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I
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
A-
THE
BIRDS OF WILTSHIRE.
COMPRISING
tlye ^eriofcical and ^ccasicwal
as well as ffjose wl)icl) are indigenous
to tl)c ounfp.
BY THE
KEY. ALFRED CHARLES SMITH, M.A.,
Christ Church, Oxford ; Rector of Yatesbury ; Member of the British
Ornithologists Union ; Hon. Sec. of the Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Society ;
AUTHOR OP
i ATTRACTIONS OF THE NILE,' 'SPRING TOUR IN PORTUGAL,' 'A PILGRIMAGE THROUGH PALESTINE,'
'BRITISH AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTH WILTSHIRE DOWNS,' ETC.
tot t!u ^ttthxrr bs
E. H. POETEE, 6, TENTEEDEN STEEET, LONDON, W. ;
AND
H. F. BULL, DEVIZES.
1887.
MY OLD AND VALUED FRIEND,
ALFKED NEWTON,
PKOFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY,
M.A., F.R.S., ETC., ETC.,
AND FELLOW OF MAGDALENE COLLEGE, IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE,
WITH WHOM I HAVE ENJOYED A CORRESPONDENCE
ON OUR FAVOURITE HOBBY FOR THE LAST THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS,.
I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.
M3668?
PREFACE.
AN enforced holiday of six months, owing to illness, and con-
sequent absence from my parish, and confinement to the house
during the winter months, have given me the leisure which has
hitherto been wanting, for reprinting some papers on the Orni-
thology of Wilts, which I published above thirty years ago in
the earliest volumes of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Society. To the reproduction of these papers in one
volume I have been repeatedly urged by many of my Wiltshire
neighbours, but by no one more persistently than by the old
friend to whose opinion, on all matters relating to birds, I have
long been accustomed to bow with implicit obedience (Professor
Alfred Newton), to whom I am proud to dedicate this volume,
but who be it thoroughly understood in the outset is in no
way responsible for any errors, heresies, blunders, or defects
which these pages may contain; for he has never seen them,
nor will see them until they are beyond the power of correction.
For when I speak of the reprinting the ornithological papers,
the first of which appeared in the first luimber of the Wiltshire
Magazine, I should explain that on the covers of those maga-
zines I have, from time to time, printed a notice, requesting to
be informed of the occurrence of any rare bird, or anything
interesting in regard to birds in all parts of the county ; and
thanks to the kindness of many friends, and some who had
previously been strangers to me, I have, in the course of the
thirty-four years which have elapsed since I first asked for such
information, received such a mass of valuable material that
vi Preface.
much of the papers I formerly wrote required to be rewritten ;
and a great deal of additional matter had to be added, to bring
up to present date anything approaching to a full history of the
birds of Wiltshire : for my aim is whether I succeed in ac-
complishing it or no to make this volume a record of all the
species which belong to our county as inhabitants or periodical
migrants, as well as of all such as have been known occasionally
to visit it.
Moreover, having been obliged to spend many winters and
springs in warmer climates, I have had unusual opportunities of
making myself acquainted, in their own haunts, with many of the
rarer stragglers which occasionally visit our island. Previous to
the printing of my former papers on the Ornithology of Wilts,
I had only had opportunities of becoming personally acquainted
with the birds of Western and Northern Europe ; but since that
time I have rambled, gun in hand, and with binocular quite as
indispensable a companion to an ornithologist for several sea-
sons on the southern shores of France and Italy, in Spain and
Portugal, and, above all, in Egypt and Nubia ; and there I have
watched in its own home, and studied the habits and life history
of, many a bird which, though recognised in Great Britain as an
occasional visitor, very rarely comes in the flesh before the
British ornithologist. So that I have something to add from
personal observation elsewhere to my former account of some of
the feathered visitors to this county.
In reprinting and collecting into a volume the ornithological
papers which were scattered over many volumes of the Wilt-
shire Magazine* let me first say that in preparing those papers
I did not scruple occasionally to gather from various standard
books on birds whatever suited my purpose, though I fear I
cannot now distinguish such, still less can I refer them to their
several authors. Also I would premise that this book has no
Wiltshire Magazine, Vol. I, pp. 41-45, 105-115, 239-249 ; II., pp. 162-172,
290-301 ; III., pp. 337-357 ; IV., pp. 26-35,285-298 ; VI., pp. 167-182 ; VIL,
pp. 81-102 ; IX., pp. 45-57,211-222 ; XI., pp. 160-174 ; XII., pp. 44-72, 152-
185. See also for other ornithological papers Vol. III., pp. 129-145 ; VIII.,
pp. 135-144 ; X., pp. 115-130.
Preface. vii
pretensions of a scientific character, nor does it aspire to be other
than a plain account of the Birds of Wiltshire, written by a
Wiltshire man, and for Wiltshire people, and is meant to
supply in a popular manner some information to those who are
not very learned in the subject, but who desire to know some-
thing of the feathered tribes by which they are surrounded, as
well as those which periodically or occasionally visit us. There
are no scientific disquisitions in this volume. I have not even
touched on the writings of Charles Darwin, much as I admire
and heartily as I accept the groundwork of his beautiful theory.
I shall probably be accused of turning a deaf ear to modern
discoveries, and of putting forth a treatise which might have
been written fifty years ago. No doubt, to a certain extent, there
is some truth in such accusations ; but to dabble in science, and
to argue on scientific subjects without much scientific knowledge,
very soon leads the presumptuous writer into a very quicksand
of trouble. I can, then, discourse on birds only according to my
lights, and if I be somewhat old-fashioned and behind the age in
my old-world notions, I submit that modern opinions are not
always correct, and that our predecessors in ornithology were not
always so ignorant as modern presumption sometimes supposes.
Moreover, this professes to be in some sense a reprint of that
which was published before the theories of Darwin and Wallace
were put forth, and before the new nomenclature and classifica-
tion came into existence.
But whatever the nomenclature for a rose under any other
name would smell as sweet and whatever the classification (for
this is, at last, but a matter of opinion on which our best orni-
thologists still differ widely), the study of birds still remains, as
in the good old days of Gilbert White and Bewick, a most in-
teresting and fascinating study, carrying its votaries along the
most pleasant paths, and adding tenfold interest to every walk.
The unobservant passer-by may think that all birds are alike,
except in size and colour ; the casual observer may imagine that
in this pursuit there can be little to learn ; but the truth is, that
in all pursuits of this kind, and certainly not the least so in the
viii Preface.
one before us, the farther he advances the more he sees to admire,
the more he discovers how little he knows. Let him examine
the plumage of a bird let him take a single feather, and see its
wonderful growth, its mysterious colouring, its perfect adapta-
tion to the end for which it was made. What an admirable
defence against cold and heat, how light and buoyant ! Let him
examine the different methods of nidification adopted by the
different species ; how every species adopts a method peculiar to
itself, yet one which is exactly followed by all the members com-
prising that species. What consummate skill and ingenuity are
displayed in the construction of their nests ; how beautiful and
curious and varied are their eggs !
These and a thousand other such things, unnoticed by the
many, but discovered at every turn by the student in ornithology,
point out how perfect are the works of God, how varied and
beautiful, how exactly suited to their several positions are the
creatures of His hand. The contemplation of them not only
fills the heart with pleasure, but lifts it up in praise and adora-
tion to the great and bountiful Creator, whose least work so far
surpasses the greatest triumph of the most scientific men.
It would occupy too much space to append a full list of my
very numerous correspondents on this subject ; but I shall not,
I hope, be misunderstood, or thought to have made an invidious
selection, when I am so much indebted to many, if I especially
enumerate some who have most materially assisted me. First
and foremost of these I must mention my very intimate and
deeply lamented friend, the Eev. George Marsh, for many years
Vicar of Sutton Benger, in this county, who was a thorough
practical ornithologist, whose ear was so accurate as to detect
in an instant any unwonted note in the woods or hedgerows or
garden; and whose knowledge of birds, from long personal
observation, was so profound that he seldom failed to identify
the feathered songster who uttered it. With every specimen in
his admirable collection at Sutton Benger* I was in my younger
f This collection, at the death of its owner, passed into the possession
of his brother, the late Mr. Matthew Marsh, sometime M.P. for Salisbury,
Preface. ix
days quite familiar, and I was never tired of listening to their
histories as their owner loved to describe them. Moreover, I
made copious extracts from the MS. notes which he lent for
the purpose ; and I am indebted to him in no slight degree for
much and varied bird knowledge which he imparted to me
through a friendship of many years, which only terminated with
his death. Still more early was my acquaintance with the fine
collection of birds made by Mr. Ernie Warriner* of Conock
House, in the parish of Cherrington, near Devizes, which I had
frequent opportunities of examining on the many happy Sundays
which I spent there when at my first school hard by. That
was declared by its owner to be a perfect collection of British
birds, as recognised up to that date (about A.D. 1833), and con-
tains many fine specimens of very rare stragglers to Great
Britain, a considerable number of which I know from its col-
lector's mouth to have been Wiltshire specimens ; but as most
unhappily all record of them is lost, it is impossible to say which
are Wiltshire killed, and which are imported from other countries.
It is, I think, to Mr. Warriner and his beautiful collection of
birds that I am indebted for my first introduction to this de-
lightful branch of natural history, which has been my cherished
hobby ever since. Another ornithologist of olden time, whom
it was my great privilege to know, by a correspondence extend-
ing over several years, and subsequently by a visit which I paid
him at his beautiful seat in Yorkshire, was the well-known
Charles Waterton, whose essays in natural history and remark-
able autobiography are familiar to all, as is also his thorough
practical acquaintance with birds and their habits ; but whose
extraordinary power of preserving in their natural, life-like
at whose death it was given by his widow, and a room to contain it added,
by her beneficence, to the South Wilts Museum, at Salisbury, where it may
now be seen, in admirable preservation.
* Subsequently in the possession of his son, Captain Ernie Warriner,
and for many years deposited in the house of the late Mr. William Tugwell,
and now, by the kindness of the owner, deposited in the Museum of the Wilts
Archaeological and Natural History Society, at Devizes,
x Preface.
attitudes* the many animals and birds which he had collected
was known to but few : indeed, I may say that none but those
who have seen them can realize the incomparable specimens,
amounting to some thousands in number, which this prince of
naturalists had collected and prepared during the many years
of his wanderings in the wilds of Demerara and other foreign
countries. During a glorious week which I spent at Walton
Hall in 1857, Mr. Waterton took infinite pains to teach me the
process he invented and practised; but though I paid every
attention to the instructions of my master, and made many an
attempt in that direction on my return home, I was obliged to
own that it required not only the intimate anatomical know-
ledge and the unwearied patience, but also the delicacy of touch
and the deftness of finger of a Waterton, where my more clumsy
hands utterly and shamefully failed.
To descend to more modern times, I would first express my
acknowledgments to the Rev. A. P. Morres, Vicar of Britford,
near Salisbury, for the admirable papers 'On the Occurrence of
some of the Karer Species of Birds in the Neighbourhood of
Salisbury,' which with much earnest solicitation I prevailed on
him to write, and which I had the pleasure of printing in the
* My first acquaintance with a specimen of Mr. Waterton's skill in bird-
stuffing was as follows : For some reason which I now forget, he declined to
send specimens, as he had been invited to do, to the first Great Exhibition,
in 1851, and when I ventured to express the extreme regret with which I
and others learnt his decision, he said he would send a few samples to the
College of Surgeons to the care of Professor Owen, and bade me go there
and see them. I did not find Professor Owen at home, but Mrs. Owen,
kindly offering to show me the specimens, took me into the library, and bade
me beware of the beak of a fine Eagle Owl, which was sitting on a perch,
just inside the door ; and it was not till I had examined it on all sides for a
considerable time that I could convince myself that- the bird was not alive,
but merely a skin prepared by Mr. Waterton literally a skin and feathers
only ; for when Mrs. Owen lifted off the head, as one might lift off the top
of a cardboard box, there was neither wool nor tow nor stuffing of any kind,
neither bone nor cork nor wire, but simply a hollow skin, which had been
manipulated by so masterly a hand, and by so knowing an anatomist, that
the dried skin showed the exact hollows and swellings, here a depression, and
there an excrescence, which the muscles and the sinews of the bird when in
life would have caused.
Preface. xi
magazine of the Wilts Archaeological and Natural History Society.*
To these papers, so far as they relate to this county, I shall
have occasion to make frequent reference in this volume, as well
as to many notes on -the occurrence of rare birds in South Wilts,
with which the same able ornithologist has from time to time
favoured me. To the Rev. George Powell, Hector of Sutton
Veny, and to Mr. Ernest Baker, of Mere, I am also much indebted
for many interesting communications of a like character, and
extended over many years, with reference to the visits of acci-
dental stragglers in South Wilts. Also to the Rev. T.A. Preston,
late of Marlborough College, and the founder, as I may say, of
the excellent museum there, for many valuable notices of birds
in his district. To the late Major Spicer, of Spye Park, himself
an excellent outdoor naturalist, with whom I have enjoyed much
ornithological communication, and whose fine collection of birds
and magnificent ornithological library were always open to my
inspection. To my old friend Colonel Michael Foster Ward, of
Bannerdown House, Bath, for frequent notices of occurrences in
his district; and last, but by no means least, to Mr. Grant, formerly
bird-preserver in Devizes, for the pains he has taken in preparing
for my use a full catalogue of the rarer birds which have passed
through the hands of himself and his sons. To one and all of
these, and to a host of others in all parts of the county, I here
beg to tender my heartiest thanks, not only for the information
given me, but for the kindness and cordiality with which they
have received and replied to my many minute, and sometimes,
I fear, troublesome inquiries.
In addition to the collections of Mr. Warriner and Rev. G.
Marsh, and other general collections in the Devizes and Salisbury
Museums, also the Marlborough College Museum, and those of
Rev. A. P. Morres, Rev. G. Powell, Mr. Ernest Baker, Major
Spicer, and Colonel Ward, mentioned above, I have also had the
advantage of an acquaintance many years ago with the admirable
* (1) Vol. XVII., pp. 94-127 ; (2) Yol. XVIII., pp. 183-213 ; (3) Vol.
XVIII., pp. 289-318 ; (4) Vol. XX., pp. 154-185 ; (5) Vol. XXI., pp. 211-
255; (6) Vol. XXII., pp. 83-106 ; (7) Vol. XXII, pp. 191-211.
xii Preface.
collection of British birds which my old friend Mr. Wadham Locke
possessed when he lived at Ashton Gifford, near Warminster ;
and I have also examined and profited by the fine collections of
Mr. Rawlence, of Wilton ; of Mr. Elgar Sloper, at Devizes ; and of
Mr. Gwatkin, of the Manor House, Potterne. Moreover, I possess
a very fair collection of my own, both of birds and eggs, which
I began in my Eton days more than fifty years ago ; so that I
have had an ample supply of specimens at hand, without stray-
ing beyond the borders of our county ; and if I fail in setting
forth the birds of Wilts in this volume, it is certainly from no
lack of willing and able correspondents, nor from the want of
sufficient collections from which to draw my material.
With these words of preface I send forth my newly-fledged
Wiltshire bantling to try its wings in a flight through the
county, craving indulgence for its shortcomings ; but this I
know I shall meet with from ornithologists, for there is, I verily
believe, such a friendly feeling among birdmen, and such a free-
masonry among all lovers of the feathered race, that if they see
a poor victim mercilessly pecked at by cruel critics they will
fly to the rescue and drive off the attacking bird of prey ; nor
cease till they have delivered the timid quarry, before he is
overwhelmed by his fierce assailants.
There is a satisfaction to me in preparing these pages for the
press in the old home of my boyhood and youth, the hedge-
rows of which were the scenes of my first bird-nesting expedi-
tions, and the woods and coppices of which echoed to the report
of my gun more than fifty years ago.
OLD PARK, DEVIZES,
May, 1887.
CLASSIFIED LIST OF
ORDER.
1 RAPTORES .
(Birds of Prey)
TRIBE. FAMILY.
1 Vulturid<K. Vultures
2 Falconidce. Falcons
3 Slrigida. Owls .
2 INSESSORES . . 1 DENTIROSTRES - 4 Laniadcc. Butcher Birds .
(Pei-chers) (Tooth-billed]
5 Muscicapidce. Fly-catchers
6 ATerulidce. Thrushes .
THE BIRDS OF WILTSHIRE.
GENUS. SPECIES. ENGLISH NAME. PAGE
(not represented in Wiltshire) . . . . . 54
56
1 Haliceetus albicilla . . . White- tailed Eagle ... 59
2 Pandion haliceetus . . . Osprey 64
3 Falco gyrfalco .... G-yr Falcon 66
4 Falco peregrinus .... Peregrine Falcon ... 68
5 Falco subbuteo .... Hobby 72
6 Falco rufipes . . . . Red-footed Falcon ... 74
7 Falco cesalon .... Merlin 75
8 Falco Tinnunculus . . . Kestrel ..... 78
9 Astur palumbarius . . . Goshawk 80
10 Accipiternisus .... Sparrow Hawk .... 81
11 Falco milvus .... Kite 83
12 Buteo vulgaris .... Common Buzzard ... 85
13 Buteo lagopus .... Rough-legged Buzzard . . 86
14 Buteo desertorum . . . African Buzzard .... 88
15 Pernis apivorus .... Honey Buzzard .... 88
16 Circus mruginosus . . . Marsh Harrier .... 91
17 Circus cyaneus .... Hen Harrier .... 93
18 Circus Montagui .... Montagu's Harrier ... 95
. 98
19 Bubo maximus .... Eagle Owl . . . . .102
20 Scops giu Scops Owl 303
21 Otus vulgaris .... Long-eared Owl . . . . 105
22 Otus brachi/otos .... Short-eared Owl . . . .106
23 Strix flammea .... Barn Owl . . . . . 107
24 Syrnium stridula . . . . Tawny Owl . . . .'Ill
25 Stirnia funerea .... Hawk Owl 113
26 Noctua passer ina . . . . Little Owl . . . .114
116
27 Lanius excubitor .... Great Gray Shrike . . .119
28 Lanius collurio .... Red-backed Shrike . . . 122
. . . .124
29 Muscicapa grisola . . . Spotted Flycatcher . . .124
30 Muscicapa atricapilla . . . Pied Flycatcher .... 125
126
31 Cinclus aquaticus .... Dipper . . . . . .127
32 Turdus viscivorus . . . Missel Thrush . . .128
33 Turdus pilaris . . . Fieldfare 129
34 Turdus musicus . . . Song Thrush .... 131
35 Turdus iliacus . . . Redwing 132
36 Turdus merula . . . Blackbird 135
37 Turdus lorquatus . . . Ring Ouzel ..... 137
38 Oriolus galbula . . . Golden Oriole . . . .139
XVI
ORDER.
2 INSESSORES .
(Perchers)
Classified List of
TRIBE.
1 DENTIROSTRES
(Tooth-billed)
FAMILY.
7 Silviadce. Warblers,
8 Paridce. Titmice .
9 Ampdida. Wax wings
10 Motaclllidce. Wagtails
11 Anthidce. Pipits
2 CONIROSTRES . 12 AlaudidcB. Larks .
(Cone-billed)
13 Emberizidce. Buntings
14 Fringillidce. Finches
the Birds of Wiltshire. xvii
GENUS. SPECIES. ENGLISH NAME. PAGE
39 A ccentor modularis
40 Sylvia rubecula .
41 Phcenicura ruticilla
42 Phcenicura titys .
43 Saxicola rubicola .
44 Saxicola rubetra .
45 Saxicola cenanthe .
46 Salicaria locustella
47 Salicaria phragmitis
48 Salicaria arundinacea
49 Philomela luscinia
50 Curruca atricapilla
51 Curruca hortensis
52 Curruca cinerea
53 Curruca sylviella
54 Sylvia sylvicola
55 Sylvia trochilus
56 Sylvia hippolais
57 Melizophilus Dartfordi
58 Regulus cristatus
. Hedge Accentor .
. Redbreast ....
. 143
. 145
. Redstart ....
. 146
. Black Redstart .
. Stonechat ....
. 148
. 149
. Whinchat ....
. 150
. Wheatear ....
. 151
. Grasshopper Warbler .
. Sedge Warbler .
. Reed Warbler . .
. Nightingale
. Blackcap Warbler
. Garden Warbler .
. Common Whitethroat.
. Lesser Whitethroat .
. Wood Warbler .
. Willow Warbler .
. Chiff Chaff ....
. 153
. 154
. 155
. 156
. 158
. 159
160
. 161
. 162
. 163
. 164
ensis. . Dartford Warbler
. Golden-crested Regulus
. 166
. 167
168
59
60
61
62
63
Parus major
Parus cccruleus
Parus ater .
Parus palustris
Parus caudatus
. Great Titmouse .
. Blue Titmouse .
. Coal Titmouse .
. Marsh Titmouse .
. Long- tailed Titmouse.
. 169
. 171
. 171
. 172
. 172
173
64
Bomby cilia garrula
. Bohemian Waxwing .
. 173
. 176
65
66
67
68
Motadlla Yarrellii
Motadlla boarula
Motadlla neglecta
Mo tac il la Jlava
. Pied Wagtail
. Gray Wagtail
. Gray-headed Wagtail
. Ray's Wagtail .
. 176
. 177
. 178
. 178
. 179
69
70
Anthus arboreus .
Anlhus pratensis .
. Tree Pipit ....
. Meadow Pipit
. 179
. 180
. 182
71
72
Alauda arvensis
Alauda arborea .
. Skylark ....
. 183
Woodlark .
. 185
. 185
73
74
75
76
77
Plectrophanes nivalis .
Emberiza miliaria
Emberiza schceniclus .
Emberiza citrinella
Emberiza cirlus .
. Snow Bunting .
Common Bunting
. Black-headed Bunting
. Yellow Bunting .
Cirl Bunting
. 186
. 188
. 189
. 189
. 191
. 192
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Fringilla ccelebs .
Eringilla montifringilla
Passer domesticus
Passer montanus
Coccotkraustes chloris .
Coccothraustes vulgaris
Carduelis elegans
Carduelis spinus
. Chaffinch ....
. 192
. Mountain Finch .
. House Sparrow .
. Tree Sparrow
Greenfinch ....
Hawfinch ....
. 193
. 195
. 197
198
. 199
Goldfinch ....
. Siskin .....
. 201
. 204
XV111
ORDER.
2 INSESSORES .
(Perchers)
Classified List of
TRIBE. FAMILY.
2 CONIROSTRES . 14 FringillidoB. Finches
(Cone-billed)
15 Sturnidce. Starlings
16 Corvidce. Crows
3 SCANSORES .
(Climbers)
. 17 Picidce. Woodpeckers
4 FlSSIROSTRES
(Wide-billed)
18 Certhiadce. Creepers
19 Cuculidce. Cuckoos .
20 Meropidce. Bee-eaters
21 Halcyonidce. Kingfishers
22 Hirundinidce. Swallows .
3 KASORES
(Ground Birds)
23 Caprimulgidce. Goatsuckers
24 Columbidce. Doves .
25 Phasianidce. Pheasants .
26 Tetraonidce. Grouse
the Birds of Wiltshire.
xix
GENUS. SPECIES. ENGLISH NAME. PAGE
86 Linota cannabina . . . Common Linnet . . . 205
87 Linota montana .... Twite 205
88 Linota linaria .... Lesser Redpole .... 206
89 Pyrrhula vulgaris . . . Bullfinch 208
90 Loxia curvirostra . . . Common Crossbill . . . 209
210
91 Sturnus vulgaris . . . Common Starling . . .211
92 Pastor roseus * ... Rose-coloured Pastor . . . 213
215
93 Fregilus graculus . . . Chough 215
94 Corvuscorax .... Raven 218
95 Corvus corone .... Carrion Crow .... 232
96 Corvus comix .... Hooded Crow .... 234
97 Corvus frugilegus . . . Rook 237
98 Corvus monedula . . . Jackdaw 241
99 Pica caudata .... Magpie 242
100 Garrulus qlandarius . . Jay ... . 245
. 247
101 Picus Martins .... Great Black Woodpecker . . 248
102 Picus viridis .... Green Woodpecker . . . 250
103 Picus major .... Great Spotted Woodpecker . 253
104 Picus minor .... Lesser Spotted Woodpecker . 254
105 Picus auratus .... Gold-winged Woodpecker . . 255
106 Yunx torquilla .... Wryneck 256
. . . 258
107 Certhia familiaris . . . Common Creeper . . . 259
108 Troglodytes vulgaris . . . Wren 260
109 UpupaEpops .... Hoopoe 262
110 SUtaEuropcea . . . . Nuthatch . . . . .268
270
111 Cuculus canorus Common Cuckoo . . . 270
292
1 12 Coracias garrula . . . Roller 293
113 Merops apiaster .... Bee-eater . . * . . . 294
. . 295
114 Alcedo ispida . Kingfisher 296
299
115 Hirundo rustica . . . Swallow 301
116 Hirundo urbica .... Martin 304
117 Hirundo riparia . . . Sand Martin . . . . 306
118 Cypselus apus .... Common Swift .... 307
309
119 Caprimulgus Europceus . . Nightjar 311
...... ......... (314
120 Columba palumbus . . . Ring Dove 317
121 Columba cenas .... Stock Dove 319
122 Columba lima .... Rock Dove 320
123 Columba turtur . . . Turtle Dove .... 322
323
124 Phasianus Colchicus . . . Pheasant 323
325
125 Tetrao urogallus . . . Capercaillie . . . . 325
126 Tetrao tetrix .... Black Grouse .... 32y
127 Lagopus Scoticus . . . Red Grouse .... 32g
128 Syrrhaptes paradoxus . . Pallas' Sand Grouse . . . 33o
ORDER.
3 RASORES
(Ground Birds)
Classified List of
TRIBE.
FAMILY.
26 Tetraonidas. Grouse
27 Struthionidce. Bustards
4 GRALLATORES.
(Waders)
28 Charadriadce. Plovers
29 Gruidce. Cranes
30 Ardeidce. Herons .
31 Scolopacidce. Snipes
32 Rallidce. Rails
33 Lobipedidce. Lobe-feet
5 NATATORES .
(Swimmers)
34 Anatidce. Ducks
the Birds of Wiltshire.
xxi
GENUS. SPECIES.
129 Perdix cinerea
ENGLISH NAME.
PAGE
. 332
130 Perdix rubra .
131 Perdix coturnix .
. Red-legged Partridge .
. Quail
. 334
. 1*35
. 338
132 Otis tarda ....
. Bustard
. 339
133 Otis tetrax.
. Little Bustard . . .
. 364
. 369
134 Glareola torquata
135 Cursorius isabellinus .
136 (Edicnemus crepitans .
137 Charadrius pluvialis .
138 Charadrius morinellus
. Pratincole
Cream-coloured Courser
. Great Plover
. Golden Plover
. 371
. 374
. 377
. 360
. 382
139 Charadrius hiaticula .
140 Vanellus cristatus
. Ringed Plover
. Lapwing ....
. 385
. 386
141 Hcematopus ostralegus
. Oyster-catcher
. 389
. 391
142 6rrus cinerea
. Common Crane .
. 391
. 392
143 Ardea cinerea .
144 Ardea comata .
145 Botaurus minutus
146 Botaurus stellaris
147 Nycticorax griseits
148 Ciconia alba
149 Ibis falcinellus .
. Common Heron .
Squacco Heron .
. Little Bittern
. Bittern ....
. Night Heron
. White Stork
. 394
403
. 404
405
. 407
408
. 410
. 412
150 Numenius arquata
412
151 Numeniu s phceopus
Whimbrel ....
. 415
152 Tot anus calidris
. 417
153 Totanus ochropus
154 Totanus glareola
155 Totanus nypoleucos
156 Totanus glottis .
157 Limosa rufa
158 Machetes pugnax
159 Scolopax rusticola
. Green Sandpiper.
. Wood Sandpiper.
Common Sandpiper .
. Greenshank
. Bar-tailed Godwit
. Ruff
. 418
419
. 420
. 421
. 42a
424
. 425
160 Scolopax major .
161 Scolopax gallinago
1 62 Scolopax gallinula . ,
. Great Snipe
. Common Snipe .
. 428
429
. 431
163 Tringa subarquata
164 Tringa Canuta .
16o Tringa variabilis
. Curlew Sandpiper
. Knot
. 432
. 433
. 437
1 66 Tringa maritima
. Purple Sandpiper
. 438
439
167 Crcx pi*atensis
Land Rail
. 440
168 Crex porzana
169 Rallus aquaticus
Spotted Crake
Water Rail
. 442
. 443
1 70 Gallinula chloropus . .
. 444
171 Ar amides Cayannensis
. Cayenne Rail
. 445
. 447
172 Fulica atra
173 Phalaropus lobatus .
174 Phalaropus hyberboreus
. Common Coot .
. Gray Phalarope . . .
. Red-necked Phalarope
. 448
. 449
. 452
. 455
175 Anserferus
. Graylag Goose . . .
. 455
XX11
ORDER.
5 NATATORES
(Swimmers)
Classified List of
TRIBE.
FAMILY.
34 Anatidce. Ducks
35 Colymlidce. Divers.
36 Alcadw. Auks
37 Pelicanidce. Pelicans
38 Laridce. Gulls.
the Birds of Wiltshire.
xxm
GENUS. SPECIES.
ENGLISH NAME.
PAGE
176 Anser segetum .
. Bean Goose
. 457
177 Anser albifrons .
. White-fronted Goose .
. 459
178 Anser torquatus .
. Brent Goose
. 460
179 Anser leucops'is .
. Bernicle Goose .
. 464
180 Anser Egyptiacus
. Egyptian Goose .
. 465
181 Anser gambensis
. Spur-winged Goose .
. 467
182 Anser Canadensis
. Canada Goose .
. 468
183 Cygnus musicus .
. Whooper ....
469
184 Cygnus olor
. Mute Swan ....
. 471
185 Tadorna vulpanser .
. Common Shelldrake .
. 474
186 Anas clypeata
. Shoveller ....
475
187 Anas strepera .
. Gadwall ....
. 477
188 Anas acuta
. Pintail Duck
. 478
189 Anas boschas
. Wild Duck.
479
190 Anas querquedula
. Garganey ....
481
191 Anas crecca
. Teal
. 481
192 Anas penelope .
. Wigeon .
482
193 Somateria mollissima .
. Eider Duck.
483
194 Somateria spectabilis .
. King Duck ....
485
195 Oidemia nigra .
Common Scoter . .
. 486
196 Fuligula ferina .
. Pochard ....
487
197 Fuligula nyroca.
. Ferruginous Duck
. 488
198 Fuligula marila
. Scaup Duck
. 489
199 Fuligula cristata
. Tufted Duck
. 490
200 Fuligula glacialis . .
. Long- tailed Duck
. 491
201 Fuligula clangula
. Golden Eye
. 492
202 Mergus albellus .
Smew .....
. 494
203 Mergus serrator .
. Red-breasted Merganser
. 495
204 Mergus merganser
. Goosander ....
. 496
499
205 Podiceps cristatus
. Great Crested Grebe .
. 500
206 Podiceps rubricollis .
. Red-necked Grebe . *
. 501
207 Podiceps cornutus
. Sclavonian Grebe
. 502
208 Podiceps auritus
. Eared Grebe
. 503
209 Podiceps minor .
. Little Grebe
. 504
210 Columbus glacialis .
. Great Northern Diver
. 505
211 Columbus arcticus
. Black-throated Diver .
. 508
212 Colyjnbus septentrionalis
. Red- throated Diver .
. 509
510
213 7na rc^7e
. Common Guillemot .
. 511
214 Mergulus alle
. Little Auk ....
. 512
215 Fratercula arctica
. Puffin ......
. 514
216 -4/ca o?'efa
. Razor-bill . . .
516
517
217 Phalacrocorax carlo .
Common Cormorant .
. 518
218 Phalacrocorax graculus
. Shag
. 521
219 Sulaalba ....
. Gannet ....
. 522
524
220 Sterna hirundo .
. Common Tern .
. 525
221 Sterna Arctica .
. Arctic Tern
. 526
222 Sterna fissipes .
. Black Tern ....
528
223 Larus minutus .
. Little Gull ....
529
224 Larus ricHbundus
. Black-headed Gull
. 531
225 Larus tridactylus
. Kittiwake ....
532
226 Larus canus
. Common Gull . . .
. 533
xxiv Classified List of
ORDER. TRIBE. FAMILY.
5NATATORES. . WLurultv. Gulls
(Sivimmers)
the Birds of Wiltshire.
XXV
GENUS. SPECIES.
227 Larusfuscns
228 Larus argentatus
229 Larus marinus .
230 Lestris cataractes
231 Lestris crepidatus
232 Puffinus Anglorum .
233 Thalassidroma Oceanica
234 Thalassidroma Leachil
235 Thalassidroma pelagica
ENGLISH NAME. PAGE
Lesser Black -backed Gull . . 534
Herring Gull .... 535
Great Black-backed Gull . . 536
Common Skua .... 537
Richardson's Skua . . . 539
Manx Shearwater . . . 540
Wilson's Petrel .... 542
Forked -tailed Petrel . . . 543
Storm Petrel 544
THE BIRDS OF WILTSHIRE.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
THE county of Wilts has been sometimes thoughtlessly said to be
poor in Ornithology ; indeed, I have heard it denounced by super-
ficial observers as exceptionally wanting in the various members
of the feathered race ; pre-eminent, doubtless, in the remains of
antiquity so these gentlemen are good enough to allow but in
birds a barren field indeed. Against any such verdict I enter a
decided protest, and I even maintain, on the contrary, that,
taking into consideration that Wiltshire is an inland district, and
therefore cannot be expected to abound in birds whose habitat is
the sea and the seashore, our county will scarcely yield to any
other, similarly situated, in the number and variety of the species
of birds to be found there ; and I now proceed to prove this by
statistics.
Let us first, however, examine the physical aspect of Wiltshire,
and we shall see that it is not composed of bleak open downs
alone, as its detractors superciliously affirm ; but that it can show
a great diversity of scenery, and much of it of surpassing beauty.
