitable for the first attention of an 
 observer of mimicry than that of the housetop starling. If one-
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 11 
 
 be listened to carefully for a few minutes, it will almost cer- 
 tainly be heard to utter (perhaps in a somewhat jumbled style, 
 but still clearly) some sounds which the observer has noticed 
 before, though he may not be sure of their nature. If he is 
 familiar with a few of the commoner calls of wild birds he will 
 probably recognise one or more of them in the song of the 
 starling; and, in any case, he is. quite likely to hear occasion- 
 ally an imitation of the quacking of a duck, the clucking of a 
 fowl, or other similarly common sound. 
 
 A common feature of the song is a drawled or slurred 
 whistle, ascending or descending in pitch. This sound may be 
 heard in many parts of the country ; for instance, I have 
 heard it in Gloucestershire, Wilts, Oxon, Hants, and Kent; 
 and Mr. Harting has noticed it in North Wales. The starling 
 being so imitative, there is a possibility that this slurred 
 whistle has been acquired by it from another bird. The 
 only unimitative European species which I know to have 
 a similar note is the nuthatch (see " Nuthatch "), which 
 gives both the ascending and descending slurs. Starlings may 
 also be sometimes heard to unite in uttering a part of their 
 song and this is a feature well worth observing, as indicating 
 an intention to sing in chorus. The female often sings with her 
 mate. 
 
 Often in spring, and occasionally in autumn, the starling ends 
 its song with some squealing, toneless sounds, not unlike the 
 noise made by inserting a corkscrew into a cork. These notes 
 indicate the extreme of amorousness and are sometimes 
 obviously addressed to the mate. They are generally accom- 
 panied by a flapping of the wings, which is among birds a 
 common sign of love. In raising the voice at this time the 
 starling shows the common habit (in men as well as in birds) of
 
 12 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 raising the pitch of the voice under the influence of excitement. 
 Robins and thrushes afford a frequent example of this, 
 especially when they are about to fight. 
 
 When a flock of starlings is frightened off by a man, it takes 
 wing to the accompaniment of a chorus of one cry which 
 sounds somewhat like " whirr." It is at any rate a short, 
 whirring sound, and is modified to accord with the imminence 
 of the threatened danger. This cry is used at all times of the 
 year, and is employed when the young are led about the fields. 
 
 If the starlings are alarmed by the approach of a hawk, in- 
 deed, if a hawk is in sight, or if a cat is near, a sharp clicking 
 sound is heard, less loud than the noise made by a blackbird 
 when a cat is near its young, but of much the same character. 
 The starling's cry might be suggested by various letters, 
 but " cack-cack " seems to me a fairly accurate rendering. 
 A ready recognition of this cry is of use to any who enjoys 
 the sight of a hawk or other bird of prey, for in the 
 country there is no sound which more surely indicates the ap- 
 proach of one of these birds. The sparrow-hawk is especially 
 feared by the starling, which is often its victim. 
 
 When the young are in the nest, and shortly after they have 
 left it, the old birds frequently utter a loud " cah," in the tone 
 of a jay, but much less noisily. This is the most vehement 
 cry of alarm, employed also by a bird that has been seized by 
 a hawk. The young seem to acquire this sound first, though 
 they give it -rather hoarsely. Their cry has been rendered 
 " square, square," and that of the old birds " spate, spate." It 
 is interesting to note that in the extreme of danger the starling 
 employs a tone which is prevalent in the alarm-notes of its allies. 
 This happens in many other genera also, and indicates the 
 antiquity of the origin of danger-cries.
 
 TOWN BIBDS. 15 
 
 I . 
 
 The Hedge-Sparrow. 
 
 This very common bird has retiring habits, and is therefore 
 less familiar to ordinary folk than its abundance implies. 
 Many country people imagine that this is the female robin; 
 and some years since a correspondent, with a view to directing 
 attention to the ignorance of ornithology in the artistic mind, 
 wrote to a well-known "weekly" to say he had lately seen a 
 picture of a pair of robins with their nest, both birds being 
 shown with the red breast, whereas it was known to everyone 
 that the female robin had no red on the breast, but was a little 
 brown bird, often seen hopping about in gardens. The next 
 week the artist (one of our best) replied that the critic evidently 
 mistook the hedge-sparrow for the female robin, and that the 
 picture represented a pair of robins and their nest in the 
 artist's garden. The hedge-sparrow is certainly often the com- 
 panion of the robin, and has the same partiality for shady 
 spots. 
 
 The call-note of the hedge-sparrow is very similar to that of 
 the robin, and may be imitated in the same way (antea, 
 page 9). It is, however, rather loud, and is much oftener 
 employed. To express fear, it is somewhat lengthened. 
 In August and September, when birds generally are most silent, 
 the call of the hedge-sparrow may be heard from every hedge. 
 Sometimes three or four repetitions are strung together, form- 
 ing a cricket-like strain ; and the first efforts of the young 
 birds towards a song result in mere repetitions of this note. 
 This feature is highly interesting as suggesting the character of 
 the original song of the species ; but in spring I have never 
 heard a song of the ordinary length composed of only the call- 
 note.
 
 14 CBIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The song is a sprightly little warble, rapid, and with 
 numerous "turns" It will generally be found that it contains 
 several accented notes given at the same pitch, though separated 
 by several other tones. These notes are similar to the call-note. 
 Another curious incident is that the same song will often be 
 heard from several hedge-sparrows in one locality, while at a 
 short distance the birds, though singing the true song of their 
 species, utter a quite different strain. I have never heard a 
 hedge-sparrow imitate another bird, but it is possible that this 
 may be found to occur. The young and the parents have the 
 same call. 
 
 The Blackbird. 
 
 This bird is here mentioned earlier than its relative abun- 
 dance ]>ermits, because its form and its loud voice are so 
 noticeable. Its most striking exclamation is its " rattling 
 alarm," which needs no description, and is very difficult to 
 descril>e. It is the loud, clattering cry given by the bird when 
 startled. This is a highly interesting cry, especially because 
 different birds generally give it in different styles, though each 
 as a rule keeps to his own particular method. Often several 
 birds in one field will have the same cry. It is not difficult for 
 a person who can read vocal music to write down the musical 
 intervals rendered in these wonderful alarms. The cry, though 
 really an alarm, is sometimes employed as if for the mere 
 purpose of making a fuss. This is especially the case in 
 January. Both, sexes have the cry ; but the female renders it 
 the less loudly. 
 
 When the blackbird's nest or young are threatened by a cat, 
 a continuous sharp clicking sound is given the same sound
 
 TOWN BIBDS. 15 
 
 \vhich, rapidly repeated, constitutes the greater part of the 
 "" rattling alarm." 
 
 A note of suspicion is a short full whistle, as short as the 
 bark of a dog, and sounding somewhat like " quilp." This 
 note is often heard in August and September. Both sexes 
 have these notes. 
 
 The " distress-note " is a longish cry, of very high pitch, 
 given when the mate, or nest, or young, have been destroyed ; it 
 is also heard in heavy weather in autumn, and sometimes in 
 very severe frost. It resembles the " distress-note " of the robin 
 (antea, page 9). 
 
 The bird has two call-notes, the one a short chirp, like the 
 robin's call-note, and the other an almost toneless cry, which 
 may be rendered "syou." It is given mostly during the 
 autumnal months. 
 
 The song of the blackbird, so loud and clear, is less easily 
 recognised than many of the feebler strains of other birds, 
 because it is only given at a period of the year when many other 
 species are in full song, i.e., from the end of January till July. 
 During this period every species which can make a noise does 
 so, with the result that the strains of the blackbird (often given 
 from some distance, the bird being a rather shy singer) blend 
 with all the chorus of the woodland, and the notes, full and 
 resonant as they are, may easily be mistaken by a novice. 
 
 The general pitch of the strain is lower than that of 
 any other of our singers, although the nightingale and the 
 garden warbler have notes as low as those of any blackbird. 
 In January and February the songs of the blackbird are 
 much shorter than those heard in May, the young birds of the 
 preceding year requiring some practice before attaining pro- 
 ficiency ; but the strains are always longer and more varied than
 
 16 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 those of the mistle-thrush (post). They are not given rapidly. 
 They consist of full whistled notes, never repeated at the same 
 pitch, but greatly varied, although each note is distinct 
 from the others, and is very rarely slurred, as is the whistle of 
 the starling (antea, page n). If a man whistles from six to 
 twelve notes somewhere near the same pitch and at the rate of 
 about three per second, he will give a fair suggestion of the song, 
 which is pitched at about the ordinary pitch of the human 
 whistle. When one is near the singer, it is noticeable that after 
 the full whistled notes have been given, the song abruptly 
 breaks off into some much higher and almost toneless squeaky 
 sounds which have no beauty at all, but are of somewhat the 
 same character as the toneless squeals of the starling 
 (antea, page u), only they are much more rapidly uttered. 
 The thrush never utters these squeally notes after its full tones,, 
 and the mistle-thrush can only be heard to give them occasion- 
 ally. They therefore serve to identify the singer. The 
 observer should remember, however, that these squeally notes 
 can only be heard at a short distance. 
 
 In captivity the blackbird proves itself to be highly imita- 
 tive, and can be taught to whistle a tune. It can also be 
 taught to produce very sweet long notes, if the instructor will 
 use a sweet-toned flageolet for a model. 
 
 The mimicry of the wild bird is not often observable in the 
 full song, though this sometimes includes sounds which have 
 clearly been borrowed from other birds. If the song is ob- 
 served from a short distance, however, the final squeaky notes 
 will often be found to include some which seem to be mimetic. 
 Very rarely the blackbird sings while on the wing. This only 
 happens in the height of the breeding season. 
 
 The cry of the young is at first a simple squeak or chirp,
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 
 
 17 
 
 but shortly after leaving the nest it changes ; the chirp is 
 repeated once, or twice, or three times quickly, and is followed 
 by a very rapid repetition of a lower note. The whole may be 
 suggested by pronouncing rapidly "see, see, see, chiddiwi." 
 The final sounds are particularly interesting, as being the in- 
 fantile commencement of the wonderful " rattling alarm," and 
 they prove it to be of very remote origin in the genus. 
 
 The female blackbird, whose brown breast at once dis- 
 tinguishes her, is less noisy than her mate, but has all his cries. 
 I have never heard her sing. 
 
 The blackbird's alarm-cry, as above indicated, is greatly 
 varied; but the following examples, heard near Eltham, and 
 written as near as possible to actual pitch, may be of interest. 
 The first two strains were given by the same bird, the first being 
 uttered during flight, and the second after the bird had pitched. 
 The third example was heard at a place a mile distant from 
 that where the others were recorded. 
 
 2 8vet. 
 
 J=100. 
 
 J=100. 
 
 8va.-
 
 18 CRIES A>D CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIKIS. 
 
 The Thrush. 
 
 The thrush appears to be commoner than the blackbird, 
 and it sings much the more ; but it is withal a far less noisy 
 species, for when not singing it is one of our most silent birds. 
 The song may be heard first in the early autumn, on fine, 
 still days, though it is then very rarely given with full power, or 
 from a prominent position, but it is uttered in a sort of sotto 
 voce from the warm shelter of a shrub on which the sun. is 
 shining. Sometimes, however, a few loud, full notes are given. 
 In November the bird begins to sing in earnest, and the song, 
 from being at first a frequent repetition of one or two cries at 
 intervals, gradually develops in variety and prevalence until at 
 Christmas, if the weather be very mild, a somewhat varied song 
 is given. As a rule, however, a spell of cold interferes with 
 these vocal exercises, and terminates them as it does the songs 
 of the robin and hedge-sparrow, and even the chatter of the 
 starling. 
 
 If the winter be fairly mild, the thrush's song, though inter- 
 rupted by spells of cold, gradually becomes more and more 
 varied. The song will be found to consist of very short strains 
 composed of a repeated cry of two or three syllables. The 
 cry is generally repeated twice or three times. This method 
 gives the bird plenty of opportunity for variation, but it does 
 not allow of those long repetitions of a fine, full tone, which 
 distinguish the strains of the nightingale and some other good 
 singers. The notes of the thrush are so definite in character 
 that writers have often suggested them in words, such as 
 "pretty dick, pretty boy/' and so on. Indeed, the song 
 is easier than most to syllabise. The following is an
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 19 
 
 attempt thus to render an actual song heard on the ist 
 of July. The words should be pronounced quickly. 
 " Kee kee. Whee ki. Kreeow kreeow kreeow. Keekow 
 keekow keekow. Prettychoy prettychoy. Keechewy keechewy 
 keechewy keechewy. Kreeow kreeow kreeow. Whillillill 
 whillillill. Koosheeow koosheeow koosheeow. Tewy. Kee- 
 koy keekoy. Chick keekee chick keekee." 
 