We have, it is true, our broad, open, expanding downs and what
native of Wiltshire does not glory in them and admire them ?
but we have at the same time our richly- timbered vales : if we
have hill, we have also dale ; if we have open plains, we have also
large woods and thick forests. Where shall we find more clear
and limpid streams, where more green and laughing meadows,
than in the valleys of Avon (the northern and the southern
1
2 Introduction.
Avon), the vale of Kennet. or of Pewsey, or of Wily, or of War-
dour ? Where, again, in all England can we meet with a forest
to compare with that of Savernake ? And in woods and parks
and well- timbered estates, both in the north and south of the
county, we are exceptionally rich.
But it is an undisputed fact in Ornithology indeed, I may say
in Zoology, and even in Natural History generally that those
districts afford the greatest variety of species which comprise the
greatest variety of scenery ; for as some kinds of birds prefer an
open plain, others a sequestered valley ; as some delight in the
recesses of deep woods, others court the margins of streams, and
all these are usually to be found in their own peculiar locality,
the ornithologist in search of particular species will devote his
attention to the country suited to the habits of the bird of which
he is in search. Thus (to take an example which must be familiar
to everybody), who would think of beating a thick wood for
snipe, or of wading through a marsh for partridges ? It is the
same with every species of bird, as well as with all quadrupeds,
reptiles, insects, and other inferior tribes of the animal kingdom.
The Almighty Creator has peopled with the living creatures
which He has made, no less the wild dreary plain than the sunny,
smiling valley ; no less the bleak open down than the sheltered,
sequestered nook. I myself have found specimens of animal life
far above vegetation among the eternal snows of the Swiss Alps,
9,000 feet above the sea, and on the immense deserts of rock and
snow composing the Norwegian ' fjelds.' But far more than this,
that indefatigable naturalist, De Saussure, who first surmounted
the avalanches and glaciers which presented, till then, an impass-
able barrier to the ascent of Mont Blanc, discovered on the very
top of that noble mountain several minute insects, which seemed
to revel in the cold and rarified air of that exalted spot, upwards
of 15,000 feet above the sea ! And again, Lieutenant Greeley, in
the Arctic expedition which reached the highest latitude ever
attained by man, describes the existence in summer of many
butterflies, and quite a ' plague of flies,' amidst the icebergs and
snows of 83 N. lat.
Variety of Scenery in Wiltshire. 3
But if there are living creatures to be found in every kind of
country, in remote, inhospitable, and almost inaccessible rocks
and snows, as well as in more genial and milder regions ; and
if each creature, of whatever class and however minute, is
still most wonderfully formed and fitted for the particular
locality assigned to it, we may assert again, without fear of con-
tradiction, that the district which comprises the greatest variety
of scenery may be expected to produce the greatest variety of
species.
From the great variety, then, of scenery which Wiltshire
possesses, we should expect to find a great variety of species of
birds ; and such, I boldly assert, is the result of our inquiries.
Of the five orders into which birds are commonly divided,
three compose that large class called the ' Land Birds,' and two
the ' Water Birds.' And if we examine the work which at the
present day is generally accepted by the bulk of ornithologists as
their manual and book of reference I mean Yarrell's ' British
Birds ' we shall find that in the last edition, completed in 1885,
of the Land Birds therein enumerated there are just 199 species.
But this list contains the names, not only of every bird which
inhabits this country throughout the year; or which, being
migratory, is a periodical sojourner here during the summer or
winter, or an occasional visitant, passing us on its way to northern
or southern latitudes, but also of every bird which has ever been
seen in this country. If a straggler from Asia or Africa, happen-
ing to fall in with a storm of wind, should be hurried out of its
course and carried to our shores, that one single occurrence
suffices at the present day to place its name on our British list.
I am not now about to enter into the question of the advantage
or disadvantage to science of such a method. I only state that
this is the method adopted by our British ornithologists, and by
this means the addition of some tempest- driven, or lost straggler,
is being continually made to our ever-increasing list. And yet,
notwithstanding this modern method of swelling the list of
British birds, and though with such additions to it from year
to year, the last edition of our standard ornithological work
12
4 Introduction.
contains but 199 Land Birds, I have been enabled to claim no
less than 133 species of them as belonging to our county.
Of the two other orders comprising the other class, or ' Water
Birds,' it cannot be expected, as I before said, that this, as an
inland county, should possess a very large supply. Still, even of
these there are some families amongst the Waders as the Plovers,
Herons, Snipes, and Rails which affect our open downs or
marshy valleys to a great degree ; and there are others which are
more essentially Sea-Birds as the Ducks, Grebes, Terns, and
Gulls which are very frequent visitors, more especially in the
south of the county, the portion nearest to the sea-coast
Besides this, we have an occasional visit from many other varie-
ties of Water Birds continually occurring. So that of the 176
species of Water Birds enumerated in the new edition of Yarrell,
I may claim 102 for our Wiltshire list ; so that again the diligent
ornithologist, though he confine his observations to his own
county, will not unfrequently meet with specimens of birds
whose more peculiar domain is the sea and the shore. And this
brings up the total list of Wiltshire birds to 235.*
Another and a strong proof of the favourable retreat afforded
by this district of England to certain species of birds, and one
which by no means should be omitted in speaking of its Ornitho-
logy, is that for a great number of years our wide downs, and,
above all, Salisbury Plain, were the resort of that noble bird the
Great Bustard ; and though of late years it has most unhappily
become extinct in Great Britain, in consequence of the draining,
enclosing, and cultivating of our waste lands, yet the downs of
Wilts deserve honourable mention as one of its last strongholds.
With all these facts before us, I repeat that Wiltshire does offer a
* On comparing this with the published catalogues of birds of other
counties, I find that in
Cornwall (with coast on two sides) Mr. Rodd enumerates 290 species.
Number district (with open coast) Mr. Cordeaux 276
Lancashire (with sea-board) Mr. Mitchell ,, 256
Somersetshire (with some coast) Mr. Cecil Smith 216
Middlesex (no coast) Mr. Harting 225
Sussex (with much sea-coast) Mr. Knox 242
Number of Species in Wiltshire. 5
very large field to the inquiring ornithologist. In. great measure,
too, it is an open and an untrodden field, singularly wanting in
writers on this particular branch of Natural History. Good old
Aubrey professed, indeed, to give some account of the Natural
History of Wilts ;* but as regards its Ornithology, and I should
not wrong him if I included all the other branches, he was
ludicrously ill-informed, even for that unscientific age. In
very little more than one page of quarto size he disposes of
the whole of the birds of Wilts, enumerating just fifteen genera,
and in the following unmethodical sequence : ' Larkes, Buntings,
Linnets, Woodpeckers, Wheateares, Bustards, Gray Crowes,
Rookes, Feasants, Bitterns, Herons, Sparrow-hawkes, Hobbies,
Ganders, Sea-mewes ;' and within these narrow limits he con-
trives to embody quite as many errors as facts ; the latter, too,
being of the very tritest and best known. Perhaps that was
excusable in one who wrote on Natural History two hundred
years ago, when ignorance of the very rudiments of that science,
and even of the existence of some of the commonest species all
around, was universal. But the only other writer on the birds of
Wilts has no such excuse ; for Dr. William George Maton, of
Redlynch House, Salisbury, of high repute as an eminent
physician, a Fellow of many learned societies, and undoubtedly
an accomplished botanist, conchologist, geologist, and antiquary,
and who flourished at the beginning of this century, wrote what
he was pleased to call ' The Natural History .of a Part of the
County of Wilts ;'t and certainly, as regards the chapter on
' Aves,' anything more meagre and more absolutely misleading,
on account of its wholesale omissions, than the wretched account
he gives of Wiltshire birds, it is impossible to conceive. The
whole number of species mentioned by him amounts to just
twenty-three ; and these are not selected for their rarity, for the
Heron, the Sand-martin, the Lapwing, the common Water-hen,
The ' Natural History of Wiltshire,' by John Aubrey, F.R.S., A.D. 1685.
t The ' Natural History of a Part of the County of Wilts, comprehended
within the distance of ten miles round the City of Salisbury,' by George
Maton, M.D., F.U.S., Y.P.L.S., F.S.A. Published (after hh death) A.D.
1843.
6 Introduction.
the Land-rail, the Barn Owl, the common Gull, and the Black-
bird are among the chosen few. Thus we cannot be said to have
gained any help from the only two writers on British birds who
have preceded us.
One giant, indeed, we have had among us, when the eminent
ornithologist, Colonel Montagu himself a native of Wiltshire
for a time resided at Lackham, in this county ; for he was
one of the most acute observers and one of the most reliable
authors of his day ; but he left behind him no list of Wiltshire
birds ; and those who are familiar with his admirable books are
aware that he alludes comparatively seldom to the species he met
with in this county, and that his references are chiefly confined
to the birds of Devonshire, where he resided on leaving Lackham.*
Neither must I omit the name of Gilbert White, the author of
the charming ' Natural History of Selborne/t still the most
delightful and the most fascinating of all books on that subject ;
but though while living in an adjoining shire, he pushed his
inquiries into Wiltshire, and doubtless gained part of his experi-
ence within the borders of our county, he can scarcely be cited
as a writer on our birds. Indeed, though I have searched in
every direction, I have failed to find any pioneer who should
guide me on my path, and I can refer to no writer who has pre-
viously treated of the birds of Wiltshire, or even bequeathed to
us a bare list of species, of any practical value. I must not
omit to add that since the publication of my papers on the
Ornithology of Wilts, thirty years ago, we have had the Rev. A.
P. Morres' very valuable papers, above mentioned, on the
' Occurrence of some of the Rarer Species of Birds in the Neigh-
bourhood of Salisbury,' printed in the Magazine of the Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1877-1885. Also
very many useful notices by the Ornithological Section of the
Marlborough College Natural History Society, printed in its
' Ornithological Dictionary; or, Alphabetical Synopsis of British Birds/
by George Montagu, F.L.S., 1802, and Supplement to the ' Ornithological
Dictionary,' by the same author, 1813.
f 'Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne,' by the Rev. Gilbert
White, M.A., 1789.
Classification. 7
annual Reports from the formation of the society, in 1865, to
the present time. Also a handy little volume, in 1870, on the
' Birds of Marlborough,' by E. F. im Thurn, at that time a student
there.
CLASSIFICATION.
I proceed now to enter into some preliminary details in order to
the better understanding of those who have devoted little atten-
tion to the subject, and also for the assistance of those who are
beginning to investigate it, and would know something more of
the various species of the feathered race around them. And I
propose to begin with the general subject of the classification,
and then go on to glance at the structure and the faculties,
enlarging more particularly on the beaks and feet of birds;
whereby I hope to unfold their several positions in the great
scale of nature ; and without which preliminary observations I
fear I should fail to convey anything more than a confused idea
of the admirable, and indeed perfect, organization of this most
interesting class of creatures. With this view, and to start from
the very beginning, or, as in speaking of birds, I may say a b
ovo, I proceed to the somewhat dry, but important, subject of
classification, giving a general outline of the rules by which birds
have been classed, and the divisions and subdivisions which, for
many long years, have been accepted.
But here I must confess my inability to follow the most
recently accepted classification of British Birds, as put forth by
the learned gentlemen to whom that task was committed by the
British Ornithologists' Union. Far be it from me to say a
single word against that new arrangement, subversive though it
is of all my long- cherished views of correct order. I simply say
that, as I do not understand the reasons which dictated so revo-
lutionary a system, it is impossible for me to follow it. At the
same time, entertaining as I do a most profound respect for
those advanced men of science who have determined the new
arrangement, I feel satisfied that they have ample reason for the
conclusions to which they have come ; and indeed, as a loyal
8 Introduction.
member of the B.O.U., I honestly did try my very best to fall in
with, and adopt, the new scheme ; but I soon found myself so
hampered, so bewildered, so confused, so completely at sea as I
floundered on in this unaccustomed route, that I felt constrained
to get back to the old well-beaten path with which I had for so
many years been familiar ; and I suppose I am too old, or at all
events too old-fashioned, to accommodate myself to what is in
reality an uprooting of the principles which had for half a cen-
tury guided my ornithological studies. So I have returned to
the same classification which I followed in the Ornithology of
Wilts, and which was that pursued by the revered authors with
whom I was most familiar Bewick and Selby, Yarrell, Hewitson
and Gould.
Some system of classification is, at all events, absolutely neces-
sary to him who desires to attain to a comprehensive knowledge
of birds ; and, indeed, he must not expect to gain even a super-
ficial acquaintance with them, or to grasp in his mind any
definite and precise idea of the positions they severally occupy,
without a certain amount of labour. The schoolboy, in his
research after knowledge, must toil through many a weary and
irksome task ; the linguist, in acquiring a new language, must
pause over dry rules of grammar ; the eminent statesman, the
victorious general, the brilliant orator, never gained their proud
positions without industry and diligence ; and so, to compare
smaller things with great, before we proceed to investigate
the several properties, peculiarities, and habits of individual
birds, it will be necessary first to understand thoroughly the
relative positions they occupy ; and in order to do this, we must
devote a little attention, which will be amply repaid by the
result. In Ornithology, as in other sciences, we must not
attempt to run before we can walk ; we must not rush headlong
in medias res. Step by step we must be contented to advance ;
but our way will not be weary, if we give attention to surmount
the little obstacles which at first sight seem to oppose us ; our
journey will not be irksome if we pause to smooth away the little
inequalities of the path ; and the more we advance, the easier
Classification. 9
becomes the way, the smoother the road, till at length we find
ourselves unencumbered by hindrances, and surrounded by all
the sweets and pleasures of this most fascinating study.
Now, one of the very first requirements in every branch ot
Natural History is method; one of the most indispensable is order:
without this, it will be impossible to progress ; and Ornithology,
like a skein of silk, which, if handled with due care is easily un-
wound, deprived of method soon becomes a tangled mass of
knots, which defy the skill of the extricator to unravel them.
The very first lesson, then, that we must learn, and one which
we must never forget if we would know anything of Ornithology,
is a little insight into the classification of birds, whereby what
before seemed hopeless confusion becomes, by the touch of this
magic wand, the very perfection of order. There seems, at first
sight, to be a wide difference between the majestic swan and the
diminutive tree-creeper, between the lordly eagle and the insig-
nificant sparrow, between the noble bustard and the tiny wren ;
but by methodical arrangement we see how link succeeding link,
and species connected by the strongest affinity with species, they
are all integral parts of the same great chain ; united by many
intermediate bands, but still component parts of the same great
whole. Nay, not only so, but, by the help of classification, we
can not only assign to each bird, quadruped, insect, fish, or
reptile its own appropriate place, but. beginning with the noblest
of God's creatures, with man, we can pass gradually through all
the animal kingdom, stopping to admire with what excellent
method, and by what almost insensible degrees, the race of
quadrupeds merges into that of birds ; how the race of birds is
intimately connected with fishes, fishes with reptiles, reptiles
with insects, insects with animals of inferior order, and these
again with the vegetable, and as some affirm even the
mineral kingdom. These are surely wondrous facts, and of
exceeding interest : to follow up and pursue this chain requires
time indeed, and skill and opportunities, such as few can com-
mand; but to gain an insight into this beautiful order and
arrangement is within the reach of all ; and the more we inves-
10 Introduction.
tigate it, the more we shall learn how true it is of the Almighty
Creator, that ' God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace.'
Before I proceed to examine in detail the method of classifying
birds, as generally practised by our standard writers on the sub-
ject, it may be of interest briefly to trace the several stages by
which it has arrived at its present excellence.
Among ancient writers on Natural History, there are but two,
viz., Aristotle and Pliny, who have professed to give any general
description of birds ; and interesting, and in some cases instruc-
tive, as their treatises in many respects certainly are, they are
mixed up with such a mass of absurdity and fable as very much
to mar their intrinsic value. In that early stage of ornithological
knowledge, of course anything approximating to systematic
arrangement was not to be expected. But to come down to more
modern times, the first approach to order is traced to Belon and
the French naturalists, who in the middle of the sixteenth
century began to classify after a certain system. As the ground-
work of their scheme was, however, derived from the habitat and
food of birds, it was necessarily in many respects very incorrect.
In the next century Gesner, at Zurich, and Aldrovandus, at
Bologna, struck out a plan in the right direction, by dividing the
whole class into land and water birds ; but then, as if satisfied
with this good beginning, they deduced their subordinate divi-
sions from the nature of the aliment. It was reserved for our
own countryman, Willoughby, at the latter end of the seven-
teenth century, to lay the foundation of a more accurate arrange-
ment ; for, accepting the grand divisions already laid down, of
terrestrial and aquatic, he made his subdivisions from inquiries
into the general form and structure, and especially from the dis-
tinctive characters of the beak and feet ; still he seems to have
been unable to shake off completely the prejudices of his time,
for he allows varieties in size, the different kinds of food, and
such trivial things to bias him in his arrangement. Ray and
Pennant followed up the course so well begun by Willoughby,
and the close of the last century saw this systematic arrangement
from the anatomical structure of birds very generally established.
Classification. 1 1
Since that time all the numerous systems of classification have
proceeded from the same principle of structure. Various, indeed,
have they been, adopted by ornithologists of this and other
countries ; some fanciful, as the ' Quinary System/ or ' series of
circles/ established by Vigors ; others complicated and puzzling
from their needless minuteness ; others positively erroneous, as
a farther acquaintance with birds has shown ; but the method
which I here set forth, adopted by modern ornithologists, and
more particularly by those of this country, has this great advan-
tage over all that have preceded it, in addition to its superior
accuracy, that it is simple and plain, as well as comprehensive ;
neither from over minuteness burdening the memory unneces-
sarily, nor from an opposite extreme of indefiniteness leaving any
deficiency or doubt. This, moreover, is the system adopted by
Yarrell, Hewitson, and the principal British ornithologists of the
present day.*
To proceed, then, with the classification of birds, I must repeat
what I touched on in a previous page, that birds are commonly
placed in two grand divisions, viz., ' Land Birds/ or those whose
habitat is the land ; and ' Water Birds/ or those which princi-
pally court the water, as their names respectively imply. These
are two great classes, separating our British birds into two nearly
equal parts ; the number of Land Birds amounting to 199, the
Water Birds to 176 species.
The first great division of these two classes is into the five
' Orders,' the members of which are of somewhat similar habits
and formation, and partake of the same general characteristics.
Of these five, the first is the ' Kaptorial ' order, composed of
those birds usually known as ' birds of prey ;' and, as their
natural habit is, the destruction of the feebler tribes and the
smaller animals, they have been most mercilessly persecuted by
man in all countries. This continual persecution will easily
account for their rarity and their habitual shyness, seldom ven-
I should add that though I now confine my observations to birds of this
country, yet the same arrangement applies equally to birds generally
throughout the globe.
12 Introduction.
turing near the habitation of inan, and always taking flight at
the distant approach of their great enemy. Still, sometimes in
our great woods or thick enclosures, and often on our open
downs, the most unobservant must have seen the Hawk hovering
with expanded wings high in the air, or dashing in pursuit after
fi luckless bird, or pouncing with unerring aim on some unfortu-
nate mouse. The most careless must have occasionally heard
the wild hooting or the unearthly shriekings of the Owl, as it has
hurried past in search of prey in the shades of evening. The
principal characteristics of this order are the long and curved
claws, the hooked and powerful bill, the muscular limbs, the
great strength, the predatory habits, the love of animal food ;
these are traits so marked and peculiar, that it will require but
little discrimination to distinguish birds belonging to this order
from all the others.
The second embraces those innumerable small birds which are
so familiar to all of us ; and contains a much larger number of
species than either of the other four orders. These are the
' Insessores,' or 'perching birds,' which fill our woods and gardens,
abound in our fields, and may be met with at every turn in our
daily walks. They possess far more intelligence than birds of
any other class, are remarkable for the vocal powers with which
some of them are endowed ; but especially derive their name
from the perfect form of the foot, which is so admirably adapted
for perching or grasping, and in which the hind toe is always
present. When we come to examine the subdivisions" of this
order, we shall find that the ' Insessores ' comprise birds varying
greatly from one another in habits and general appearance ; yet
all belonging to this division partake of the grand distinguishing
features which I have shown to be characteristic of it.
The third order contains the 'Rasores,' or 'ground birds,'
comprehending all such as being land birds, and yet not being
birds of prey, and not having feet perfectly adapted to perching,
obtain the principal part of their food upon the ground ; their
wings in general are short, and they are not capable of such
extended flight as belongs to members of the two preceding
Classification. 13
orders ; but in lieu of this they are provided with very strong
limbs and powerful muscles, and with short toes, enabling them
to run with great swiftness. This division does not contain any
great number of species, and yet as many of them are sought for
by the epicure, and others still more by the sportsman, there is,
perhaps, no class of birds the habits and general nature of which
are so generally known as this. When I mention that the
' Kasores ' include not only all the gallinaceous birds, as our
Barn-door Fowls, but also Partridges, Pheasants, and Grouse,
the truth of this statement will be at once seen. As all the
members of this order are extremely good for food, a beneficent
Providence has caused them to be very productive, and the
number of eggs to a nest is usually very considerable.
The fourth order begins the other great division, viz., the
' Water Birds/ and comprises those numerous aquatic birds
which, not having webbed feet, and so not being perfectly framed
for swimming and diving, nevertheless are formed for living
partly in the water, and generally procure their food from wet
and marshy places, if not from rivers, lakes, and the sea-shore.
These are the ' Grallatores,' or ' waders,' and are distinguished
from the land birds by their habits, as well as by the length of
leg and neck so fitted for their aquatic ways ; also by the forma-
tion of their feet, so admirably adapted for wading on soft mud,
for running lightly over water-plants, and enabling them to
move easily in their accustomed haunts. The Herons, Snipes,
and Plovers may serve as examples of this class.
The fifth and last order contains the true water birds, whose
domain is essentially the sea, or the inland lake and large river.
These are bond fide inhabitants of the water, passing nearly all
their time there, retiring far away from land as day approaches,
feeding in the sea, sleeping on the sea, and only occasionally
visiting the shore. These are the ' Natatores/ or ' swimmers,'
whose boat-shaped bodies and webbed feet attest their remark-
able powers of swimming and diving, and render it impossible to
mistake them as belonging to any other order. From the posi-
tion and extent of the British Islands, the birds which comprise
14 Introduction.
this division are very numerous on our coasts, as anyone will at
once acknowledge who has seen the clouds of ducks, gulls, etc.,
darkening the sea-shore in the autumn.
Such, then, being a sketch of the five great orders of birds, and
such the characteristics of each, the lines of demarcation between
them seems so broad and well defined that one might almost be
inclined to doubt the possibility of confusing them. Yet (as I
before remarked) in nature there seem to be no sudden transi-
tions ; no rapid jumps from one kind to another ; no gaps between
them ; all is done gradually and with becoming method ; we are
led almost insensibly from one order to another, so much does
the last species of one assimilate to the first species of the next.
Thus, for instance, when passing from the first to the second,
from the birds of prey to the perchers, see the connecting link
between the two, so ably sustained by the Shrikes or Butcher-
birds. Perchers, indeed, they are, with feet as perfect for grasp-
ing as any in the class ; at the same time, how like to the birds
of prey in their habits, in their cruel method of seizing, impaling
on a thorn, and devouring their victims. Again, in passing from
the perchers to the ground birds, mark the Pigeons. What a
connecting link between the two orders do they form; some
partaking of the character of true ' Insessores,' others approxi-
mating in every respect to the ' Rasores.' Or, again, in passing
from the third to the fourth, from the ground birds to the
waders, how slight is the boundary, how gentle the transition
from the Bustards to the Plovers ; compare the smaller Bustard,
the last of one order, and the great Plover, the first of the next,
and how much do they resemble each other, how little the differ-
ence to mark the two divisions, how similar in their appearance,
their shape, their habits, the locality they affect. And once
more, though the webbed feet of the last order may seem at first
sight so plain and distinguishing a characteristic as to leave little
room for gradual transition here, between the waders and
swimmers, yet it is not so : observe the well-known Coot and the
Phalaropes ; mark their peculiar feet, furnished with membranes,
though not wholly webbed, their decidedly aquatic habits, their
Classification. 15
powers of swimming and diving, and by their intervention see
how easily we pass from the true waders to the true swimmers.
Thus we are led on from order to order, not suddenly or uncon-
nectedly, but gradually and almost insensibly, proving to us the
perfect harmony of all the works of nature, while at the same
time we can trace sufficient marks of distinction to prevent any
real confusion.
Having detailed somewhat at length the method pursued in
this first great subdivision of the Land and Water birds, I now
proceed to show more concisely in what the other subdivisions
consist. At present we may be able to define the order to
which any given bird may belong, but we are still very far from
placing it in that particular position which alone it is entitled to
hold.
The next great subdivision of birds is into ' Tribes,' which will
not occupy us long ; for, of the five orders, it is usual to pass by
four, as not needing this subdivision, and to apply it only to that
very large one, the ' Insessores,' or ' perchers.' These birds being
so numerous, and withal so similar in some of their habits, have
nevertheless certain marked characteristics, distinguishing at one
glance the ' tribe ' to which they belong, and thus very much
simplifying their classification. The perchers, then, are divided
into four tribes, the first of which is the 'Dentirostres,' or
' tooth-billed' so called from the distinct tooth or notch near the
extremity of the bill, enabling the bird to hold securely whatever
it may seize ; it is chiefly composed of insect-eating birds, and of
these the Kedbreast is an example. The second is the 'Coni-
rostres,' or ' cone-billed' so called from the conical form, as well
as immense strength of the beak; these birds are principally
consumers of grain, as an instance of which we may name the
common House-sparrow. The third comprises the ' Scansores,'
or 'climbers? the members of which are remarkable for their
power of climbing, and to this end they are furnished with toes
arranged in pairs, with stiff bristling tail to serve as a support,
with tongues capable of great elongation and extension, whereby
they may transfix the insects they find in the trees they are
16 Introduction.
ascending ; of this the Wood-peckers are examples. The fourth
and last tribe is composed of the ' Fissirostres,' or ' wide-billed'
so called from their enormous width of gape ; these have usually
very small feet, and take their food principally on the wing ;
everyone will readily perceive how well the Swallows answer to-
this description.
Having now reached the point at which the four tribes of
perchers are on an equality with the remaining four entire
orders, we come to subdivide these several classes into 'Families/
The word 'families' describes itself at once : these, it will clearly
be perceived, are groups of birds belonging to the same order
and tribe, and having still nearer affinities one to another, not
shared by members of another family, though belonging to the
same order and tribe. Thus, for example, the tribe ' tooth-
billed' is composed of a number of families the thrushes, the
warblers, the titmice, etc. all resembling one another in the
formation of their beak, and other characteristics of the tribe ;
but each family containing distinctive marks, separating them
from the remaining families, and uniting them in a closer
alliance to one another.
When we have mastered the classification of birds up to this
point, we have attained no slight knowledge of their arrange-
ment ; but again we must pursue our inquiries a little further,
and subdivide these families into 'Genera.' Of these each family
contains a certain number, some more, some less, the members
of each genus having still further points of resemblance between
them than with those of other genera, though of the same family.
Thus to take, for example, the warblers, sylviadce : in this
family there is the genus curruca, containing the ' whitethroats ;'
the genus regulus, containing the 'golden-crested wrens;' the
genus saxicola,' containing the 'chats.' Thus, again, of the
family of grouse, there is the genus tetrao, containing the real
' grouse ;' the genus lagopus, containing the ' ptarmigans ;' the
genus perdix, containing the ' partridges.'
And so again in like manner, to come to the last subdivision,
which concludes the arrangement of birds according to scientific
Classification. 17
classification ; every genus contains certain ' Species,' differing
from one another in some respects, the points of difference being
sometimes marked and clear, at other times slight, and hardly
perceptible. Thus, as the family of grouse contains among others
the genus ' partridge/ so the genus partridge in its turn comprises
these several species, the ' common partridge,' the ' red-legged
partridge,' and the 'Barbary partridge.' Again, as the family
of warblers contains among others the genus 'chat,' so the
genus chat contains the ' whinchat,' the ' stonechat/ and the
' wheatear.'
It will be needless to pursue this explanation any farther, but
I refer to the table, recapitulating the above method of classi-
fication, and enumerating the several species of birds known in
Wiltshire, each in its own appointed place.
Such, then, is a general outline of modern classification as
commonly adopted in this country. I am quite aware that the
above description of it is far from perfect, and some of the sub-
divisions may to the experienced seem defective : to enter into
further detail would have occupied too much time, and have
produced obscurity and confusion; and perhaps, for practical
purposes, what I have said will be amply sufficient. Volumes
and treatises without number have been written on the subject,
and our best Ornithologists have employed a vast deal of time
and learning to bring it to perfection : the above is but a short
epitome of the result of their labours. To those who care
nothing for the science of Ornithology, I fear the repetition of
so many hard names may seem irksome ; but to those who would
learn something of birds, I am certain it is no loss of time to
gain an insight into their classification ; for an acquaintance
with this will pave the way to their future studies, simplifying
what would otherwise be abstruse, laying bare what would
otherwise be hidden, and unravelling what must otherwise be
complicated : for (as I observed at the beginning, now I repeat
once more) order and method are the very foundation stones
of natural history : we can never arrive at any advanced know-
ledge of birds without them ; we may be able, indeed, to detect
2
18 Introduction.
some species on the ground, on the wing, or by their notes ; we
may have some acquaintance with their respective habits and
peculiarities, but till we can place them in their own positions,
classify them with something of order, arrange them in reference
to their congeners with something of method, our knowledge
and observations will be of small avail in teaching us the secrets
of Ornithology; and we shall fall short in understanding the
beautiful balance held by nature; the general connection be-
tween birds of the same order and tribe; the more intimate
connection between those of the same family; the close union
between those of the same genus; and the almost insensible
degrees by which they pass from one to another, all of which
are subjects of exceeding interest to the careful observer ; and
our Ornithological knowledge, instead of being comprehensive,
will be desultory; instead of being valuable, will be defective;
instead of being useful, will be productive of neither instruction
nor pleasure.
NOMENCLATURE.
In regard to nomenclature. As with the arrangement and
order, so with the names of the birds, I have generally followed
that of Yarrell, with which I am most familiar ; but, indeed, the
strange names under which some of the most common birds are
now hidden, appear to my old-fashioned notions a positive
calamity. I confess to a very strong opinion on this point, and
I would vehemently protest, if that were of any avail in so
humble and unlearned an individual, against the prevalent
multiplication of genera and the consequent infliction of new
and unaccustomed names. In my judgment, the one essential
requisite in regard to the name of a bird is that it should be that
by which it may most readily be distinguished ; and to that end
the name of a species once generally adopted should never, unless
in some very exceptional case, be laid aside. Wherefore Mr.
Seebohm's plan, as adopted in his admirable work on the
' History of British Birds,' commends itself to my mind very
strongly ; and if I were starting afresh, instead of in some sense
Nomenclature. 19
reprinting, I should be very much disposed to adopt his simple
plan of accepting the specific name auctorum plurimorum, or
that which has been most used by previous writers. It has long
been a very sore subject of complaint against English ornitholo-
gists, on the part of foreigners amateurs as well as dealers that
whereas every bird is generally known all over Europe under one
acknowledged name, which is recognised everywhere, the English
alone substitute another at will, which completely destroys its
recognition. This complaint I have often listened to in France
and Germany in former years ; but what will now be said, when
so many even of the most familiar birds are re-named ? Having
thus relieved my mind by expressing a very decided opinion I
hope not too presumptuously I proceed to point out that I have
taken some pains to ascertain the meaning of the names given to
birds, where not at first sight apparent, not confining my atten-
tion to the generic and specific names only, but extending my
inquiries to those which are provincial, both in our own and
neighbouring foreign countries ; for the name, whether delibe-
rately bestowed on a species by the scientific author, or affixed to
it locally as a nickname, generally describes some peculiarity, or
alludes to some characteristic habit or appearance.
STRUCTURE.
I come now to the general structure of birds, upon which a few
words should be said ; but I would at the outset premise that I
am not going to enter into any learned disquisition on their
internal economy, or start any new theory regarding their shape
or their functions. I propose merely to give a plain statement of
their formation, whereby such persons as are either beginning
this delightful study, or are not very proficient in it, may gain
some insight into the subject. But before we examine their
general structure, let us for one moment consider the position
which birds were formed to hold in animated nature, and the
element they were fitted to people ; then, when we proceed to
consider their formation, we shall notice how admirably it is
adapted to that end, how exactly suited to that purpose. We
22
20 Introduction.
are told in the history of their creation that they were formed
out of the water, and that they were made ' to fly above the earth
in the open firmament of heaven.' That, then, is their own
proper sphere, that the domain allotted to them to occupy. It
is true that we find some continually remaining in the element
from which they first derived their origin, passing almost all
their time in the water ; others again there are which seldom
leave the surface of the earth, and are neither formed for swim-
ming nor for flight ; but the great majority of species are essen-
tially denizens of the air, soaring high above our heads, skimming
here and there, floating with expanded wings, 'cleaving with
rapid pinions the vast aerial expanse.' Now it is clear that to
enable them to do this, the general formation of their bodies
must be extremely different from that of the Mammalia, though
to a certain extent there are strong resemblances and analogies
between them and their respective orders. As there are carnivo-
rous quadrupeds, so there are rapacious birds, and both are
equally fierce, sullen, unsociable, and solitary in their habits,
possessed of great strength, and often of considerable courage.
As there are herbivorous quadrupeds, so there are granivorous
birds, and both of these are gentle and gregarious in their habits,
a mild and tractable race, and easily domesticated. There are
also birds as well as beasts of an amphibious nature, having
organs suited to their habits, and these live chiefly in the water,
and feed on aquatic productions; and there are many similar
resemblances. Like the quadrupeds, too, they are warm-blooded
and vertebrate; but, unlike them, they are oviparous, and,
instead of fur, are usually clothed almost entirely with feathers ;
while instead of fore-feet they are furnished with wings ; and we
shall presently see that there are many other striking points of
difference in structure between them. Unlike the heavy bodies
of the Mammalia, which are formed to live on the surface of the
earth, the bodies of the birds are light and buoyant. They each
possess externally head, neck, body, tail, legs, and feet; but
instead of the large head, the heavy neck, the deep chest, the
wide shoulder, and the sinewy legs of the quadrupeds, the ob-
Structure. 21
servant Bewick bids us note 'the pointed beak, the long and
pliant neck, the gently swelling shoulder, the expansive wings,
the tapering tail, the light and bony feet, of birds.' Every one of
these seem formed to combine, as far as possible, the least weight
with the greatest strength. There is no superfluous bulk in the
structure of a bird. Compared with its dimensions, and the
width of its expanded wings, how trifling and insignificant a
proportion does the body seem to occupy ; how every part seems
to conduce towards lightness and buoyancy. The plumage, too,
with which they are clothed is soft and delicate, and yet so close
and thick as to form an admirable protection against the intense
cold of the atmosphere through which they wing their way, and
to which their swift movements must necessarily expose them ;
the feathers which compose it are attached to the skin, somewhat
after the manner of hair, and are periodically moulted or changed,
and nothing can exceed the beauty, and often brilliancy, of their
colouring, as nothing can be conceived more adapted to combine
the two objects of extreme warmth and excessive lightness.
With such an airy framework, and clothed with a plumage in
specific gravity but little exceeding the air itself, we are at no
loss to understand the ease with which birds mount from the
earth and soar among the clouds ; but to enable them to pass
quickly through the air, to progress rapidly and without fatigue,
no instruments could be devised more excellent than the wings
with which they are provided ; so light and yet so vigorous, fur-
nished with such strong muscles, so spacious when extended in
flight, and yet so compact when closed in rest. By the help of
these oars or sails they can strike the air so forcibly, and with
such a succession of rapid and powerful strokes, as to impel for-
ward their bodies with wonderful velocity ; the greater the extent
of the wings in proportion to the size of the bird, the greater is
the facility with which it can sustain itself in the air, and the
greater the rapidity of its flight. As an example of this, compare
the stretch of wing and the proportionate speed of the common
Swift and the common Sparrow. Almost all species can fly with
exceeding swiftness ; but the progress of some is so very rapid, as
22 Introduction.
rather to rival the velocity of the arrow from the bow than the
movements of any other creature. Yet, with such amazing
power, what can be lighter than the materials of which the
wings are formed? the bones hollow and filled with air, the
muscles strong and unencumbered by flesh, the feathers large,
like sails, and of exceeding buoyancy. Then again, in like
manner, what can be more perfect than their tails ? These, too,
are only composed of feathers, but they serve as rudders, enabling
them to steer their course through the air at pleasure, with the
greatest ease and with the greatest accuracy.
Thus, when we look at the external formation of a bird, we can
but admire its symmetry and elegance, the buoyancy and light-
ness of its frame, so admirably adapted for flight ; but not less
perfect nor less calculated to excite our admiration in its internal
structure. Is a bird furnished with bones and muscles so abso-
lutely necessary to its aerial evolutions ? But mark how thin
and light are the bones, how delicate the muscles, those only
excepted which are adapted for moving the wings. Then, again,
observe the lungs. Small, indeed, they are, but so placed, and
the air so introduced into them from the windpipe, that in
passing it is conveyed into certain cells or membranous sacs
disposed for this purpose over the body. These sacs are situated
in the chest and among the muscles, and between the muscles
and the skin ; and in some birds are continued down to the
wings, and extend even to the pinions, thigh bones, and other
parts of the body. For the same purpose the feathers, and
especially the wing feathers, also contain a large quantity of air.
Now all these cavities, and others not enumerated, such as the
hollows of the bones, can be filled and distended with air at the
will of the bird. By this means the strength and bulk of the
bird is increased, without adding to its weight ; and such a
general diffusion of air throughout the body must be of infinite
service in enabling it to fly, to poise itself in the air, and to skim
far above the surface of the earth. Nor is that the only use of
this wonderful provision of nature. I again quote Bewick, who
says : ' It is likewise eminently useful in preventing its respira-
Structure. 23
tion from being stopped or interrupted by the rapidity of its
motion through a resisting medium. Were it possible for man
to move with the swiftness of the Swallow, the actual resistance
of the air, as he is not provided with internal reservoirs similar
to those of birds, would soon suffocate him.' Another very
remarkable peculiarity in the internal economy of birds is their
mode of digestion. The bill is scarcely, if ever, used for masti-
cation, but solely as an instrument of prehension ; it is the
gizzard, whose amazing strength and powers can scarcely be
overrated, that grinds down the grain and other food, and renders
it fit for digestion. Experiments have been made by which it
has been incontrovertibly proved that glass, nails, and the hardest
substances have in a few hours been filed down by the action of
the gizzard, without any injury accruing to it thereby. As a help
to this digestive power small stones are often swallowed by birds,
which are eminently useful in assisting this grinding process,
thus rendering the food more amenable to the gastric juices.
After this rapid glance at the general structure of birds, can
we conceive anything more adapted for buoyancy and for rapid
motion through the air than their external and internal forma-
tion ? We cannot but be struck with their wonderful adaptation
to the position which they were created to fill. Let us now push
our inquiries a little farther ; and still bearing in mind that they
are denizens of the air, and roam at vast distances above our
heads, and all around us, examine into the senses and faculties
with which they are endowed.
FACULTIES.
In the first place we shall find them furnished with unusual
powers of sight, hearing, and smell ; and to this end they are
supplied with three double organs of sense, viz., eyes, ears, and
nasal cavities.
The sight of some, and particularly of the rapacious birds, is
so acute and piercing as to enable them to see their prey from
an enormous height in the air, whence they dash down with
astonishing swiftness and unerring aim. The vulture sailing in
24 Introduction.
circles at an immense altitude can distinguish his prey on the
ground, without the aid of any other faculty than his eyes, as
has been clearly proved by experiment ; the lordly eagle soaring
amid the clouds seems to prefer that elevated station, whence to
seek some victim on the earth, and his wonderful power of vision
seldom fails to discover the desired object far below; the kestrel-
hawk, with which all are familiar, balances himself in the air at a
considerable height, while his piercing eyes search the ground
below for the mice which constitute his food : these are all diurnal
birds of prey, and are especially noted for the keenness of their
vision ; but not less extraordinary is the eye of the owl, which
seeks its prey by twilight, and cannot endure the full glare of
day; should any accident expose him to the light of the sun,
he either closes his eyes entirely or defends them with a curtain
or blind, which is an internal eyelid, and which he can close in
an instant. At such times he presents but a grotesque and
foolish appearance ; but see him as he emerges from his hollow
tree, or the ivy-clad ruin in the deepening twilight ; watch him
as he regularly beats the field, and quarters it like a pointer; see
him suddenly drop upon the unfortunate mouse that was hurry-
ing through the grass, and judge what acuteness of vision must
be there. In the nocturnal species the eyes are usually directed
forwards, and are brighter, larger, and clearer than those of the
diurnal birds, and thus, from their size, position, and construc-
tion, are admirably calculated for concentrating the dim rays of
twilight. In the other Orders we do not expect to find such
wonderful powers of sight, for their habits do not require it ; yet
here, too, we shall often find considerable swiftness and extent of
vision. The fly-catcher will sit perched on a twig, and suddenly
dart upon an insect passing often at a considerable distance,
which we are wholly unable to perceive. The bold and sagacious
raven and the destructive carrion-crow have been famed for their
far-seeing propensities. The rook, too, has the same property;
for which cause we may constantly see the dull- eyed starlings
attaching themselves to their society and relying on these
excellent sentinels, feeding in greater security. The swift,
Faculties Sight, Hearing. 25
careering through the air on rapid wing and dashing past like a
meteor, not only can see to steer its way clear of all obstacles,
but can discern the passing insect, which it catches in its mouth
as it rushes by. The pigeons, mounting high into the air, can
perceive the grain which they are seeking from an almost incre-
dible distance. The redstart will avoid the shot by rising on
seeing the flash from the cap ; and many of the ducks, and
especially the divers, disappear under water the moment the
trigger is pulled, seeing the flash and diving almost instan-
taneously, and so escaping the death intended for them. These
are a few instances of the extraordinary powers of vision
belonging to the feathered race. An eminent French naturalist
has calculated it to be about nine times more extensive than that
of man ; and anatomists, after dissecting the eye of the golden
eagle, or one of that family, whose sight is considered the keenest
of all, declare that nothing can be conceived more perfect than
the structure. The eye of the falcon, which feeds by day, will
differ from that of the owl, which feeds by night ; both will differ
from that of the swan, which has to procure its food under water;
but all are exactly adapted to their own peculiar spheres of
action, all are capable of very astonishing sight.
Again, the hearing of some is so subtle, that they can detect
their prey when hidden from view by this sense alone, and by
the same power are ever on the alert for the approach of an
enemy. As the eagle is the most renowned for powers of vision,
so we may without hesitation pronounce the owls to possess a
more acute sense of hearing than any other family; it seems
that this faculty is given them in common with other noc-
turnal and crepuscular animals ; as, for example, the bats, to
enable them to guide themselves in their flight on the darkest
nights, and to direct them to their prey. The organs with
which they are furnished to secure this end are of a very
remarkable construction, and developed to an extraordinary
extent ; the auditory opening, or ear-conch, is sometimes
extremely large, and is then furnished with an opercidum
or cover, which they can open and close at will ; but in those
26 Introduction.
species where the aperture is smaller, such an addition is not
provided. Another peculiarity in the nocturnal birds of prey is
that the two ears are not alike ; the one being so formed as to
hear sounds from below, the other from above. This, though an
old discovery, is not very generally known, though it is doubtless
an admirable help to catch the faintest sound proceeding from
every direction; and with such organs the owls are enabled to
detect in an instant the slightest rustling of their prey. Next to
the owl, perhaps the night-jar (or goat-sucker, as it is commonly
though erroneously called) possesses the most acute sense of
hearing; this bird is also crepuscular, and seldom hunts for
moths till the shades of evening, and, as in the owl, its ears are
of a very large size. But there are many other birds gifted
with remarkably acute powers of hearing. See the song-thrush
descend on the lawn on a damp morning ; watch how he inclines
his ear on one side, then hops forward, and again listens, till at
length he draws forth the worm which his fine ear had told him
was there, and which, alarmed at his hops and peckings, had hur-
ried to the surface, supposing they were occasioned by his dreaded
enemy, the mole. Or, visit some fine old heronry, and try to
penetrate near their chosen nursery without your presence being
detected ; these nocturnal birds are not particularly keen of
sight during the day, but long ere you can approach them, how-
ever cautiously, their keen sense of hearing has told them you
are near. Another bird remarkable for possessing this faculty
in an eminent degree is the Curlew : of all the shore birds there
is not one so difficult of approach as this ; his organs of hearing
are so sensitive that it is almost impossible to come near him.
And again, the Swedish ornithologist, Professor Nilsson, speaks
of the Black-cock as being most acute both in hearing and in
sight. Such are some of the innumerable instances one might
collect of another sense being possessed by the feathered tribes
in extraordinary perfection : that some birds hear more quickly
than others is an undisputed fact ; but we shall always find, if
we examine into it, that to those the most subtle sense of
hearing is given whose habits cause them to require it most ;
Faculties Smell. 27
while from those which would not be benefited by it, it is in a
measure withheld.
I have spoken of the powers of sight and hearing so con-
spicuous in birds ; I come now to the other sense with which
they are provided, that of smell. This, too, we shall find to be
peculiarly delicate in some families, though perhaps generally it
is but little required, and therefore but little developed ; and we
shall for the most part find that those birds whose nostrils are
the most conspicuous and open will possess this sense in the
highest degree, while those whose nostrils are concealed and
almost impervious will share in it but little. The bird which is
certainly most remarkable for this faculty, though of late years
it has been gainsaid by certain American naturalists, is the
Vulture. Blest, as I have already remarked, with a keen
sense of sight, the Vulture soaring through the air, and above
the dark forests, is also directed to his prey by the extraordinary
perfection of his organs of smell. His food is always putrid,
and the effluvium arising therefrom is necessarily most rank;
but yet when we watch their proceedings, as I have done,
in their own tropical countries, the wonderful manner in
which these birds will congregate at a putrid carcase, hidden
though it may be in a pit or a thick forest; and how, first
appearing as a speck in the distant heavens, then gradually
increasing in size as they come nearer, they arrive singly from
all quarters, whereas till then, not a single individual was to be
seen, we can form some idea of the great powers of smell which
these birds must possess. Mr. Waterton, who has seen them in
Guiana, Demerara, and other parts of Southern America ; and
Mr. Gosse, who more recently has seen them in the West Indian
islands, have published in their respective most interesting little
volumes such strong and conclusive evidence of the amazing
extent of this sense in the vulture, as to silence all dispute on
the subject. The family of the crows, also, claims our attention
as possessing very great powers of scent. It is this which so
often directs them to their food from great distances in such a
mysterious manner as to cause the wonder and incredulity of
28 Introduction.
man. Some observers, who have seen troops of ravens hurrying
along to the banquet of some fallen animal, where not a bird till
then could be seen, have attributed their discovery of the feast,
not to the true cause, their keen sense of seeing and smelling,
but to some unknown faculty, thinking it impossible that scent
could be carried so far, and having little conception of the
superior acuteness of some of the senses of birds. Again, the
rook discovers the grubs hidden in the earth by the same
wonderful sense; the carrion-crow scents the tempting morsel
from a distance; the magpie is not behind-hand in the same
perception. Some of the water-birds, too, seem to have this
faculty very highly developed. The curlew will take wing when
you are at a great distance, if you approach them down the wind ;
the hungry woodcock will discover by the smell where it will be
profitable to probe the mud with his beak. Most of the ducks
are so sensitive, that the man who works a decoy knows full
well that he has no chance of success unless he keeps to leeward
of the flock ; and, as an additional precaution, burns a piece of
turf, and holds it smoking in his hand, to prevent their scenting
him. Thus we see the faculty of scent no less conspicuous in
birds than in other animals : the well-known properties of the
pointer and the foxhound will not surpass the exquisite sense of
smell of some of the birds, and even the notorious bloodhound
will scarcely outdo the vulture in the same faculty.
But besides these three powers of seeing, hearing, and smelling,
with which we have proved them to be remarkably endowed, we
find the feathered tribe gifted with the power of feeling or handling
(if I may apply such a term to the beak), not usually allotted to
the inferior races of the animal kingdom. Their beaks serve
them for hands, as well as for lips and teeth, and wonderfully are
they adapted to a variety of purposes ; but as, in addition to their
exceeding interest and variety of form and use, the beaks are
principal characteristics whereby to distinguish the position
birds are entitled to hold, and their habits, I propose to consider
this subject separately, so for the present pass it by.
Again, they are furnished with tongues, which are not only
Facilities Smell. 29
organs of taste, but partly also of prehension. These, too, differ
exceedingly in form, according to their requirements, being some-
times short, round, and thick, sometimes long, thin, and pointed ;
and some tribes make considerable use of these members in
securing their prey, as we shall hereafter see.
Their organs of voice, too, are very various ; some most melo-
dious, charming man by their continual and often exquisite song ;
others harsh and unmusical ; notes they have of alarm, whereby
they signify to one another that danger is at hand ; notes of dis-
tress, whereby they proclaim the pain or terror they feel ; notes
of love, whereby they show their affection ; notes of communica-
tion, whereby they signify their intentions to each other and act
in concert, and so continue their migrations on the darkest nights
without danger of parting company. The notes of the different
species, too, are as various as are their forms. Some are able to
imitate those of others ; but seldom do they step beyond their
own limits, for each is content to communicate with his congeners,
in the language peculiar to its own species.
Such, then, is an outline of the faculties of birds. The subject
is one which might be pursued to an unlimited extent, until such
a knowledge of their anatomy was gained, that, like Buffon and
Cuvier, of late time, and Professor Owen, of the College of Sur-
geons, of our day, from seeing one single bone we might be able-
to describe accurately the whole bird to which it belonged, and
its habits, though of a species never hitherto seen. To such an
intimate acquaintance, however, with the structure of birds we
shall not probably aspire. Our present purpose has in view only
a general consideration of their formation and faculties ; but we
have seen enough to prove to us how admirably birds are formed
for the position they hold in the scale of Zoology. Their bodies
light and buoyant, furnished with wings enabling them to pass
rapidly through the air ; provided with air-cells, as an additional
assistance to them ; endowed with astonishing powers of sight,
hearing, and smell; possessed of organs of voice as varied as
they are remarkable ; and with many other faculties not inferior
to these, the feathered tribes claim a high position in the scale of
SO Introduction.
created beings. We see in their formation the hand of a boun-
tiful Creator ; in their endowments the wisdom and goodness of
Providence displayed. A knowledge of their structure, and an
insight into the wonderful organs with which they are supplied,
cannot but raise them in our eyes, as worthy of deeper investi-
gation and closer attention than they usually receive ; and raise
us at the same time, as should be the case after all our re-
searches into the pages of nature, * from nature's works up to
nature's God.'
' Thus the men
Whom nature's work can charm, with God himself
Hold converse : grow familiar day by day
With His conceptions ; act upon His plan,
And form to His the relish of their souls.'
ON THE BEAK.
I now desire to call special attention to the beaks of birds,
than which nothing in their whole structure appears to me to be
so perfect, so suitable to the end for which they were formed, so
interesting and worthy of close examination. I have cursorily
alluded to them in a former page, but I would now devote a
short space to a more close examination of these very useful
organs, which are generally the implements or tools wherewith
their owners supply themselves with their every-day food.
Every bird is furnished with a beak, composed of two parts, the
upper and lower mandible, formed of horny substances ensheath-
ing the jaws. It is analogous to the lips and teeth of quadru-
peds ; it is (as I before stated) seldom employed in mastication,
and its chief employment is in taking the food on which the bird
subsists ; but as the nature of that food varies so much, accord-
ing to the habits of the different species, so does this organ vary
extremely in form as well as in size, and so presents one of the
most distinguishing features for ascertaining the proper position
in classification which the bird is entitled to hold ; indeed, if we
examine the beak alone, this is quite sufficient to indicate at a
glance the order and tribe at least, if not the family and even
genus, to which the specimen belongs. But now, however varied
Beaks of Birds. 31
in form, in size, in consistency, and in capabilities they may be ;
however diverse in appearance, however perfect or imperfect,
proportionate or disproportionate, graceful or ugly, they may
seem; if we examine with attention the uses for which they
were respectively formed, and to which they are daily applied,
we shall see that they all unite in partaking of this one common
attribute, that they are all (each in its separate capacity) the
very best instruments that could be devised for accomplishing
their several ends, and that nothing can be conceived more
appropriate for attaining their peculiar objects. Differ, indeed,
they do in appearance from one another ; various, indeed, are
their powers, but varied, too, is the work for which they were
formed. Should we provide ourselves with the same instrument
if we went forth to procure game, or to reap corn ? Should we
arm ourselves in the same manner if we wanted to catch fish and
to gather fruits ? The absurdity of such a thing is apparent.
And just so it is with the beaks of birds ; they are the tools or
instruments provided for them by the All-wise and bountiful
Creator, the very best tools for their respective wants, and which
have often guided the mechanic to the precise form of the imple-
ment best suited to his purpose.
We shall do well first to examine the beak as peculiar to the
several orders and tribes.
Now the Birds of Prey live entirely on animal food ; when
they have pounced on their victim on the ground, or struck
down some hapless bird on the wing (with the foot though, be it
remembered, and not at all with the beak, as is so often erro-
neously supposed), the beak is wanted for tearing apart and
seizing piecemeal the prey. To this end what can be more
adapted than the strong, short, hooked beak, which is one of the
characteristics of this whole order ? It is of nearly equal breadth
and height at the base, moderately compressed, or flattened side-
ways, towards the end ; and is furnished with a remarkable tooth-
like projection in the upper mandible, the tip being curved
downwards, three-cornered and very sharp. With this powerful
instrument the vulture can unrip the carcase of the fallen and
32 Introduction.
putrid animal ; the eagle and falcon can tear in pieces the hare
or fawn ; the osprey, the fish ; the hawk, the small birds ; the
owl, the mouse ; and nothing can be conceived more applicable
for such work.
The Perching Birds come next ; and their habits being more
peaceful and quiet, and their food being of a different nature, wo
shall find here no need of the powerful hook which we have seen
to be so useful to the Raptorial order. And yet as the perchers
include an immense number of families whose habits are exceed-
ingly various, and whose food is very diverse, it is clear that the
beak which would be most suitable for one would be wholly in-
appropriate to the other; on that account we shall find the
beaks of this order varying from one another very much.
I have already observed in a former page that the first tribe
takes its name, Dentirostres, from the tooth or notch near the
extremity of the mandibles ; but the members of this tribe live
almost entirely, or at any rate chiefly, on insects, worms, and
such-like food ; we may see them hawking in the air, searching
in the grass, looking keenly under leaves and seizing them the
instant they appear ; for this purpose no strong beak is necessary,
but as the living prey which they seize struggles violently to
escape, what can be more suited for a firm hold than the soft
beak furnished with a tooth such as I have described above, and
which belongs to this tribe ? Moreover, the accurate Selby has
observed that 'the bill, too, is generally lengthened, so as to
defend the face from the struggles of their prey, which is always
taken by the aid of this member, or, where it is short and broad,
the base is furnished with stiff, projecting bristles, or having
feathers that answer the same purpose of defence.'* With this
notched beak the shrikes find no difficulty in seizing their prey ;
the fly-catchers can hold the insects they have caught; the
thrushes can retain the worm which they have drawn out of tbe
turf ; the warblers, the titmice, the wagtails, and the pipits can
take their insect food without chance of its escape.
The second tribe of this order also derives its name, Coni-
* Selby, 'Illustrations of Ornithology,' vol. i., p. 138.
Beaks of Birds. 33
rostres (' conical-beaked '), from the formation of the beak of all
those families which compose it. Instead of the tooth which
characterized the last tribe, here we have no tooth, but a short,
straight, conical beak, about as broad as high at the base, com-
pressed towards the end, and acute. Birds of this division live
chiefly on grain and seeds of different kinds, the nature of which
food is generally hard, and requires a strong bill to take it ; the
soft beak of the former tribe could never endure the work that
has to be done by these powerful little fellows ; sometimes they
break down the hardest seeds, sometimes they even crack the
stones of different kinds of fruits, in order to procure the kernels
inside ; for such work, and for pulling seeds from pods and grain
from husks, can we conceive anything more appropriate than the
conical form of these strong yet short pointed beaks ? With
these the larks and buntings can thrive in the stubble; the
finches can gain a supply of the seeds of a thousand plants ; the
starlings and the whole family of crows can support themselves
with grain, when other food cannot be found for these insatiable
and omnivorous birds.
We come now to the third order of perchers, the Scansores,
'climbers.' These do not derive their title from the form of
their beak ; but we shall find it not the less remarkable, or less
peculiarly adapted to their habits. The nature of these birds is
to climb about trees, buildings, and other places, grasping firmly
with their peculiar feet, supporting themselves with their bristly
tails, thrusting their beaks under and into the bark, into the
fissures and rotten wood of decayed timber, and such places, in
search of their insect food. But to this end what can be more
adapted than the form of their beak long, conical, angular, and
wedge-shaped at the point ? And, in addition to this, some
families are furnished with very long tongues, capable of great
extension, armed with a horny point, and copiously supplied with
a tenacious mucus, wherewith they transfix and convey to their
mouths such insects and larvse as they have discovered. Some-
times in their ascent they tap the trees with their beaks to induce
the insects to come out, and to test the soundness or hollowness
3
34 Introduction.
of the wood, their instinct always telling them where their food
is likely to be found. At other times we may hear them from a
considerable distance hammering and digging at the tough bark,
or see them scattering the chips on all sides by their repeated
strokes, as they are busy in dislodging their concealed prey ;
others again may be seen peering and prying into every cavity,
probing every fissure with their sharp, curved bill, leaving no
crevice or fissure untried. For all these purposes with how ad-
mirable an instrument are they provided ! how exactly suited to
their wants ! With this the woodpeckers can remove the bark
till they can reach their victims, the nuthatches can split open
the nuts which they have previously fixed in some crevice ; the
little creeper can pick out his insect prey from the bark.
The fourth and last tribe of perchers again derives its name,
Fissirostres ' wide-billed/ from the formation of the beak. The
members of this division, like the last, are almost wholly insecti-
vorous ; but, unlike them, they feed more or less on the wing.
Many of this tribe are remarkable for their wonderful power of
flight, soaring high in the air, skimming over the water, and
darting here and there the livelong day with the most rapid
evolutions imaginable. As they feed so much on the wing, we
find them provided with a very short beak, much depressed, as if
flattened downwards, and of a triangular form ; the tip sharp and
furnished with a slender notch ; but their width of gape is very
great, enabling them more readily to seize their prey, as they
shoot through the air, and the edges of the upper mandible are
armed with a row of bristles of immense assistance to them when
feeding on the wing, by increasing the means of capture with the
mouth. The swallows, the nightjars, and the bee- eaters are
examples of this peculiarity, and of the absence of much beak
where so little is required.
We have now reached the third order, Easores, ' Ground Birds,*
which live upon grain and various kinds of seeds and berries.
This forms their principal food, though occasionally they will
devour insects and sometimes buds and green leaves ; and there-
fore we shall be prepared to see, though not so strongly exempli-
Beaks of Birds. 35
fied, the short, strong bill adapted to the hard nature of their
customary diet ; the upper mandible is often considerably arched,
the edges overhanging and the tip blunt. Birds of this order,
however, do not always possess a bill capable of very great exer-
tion. In some cases, as in the pigeons, it is rather slender and
weak ; in all the other families it is stronger. But yet, perhaps,
taken alone, it seems scarcely so well adapted as the preceding
ones to the grain-eating habits of the bird. But if we push our
inquiries farther, we shall find these ground-birds furnished with
a peculiar repository for their food, whither it is conveyed whole
by the beak. This repository is called the crop ; it is globular'
and is nothing more than an enlargement of the ' ossophagus/ or
gullet, lying, when distended, equally on both sides of the neck.
As, then, the ground-birds are furnished with this peculiar crop,
to which the food is conveyed, it is clear that the beak belonging
to this division is amply sufficient for the purpose to which it is
applied, and greater strength and solidity would be superfluous.
The next order, ' Grallatores,' the ' waders,' commencing with
the water-birds, procures its food chiefly from the water, and this
food is partly animal, but also in a great measure vegetable ;
the customary haunts of the members of this order are marshes
and swamps, the banks of rivers and lakes, or the seashore.
They are usually provided with long legs, enabling them to
wade into the mud and water in search of food ; they are at tho
same time furnished with long necks, by which they are enabled
to reach such food as they have found. Suited to this habit is
their bill, whose general characteristic is long and slender, but
as the different families of this order obtain their food by various
means, so their beaks differ to a certain degree; some are straight
and sharp-pointed, acting as a spear to transfix their prey, as
in the family of herons ; some are curiously arched, rounded
throughout the whole length, as in the curlews; others are
rounded at the point, and provided with most sensitive nerves,
enabling them to discover and seize their prey, when thrust into
the soft mud, as in the snipes all have the same admirable
facility and adaptation for searching and procuring food in wet
32
36 Introduction.
and swampy spots, which are the especial habitat of the whole
order of waders.
We come now to the last order, ' Natatores,' the ' swimmers/
whose name bespeaks them as denizens of the ocean and lake.
Kemarkable for their facilities of swimming and diving, and for
their powers of submergence often for a considerable time, many
families of this order procure their food entirely in the water.
For this purpose the beaks of some are armed with sharp hooks
or teeth, as in the mergansers ; some are straight, sharp, and
compressed, as in the divers, auks, and gulls; others again,
which rarely dive and in diet are graminivorous as well as
granivorous, are furnished with very broad and much de-
pressed mandibles : all are peculiarly formed for holding
securely their food, which is frequently of a slimy and slippery
nature.
We have now run rapidly through the several orders and
tribes, paying attention to the general formation of the beak in
each, and have seen how strong a resemblance usually pervades
all the families contained in them ; we cannot fail to have
observed at the same time how admirable in every case was the
construction for attaining the desired end. There are still some
particular species which exhibit so remarkable a peculiarity in
this organ that I am unwilling to pass them by.
One of the most curious is the Crossbill, a bird familiar to
most persons, as it occasionally, though not periodically, visits
us in considerable numbers. Its name at once points out what
some persons (and these naturalists of eminence, including the
zealous but often inaccurate Buffon) have been pleased to call
its natural defect, but which is now pretty generally considered
a most admirable provision of nature. These birds inhabit
extensive forests of pines and firs, the seeds of which form their
chief food ; but to arrive at these, a peculiar instrument is
necessary. To this end, the mandibles (which in young birds in
the nest are of the ordinary form) become elongated and cross
one another at the tip to a considerable degree ; in some speci-
mens the upper mandible is curved to the right, the lower to
Beaks of Birds. 37
the left; in others this order is reversed. In either case, by
means of these beaks, and by the lateral motion of the mandibles
(which is peculiar to the crossbills alone of all birds), they are
enabled, by insinuating the points between the scales of the pine-
cones and by the powerful lever they possess in their singular
bill, to wrench open the scales without difficulty and so obtain
the fruit. With this strange instrument they are no less
adept at splitting apples and pears for the sake of the enclosed
pips. It may readily be conceived that to work so strong a bill,
the muscles attached to it must also be of proportionate power
and size, and these are the cause of the large, heavy, and some-
what awkward appearance which the head presents.
Another bird remarkable for its peculiar beak is the Avocet.
This is a water-bird, one of the waders and belonging to the
family of snipes. Its haunts are the sea-shore, and its food con-
sists of worms and aquatic insects, which it procures from the
soft mud and sand, for which it often wades to a considerable
depth. For obtaining these it is furnished with a beak
most appropriate, though very singular in form : it is very
long, very slender, thin, considerably curved upwards, and
especially towards the tip, very flexible and pointed, and looks
exactly like a thin piece of whalebone ; and its mode of feeding
is by scooping the soft oozy mud with the flat and upturned
beak. From this singular construction the Avocet, which was
once common on our shores, received the provincial names of
' Scooper !' and ' Cobbler's Awl Duck !' though now, alas ! it is
very seldom met with at all. Bewick says that the places
where it has been feeding may be recognised by the semicircular
marks left in the mud or sand by their bills in scooping out the
food.
The Turnstone is another singular bird, of the same order as
the last, but very different in habits. Instead of the soft muddy
sands frequented by the Scolopacidte, these birds delight in the
rocky and gravelly shores of the ocean. Here they procure
their food, consisting of marine insects, molluscse and crustacese,
by turning over the stones with their beaks, to get at the food
38 Introduction.
lurking beneath them ; from which practice they derive their
name. Perhaps it would be impossible to conceive an instru-
ment more beautifully adapted for this purpose, being strong,
very hard, quite straight, and drawn to a fine point, and forming
altogether a very powerful lever.
Again, the Spoonbill, as its name implies, presents a remark-
able formation of beak. This is also a wader, and a member of
the family of herons ; its haunts are chiefly pools of water on
the sea-shore, and its food consists of small fishes, aquatic insects,
sand-hoppers, etc. To obtain these, and when caught to hold
them fast, the adult spoonbill is armed with a beak, very long,
broad, and thick at the base ; thin, and very much flattened
towards the extremity, where it is rounded and shaped like a
spoon or spatula. As a further means of enabling it to hold its
slippery prey, the inside of this weapon is studded with small,
hard tubercles, and is rough like a file. Bewick adds that the
beak flaps together not unlike two pieces of leather. It is
curious that in the young birds (which do not come to maturity
and assume the adult plumage till the third year) the beak is
soft and flexible, not so large as, and without the roughness so
conspicuous in, that of the adults.
Another and very remarkable peculiarity in the same organ is
presented by the Shoveller, or as it is provincially styled, the
'Broad-bill.' This duck feeds chiefly in shallow water, or
marshes, lakes, rivers, and muddy shores : its food consists of
grasses and decayed vegetable matter, as well as worms and
insects, and to detect and separate these from the mud and the
water in which they are contained, the beak is singularly
adapted. In shape this instrument is long, broad, depressed,
the tip rounded like a spoon, and terminated by a small hooked
nail ; internally the mandibles are furnished with rows of thin,
comb-like bristles ; these seem to be very susceptible of feeling,
and enable the bird to select the nutritious and reject the
useless food, whilst this beautiful instrument, forming with the
tongue a perfect sieve or strainer, retains only what is fit for sus-
tenance. It was commonly supposed by naturalists that the beak
Beaks of Birds. 39
of the young of this species when first hatched was dilated like
that of the adult bird, and was therefore as broad as the body,
and quite out of proportion to the size of the duckling. Further
investigation has, however, proved this to be erroneous ; and as
the young of the crossbill and the spoonbill described above,
so the young of the shoveller when first hatched presents no
peculiarity in the beak.
There are several other birds presenting very singular beaks,
and each exactly suited to the habits of its owner, but to describe
them at length would occupy too much space. That of the
woodcock and snipe, to which I have slightly alluded above,
deserves close attention, as being most delicate and beautiful.
It is extremely long, the point of it dimpled, soft, spongy, and
cellular, and exhibits great sensibility; it is repeatedly thrust
up to the base in the soft mud by the sides of springs or in
water-meadows, and, so susceptible is it of the finest feeling, that
this sensitive organ can detect the prey of which it is in search
the instant it comes in contact with it, though it is necessarily
out of sight.
The Hawfinch, on the other hand, which lives upon the seeds
of the hornbeam and the kernels of haws and stone-fruits, is
armed with a massive and homy beak, capable of cracking the
strongest shells, and of inflicting a severe bite, as I once expe-
rienced, by offering my boot to a specimen which I had
wounded ; and it was astonishing with what pertinacity the
powerful little fellow held on, and again and again returned to
the charge.
The handsome but rarely seen Hoopoe stalks about in moist
places, with his head erect and his long curved beak searching
for worms and insects just as Ovid described him so many
centuries ago :
' Prominet immodicum pro longa cuspide rostrum.'
The Puffin, with his singular and gaudy-coloured, but power-
ful and sharp-edged bill, burrows out deep holes in which it
breeds.