 The thrush is very imitative, and much of its song consists 
 of what seem to be borrowed cries. In the above record, for 
 instance, the " kreeow " was given in the deliberate manner of 
 the crow ; the " whillillill " was similar to the note of the wry- 
 neck ; while the " tewy " was clearly the call-note of the chiff- 
 chaff. An observer who is familiar with the cries of shore 
 birds will often hear one or two of their cries in the song 
 of an inland thrush, which doubtless acquired them during 
 its winter migration, or learned them from another thrush. 
 This mimicry in the wild thrush ,is a very interesting sub- 
 ject. The bird is careful not only to accurately render the 
 accent of the model, but also to preserve the " time," as well as 
 the tone, of the original. The birds oftenest imitated are 
 those uttering short, distinct cries, such as the nuthatch, great 
 titmouse, greenfinch, sparrow, and the common owls, whose 
 call- notes (not the hoots) are very often given in the song. 
 
 Like the robin and some others, the thrush sings when fight- 
 ing a bird of its own species, though not when' attacking or 
 defending itself against another species. When a jay or a jack- 
 daw nears the nest, the thrush utters a loud, rattling screech, 
 in the manner of a mistle-thrush, and shows some boldness in 
 pursuing the intruder ; but if a rival thrush is attacked, a con- 
 stant high twittering is emitted, which is, curiously enough, 
 very similar to the song of the redwing thrush. 
 
 c 2
 
 20 OKIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIEDS. 
 
 The thrush is a very persistent singer, and may be heard on 
 every fine day from October to June (inclusive). In the 
 height of the breeding season it sings during the greater part of 
 the day. One I carefully timed to sing for sixteen hours in the 
 day. This bird seemed to sing while watching for food, for it 
 would descend from its perch in a high acacia tree, seize 
 a worm almost immediately after alighting on the lawn, and 
 often recommence singing before it had regained the perch. 
 A reliable observer informed me that during six succeeding 
 spring seasons a thrush habitually sang from a certain 
 branch of a young ash tree in his garden. 
 
 In spring the bird habitually sings from an elevated perch 
 in a tree, but never from a housetop. Towards nightfall, how- 
 ever, it will sing from the shelter of a shrub. Like many, 
 perhaps the majority of birds, it may occasionally be observed 
 to sing while flying. 
 
 The call-note of the thrush is aj very short " chick " or " sect," 
 quite a soft note. In autumn it is sometimes less brief. The 
 young have this chirp, and their cry is not changed, as is that 
 of the young blackbird, when the birds quit the nest. 
 
 The Great Titmouse. 
 
 This bird is noisier and more noticeable than the commoner 
 blue tit, and therefore has precedence of it in our list. The 
 oxeye so named from the? white patch on the side of its head, 
 which is supposed to resemble the white corner of a bull's eye 
 is of about the size of a sparrow, and its charming colours of 
 steely blue on the upper parts, and its yellow breast (with a 
 black line down the middle), render it as attractive in appear- 
 ance as its loud, clinking notes render its voice remarkable.
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 21 
 
 At any time of the year we may hear this bird repeating some 
 favourite cry two or three times in succession, then giving a 
 call to its companions, and again uttering the former cry. 
 Some of these loud cries are quite easily suggested, such as 
 the following: " Chissiching, chissiching. Bobolink, bobolink. 
 Chingsee chingsee chingsee. Sin see doish." 
 
 I remember that a quarter of a century ago, in the winter 
 holidays, a bird used to pass a garden at Stroud, on its way to 
 a roosting place. It always pitched for a minute or so in a 
 certain high tree, and uttered very clearly the cry " bobolink." 
 I did not then know it as a great titmouse, but the bird appear- 
 ing regularly every evening, the note was remembered. It is 
 interesting to find that in the same neighbourhood this cry is 
 yet given in precisely the same tone as in my childhood ; and 
 in Kent it is also to be heard. The cry " chingsee, chingsee," 
 is oftenest uttered in March and April, at which time the 
 other cries are also employed. They all seem to be song-notes. 
 It is noteworthy that none of our other titmice have any of 
 these cries. Individual oxeyes, however, have their own 
 favourite utterances, but all have the same general tone. A very 
 common cry is " pink pink," exactly like a cry of the chaffinch. 
 This I have several times heard also from fighting tits. 
 
 The alarm-cry of this bird is very commonly heard. It may 
 be suggested by holding a dozen small pebbles or marbles 
 loosely in the clasped hands, and shaking them as rapidly as 
 possible. The cry may also be imitated by a very rapid pro- 
 nunciation of " shashashashasha." Dr. Butler, the well-known 
 entomologist, calls this cry a " bleat " ; but I think it may best 
 be named the " shaking alarm." It is constantly uttered by the 
 old birds which are leading forth a family. Both sexes have the 
 cry.
 
 22 CRIKS AND CALL-XOTES OF \VILD BIHDS. 
 
 The ordinary call-note between the sexes is a very slight 
 squeak, which may be imitated by lightly flicking glass with the 
 edge of a wet cork. This note is also given as a call-note by 
 the other titmice, and by the tree-creeper, the nuthatch, and 
 golden-crested wren, all of which birds are often near each 
 other in fact, in thickets these birds seem to prefer to seek 
 their food in company. Under these circumstances the mutual 
 aid of the individuals in detecting danger doubtless protects the 
 whole company. 
 
 When a hawk or a predaceous quadruped approaches one of 
 these assemblies, there is a great outcry, and a common form of 
 alarm-note is a simple prolongation of the little call-squeak. 
 The great tit, indeed, will then keep up a long shrill scream of 
 very high pitch, especially if the cause of trouble is a hawk ; 
 and the bird, with bill wide open, expresses by a crouching 
 attitude, as well as vocally, his sense of dread. The long cry 
 is really an exaggeration of the slight squeak, for when danger 
 threatens the cry may be heard of any length, proportionate to 
 the intensity of the bird's fear. In the nest a hiss of alarm is 
 given. The bird has also a brief cackling sound, which is a very 
 common means of indicating danger. Some of the other tit- 
 mice have similar notes for the same purpose. 
 
 The young of the great tit, after leaving the nest, have a 
 peculiar cry, which the parents never give, except perhaps in 
 the form of the long scream of alarm. The note of the young 
 is a prolonged "kull, kull, kull," which reminds one of a call- 
 note of the butcher-bird, and of the much shorter shriek of the 
 kestrel. 
 
 The following are some of the commonest song-cries of the 
 great tit :
 
 TOWN B1BD3. 
 
 23 
 
 Sra. 
 
 Chissi chingching chis i ohing ohing Sin see doish Sin ste 
 
 Sprecken see doish Bobbo .link Bobbo . link Bjbbo...link. 
 
 The Blue Tit. 
 
 This sprightly little bird, with blue back and yellowish-grey 
 breast, is common everywhere, and its lesser size at once dis- 
 tinguishes it from its usual companion, the great tit. 
 
 The most remarkable cry of the blue tit is one uttered chiefly 
 from an elevated perch, and, from the circumstances under 
 which it is employed, it teems clearly to be a call-note. It is quite 
 a little strain, with a peculiar metallic tone throughout, and may 
 be rendered " pim-im-imimim." The first two or three sounds 
 are rendered slower and at a higher pitch than the latter. On 
 the piano we may suggest the strain by striking G, an octave 
 above the treble stave, three times in one and a-half seconds, 
 and immediately following it with five or six sounds of E next 
 below it, given twice as quickly as the leading three notes. 
 This cry is rarely heard in autumn, and is not often given 
 before February ; but during the whole spring it may be heard 
 very day. It seems to me to be the true love-song of the 
 species, and in support of this may be instanced the fact that 
 the cry is never uttered by fighting tits.
 
 24 OKIES AND CALL-NOTES OF \VILD BIRDS. 
 
 From what has been said, it will be seen that the following 
 example, heard in January, was of the usual kind. 
 
 J=80. 
 
 p-*zg^^^j 
 
 * " jp ^ if-f^ if t^ 
 
 ty 
 
 Pirn im im im im im im im im. 
 
 The alarm-note of the blue tit is a chattering cry impossible 
 to syllabise. This cry is employed also during combat. 
 
 The call-note is a very slight squeak, which may be imitated 
 with a wet cork and glass as described for the call of the great 
 tit. 
 
 When disturbed on the nest, the old birds hiss. The young 
 have a peculiar cry, frequently uttered, which seems to be an 
 infantile form of the " pim-im-imimim " of the parents. 
 
 The Coal-Tit. 
 
 This may be looked for in hilly districts rather than in the 
 swampy levels which the marsh-tit principally affects. It is 
 easily distinguished from the latter by a white patch on the 
 back of the neck, this being absent in the latter bird. The chief 
 note is a little sharp chirp, clear, and inflected upward slightly. 
 It is often uttered very softly. It is in constant use while the 
 members of a group of these tits dodge about incessantly in 
 the hunt for insects. There are also a chuckle of alarm, a long 
 scream of terror, and sometimes in spring a little chuckling, 
 which may be intended as a song. The alarm-chuckle is very 
 similar to that of the great tit, which bird, however, looks 
 nearly twice as large as the coal-tit, and is coloured so much 
 brighter, that the two species could not be easily confused.
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 25 
 
 The Chaffinch. 
 
 The male of this species is very noisy, the female rather 
 silent. With his red breast and white fleck on the wing, he is 
 often mistaken for the bullfinch ; but the latter has a black 
 head, a redder breast, and a big white patch above the 
 tail, where the chaffinch is greenish. The female chaffinch is 
 very soberly clad, greenish, and with a white fleck on the 
 wing for almost her only ornament. 
 
 One note of the chaffinch (given by both, sexes, but 
 commonly only by the male) is the cry " pink " or " tink." It 
 is impossible to render this note exactly in the manner of the 
 bird, for our vocal machinery is not the same as his ; but the 
 word " pink " may be sufficient to suggest the cry. 
 
 This exclamation does not vary much in tone, but the pur- 
 poses for which it is employed are exceedingly diverse. It is 
 certainly an alarm, and the battle-cry, for it is used to rate 
 .an enemy, whether aerial or terrestrial, and also during combat 
 with a chaffinch or with another bird. It is given by the 
 female in similar circumstances. But it is also uttered when 
 there is no danger, nor any chance of a combat. In winter 
 afternoons, shortly before roost-time, this cry may be heard ; 
 also at morning, so that it seems to be sometimes a general 
 signal that all is well. The observer should listen for a rapid 
 repetition of this cry, say, eight or ten times together, forming 
 as it were one cry. Such a variation (which I have never yet 
 "heard) would suggest that the bird giving it had advanced some- 
 Avhat upon the vocal level of his fellows, and gained that 
 development of repetition to which he is always tending, 
 but never attains. The cry is habitually given singly, or two 
 or three times in rather quick succession.
 
 26 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The song may be heard from February to June, inclusive, 
 and not often earlier, or later. It is a rapid strain al- 
 ways following much the same order of tones, though it is- 
 varied toward the close, not only by individual birds, but from 
 minute to minute. The commonest type of the song is- 
 rendered in the following notation, under which are the words- 
 which Dr. Butler informs me the country folk apply to the song.. 
 
 V . 9 
 
 In another month will come a wheat - ear. 
 
 Very rarely the chaffinch ends its song with the " pink '" 
 cry. This is called an " Amen," and is a local variation. Its. 
 occurrence should be recorded. 
 
 The two final notes, " wheatear," are the most interesting, 
 especially the " wheat," for this sound is a very brief analogue 
 to a coarse note of the greenfinch, lesser redpoll, and some 
 other finches. In the neighbourhood of Eltham, Kent, this- 
 hard sound is exaggerated by some of the chaffinches, so that: 
 the song seems to run : " In another month will come a zee." 
 
 But what is most remarkable about this is that the zee is also- 
 given by the male chaffinch independently, as an alarm-cry. 
 This is a purely local variation, and is the more strange, since 
 of all the cries of birds, the alarms are the most restricted to 
 particular tones. This new (or more probably old) alarm of 
 the chaffinch I have heard addressed to a jay, a weasel, cat,, 
 dog, and to myself when I intruded on a nesting couple. I 
 respectfully commend this cry to the observation of ornitholo- 
 gists as an alternative to the study of purely physical 
 characteristics. And there is the more sense in this.
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 27 
 
 recommendation because the cry in question is loud, clear, and 
 unmistakable. At first it puzzled me, for it could be heard at 
 the distance of a hundred yards, and through all the spring 
 chorus of the thickets, and I had never before heard such a cry. 
 I have only heard it in April, May, and June. Though the 
 chaffinch is very imitative when caged, in a wild state it prac- 
 tically never mimics. I have only heard one utter the song of 
 another bird. This one repeatedly gave the full flight-song of 
 the greenfinch, and as one of these birds was then performing 
 around the spot, the mimic could be accurately criticised. 
 Sometimes a chaffinch will give a single cry closely like the 
 " chissick " of the pied wagtail ; but as I have heard this from 
 the chaffinch in one or two places, the cry may be natural to 
 the species, and not a borrowed note. Those who are interested 
 by these notes on the chaffinch, will find some further 
 observations in the Zoologist for May and June, 1898. It 
 should be noted that the hard note " wheat " is often replaced 
 by a double sound which may l>e written " tissi," and this also 
 is sometimes doubled. 
 
 The following strain shows the interesting inclusion of the 
 local alarm-note " zee " in the song (heard, 26th April.) 
 
 J=100 
 
 LUlllill ilililil ililil zee. 
 