40 Introduction.
The Oyster- catcher, with his straight, long, wedge-shaped bill,
is enabled to wrench open the oysters, mussels, and shell-fish
which form his food, to detach them from the rocks to which
they adhere, and to scoop them out of their shells.
The Cormorant, with its long, straight, powerfully-hooked bill,
can kill its finny prey by the squeeze it is enabled to give.
The Petrels, with their compact and hooked bills, can break
the skin of the floating whale, and gorge themselves with blubber
to repletion.
Such are some of the many forms of beak displayed by the
British birds. From this we can judge (as Yarrell remarks) what
' singular modifications of this organ nature sometimes exhibits,
as if to show the many diversities of form which can be rendered
applicable to one purpose.' Man, with all his boasted mechanical
skill, would fail to contrive implements so perfectly adapted to
the end for which they were devised ; some fitted to tear in pieces
the yet warm and quivering bodies of the recently killed prey ;
others to rip up and consume the putrid carcase ; some fitted for
devouring insects and worms, some for breaking up hard seeds
and grain ; these slender, light, and pliant, suited to the gentle
uses to which they are applied ; some adapted for securing and
holding a slippery prey, others supplied with organs for discover-
ing that prey when out of sight. There are many other in-
stances of this varied form and varied appliance, but we need
no more to prove their diversity, their excellence, their perfection.
Before I conclude this part of my subject I will just call atten-
tion to the extraordinary superstition entertained in this country,
and especially in Scotland, not many years since, in regard to
long beaks. One cannot very clearly see the connection between
a long beak and a goblin ; nor is it easy to say whence such an
idea could have arisen; yet such was the common belief, and
without attempting to give any reason, everybody knew well
enough that a long beak portended no good. Sir Walter Scott
alludes to this ; and Yarrell tells us that the Highlander will pray
to be preserved from 'witches, warlocks (or wizards), and aw
lang-nebbed things.' But this superstition is not peculiar to
The Feet of Birds. 41
Great Britain, for to this day most of the birds exposed for sale
in the markets at St. Petersburg and elsewhere are first deprived
of their beaks, and thus some of the rarest specimens are irre-
mediably mutilated.
These and many other equally absurd fictions relating to birds
it is the part of the ornithologist to overthrow ; to do which we
have but to bid men look into the page of nature ; and the more
we read it, the more truly shall we learn to appreciate the
wonderful works of God.
ON THE FEET.
No less remarkable as suited to their several requirements, no
less various, and therefore no less characteristic of the family to
which they belong than the beaks, are the feet of birds. These
are so perfectly framed for the various uses to which their respec-
tive possessors must apply them, and differ so very widely in
construction one from another, that a glance at the foot will
generally point out to the observer what the habits and what the
nature of the bird must be.
All birds resemble one another in this particular up to a
certain point viz., in that all are bipeds, and the legs which
support their feet are invariably composed of three parts ; these
are, the thigh, which is very high up, very short, and quite out of
sight ; the leg, or ' tibia/ which inexperienced observers are apt
erroneously to call the thigh ; and the instep, or ' tarsus/ which
is as often falsely called the leg. It is this last part (the ' tarsus ')
which alone is much seen, the remaining parts being usually
concealed by the body and the feathers of the bird. Beyond this
point of general structure, in which the legs of all birds partici-
pate, and in which they also resemble the human leg (though the
extreme length of the instep and the shortness and concealment
of the thigh have caused very general errors on the subject), they
differ from one another in many ways ; thus, some are extremely
long, others are exceedingly short; some are quite bare of
feathers, others are entirely clothed with them ; some are plated,
as it were, with scales, others are smooth ; some are thick and
42 Introduction.
strong, others are light and delicate ; but all harmonize exactly
with the feet with which they terminate, and these present still
greater points of variety than the legs. The foot of a bird,
unlike that of a quadruped, is never composed of more than four
toes ; this is the most general number, and of these the first is
usually directed backwards, though in some cases the fourth is
also associated with it. There are other families which have but
three toes, and in that case all of them are directed forwards, the
first or hind toe being the one deficient. Again, there are birds
which have but two toes ; but as none of these last occur in this
country, we need not stop to consider their peculiarity. And
again, the toe may be united by a membrane, and that either
entirely, or in part ; or they may be wholly unconnected ; but
they are always terminated with claws, which present the varieties
of long and short, straight and curved, sharp and blunt ; but
these, together with many other points of difference, and the
reasons of them, and the suitability of the exact form of foot
with which every bird is provided, we shall more clearly see as
we go on to consider the orders and families in rotation.
The ' Birds of Prey ' present a great general similarity in the
formation of the foot. It is always strong and muscular, fur-
nished with four powerful toes, and armed with claws more or
less hooked, and often of very formidable size, strength, and
sharpness. In the family of vultures the talons are not so much
displayed, as the habits of these ignoble birds require no weapon
for striking a blow to obtain their food, and no powers of grasping
for bearing it away in their feet to their young. Content with the
putrid carcase of some fallen animal, these unclean birds stuff
themselves with carrion, and carrying it in their craw to their
nests, there disgorge the unsavoury mess. But the falcons have
by their own prowess to secure their living prey, and so, in addi-
tion to very powerful limbs and great muscular strength, are
provided with sharp and generally much curved claws, enabling
them to strike down and hold securely the victims they have
seized. Like the carnivorous quadrupeds, these rapacious birds
can pounce so fiercely and with such exceeding violence with
The Feet of Birds. 43
their formidable talons, as generally at one blow to disable their
prey. It is invariably the claw of the hind toe by which this
severe stroke is effected, and for this purpose the beak is never
used at all, though many people have erroneous impressions to
the contrary. Hushing down with the velocity of lightning, and
with closed pinions, the falcon makes its deadly swoop from
above on the selected prey, and striking with the hind toe in
darting past, inflicts the deadly wound in a most masterly
manner, seldom missing its aim or failing in the stroke. Some-
times, too, the back of the unfortunate victim is seen to be deeply
scored throughout its whole length, while not unfrequently the
skull is completely riven and the brains dashed out by the
amazing impetus of the blow. But should the aim be by some
mischance incorrect, then rising again and sailing round in
circles, and so getting higher and higher at every turn, the falcon
again prepares for a charge, while the unhappy bird whose life is
so endangered seems instinctively to know wherein its best
chance of escape lies, and perceiving that an attack can only be
made from above, soars as high as its strength enables it.
Seldom, however, does the manoeuvre succeed, and the second
swoop of the aggressor rarely fails to send the quarry headlong
and lifeless to the ground. For inflicting such a wound, no more
perfect instrument can be conceived than the falcon's foot, so
strong, hard, and muscular, with claws so sharp, powerful, and
curved. With these weapons they can not only provide them-
selves food, but with the same instruments can grasp and carry
it off to their eyries, though it be of considerable weight. The
nature of the prey, too, so obtained and borne away varies not a
little, according to the genera comprising this extensive family ;
for fish, flesh, and fowl are all attacked by these rapacious birds.
The eagles can master a full-sized hare or a lamb; the osprey
will plunge into the river, and emerge again with a quivering
salmon firmly clutched in its talons ; the true falcons, the hawks,
the buzzards, and the harriers, content themselves with the
smaller birds and quadrupeds, and some species vary their diet
with reptiles ; but they all seize and bear off their prey with
44 Introduction.
their feet. The third and last family of the Raptores, viz., the
owls, hunting in the dusk of evening and the gray twilight of
morning, adopt a different course from their diurnal brethren of
prey ; stealing on noiseless wing round the enclosures and over
the meadows, they drop suddenly and without warning of their
approach on the mouse or other victim, which they bear away in
their feet. Their legs and toes are usually covered with downy
feathers up to the claws, assisting them in their silent move-
ments, and strong enough to carry off any victim which they
may seize. In all these carnivorous birds, can anything more
perfect be conceived than the feet with which they 'are provided,
more fitted to their respective requirements, more thoroughly
adapted to their wants ?
The second order of birds, the ' Perchers,' brings before us
quite a different form of foot, but one no less applicable to the
habits of the species which compose it ; nay, by many the form
of foot herein displayed is considered the most perfect, and
perhaps if any degrees of excellence can exist, where all are
exactly fitted to their respective uses, the mechanism of the
foot of the ' Insessores' may strike us with the greatest admira-
tion. The tarsus of all these birds is usually bare of feathers,
and the general character of the leg and foot is slight and
slender ; the number of toes is invariably four, the hind toe
being always present : in some species the claws are very long,
but in general they as well as the toes are short, and thus best
formed for perching. When, then, we look at these light and
delicate legs and feet, 'the skin reduced,' as Buffonwell describes
it, ' till it is nothing more than a bony needle/ and then observe
the size and weight of the body they have to support, is it not
astonishing with what ease and steadiness a bird can perch upon
a bough, and balance and uphold itself in that position, even in
a high wind ? is it not marvellous how, with the head reposing
under the wing and one leg drawn up under the body, it is
entirely supported on the other; and resting on so slight a
fulcrum, falls asleep, without the least danger of losing its
balance ? It is the admirable formation of these delicate
The Feet of Birds. 45
members that enables the feathered race to rest with ease in a
position in which other animals could not support themselves
for a minute ; and of which formation the true perchers afford
so excellent an example. The natural position of a bird's toes is
not, as with men's fingers, stretched out and open, but the very
reverse ; it requires an effort in the bird to spread open its toes,
just as it does in a man to close his fingers. Hence, when it
rises on the wing and flies through the air, the foot is doubled
up under the body, and the toes immediately contract, and only
unbend again when about to seize the bough of a tree ; hence,
again, when it perches on a spray, the toes, previously opened
for the purpose, grasp it by their natural flexion, and firmly
clasp the support on which they have alighted. This is a very
excellent adaptation of peculiar structure to the required end,
but in addition to this there is a most admirable piece of internal
mechanism, which I cannot better describe than in the words of
Bishop Stanley : ' Connected with the thigh-bones and leg, a cefc
of muscles run down to the very extremity of the toes, so con-
trived and placed that, when by pressure downwards the limb
bends, these fine muscles are pulled in, and therefore contract
the toes, thus making them grasp more firmly whatever the bird
is resting upon ; just as if a set of fine strings ran over pulleys to
certain hooks, and were acted upon at the other end by a weight
or pressure, and thereby made to draw in the hooks.' Such,
then, is the wonderful power given to perching birds, whereby
they can hold themselves securely even in sleep on so slender a
support. This faculty is shared in by the whole order ; but as
the families and genera which compose this extensive division are
so numerous, and obtain their food in such a variety of ways, it
is clear that there must be considerable varieties in the develop-
ment of their feet. The tribes which dwell among the boughs
of trees, now hanging with their heads downwards, now hurry-
ing along the underside of the branch, will require a foot some-
what differently formed from those which run on the ground
and perch on the topmost spray. Still, in so vast a number,
it will be impossible in this place even to touch upon the
46 Introduction.
points in which they vary ; but as throughout the entire order
there is so considerable a similarity of structure in this particular,
it will not be necessary for the due exposition of my subject to
enter into further details upon it. We have said enough to show
how worthy is the construction of their feet to give a name to
the whole order, as Insessores or ' Perchers.'
In the Rasores, or ' Ground-birds,' we shall see a formation of
foot widely differing from both the above orders. These are a
harmless and quiet race, never preying upon other creatures, but
eating berries and grain, and such food as they can find upon
the ground; and they are subject to frequent attacks from
carnivorous birds as well as quadrupeds. Their flesh, too, being
very palatable, man is not the least of their destroyers ; but with
so many enemies from which to escape, their flight is laboured
and heavy, and they are unable to protract it to any great dis-
tance. Providence, however, which leaves no creature without
some means of defence, has provided for the ground-birds a
suitable remedy in their remarkable powers of running; for
this end such feet as those which I have shown to belong to the
above-named divisions would be little adapted ; in lieu of which
they have frequently but three toes, the hind one being
altogether omitted, or, if present, it is always very small and
considerably elevated. All the toes are very short, and excel-
lently adapted for running, not only for swiftness (though that
is often very great), but also for long continuance and protracted
exertion ; moreover, they are provided with limbs of great
muscular development, as well as with short and blunt claws :
thus the members of this order, when alarmed, run from the
supposed danger at their utmost speed, and endeavour to conceal
themselves under the thickest cover at hand; and it is only
when hard pressed, and other means of escape fail, that they rise
on the wing with considerable exertion, and fly heavily away.
We come now to the two orders of Water-birds, and in each
of these we shall see the feet and legs adapted precisely to the
habits of their possessors. The Grallatores, or " Waders,' first
claim our notice. They seem to be a connecting link between
The Feet of Birds. 47
the true land and water birds, partaking somewhat of the nature
of each. 'Generally incapable of swimming, and therefore unable
to go into deep water, they are formed for passing a great
portion of their time on land ; but yet, as all their food must be
procured from the water, or from wet and marshy spots, they
haunt the vicinity of lakes or streams, or the seashore ; and, as
a combination of both elements, delight in fens and swamps,
where they can wade about, or stand motionless, fishing for prey.
For such an amphibious nature, and such dabbling habits, how
well fitted are their legs and feet ; the tarsus of extreme length ;
the tibia frequently bare of feathers to a considerable distance
above the tarsal joint ; the toes always divided, but very long,
and usually slender, and of which the third and fourth are
frequently united by a membrane ; all present admirable facilities
to these birds for indulging their wading and fishing propen-
sities ; for as the great length of leg suffers them to walk in
water of some depth, without wetting their plumage, so the
wide- spreading form of their foot enables them to stand and run
on soft and doubtful ground, without sinking in. Thus, like the
stilts and flat boards on which the fenmen of Lincolnshire have
for ages been accustomed to traverse their swamps, so the long
legs and spreading feet of the waders are the instruments with
which nature has provided them for the same purpose.
Widely different from the last described, but no less perfect,
and no less adapted to their peculiar requirements, are the feet
of the Natatores, or ' Swimmers ;' these dwell in and on the
water ; at one time on the surface, floating over the waves, at
another far below, diving for food or for safety. Many species
belonging to this order are quite incapable of walking on land,
and are but scantily provided with wings of much avail for
prolonged flight ; their chief means then of moving about are
by swimming and diving, which they do to perfection. All the
divers and auks present a grotesque and clumsy appearance on
shore : even the ducks cut but a sorry figure as they waddle
over the grass ; but place them in their own element, let them
once reach the water, and their awkwardness becomes elegance,
48 Introduction.
their clumsiness is transformed into the greatest activity. To
enable them to move about on the water with such ease and
such celerity, they are supplied with legs and feet very much
resembling the paddles used in Indian canoes : their thighs are
placed very far back, in some instances almost at their tails ;
their legs are very flat and extremely thin, like the blade of an
oar ; their feet are broad and large, and completely webbed, the
toes connected together with membranes up to the nails ; with
these they strike the water with considerable force, and thus
their bodies are impelled forwards with speed ; and as the boat-
man, in rowing, feathers his oar after each successive stroke,
and in order to offer as small a surface as possible to the resist-
ance of the air and water, presents the thin knife-like edge of
the blade, while he draws it back for the next stroke, but while
pulling it through the water presents the broad blade as a means
of obtaining a good purchase for his pull just so is it with the
feet and legs of the swimming birds ; at every stroke the broad flat
leg and the expanded webbed foot give a hearty thrust ; but in
withdrawing them again, preparatory to repeating the thrust, the
thin edge of the leg is presented to the water, and the toes are
drawn together, and closely folded up, presenting as little resist-
ance as possible, till they are spread out again for the next
stroke. With these admirable provisions for moving at will on
the waves all the swimmers are supplied, but as some families are
more expert in the water, and less able to leave it for the shore
or the air than others, there are considerable variations in the
exact formations of their feet : thus, some have only three toes ;
others have four, but frequently three only are webbed, the
fourth remaining free, and articulated high up on the tarsus;
others again, have a pendant lobe or membrane, depending from
the hind toe, while some have all four toes completely webbed
together. According to these different formations, so their
powers of swimming and diving are increased or lessened ; but
all enjoy those faculties to a considerable extent.
Such, then, are the general characters of the feet, as applicable
to the five orders. Though those of certain individual species
The Feet of Birds. 49
will in some cases be seen to vary from this description, it will
on the whole be found to be typical of the division to which it
refers. Thus we see the birds of prey armed with feet and
claws which form the most powerful weapons for striking down
and carrying off their victims. The perchers provided with so
exquisite a piece of mechanism as to enable them to seize,
balance, and support themselves on a branch with ease. The
ground-birds furnished with limbs so strong, muscles so powerful,
and feet so adapted for the purpose, as to make them seek safety
in running when beset by foes. The waders, though often unable
to swim, raised high out of the water in which they seek their
food by the length of their legs, and enabled by their spreading
toes to run lightly over water-plants and the softest mud without
danger of sinking in. The swimmers supplied with feet and
legs serving them for oars and rudders, whereby to impel for-
wards their bodies on the waves, or to seek their food far below
the surface of the water. These are all instruments so exactly
and so perfectly adapted to their respective uses, that we can
conceive nothing more applicable ; and they are plain and easy
marks to us for ascertaining the general habits and classified
position of any bird we observe. Our examination of the subject
might well stop here ; but, before concluding this paper, I would
call attention to a few remarkable instances of structure in regard
to the feet, as displayed by some particular species.
The Osprey alone, of all the family Falconidce, lives entirely
upon fish, and the nature of its prey being therefore different
from that of its congeners, it requires and is furnished with feet
peculiarly fitted for seizing and holding securely the slippery
denizens of the deep. In the first place, in lieu of the long
feathers which commonly clothe the thighs of the falcon race,
short ones are substituted, which leave more freedom for action
in the water ; then the outer toe is reversible, and can at pleasure
be turned backwards, so that, as Yarrell tells us, it is the custom
of the bird to < seize the prey across the body, placing the inner
and outer toes at right angles with the middle and hind toes ;
and, digging in the claws, to hold the fish most firmly by four
4
50 Introduction.
opposite points.' Moreover, the soles of its feet are remarkably
rough, and covered with protuberances, while the talons are very
much curved, sharp, and strong, that of the outer toe being the
largest, which is contrary to the usual custom ; and all these
peculiarities tend to the holding with greater security the slimy
victims on which it lives.
The Nightjar, which feeds at twilight, presents another very
peculiar formation of foot. This is small and weak in proportion
to the size of the bird, but is remarkable for the claw of the
middle toe, which is particularly long and serrated, or pectinated,
on its inner edge, and resembles a comb with seven or eight
teeth. Now the food of the nightjar consists of moths, but
especially of fern-chaffers, beetles, and such late flying insects,
the legs of which are often terminated with hooked claws, to
detach which from the wide gaping mouth, and from the bristles
with which the upper mandible of the beak is fringed, this comb-
like claw is probably appended to the foot ; I say probably, for
much difference of opinion has existed with reference to its use.
Gilbert White, and others after him, thought they could perceive
the bird put out its short leg while on the wing and deliver
something into its mouth, and thus accounted for its use, that it
enabled the bird to hold more securely in its foot the insect it
had caught ; but for such a purpose it certainly seems but very
ill calculated.
The Swift furnishes another instance of remarkable structure
of foot. As it passes the livelong day in unceasing and rapid
flight, it requires no great development of leg and foot ; thus the
tarsus is exceedingly short and thick, so short as to render the
bird incapable of rising from a flat surface, and therefore it never
alights on the ground. For rest and for incubation it retires to
the eaves of steeples and towers, to the perpendicular walls of
which, and to the face of cliffs, its foot is well adapted to cling ;
thus it consists of four toes, all of which are directed forwards,
and are armed with very hooked claws, and quite divided, and
which give it the appearance of belonging to a quadruped rather
than a bird.
The Feet of Birds. 51
The Woodpeckers are also furnished with feet most suitable to
their climbing habits. Each foot is provided with four toes,
arranged in pairs, two directed forwards and two backwards ;
these afford an immense support, and as they are very strong and
terminate with hooked claws, it may be conceived what useful
instruments they must be to birds whose lives are passed in
climbing about the trunks and branches of trees ; indeed, very
similar in form are they to the iron crampions which the Swiss
chamois-hunter affixes to the soles of his feet when about to
scale the precipices of the Alps and climb among the dangerous
chasms of the glacier.
Again, the Avocet is provided with feet of singular construc-
tion. This bird is a wader in every sense, deriving its food from
the softest mud at the estuaries of rivers, to support it on which
no ordinary feet would suffice ; we see the toes, therefore, united
for a considerable part of their length by a concave membrane,
not wholly webbed, for the bird is incapable of swimming to any
distance, but semi-palmated, and connected far more than those
of any other species in the order ; the tarsus, too, is long and
slender: the tibia naked for two-thirds of its entire length, so
that it can wade into water of considerable depth, in search of
food.
No less singular in the appearance of its legs and feet is the
Black-winged Stilt, or Long-legged Plover; either name at
once points to the remarkable and apparently disproportionate
length of its legs, on which its body seems raised up above the
water, as if on stilts. It is almost needless to add that this bird,
too, obtains its food by wading in muddy creeks and shallows on
the shore.
The Coots and Phalaropes, which compose jthe small family
lobe-footed, claim our attention last. I have before alluded to
them as the connecting-link between the true waders and
swimmers, and their feet certainly present a peculiarity, par-
taking of the form which is characteristic of both those orders.
Thus, though the toes are not wholly united by a connecting
membrane, yet they are furnished laterally with it to such a
42
52 Introduction.
degree as almost to answer the same purpose. This membrane,
so extended, forms what are technically called ' rounded lobes ;'
hence their family name ; and with such curious feet these birds
seem as active on land as they are in the water running, walk-
ing, even climbing trees, wading, swimming, and diving with the
greatest ease.
Thus the feet of birds, though with a certain general similarity
of structure, differ one from another in a variety of ways. As
their habits and manner of life vary exceedingly, and as they are
constituted to occupy no less than three elements earth, air,
and water we see every individual furnished with such' means
of locomotion as best suit its own particular sphere. Had the
lordly eagle, pouncing on its quarry, but the foot of a partridge
wherewith to inflict his wound, starvation must be his lot ; or
had the pheasant to run from danger with the feet of the diver,
slight, indeed, would be its chance of escape. The heron, if sup-
ported on the legs of a hawk, would certainly be drowned in
fishing for food. The rook would rest but insecurely on the
bough of the elm, if it clasped its support only with the feet of
the plover. But now, supplied with such instruments as their
respective pursuits require, all are enabled with ease to obey
their own peculiar instincts, and fill the place allotted to them in
nature.
I have now brought to a conclusion my preliminary remarks on
the general structure, and a few of the more prominent attributes
of the feathered race ; and perhaps I ought to apologise to my
readers for the length to which these remarks have run. I trust
that on the whole they have not been uninteresting, and to some,
perhaps, they may pave the way to a clearer understanding of
the life history of the several species which occur in our county,
which we are now about to consider ; while I feel sure that all of
us who examine these particulars with care and consideration
must be led thereby to admire the perfection of the works of the
Creator, and the wondrous means by which His ends are reached.
I cannot better close this part of my subject than in the words of
The Feet of Birds. 53
the poet who was so accurate and so admiring an observer of the
various works of God :
' Let no presuming impious railer tax
Creative Wisdom, as if aught was form'd
In vain, or not for admirable ends.
Shall little haughty ignorance pronounce
His works unwise, of which the smallest part
Exceeds the narrow vision of her mind ?
As if upon a full proportioned dome
Of swelling columns heav'd, the pride of art !
A critic-fly, whose feeble ray scarce spreads
An inch around, with blind presumption bold,
Should dare to tax the structure of the whole.
And lives the man, whose universal eye
Has swept at once th' unbounded scheme of things,
Mark'd their dependance so, and firm accord,
As with unfaltering accent to conclude
That this availeth naught ? Has any seen
The mighty chain of beings, lessening down
From Infinite Perfection to the brink
Of dreary nothing, desolate abyss !
From which astonished thought, recoiling, turns V
Till then alone let zealous praise ascend
And hymns of holy wonder, to that Power
Whose wisdom shines as lovely on our minds
As on our smiling eyes His servant sun/
CHAPTER II.
FALCONIM. THE FALCONS.
* So when a falcon skims the airy way,
Stoops from the clouds, and pounces on his prey ;
Dash'd on the earth the feather'd victim lies,
Expands its feeble wings, and flutt'ring dies/
P. WHITEHEAD : The Gymnasiad, Book 3.
HAVING in the Introduction treated of the general structure and
the classification of birds, and the particular characteristics of
the various orders and tribes, with especial reference to the beaks
and feet, which generally point out with sufficient clearness their
habits and consequent position, I come now, without further
preface, to describe in order the families into which those orders
and tribes are subdivided, and to give some short account of
each individual species, which, as a resident, a periodical or an
occasional visitant in our county, has come under my observation.
I have already shown that the first Order, ' Birds of Prey,' con-
sists of three families, the Vultures, Falcons, and Owls. Of the
first of these (Vulturidce) no member has ever been recognised in
this county ; and, indeed, it is only from the very rare occurrence
of a straggler or two on our shores, probably driven out of their
course by strong and adverse winds, that the vultures have of late
obtained a place amongst British birds, for they are essentially
inhabitants of tropical countries, and to such neither Great
Britain in general, nor Wiltshire in particular, can by any means
claim to belong. And yet it seems strange that with such
immense powers of flight, and abounding, as they do, within a
few hours of Great Britain, they should not more frequently visit
us, more especially in summer. Even the short- winged warblers
The Falcons. 55
and other diminutive migrants of comparatively feeble wing,
cross the seas and visit us annually ; and yet the two vultures
which have earned a place in the British list by their rare visits,
viz., the great ' Griffon Vulture' (Vultur fulvus), and the
' Egyptian Vulture ' (Neophron percnopterus)* both of which I
have seen abounding in North Africa, and not uncommonly in
the South of Spain, very seldom diverge from their own districts
so far as to touch on these northern regions, though they love to
soar and sail in circles for hours at a great height above the
earth, and to float on motionless wing without effort. Better
perhaps, for them and for us that they keep their distance from
our shores ; for them, because, invaluable as they are from their
habits in tropical countries, where the whole system of drainage
is absolutely unknown, and where they delight to gorge them-
selves on putrid substances, they would soon starve in civilized
England; for in this highly favoured land, where Urban and
Rural Sanitary Authorities, Inspectors of Nuisances, and other
such high-sounding titles meet us at every turn, what business
would the vultures find to do ? and how much out of their
element they would be ! Better, too, for us, and we need not
regret their absence, for they are birds of such filthy habits that
their presence is certainly not agreeable to the olfactory senses,
and their near approach is by no means to be desired. Let none,
however, despise these most useful scavengers, which are de-
servedly held in high esteem in their native countries, and
protected as such by the inhabitants ; for as the storks in Holland
and Germany, and the dogs in Constantinople and the East, so in
Egypt and South America the vultures, arriving in vast numbers
from all parts of the heavens, may be seen clearing away the
offal and the garbage to which they are in some mysterious
manner attracted, and which would otherwise poison the atmo-
sphere. Indeed, but for their invaluable aid, I do not know how
* Neophron is derived by the Committee of the British Ornithologists'
Union (in the list wh'ich they compiled in 1883, and which I shall hereafter
refer to as the B. O. U. list) from vkoq <t>pi}v, ' childish in mind,' so called
from the bird's having ' the front of the head naked.' See Eyton's 'Rarer
British Birds,' p. 3. And percnopterus, 'dusky winged,' from
56 Falcon'
the inhabitants of the undrained cities and villages of the east
and south could exist.
Neither should we condemn their cowardice, as we watch a
vulture of large size and imposing aspect, with bald head and
naked neck, and forbidding beak, driven away from a savoury
carcase by some impertinent hooded crow a very giant giving
place to a pigmy. It is not the nature of the vulture to attack
any animals, or to fight, or to resist. He is but fulfilling his
destiny in the sphere assigned to him, as, to his own mortification,
he withdraws from the coveted banquet which he had just begun
to enjoy, on the arrival of some bold but puny self-invited guest,
biding his time till other more fierce birds or beasts have satisfied
their appetites, when he in turn gorges himself to repletion, and
then, with drooping wings and widespread tail, basks in the
blazing sunshine. At such times they are not pleasing objects,
but, on the contrary, disagreeable and even disgusting ; but it is
otherwise as we watch them soaring on outstretched wing high in
the air, now advancing in wide circles, and ever scanning the
ground below with piercing eyes, constantly on the look-out for
some savoury morsel. In their own lands, too, their numbers
are astonishing ; and it is wonderful to see them collect from all
parts of the heavens when one of their fellows has detected some
choice carrion, and his descent upon it has been descried by
others from their exalted position, far beyond the reach of human
sight
The second family, ' FalconicUe/ embraces the Eagles, Falcons,
Buzzards, Harriers and Hawks, of all descriptions ; and each of
these genera is represented by one at least, and some by several
species, which from tune to time, with more or less frequency,
may be seen within the borders of Wiltshire. Most of them,
however, are becoming scarcer every year, driven away by inces-
sant persecution, and some of them seem to have altogether
abandoned the localities they frequented but a few years ago.
So much is this the case, that to see a hawk on the wing, though
he be of the commonest species, is not now the every-day sight
that it was only thirty years ago. To meet with this great family
The Falcons. 57
in abundance, I must again conduct my readers to Lower Egypt,
where the vultures are so numerous, and there kites, hawks,
buzzards and harriers, swarm to such a degree that the air seems
alive with them ; and on one occasion, from a commanding
position on one of the minarets of Cairo (the lofty tower and the
clearness of the atmosphere enabling the eye to take in a very
wide area), I counted above a hundred individuals of this Order
in the air at the same time. The Falconidse, in common with all
other birds of prey (and in this again they resemble the carni-
vorous quadrupeds), are monogamous, or live in pairs; they
seldom drink, but during the heat of summer delight to wash
themselves : they usually swallow part of the fur and feathers of
their victims with their food, but this and all other indigestible
parts, as bones, etc., they afterwards disgorge in large pellets, or
castings, by the mouth, and they will often skin animals and
pluck birds with the greatest dexterity. In the whole family of
Falcons there is a very remarkable difference in size between the
male and female, the latter being (contrary to what we see in
other kinds) by far the largest and strongest ; and from the fact
of the male being usually a third less in size than its mate, it
generally received the name of Tiercelet or Tiercel, as a Tiercel
Peregrine, a Tiercelet Sparrow-hawk, meaning the males of those
species.* They are divided into the long- winged or ' noble,' and
the short-winged or ' ignoble/ as they were respectively denomi-
nated in the good old days of hawking : the long-winged, or true
falcons, were those most highly prized and most frequently
reclaimed ; and there are a few plain points of difference by
which they may be easily distinguished from their more ignoble
brethren. Thus, in the beak of the true falcon we shall find a
prominent tooth in the upper mandible, and a corresponding
notch in the lower one; while in the short-winged genera we
shall see instead of the notch a small festoon, or marginal lobe,
* Shakespeare uses the word, corrupted into Tassel, in the famous balcony
scene of Romeo and Juliet :
' O, for a falconer's voice,
To lure this tassel-gentle back again !' Act ii., scene 2.
58 Falconidce.
as it is styled. Again, in the true falcons, the iris, or coloured
circle surrounding the pupil of the eye, will be always seen to be
dark ; while in the ignoble birds the irides are universally bright
yellow. And again, in flight, the true falcon soars to a great
height, and descends with a swoop upon its prey, while the
short-winged pursue it in a direct line near the earth ; but both
display considerable strength, boldness, and activity, and of
both I am proud to enumerate a goodly list as belonging to this
county. Doubtless in olden time, when every gentleman and
lady also had a cast or two of hawks, our wide open Wiltshire
downs were much resorted to for the noble sport of falconry,
and called forth such commendations for remarkable suitability
for the sport as were bestowed on it some years since by one of
the few genuine falconers remaining in the kingdom, Mr. Pells,
when he exercised, on the downs above Lavington, the royal
falcons, six magnificent Peregrines, the property of the hereditary
Grand Falconer, the Duke of St. Albans. Hawking has long
since gone by, and the hound has usurped the place of the
falcon ; but it must have been a goodly sight to see a hawking-
party equipped for the field: prancing steeds bearing gallant
knights, and palfreys carrying ladies fair ; the falconer with his
stand of hawks, and each falcon bearing a silver bell on her foot,
and capped with a gay hood, surmounted by a plume. Then
when the open down was reached and the game was flushed ;
what excitement to watch the unhooded hawks start in pursuit,
the rapidity of their flight, their graceful soaring in circles above
their victim, the sudden pounce, the deadly swoop, the terrific
blow; what galloping (and that somewhat blindly and dan-
gerously, with eyes directed upwards) to come up with the
falcon, which has ' bound ' to its victim, and fluttered with it to
the earth ; what enticing with the lure, what caressing it when
recovered and safely hooded once more. But these days have
gone by, and though our downs remain inviting to the sport,
and the falcons and hawks range over them in considerable
numbers, they are looked upon no longer with favour, but are
persecuted, hunted, and destroyed by every gamekeeper and
White-tailed Eagle. 59
sportsman no longer the honoured, the petted, and the prized,
but the special objects of vengeance, the marked victims of the
gun and the snare. And yet, though no longer trained for the
chase, but hunted down by the preserver of game as his most
deadly foes, who can forbear to admire the symmetry and
strength of body, the boldness, the courage, the sagacity, of this
whole family? Who can withhold admiration at their noble
bearing, their velocity of flight, the keenness of their sight, the
gracefulness of their evolutions in the air ? But as I am not
writing a panegyric on falcons, but only a plain history of them,
I will proceed at once to enumerate the species which have
occurred in this county.
1. THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE (ffaliceet'us albicilla).
First and foremost in the ranks of the Falconidse stands the
lordly eagle, no less the king of birds than the lion is allowed to
rank monarch of quadrupeds. The strength and courage of this
genus so commended it to the heathen poets that they made it
the attendant of Jupiter, and declared that alone of the feathered
tribes it could brave the thunderbolt, or gaze with fixed eye at the
sun's dazzling orb ; for the same reasons the Romans, Assyrians
and Persians adopted it as their standard in ancient times, and
it forms the crest or emblem of monarchy in Russia, Prussia,
Austria, France, and other empires of modern days. Its
longevity, too (for it has been proved to live above a hundred
years), and its love of solitude, combine to give it dignity and
majesty ; so that in appearance and habits, as well as by general
consent, it is allowed to be a 'right royal bird.' In Great
Britain, the cliffs of Scotland and Ireland and the wildest parts
of our sea-coast are the abode of the eagles ; and there, on the
most inaccessible rocks, and on the edges of the most dizzy
precipices, they place their eyries, and from thence they sally
forth in quest of prey, and goodly and ample and of great variety
is the stock of game, in addition to an occasional lamb or fawn,
with which they supply their young, as the rocks adjoining theifc
60 Falconidw.
nest have often testified, converted during the breeding season
by these insatiable marauders into a well-filled larder.
Of the different species of eagles, the ' Golden' one (Aquila,
chrysaetos) is generally considered the first, as it is the boldest
and most active, as well as the largest ; and I had hoped to
have enumerated it among the birds of Wilts, in consequence of
a notice which appeared in the Berkshire Chronicle and the
Zoologist, in January, 1847, to the effect that a fine specimen of
this species had been killed by the gamekeeper at Littlecote,
who discovered it feeding on a dead doe, and so gorged with
venison as to be unable to fly off. On inquiry, however, I learnt
from Mr. Popham that the species was mistaken, and that it was
the ' Cinereous ' or ' White- tailed' (not the Golden) eagle, which
was killed in his park. The confusion seems to have arisen from
the unwonted size of the specimen, its length being 37 inches,
and its breadth from tip to tip of the extended wings 8 feet, a
very unusual magnitude for this species. There is, however,
in addition to the fulvous or golden plumage of the one, and the
white tail of the other (whence their specific names), an un-
failing mark of distinction by which these two species of eagles
may be distinguished at all ages, which I will give in the words
of Mr. Yarrell : ' In the foot of the Golden Eagle each toe is
covered with small reticulations as far as the last phalanx,
then with three broad scales. In the foot of the White- tailed
Eagle the reticulations are confined to the tarsus, the whole
length of each toe being covered with broad scales.' But the
Golden Eagle is a very much rarer bird so far south, and indeed
is almost unknown in these latitudes ; and I am inclined with
the late Mr. Knox, the talented author of ' Ornithological
Rambles in Sussex/ to regard with considerable suspicion the
announcement in local papers, which of late have frequently
caught my eye, of the occurrence of the Golden Eagle in the
neighbouring counties of Somerset and Berks. But though I
have no authentic instance of the Golden Eagle as a voluntary
visitor to Wiltshire, I had oftentimes the pleasure of seeing a
magnificent specimen of this bird in confinement at Spye Park,
White-tailed Eagle. 61
which my friend Major Spicer brought with him from Scotland ;
and very noble and very fierce he used to look in the large space
allotted him for a residence; nor was it safe for any stranger
to approach very near the iron bars of his abode. Sir
Kalph Payne-Gallwey,* than whom there can be no better
authority, says that, active and strong as he is, the Golden Eagle
cannot grasp with his foot so firmly as his white-tailed congener,
but seems rather more fitted to seize small animals on the
ground, and there hold them to eat on the spot ; and he adds
that in warm bright weather eagles are inactive, but when the
day is wild and boisterous they wheel continuously through the
sky, and appear to glory in the tempest. I have in my posses-
sion the foot, which I picked up from the road in Norway, in
1850, of what must have been in life a splendid specimen of the
Golden Eagle. Doubtless this foot had been cut off by the captor
of the bird, and accidentally dropped on its way to the authori-
ties, who, on its production, would pay the premium granted by
Government for the destruction of such birds of prey; in the
same spirit as, we are told by Montagu, that, in order to ex-
tirpate the Golden Eagle, there is a law in the Orkney Isles
which entitles any person who kills an eagle to a hen out of
every house in the parish in which it is killed.
It is interesting and refreshing to learn, as I do from the Rev.
A. P. Morres, who appears to have excellent authority for the
statement, that the Golden Eagle in Scotland is not by any means
the rare bird whose speedy extermination has been prophesied
by some ; for there are from sixty to eighty of this species now
breeding in that country ; whereas of the Sea Eagle, which has
been generally supposed to be greatly more abundant, there are
now but twenty nests. It may seem strange and even incre-
dible to some that such a bird census can be taken with any
accuracy ; but to those who are familiar with gamekeepers and
their habits, and are aware of the importance attached to an
eagle's nest, whether its owner desires to protect or destroy it,
' The Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 291305.
62 Falconidce.
such intimate knowledge of their numbers will be readily under-
stood. The English is a close translation of the scientific name :
haliceetus being derived from a\9 + aero?, ' sea eagle,' and albicilla
1 white-tailed/
The White -tailed Eagle, or Erne, compared with the Golden
Eagle, is as Sir R. Payne-Gallwey points out as a vulture to a
hawk ; indeed, while the latter is so comely, and puts on such a
lordly air of nobility, the Erne is somewhat vulture-like in shape
and in aspect. As with that ' ignoble' bird, its plumage, too, is
often ragged and untidy ; the ends of the wing-feathers, and
above all the tail, are rarely perfect, generally bruised and dis-
coloured, and often much worn. This seems to show that it
frequently rests and feeds on level soft ground, such as borders
the sea. It will also, on occasion, feed on carrion, which the
nobler bird would disdain to touch. In France it is known as
Aigle Pygargue or VOrfraie; in Germany as Fisch-adler ; and in
Sweden as Hafs-'6i*n, 'Sea-Eagle.'
In addition to the example of the White-tailed Eagle, or Erne,
given above, I was informed by the late Rev. G. Marsh, (and
further details have been kindly given me by Lord Suffolk,) that
a splendid specimen of this species was caught in a trap, on
December llth, 1841, by his Lordship's gamekeeper in Stone-
hill Wood, part of the old forest of Braydon : it was a female,
and for ten days had previously been observed by the keeper
soaring very high in the air, and it committed very great devas-
tations amongst the game; consequently a gin was set for it,
and in this it was caught, and when first found by the keeper
was but little injured. Its fierceness, however, prevented its
being taken alive, for the man dare not remove it from the
trap till he had killed it. It is now preserved at Charlton ;
and a grand bird indeed it is, and well deserves to stand, as it
does, at the very head of the feathered tribes of Wiltshire.
There is, also, a brief notice in the 'Report of the Maryborough
College Natural History Society,' for the half-year ending
Christmas, 1867, to the effect that 'a White-tailed Eagle was
shot in Savernake Forest in 1859 ;' but no further details are
White-tailed Eagle. 63
given.* In addition to these I have another record of the occur-
rence of the Eagle in Wiltshire, and that is an extract from the
Salisbury Journal, bearing date as long ago as the middle of
the last century, kindly sent me by Mr. Waylen. It is to the
effect that ' one summer evening an eagle was observed sailing
towards the summit of Salisbury Cathedral; he reposed there
all night, and early in the morning set sail northwards/ Nor
is that the only occasion on which the spire of Salisbury Cathedral
has been so honoured. In the year 1828 or 1829 a similar case
occurred, of which a highly respected Rector of a Wiltshire
parish was an eye-witness, and within the last few weeks has
furnished me with the particulars. My informant was, at that
time, a young boy at the celebrated school kept by Dr. RadclhTe
at Salisbury, and he describes the house and school buildings,
which have long since disappeared, as entered from Castle Street ;
and his bedroom as over the large and lofty school-room, and its
windows as giving a view of the upper part of the spire, uninter-
rupted by the neighbouring houses. It was on a summer evening,
at about five or six o'clock, that an eagle, said to have come from
a northerly direction, took its place on the grand perch it had
selected, on the vane above the spire. The night chanced to be
that of a full moon, and the sky was cloudless. Just before
bedtime my informant came into possession, for the first time in
his life, of ' Lord Byron's Tales/ which were printed in good bold
type, so that he was able to read them easily by the light of the
moon ; and now, after an interval of nearly sixty years, he recol-
lects reading for several hours, seated on the window-seat of his
bedroom, but frequently raising his eyes to look at the great bird
on the weather-cock of the spire. A plot, it appears, was made
by some to shoot the eagle with a rifle-ball, and a party went up
for that purpose to the ' eight-doors/ or in other words to the
place where the base of the spire rests on the tower ; but happily
their endeavours were baffled by the large ball which projects
itself below the cross ; and early in the morning the eagle floated
away southward, unharmed. *
* Page 39.
64 Fakonidce.
2. THE OSPREY (Pandion haliwetus).
This fine species generally lives altogether on fish, and to seize
its slippery prey with its powerful talons it hesitates not to plunge
into rivers and lakes, on the borders of which it may therefore be
looked for. I have described its remarkable conformation of foot, so
exactly fitted to this purpose, on a previous page. So its plumage,
too, and especially on the under parts of the body, is not composed
of long feathers, such as we generally see in the other members
of this family, but is close and firm, like that of the waterfowl
Hovering over the waters, with an undulatory motion of wing, no
sooner has its eagle-glance discovered a fish near the surface,
than down it dashes with the velocity of an arrow, and bearing its
quivering and slippery but firmly-clutched victim away in its feet,
retires to some secluded rock, where, unmolested, it can devour it
at leisure. So deep are its talons embedded in the fish, that it
seldom cares to relax its hold till the fish is almost consumed,
picking out the flesh from between its toes with great dexterity.
Frequently, however, the poor Osprey is not suffered to enjoy its
hardly-earned prize in peace, for the last-named species, the
White- tailed Eagle, not fitted itself for plunging into the sea, but
liking to vary its diet of flesh and fowl with an occasional fish,
sits on some rock or bough, a patient but interested spectator of
the sport, watching the Osprey's manoeuvres, and eager for its
success; then, no sooner has it made a successful pounce, and
risen from the waters rejoicing in its prey, than down comes the
Eagle in pursuit, and gives instant chase. Its superior strength
and speed usually bring success, and though the poor ' fish-hawk '
will not surrender its booty without an effort, but rises in circles
higher and higher, yet, encumbered with its burden, it is no match
for its assailant, and is at last compelled to drop the fish, which
the Erne, with astonishing quickness, manages to seize before it
falls into the water, and bears off with a scream of victory and
triumph. 'Possibly' says Montagu ' the Osprey was formerly
trained for hawking of fish, as we find by an Act passed in the
reign of William and Mary persons were prohibited at a certain
The Osprey. 65
period of the year from taking any salmon, salmon-peal, or
salmon-kind, by hawkes. racks, gins, etc.' Of all birds none has a
wider range than the Osprey, for it is found in nearly all parts of
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. From China, Japan, and
India in the east ; by Palestine, and the countries bordering on
the Mediterranean, to the West Indies and America, to the west ;
from Scandinavia, Kussia, and Siberia, in the north ; to Egypt,
North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope, in the south,
this cosmopolitan seems equally at home, but selects a suitable
season for its visit to each, and never winters in Great Britain, as
Professor Newton points out,* America, however, seems to be
its stronghold, and there it congregates for breeding in vast
numbers, just as rooks do in this country ; and of this the
American ornithologist, Wilson, gives many interesting particu-
lars. Its general colour is brown above and white below, with a
white crown to its head; legs, pale blue. In allusion to the
rapidity with which it darts upon fish, it is called by the Italians
Aquila piombino, or 'Leaden Eagle;' and in Hampshire and
Sussex it is known as the c mullet hawk/ from its partiality for
that fish. In Spain it is the Ayuila pescadora, or ' Fishing Eagle;'
in Portugal Aguia pesqueira; in Italy Aquila pescatrice; and
in Germany, Flusadler, ' River Eagle ;' in Sweden Fisk Ljuse ;
and in France Aigle Balbusard. Our term, 'osprey/ is as
if ' osfray,' from os and frangere, ' bone-breaker,' in allusion to
the bird's strength ; and for this derivation I have the high
authority of Skeat. Notwithstanding the scarcity of large sheets
of water in this county, this bird has been often killed in different
parts of it, and not unfrequently within the last few years. Mr.
Rowland shot a very fine specimen at Ramsbury, near the river
Kennet, about A.D. 1855, at a piece of water in the occupation of
Sir R. Burdett ; and at the adjoining fishery, belonging to Mr.
Popham, that gentleman informs me he has also met with and
killed it. The Rev. G. Marsh had one in his collection which the
keeper obtained in Draycot Park in 1830, and was, when seen,
preying on a rabbit (contrary to its usual habits), and was very
Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. i., p. 80.
5
66 Falconidce.
poor; and another, a very fine one, was killed at Brinkworth,
near Malmesbury, in August, 1852. I also learn from Mr.
Stratton that two were killed some years ago in the neighbour-
hood of Warminster ; and in the summer of 1856 a fine male
specimen, now in the collection of Mr. Rawlence, of Wilton, was
caught at Longleat by means of a spring trap set under water
and baited with a large trout. On October 16th, 1872, as I
learnt from the Field, since corroborated by the keeper, a fine
Osprey was shot at Fonthill, which measured four feet nine inches
across the wings. On October 19th, 1881, two Ospreys were
killed at Seend, one of which came into the possession of Mr.
Penruddocke, of that place, and was preserved by Mr. Grant, of
Devizes. It was a large specimen, and measured across the ex-
tended wings four feet eight inches ; length, one foot eight inches ;
weight, three and a half pounds. And on October 14th, 1882, two
others were killed at Wilton Park, as I was informed by Mr.
Swayne, of that town, who also called my attention to the re-
markable coincidence of two Ospreys having been killed in the
same park just one hundred years previously, as recorded in the
Salisbury Journal of October 14th, 1782. And the last whose
capture in this county I have to record, was a fine specimen, shot
by the keeper at ' The Broad/ Ramsbury, on September 26th, 1883,
as Sir F. Burdett kindly informed me, and is preserved at the
Manor House.
3. THE GYR-FALCON (Falco gyrfalco).
Such was the specific name by which all the magnificent white
falcons were known, which occasionally visited Great Britain, until
Mr. John Hancock, after comparing more than 150 specimens
some of which may be remembered as a splendid group in the
First Great Exhibition of 1851 came to the conviction, which has
since been adopted by most of the leading ornithologists of Europe,
that there are three distinct species bearing this title, two of which
are known to have occurred in Britain, viz., the ' Greenland falcon '
(Falco candicans), and the ' Iceland falcon ' (Falco islandus).
The former is the whitest of the two, the ground-colour of each
Gyr-Falcon. 67
feather being white with dark markings, while in the latter the
ground-colour is dark, with light markings thereon ; or, in other
words, in the Greenland bird, at all ages, the prevailing colour is
white, while in the Icelander it is dark, as has been admirably
set forth by Professor Newton.* Very nearly approaching to the
eagles in size, and by far the most rare, as well as the strongest
and most valuable of the falcons trained for the chase, are these
White Falcons, whether Greenland, Iceland, or Scandinavian,
which is the third species, in reality the true Gyr-Falcon, but
which is not known to have visited England. The prevailing
colour of all of them is white, more or less spotted with brown ;
but each year diminishes the dark spots, so that in very old
specimens the bird assumes a plumage of almost perfect white-
ness, from which constant variations in colour have arisen the
many conflicting opinions as to the identity of the several species.
They are natives of the most northern latitudes, and, though
nowhere numerous, have, from their excessive value, often
tempted falconers to their capture on the inhospitable shores of
Greenland, Iceland, Lapland, and Norway. Indeed, so highly
were they prized in bygone days, that the King of Denmark
reserved for his own use all that were found in his dominions,
and sent his falconer annually to Iceland to obtain a fresh supply ;
and so rigid was this game law, that the penalty of death was the
result of an infringement of it, by destroying one of the royal
birds. In this country, and in more modern times, no less than
1,000 have been given for a well-trained cast (or couple) of these
falcons, which were used for flying at the larger kinds of game
herons, cranes, wild geese, etc. Much doubt has existed as to
the origin of the specific appellation ' Gyr ;' it is by some said to
be derived from the German word geyer, a vulture, from a sup-
posed resemblance in this splendid falcon to that ignoble bird, or
from its being of a vulture size; but others, apparently with
more reason, attribute it to the wide gyrations which this species,
above all others, makes before its stoop, which on all hands is
allowed to be remarkably grand, rapid, and daring. It is very
Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i., p. 39.
52
68 Falconidce.
seldom that the Gyr-Falcon makes its appearance in England,
though in Scotland it is not very infrequent ; but I place it
among the birds that have occurred in Wiltshire without the
least hesitation, on the authority of Mr. Benjamin Hay ward, of
Easterton, than whom no one in the county has devoted more
attention to, or has had greater experience of, the whole family
Falconidce, as an out- door observer and accurate naturalist.
From him I learnt that he saw this fine, and, when once known,
unmistakable species in the neighbourhood of Cliffe Hall, at a
place called Ramscliffe, on the 9th December, 1842 ; but at the
time, having never seen or heard of the Gyr-Falcon, he mistook it
for an albino variety of the Peregrine, and marvelled at its beauty
and size. Farther inquiry, however, proved to him beyond a
doubt that it was a genuine Icelander. In France it is Faucon
Gerfaut de Norwfye ; in Germany Islandische Falke; in Italy
Sparviere bianco di Moscovia; but in Norway Jagt-Falk, ' Hunt-
ing Falcon,' and often called Rip-Falk, ' Ripa (or Ptarmigan)
Falcon/ from its special pursuit of that bird.
4. PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus).
Hitherto I have recorded the occurrence of species, all of which
have been only occasional and very rare stragglers in the county ;
now I come to one which is comparatively abundant, and may be
met with quite as much, if not more, in Wiltshire than in any
other part of England ; our wide open downs being, as I before
remarked, so admirably adapted to its habits. From its greater
abundance, as well as from its size and strength, the Peregrine has
been principally trained for falconry, and, among the few who still
pursue that noble sport, this is the species usually kept for the
purpose. It is, moreover, a docile, tractable bird, and repays the
trainer's care and attention by its remarkable courage, strength,
and activity in the chase, and no less peculiar teachableness and
obedience to his call. It received the specific name of ' Pere-
grine ' on account of its immense geographical range ; its won-
derful powers of flight, both as regards speed and endurance,
enabling it to traverse vast distances in an extremely short space
Peregrine Falcon. 69
of time, and scarcely a country in the world exists in which the
Peregrine has not been noticed by naturalists. Colonel Montagu,
speaking of this bird, with which he must have become very
familiar when residing in Wiltshire, computes its flight to be not
less than one hundred, or perhaps one hundred and fifty, miles an
hour. He says that the female, when a yearling, was termed a
'Red Falcon,' and the male a 'Red Tiercel;' and, when thoroughly
trained and docile, they were called ' Gentil,' or ' Gentle hawks.'*
When I penned my account of its occurrence in Wiltshire, just
thirty years ago, I was enabled to say that in this county we
might almost call it abundant. Indeed, so frequently was it
seen, that I then deemed it scarcely necessary to particularize
localities of its capture or occurrence. At that time I used to
see it quite frequently on the Roundway Downs, on the All
Cannings Downs, and on the downs between Marlborough and
Devizes. Notices, too, were sent me of its occurrence in almost
all parts of the county, and Mr. Withers, the able bird-stuffer, of
Devizes, had usually one in his hands. Mr. Stratton, of Gore
Cross Farm, above Lavington (who is a great lover of falcons, and
watches them keenly), assured me that his farm was seldom
without one, and that no sooner was one shot or trapped, than
another made her appearance in its place ; and as a proof of
their abundance, I extract the following interesting notes of his
success with these birds from a register kept by Mr. B. Hayward :
Jan. 1, 1836. ! Peregrine (a Falcon) caught at Ramscliffe.
March 28, 1842. Another (a Falcon) caught at ditto.
Dec. 30, 1842. Another (a Falcon) at Ramscliffe.
Dec. 8, 1849. Another (a male), weight lib. 6ozs.
Nov. 9, 1850. Another (a male), weight Iflb.
Jan. 22, 1853. Another (a Falcon), weight 2lb.
The above extract proves two interesting facts the plentifulness
of the species in that locality, and the difference in size between
the female (called par excellence the Falcon), and the male (called
the Tiercel, as above described). But now they have become very
Supplement to Ornithological Dictionary.
70 Falconidce.
much more scarce, at least in North Wilts, as I know by my own
experience, and it is now quite a rare thing with me to see a
Peregrine on our downs. The Rev. A. P. Moires is more fortu-
nate in the south of the county, for he says that for the last
fifteen years or so, not a year has passed without his having
noticed it once or twice in that immediate district, and he adds,
and doubtless with good reason, that the lofty spire of the
cathedral, round which he has seen four Peregrines soaring at one
time, offered an irresistible attraction as a secure resting-place,
whither it would carry its prey to devour it without fear of intru-
sion ; and where it is stoutly affirmed by some, though denied by
others, that it has been known to nest Lord Pembroke was so
good as to inform me that a year or two ago, when the Peregrine
Falcons were building on the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, one of
his keepers more than once saw them attack the herons; the
heron, at least on one of these occasions, dropped on to the
ground, and there stood at its full height, with its beak pointing
straight upwards, like a large spike, and the falcons, not daring to
touch him in that position, swooped down to the ground on one
side of him. Probably the heron was pretty close to the ground
when so attacked, and was able to get down to the earth before
the falcons could stoop; but on no occasion did the keeper
see the falcons succeed in killing a heron. His lordship adds
that he has been assured by an old servant on the estate, that
before his time Peregrine Falcons used to build in the park at
Wilton, until they were at length driven away by the ravens.
Though certainly become far more scarce than it was thirty
years ago, I should mislead if I were to imply that it is by any
means a rare bird in Wiltshire even now. Indeed, with such an
array of occurrences as I have now lying before me, and from
almost all parts of the county, I cannot call it rare, though it is
to be remembered that every appearance of this noble bird makes
an impression on the observer which he does not readily forget,
and is generally chronicled by somebody. Thus, to take a selec-
tion from various districts : The Rev. G. Powell informed me
that he had obtained a magnificent specimen on January 21st,
Peregrine Falcon. 71
1862, which was killed at Kingston Deverell; Mr. Grant, in
January, 1872, reports that a pair had been observed at Avebury
and Beckhampton, attracted by large numbers of pigeons which
frequented the farms there, and that one was shot by Mr. Went-
worth, a fine old female, nineteen inches in length, and measuring
three feet six inches across the wings. In the same year, 1872,
early in March, one was killed at Collingbourne, as I was informed
by the Rev. T. A. Preston. Major Heneage possesses a specimen
shot at Compton Basset t, in 1866. Lord Nelson mentions one in
his possession killed at Trafalgar. Mr. Morrison's keeper reports
several killed at Fonthill. Lord Arundell writes me word that
they are not unfrequently seen and have been killed at Wardour.
'The Marlborough College Natural History' Reports speak of it as
taken in that district in 1870, 1876, and 1878. Mr. G. Watson
Taylor tells me it visits Erlestoke, and the last reference to it in
my note- book is of a pair seen by Mr. A. B. Fisher, of Potterne,
on the downs at Horton, in December, 1885. But to sum up all,
Mr. Grant has furnished me with a list of no less than thirty-five
specimens which have been sent to him within the last twenty-
four years for preservation, a small portion of which were killed
in parishes of North Wilts, at Seend, Poulshot, Avebury, Alton
Barnes, Stowell, etc., but by far the largest portion from Salisbury
Plain and the villages below it ; no less than nine having come
from Amesbury, five from Erlestoke, four from Lavington, and
others from Shrewton, Chitterne, Tilshead, Erchfont, Netheravon,
etc., proving, as I said above, that this species is far more
common in South than in North Wilts.
The boldness of the peregrine is so great, that it will wait upon
the sportsman, and no sooner has he sprung a covey of birds
than down comes the Falcon, despite the shooter and his dogs,
singles out a partridge for herself, fells it to the earth with one
deadly stroke of the foot, and bears it off in triumph ; a ma-
nceuvre which she will repeat day after day, and frequently more
than once in a day. Mr. Stratton tells me that he has himself
witnessed this, and Mr. Selby gives a pleasing account of it in his
' Illustrations of British Ornithology,' as does Mr. Knox very fully
72 Falconidce.
in his interesting work on 'Game Birds and Wild Fowl.' I
learned from the Rev. G. Marsh that in the south of the county the
keepers call the Peregrine by the provincial name of ' Trammel
Hawk/ In France it is Faucon Pdlerin ; in Germany Wander-
Falke; in Italy Sparviert pellegrino ; in Spain Halcon ; in
Portugal Falcdo ; and in Sweden Pelegrinis-Falk.
5. THE HOBBY (Falco subbuteo).
This beautiful little falcon is in every respect like a diminutive
Peregrine ; and in proportion to its size (which seldom exceeds a
foot in length) vies with its congener in strength, speed, activity,
and endurance. It is a periodical summer visitant to this country,
arriving in April, and departing again in October, and I believe is
rarely seen in the northern counties of England ; it loves thick
plantations and woods, and at the time of incubation usually takes
possession of the deserted nest of the Magpie or Crow ; its food
consists of insects as well as small birds, in taking which it dis-
plays great adroitness; it was formerly trained to fly at larks and
snipes, the former of which constitute its favourite game in
its wild state ; hence arose one of its old specific names, alau-
darius ; with less apparent reason, I am told that its provincial
name in Wiltshire is the ' Rook Hawk.' Our word ' hobby '
appears to be derived from the old French word hobereau, from
hober, ' to move from place to place ' (Skeat) : not a very satis-
factory derivation; as neither is the specific name subbuteo, which
the B.O.U. Committee interprets to signify 'something like
a buzzard.' More appropriate is the German Baumfalke, or ' Tree
Falcon,' for it is essentially a bird of the forest. In Italy it is
Falco Barletta e ciamato ; in Spain Alcotan; in Portugal Falcdo
tayarote ; in Sweden Lark-Folk, ' Lark Falcon.'
Mr. Harting* says the Hobby may be distinguished from the
Merlin or Kestrel when flying, by its narrow pointed wings, and
slender form ; and adds that it chooses for its prey swallows and
martins, as well as larks. It is a late flying bird, and may
* Birds of Middlesex,' p. 5, quoting Meyer's ' Illustrations of British
Birds.'
The Hobby. 73
be seen on the wing even after dusk on a summer evening. It
has been taken in many parts of the county, and I believe it to
be somewhat sparingly distributed annually throughout our
enclosed districts. I have also received many instances of its
nesting and rearing its young in various localities ; thus Mr.
Hayward has taken two young ones from a deserted crow's nest,
in August, 1839 ; and from the same tree in which the Hobbies
had reared their young the previous year ; this was in the neigh-
bourhood of Lavington, where he has subsequently seen them
almost annually. Mr. H. C. Forward, of Boreham Road, War-
minster, thought that the Hobby bred somewhere in his neigh-
bourhood in 1860, as a male, female, and three immature young
were shot between his house and Heytesbury. I learn from Lord
Nelson that it has been killed at Trafalgar ; from Sir H. Meux
that a pair were shot at Dauntsey about three years ago ; from
Mr. Herbert Smith that it has been observed lately at Bowood ;
from Mr. Gwatkin that it was killed at Tilshead in Feb., 1884,
and from Mr. G. Watson Tayler that it visits Erlestoke. Mr. Raw-
lence has a specimen taken on Lord Bath's property in Wiltshire,
while Mr. Stratton says they return regularly every summer to
the enclosures in the vale below him ; the Rev. G. Marsh used to
speak of them as not uncommon in the woods of Wilts, and has
repeatedlyhad the young brought to him both in the neighbour-
hood of Chippenham, and at Winterslow, near Salisbury, and they
have bred in the woods at Christian Malford ; moreover, I am
aware of two separate localities to which these birds now return
annually to breed, though, for obvious reasons, I think it better
not to describe them too minutely. Of later years the Rev. A.
P. Morres is able to say that in the immediate neighbourhood of
Salisbury it is not uncommon ; nay, he might well call it a fre-
quent visitor; he generally notices it in his own parish of Brit-
ford more than once during the summer ; while Mr. Tyndall
Powell, of Hurdcott House, a keen observer of birds, has
remarked on the regular appearance of several Hobbies in the
months of September and October, as they waited on some dense
flocks of sand martins, which congregate at that period from all
74 Falconidce.
parts to roost in the withy-beds, prior to their autumnal mi-
gration. In North Wilts Mr. Grant records one shot at Bromham,
in 1871 ; and the Rev. E. H. M. Sladen another killed at
Alton Barnes, about 1870 ; while Mr. Grant's list comprises
seventeen specimens which have come into his hands in the flesh
within the last twenty-four years ; and it is instructive to find
that the localities in which they were taken are very much the
same as those where their larger congeners, the Peregrines, most
abounded. Thus five came from Amesbury, three from Everley,
and single specimens from Woodborough, Netheravon, Enford,
Pewsey, Erlestoke, Potterne, Roundway, Seend, and Poulshot,
whence a nest containing three well-fledged young birds was sent
to the Zoological Society, London, on June 25th, 1866.
6. RED-FOOTED FALCON (Falco wfipcs).
Very similar to the last species both in appearance and habits
is the Red-footed or Red-legged Falcon, or Orange-legged Hobby,
as it is variously called; the principal distinguishing characteristics
being the red colour of the legs and feet (as its specific name im-
plies), and this distinction exists in both sexes and at all ages,
though, in almost all other respects, the male and the female, the
young and the adult differ widely from one another ; like its con-
gener described above, it prefers wooded and enclosed districts, and
feeds on beetles and other insects as well as small birds, and has
the same length of wing, and consequent rapidity and endurance
of flight ; it is, however, extremely rare in this country, its native
haunts being the steppes of Russia, and the eastern portions of the
Austrian dominions. Like its congener the Hobby, it may be
seen on the wing until late in the evening, whence it is generally
known by Continental Ornithologists under the name of vesper-
tinus, and in Malta as spagnolett ekhad or * vespertine.' It will
frequently alight on the ground, and will run with great ease and
celerity ; and in Southern and Eastern Europe, where it abounds,
it may sometimes be seen in large flocks. Those who are familiar
with it in its own home describe it as emerging towards evening
froin the shady forest which it loves, skimming like a swallow
The Merlin. 75
over the plain and over the waters, and catching locusts, dragon-
flies, and other insects, which it sometimes transfers to the mouth
with the foot, while on the wing.
Scarcely twenty instances are recorded of its appearance in
Britain, but of these, one is described in the Zoologist for 1843
as having occurred at Littlecote Park, near Hungerford, in 1825 ;
it was seen by a countryman to be pursued and struck down by a
raven, when he went up to it and caught it on the ground before
it recovered ; and, according to his account, it laid an egg after
its fall, which was broken. The peculiar markings of the hawk
struck the author of the communication, who bought the bird of
the countryman, and not being able to identify it with any of the
English hawks which he knew, he made a drawing of it, suffi-
ciently accurate to recognise it by : it was fortunate he did so, for
the bird, which was very wild and untameable, escaped after a few
days' captivity, and was probably killed, as it had one wing clipped ;
subsequently, his memory being aided by the drawing, he recog-
nised it as an Orange-legged Hobby, when he saw that bird at the
Zoological Gardens. More satisfactory because more undeniable
are the pair now in Mr. Kawlence's collection at Wilton, which
were shot in a plantation on the downs at Kingston Deverell,
near Warminster. These are the only instances which have
come to my knowledge of the occurrence of this very rare Falcon
in Wiltshire. In France it is Faucon a pieds rouges ou Kobez ;
in Germany Rothfussiger Falk; and in Italy Falco barletta
piombina.
7. THE MERLIN (Falco cesalori).
This beautiful little Falcon, not much bigger than a blackbird, is
so bold, so active, and so strong, that it has been known to strike
down a partridge at a blow, though twice its own size and weight.
It was formerly much esteemed for falconry, and was trained to fly
at woodcocks, snipes, and larks. In speaking of the Peregrine, I
have shown how that bird would accompany the sportsman to the
field and select a victim from the coveys when sprung, neither
terrified by man, dog, or gun, as described by Mr. Knox and others.
76 Falconidce.
That same able writer gives a similar very interesting account of
a Merlin which regularly attended him when he was out snipe
shooting in Ireland, in order to get a share of the game. It
seemed to have no fear of his gun, but would follow him at a
little distance and watch the birds that he fired at ; if they were
killed by the shot the Merlin never meddled with them, but
seemed to consider them the lawful share of the sportsman ; if,
however, any bird was wounded and partially disabled, it
instantly pursued and caught it, and carried it off. At first there
was but one, but subsequently a second a female joined it, and
they regularly made their appearance as long as the sportsman
continued in the neighbourhood. Sometimes, at the very com-
mencement of the day's sport, the merlins might not be there,
but the first report of the gun was generally sufficient to summon
one or both of them to the scene of action, and a wounded snipe,
however slightly touched by the shot, had no chance of escape
from their united efforts. First, one would rise above it in a
succession of circular gyrations (for he was unable to ascend in
such a direct line as the snipe), then he would make a swoop,
and if he missed, his companion, who in the meantime had been
working upwards in a similar manner, would next try her luck,
and in this manner they would pursue the quarry, until the
persecuted bird, unable to ascend higher, or any longer avoid the
fatal stroke, was at last clutched by one of the little falcons,
when the other would hasten to ' bind to it,' and all three
descend together into the bog. After a performance of this sort
an hour would occasionally elapse before the return of either of
the merlins, sometimes more, sometimes less, but they never
seemed willing to give up the sport until at least three snipes
had fallen to their own share. The Merlin is often called the
' Stone Falcon/ from its habit of perching on a large stone in the
open country, which it frequents ; for the same reason it is
called in France Le Rockier and Faucon de Roche, in Germany
Stein Falke, and in Sweden Sten-Falk. Its more correct name in
France is Faucon Emerillon. Bewick supposed it did not breed
here, but Selby, Yarrell, and others prove it does so, at any rate
The Merlin. 77
in the northern and midland counties, where it places its nest on
the ground, not on trees or rocks as Temminck says.* Meyer
remarks that when on the wing it may be distinguished from the
Hobby by the greater length of its tail in proportion to the wings
and by its more robust form.