 In the first four months of the year one may sometimes 
 hear a male chaffinch uttering at intervals a short loud 
 note, which may be rendered " whit." It may be imitated by 
 whistling a very brief upward slur in the interval of a fifth or
 
 28 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 sixth ; that is, say from C to G, or A. The bird gives this 
 from the ground as well as from a tree ; but I have not observed 
 it as being specially addressed to the female. On the other 
 hand, it is certainly sometimes given as a note of alarm. It is 
 probably used at other times merely for the purpose of making 
 a noise and so attracting attention; and, being a loud, clear 
 note, it has no doubt answered this purpose, and thus been 
 retained in the vocabulary of the species. 
 
 The love-note of the chaffinch is uttered by both sexes, and 
 may be heard from February to June, inclusive. It is a short, 
 soft cry, varying a little in different birds, but in its general 
 tone the cry is closely like the "chissick " of the house-sparrow, 
 but, of course, very much less loud. It is constantly uttered by 
 the male when, in a straight cuckoo-like flight, he leads his 
 mate from tree to tree. 
 
 The young have the love-note of the parents for their call 
 a fact analogous to that of the young sparrow having a 
 similar cry derived from a love-call of its father. 
 
 In the autumnal months the birds are generally silent, but a 
 call-note may be heard a very short note often given during 
 flight. It may be written "tyoh," and may be whistled by 
 slurring as briefly as is possible from a note to the next whole 
 tone below it. This note may be termed the "autumn call," 
 but it may be heard at other seasons. 
 
 The following shows the " twit " and " zee " alarms, as 
 actually heard repeated. 
 
 J=100. 
 
 3= 
 
 Twit twit zee.
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 29 
 
 The Greenfinch. 
 
 This clumsy, sparrow-like, but greenish bird, is common in 
 most gardens, especially in the colder months, when it eats the 
 berries of the yew and the buds of gooseberry bushes. It 
 builds its nest preferably in evergreens. 
 
 Its commonest note is a, call-note, uttered by both sexes, and 
 constantly employed during flight. It may be syllabled 
 " diditit," but is often a prolonged cry, consisting of many rapid 
 repetitions of a short " twit." In January and February this 
 cry is often repeated more loudly and at greater length than 
 before; and it then forms part of the song. It always com- 
 mences the strain, in which, however, it may recur several times, 
 not always at the same pitch. This note is also the cry of the 
 young, and the fact is worth observing that when the young are 
 fit to leave the nest, they give, when about to be fed, a pro- 
 longed repetition of the cry, exactly like the part of the song of 
 the adult, to which reference has been made. 
 
 Another common call of the greenfinch may be suggested 
 as " yell, yell." The " yells " number from one to half-a-dozen 
 given in succession. This is a more vehement call than the 
 " diditit," for in winter, when the flocks of finches are hungering 
 in the fields, this cry, even when imitated by the human whistle, 
 will be found to be more effective than the other. The sound 
 might be syllabled " tew " as appropriately as " yell," but it is a 
 full sound, very short, and with a slight downward inflection. 
 This note also constitutes part of the song, which might 
 well be syllabled " diditititit, yell yell yell, didititititit, itititit- 
 it, yell yell yell yell zshweeo." 
 
 The final note is remarkable. It is a coarse wheeze so 
 coarse, indeed, that it is almost a rattle. This never commences
 
 30 CBIKS AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 the strain, and is never followed by other notes, but it is some- 
 times given singly, and thus repeated at intervals of a few 
 seconds, for minutes together. I have seldom heard it given 
 during flight, while the other song-notes are often uttered in 
 this way, the bird meanwhile flapping his wings slowly, but with 
 a long stroke, so that he may be said to fly in the manner of a 
 large butterfly or bat. There are many species which have 
 been observed to sing flying, and probably most of our singers 
 do this very occasionally ; but the greenfinch is one of the few 
 which, like the swallow, may be said to habitually sing on the 
 wing. 
 
 I have never but once heard a wild greenfinch imitate another 
 bird, but as the species shows a considerable mimetic faculty 
 when caged, there is no reason why this should not sometimes 
 affect the notes of the wild bird. 
 
 The general character of the strain may be indicated as 
 follows : 
 
 Sva,- 
 
 ! rn - r 
 
 Did it it it it it it it it ii it it it yell jell it it it it it tooi ishweeze 
 
 I once heard an unusual strain consisting ot the " tooi " alarm 
 cry given with different inflections alternately, for minutes to- 
 gether. The cause of alarm was a cuckoo. The strain ran : 
 
 8va. 
 
 J=100. 
 
 Tooi Towoo. Tooi Towoo.
 
 TOWN BI.I:US. 31 
 
 The Swallow. 
 
 This graceful bird, with rich colours and deeply-forked tail, 
 is especially interesting to a lover of birds, in that it is one of 
 the chief heralds of a hawk or other bird of prey. The 
 swallow's alarm-cry " clittit," is very often heard, and it seems 
 also to answer the purposes of a call-note. The common call 
 is a single " clitt " or " litt," and this, when the bird is excited, 
 becomes " clittit." It is employed in exactly the same tone 
 whether the cause of alarm be a hawk, a cat, or a human being. 
 One morning I was watching in a lane near a barn where 
 swallows nested. I suddenly heard the swallow's alarm close 
 to my ear, and at the same moment a rush of wings. Looking 
 tip, I was astonished to see a swallow mount close over me, 
 turn, and deliberately swoop at me, coming within a foot or so 
 of my head. It was a most peculiar incident, and could 
 only be accounted for by the circumstance that I was wearing 
 a new straw hat, which had excited the bird's alarm and anger. 
 
 The song may be heard from the time when the bird arrives, 
 in April, till September, when it leaves us on the southward 
 migration. The swallow is the most persistent of all our 
 summer visitors. It sings at dawn even more than most birds, 
 and this not only when courting, but also when there are 
 young in the nest. The song, a most pleasing twitter, will be 
 found to consist mainly of two sounds : the one, a rapid cry 
 which may be rendered " lewit," and occupies nearly the whole 
 of the strain ; and the other, a coarse " wheeze," hard and 
 metallic, which concludes most of the phrases. Each song is 
 closely like the others, but often several are given without any 
 pause between them, so that a continued warbling is heard. 
 The song is uttered during flight quite as often as from a
 
 32 CB1ES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 perch ; but the coarse final note is given most frequently from 
 the perch. The note "lewit," which constitutes almost the 
 whole song, is apparently a modification of the " clit " which 
 the bird utters for a call-note. Young swallows have only this 
 note. 
 
 The House-Martin. 
 
 This bird is more easily distinguished by the patch of white 
 over its tail than by its notes. All its cries seem somewhat 
 guttural in tone. The call " jigg " is like a coarse rendering of 
 the " clit " of the swallow, and in danger the bird doubles the 
 cry into " jiggig," in the same manner as a swallow doubles a 
 sharper note. The young martins cry * chee " or " cheeo." 
 The old bird sometimes sings on the wing, and not often from 
 a perch. The notes are coarse and guttural, and are indeed 
 nothing more than variations of the call-note. 
 
 The Sand-Martin. 
 
 This small, brown, swallow-like bird has very coarse notes, 
 somewhat similar to those of the house-martin, but rather 
 sharper in tone. It is no singer, although it sometimes chatters 
 in a manner suggestive of an attempted song. It is more com- 
 monly a riverside bird than the others of its kindred. 
 
 The Swift. 
 
 The note of this bird for it has practically but one is most 
 noticeable when clustered swifts are rushing around the 
 chimney tops, or at a higher level, speeding across the sky. 
 Then a chorus of "swee-ree, swee-ree" is heard; and this
 
 TOWN B1KDS. 33 
 
 repeated scream is all the song our swift performs. Both sexes 
 and the young have practically the same cry. It is sometimes 
 shortened and repeated several times rather quickly, so that a 
 " sisisisi " is heard. This variation is interesting as being the 
 accustomed note of the North American chimney-swift (in form 
 very like the European swift), which has not the long " swee- 
 ree " of our bird. 
 
 The chorus of swifts, heard at thirty-five minutes after sunset, 
 indicates that a group of these birds is about to rise for the 
 accustomed night-flight in the sky, which is one of the most 
 extraordinary phenomena in the whole region of ornithology. 
 
 The Brown Wren. 
 
 This tiny brown morsel of a bird is with us throughout the 
 year, and may be heard singing in every month, except per- 
 haps July. It is most noticeable, however, as a winter singer. 
 The song, like that of the hedge-sparrow, commences on a 
 high note, to which a return is made once or oftener 
 during the song. The strain is rapid and difficult to record in 
 notation, and as the wrens in different localities sing differently, 
 though all have the true wren-note, it is very difficult to give a 
 typical transcript. Here is a song, however, heard in Septem- 
 ber, which fairly represents the general style of the strains : 
 
 2 8ves. 
 -- 
 
 J=100. 
 
 The rapid lowest notes in this strain represent a curious 
 coarse sound which is included in most songs of the wren. It 
 
 D
 
 34 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 is simply the coarse call-note, which the bird often gives twice 
 in one song. The song is usually given from the top of a 
 hedge, or other elevated perch. 
 
 The common call-note, as well as alarm-note of this bird, 
 may be well suggested by striking a match-stick across half of 
 the wide teeth of a hair-comb. The similar sound which one 
 so often hears from the hedge in autumn proceeds from the 
 wren, which then makes great use of the note. When greatly 
 alarmed, the bird prolongs the note, so that it somewhat re- 
 sembles the sound of a railway-guard's whistle, but is not nearly 
 so loud or so musical. Ordinarily, the cry has but two syllables. 
 It is given by the young as well as adults of both sexes. 
 The love-note is a very soft squeak, sounding like a very 
 faint kiss. 
 
 The Blackcap. 
 
 We now come to some birds which, like the cuckoo, are with 
 us only during the warmer part of the year, and similarly are 
 comparatively silent except in the spring months. The black- 
 cap is not nearly the commonest warbler, but it is certainly the 
 most noticeable as a garden bird, for its loud and clear, but 
 rapid song, is particularly striking and beautiful, and may be 
 heard from April to mid- July. A good idea of the song may 
 be given by playing a few bars on the piccolo in rapid, but 
 even time, and ending abruptly. The rapid variations in pitch 
 in this strain are interesting. The bird sings high notes and 
 low notes and medium ones with such quick alternation that 
 the ear can hardly follow ; and it is a very difficult matter to 
 remember, and afterwards whistle, the whole of the loud notes 
 in one of the blackcap's strains. There are soft notes also ; but
 
 TOWN BIKDS. 
 
 35 
 
 these form the commencement of the song, and are not heard 
 at any great distance ; so the loud notes form the whole of the 
 song by which the bird is most easily detected. The bird is 
 rather shy, and often darts off when observed ; but its clear 
 black " cap " and slaty plumage are sufficient to identify it 
 easily. The female has a dull reddish-brown "cap." 
 
 Although the song is varied so much, the concluding notes 
 are often the same in successive strains ; and it will be found 
 that particular terminations are locally prevalent. Thus near 
 Eltham (Kent) I have heard the same termination often given 
 by the blackcaps, and this during three successive springs. It 
 appears, almost without modification, in the two following 
 strains, which are fairly typical. 
 
 J- 100. 2E 
 
 2 Sees. 
 
 J=100. 
 
 The alarm-note is a loud " tack," which is repeated many 
 times in succession if the danger is imminent. I have also 
 heard a croak and a quiet " whit " (which may be called family 
 cries of the genus) given as alarms. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 OKIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The Tree-Creeper. 
 
 This is a common bird, but never a numerous species, and 
 its habits are so retiring that it is seen much less often than it 
 might be. This is the little brown bird which runs mouse-like 
 up the stem of a tree till near the top, then descends to the 
 base of another tree, and recommences the ascent, mean- 
 while uttering from time to time a rather prolonged and plain- 
 tive " syou." This cry may often be heard in the thicket as well 
 as in the garden, and in the former situation the bird will 
 generally be found in company with titmice and golden-crested 
 wrens. 
 
 The song is a pleasing little strain, which I have often heard 
 given as follows : 
 
 I'va. 
 
 The Golden-Crested Wren. 
 
 This is a very common bird, but one not very, often seen, 
 because it is so exceedingly small almost reminding one of a 
 humming-bird and frequents woods and thickets, where it is 
 either mistaken for a titmouse in the tree-tops, or hidden in the 
 tangled shrubs. Its common note is a simple, short squeak, 
 like that of the tits, but louder and rather more prolonged. 
 This is usually given from twice to four times in immediate 
 succession (forming what may almost be termed one cry) ; but
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 37 
 
 the bird has also a pleasing little song. An observer, however, 
 must be near enough to distinguish the golden crest of the 
 bird, or he will not hear much of the song. This bird comes 
 into small gardens, especially in the autumn 
 
 The Rook, Jackdaw, and Crow. 
 
 Although comparatively few gardens contain a rookery, yet 
 the bird may be seen and heard from most rural gardens, and 
 even from many in the suburbs of London. In flight the bird 
 may be distinguished from its smaller relative, the jackdaw, not 
 only by its superior size, but also by its slower stroke of wing. 
 This is, perhaps, the most convenient of all points of distinction 
 between the birds. 
 