With us it is a winter visitant, arriving in October, and leaving
us in the spring. I have on several occasions myself seen it at
Yatesbury, where it frequented a splendid old yew tree in the
churchyard, and I have notices of its occurrence in the neigh-
bourhood of Salisbury, 1837 ; Chippenham, 1840 ; Devizes and
Warminster, 1850 ; while Mr. Stratton told me it was a constant
visitor on the Downs at Gore Cross, and that he caught no less
than three specimens from one stump on his farm ; he told me
also that he has been astonished at its amazing boldness and
dexterity in pursuit of starlings, chasing them, singling one out,
and as certainly bearing it off in triumph. Mr. Rawlence, too,
has Wiltshire specimens in his collection. Of more recent date
than the above notices, the Rev. A. P. Morres speaks of it as not
uncommon in the neighbourhood of Salisbury ; and Mr. Tyndall
Powell, of Hurdcott, mentioned no less than four specimens as
coming under his notice in the winter of 1877 ; and in a letter
recently received from him, he says, speaking of last autumn
(1886), that it was an extraordinary year for Merlins in the
Broad Chalk Hills, for that he had himself shot two hen birds
and one male, and had seen many more ; adding, that the hills
and ravines of that particular district appeared to him to be
a favourite retreat for all kinds of hawks. In North Wilts, Mr.
C. A. Sladen recorded one shot at Alton Barnes, December 27,
1871. The Marlborough College 'Reports ' notice one caught in
the college grounds in September, 1872 ; one shot near Ramsbury
in January, 1875 ; and another at Marlborough in April, 1881.
Mr. Gwatkin records two killed at Tilshead, one of which fell to
his own gun in Oct., 1881 ; the other was taken in Feb., 1884.
Mr. G. Watson Taylor says it visits Erlestoke ; and to sum up
all, Mr. Grant's list comprises one received from Mr. H. E.
* Selby, 'Illustrations of British Ornithology/ vol. i., p. 51.
78 Falconidce.
Medlicott, of Potterne, and nine other specimens, all of which
were taken in the immediate neighbourhood of Devizes from
Poulshot, Rowde, Bromham, Potterne, Roundway, Seend, and
Erchfont so that we may claim this sprightly little hawk as
fairly common in Wiltshire. The word ' merlin ' is supposed by
Skeat to be derived from the French merle and the Latin
merula, ' a blackbird.'
8. THE KESTREL (Falco tinnunculus).
The most common, the most harmless, and the most persecuted
of all the Falconidae is the elegant Kestrel : it abounds in vast
numbers throughout the county, and one can scarcely cross the
Downs in any direction without seeing it hovering in the air, with
wings rapidly quivering and tail outstretched, and with head in-
variably turned to the wind from this habit it has derived the two
provincial names of ' Windhover' and ' Stonegall,' or ' Standgale.'
Professor Newton* says that in the southern counties of
England its numbers receive an increase in autumn, supplied,
doubtless, from the north ; and there are districts in which it is
wholly unknown, or but seldom seen, in winter so that in
Britain it partially migrates, while in many other countries it
does so unmistakably. But even the Kestrel, the only familiar
hawk remaining to us in any numbers, is very much diminished
within my recollection. Where I used to see half a dozen in a
morning's ride on the Downs forty years ago, I scarcely see one
now. But if I find these birds more scarce at home, I saw them
literally swarming in Egypt, where you meet them at every
turn, and where they were once honoured by the ancient
Egyptians with divine honours, as the emblem of Horns, Re, or
the Sun, and several other gods ; their bodies, with those of the
sacred Ibis, preserved as mummies, and their figures admirably
pourtrayed in the hieroglyphics and cartouches. I also found it
in great abundance in 'Portugal and in Spain, where Lord Lilford
our best authority for birds of that country declares he has
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i., p. 80.
The Kestrel. 79
seen from 300 to 400 on the wing at the same moment.* In
Palestine, again, I have noticed it as extremely common; and
there Canon Tristram says it breeds in colonies, ten or twenty
pairs occupying the same ruins, and sometimes sharing the re-
cesses of the caves which are tenanted by the Griffon Vultures.t
In Sweden the Kestrel is known as Torn Folk, or ' Tower Falcon/
so called because, alone of the hawk tribe which breeds in
Scandinavia, its habit there is to make its nest in old ruins and
towers.J For the same reason it is Twrmfalke in Germany, and
Falco acertello o di torre in Italy ; but in France Gresserelle ; in
Spain Cernicalo, and in Portugal Francelho, and sometimes
Peneireiro, ' Hoverer.' It may easily be distinguished from the
other members of the family by the prevailing rufous fawn colour,
which is common to the plumage of both sexes. It preys almost
exclusively on mice, of which it destroys an incredible quantity,
dropping upon them suddenly from above, but occasionally varies
this diet with coleopterous insects, reptiles, and small birds. Of
cockchafers it seems especially fond, and it will eat them while
on the wing ; seizing one in each foot, and then transferring it
to the mouth, in like manner as the Hobby above described,
and as the elegant ' Swallow-tailed Kite ' (Nauderus furcatus) is
reported to do in Guatemala, when it chances to fall in with a
swarm of bees ; but I think it has very rarely been known to
molest a young partridge or pheasant, or commit the smallest
trespass on game ; nevertheless, it is a hawk, and as such is the
enemy of the indiscriminating gamekeeper, who can see no
difference in the Kestrel and Sparrow-hawk, but looks upon both
as his mortal foes, and traps and destroys them accordingly.
There can, however, be no question that the Kestrel, far from
being injurious, confers the greatest benefit on man, ridding him
of thousands of field mice, which are destructive alike to the
farm, the garden, the orchard, and the plantation.
The specific name tinnunculus is defined by the B.O.U.
Committee to signify 'with a shrill sharp voice, or bell-like
Ibis for 1865, p. 175. t ^ 8 for 1865 > P- 259 -
Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 263.
Ibis for 1860, pp. 240243.
80 Falconidce.
(i.e., monotonous) note.' And Harting says that the name
' kestrel ' signifies the peasant's (or serving-man's) hawk; coistrel,
perhaps from the Latin coterellus. Shakespeare mentions
' coystril ' in Twelfth Night [Act I., Scene 3], and ' coystrel ' in
Pericles [Act IV., Scene 6]. In olden time a hawk's nest was
protected by laws enacted in the reigns of King John, Edward III.,
Henry VIII., and Elizabeth ; and indeed the kestrel and the
barn owl are the greatest destroyers of mice, both the ' long-
tail'd field mouse ' (Mus sylvaticus) and the common ' meadow
mouse ' (Arvicola agrestis)* The Kestrel in this country
generally makes use of a crow's nest for breeding purposes ; but
Mr. F. Stratton reported to me that on one occasion he dis-
covered that it had taken possession of a hen's nest, which was
placed in a trough only six feet from the ground, and had
deposited five ruddy eggs in this singular nursery. This was in
1877, at Gore Cross Farm, in the parish of Market Lavington.
Like many other species of the true falcons, it prefers adopting
the deserted nest of the magpie, or other large bird, to building
a nursery for itself. Though some may always be seen, Mr.
Waterton (who had a great liking for this hawk, and has defended
it most perseveringly in his charming ' Essays on Natural
History ') expresses his conviction that by far the greater part
migrate in autumn to more southern lands; and in this he is
fully supported by Mr. Knox, who has bestowed much attention
on the point, and, dwelling on the coast of Sussex, has had
admirable opportunities for observing the migration of birds.f
This closes the list of the true Falcons, which have always been
considered as more ' noble ' than the others. We now come to
other genera, and we shall see that their habits, as well as their
make, differ in many respects from the above.
9. GOSHAWK (Astur palumbarius).
I introduce the goshawk as a bird of Wilts on the authority of
the Rev. A. P. Morres. who gives good and substantial evidence
from the mouth of Captain Dugmore, a gentleman who seems
* ' Sketches of Bird Life,' p. 9. f Birds of Sussex/ pp. 5264.
Goshawk.
specially qualified to pronounce an opinion, that while hawking in
the meadows near Salisbury, the tame goshawk on his wrist showed
by its manner and cry that a wild bird of the same species was at
hand; and having his attention thus aroused, he clearly saw a wild
Goshawk flying in a straight course high over his head, and he
added that he had no doubt as to the bird's identity, since he was
so very familiar with it from constantly hawking with the same
species. Moreover, I see no reason why the Goshawk should not
occasionally visit us, seeing how common it is in Germany, where
I have fallen in with it more than once ; and how capable it is of
prolonged flight. More satisfactory is my second instance, for my
neighbour Major Heneage informs me that a handsome specimen
of this species was shot by his eldest son at Compton Bassett in
September, 1885. It derives its generic name astur so the
B.O.U. Committee informs us from atrfa 'a star/ as if a 'starred
or spotted hawk ;' and doubtless the specific name palumbarius
is derived from its supposed penchant for doves, and so in Sweden
it is called Duf Hok, or ' Dove Hawk ;' and in Italy Sparviere da
Columbi ; but in France L'Autour. Professor Newton tells us
that ' gos hawk ' means ' goose hawk ;' and that, though equal in
size to the largest of them, it is inferior in powers to the falcons,
but is the best of the short-winged hawks. The generic name
Astur in Spanish and Portuguese became Azor or Agor ; and
when the Azores were first visited, this species of hawk was so
abundant there that the islands were named after them, and have
retained the name to this day. The Goshawk is a heavy bird and
flies low, taking its prey, in a great measure, from the ground.
It is of sluggish, indolent habits, unlike its near relative the
Sparrow Hawk, and will sit for hours on the branch of a tree
waiting for its victim. Nevertheless, it is, as Seebohm says,
nothing else than a giant Sparrow Hawk.
10. SPARROW HAWK (Accipiter nisus).
The short- winged Hawks (of which this is our commonest species)
take their prey in a different manner from the long- winged or true
Falcons. Instead of rising above it in circles, and then stooping
6
82 Falconidcv.
with wonderful velocity and force, they pursue them on the wing,
as a greyhound would a hare, gliding after them at great speed
for a short distance, even dashing after them through woods and
thick plantations. But should they fail to come up with their
quarry, they are unable to prolong the chase, and so abandon it
and await another chance. Of all the short- winged Hawks, none
is more bold, active, and destructive, especially in the breeding
season, than the Sparrow Hawk. There are many interesting
accounts of its wholesale plunder and insatiability in destroying
young birds and game at that time, but the most extraordinary
that has come under my notice is that published by Mr. Knox,
who counted the following victims laid up in store in their nest
for the half-fledged young : ' Fifteen young pheasants, four
young partridges, five chickens, a bullfinch, two meadow pipits >
and two larks, all in a fresh state.' From such well-known
voracity and penchant for game, I can scarcely hope that the
Sparrow Hawk will be spared by the gamekeeper, though at the
same time he deserves our respect and admiration for his bravery
and skill : but at any rate let his sins be visited on his own head,
and not on the inoffensive insectivorous Kestrel, which is so often
made to suffer for the misdemeanours of another. The Sparrow
Hawk prefers birds to quadrupeds, and thus we see it furnished
with long and slender legs, and toes (especially the middle one)
remarkably elongated, and these are admirably adapted for
grasping and penetrating the dense plumage of its victim. The
female, flying low, and skimming over the ground with great
swiftness, often seizes the partridge and the pigeon, with no
gentle stroke, while her diminutive partner is content to pick off
the sparrow or the finch from the hedge, or even the rickyard,
whither his boldness will lead him undismayed. Sometimes the
Sparrow Hawk will condescend to devour insects, and Mitchell, in
his admirable account of the ' Birds of Lancashire,' recounts how
it has been seen to catch crane-flies with the foot, and transfer
them at once to the mouth, after the manner of the Hobby and
Kestrel mentioned above.
In none of the whole family is the difference in size between
Sparrow Hawk Kite. 83
the male and female so conspicuous as in this species, and as the
difference in colour is also great, no wonder that they should
often be mistaken for distinct species. In this country it is
sparingly met with throughout, nowhere very numerous, and
nowhere entirely wanting, though the more wooded and enclosed
parts are its favourite haunts. But it is not by any means so
common with us now as it was thirty years ago. The scientific
name Accipiter is from wximnjg, ( swiftly flying ;' and Nisus was
the mythical king of Megara, said to have been changed into a
Sparrow Hawk. In France it is L'Epervier ; in Germany Die
Sperber ; in Italy Sparviere da Fringuelli; in Sweden Sparf-
Hok; in Spain Oavilan and Cernicalo; and in Portugal Gavido.
11. THE KITE (Falco milvus).
Though once the terror of the poultry yard, and the admiration
of the naturalist, this graceful bird is now, alas ! almost (I fear I
must say quite) extinct in this county, and I much doubt whether
many individuals, unless stragglers, are to be found south of the
Tweed or east of Wales ; and yet but a very few years since they
were not uncommon in our homesteads and woods. The Rev. G.
Marsh has seen them at Winterslow, and once possessed a tame
bird which was taken young in Clarendon Woods. Mr. Hay ward,
when a boy, saw a nest of them at Lavington. The Rev. G. Powell
informed me that on Feb. 3, 1864, a fine male bird was killed at
Longleat, and that he had seen it in the flesh ; and Rev. A.
P. Morres records another shot at Kingston Deverill, and now
in the collection of Mr. Rawlence, of Wilton. In the report for
1867 of the Marlborough College Natural History Society, it is
stated that a pair built for some years at a certain spot on the
farther side of Martinsell. Mr. Stratton tells me that two nests
have been taken, to his knowledge, by people now living in his
neighbourhood, one at Fiddington Down, the other at West
Lavington. At Lydiard Millicent, the seat of Lord Bolingbroke,
there was a tree, which very probably still exists, called the
'Kite-tree,' and here Kites bred from time immemorial, and
here they were always to be seen in the spring a few years ago.
62
84 Falconidce.
There is also a wood lying between the villages of Erchfont
and Potterne still known as ' Kite- wood,' which doubtless was
originally so called because it contained a tree on which the
Kites annually made their nest, for the bird was common enough
sixty years ago, and most old people can recollect something of
the ' forky tailed ' Kite or Glead. Personally I have never been
so fortunate as to see one wild in England, though I have more
than once met with it in Germany ; and possess a magnificent
specimen which I brought from Hospenthal, on the St. Gothard
Pass, in Switzerland, as long ago as 1839. It was very easy to
be distinguished from all others of the Falconidse, by its long and
much-forked tail, and by its graceful gliding motion, whence its
provincial name ' Glead ' ; and it delighted to soar in circles, and
to sail on almost motionless wing. Though it would occasionally
seize a chicken or a duckling (as the henwife knew to her cost)
rats, mice, leverets and other small quadrupeds composed its
principal prey, and when it did take a bird it was generally one
of the gallinaceous order, for the mode of seizing its victim, by
pouncing upon it on the ground, differed from that of most of
the preceding species. But though so elegant and graceful, the
Kite was not remarkable for courage ; a hen has been often
known to beat off" the intruder from her chickens, and, indeed, it
was selected as the quarry at which to fly large falcons in olden
times, and from the sport it thus often afforded to royalty, are
derived the continental names it still bears, Milvus regalis,
Milan royal, in France ; Milano real in Spain. In Germany it
is Rother Milan; in Italy Falco con la coda bifurcata; in Portugal
Milhafre and Milhano ; and in Sweden Glada. Though small in
bulk and light in weight, the Kite is, in reality, a large bird,
exceeding two feet in length, and five from tip to tip of the ex-
tended wings.
Howard Saunders, who has had good experience of its breed-
ing habits in Southern Spain, says the nest is always fantasti-
cally decorated with dirty rags, bones, bits of old shoes, etc., and
though now out of date, unhappily, in England, Shakespeare's
warning is still of practical value in Spain, ' Where the kite
Common Buzzard. 85
builds, look to lesser linen ' [' Winter's Tale,' Act iv., Scene 2]. I
have the excellent authority of Professor Skeat that ' kite ' signi-
fies ' the shooter,' from the Teutonic root skut, ' to shoot/ or ' go
quickly.'
12. COMMON BUZZARD (Buteo vulgaris).
Known in Sweden as Orm Vrdk, or l Snake Vrak,' I presume from
its partiality for reptiles; not uncommon in the wooded districts of
Germany, where I have seen it more than once, perched on the
lower branch of a tree, this large handsome species, like that last
described, is not now the common bird it once was, and which its
specific name implies. At one time it abounded in our woodland
districts, but now it is rarely to be met with. The Rev. G. Marsh
told of one which was brought to him from Dray cot Park, in 1840.
Mr. Stratton has occasionally seen the bird as it passed over or
rested in his locality, but states that it does not remain there.
Mr. Hayward had often observed it on Fiddington Common some
years since, but of late years seldom saw it. More recently I have
notices of its occurrence in this county from Rev. A. P. Morres, who
possesses one killed at Pomeroy, near Bradford, in 1865 ; another
from Mr. Rawlence, killed on the property of Lord Bath in Wilt-
shire ; another from Mr. Ernest Baker, of Mere, of an immature
specimen, supposed by him to be a bird of the year, shot at
Maiden Bradley, October 14th, 1876, by one of the Duke of
Somerset's keepers, who saw it kill a leveret, and set a trap and
caught it almost immediately. The Marlborough College Reports
speak of several specimens observed in 1865 of one shot at
Overton Dell by Mr. Price's keeper, October 22, 1875, and of
another seen at Everley in 1878. Lord Arundell informs me
that one was shot at Wardour when the tenants were out pigeon-
shooting some time since. Lord Nelson reports that he has a
specimen which was killed at Trafalgar. Major Heneage has
one shot at Compton Bassett in 1844; Mr. G. Watson Taylor
tells me that it visits Erlestoke ; Mr. W. Stancomb, jun., that
it is seen on the downs above Baynton ; and finally, Mr. Grant
reports specimens which have come to him from Roundway
86 Falconidce.
Down in 1860 and 1861, from Seend in 1866, from Easterton in
1867, and from Hill worth, Devizes, in 1875.
Like all the other species of this genus, it has a slow flight, an
indolent, lazy, heavy aspect, and a timid disposition. It preys
upon small birds, quadrupeds, and reptiles, which it will strike
upon the ground, but which it does not care to pursue, and often
it will stand motionless for hours on the bare limb of some
decayed tree, watching the accidental arrival of a victim. Its
legs and feet are comparatively short and strong, as we generally
find to be the case with those genera or species which prey on
quadrupeds in preference to birds. In France it is much sought
for during winter for the sake of the flesh, which is esteemed
delicious in that country ; and I was much amused at Marseilles
on one occasion when, on passing through the market, I was im-
portuned by an old lady, who presided over a poultry stall, to
purchase a bird of this species, whose plumpness she pointed
out, and whose excellence for the table she vehemently asserted.
But I was not tempted, for the taste of an Englishman differs in
some respects from that of the Gaul.
The name buteo is interpreted by the B.O.U. Committee to
signify 'the crier-out'; and from this is derived the English
word ' Buzzard,' and the French buse, which has come to be
applied in anything but a complimentary sense to a dolt and
a fool I presume on account of the dull, heavy appearance of
the bird. Mause Folk (' Mouse Falcon ') is the very appropriate
German name, for the mouse forms the chief staple of food to this
most harmless, useful species. In Spain it is Pella ; and in
Portugal Tartaranhdo.
13. ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD (Buteo lagopus).
Though rarer as a species than the last, this has been occasion-
ally met with in various parts of the county. In 1854 two were seen
in the neighbourhood of Ogbourn, one of which was killed by Mr.
Godwin, of Brimslade. The Rev. G. Marsh possessed one which was
taken in the parish of Brinkworth, at Somerford Common, in 1839,
and reported it as very rare there; indeed, that was the only
Rough-legged Buzzard. 87
specimen which had come under his notice ; but I have notes of
another killed near Wroughton ; one caught at Overton in 1866 ;
one, as I learn from Mr. Grant, killed at Erlestoke in January,
1882; which measured 4 feet 5 inches in breadth of extended
wings, 21 inches in length, and weighed 2| pounds; and several
of these ' feather-legged buzzards,' as the keepers aptly described
them, were shot at Fon thill some years since. The Rev. A. P.
Moires reports that in December, 1876, five of this species were
seen in a large wood at Fonthill, four of which were trapped ;
and he adds that Mr. Rawlence possesses a specimen in his
collection which was killed on the Longleat estate, near
Warminster. Mr. Ernest Baker, of Mere, in November, 1876,
fell in with it while shooting, and had good opportunities
of watching it. though it was too wary to come quite within
gunshot. Its heavy flight proclaimed it at once to his practised
eye as a Buzzard, and when it afterwards pitched on the downs
he was able to examine it at leisure, when its tail, apparently
white, and the very light under-parts, caught his attention. It
was subsequently seen near the same spot by several persons,
one of whom came close upon it while engaged in devouring
a rabbit. On January 1st, 1880, one was killed on the estate of
Sir T. Fraser Grove, at Feme, near Salisbury, as recorded in the
Zoologist for that year, page 143. On January 2nd, 1881, a very-
fine specimen was obtained on Gorton Down, close to Boyton, as
I was informed by the Rev. G. Powell ; and Mr. Rawlence tells
me that in 1882 a pair of these birds hatched out five young
ones near Tisbury, all of which he believes were killed, and some
of them stuffed and preserved in the neighbourhood; one of
which (an adult bird, and a very fine specimen) is in the posses-
sion of Mr. J. R. Read, of Berwick Farm. This evidence of the
breeding of this species in Wilts is the more valuable, because it
is stated by Professor Newton that nearly all the Rough-legged
Buzzards which occur in the British Islands are in immature
plumage, which in this species, as in so many of the true falcons,
differs from that of the adult by the transverse instead of longi-
tudinal markings of the lower parts.*
Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. i., p. 118.
88 Falconidce.
In habits, food, and mode of obtaining it, this species much
resembles the preceding, but may easily be distinguished from
its congeners by the feathering of its legs down to the toes,
whence its specific names, both English and scientific, lagopus
signifying ' footed like a hare.' The French, too, neatly style it
Buse ganUe and Buse pattue, and the Germans Rauhfussiger
Busard, In Sweden it is Fjosbent Vrdk. In the general soft and
downy texture of the feathers of this and the preceding species,
as compared with the plumage of the true Falcons, and also in
the habit common to both of them of seeking their food late in
the evening, may be noticed peculiarities indicating an approach
to the Owls.
14. AFRICAN BUZZARD (Buteo desertorum).
The announcement given in the Ibis of a specimen of this
splendid Buzzard, till then a stranger to Great Britain, having been
killed in this county, enables me to add this bird to our Wiltshire
list; and I do so with singular satisfaction, as I became very
familiar with it in Egypt, and brought home several fine specimens.
It is of much larger size and stronger build than either of our home
Buzzards, and bolder and more fearless of man, so that it was
easy to approach within gunshot, and any number might have
been secured. The unique occurrence of this bird in England
is recorded in Gould's ' Introduction to the Birds of Great
Britain/ and in the Ibis for 1876, page 366, and for 1878,
page 118 ; where it is stated that one of this species in immature
plumage was killed at Everley, in Wiltshire, in September,
1864 ; and this is the first instance recorded of the arrival in the
far west of this inhabitant of eastern and southern lands, Africa
and India being its true home.
15. HONEY BUZZARD (Pernis apivorus).
Very different from all other members of the Falconidae, both in
habits and the prey it seeks, is this elegant bird. Though univers-
ally styled the ' Honey ' Buzzard, honey forms no portion of its
food, and it is not for this that it searches out the nests of bees
Honey Buzzard. 89
and wasps, scratches away the bank in which they are placed, and
tears out the comb. The larvae, or immature young, are the objects
of its diligent search, and these it devours with great greediness,
picking them out and demolishing them without any regard to the
-anger or the stings of their owners. The scientific name it bears
declares this habit clearly enough, and it would be well were the
English specific name exchanged for the ' Gentle ' Falcon (as has
been suggested), the word 'gentle' signifying the nymphse of
wasps, bees, etc., as the readers of honest old Isaac Walton well
know. The present name of ' Honey ' Buzzard is apt to mislead.
In Sweden it is more correctly called Bi Vrdk or ' Bee Vrak.'
Montagu observed that it used to frequent a lake daily for the
purpose of preying on the large dragon flies (Libellulai), which it
seized with its talons, and took them from thence with its beak.
But though so partial to young bees and wasps, these do not
form the entire food of this large bird ; indeed, it would be diffi-
cult to satisfy a voracious appetite with such delicacies. Rats,
mice, frogs, and small birds, all go to fill its capacious craw.
However, it makes its appearance in this country only in the
summer, when its favourite food is to be found, arriving from
warmer countries and migrating in large flocks, of which Lord
Lilford was once an eye-witness, when he saw several hundreds
of this species pressing the Straits of Gibraltar en route from
Spain to South Africa, on the return autumnal flight in Sep-
tember, 1856.*
In order to defend its head from the stings of the insects it
robs, all the vulnerable parts between the beak and eyes are
clothed with close-set, scale-like feathers, and these seem to act
as a helmet of mail, proof against the weapons of its innumer-
able assailants, whose vengeance its wholesale attacks are sure
to excite. In addition to this generic character, wherein it
differs from all others of the same family, the tarsi are reticu-
lated and the claws only partially curved. These are plain marks
of distinction, but in plumage it presents a most extraordinary
variety, scarcely two specimens being found to resemble each
Ibis for 1865, p. 177.
90 Falconidce.
other. Mr. Fisher, of Yarmouth, has taken great pains to com-
pare different individuals, and to trace the remarkable change
of plumage to which this species is liable ; and he shows, with
considerable probability of correctness, which the subsequent
observations of others have amply corroborated, that the younger
the bird the darker its plumage, which every year increases in
whiteness from the almost uniform dark clove brown of the
immature bird, to the almost perfect whiteness of the adult.
When it has the ash gray plumage on the head, it has often
been called the ' capped ' Buzzard. It is of a gentle, kind, and
amiable disposition, and may easily be domesticated, and soon
becomes attached to its owner: Mr. Knox (who had a good
opportunity of observing it) says it resembles a gigantic Cuckoo,
and has a humble subdued look about it, quite sufficient to dis-
tinguish it from the more martial members of the family, and
that its gait was different also ; instead of the hop of the
Sparrow Hawk or the leap of the Falcon, and the erect attitude
of those birds, its mode of progression was a rapid run, after the
fashion of a Lapwing, the head being at the time partially de-
pressed.* This confirms the statement of Willoughby, which
has been copied by Buffon and Veillot, that the Honey Buzzard
' runs very swiftly, like a hen,' as was shown by Mr. Gurney in
the Zoologist for 1844, page 492. I have several authentic in-
stances, on which I can rely, of the occurrence of this rare bird
in Wiltshire; one of these was seen at Roundway Park about
A.D. 1847, and was shot by the keeper in the act of destroying a
wasps' nest : Mr. Withers, who preserved it, told me that he took
about a dozen wasps and larvae from its stomach. Another, a
young one, at about the same date, was killed at West Laving-
ton, at Mr. Beckett's, and came into the possession of Mr. Hay-
ward, at Easterton. Mr. Rawlence has a specimen killed on
Lord Bath's property in this county. Another, as Sir T. F.
Grove informs me, was trapped by his keeper at Feme some ten
years since, and is now in the hall there. Lord Nelson has a
specimen which was killed at Trafalgar. Lord Arundell recol-
' Birds of Sussex/ pp. 139-148.
Marsh Harrier. 91
lects one being shot at Wardour many years ago. Sir H. Meux
reports one shot in the West Woods near Marlborough in 1855 ;
and Mr. Grant tells me of one shot at Lavington Sands in
October, 1882, whose weight was 2 lb., length 21 inches, and
breadth of wing 4 feet 1 inch.
The name Pernis is interpreted to be a corruption of Pternis,
from TT-ripva, ' the heel,' and to signify ' long-heeled.' In Germany
it is known as Wespen Buzard, ' Wasp-Buzzard/ and in France
Buse bondrte.
16. MARSH HARRIER (Circus ceruginosus).
The Harriers differ from the Buzzards in their more slender and
elegant form, their longer and more naked legs, and especially in
the distinct ruff of close -set feathers which surrounds their face ;
their flight, though not swift, is light and buoyant, and they are
able to continue it for a considerable time. From their habit of
sweeping over the surface of the ground, at no great elevation
above it, and in this manner hunting for game like dogs, they have
derived the generic name ' Harrier.' Professor Skeat, however,
says they are so named from ' harrying or destroying small birds ;'
and it is certainly true that though their prey consists chiefly of
small quadrupeds and reptiles, they will occasionally take birds
as well. Yarrell adds that a remarkable trait in the whole genus
is, that the males, when adult, are all more or less ash gray in
colour, while the females retain their original tints of red or
brown. The Marsh Harrier is the largest of our three British
species, being about 22 inches in length. Bewick, who places it
erroneously among the Buzzards, gives it the provincial name of
Harpy, as does Latham ; and Buffon and Temminck designate it
la Harpage and Busard Harpaye ; but the definition of Harpie
in Boyer's French Dictionary is une femme criarde, 'a noisy
clamorous brawler ;' and as the generic name Circus is derived
by the B.O.U. Committee from Kp%a>, ' to laugh,' I conclude this
species must have enjoyed the reputation, whether deserved or
not, of being somewhat vociferous ; and such, I gather from Mr.
Seebohm's account of it, it is.
92 Falconidce.
Formerly it was not by any means uncommon in this county.
Indeed, Montagu mentions Wiltshire as one of its haunts in his
day ; but now I seldom hear of its appearance within our
borders. Nor has the Rev. A. P. Morres ever met with it near
Salisbury, but reports three specimens all from Wiltshire in
Mr. Rawlence's collection at Wilton, one having been obtained
near Salisbury and the other two from Kingston Deverill, near
Warminster. In North Wilts a fine example, measuring 3 feet
2 inches across the wings, was shot at Easton, October 25th,
1876, by Mr. Hunter, and was recorded by Mr. Grant, of Devizes ;
as was another, shot on the plain above Netheravon in August,
1869 ; one shot by Mr. Sargent, of Enford, in February, 1876 ;
and one killed by Mr. Turner, park-keeper at Erlestoke, in
August, 1878.
Its true home lies in the shores and islands of the Mediter-
ranean. In the Ionian Islands and in Greece it is most abun-
dant, as the snipe-shooter knows to his chagrin, for it constantly
spoils his sport by disturbing his game. In Spain it is very
common, as also in Malta, where it is known as Bu-ghadam, or
the ' Father of Bones/ in allusion to its great osseous develop-
ment, a title which it shares with all the other species of this
genus known to the Maltese.* But in Egypt it literally swarms ;
of all the Harriers which frequent that paradise of rapacious
birds, this is certainly the most common, and I shot a fine series,
and could have obtained any number of specimens with the
greatest ease. In Sweden it is called Rodbrun Kdrr-Hok, or
' Red-brown Marsh Hawk ;' in France, ' Busard de Marais ;' and
in truth it loves marshy districts and moors, from which it de-
rives the English specific name ' Marsh ' Harrier, and the pro-
vincial one of ' Moor ' Buzzard, and here in a tuft of grass or
rushes it makes its nest. So in Germany it is Brandweihe and
Wasserweihe ; but in Italy Falco albanella con il collare ; and
in Spain Milano and Arpella. In the fenny districts of England
and Wales it was formerly very abundant, but now, even in its
favourite haunts, it is becoming scarcer every day, and will
Ibis for 1864, p. 46.
Hen Harrier. 93
doubtless soon be exterminated, owing to the draining and
reclaiming of waste lands, which, however profitable to the
agriculturist, is annually destroying many of our most interest-
ing birds.
17. HEN HARRIER (Circus cyaneus).
Far more common than the last, at any rate in this part of
England, is the Hen Harrier or Ringtail ; for Montagu in this
country, and Temminck on the Continent, have both clearly
proved, what is now universally acknowledged by ornitho-
logists, that these two titles apply to the same bird, though
to the two sexes, which when adult differ very widely both in
size and colour. The male, to which alone the title of Hen
Harrier was originally given, was so named from its supposed
liking for fowls ; it was also called the ' Blue Hawk ' and ' Dove
Hawk/ from its pearl-gray colour; whence also the scientific
name cyaneus, from /cvavtos, 'blue.' The female bore the
title of Ringtail, from the bars of dark and light brown so
conspicuous in her tail. Nilsson, the Swedish naturalist, de-
clared that at a distance the old male might readily be taken for
the Common Gull, " for both its flight, size, and colour are pretty
similar.' It is known in that country by the somewhat clumsy
name of Kdrr Hok med Halskrage, or 'Marsh Hawk with a
Ruff;' in Italy as Falco con il collare, and in France as Faucon
a collier, all of which are descriptive enough of the circular disk
or collar which encircles the face of the female. But it is also,
and more commonly, known in France as L'oiseau Saint Martin,
though for what reason I cannot discover. Sometimes it has
been designated as La Soubuse, or ' lesser Buzzard,' and some-
times as Le Busard grenouillard and Falco ranivorus, from its
partiality^for frogs. Either this, or Falco montanus, as some
old authors called it, and the ' Mountain Harrier,' as Seebohm
suggests, would be appropriate names, for the title it now bears
(' Hen Harrier,') is generally quite misunderstood. In Germany
it is Halbweihe, or ' Half-Kite ; and in Malta Bu-ghadam abiad,
' the White Father of Bones,' for the reason given above in speak-
94 Falconidce.
ing of the Marsh Harrier. In habits and haunts this species
very much resembles the last, but it oftener leaves the marshes
and fens in which it delights for commons and moors, and
breeds in the thick furze covers on the open wastes. It is said
to be a great destroyer of game, and to beat its hunting-grounds
with regularity and at stated intervals, crossing them in various
directions, day after day, and at the same hour of the day. It
is still to be met with in Wilts, though, like its congener, yearly
becoming scarcer. The Rev. G. Marsh had a pair in his
collection which were killed in Clarendon Park in 1823, and
stated that though not uncommon near Salisbury, he never saw
them in the neighbourhood of Chippenham. Mr. Stratton often
saw them on the downs above Lavington, and thought it pro-
bable they bred every year- in the gorse near him, but as the
gorse was being taken up, the bird would probably soon be
driven away. On the same downs Mr. B. Hayward has in years
gone by shot three specimens in one day, at a clump of trees
called Ashington Pennings, and another was killed at Market
Lavington by Mr. Stagg. Mr. Rawlence has specimens in his
collection killed in this county on the property of Lord Bath.
Of later years the Rev. A. P. Morres has met with both male and
female in his own parish of Britford, and has often observed
them on the downs near him, as well as in the neighbourhood of
Stonehenge; and has heard of others as seen near Cranbourn
Chace. Also a fine specimen, which proved to have been shot,
was picked up dead on some fallows near Salisbury. In North
Wilts it has, though rarely, been noticed on Roundway Down ;
and one was shot at Beckhampton by Mr. Went worth about the
year 1871. The Marlborough College Natural History Society's
Reports mention one shot in Savernake Forest in 1862, and six
said to have been seen together at Clench Common in 1864, one
of which was procured. Lord Nelson has a specimen which was
killed at Trafalgar. Mr. W. Wyndham shot one at Langford in
October, 1857, and Mr. Grant's list comprises in 1862 one from
Bratton ; in 1865 specimens from Netheravon, Amesbury, and
Figheldean ; in 1872 one from Bullford ; and in 1882 one from
Montagu's Harrier. 95
Everley which measured 19 inches in length and 3 feet 6 inches
in breadth across the extended wings.
18. MONTAGU'S HARRIER (Circus Montagui).
So called from the worthy ornithologist whose residence in this
county we are proud to boast; who did so much for natural history,
and who devoted so much attention to the genus we are now con-
sidering. In gratitude for his indefatigable researches, and in
compliment to his acute discrimination, which unravelled the con-
fusion prevailing among the Harriers, and ranged them under three
species, which the diligent investigation of half a century has since
proved to be correct, the Ash- coloured Harrier (as he himself
named this species, which he first discovered to be distinct from
the two others) has been named by all the continental authors
4 Circus Montagui ' and ' Le Busard de Montagu,' and by our
own 'Montagu's Harrier.' It may be distinguished from its
congener, the Hen Harrier, with which it had hitherto been
confused, and to which it bears a great resemblance, by its com-
parative lightness, though at the same time greater dimensions,
both in length and stretch of wing ; by its more distinct ruff of
feathers encircling the head, and by its greater elegance and
slimness of form. It is also known to the scientific world as
C. cineraceus, or ' Ash- coloured Falcon,' being in fact the name
which was given it by its discoverer, and in Spain is known as
cenigo, meaning ' of the colour of ashes.' In Sweden it is Mindre
Karr Hok, or 'Lesser Marsh Hawk.' In all other respects, as
regards its habits, haunts, food, etc., it is quite similar to the
last-named species; but of late years it has been proved by
several naturalists that it occasionally varies its diet with the
eggs of small birds, those of the thrush, skylark, and willow
wren having been discovered in its stomach. Several instances
have reached me of its recent capture in this county ; one (now
in the late Mr. Marsh's collection) was killed by Mr. Wightwick's
keeper in 1841, at Somerford Common, described as a very
wooded district ; another was caught in a gin at Wans, about
1855, and (in confirmation of what I have stated above respecting
96 Falconidce.
its occasional food) I learn from Mr. C. Wyndham that it was.
attracted to the trap by an egg set there for a magpie. Another
is reported by the Kev. A. P. Morres as a fine female killed in
1873, close to Salisbury, by the head keeper of Clarendon ; and
the same gentleman calls attention to the greater prevalence of
this species, in comparison with its congeners, in the localities
which suit it best viz. the wide tracts of open, broken ground,
covered with heath and gorse, intermingled with marsh, which
may be met with in the New Forest. The Rev. G. Powell
announced one shot by Mr. G. Lopes' keeper at Greenhill in
1885. Mr. G. Watson Taylor tells me it has visited Erlestoke ;
and Mr. Tyndall Powell writes me word that a pair of old
and two young birds, now preserved at Hurdcott, and other
young birds preserved at Sutton Veny, were taken from his
rabbit warren above Fifield Bavant, and that they had their
nest in the gorse where they were shot and trapped. He
also adds that he occasionally sees hawks there which he
cannot absolutely recognise, but which he believes to be birds
of this species. In proof of its abundance in districts con-
genial to its habits, I will quote Professor Newton, who states,
on the authority of M. Barbier Montault, as given in the Revise
Zoologique for 1838, that in the department of the Vienne, near
Loudun, he has seen it, at the close of the breeding season, not
merely by hundreds, but by thousands, the birds collecting
towards evening to roost in company; and it may be observed
of this species as of the preceding, that it seldom, if ever, perches,
but passes the night on the ground among rough herbage or
heather. In Mr. Rawlence's excellent collection at Bullbridge
House is an interesting case of these birds, comprising a pair of
adults and three young, not a week old, two of which are white
and the third blue all procured within the county on property
belonging to Lord Bath.
I will now bring this long chapter on the Falcons to a close
with one more extract from the register of Mr. Hayward, who
has discovered the following interesting facts from personal
observation : ' Hawks do not moult their wing and tail feathers
Montagu's Harrier. 97
as do other birds and this is a wise provision of Nature
otherwise, during the season of moulting, they must starve ; but
now they moult but one feather on each wing at a time, and
when a feather drops from one wing, the corresponding feather
on the other wing drops out within seven hours. This is,
without doubt, for the sake of equilibrium; then, as the new
feathers come up and are grown, another pair in like manner
falls out, and so with the tail/ Mr. Hayward also observes that
' hawks, in fighting, would score one another's backs with their
talons at a swoop, to avoid which catastrophe the one attacked
invariably turns over and presents her feet to the assailant/
CHAPTER III.
STRIGID.E THE OWLS.
IF the Eagle enjoyed distinction as the favourite of Jove, and
its plume was sought for by the North American Indian, and
by the Highland chief in Scotland, as a mark of nobility ; or if
the Hawk was held sacred by the Turks and Egyptians, and
had respect shown to it alive or dead, and is still found em-
balmed in the mummy pits on the borders of the Nile ; not a
whit behindhand is the Owl in honour, consecrated by the most
learned nation of old to their tutelary Deity, the Goddess of
Wisdom. And, indeed, there is a great deal in the appearance,
character, and habits of this bird to warrant such a distinction :
there is such a remarkably wise expression in its face, it has
such a dignified look, its movements are so deliberate, grave and
solemn, that we are ready to agree with the Athenians, and to
set down the Owl as the very emblem and personification of
learning. And yet again, when we examine the bird, and observe
the large facial disk, or ruff of feathers encircling the face,
giving it the most grotesque appearance; while peeping forth
from this circular fringe and almost buried in it, projects the
short strong hooked beak: when we observe the large staring
eyes, glaring forth so solemnly from their ruff, and the head so
large and apparently so out of proportion, the figure before us
is at once so grave and so ludicrous, so dignified and so grotesque,
that we are in doubt whether to put it down as a very wise or
a very foolish bird. But apart from its appearance, very interest-
ing is the whole family of owls, and well worthy of observation:
plunderers though they are, and living by what they can murder,
The Owls. 99
and that, too, not openly and by day, as the Falconidse, but
skulking along on noiseless wing in the silence and darkness
of night ; they are clever fellows, too : aye, and noble withal, and
much to be respected ; then how sagacious they are, and how
much they know : to be sure, if you look at one in broad day-
light, when the sun dazzles and confounds him, he cuts but a
sorry figure ; but so would a man, were his powers of vision so
keen and so sensitive. But observe him when the shades of
evening have fallen on the earth, how cunning, how thoughtful,
how active he seems now, yet not restless or hurried in his
movements, but deliberate and calm. All day long he will sit
in his snug dark retreat, dozing away the hours of dazzling sun-
shine, to him so insupportable, snoring and dreaming as owls
only can do ; but no sooner has the sun gone down and twilight
begun, than out comes the owl from its lurking-place ; gliding
along in silence ; hunting over the fields ; dropping on a mouse,
which any vision less keen would fail to discover ; bearing it off
to its nest ; and returning again to its hunting-ground ; and thus
ridding mankind of a vast number of this most destructive of
little four-footed vermin. Now, to enable the owls to effect this
in the twilight, and even the dusk of night, they are furnished
with several attributes peculiarly adapted to their requirements :
thus their powers of sight and hearing are remarkably acute,
as I have before observed ; and in addition to this, their plumage
is so soft and downy, and their wing feathers in particular so
pliant, that in striking the air they offer the least possible oppo-
sition, and move along noiselessly, with a slow, gentle and uniform
motion ; in which respect they differ widely from the flight of
other birds, the flapping of whose wings may be heard often at a
considerable distance.
But though of such signal service to mankind, and though
enjoying such a reputation for wisdom, the poor owl is not looked
upon with a friendly eye ; on the contrary, it is now, and always
has been, regarded with superstitious feelings by the inhabitants
of this as well as other countries : without doubt its habits of
seclusion by day, its spectre-like and noiseless movements by
72
100 Strigidce.
night, and its solemn appearance are the principal cause of this
popular error: then its frequent lurking-place, the church-tower;
its haunts, the churchyard and the neighbouring meadows : its
ghostly and silent Sittings ; its wild, unearthly and dismal shriek,
coming suddenly on the belated peasant, combine to startle and
terrify him into the belief that something ominous has occurred,
and lead him to think that the owl bodes no good, and knows
more than he ought, and portends calamity: and this idea is
greatly strengthened by the strange pleasure which the bird
seems to evince in singling out and hooting at the window of the
sleepless and fever-racked invalid, a greeting ever dreaded as
the unfailing forerunner of death, but which was only a scream
of surprise, with which the bird testified its perception of the
light burning in the sick man's room, and to which it was
attracted from its hunting-fields. Thus the ignorance of man
has from time immemorial attributed evil to the owls, and caused
them to be regarded with suspicion and superstitious horror, and
consequently to be persecuted in every way ; and were it not for
their habit of keeping close to their hiding-places during the day,
and only emerging with the declining light, they would probably
soon be exterminated from our island, without any regard to their
real harmlessness and the immense benefit they confer on man.
It is very rarely indeed that an owl is seen abroad when the
sun is shining, but should one from any cause be driven or
tempted from its retreat during the day, it is attacked on all
sides, mobbed, persecuted, and pursued by a host of small birds,
screaming and chattering and scolding, who, knowing its help-
lessness at such a time, and seizing the opportunity, rejoice to
take the common enemy at a disadvantage, and worry him with
great gusto.
Like their diurnal brethren of prey, owls reproduce the in-
digestible parts of the animals they have swallowed, as fur,
feathers, bones, etc., in large pellets or castings, many bushels of
which may be seen at the foot of the hollow tree, or the bottom
of the ruined ivy-covered tower, which they have selected for
their abode. Like the hawks, too, they live in pairs ; but rarely
The Owls. 101
drink ; carry off their prey in their feet, for which their sharp
claws are well fitted, and, like the buzzards and harriers, beat
their hunting-grounds in regular order, near the surface of the
earth. Indeed, if we look back to the family of falcons, we shall
see in many respects a gradual approach to the owls in the
genera last described, these marks of similarity becoming more
and more apparent as we advance. Thus the Buzzards, though
essentially belonging to the Falconidse, possess a heavy form, an
indolent appearance, plumage soft in texture, downy and loose,
flight easy and buoyant, but not swift, and (as the American
Naturalist Wilson says) , ' they are often seen coursing over the
surface of the meadows long after sunset, many times in pairs ;"
in all these points they betoken a decided approach to the owls,
which, however, becomes yet more marked in the intervening
family of Harriers, for in addition to all the above-named points
of resemblance in flight, plumage, and appearance, these birds
possess the form of beak, and the peculiar and distinct disk of
close-set feathers, surrounding the face, for which the owls are so
noted add to this, that the skeletons of the harriers and the
owls show a close affinity, as do their eggs ; and in both the large
aperture of the ear is conspicuous. Thus the two families of
diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey, the falcons and the owls,
approach one another by gradual and almost insensible steps, so
smoothly, evenly, and easily does nature pass from one link to
another in her great chain, so gentle are the transitions from one
genus to another.
The family of owls may be divided into two groups, those
which possess horns, and those which have smooth heads : these
horns or ears are simply two tufts of feathers on the head, vary-
ing in length according to the species, and which can be raised
or depressed at the pleasure of the bird, according as it is
actuated by sudden fear, rage, or excitement of any kind, or is
slumbering in repose. There are seven species which I am able
to enumerate as belonging to this county, the first two and the
last of which are very rare, and only occasional stragglers, the
remaining four being sufficiently common. Of the seven species
102 Strigidce.
which we possess, four are with, the remaining three without,
the above mentioned horns or tufts.
19. EAGLE OWL (Bubo maximus).
Hibou Grand Due of the French; Grosse Ohreule huhu of
the Germans ; Bufo, and Corujdo of the Portuguese ; Buho
Grande of the Spaniards ; in Orkney known as the ' Stock
Owl/ or Katogle a name, doubtless, derived from the Nor-
wegian Kat-ugla; in Sweden Berg Uf, or 'Mountain Owl/
I learn from the list of the British Ornithological Union Com-
mittee that Bubo is derived from ucu, ' to hoot/ and that from
the root oj$, 'a cry;' and that from thence came Byzantium,
' the place of owls/ I also learn from Professor Skeat that owl,
ule y eule, ugle, ulula, and the equivalents to these in most
European languages come from ul, ' to hoot ' or ' screech ;' while
with a prefixed h added for emphasis we get ' to howl/ I admit
this fine species to our Wiltshire list on the authority of the Rev.
A. P. Morres, who instances an authentically recorded and un-
disputed capture of a fine specimen at Handley Common, on the
borders of the county. This bird was taken alive, and kept for
some seven or eight years by Mr. Thomas King, of Alvediston, in
this county, and about the year 1853 or 1854 passed into the
possession of Mr. Hayter, of Woodyates. Whether it had escaped
from confinement, or whether it was a genuinely wild visitor to
our county, there is no evidence to show ; but I am glad to
admit it among the birds of Wilts, because of the admiration
with which I regard this, the largest of the European owls, and
because of its grand and majestic demeanour. It is, indeed, the
king of owls, as all who have seen it alive in a wild state will
testify ; and as it steals along in buoyant and noiseless flight, so
big and yet so silent, it alarms the belated countryman as some-
thing uncanny and foreboding no good. The first specimen I
ever saw was in the hands of a peasant who had just shot it, and
from whom I purchased it some forty-five years ago, in the
wildest and most terrific of passes, at the entrance of the Via
Mala, in the Canton Orisons, in Switzerland. The bird was yet
Scops Owl 103
warm when I received it, and I spent the whole night in pre-
paring the skin with fingers then unpractised, having, with no
little difficulty and at the expense of much time, prevailed on an
apothecary to sell me some poison for the purpose, but that not
without the written authority of some medical official, whose
scruples were not readily overcome. This bird had just swallowed
a large rat whole, the tail of which yet remained in its gullet ;
and, doubtless, so heavy a repast would increase its natural
sluggishness and indisposition to rise ignavus, ' or idle/ being
one of the specific names by which it is known to science and
made it an easier prey to the peasant who shot it. The last time
I was in its company, though personally I did not see it, was in
scenery of a very opposite kind, on the smiling and sunny
Riviera, at Bordighera, in North Italy. We had ascended to the
old ruined castle which is perched above the town, and the
foremost of our party, who were some few steps in advance,
flushed this monarch of owls from the ivy-covered wall, and
were not a little startled at the sudden outburst of such a
monster.
20. SCOPS OWL (Scops giu).
Very rarely indeed does this beautiful little bird make its
appearance in England, and then only in the summer is a
straggler occasionally seen, which has left the warmth of
Italy and the shores of the Mediterranean for our colder
climate. Its favourite haunts seem to be the hot countries
near the equator, but every summer it is extremely common
throughout Italy, and I found no difficulty in procuring a
specimen at Genoa. It is a late-flying species, seldom leaving
its retreat till after the sun has gone down below the horizon.
It derives its scientific name giu from the Italian in that form,
sometimes spelt chiu, and pronounced as the English letter Q,
which very accurately expresses its note; and it repeats this
plaintive melancholy cry, ' kew ! kew !' or ' keeyou !' ' keeyou !' as
Lord Lilford heard it in Spain, at intervals of about two seconds
throughout the entire night, which becomes very monotonous
104 Strigidce.
and tiresome to the listener. The colour of its plumage is
difficult to describe, each feather being mottled, speckled, barred,
and spotted, and pencilled with every shade of dark and pale
brown and gray ; and a remarkably pretty bird it is, and very
diminutive, its total length being little more than seven inches.
The head is furnished with two little tufts or ears, each tuft
containing about seven feathers. Its principal food consists of
insects of various kinds, but it will also occasionally prey on
mice and other small animals. In Malta, where it abounds
during the seasons of its migrations in February and September,
it is sold in great numbers in the market, and is considered by
the natives as excellent for the table.* The British Ornitho-
logical Committee doubt whether to derive the name Scops
from <r?coTgw, ' I look carefully,' which refers well enough to its
habit of staring; or from <rxwffrw, 'I mock/ in allusion to its
perpetual cry repeated all night long, to the dismay of the weary
listener. Thirty years ago I had but one instance to record of
its occurrence in Wiltshire, and that alas ! is now destroyed,
having been pulled to pieces by the grandchildren of its owner
it was killed nearly fifty years since in the south of the county, as
I learnt from the Rev. G. Marsh. Now, however, I have two more
instances, as recorded by Mr. Rawlence : one in that gentleman's
own collection, which was killed near Kingston Deverell ; and
the other shot by Mr. E. Rawlence in the spring of 1873, in
Wilton Park, and presented by him to the Earl of Pembroke.
It had attracted attention some time previously by its peculiar
and reiterated cry. It seems to have been almost frequently
met with of late in the New Forest, but it is not at home in
this country, and must feel sadly home-sick when it chances to
encounter the cold and wet and fogs of 'merrie England.' I
may add, that several other instances of its occurrence in various
parts of the county have reached me, but on examination the
species proves in all these cases to have been mistaken. In
France it is known as Hibou Scops, or, Petit Due ; in Germany,
as Kleine Ohreule; in Italy, as Asiolo ; in Spain, as Corneta
Ibis for 1864, p. 49.
Long-Eared Owl. 105
and Cu-cu ; in Portugal, as Mocho pequeno, ' the little horned
one.
21. LONG-EARED OWL (Otus vulgaris).
Conspicuous amongst its congeners from its long tufts or
horns, which measure nearly an inch and a half in length, and
from which it derives its genuine name otus, ' eared,' known in
Sweden as Skogs Uf, or ' Forest Owl,' and elsewhere in Scan-
dinavia where it is very common as Horn Uggla or ' Horned
Owl.' In France, Hibou Moyen Due ; in Germany, Mittler
Ohreule; in Italy, Gufo Minore ; in Spain, Carabo ; and
in Portugal, Mocho. This handsome species stands forth as
a very ,type of the family of owls, so complete is the ruff
of feathers surrounding the face, so large the orifice of the
ear, so buoyant its flight, so thoroughly nocturnal its habits.
As in the species last described, nothing can exceed the
beautiful pencilled markings of its plumage, the darker shades
of brown contrasting with the more delicate tints of the
same colour, and the whole blending together and harmonizing
with indescribable beauty. It frequents thick plantations during
the day, and breeds very early in the spring, in our large woods,
preferring the deserted nest of another bird to the trouble of
building for itself. The young, if disturbed, are said to throw
themselves on their backs, to hiss violently, to snap quickly with
their hooked beaks, strike furiously with their sharp claws, and
puff out their down like a turkey-cock. Mice and moles con-
stitute their favourite food, but in addition to this, Montagu says
that they will take small birds off their roost. The Long-eared
Owl is indigenous to Wilts, and though but sparingly distributed
throughout the county, breeds here annually. The Rev. G. Marsh
possessed one killed at Gritnam Wood, near him, in 1840, and
had seen it in the neighbourhood of Salisbury. Mr. Hayward
and Mr. Stratton have seen it at Lavington, and Mr. Elgar Sloper,
of Devizes, kept one alive, which was taken from the nest at
Aldbourne in 1853, where there had also been a nest of these
birds the previous year. Mr. T. Kemm, of the Manor House
106 Strigidce.
Avebury, reports a nest with three young birds found by his son
on April 10th, in a plantation on Windmill Hill, very close to
the borders of my parish. Mr. Grant reports a nest taken at
Figheldean, May 2nd, 1862, and I understand that it breeds
annually near Marlborough. The Rev. A. P. Morres described it
as common near Salisbury, more especially at Longford Park, no
less than eleven having, on one occasion, been found congregated
in a copse of yew trees, on the property of the Earl of Radnor,
during some hard weather in winter. In like manner Mr. Powell,
of Hurdcott, informed me that on November 29th, 1879, while
shooting at Grovely, the sportsmen disturbed a flight of Long-
eared Owls estimated at no less than twenty birds which
seemed to fly out of every tree. The frost was very severe at the
time, the thermometer marking no less than 16 of cold. Lastly
I have a specimen in my collection, which I picked up dead
beneath a larch tree in my garden, which was in beautiful
plumage, and bore no external marks of injury, but was so
emaciated that it appeared to have been starved to death. I
have other instances of the occurrence of this owl at Erchfont,
Hilmarton, Erlestoke, Everley, S to well, Chitterne, Wilsford, and
other places.
22. SHORT-EARED OWL (Otus brachyotos).
So far as my experience goes, quite as numerous as the
' Long-eared/ and well known to most sportsmen is this species,
which arrives here in October, and leaves us again in spring.
Unlike its congener, this owl never enters woods and planta-
tions, and is generally said never to perch on a tree; while
it is certain that it prefers the open common, the turnip
field, the marsh, and the moor, amongst the long coarse
grass of which it makes its nest. Mr. Harting, however,
doubts whether it always keeps to the ground, and thinks
it not improbable that it roosts in trees at night ; and I may
say, in corroboration of this view, that in Egypt I once
picked up beneath a palm tree, from which it had evidently
fallen, the dead body of a Short-eared Owl in perfect plumage,
Short-eared Owl. 107
though but a bag of bones with no flesh on them, so emaciated
and starved it seemed. This is a remarkable parallel to a like
case of the Long-eared Owl mentioned above. It will hunt
readily by day, and this habit, together with the smallness of its
head, and its general appearance, have procured it the provincial
name of the ' Hawk ' Owl ; it is also called the ' Woodcock' Owl,
from its arrival and departure occurring simultaneously with that
bird. It preys chiefly on mice, and has been known to congregate
in considerable numbers, when an unusual abundance of that
destructive little quadruped has threatened to ravage a district.
In like manner it will collect in flocks and follow on the vast
armies of lemmings (which at times move in incredible numbers
in some districts of Norway, where I once fell in with them on
their migration), and prey upon those destructive little quad-
rupeds; though from their astonishing numbers, with which the
whole mountain side is alive the havoc the owls make in their
ranks must be almost inappreciable. It is a bold, pugnacious
bird, and, when wounded, will spring at its assailant with great
fierceness, leaving unmistakable evidence of the sharpness of
its bill and claws. Its horns consist of but four feathers in each,
so very little longer than the rest of the plumage on the head,
that after death they are difficult to discover. I believe that it
is when in repose, and while undisturbed, that this bird erects
its tufts, and when startled or in fear depresses them ; but there
are conflicting opinions on the point. This species occurs
frequently throughout the county, and is so often roused by
partridge shooters in turnips, and from the long grass by the
side of ditches, that it is needless to particularize localities of
its capture. In France it is Hibou brachyote, Chouette, and
Grand Cheveche ; in Germany, Kurzohrige Ohreule ; in Sweden,
Kort-orad Uf; and in Spain, Carabo.
23. BARN OWL (Strix flammea).
We now come to the smooth-headed or hornless owls, un-
adorned with the feathery tufts which we have noticed as
belonging to the foregoing species : first of these, and not
108 Strigidw.
long since the most common of British owls, is the species
now under consideration, the ' Barn ' or ' White ' owl, which
rejoices in a great many provincial names, as the 'Church'
Owl, the 'Hissing' Owl, the 'Screech' Owl, etc. In Sweden,
where it is very rare, it is called Torn Uggla, or 'Tower
Owl;' and in Madagascar it is regarded as a bird of evil
omen and malign influence, and is known to the natives as
Vorondolo, or 'Ghost bird.'* At the Cape of Good Hope, where
it is common, it is called by the natives Doodvogel, ' the Bird of
Death,' and it is dreaded and hated by them accordingly. In
France, too, it is known as Chouette Effraye, or the * Alarming or
Terrifying Owl.' In Germany it is Kleinerkauz and Scfdeier-
kauz, 'Veil Owl;' in Spain, Lechuza,', in Portugal, Coruja das
Torres; in Italy, Alloco Comune 4 bianco. The generic name,
Strix is derived by the B.O.U. Committee from the word
?', ' to cry out sharply or shrilly ;' the Latin, strideo, too,
meaning 'to make a harsh sound,' is similarly derived. The
specific name, flammea, alludes to the flame colour of the
upper plumage; for though called white, and having a
white appearance generally, as it is seen emerging from the
church tower or barn, in either of which it loves to dwell, and
hunting over the meadows on noiseless wing, yet when seen
nearer, its plumage will be found to be more beautifully marked
and more delicately pencilled than that of almost any other
bird : the under parts are pure white, here and there slightly
speckled with faint yellow ; but the upper plumage, which is of
a remarkable softness in texture, is of a dark buff or light yellow
colour, the tips of the feathers, speckled and spotted with black,
presenting a very pleasing appearance. The ruff in this species
is very distinct, the mouth and gullet very wide, the ears ex-
tremely large, the wings very long and broad, and the flight very
buoyant. It feeds principally on mice, of which it destroys an
extraordinary quantity, and which it seizes and swallows at once,
without any attempt to tear them in pieces with its claws ; and
* See Ibis for 1862, p. 269, for an admirable paper on ' Birds observed in
Madagascar/ by my friend, Mr. Edward Newton.
Barn Owl. 109
it is quite guiltless of touching poultry or pigeons, notwithstand-
ing the prevailing opinion to the contrary, and the deeply rooted
prejudice to the much maligned bird in consequence. It is,
probably, still to be found in every village in the county, though
its nocturnal habits conduce to screen it from the vulgar gaze :
during the day it reposes with closed eyes in the retreat it has
selected, but as twilight comes on it issues forth in silence,
making no perceptible noise as it strikes the air with its woolly
wings, but ever and anon screeching out its note of joy and wild
and startling notes, as it has done since the days of Ovid :
' Est illis strigibus nomen, sed nominis hujus
Causa quod horrendi stridere nocte solent.'
That they screech and scream horribly there can be no question.
Gilbert White thought that they did not hoot at all ; but further
observations have determined that occasionally, though rarely,
they do indulge in a howl which would not disgrace the Tawny
Owl.* The hard breathing or snoring generally attributed to
them seems to belong to the young birds alone, which give
audible tokens of their somnolency as you approach their
nursery. There is one remarkable habit in the nesting of this
species related by Yarrell, Hewitson, and others, and of which
the Rev. G. Marsh was on one occasion an eye-witness ; viz., that it
does not lay its full complement of eggs (usually four) in regular
daily succession, but that, after hatching two eggs, it will lay
two more, the latter being hatched in.due course by the warmth
of their elder brethren ; while a third laying often ensues, which
becomes hatched as the preceding, the same nest thus contain-
ing at one time young birds in three separate stages of advance
towards maturity ; an admirable provision of nature, as Hewitson
remarks, whereby the old birds are enabled the more readily to
supply the demands of their voracious progeny.
If Ulysses and ^Eneas are to be accounted especially fortunate
in having their wanderings described by such able pens as those
of Homer and Virgil, we may in like manner congratulate the
' Barn ' Owl on having secured for itself the very able champion-
s' Harting's edition of White's * Selborne,' and his ' Birds of Middlesex.'
110 Strigidcv.
ship of Mr. Waterton, who has laboured most assiduously, and
with the power which he could so well wield, to defend this
much injured, harmless benefactor of mankind from the per-
secutions to which it is exposed at the hands of the wanton,
the thoughtless, and the ignorant. Mr. Waterton likewise in-
duced this species to take up its abode in a place he had
especially provided for its accommodation in a ruined ivy-covered
retreat at Walton Hall, and here he delighted to watch its move-
ments ; and he declared that he was amply repaid for the pains
he had taken to protect and encourage it by the enormous
quantity of mice which it destroyed. From him we learn that,
when it has young, it will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve
or fifteen minutes, and that above a bushel of pellets or cast-
ings was cleared out of its retreat within sixteen months of its
occupation of it, each pellet containing the skeletons of from
four to seven mice ; he also discovered, by constant and close
attention to its habits, that it will occasionally catch fish by
plunging into the water and seizing its slippery victim in its
claws. As a boy I possessed one of these owls, which I kept in
an aviary for a considerable time, and wishing to see its method
of seizing a live bird, I one evening turned two sparrows into its
apartment ; of these it took no notice whatever, which apparent
apathy on the part of my pet I attributed to the brightness of
the evening ; but great was my astonishment on the following
morning to find one sparrow roosting quietly in a corner, and
the other bold as he was and resolved to the letter to take the
bull by the horns snugly domiciled on the top of the owl's head,
actually nestling in the soft long feathers there, while the owl,
good easy bird, sat on its perch quite unconcerned, though fast-
ing for thirty-six hours. Macgillivray affirms that it is only to
be seen in the enclosed and wooded parts of the country, but I
can speak from experience that it frequents no less the wilder
and bleaker districts, abounding indeed in all places ; and taking
up its abode indiscriminately in towers, barns, hay-lofts, ruined
buildings, ivy-covered and hollow trees.
It has, however, I regret to say, very much diminished in
Tawny Owl. Ill
numbers within the last thirty years, and it is not now the very
common bird it used to be in this county. Gilbert White in-
stanced ' a large hollow pollard ash in Wilts, at the bottom of
which vast quantities of pellets cast up by the birds were found ;'
and in my younger days few barns were without it, and great
were the benefits it conferred on agriculturists in keeping down
the numbers of the destructive field-mouse ; but now the useful
Barn Owls are shot and trapped by short-sighted,' ignorant men,
and the mice multiply in consequence. Gilbert White noticed
that when owls fly they stretch out their legs behind them as a
balance to their large heavy heads.
24. TAWNY OWL (Syrnium stridula).
Most plentiful of all the Wiltshire Owls is this species; for
while the Barn Owl has greatly diminished in numbers, the
Tawny or Brown Owl has certainly increased with us of late
years. It is not, perhaps, so readily noticed as its white rela-
tion, for it possesses more retired habits, and loves the solitude
of thick woods, and seldom leaves its lurking-place till night-
fall. Neither is it quite so innocent as the ' Barn Owl/ for it
does not always content itself with mice, rats, and moles, but
sometimes preys on young rabbits and leverets as well. More-
over, I have known it make great havoc among the young un-
fledged rooks in my rookery, and great indeed is the commotion
when the Tawny Owls make a raid on the nests of their sable
neighbours breeding in the same plantation just over their heads.
In Sweden it is called Katt-Ugla, or 'Cat-Owl'; 'for its head/
says quaint old Pontoppidan, ' is more like a cat's than a bird's/
In France it is Chouette Hulotte and Le Chat-huant; in Germany,
Nachikaute ; in Italy, Strigge Maggiore ; in Portugal, Coruja do
Mato, ' Plantation Owl.' In England it is known as the ' Wood/
the ' Ivy/ and the ' Brown/ as well as the c Tawny ' Owl. It is
very clamorous at night, making the woods and meadows re-echo
with its loud and melancholy hootings. Gilbert White declares
that at such times its throat will swell as big as a hen's egg ; and
Waterton says that neither in Europe nor America has he ever
112 Strigidce.
heard an owl utter sounds so much resembling the human voice
as those which our Tawny Owl sends forth. That observant
naturalist adds, ' Were you to pronounce the letter in a loud
and very clear tone of voice, and then after a short pause repeat
the same letter in a drawling, tremulous accent, you would have
a tolerably just idea of the hooting of the Tawny Owl. It will
sometimes produce a sharp cry, which sounds not unlike the
word " quo-ah " ; both male and female utter this cry.' This species
occasionally adopts the deserted nest of another bird, but usually
lays its eggs in a hollow tree, on the soft bed of its pulverized cast-
ings. Hewitson says that, like the Barn Owl, it deposits its eggs
at irregular intervals, the first being sat upon as soon as laid : the
young of the same nest differ in consequence very much in size.
Professor Newton says that ' for a considerable time the young,
covered with a grayish- white down, are fed at home. They after-
wards perch among the branches of trees near the nests, where
the parents long continue to feed them, and until summer is far
advanced the call of the owlets, sounding like the word " keewick,"
may be heard at intervals from the leafy shade.'* This I am in
the best position to corroborate; for having kept one of these
birds for some time in confinement, together with a Barn Owl
and other birds, in an owlery which I constructed in my garden,
I opened the door one summer's day and gave them their liberty,
some ten or twelve years ago. The Barn Owl soon disappeared,
but the Tawny Owl never left the plantation hard by, and, find-
ing a mate, has annually bred in some ivy-covered trees within
thirty yards of my house ; and every day throughout the spring
and summer, and oftentimes in autumn and winter too, I hear
and see my favourite owls, old and young, as evening comes on ;
and so bold and fearless are they when the young birds leave
the nest, that when on one occasion I was creeping quietly under
the trees for a nearer view, I was startled by one of the old birds
coming up noiselessly, and unexpectedly flying at my head and
knocking off my hat, to my intense satisfaction ; but a feat which
they repeated more than once, and even scratching the face of
Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i., p. 152.
Hawk Owl. 113
the terrified and unsuspecting and certainly most unoffending
postman, whose daily visits to the house were at that time not
unattended with fear.