 The ordinary note of the rook is a caw, not very coarse or 
 rough. The jackdaw's common note is a short "jack" or 
 " jock." These notes are often modulated slightly, but no 
 doubt sufficiently to convey different meanings to the birds 
 addressed. The jackdaw seems sometimes to vary its cries as 
 much as possible, as though the bird were trying to sing. It 
 does this especially during flight. The rook also may occasion- 
 ally be heard uttering unwonted sounds. But the general 
 demeanour of the bird is so deliberate and sedate that one 
 hesitates to allege that it sings. 
 
 Young jackdaws have short cries, young rooks much longer 
 ones, and it is curious that when in the nest the young rooks 
 utter sounds exactly similar to those of young starlings, only 
 much louder. 
 
 Old rooks and jackdaws, in the extremity of danger, utter a 
 low " cah." 
 
 The note of the crow is much rougher than that of the rook ;
 
 38 CRIES AND CALL -NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 and if the latter may be rendered " caw," the former should be 
 written " horrr," and be pronounced with a curling of the 
 tongue against the roof of the mouth. 
 
 All three species are very imitative when kept in captivity. 
 I have never heard either of them imitate when wild, and, if they 
 did so, the incident would be difficult to detect, the birds being 
 so suspicious of close observation ; but the crow of British 
 Columbia, which has * much resemblance to our common 
 species, is an accomplished mimic, and, being carefully pro- 
 tected, the bird is not shy of displaying its powers in this 
 direction. 
 
 The Owls. 
 
 Few of us have been abroad in the country without hearing 
 at night the hoot of an owl. This extraordinary sound may 
 be heard more in January and February than at other seasons. 
 Why, I know not. The cry generally rises slightly in the 
 middle, and this, I believe, is the note of the tawny (or brown) 
 owl. But often the cry is slurred downward in a melancholy 
 manner ; and this T understand to proceed from the barn (or 
 white-breasted) owl. There is a variation of the hoot, which 
 is particularly interesting. It consists of a rapid repetition of 
 little hoots so rapid that a " water-bubble " roll is produced. 
 This is certainly given by the tawny owl, and may be by the 
 barn owl. 
 
 The call-note of the tawny owl is " chewick," the first syllable 
 rather prolonged, the second short. This is frequently em- 
 ployed by the adults in the winter months, and in summer it 
 may be constantly heard from the young which are abroad with 
 their parents.
 
 TOWN BIRDS. 
 
 39 
 
 The call of the barn owl may also be often heard ; it is a 
 " keck keck keck," much like a common cry of the moorhen, 
 which bird also flies by night. 
 
 The long-eared owl is a much less common bird, but its 
 curious note may sometimes be heard in winter as well as in 
 summer. This is a weird hissing or rushing sound, rather 
 short. It may be written " sheea," and whispered as loudly as 
 possible. 
 
 The Redwing. 
 
 This, a thrush, in general appearance is identical with the 
 common thrush, but (has some flame-coloured feathers be- 
 neath the wing, which afford the readiest means of distinguish- 
 ing the two species. This bird is common with us only from 
 October to April, and not even all that time, for at Christmas- 
 time very few are to be seen, the majority having passed further 
 south. 
 
 The chief note of the redwing during its passage down 
 England is its somewhat plaintive call, a kind of loud whisper, 
 which may be written " see you " or " syou." This sound may 
 be heard on most nights in October and November. It is 
 never repeated except at short intervals, and by means of it 
 one can detect the approach of the migrant from the north- 
 ward, its passage across the zenith, and its farther progress as 
 it drifts over the land. The cry is also given by day. 
 
 Another cry of this bird, given by day and not at night, is a 
 note of suspicion practically identical with the " quilp " of the 
 blackbird. It is curious that this thrush, which breeds in the 
 far north, should have this note in common with its black 
 relation, while its brown one has not the cry.
 
 40 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The song of the redwing may very rarely be heard in 
 England. It is a very rapid high-pitched twitter, including, 
 however, one or two whistled, thrush-like notes, which do not 
 vary.
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard in and near "Woodland Gardens. 
 
 Marsh-Tit. Long-tailed Tit. Nuthatch. Spotted Fly- 
 catcher. Pied Flycatcher. Bullfinch. Redstart. White- 
 throat, Garden- Warbler. Lesser Whitethroat. Chiffchaff. 
 
 Willow- Wren. Nightingale. Yellow Hunting, or Yellow- 
 hammer. Girl-Bunting. Corn-Bunting, or Common Bunting. 
 
 Tree-Pipit. Wood - Pigeon. Tree- Sparrow. Lesser 
 Redpoll. Goldjinch. Hawjinch. Cuckoo. Skylark. 
 Mistle- Thrush. Landrail. Jay. Magpie. Linnet. 
 Wood- Wren, or Wood-Warbler. Wryneck. Partridge. 
 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Greater Spotted Woodpecker. 
 
 Great Green Woodpecker. Turtle-Dove. Stock-Dove. 
 Pheasant. Fieldfare Stonechat. Grasshopper Warbler. 
 Nightjar. Butcher-Bird, or Red-backed Shrike. Kestrel. 
 
 Crossbill. Mealy Redpoll. 
 
 The Marsh-Tit. 
 
 This bird is of about the size of the blue tit, and has the 
 same manners, but its prevailing slaty-grey tints, with black 
 head, distinguish it no less clearly than its chief alarm-cry and 
 call-note, which .is unlike that of any other of our titmice. The 
 cry has been syllabised "cheeu sa sa sa"; but I am now in-
 
 42 CBJES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 clined to adopt another rendering. When a little boy, I men- 
 tioned this cry to a brother, who said it sounded like " chikabee- 
 bee bee." In Canada there is a bird which is identical with our 
 marsh-tit, and has exactly the same notes. This bird is called' 
 a " chickadee " no doubt from its note. In order to indicate; 
 the origin of this name, and resemblance between the Canadian 
 bird and ours, the cry of the latter should preferably be- 
 rendered " chikadee." 
 
 The marsh-tit has other notes the soft call-squeak common; 
 to our titmice, a chatter of alarm, and a long scream of terror. 
 
 In March and April it has a kind of song consisting of two 
 notes given alternately at an even pace. This may be imitated 
 by striking two notes (say G and E) near the top of the piano 
 alternately, at the rate of three couples per second, and continu- 
 ing to the extent of five or six repetitions. 
 
 The Long-tailed Tit. 
 
 This little long-tailed bird has a call quite distinct from those 
 of the other tits a coarse little note which may be rendered 
 " jiggig." In order to express alarm this note is often pro- 
 longed, according to the extremity of the danger. If, therefore,, 
 a hawk or other source of terror approach, the note becomes 
 quite a long rattling cry. There is also a very soft squeak, like- 
 that of the other tits. This is a call-note. 
 
 The Nuthatch. 
 
 This is another tree-climber, less common but more notice- 
 able than the tree-creeper on account of its loud call-note, which 
 may be heard pretty often from October to June (inclusive).
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 43 
 
 It is a double cry, very short, but full-toned, and is perhaps 
 especially noticeable when given from a bare elm, on which 
 the observer cannot at first detect the source of the loud 
 " tewit " or " tewutt tewutt " which he hears repeated at fre- 
 quent intervals. 
 
 The nuthatch has a few song cries, all of which are 
 loud and distinct. The commonest of these consists of a mere 
 repetition of the " tewit " call, so rapid that a water-bubble roll 
 is produced almost as loud as- a railway-guard's whistle, and 
 of much the same tone. This is especially given in February, 
 March, and April. It is curious that the young, when being 
 fed, repeat the call in exactly the same manner ; but in their 
 case the exclamation is much less loud, and is almost toneless. 
 
 Another springtime cry of the nuthatch is a loud, clear 
 whistle, slurred upward in the interval of near a sixth just such 
 a whistle as one would give to call a dog. It is never re- 
 peated more quickly than about twice per second. When first 
 the bird begins to acquire this note, he may be observed to de- 
 velop it from the short " tewit " cry, by successive efforts, and 
 with increasing success. Sometimes the cry, instead of being 
 slurred upwards, is slurred downward through the same in- 
 terval, the result being a melancholy and forlorn-sounding 
 whistle. These note's, and the water-bubble cry, are un- 
 doubtedly song-notes ; and when one nuthatch is giving either 
 of them, another nuthatch will generally be heard giving the 
 same notes at no great distance. In the cold months, the 
 thrush seems often to imitate the song-cries and whistle of the 
 nuthatch. The call-note of the bird is a very soft, slight 
 chirp, like the squeak of a titmouse. 
 
 The wherealvouts of this bird is often first indicated by a 
 loud tapping the sound of its strong bill on some nut or
 
 44 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIKDS. 
 
 kernel which has been wedged in a crevice for convenience 
 of cracking. The nuthatch is one of the very few birds which 
 can run head first down a tree. It does this easily. One day 
 I saw a commotion in an elm. A sparrow and a nuthatch 
 seemed to be contending for the ownership of a hole in a big 
 branch ; and other sparrows were around. But the combatants 
 seemed afraid of each other. At last the nuthatch darted at 
 the sparrow, but swerved up and clung upside down under a 
 higher branch. The sparrow was plainly confused. The 
 nuthatch then alighted on the stem of the tree and began to 
 descend head first towards the enemy, uttering " tewit." The 
 sparrow then retreated, leaving the gymnast in possession. 
 
 The Spotted Flycatcher. 
 
 This bird is particularly partial to shady nooks in gardens, 
 where it may be seen throughout the warmer months, perched 
 on some bare branch or other point of vantage, whence it 
 darts into the air in pursuit of a passing insect, to return to 
 the same perch. It is a rather silent bird, except when the 
 young are abroad. Then the call-note (exactly resembling the 
 robin's call), and the alarm-note "chick," may constantly be 
 heard. The two cries are often blended into " squee-chick, 
 squee-chick-chick," and the young meanwhile utter the call- 
 note. When first the old birds arrive, in May, the call is often 
 repeated rather rapidly and with some variety of pitch, so that 
 a kind of song is produced. It is very interesting to observe 
 these primitive repetitions, and very possibly an extended ob- 
 servation of them might disclose evidence that some flycatchers 
 have advanced upon the crude attainments of their fellows, not 
 only in attempted songs, but also in prolonged alarm-cries.
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 45 
 
 The Pied Flycatcher. 
 
 This is a northern and rather rare species with the manners 
 of the common bird, but readily distinguished by the brightly- 
 contrasted black and white plumage of the male as well as by 
 its notes. The Rev. H. A. Macpherson informs me that the 
 male has an alarm like the " tit-a-tat " (chick, chick) of the red- 
 start; and that the female utters a note identical with the 
 " whit " of the chaffinch. The song commences with notes 
 resembling those of the great tit, and passes into a sweet strain 
 suggestive of the song of the redstart. 
 
 The Bullfinch. 
 
 This is readily distinguished by its heavy lilting flight, and 
 the conspicuous white patch over the tail. The common call 
 is a very short full whistle ; and the song consists of little more 
 than this whistle, given on two or three notes. The following 
 may be considered as characteristic. 
 
 -^-p-p-p r * f = F*H 
 
 ^E^^^EK^tH 
 
 The simple and unmelodious character of the song is indi- 
 cated in this strain. It must be remembered, however, that 
 the principal notes have a rich tone. 
 
 It is curious that the call-note of the young in July and August 
 is certainly louder than the note of the old birds. It is like one 
 of the above quavers repeated at the same pitch but with long 
 pauses in between.
 
 46 CEIES AND CALL -NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The Redstart. 
 
 A common summer visitor; but it is rather shy, and 
 therefore is much oftener discovered by its pleasing song 
 and its distinct cries than by its plumage, though this, in the 
 male, is brilliant and beautiful, the black head contrasting with 
 the golden glow of the breast. The most noticeable note is 
 the cry of alarm, which is, of course, oftenest heard when the 
 young have just left the nest. This cry consists of a little 
 whistle followed by one or two repetitions of a hard sound like 
 that of striking two small pebbles together. The whole sounds 
 like " tewy-chick," or " tewy-chick-chick." The little whistle 
 is very short, and may be imitated by whistling a slur or drawl 
 upward in the interval of a fifth say from C to G. The 
 whistle does not occupy more than a half-second of time. 
 
 When the bird first arrives, in April, the " tewy " is generally 
 given without the " chick." Increase of fear causes a repetition 
 of the " chick," but not of the " tewy." 
 
 The song is frequently given until mid-June. It is a short 
 but cheery strain, consisting of a few slight jerky notes, followed 
 by a brief water-bubble roll, and concluded with various notes, 
 some of which seem to be of a mimetic character. I have, in 
 fact, heard some very good imitating at the end of the redstart's 
 song. 
 
 The call-note of the bird is a simple short squeak, which 
 might be mistaken for the call of the robin. When the young is 
 being fed, there is produced the same hoarse whisper of "call 
 cah cah " one hears when the young robin is being fed. This 
 and the call-note connect the bird with its family relation 
 the robin ; and its alarm, " tewy," relates it to the warblers. 
 
 One should listen for a prolonged rattling alarm in the red- 
 start. The bird has only to prolong its repetitions of the " chick
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 47 
 
 chick" to attain this; and it may already do so, unnoticed, in 
 particular areas. 
 
 The Whitethroat. 
 
 Tr. nearly every hedgerow this bird is found, but it keeps 
 nearer to its nest than is the case with the blackcap and the 
 redstart, and therefore does not so often visit our gardens, 
 where, indeed, the blackcap often breeds. It may be at 
 once distinguished by its jerky flight during song ; for though 
 it often gives successive short strains from a perch, it seldom 
 sings its longer songs without occasionally indulging in a cha- 
 racteristic jerky flight. The song is a rapid jumble of cries, 
 sometimes indicating very clearly the mimetic tendency of the 
 singer. The whitethroat is one of the many birds whose strains 
 have greater variety of tone at the conclusion than at the 
 commencement. Its strains are greatly varied, and yet the 
 few harsh chattered notes which form the whole song when the 
 bird arrives, are generally retained throughout the season as a 
 prelude. The following three preludes are typical. 
 
 2 Svex. 
 
 J=100. 3S 
 
 To the countryman, however, the whitethroat's alarm-cry is 
 much more noticeable tihan its song. Often may we hear from 
 the fresh greenery of a hedgerow a curious little growling sound, 
 slurred upwards and repeated, the whole sounding like " cruee- 
 cruee-cruee-cruee," and so on. 
 
 Sometimes a lower note " currr " is given singly. The " cruee "
 
 48 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIKDS. 
 
 certainly comes from a whitethroat ; but the " currr " may ema- 
 nate also from a lesser whitethroat, or from a sedge-warbler. 
 The whitethroat's most vehement alarm-cry is a very rapid 
 " chuck-uck-uck-uck " prolonged. Both sexes have these alarm- 
 notes ; and the young utter sounds like the last when demand- 
 ing food from their parents. 
 
 The alarm-notes seem to be most noticeable during the 
 period ot song, which lasts from April till mid-July ; but they 
 may also be heard till mid-September, when the bird leaves 
 us for the south. 
 
 The Garden-Warbler. 
 
 Though perhaps a less common bird than the blackcap, yet 
 its song so closely resembles that of its relation diat it is now 
 mentioned, instead of the more distinct strains of some other 
 species. The song is very like the loud part of the blackcap's 
 strain, but is more rapid, so that if piccolo music, consisting of 
 semiquavers rendered at the rate of four per second, would 
 suggest the blackcap's song, the same music played in triplets 
 and at the rate of six notes per second, would give a good idea 
 of the garden-warbler's song. The blackcap's loud notes are 
 rarely interrupted with harsh ones ; while the other bird does 
 not give many full tones in succession, but varies them with a 
 very rapid and sometimes harsh chattering. The pitch of the 
 garden-warbler's full notes is often very low for so small a bird 
 and equals the lowest notes of the blackbird. The song is also 
 more continued than that of the blackcap. 
 
 The bird is very common, and may be heard from early in 
 May till mid-July, but it is even more wary than the blackcap, 
 and one can but rarely identify this little brown and grey bird
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 49 
 
 when singing, unless a glass is used. Neither the blackcap 
 nor the garden-warbler sings during flight, except on very rare 
 occasions. In this they differ from a very common warbler, 
 the whitethroat, whose song might be mistaken for theirs. 
 
 The alarm-note is a hoarse " tack " ; but when not singing 
 the bird is usually silent. 
 
 The Lesser Whitethroat. 
 
 A much less common bird than the last named. Its song 
 consists of a few preliminary harsh notes followed by a loud 
 water-bubble roll, given at one pitch, and not long con- 
 tinued. This roll is also given in the same manner by the 
 nightingale, and the song of the cirl-bunting is of much the 
 same character ; but in the lesser whitethroat it is always pre- 
 ceded by a few harsh chattered notes. The bird has a lovr 
 "currre" of alarm, like that of the whitethroat. It is the 
 smaller and darker of the two species and has no distinct white 
 mark under the bill. I have never heard it sing on the wing. 
 The full rattle concludes the following strain, which may be 
 considered as typical. 
 
 J=100. 
 
 The Chiffchaff. 
 
 Another summer migrant which, like the blackcap, 
 often strays from its favourite woodlands into suburban gar- 
 dens. Its song is not loud, but is remarkable in that it does
 
 50 OKIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 not resemble in any way that of another British species. The 
 bird has been named from its song, which may be rendered : 
 " chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chip-chop,'' and so on. There is also 
 a low cricket-like chirp given between spells of the other cry. 
 It runs " tiddy tiddy tiddy," or sometimes "tiddydy, tiddydy." 
 There is also occasionally some variation in the " chiff-chaff," 
 the second syllable being doubled. 
 
 Another note of the bird which, is noticeable, is the alarm. 
 This may be imitated by whistling a little slur from one note 
 to the fifth above, rapidly, so as to produce a sound something 
 like " tewy." This little whistle may be heard in July in every 
 thicket, for it is the call of the young birds as well as of the old 
 ones. In September, also, when the birds are leaving us, it 
 may be continually heard. At that time, and often in early 
 October, the chiffchaff will sing its cheery song in our gardens. 
 This is a very small and slender olive-green and yellow bird, 
 which hunts for insects almost as busily as a titmouse. 
 
 The Willow-Wren. 
 
 Another very small bird, which closely resembles the chiff- 
 chaff in tit-like activity as well as in colour, is the willow- 
 warbler, or willow-wren. It is a persistent singer from mid- 
 April to mid-June, and in early morning hours till mid- 
 August. The song is particularly sweet and melodious. The 
 first few notes are high and very rapid ; and then the strain 
 descends through a succession of sweet whistled notes suggest- 
 ing the syllables " cooi cooi " repeated. To close observation 
 it appears that each bird varies his strains not a little, but all 
 have the characteristic tone. It is curious that when a willow- 
 wren commences a strain another near is likely to begin almost
 
 WOODLAND BIBDS. 51 
 
 at the same instant; and when several are in song at the 
 same spot, the rapid succession of their descending strains 
 produces a kind of "chiming," very sweet to hear. This 
 chiming may be due to the pugnacity and rivalry of the birds. 
 I have seen them fight desperately in the intervals of their 
 lovely singing. The following strain is typical of this bird's 
 song : 
 
 wa 
 
 The alarm-note is a " tewy," like that of the chiffchaff. The 
 young have a simple squeak, which is sometimes inflected so 
 as to resemble the note of the chiffchaff. 
 
 The Nightingale. 
 
 This is the most noticeable of all singers by night, but it 
 sings also by day, and does so for some time after it has ceased 
 from nocturnal performing. Let no one unacquainted with the 
 song suppose that it is wholly melodious : on the contrary, 
 many of the strains are composed of a sometimes toneless, some- 
 times harsh repetition. A simple " sisisisisisi," uttered very 
 rapidly, will be continued for two or three seconds. The next 
 strain may be a rather fierce-sounding " rrrrr " ending abruptly. 
 Then one may hear a strain exactly resembling a blackbird's 
 rattling alarm, but having a better tone. There is one feature, 
 however, which raises the character of the song above all others. 
 It is the magnificent crescendo. This is particularly noticeable 
 
 E 2
 
 52 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 in the strains which are composed of long notes. If you whistle 
 a high note and repeat it at a rather quicker rate than one per 
 second, beginning as softly as possible and swelling it, in the 
 course of eight or ten repetitions, to the loudest you can whistle, 
 then you will have a very coarse and inartistic rendering of one 
 of the bird's most beautiful strains. But when you hear the 
 original you will perceive that you cannot whistle so softly as 
 the bird, nor with so good a tone ; and you are equally unable to 
 rival its splendid power of swelling the note with perfectly even 
 gradation of tone. The nightingale is sometimes inclined to 
 mimic, and one of its strains, a rapid " slip slip slip " pro- 
 longed, is much like the sound made by the young perching 
 nightingale when the parent is feeding it. 
 
 The song may be heard till mid-June, some time after the 
 young have left the nest. The repeated assertion that the bird 
 sings only till the young are hatched is therefore incorrect. 
 
 The songs of the nightingale are very difficult to record in 
 notation, not because of quickness of utterance (for many of 
 them are slow), but on account of the unusual intervals of 
 pitch to which the notes approximate. Sharp fourths, fifths, 
 and sixths are often given, while not infrequently the interval 
 exceeds an octave. The tone also is greatly varied. Some 
 notes are so unmusical that the pitch is not easy to detect ; and 
 these, abruptly following some sweet tone, tend to confuse the 
 listener. The following examples, selected from a large num- 
 ber of similar records, may be of interest. 
 
 The first strain is one heard commonly in Gloucestershire 
 and near Eltham (Kent) at least; and it was heard, at the 
 same pitch, near Vienna, by a friend of Mr. Harting. The 
 second strain is one of the commonest, and it is given in any 
 interval between a third and an octave. Curiously enough.
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 
 
 53 
 
 Glo glo glo glo glo glo. Fee pee pee pee. boblobloblobloblobloblobl* 
 
 Tewy tewy tewy tewy tewy tewy tew tew tew tew. 
 
 rf T" 
 
 
 jj^^SjW^n^jj^^ji 
 
 
 u a S S S S "^ ^ ^-fe
 
 54 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIEDS. 
 
 this strain, given with the tone of the nightingale, constitutes 
 the entire song of a bush-warbler in Western Canada, where 
 bird-songs are few and far between. The third strain shows 
 how the nightingale sometimes elaborates a little call-note into 
 his lovely long notes ; and the inference is that the transition 
 which the bird now effects in five seconds may have taken the 
 species five ages to traverse in acquiring its characteristic long 
 notes. The remainder of the strains are of the ordinary kind, 
 though the repetitions in the actual song are generally much 
 more prolonged than is here indicated. 
 
 The nightingale makes the sweetest, and also the most 
 hideous, sound of any British bird. Its common alarm-cry is 
 a croak exactly like that of a frog. This must not be con- 
 fused with the high " work work " which in March we hear in 
 the daytime from ditches ; that is the cry of the toad ; but it 
 is a short, low, purring note. The nightingale's croak always 
 suggests to me the sound of some small animal growling and 
 "grinding its teeth" at the same time. The young nightin- 
 gales also have this cry, which may be heard occasionally until 
 mid-September. 
 
 Another common cry is a brief note slurred upwards, which 
 may be rendered " whit." This is certainly used sometimes to 
 lead the young from danger ; and it is often immediately fol- 
 lowed by the croak ; but as it is very commonly uttered by the 
 birds immediately on arrival here in spring, it seems to be a 
 call-note as well as an alarm. A very interesting feature in 
 the song of the nightingale is the frequency with which the 
 strains are begun with this little note, which is then given quite 
 softly and rather slower than when uttered by itself. In 
 Gloucestershire I found that an average of about one phrase 
 out of four was commenced thus.
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 55 
 
 The bird has also a simple call-squeak like that of the robin, 
 and a high " distress-note '' like that bird. 
 
 The Yellow Bunting, or Yellow-hammer. 
 
 The song of this bird is remarkably characteristic, and 
 is a common rural sound. It may be imitated by giving 
 ten or a dozen little whistles with the mouth, each as 
 short as possible (staccato}, at the rate of four per 
 second, each one a shade higher in pitch than the last, 
 and the whole being immediately followed by two higher 
 notes, each of a half-second duration, the leading note 
 being slightly higher than the other. If the reader will follow 
 these instructions he will obtain an idea of the song, which, once 
 identified, will never l>e mistaken. The song is habitually 
 given from an elevated perch, and may be heard as late a.s the 
 end of July, when few other songs are sung. 
 
 The call-note and alarm are the same note delivered with 
 emphasis suitable to the occasion. The cry is a brief twitter, 
 reminding one of the " tit-it-it " of the greenfinch, but it is 
 briefer. It is commonly given when the birds are disturbed 
 from a roadside hedge, as they often are of a winter's evening, 
 when they have come in from the fields, where they feed, to the 
 accustomed night-shelter of the hedge. The young have a 
 brief squeak, thin and shrill. The song has been very aptly 
 likened to the words 
 
 " A little little bit of bread and no cheese." 
 It generally runs in the following manner 
 Sva..
 
 56 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIKDS. 
 
 The Cirl Bunting. 
 
 This bird's song is given on one note. It never has the high 
 final notes of the yellowhammer. It is really a short, loud; rattle 
 rather than a song, but with a musical tone, and anyone who 
 knows the yellowhammer's strain can easily identify this one. 
 It is barely two seconds in duration, and may be written as 
 follows : 
 
 J=100. 
 
 The call-note:, as well as the alarm-note, is a soft but clear 
 and not harsh " sip," like the call of the hedge-sparrow abbre- 
 viated. The young have the same cry. The bird is by no 
 means so common as the two allied species treated in this 
 section. 
 
 The Corn-Bunting, or Common Bunting. 
 
 The song of this bird is very peculiar, and may be heard at a 
 considerable distance. The bird being rather wary, one may 
 follow the singer for some time without being able to identify 
 it The song may be well suggested by holding a bunch of 
 small keys loosely in the palm: of the hand and shaking ihem, 
 not quickly at first, but increasing the vibration to the greatest 
 possible rapidity the whole effort lasting not more than 
 three seconds. 
 
 The alarm-note is a simple " chip," hard and metallic. The 
 call-note is a slight squeak, similar to the call of the pipits. 
 
 The Tree-Pipit. 
 
 This bird is very noticeable in the season of song, from mid- 
 April to July, and inconspicuous at other periods. The song
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 57 
 
 is very often delivered during a short flight, in which the bird 
 rises vertically and then descends with motionless wings and 
 elevated tail. The notes uttered during the ascent are rapid 
 and somewhat varied ; during the descent a prolonged " whee 
 whee whee " is given. The whole strain may be written : " chee 
 chee chee echaw echaw chee chee judge judge judge whee 
 whee whee whee." The alarm-note is a quiet but metallic 
 " chip." The call is a hoarse " see," sometimes prolonged in 
 .a way suggestive of the redwing's call. This cry may be heard 
 from the birds when migrating in autumn or in spring. 
 
 The Wood-Pigeon. 
 
 This bird may often be seen flying, when it is readily distin- 
 guished by the white bar on each wing. Its cooing is a com- 
 mon woodland sound, and may be rendered : "coo-roo, coo- 
 co-roo, coo-roQ, coo-co-co-roo," etc. The notes vary some- 
 what in pitch, but there is not usually an interval of more than 
 a fifth between the highest and the lowest notes. The musical 
 reader should listen for unusual intervals. The young 
 squeak like those of the domestic pigeon, and the adults have a 
 .grunt of alarm similar to the danger-signal of that bird. 
 
 The Tree-Sparrow. 
 
 Obviously this is a near relation of the house-sparrow, both 
 .-sexes having a black mark under the bill, but having also a 
 Avarm maroon colour on the upper part of the head. In voice 
 -also this bird resembles the house-sparrow, but has a shriller 
 tone. The song consists of a number of the ordinary chirps 
 intermixed with some pleasing notes.
 
 58 CRIES AND CALL-XOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 The Lesser Redpoll. 
 
 Like the linnet this is a noisy little bird. Its tones have 
 the same character as those of the greenfinch, but in an ex- 
 aggerated degree. Its " tit-it-it '' call is more rapid and con- 
 tinuous than that of the other bird, its " tell tell " oftener 
 uttered, its " tewy " frequently given, and its coarse wheeze even, 
 coarser than the " zshweeo '' of the greenfinch, and sometimes, 
 given in flight as well as from a perch. The ordinary call 
 " tit-it-it," however, is uttered at a lower pitch than that of the 
 greenfinch, and the tone is less sharp, so that the cry might be 
 syllabled " twuttuttutt." 
 
 The Goldfinch. 
 
 Although this species is fast disappearing from its ac- 
 customed haunts, the dweller in the country may sometimes 
 hear a few of the little birds twittering while they pass over the 
 garden, or perch to rest for a few minutes on some tall tree. 
 The bird often breeds in large gardens, where there are plenty 
 of shrubs. Its ordinary note is a " twitt-itt-itt," etc., and the 
 young have a similar cry. The song chiefly consists of re- 
 petitions and variations of the call-note, but often includes cries, 
 similar to those of other birds. In captivity the bird is dis- 
 tinctly imitative. It is interesting to note that when a gold- 
 finch attacks another, he utters a grating cry " geeze," which is- 
 of the same nature as the cry used on a like occasion by the 
 lesser redpoll. 
 
 The Hawfinch. 
 
 This species is more, easily identified by its appearance 
 short and stout, with an almon rectansr !ar bill than bv its
 
 WOODLAND BEBDS. 59 
 
 note, which is, however, fairly distinct. The call-note is a hard 
 metallic " sit sit," reminding one of the sound made by breaking 
 a strip of glass. In autumn a somewhat plaintive " pee-et " is 
 uttered. In captivity the bird is imitative ; but in the wild 
 state it is so wary that the song is almost inaudible. 
 
 The Cuckoo. 
 
 Although the cuckoo is not nearly so common as many sub- 
 sequently mentioned, its note is no doubt much more familiar 
 to tne reader than the birds. The cry needs no further descrip- 
 tion than to be named. It may be heard from April to June (in- 
 clusive), and is uttered by both sexes. It seems to be to some 
 extent a song note ; it is certainly sometimes a call-note. A boy 
 who can imitate the cry well by blowing against his clasped 
 hands can bring a succession of these birds towards him. But 
 this does not prove the note to be other than a defiance. The 
 cry is uttered in flight as w T ell as from a perch. 
 
 The cry alters gradually as the season advances, the musical 
 interval between the notes becoming extended, sometimes to a 
 fifth ; I have only once known it to attain the flat sixth. I have 
 never heard a less interval than a whole tone (two half-tones) 
 between the two syllables. 
 
 The cuckoo has several other cries as well as that from which 
 it is named. One of these is a full toned water-bubble ex- 
 clamation consisting of a full round note repeated at the same 
 pitch some 10 or 12 times per second. It is rather more than 
 a second in duration. This appears to be the note of the 
 female (and see the Zoologist, August, 1894, and the 
 Field, 2oth June. 1896). I am informed that it is also uttered 
 bv the voung. The ordinarv call-note of the voung is a short
 
 60 CBIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 squeak, like that of the hedge-sparrow, but rather hoarse. 
 Another cry is a kind of laugh, not unlike the laughing cry of 
 the collared dove, which is so commonly kept as a pet. 
 This cry seems to be used when cuckoos are very near each 
 other. Mr. H. S. Davenport has noticed another cry, " whuff 
 whuff whuff whuff whuff," which he states is not necessarily an 
 alarm-note. It appears that in April the typical cry is mos- 
 often given, and that, as the season advances the other cries 
 are heard. In July the " cuckoo " is practically abandoned. 
 
 In 1896 I heard two cuckoos giving their cry in continued 
 and even alternation, and one bird's voice being pitched a tone 
 higher than that of the other, a curious little strain was pro- 
 duced, which is here given. What is more remarkable, 
 however, is that I heard the same thing in '97 and in '98 at 
 the same place. 
 
 *=SS 
 
 
 The Skylark. 
 
 The song of the skylark, delivered throughout a lofty ascent 
 and return, needs no description for identification; but the 
 song is also given from the ground, especially towards the close 
 of the season of song, which lasts from January to July, in- 
 clusive. Although the lark seems to sing for a long while at a 
 time, close attention reveals the fact that the bird rarely sings 
 for more than five minutes ; and the songs do not generally ex- 
 ceed three minutes in duration. 
 
 The bird has an autumn song in October, November, and 
 early December ; but this is usually a short song, though
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 61 
 
 occasionally a long performance is given. These autumn songs 
 seem to be mostly those of young birds of the year, and con- 
 sist mainly of repetitions of the call-notes, with the addition 
 of a few more musical sounds. 
 
 The call-notes are a rapid guttural "worryou," and a some 
 what plaintive " eeuh," the latter being also the cry of the young. 
 It is retained by the latter until September, when they acquire 
 the "worryou." 
 
 The lark is very imitative, whether wild or caged. In the 
 latter condition it soon acquires the notes of near birds which 
 are usually the sparrows. The wild bird's mimicry has more 
 opportunity and is less readily detected by an observer. It is, 
 however, clear, and will be found to be chiefly limited to imita- 
 tion of the cries of birds common in the habitat of the per- 
 former. The larks on Salisbury Plain, for instance, reproduce 
 the cries of buntings, plovers, and other birds found on the 
 Plain. They do not include in their songs the notes of the 
 hedge-sparrow, great tit, blue tit, and other woodland species, 
 which in a district of hedges and woods may often be heard 
 from the lark. On the shores, again, the larks utter the cries 
 of shore birds. A few days before writing I heard a lark give 
 the song of a blackcap beautifully. 
 
 The Mistle-Thrush. 
 
 This bird is put next in our list in respect to its relative 
 abundance. Although it is so similar to the common thrush 
 in general appearance, its much larger size, longer tail, and 
 undulating flight, should distinguish it at once. 
 
 The chief distinguishing feature in the voice of this bird is 
 the very loud rattling screech which it utters when its nest is
 
 62 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 disturbed, or likely to be, by another bird. The common 
 thrush makes a very similar but less noisy outcry on a like 
 occasion. 
 
 The song of the mistle-thrush is very loud, and equally brief. 
 As heard at some distance as is usually the case, the biii 
 being rather timid it consists of from three to five or 
 six loud whistled notes, given rather hurriedly, so that tihe 
 listener may be led to imagine that some very musical bantam 
 or other such bird is crowing. The mistle-thrush varies its 
 song but slightly, and will repeat its brief strain in the same 
 way a dozen times in succession. It is curious that the young 
 blackbird when first he acquires his full notes, sings very brief 
 strains, with little variation, in the manner of the mistle-thrush, 
 which thus appears to retain the most ancient style of the 
 thrush song. 
 
 The ordinary call-note is a rapid " tuc tuc tuc." In spring 
 another note may sometimes be heard a soft, short "syou," 
 which is practically identical with the winter call-note of another 
 thrush, the redwing. 
 
 The Landrail. 
 
 The only cry of this bird which an observer can hear is the 
 well-known " crake," which may be imitated by drawing a 
 match-stick sharply across the narrow teeth of a hair-comb, and 
 repeating the stroke once or twice per second, with a slight 
 pause after every two or three strokes. The pitch does not 
 vary. The cry may be heard from April to mid-July. 
 
 The Jay. 
 
 The loud " cah cah " of this bird, given repeatedly at a varying 
 pitch, is an unwelcome sound to the gardener, who, however
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 63 
 
 early he may arrive to work, constantly finds that a marauder 
 haj arrived yet earlier. The sound is also unwelcome 
 to the sportsman, for it is a danger-signal to the whole wood. 
 The young have the same cry, but utter it in a more squealing 
 tone. In captivity the jay is exceedingly imitative, and readily 
 reproduces any familiar sound, from the mewing of cats to the 
 sounds made in raising a window. It learns words and pro- 
 nounces them accurately, but seems to prefer other subjects 
 for imitation. 
 
 The Magpie. 
 
 Another very imitative bird, not so common as the jay, but 
 very plentiful in certain districts. 
 
 The common cry which one hears from the wild birdi is a 
 hoarse rapid " shushushushu." This is given sometimes as 
 a call-note, and sometimes as an alarm. I have also heard the 
 wild birds chattering together with a great variety of tone and 
 emphasis, though in a manner suggestive of amicability. 
 
 The Linnet. 
 
 One of the birds oftenest kept in miserable captivity, the 
 linnet, is familiar to us all. Its ordinary note is a curious 
 rapid chuckle, followed by a twitter like the " dit-it-it-it " of the 
 greenfinch. This is the call-note ; but it also answers the pur- 
 pose of an alarm-cry. The song consists of a repetition of all 
 the notes. It is a curious little chuckling kind of strain. In 
 the early months of the year a flock of linnets may often be 
 heard singing in chorus, all commencing and ending at about 
 the same time. The young, after leaving the nest, have 
 a loud cry " yell yell yell," closely resembling one of the cries 
 of the greenfinch. In captivity the bird is very imitative.
 
 64 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BERDS. 
 
 The Wood-Wren, or Wood-Warbler. 
 
 This is the little bird whose sibilous but passionate strain 
 " see see see seesi sisisisisisisi " may sometimes be hea^ from 
 the tree-tops in May, June, and July. It has also a louc. clear 
 whistle repeated three or four times at the same pitch, and sug- 
 gesting the syllables "kew kew kew." This cry seems to 
 answer the purpose of an alarm-note. It is never delivered in 
 flight, whereas the song is often given in the course of a slow 
 hovering flight from branch to branch. The call-note is a soft 
 unmodulated squeak, similar to that of the young willow-wren ; 
 and the young wood-wrens also have this note. The most 
 noticeable feature of the song is that it begins slowly, and with 
 only a slight raising of the pitch gradually quickens until at 
 the close the notes are hardly distinguishable. The bird 
 itself, generally modestly retiring into the depth of the woods, 
 is not often seen ; yet it is one of the most delightful of our 
 summer visitors. Though so small (of about the size of the 
 willow-wren), it has such pleasing tints of olive-green and 
 yellow, and sings with such intense passion, that an observer 
 who has once watched the bird at a short distance will never 
 forget it. It visibly trembles in the ecstasy of its singing. 
 
 The Wryneck. 
 
 This slim and elegant greyish tree-climber is by no means 
 rarely seen on orchard trees ; but its note should lead to its 
 more frequent discovery. The cry is first heard at about the 
 time of the arrival of the cuckoo, whence the bird has been 
 called " the cuckoo's mate." The cry is loud, resonant, and rapid. 
 It suggests the syllables " dillillillill," and may be imi- 
 tated by whistling a note with a slight leading inflection and
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 65 
 
 repeating it at the rate of four times per second. The note is 
 given not only in spring, but at intervals until the bird leaves us 
 in autumn. I have heard it in October. 
 
 The alarm-cry is a short, hard "tuck," which near the young 
 is rapidly repeated, with different vowel sounds, and may be 
 suggested by " kack kick kick kack kack kock kock kuck kuck 
 kick," etc., given as quickly as possible. The bird hisses 
 when alarmed on the nest. The young have a cry like the other 
 alarm-note of the parents. 
 
 The Partridge. 
 
 The evening call of this bird may be heard at most times of 
 the year. It is also given at other periods of the day, but is 
 most noticeable at evening, and especially on winter evenings. 
 It may be written " keeash " and seems to be a call-note. The 
 young "cheep " like common chicks, but less loudly. The old 
 birds when alarmed rise on the wing with a rapidly repeated 
 cry" gug-ug-ug." 
 
 The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. 
 
 This is the commonest of the woodpeckers, and the smallest. 
 Its whereabouts may be more readily discovered from the sound 
 of its bill than from its cry. The sound of its bill is sometimes 
 as slow as that of the nuthatch a distinct hammering ; or it 
 may be a more rapid tapping; or, again, an exceedingly rapid 
 vibrating blow-, causing a blurring or churring note. This may 
 be given while the bird is ascending a tree. 
 
 The male has been stated to utter a laughing cry, which is
 
 66 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 important as relating this bird to the great green woodpecker. 
 I have heard the common cry a shriek repeated s\ rapidly 
 as to cause a sort of laughing cry, the more especially as the 
 pitch of the notes was somewhat varied. 
 
 The common cry is a very short shriek, in tone similar to that 
 of the wryneck, but slurred upwards instead of downwards like 
 that cry. There is also a quiet " tick tick " or " kink." 
 
 The Greater Spotted Woodpecker. 
 
 This is a rare bird, and may be distinguished by its size, 
 which nearly equals that of a starling, and by its black and white 
 colours, rather than by its notes, which are not loud. The call 
 is " quet quet " or " gick gick," with, at intervals, a low " tra 
 tra." This bird also makes a hammering noise with its bill. 
 
 The Great Green Woodpecker. 
 
 This handsome large green bird is common in some locali- 
 ties. Its note is a loud laughing cry, not altogether unlike the 
 neigh of a horse. The bird has also been observed to utter a 
 soft but varied song (H. F. Witherby in Knowledge, June, 
 1897). 
 
 The Turtle-Dove. 
 
 This bird's soft purring may be heard from many country 
 gardens. It consists of a repeated purring coo somewhat like 
 the "churr" of the nightjar; but its strain is less prolonged 
 than this. I have located the pitch at E and E flat, every 
 alternative purr being slightly lower than the preceding one. 
 The young have a cry similar to the note of the young pigeon, 
 and the alarm is similar to that of the pigeon.
 
 WOODLAND BIRDS. 67 
 
 The Stock-Dove. 
 
 A very simple coo is uttered by this bird ; in fact, the cooing 
 is not more than a brief repetition of " hoop/' but it has the rare 
 feature of a crescendo, the hooping getting louder and louder, 
 until the bird makes a majestic bow to the object of his song, 
 which is, of course, his mate. The coos are given at practically 
 the same pitch. It would be interesting to find an instance of 
 a stock-dove attaining a more elaborate song than is here in- 
 dicated. Its other cries resemble those of the common pigeon. 
 
 The Pheasant. 
 
 The crowing of the pheasant may be heard at a long dis- 
 tance. It is a simple " gurrrg," followed by a low thunderous 
 sound caused by the rapid beating of the wings, while, immedi- 
 ately after crowing, he stretches himself to the full height. The 
 cry of alarm is very similar to the crow, but is shorter. The 
 chicks " cheep" as do those of common fowls. 
 
 The Fieldfare. 
 
 This bird is most noticeable when it comes to us in flocks in 
 autumn. The rapid cry "tuck uck uck uck" may be heard 
 from the flocks. 
 
 The Stonechat. 
 
 This handsome bird, with black head and ferruginous breast, 
 has a pleasing song, and, being not very timid, may be easily 
 observed. It may sometimes be seen in a hedge bordering 
 a country garden, but is nowhere a very common bird. The 
 phrases are short, but are varied, and some of them are dis- 
 
 F2
 
 68 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 tinctly mimetic. The alarm is a repeated " chat chat," which, 
 like others, is repeated rapidly under the influence of excite- 
 ment. 
 
 The Grasshopper Warbler. 
 
 This is not a common bird, though one or two may be heard 
 in most districts. It is a very silent bird except as to its song* 
 which is a continued clicking or burring note, reminding one of 
 the noise made in winding an angler's multiplying reel. Pass 
 a match stick across the teeth of a comb at the rate of about 
 twelve per second ; imagine the noise continued for five minutes 
 without a break, and you have a fair idea of the song of the 
 grasshopper warbler. Those who know the noise made by the 
 great green grasshopper (Locusta viridissuna) will perceive the 
 appropriateness of this warbler's title. 
 
 The Nightjar. 
 
 In many woodland districts the continued " burrr " of the 
 nightjar may be heard. It is more like the continued rattling 
 of a ratchet-wheel in motion than the note of any bird. It may 
 be heard from May to July, inclusive, at any time between dusk 
 and dawn, but it is given less often in the darkest hours than 
 at dusk or dawn, when it may be repeated for a quarter of an 
 hour at a time, with only very brief interruptions. There are 
 toy rattles sold which are made on the same principle as the 
 now obsolete police-rattle. One of these little rattles, whirled 
 at even speed, will produce a noise very suggestive of the night- 
 jar's song. The alarm-cry of the bird is a sharp clicking note
 
 WOODLAXD BIRDS. 69 
 
 sometimes accompanied by the smiting of the wings together 
 above the back. Under the influence of excitement the note is 
 repeated many times, so as to produce a rattling cry. The call- 
 note is rarely heard. It may be syllabled " pee-ep." Th - bird 
 has the habit of sometimes swooping from a height and pro- 
 ducing a booming sound at the moment when the descent is con- 
 cluded. 
 
 The Butcher-Bird, or Red-Backed Shrike. 
 
 This handsome bird is commoner than one would suppose 
 from the infrequency of its vocal efforts. Excepting the groat 
 occasion for the use of alarm-cries (when tihe young come 
 abroad) the bird is usually of a silent habit, although its actual 
 cries are loud and distinct. One of them is difficult to distinguish 
 from the " tell " of the house-sparrow. The tone is the same, 
 but the rate of repetition of the butcher-bird's cry is always 
 slower than that of the sparrow. It might perhaps be syllabled 
 " chell " rather than " tell." This cry has no doubt been the 
 occasion for the statement that the bird imitates the cries of 
 small birds for the purpose of attracting them. In captivity 
 it has a pleasing little warble which seems to be partly mimetic. 
 
 The cry in question seems to be a note of suspicion. A cry 
 sometimes heard soon after the bird's arrival here, early in M y, 
 is a prolonged "cull cull cull," the tone of which resembles 
 that of the kestrel and the wryneck. I have sometimes heard 
 this imitated by the thrush. On one occasion I was able to 
 describe the original from this imitation, and so clear an idea 
 was thus conveyed to the listener (my brother, Mr. E. Xortharn 
 Witchell) that next day when he heard a similar cry behind 
 him on open land, he immediately recognised it, and, turning,
 
 70 CBIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 saw a butcher-bird passing from wood to wood the bird, un- 
 doubtedly, which had uttered the cry. When alarmed for its 
 young, the bird utters a loud harsh " chaack " repeated. The 
 young squeal somewhat in the tone of )'oung jays, but less 
 loudly. The pitch of their notes is varied. (Ante page 69). 
 
 The Kestrel. 
 
 The note of this bird is a very short, sharp shriek. It may 
 sometimes be heard from the flying young rarely from the 
 parents. 
 
 The Crossbill. 
 
 The call may be rendered "sit sit." 
 
 The Mealy Redpoll. 
 
 This rare little bird has a curious song, which has been 
 rendered " zig-wig-chutta chutta che we we." In flight it sings 
 "chicki chicki chicki wee wee." It also utters a "chizzzzz." 
 (O.V. Aplin, Zoologist, vol. xxi. p. 69, and xx. p. 451).
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 UPLAND BIRDS. 
 Birds heard from the Upland Gardens. 
 
 Peewit. Meadow-Pipit. Whcatcar. Twite. Whinchat. 
 Quail. King- Ousel. Rock-Pipit. Red Grouse. Raven. 
 
 The Peewit. 
 
 The broad, clubbed-looking wings of this bird, and its devious 
 flight, distinguish it no less than its repeated cry of "pee-a- 
 wit, pee-i-wit " from other species. The cry may be heard not 
 only by day, but sometimes also at night. It seems usually to 
 answer the purpose of an alarm cry ; but it seems occasionally 
 to be given as a song. It is not, however, heard from large 
 flocks of peewits, which doubtless obey some less noisy call 
 from their leaders. The young have the same note, but this, 
 of course, cannot be heard from them when in a state of 
 freedom. 
 
 The Meadow-Pipit. 
 
 The tree-pipit is a woodland species ; the meadow-pipit pre- 
 fers open country. The song of the latter consists of a double- 
 syllabled cry " chewick " repeated during the ascent, and a pro- 
 longed " see see see " given during the descent. The song-flight 
 is similar to that of the tree-pipit. The call-note and the cry 
 of the young are a short " see," not loud. The alarm is a short 
 sharp chirp, " peet," not harsh, and not repeated quickly.
 
 72 CBIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The Wheatear. 
 
 This upland bird, though rare in the garden, is common 
 enough on open downs, when its loud call-note, " tack," can be 
 heard at a considerable distance, while the white patch above 
 the tail allows of identification by the eye as easily as by the ear. 
 The alarm-note, often heard when the young are about, is a 
 hoarse squeak, similar to that of the pipits. The song is 
 short, but varied, and the bird is very imitative. There is a 
 good account of its mimicry written by Dr. Saxby in "The 
 Birds of Shetland." The young have the parental squeak. 
 
 The Twite. 
 
 This is the little dark-looking bird which is commonly seen 
 during the colder months flitting about the fields, and always 
 descending on open ground, and uttering a frequently re- 
 peated " wheet." The cry is rapidly repeated when the bird is 
 alarmed. The song consists of but little more than repetitions 
 of the call-note, and is often delivered in flight The young 
 have the cry of the parents. 
 
 The Whinchat. 
 
 This is another inhabitant of uncultivated land, where it may 
 be seen busily flitting about the furze-bushes, uttering meanwhile 
 its alarm, " utick utick," the first syllable being somewhat pro- 
 longed. The song is short, hurried, and varied. The bird is 
 imitative in captivity, and Mr. Robert Godfrey describes the- 
 same feature in the song of the wild bird.
 
 UPLAND BIRDS. 73 
 
 The Quail. 
 
 The note of this bird may be heard in spring and until 
 -August. It has been rendered " t\vit-me-dick " and " picker- 
 wick," or " peek-wheet-wheet." Father Kircher gave it as 
 "Bi-ke-bik, bi-ke-bik, bi-ke-bik." 
 
 The Ring-Ousel. 
 
 This bird not only resembles the blackbird in general appear- 
 ance (possessing, however, a light gorget or band across the 
 neck), but it has also a rattling alarm, a rapid " tack tack tack," 
 which is of the same nature as the blackbird's rattling alarm, 
 but not so modulated in pitch. It has a loud song, consist- 
 ing of flute-like notes, somewhat slurred. This bird is only a 
 passenger over the cultivated districts. It is oftenest seen in 
 early spring. 
 
 The Rock-Pipit. 
 
 This species has the general manners of the other pipits, with 
 SL call similar to theirs, and a similar song-flight, the song, how- 
 ever, consisting of a single note repeated, followed by the usual 
 "" see see see." 
 
 The Red Grouse. 
 
 Mr. Robert Godfrey gives the alarm of this bird as a loud cry, 
 "" aAvk ko ko ko, ko-bek ko-bek ko-bek." 
 
 The Raven. 
 
 This bird can only be expected' in the garden as a captive, and 
 a rather expensive one. The ordinary note is the coarsest croak 
 imaginable, which may be suggested by striking a stick along 
 an upright iron rail fence, thereby producing a rapid metallic 
 rattle.
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 WATER-SIDE BIRDS. 
 
 Birds heard in and near Riverside Gardens^ 
 
 Sicans, Ducks, and Geese. Wagtails. Sedge-Warbler. 
 Reed- Warbler. Moorhen. Siskin. Reed-Bunting. 
 Common Heron. Kingfisher. Dipper. Common Sand- 
 piper. Redshank. Curleiv. Dunlin. Ringed Plover. 
 Golden Plover. Coot. Common Snipe. Little Grebe ; or 
 Dabchick. Hooded Crow. Marsh- Warbler. 
 
 Swans, Ducks, and Geese. 
 
 These are mentioned as illustrating family resemblances of 
 voice. The young have always a peeting cry, like that of 
 a young duckling, whatever may be the note of the parent^ 
 They generally hiss when enraged, especially when on the- 
 nest ; and none of them can sing. The mute swan, however,, 
 has been heard to utter notes in the interval of a minor third 
 (see Harting's "Ornithology of Shakespeare," p. 202). His- 
 only note is usually a toneless grunt, or a hiss. 
 
 The Wagtails. 
 
 The common pied (black and white) wagtail has a very com- 
 mon note, heard throughout the year : " chizzit," (uttered very 
 quickly). Mr. Robert Godfrey tells me that this cry has some-
 
 WATER-SIDE BIRDS. 75 
 
 times three syllables instead of two ; and that is a very impor- 
 tant variation. Has anyone heard it with four or five ? There 
 is also a cry " cheeo," which is addressed sometimes to the 
 young. Both of these cries seem also to answer the purposes 
 of alarms. The pied wagtail is fond of singing, or rather of 
 attempting to sing ; but its efforts rarely exceed a jumble of 
 call-notes. 
 
 The grey wagtail, which is less noisy than the common 
 bird, and handsomer, is less often seen in gardens. It has a 
 cry like the " chizzit," repeated several times rapidly ; and 
 this emphasises the importance of an occasional duplication 
 of the syllables in the cry of the common bird. 
 
 The yellow wagtail is a field bird rather than a water bird. 
 It has a soft monotonous alarm-cry or call-note; but it has 
 also a very pleasing warbled song, which is, however, very 
 rarely heard. 
 
 The Sedge-Warbler. 
 
 Dwellers by the river-side, or near marshy ground, may 
 often hear at night in the spring a continued song, which 
 they may possibly mistake for that of the nightingale, if (and 
 only if) they are unacquainted with the latter song. The sedge- 
 warbler sings almost as much by night as by day, and when 
 several are near each other there is quite a charm. The song 
 is hurried, and greatly varied. It generally begins with a 
 " chiddy chiddy chiddy," and then passes into a succession of 
 wonderful imitations of other birds. The cries of the sparrow, 
 swallow, linnet, wagtail, etc., are repeated with marvellous 
 fidelity. Different birds sometimes have particular strains 
 consisting of these cries arranged in a certain order. If the 
 bird be silent, at any hour, it will be sure to sing if disturbed,
 
 76 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 though this be by the clapping of hands, or a stone thrown 
 into the bush. The song is heard until mid-July. 
 
 The call-note Mr. Holte Macpherson describes as "chiddy 
 chiddy." The alarm-note is a croak, less harsh than that of 
 the nightingale, and seeming lower in pitch than that of the 
 whitethroat. 
 
 The Reed-Warbler. 
 
 This is another water-side bird whose song has much in 
 common with that of the sedge-warbler. It begins in a rapid 
 "churra churra churra," and continues in a great variety of 
 rapid notes, in some of which may be found a resemblance to 
 the cries of other birds. But there is not the wonderful (and 
 one might say, emphatic) mimicry which is always noticeable 
 in the song of the sedge-warbler. Mr. F. B. Whitlock has re- 
 corded the imitativeness of the reed-warbler (Zoologist, vol. 
 xvi -> P 333)- 
 
 (NOTE: Jn a former work I quoted Mr. H. C. Playne as having 
 observed the mimicry of this species. He tells me I misunderstood 
 him, and that he did not say he had observed this incident. I regret 
 the error.) 
 
 The Moorhen. 
 
 Still in the river-side garden one may often hear the moor- 
 hen's call "keck keck," or its alarm "whirrrro." The 
 female calls "gok gok" to her young, and these have a miser- 
 able little squeak, which, however, may be imitated so as to 
 effectually deceive the little ones and bring them to the feet 
 of the performer. Mr. Robert Godfrey has done this in 
 Midlothian and in Shetland. 
 
 The moorhen often flies at night, and its cry "keck keck 
 keck keck '' may then be heard.
 
 WATER-SIDE BIRDS. 77 
 
 The Siskin. 
 
 This is by no means a common bird ; but it may sometimes 
 be seen on alder-trees, busy like a tit, amongst the catkins, or 
 in spring, on the ground beneath the trees. I have always 
 heard these birds utter a twitter in flight of the same nature 
 as the twitter of the goldfinch. The song is not loud, and is 
 jerky. It is often given during a flight. In captivity the bird 
 is imitative. 
 
 The Reed-Bunting. 
 
 In marshy districts this is by no means an uncommon species, 
 where the jet-black head of the male may for the moment 
 deceive an observer into the belief that he is watching the 
 very rare black-headed bunting. 
 
 I have only observed the song in Gloucestershire and 
 Somerset, and there it had always the same character, though 
 varied towards the termination. It commenced in a rapid 
 repetition of one note, like the songs of the yellow-hammer 
 and cirl-bunting, then passed into a brief " cheeo cheeo," often 
 followed by " tink tink,'' and a few other notes. The whole 
 song was quite a brief one. Mr. Godfrey describes the ordi- 
 nary call as a twitter similar to that of the yellow-hammer. 
 
 The Common Heron. 
 
 The ordinary note to be heard from this great bird as it 
 flaps across the sky, is a loud clear "honk" or "frank." It 
 will, however, only be heard when two or more herons are within 
 sight of each other. The cry is so loud that on a still morning 
 I have certainly heard it at a distance of a mile. When 
 alarmed near the nest the birds make a great outcry, reminding 
 one of the trumpet-like note of the stork.
 
 78 CEIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIBDS. 
 
 The Kingfisher. 
 
 The common note is a clear piping "kee, kee," which, in 
 spring, I have heard given in the interval of a minor third 
 apparently as a song. 
 
 The Dipper. 
 
 The sprightly song of this bird is heard throughout the 
 year, except in the early autumn. It has been compared to 
 that of the wren, and also to that of the canary. The com- 
 mon note is a " chick " or " ching." 
 
 The Common Sandpiper. 
 
 The common cry is "wheet w.heet wheet/' which is an 
 alarm-cry. 
 
 The Redshank. 
 
 " In spring the love-notes of the male form what may fairly 
 be called a song, the constantly repeated refrain of which 
 'leero, leero, leero,' rings musically around, as with many 
 gesticulations he hovers in attendance on the flight of his 
 mate." (Newton, "Dictionary of Birds")- "Often the cry 
 consists of one note, having a very slight leading note at a 
 higher pitch." (H. F. Witherby). 
 
 The Curlew. 
 
 Out on the muddy banks of the wide river the loud whistle 
 of the curlew may be heard. It somewhat resembles in its 
 inflection the word "corlieu" (Fr.) whence the French name 
 of "curlie" as Yarrell observed.
 
 WATER-SIDE BIRDS. 79 
 
 The Dunlin. 
 
 This is a very noisy bird, especially in March, when its 
 *' trui trui " may often be heard at the river side. 
 
 The Ringed Plover. 
 
 The common cry may be rendered " pen-y-et," or " pooree," 
 with the accent on the last syllable. 
 
 The Golden Plover. 
 
 The common cry of this bird is " louee louee," the second 
 exclamation being given at a slightly lower pitch than the 
 first. 
 
 The Coot. 
 
 Mr. Godfrey gives the call of this bird as a bold " kow kow." 
 
 The Common Snipe. 
 
 The alarm-cry is given by Yarrell as "scape scape," or 
 *' chissick." At the breeding-time the bird utters a piping 
 sound. At this season it also makes a bleating or booming 
 sound by means of its flight and tail feathers, in a descent. 
 
 The Little Grebe, or Dabchick. 
 
 The common note is a brief " whit whit." 
 
 The Hooded Crow. 
 
 The common note is a harsh "era."
 
 80 CRIES AND CALL-NOTES OF WILD BIRDS. 
 
 The Marsh-Warbler. 
 
 This is a very rare bird whose presence will apparently be 
 most readily detected by its song, which excels that of the 
 sedge-warbler in accuracy of mimicry. The song has been 
 described to me as being less rapidly delivered than that of 
 the sedge-bird. It has a croak of alarm somewhat similar to 
 that of the sedge-warbler.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 B. 
 
 Barn Owl, 38 
 
 Blackbird, 14 
 
 Blackbird's Alarm, 17 
 
 Blackcap, 34 
 
 Blue Titmouse. 23 
 
 Brown Wren. 33 
 
 Bullfinch, 45 
 
 Bunting, Cirl, 56 
 ,, Reed. 77 
 ,, Yellow, 55 
 
 Butcher-bird. 69 
 
 C. 
 
 Chaffinch. 25 
 
 .. Song of. 26 
 
 Chiffchaff, 49 
 Cirl-Bunting. 56 
 Coal-Tit, 24 
 Common Heron. 77 
 
 ., Sandpiper, 78 
 
 .. Snipe. 
 Coot, 79 
 
 Creeper, Tree, 36 
 Crossbill, 70 
 Crow. 37 
 
 .. Hooded. 79 
 
 Cuckoo. 59 
 Curlew. 78 
 
 1). 
 
 Dabchick. 79 
 Dipper. 78 
 Dove, Stock, 67 
 Turtle, 66 
 Ducks, 74 
 Dunlin, 79 
 
 F. 
 
 Fieldfare, 67 
 Flycatcher Pied, 45 
 Spotted, 44 
 
 Garden-Warbler, 48 
 Geese, 74 
 
 Golden-Crested Wren, 36 
 Golden Plover. 79 
 Goldfinch, 58 
 Grasshopper Warbler, 68 
 Greater Spotted Woodpecker. 66 
 Great Green Woodpecker, 66 
 Great Titmouse. 20 
 Grebe, Little. 79 
 Greenfinch. 29 
 Grouse. Red. 73
 
 82 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 H 
 
 Hawfinch, 58 
 Hedge- Sparrow, 13 
 Heron. 77 
 Hooded Crow, 79 
 House-Martin. 32 
 Sparrow, i 
 
 Jackdaw, 37 
 Jay, 62 
 
 Kestrel. 70 
 Kingfisher, 78 
 
 J 
 
 K. 
 
 L. 
 
 Landrail. 62 
 
 Lark. 60 
 
 Lesser Redpoll, 58 
 
 Spotted Woodpecker. 65 
 
 Whitethroat. 49 
 Linnet. 63 
 Little Grebe, 79 
 Long-Eared Owl. 39 
 Long-Tailed Tit. 4^ 
 
 M, 
 
 Magpie. 63 
 Marsh-Tit. 41 
 
 Warbler, 80 
 Martin, 32 
 
 ., Sand. 32 
 
 Meadow-Pipit. 71 
 Mealy Redpoll, 70 
 Mistle-Thrush. 61 
 Moorhen. 76 
 
 N. 
 Nightingale, 51 
 
 ,. Music of, 53, 
 
 Nightjar. 68 
 Nuthatch. 42 
 
 o. 
 
 Ousel. Ring. 73 
 Owls, 38 
 
 Partridge. 65 
 Peetvit. 71 
 Pheasant, 67 
 Pied Flycatcher, 45 
 
 .. Wagtail, 74 
 Pipit. Meadow. 71 
 
 Rock. 73 
 
 Tree, 56 
 
 Plover. Golden, 79 
 Ringed. 79 
 
 guail. 73 
 
 
 
 R. 
 
 Raven. 73 
 
 Red-Backed Shrike. 69* 
 Red Grouse, 73
 
 INDEX. 
 
 83 
 
 Redpoll. Lesser, 58 
 Mealy, 70 
 
 Redshank. 78 
 
 Redstart, 46 
 
 Redwing. 39 
 
 Reed-Bunting. 77 
 
 Reed- Warbler. 76 
 
 Ringed Plover. 79 
 
 Ring Ousel. 73 
 
 Robin. 5 
 
 Variation in, 6 
 Mimicry of, 8 
 Call- Note, 9 
 
 Rock Pipit. 73 
 
 Rook, 37 
 
 Sand-Martin, 32 
 Sandpiper, Common, 78 
 Sedge- Warbler. 75 
 Shrike, Red-Backed, 69 
 Siskin. 77 
 Skylark. 60 
 Snipe. Common. 79 
 Spnrrow, i 
 
 ,. Tree. 57 
 Spotted Flycatcher, 44 
 Starling, 10 
 
 Mimicry of, ro 
 
 ,, Love-Notes of, 1 1 
 
 Alarm of, 12 
 Stock-Dove, 67 
 Stonechat, 67 
 
 Swallow, 31 
 Swans, 74 
 Swift, 32 . 
 
 T. 
 
 Tawny Owl, 38 
 Thrush, 18 
 
 ., Mistle, 6 1 
 Titmouse, Blue, 23 
 Coal, 24 
 Great, 20 
 
 Long-Tailed, 42 
 Marsh, 41 
 Tree-Creeper, 36 
 ,. Pipit, 56 
 ., Sparrow, 57 
 Town Birds, i 
 Turtle-Dove. 66 
 Twite. 72 
 
 U. 
 Upland Birds, 71 
 
 W. 
 
 Warbler, Blackcap, 34 
 Garden, 48 
 
 Grasshopper. 68 
 Marsh. 80 
 
 Reed. 76 
 Sedge. 75 
 
 Willow, 50 
 
 Wood, 64
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wagtail, Grey, 75 
 Pied, 74 
 ., Yellow, 75 
 Waterside Birds. 74 
 Wheatear, 72 
 Whinchat. 72 
 Whitethroat, 47 
 
 ,, Lesser, 49 
 
 Willow- Wren, 50 
 Woodland Birds. 41 
 Woodpecker. Greater, 66 
 
 Great Green, 66 
 
 ,, Lesser Spotted, 65 
 
 ,. Spotted, 66 
 
 Wood-Pigeon, 57 
 
 Warbler, 64 
 .. Wren. 64 
 Wren. 33 
 
 Golden-Crested. 36 
 ,, Willow. 50 
 Wryneck, 64 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yellow Bunting. 55 
 Yellowhammer. 55 
 Yellow Wagtail, 75
 
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