25. THE HAWK OWL (Sumia funerea).
In Swedish Hok Uggla; in France Chouette Caparacoch or
JEperviere, ' Sparrow - hawk Owl ' ; in Germany Sperbereule,
* Sparrow - hawk Owl/ and Habichtseule, 'Hawk Owl/ This
remarkable species, generally confined to the more northern
parts of Scandinavia and high northern latitudes in America,
has but very rarely come to the British Isles as a straggler.
Indeed, but half a dozen specimens only are known to have
visited us, and of these one was taken in Wiltshire, having
been killed during severe weather, some thirty or more
years since, by Mr. Long, then residing at Amesbury, and it was
given by him to Mr. Kawlence, of Wilton, in whose collection it
may now be seen. The Rev. A. P. Morres records that it was
exhibited at the Zoological Society of London on April 4th,
1876, as being the only authentic specimen of the European
Hawk Owl yet recorded as having been killed in England.; r As,
however, Professor Newton mentions other examples killed re-
spectively in Somersetshire, at Scaa in Unst, near Glasgow, and
near Greenock, and as the Scandinavian and American birds are
now, I believe, acknowledged to be precisely alike, I see no
grounds for supposing that our Wiltshire specimen hailed from
any other country than that which sent forth its fellows. Surely
the birds which occurred in Unst, at Glasgow, and at Greenock
have quite as much or more right to claim a European origin as
that which was killed on Salisbury Plain. But whatever its
native land, we esteem our Wiltshire bird as a visitor of no
slight interest. My old school-friend, the late Mr. John Wolley,
the very prince of modern ornithologists, and whose untimely
death naturalists have never ceased to lament during his resi-
dence in Northern Sweden and Lapland for the express purpose
of becoming acquainted with the birds of those countries, found
this species extremely abundant in Lapland; and he tells us
114 Strigidce.
that in its habit of flying much in the daytime for it does not
seem at all inconvenienced by brilliant sunshine in its rapid
flight, and in general appearance, it might easily be mistaken for
a hawk at first sight, but on closer examination the large square
head, which is its chief characteristic, and its general demeanour,
pronounces it to be unmistakably an owl* It is of a bold, fear-
less nature, little alarmed at the presence of man, ready to protect
its nest against all intruders, and defending itself when wounded
with remarkable courage and fury. The specific name funerea
literally ' belonging to a funeral/ and so * ill-boding ' and
' dismal ' marks the opinion generally entertained in regard to
this bird.
26. LITTLE OWL (Nodua passerina).
Rare in England, but very numerous on the Continent, especially
in the warmer parts of it, is this diminutive species, scarcely larger
than the blackbird. It is essentially nocturnal, being quite in-
capable of moving by daylight, hence its scientific name noctua,
the ' night-bird ' ; but as evening approaches it becomes extremely
active, and shows great dexterity in securing its prey, which consists
of mice, beetles, and small birds. Other names by which it has
been known to science are N. nudipes and N. psilodactyla, both
of which have reference to the absence of feathers on the feet,
which are covered with bristles only. It is but rarely seen in
Scandinavia, where it is only known as an occasional visitor under
the name of Sparf Uggla, or ' Sparrow Owl,' a mere translation
of passerina. In France it is Chouette Cheveche ; in Germany,
Kleinerkauz ; in Italy, Civetta gialla ; in Spain, Mochuelo ; and
in Portugal, Mocho. In those latitudes it is reported to hunt by
day, but it is obvious that even the most nocturnal of beings,
and however impatient of sunlight, must, if it wanders so far
to the north, find its prey by daylight or starve ; for where the
sun is above the horizon all night during the short but brilliant
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's 'British Birds/ vol. i., p. 185. See, too,
Zoologist for 1854, p. 4203 ; and Newman's edition of Montagu's ' Ornith.
Diet.'
Little Owl 115
summer (and for nearly three months I saw no candle and barely
saw twilight in those charming countries) night and day are
practically very much alike, and neither birds nor men seem to
know when to work and when to sleep. Such, at all events, was
the case with travellers, though most of them preferred to turn
night into day in their long drives through the country, in order
to avoid the torment (which none but those who have expe-
rienced it can in the least appreciate) inflicted by the hateful
mosquito, more fierce, more venomous, more persevering, and of
a larger size, as I believe, in northern Europe, than I have ever
experienced it in Spain, or Portugal, or Italy, or other southern
lands.
Kennie, in his edition of ' White's Selborne,' says, ' I recollect
seeing in Wiltshire the remains of a specimen of the rare Sparrow
Owl, Strix passerina, nailed up to a barn-door ;' but more recently
another was killed in the neighbourhood of Chippenham in 1838,
and is now in Mr. Marsh's collection at Salisbury. Still more
recently (though I have not the exact date) one was killed at
Draycot, and came into the collection of Colonel Ward, then
living at Castle House, Calne, in whose possession it now is. And
quite lately Lord Arundel informs me that he has twice seen a
small owl but whether the 'Little' or 'Tengmalms Owl' he
could not determine in the shrubbery, and once in the thick
wood near the house at Wardour, where Mr. Tyndall Powell,
while pheasant shooting, also saw it in January of this year
(1887), when, disturbed by the beaters, it flew out of some laurel
bushes just before him.
This closes the list of the owls found in this county, and with
the owls is concluded the account of the first division or Order,
the Birds of Prey.
82
CHAPTER IV.
INSESSORES (Perchers).
DENTIROSTRES (Tooth-billed).
THE second great Order of birds, the ' Perchers,' contains so many
species that, in order to avoid confusion (as I have before pointed
out), it was found necessary to subdivide it generally into tribes,
before descending to investigate the families which compose it ;
and perhaps we shall be prepared to examine these several
families and their component species with the greater assiduity
when we consider that it embraces not only those vast flocks of
the finch and sparrow tribe which throng our yards in the
winter, and those great colonies of the rook and crow tribe which
surround our homesteads, but also all the warblers and small
birds which fill our gardens, woods, and fields in the summer,
whose active forms delight our eye, and whose varied notes
charm our ear so continually ; in short, so extensive numerically
as well as specifically is this order, that I suppose I shall be
within bounds when I say that almost all the birds (perhaps not
less than ninety-nine out of every hundred) that usually come
under our notice in this inland county belong to the Perchers.
The first tribe of this Order is that of the ' tooth-billed ' or ' notch-
billed' (Dentirostres), and includes the principal insect-eating
families of the Order, foremost of which stand
LANIAD.E (THE BUTCHER BIRDS).
I have before remarked what a connecting link the Butcher
birds, or Shrikes, form with the last-mentioned family, the Owls ;
and, indeed, these may well be termed diminutive birds of prey,
or falcons of the insect world, so fierce and savage is their dis-
Butcher Birds. 117
position, so cruel and bloodthirsty are their habits, though, at the
same time, their slender limbs and feet prove them to be true
Perchers. They also merit the foremost place in the tribe
Dentirostres, from the very marked and distinct tooth near the
point of the upper mandible, rendering the beak a very powerful
instrument for the destruction of small creatures. But, in truth,
they partake both of the habits of the preceding raptorial
families, and also of the next family, the Flycatchers : for, on the
one hand, in addition to their savage sanguinary disposition,
they reproduce castings formed of the elytra and other hard
parts of coleoptera. On the other hand, like the Flycatchers, they
often sit watching on the bare branch of a tree, or on a post or
railing, whence their vision can extend over a considerable range,
and whence they can dart after any passing insect or small
quadruped or bird. They will often hover, too, in the air above
the branch on which they are about to alight ; and when sitting
watchfully on a bough they will frequently jerk the tail ; in both
which last-mentioned habits again they much resemble the Fly-
catchers, to which they are in some measure allied. They prey
on mice, small birds, grasshoppers, beetles, and other coleopterous
insects ;* and these they will impale (as soon as caught) on
some thorn or pointed stake, which they thus convert into a
temporary larder. For this strange and cruel custom no very
satisfactory reason has been given ; though some have attributed
it to the greater facility it presents for tearing in pieces their
prey, and this seems not improbable when we contrast their
* Sir John Bowring mentions among the curiosities of Spanish com-
mercial legislation, ' a decree of the Governor of the Philippines issued only
a few years ago, by which it was ordered that no vessel should be allowed to
introduce a cargo from China or the East Indies, unless an engagement was
entered into by the captain to bring to Manilla five hundred living Shrikes, a
species of bird reputed to be most useful in destroying certain insects,
which were at that time seriously damaging the crops. The difficulty of
catching, caging, and keeping these birds does not seem to have embarrassed
the Governor, however it may have puzzled the skippers. It may be un-
necessary to add, that not one bird was ever brought to the Philippines,
which is scarcely to be wondered at, since all were to be delivered gratis.'
Quarterly Review for April, 1862, p. 509, note to article on ' The Eastern
Archipelago.'
118 Laniadce.
slight limbs and feeble feet with the strong legs and sharp
claws of the Hawk tribe, so conducive to this purpose. Others
again assert that the insects so placed on the point of a thorn
are intended as baits to attract other victims, and this is the
opinion entertained generally, perhaps not without reason, by
the American naturalists (who have better opportunities of
studying their habits) ; for it is notorious that the shrikes will
often kill and impale, apparently from sheer wantonness, destroy-
ing many more victims than they can consume, and leaving
them transfixed on some thorny bush. They are extremely bold
and strong, and will often attack birds as large as themselves.
They are also very fierce, and when wounded will bite almost as
severely as a hawk. They are the terror of all small birds, for
whose nestlings they are ever on the watch, and these will some-
times band together to mob and drive them away, as they do
the owl on occasions. The name they bear, ' Laniadae/ sufficiently
describes the habits of the family, lanius signifying ' a butcher/
from lanio, ' to cut or tear in pieces.' But, notwithstanding
their fierce, cruel disposition towards all within compass of their
strength in the furred, feathered, and insect world, towards their
own young they show a strong affection, remaining with them
the whole summer, until they all take their departure together,
and becoming very clamorous and excited if any real or fancied
danger threatens them. Their voices are also capable of great
variation, and they are said to sing melodiously, qualities we
should scarcely expect in so fierce a race. Moreover, they have
a remarkable power of imitating the notes of smaller birds, by
which means it is sometimes conjectured they allure them within
reach, to their destruction.
I had the best opportunity of becoming familiar with the
Shrike family while creeping day by day in a boat up and down
the Nile in Nubia, when the sun shone his fiercest, and the sands
of the boundless desert came down on either hand to the very
banks of the river. Those banks were often fringed with the
thickest of shrubs, and especially the sont, or ' thorny acacia/
and the ' camel thorns/ which were literally crowded with the
Great Grey Shrike. 119
webs of caterpillars. Here the 'Masked Shrike' (Lanius
personatus) abounded in great profusion"; indeed, it was by far
the commonest bird in that part of Nubia, and as long as I
remained within the tropics, I must have seen twenty or thirty
specimens in every day's walk. But though so numerous, they
were most solitary, always alone, for I never saw two in
company, nor two upon the same bush.*
27. GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanius excubitor).
Not very frequently is this, the largest of the British shrikes,
seen in England, though I believe it has been noticed in this county
quite as often as in any other. Montagu writes of this bird under
the name of L. cinereus : ' It is rather a rare bird in England.
The only two specimens I killed were in Wilts, on Nov.
15th and 22nd.' Yarrell mentions Wiltshire as one of the
Western counties where it has been obtained. Stanley, too,
speaks of this as one of its favourite districts ; but, in addition to
these, I have notice of one killed near Devizes, about A.D. 1845,
and another at about the same time, shot by the keeper at
Erlestoke ; one in the Rev. G. Marsh's collection, taken on the road
between Cirencester and Malmesbury in 1837 ; another in Mr. E.
Sloper's collection, killed at Seend, Feb. 28th, 1840. Of later
years one was shot in the neighbourhood of Calne, on Dec. 22,
1860, fluttering in a thorn bush, and engaged in battle with two
wagtails, and came into the collection of Colonel Ward, then
living at Castle House, Calne, who communicated its capture.
Another, a female, was killed at Mere in 1847 ; and, within a few
fields of the same locality, a male was shot on November 16th,
1880, both of which were brought to Mr. Ernest Baker, in whose
possession they now are, and who kindly apprised me of their
occurrence. The Marlborough College Natural History Reports
mention one shot at Poulton, in that neighbourhood, on Nov. 20th,
1869. Lord Arundell tells me that it has been shot in the park
at Wardour Castle. Mr. Grant records specimens from Melksham
in 1861, from Marston, near Worton, in 1866, and from Seend
' Attractions of the Nile,' vol. ii., p. 221.
120 Laniadce.
in 1875. Mr. James Rawlence informs me that a fine specimen
was killed some years since by a friend of his in the parish of
Martin, near Salisbury. The Rev. A. P. Morres records another
killed at Mere in 1845, one seen at Upton Scudamore in 1875, and
one which he secured for his own collection, shot at Bishopstone,
near Salisbury, in the Easter week of 1876, on some willow trees
that fringe the bank of a little stream running through that
parish. Mr. Morres also records, and gives strong evidence in
support of the assertion, that on one occasion this species was
found breeding at Fisherton, near Salisbury, at the end of May or
beginning of June, 1839, and describes the nest as built in the
upright forks of a very strong thorn hedge, interwoven with
brambles, and as being large and compact, composed of dry
grass, moss, and small fibre roots on the outside, and lined with
soft downy feathers, intermixed with a little hair ; the eggs, four
in number, of a pale ash colour, thickly marked at the larger
end with spots and stripes, or blotches of a yellowish red colour ;
and the old birds as very fierce and noisy, flying round their
heads and threatening to attack the depredators who were
cutting out the nest, and all the while shrieking and screaming
in their fury.* If Mr. Morres's informant was not mistaken and
there seems no reason to doubt his circumstantial evidence we
have here a record of the highest interest, inasmuch as this is
almost the only instance known of the Great Grey Shrike breeding
in England.-)- It is true that Selby, who, of all our authors on
birds, seems to have most frequently studied this species alive in
its wild state, says that it always chooses the winter months for
its occasional visits to this country, and certainly within the last
few years all those whose captures have been recorded have
(with one exception to prove the rule) been seen between
November and March. Its regular habitat seems to be the
south-eastern portions of Europe, Russia, Turkey, etc. Its
plumage is ash coloured above, white beneath, and a large and
remarkable patch of black on the cheeks makes it unmistakable
Wiltshire Magazine,*}, xviii., pp. 186188.
t See Ibis for 1859. p. 331, for a British specimen of the nest of this bird.
Great Grey Shrike. 121
to those who have seen it. It preys on mice and small birds,
which it treats in the same manner as its well-known congener
does its insect victims, fixing them on sharp thorns, and then
pulling them to pieces. Nay, so strongly is this habit implanted
in it by nature, that one of these birds kept in confinement
would force the heads of small birds, with which it was fed,
through the wires of its cage, and thus hang them up to be
pulled to pieces and devoured at leisure. This we learn from
Pennant, and the habit has been verified by Yarrell, Doubleday,
and several others. It always destroys its victims, whether
mouse, bird, reptile, or insect, by strangulation, previous to
affixing them to a thorn or stake, in the manner described above.
An ancient writer, in a treatise on ' Falconrie or Hawkinge,'
considering this bird to be an inferior species of hawk, accuses it
of alluring its victims to destruction in the following quaint
passage : ' Her feeding is upon rattes, squirrells, and lisards, and
sometime upon certain birds she doth use to prey, whom she
doth entrappe and deceive by flight, for this is her devise. She
will stand at pearch upon some tree or poste, and there make an
exceeding lamentable 'cry and exclamation, such as birds are
wonte to doe, being wronged or in hazarde of mischiefe, and all to
make other fowles believe and thinke she is very much distressed,
and stands needfulle of ayde; whereupon the credulous sellie
birds do flock together presently at her call and voice, at what
time if any happen to approach neare her, she out of hand
ceazeth on them, and devoureth them (ungrateful subtile fowle !)
in requital of their simplicity and pains. These hawks are of no
account with us, but poor simple fellows and peasants sometimes
doe make them to the fiste, and being reclaimed after their un-
skilful manners, doe have them hooded, as falconers doe their
other kinds of hawkes, whom they make to greater purposes.'
I need hardly add that the writer of the above, in mistaking the
shrike for a hawk, at the same time very much overrated its
powers and mistook its habits, for it is notorious that so for-
midable an enemy does it prove to the songsters of the grove
that no sooner is its voice heard than every other note is hushed,
] 22 Laniadce.
and concealment is the only order of the day. In Spain it is
known as Alcaudon real 'the royal (or great) tailed one ' ; in
Portugal as Picanso ; and in France as Pie-Grieche grise ' Grey
speckled Magpie.' In Sweden it is styled Sto'rre Torn Skata, or
' Greater Thorn Magpie.' In other districts of the same country
Var Fogel, or the ' Wary Bird ;' and in Germany Wdchter, or the
' Watcher,' as, on the approach of danger, it warns other birds by
its sharp cry. Hence, too, it derives its scientific name ' Excu-
bitor ' (sentinel) from the use to which it is put in Holland and
Germany by the Falcon-catchers, who, taking advantage of its
quickness in perceiving a hawk at a distance, and its alarm and
loud screams thereon, make it a valuable assistant in their calling.
I have the authority of Professor Skeat for saying that the name
'shrike' or 'shrieker' is derived from the shrill cry of all the
members of this genus. The provincial name of ' murdering
magpie,' in vogue in some parts, not inaptly describes its habits.
28. RED-BACKED SHRIKE (Laniua collurio).
Yery well known to the inhabitants of Wiltshire is this bold and
handsome bird, which frequents our woods every summer: it seems
to favour only the Southern and Western Counties, and this is
one of its most choice localities. Montagu speaks of it as ' not un-
common in Wilts,' and Selby as 'well-known in Wilts;' but, indeed,
I have often noticed it at Yatesbury, as well as in many other
parts of the county ; and so has the Rev. G. Marsh, who says
that, on the downs near Winterslow, he has very often heard it
closely imitating the note of the Wheatear, which abounds there,
but (he adds) he has never seen it preying on anything but
beetles and other insects : this, indeed, seems to be its general
diet, and bumblebees, grasshoppers, and all kinds of flies are
impaled on the bush it selects for the purpose. I fear it is
become more scarce than it was : certainly I have not seen it
for several years past. So, though I have not kept any accurate
record of a species I used to consider common, I may quote
some few particulars of its recent occurrence in Wilts. Thus,
the Marlborough College Reports mention a nest with eggs
Red-Backed Shrike. 123
taken in that neighbourhood on May 27, 1872. I learn from
Mr. Grant that one was killed at Coate, near Devizes, in 1870,
and one at Erchfont in 1877. The Right Hon. E. P.
Bouverie, of the Manor House, Market Lavington, writes me
word that he used to see it last year (1886) on the road to
Devizes. The Rev. E. Goddard generally sees it in summer on
the road between Clyffe and Hilmarton, though he never sees it
at Clyffe ; and Mr. W. Stancomb, jun., sees it at Bayntun. The
name Collurio is said by the B.O.U. Committee to signify
* hooded.' In Sweden it is known as the Allmtin Torn Skata, or
* Common Thorn Magpie.' In France it is termed VEcorcheur, the
4 Flayer' ; in Germany Der Wurger, the 'Strangler' or ' Garotter,'
and Der Fleischer, the ' Butcher/ whence no doubt comes the
provincial name in some parts of England, the ' flusher.' In Sussex
it is known as the ' cheater ' or ' cheeter.' It arrives in May,
breeds here, and departs in September for Africa, where Le
Vaillant has described it as common in winter. Once, however,
Mr. B. Hayward met with one so late as December 4th, which in
all probability had met with some accident, and been disabled
from migrating with its brethren. The male and female differ
greatly in colour ; the former is easily distinguished from the
Grey Shrike by its smaller size, and the chesnut red of its back
and wing coverts : the female and young birds are reddish brown
above, grayish white beneath, speckled and barred with brown : it
is a strong active bird, and delights in thick woods and hedgerows.
There is a third species of Shrike, ' the Woodchat (Lanius
rutilus), which very rarely has been taken in Britain, but I
believe never as yet in this county, though I possess one in my
collection which was killed in the adjoining county of Somerset,
within a short distance of Bristol. Though, like the other
Shrikes, watchful and wary at other times, it appears to lose all
timidity in the breeding- season, and shows remarkable courage
in the protection of its young, flying round the head of the
intruder and shrieking out its indignation with piercing cries.
In Malta, where it is the commonest of its genus, it is known as
Buyhiddiem, or ' the Father of Biters.'* This species is common
o Ibis for 1864, p. 59.
124 Muscicapidce.
every summer in Holland, but, like its congener 'the red-
backed/ retreats to Africa for winter quarters. In habits, too,
it exactly resembles the preceding, but is easily distinguished
from it by the rich chesnut red on the crown of the head and
back of the neck.
^>.
MUSCICAPIDCE (THE FLYCATCHERS).
These have also been termed ' Hawks among flies/ for on such
alone do they feed, and very interesting it is to watch one of these
active, quick-sighted little birds at its almost continual employ-
ment of providing itself food ; indeed, it would seem that it has
need of all its activity to satisfy the wants of itself and its nest-
lings, so diminutive is its prey, and so many victims are daily
needed. Taking its stand on the extreme end of some bough,
post, rail, or stone, the Flycatcher awaits the passing insect, which
its quick eye can discern at a considerable distance, and then to
sally forth after it, snap it up in its beak, and return to its former
station, is the work of an instant. The most prominent charac-
teristics of this family are the narrow compressed bill, with
sharp tip and strong bristles at the base, and the small size of the
feet.
29. SPOTTED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa grisola).
Very common indeed, and most regular in its arrival in the middle
of May, is this little brown, sober-coloured, quiet bird. We may
see it every day during the summer in our orchards, gardens, and
fields ; it does not arrive till late, for it awaits the time when the
insects which compose its food, the whole race of flies and gnats,
are in full vigour, and of these it clears off an incredible number.
It has been accused of destroying fruit, especially cherries, but, I
believe, entirely without foundation, owing to its unfortunate
similarity to another little bird, the Greater Pettichaps, whose
taste certainly does lie that way. The generic name Muscicapa
signifies the ' flycatcher,' and the specific grisola 'gray bird.' In
almost all European languages the name is similarly derived as
with us thus, in France, Gobe-mouche ; in Germany, Fliegen-
Pied Flycatcher. 125
f anger ; in Sweden, Flug-snappare ; in Spain and Portugal,
Papa-moscas, etc.
It is strange that, like the Spotted Eagle (Aquila ncevid), this
bird has derived its English specific name from the young bird
in immature plumage, when each feather is tipped with a buff-
coloured spot, for when it reaches the adult stage every trace of
the spotted plumage has disappeared. It is known in different
parts of the country as the ' Rafter ' or ' Beam Bird,' an appella-
tion it derives from the position so often chosen for its nest, the
end of a beam or rafter in an outhouse ; it is also called the 'Bee
Bird,' from its partiality for that insect, as I have often seen to
my vexation, when morning after morning the little marauder
would take his stand on a wire-fence near my bee-houses and fly
off to seize a luckless bee on its approach laden with honey,
immediately returning to his station and repeating the process
till his appetite was appeased. And that this is not one of the
popular fallacies so common about birds, but that it does occa-
sionally eat bees, which has been disputed by many, has been
verified by Mr. B. Hayward, of Easterton, who not only saw one
devouring several bees at the mouth of a hive, but afterwards
proved it beyond a doubt by dissection. It has no song, and
indeed no note whatever, but a feeble chirp very rarely heard at
the end of the season. White of Selborne calls it 'the most
mute and the most familiar of all our summer birds.'
30. PIED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa atricapilla).
Very rare in this county, nowhere common, but not very in-
frequent in the Northern counties, is this handsome bird, often
styled, from its plumage, the 'miniature magpie/ which term,
indeed, sufficiently describes its black and white dress. In habits,
food, nesting, and absence of song it very much resembles its con-
gener. Mr. Hayward speaks of one killed at Lavington about the
year 1850. The Rev. G. Marsh possessed one killed at Ford, near
Chippenham, in 1837, but stated that he had never seen it alive.
Mr. Withers, of Devizes, killed one near that town about A.D. 1843.
Another was shot at Pert wood, near Mere, in May, 1872, and
126 Muscicapidce.
came into the possession of Mr. Ernest Baker, as notified to me
at the time by his brother, Mr. Thomas Baker, of Mere Down
Farm. A fine cock bird was seen by the Rev. A. P. Morres, in his
garden at Britford Vicarage, on May 1, 1879, which he described
as so tame he could have knocked it down with a stone. On the
same authority I learn that one was killed at Wilton possibly the
same bird at or about the same date; that others have been
obtained near Warminster, one or two or more every year, as the
excellent bird preserver of that town, Mr. King, assured him ; a,
pair near Salisbury, in 1860, by Mr. Norwood, of Fisherton ; and
one was seen by Mr. J. A. T. Powell, of Hurdcott House, in the
spring of 1877. This species has also been trapped on several
occasions by a birdcatcher on the downs of Martin, near Salis-
bury ; and Colonel Ward has seen it on his lawn at Bannerdown,
July 3, 1879. Mr. Algernon Neeld tells me he has seen it at
Castle Combe ; and Mr. Grant that one was shot on the downs
above Erlestoke, on April 15, 1872. This is a goodly list of
occurrences in our county for so rare a species. Perhaps it is
becoming more common in these southern regions, passing on
from the Lake districts of Cumberland and Westmoreland, which
appear to be its summer stronghold in Great Britain ; or perhaps
its apparently greater prevalence here may be only the result of
more widespread observation. For myself, I have never seen it
wild in England. The literal meaning of Atricapilla is ' black-
haired ;' here, doubtless, it signifies * black-headed.' On the
Continent it is generally known as Albicollis (' white-necked ') ;
and from this are derived its general Continental names, as in
France, ' Gobe-mouche d Collier ;' and in Germany, ' Fliegen-
f anger mit dem Halsbande ;' but in Sweden it has the high-
sounding title, ' Svart och Hvit Flug-Snappare,' which in reality
is no other than our trivial name ' pied/ or ' black-and-white Fly-
catcher.'
MERULIM (THE THRUSHES).
So well-known are many members of this family to the most
unobservant, that I need say very little of their general charac-
Dipper. 127
teristics. Bold, handsome, and active, they are ever presenting
themselves to our notice, while the voices of some species are
hardly to be surpassed in volume and in sweetness. Their food
consists of insects, snails, and worms, and also of fruits and
berries, and it is not to be denied that they commit great havoc
in the garden as the fruit ripens, though the mischief they then
do is more than counterbalanced by the benefit they confer in the
destruction of myriads of noxious insects and snails. Most of
the species are migratory, if not from the country, yet often from
one district to another, and in winter they assemble together in
large flocks. Notwithstanding their apparent strength and
activity, none of our winter residents seem to suffer more than
the thrushes from severe cold ; a very few days of snow suffice to
render the fieldfares tame, and in a hard winter, first the redwings,,
and then the song-thrushes, die off in great numbers.
31. DIPPER (Cinclua aquaticus).
I rejoice to be able to add this species to my list of Wiltshire
birds, and I do so with confidence, on the authority of Mr. Ernest
Baker, of Mere, who writes on November 10, 1876, that a good
specimen of the Dipper had that day been given to him, which was
shot the previous day in the Mere stream, and that it was the only
individual of its species which he had ever known as killed in this
county. Since then, however, I have had a second notice of its
appearance in Wiltshire, from Mr. Lowndes, of Castle Combe, whose
agent, Mr. Watkins, saw it on the stream in the valley on that
beautiful estate. It derives its name, Cinclus, ' tail-mover,' from
the Greek xeXXw, ' to wag the tail.' Here it is the ' Dipper,' or
'Water Ouzel,' or 'Water Colley;' in Portugal it is Melro Peixeiro,
'Fishmonger Thrush ;' and sometimes Melro do Rio, ' River Thrush ;'
in Spain, Tordo de Agua, 'Water Thrush;' in Sweden, Strom Stare,
'Stream Starling;' and, in France, Merle d'Eau. It is an especial
favourite of mine, frequenting, as it does, the torrent or other rocky
stream as it rushes over the stones in some mountainous district,
generally in the midst of magnificent scenery; and in such districts
I have become very familiar with it, in some of the upper valleys
128 Meruiidce.
of Switzerland and Tyrol, and, above all, in Norway. It is a
compact, stout little bird, and as it stands on a boulder, in the
midst of a torrent, will flirt its tail up and down, at other times
carrying it erect, like that of the wren, which in some other
respects it resembles, notably in the large dome-shaped nest it
forms, and which is not infrequently placed in some crevice of a
rock behind a cascade, in such a position that the water shoots
over it, effectually protecting it from molestation. Its flight is
quick and straightforward, much resembling that of the King-
fisher. As to the vexed question whether or no it has the power,
denied to other birds, of deliberately walking off the stone on
which it is perched into the water, and there running about and
feeding as if on dry ground, searching for and picking out any
small insects it can dislodge, as St. John and several other excel-
lent naturalists assert, and others, with Montagu and Yarrell, as
strenuously deny, I will not enter upon it here. I can only say
that I never saw it practise any such feat, though I have watched
it for hours on many occasions. It has also been the subject of
much controversy as to whether it devours the eggs of the salmon
and other fish spawn ; and as it is not the habit of keepers and
others to give the feathered race the benefit of a doubt till the
accusation is proved, or to hold them innocent till they are
proved guilty, the poor Dipper has been unrelentingly persecuted
in consequence; but I believe the charge is wholly without
foundation.
32. MISSEL THRUSH (Turdus viscivorus).
This is the largest of the whole family, and very handsome
withal. It derives its name from its excessive partiality to the
berries of the mistletoe. In winter these birds will congregate in
large flocks of forty or more, when they are often mistaken for
fieldfares. It is one of the earliest breeders, placing its nest in the
fork of some tree, often in the most conspicuous position, and at
this season it is as distinguished for its courage as at other times
it is for its shy, retired habits. If any other bird approaches its
nest, it vociferates in the loudest and harshest screams. Its song,
Fieldfare. 120
too, is very powerful, and it is the earliest as well as the largest of
our British songsters, its notes being often heard above the gale in
the month of February, amid the blasts of winter. It is common
everywhere. In the south of the county, as in many other parts of
England, it is called the ' Storm Cock,' from its habit of singing
during the prevalence of a gale of wind and rain. The Rev. G.
Marsh used to tell me that in his locality it was called the
' Screech Thrush,' while in Devonshire and Cornwall it is known
as the 'Holm Screech,' or 'Holly Screech/ holm being the provin-
cial name in those counties for the holly tree, whose berries form
its favourite food; and each bird takes possession of his tree,
keeping constant to it as long as there is fruit on it, and driving
away all other birds with the utmost fury.* In Sweden it is
known as Dubbel Trast, or 'Double Thrush;' and in Malta as
Malvitzan, or ' Large Thrush ;' but the Welsh call it Pen y Ihvyn,
the ' Head ' (or ' Master ') ' of the Coppice.'t In France it is
Merle Draine ; in Germany, Mistel Drossel; in Italy it is simply
Tordo Maggiore ; in Spain, Charla, ' the Chatterer ;' in Portu-
guese, Tordeia and Tordoveia. The specific name, Viscivoru*,
from viscum, ' mistletoe,' and voro, * I devour,' is simply a trans-
lation of Aristotle's name bestowed on this species, /goCofo;. For
the greater part of the year it is a lonely bird, and may often be
seen amidst the clumps of trees in the open spaces of a park.
33. FIELDFARE (Turdus pilaris).
Very well known and very generally dispersed throughout the
country is this regular periodical migrant to our shores, arriving
from the north late in the autumn, and leaving us in the spring.
We may see them in flocks in our meadows or on the tops of the
leafless elms, and many a day's sport and much disappointment
too do these wary birds afford to the schoolboy gunner. They
retire to breed in Norway and Sweden, where I have found their
nests in small colonies of eight or nine. Mr. Hewitson mentions
a colony of two hundred nests, but I never saw any such number.
Montagu's ' Supplement ;' Rodd's ' Birds of Cornwall,' p. xxxvi.
f Harting's edition of White's ' Selborne,' p. 210.
9
130 Merulidce.
Like the Missel Thrush, they are very bold and pugnacious in
breeding-time, screaming, chattering, and darting within a few
inches of my hat as I climbed to their nests ; at other times they
are remarkably shy. They are the last to arrive of all our winter
visitants, seldom making their appearance till near the end of
November, and they are the last to leave us in the spring.
They come next to the Missel Thrushes in size, and are very
distinguishable by the dove-coloured patch on the head and tail,
and the bright spotted yellow on the throat and breast.
In one respect they differ from all their congeners, in that on
winter evenings they assemble from great distances, arriving in
flocks just before dusk at some favourite spot, and there roost on
the ground, after the manner of larks, generally among heath
and coarse grass and tall rushes, or even on stubbles. This is
the more remarkable as they sit on trees during the day, and
procure the greater part of their food from the hedges and
bushes, and invariably build on trees, though generally not far
from the ground.* The meaning of the specific word pilarla I
cannot fathom, nor does the Committee of the B.O.U. help me.
There is, indeed, a Latin word pilaris, ' of or belonging to a ball,'
but I see no connection between that and this handsome thrush.
Of the meaning of ' fieldfare,' ' a traverser of the fields or fallows/
there is no question. The word ' to fare,' meaning ' to travel/ is
obsolete now, but we see traces of it, not only in ' field/are,' but
in 'farewell' i.e., 'speed you well'; and the coach or railway
fare, i.e., ' the price of a ticket for travelling.' In Germany it is
known as Wachholder Drossel, 'Watchman Thrush,' from the
constant look-out it keeps against surprise; in France Merle
litorne, and in Sweden Bjork Trast, ' Birch Thrush,' but is more
popularly known as Sno Skata, ' Snow Magpie/ the former part
of the designation derived from the belief that when it appears
in large numbers, hard, snowy weather is pending ; the latter
from its unusual length of tail, and the magpie-like chattering it
constantly keeps up, particularly in the vicinity of its nest. For
'Birds of the Humber,' by Cordeaux, p. 21 ; Zoologist for 1885, p. 335 ;
Harticg's edition of White's ' Selborne,' p. {?!>.
Song Thrush. 131
the same reason, doubtless, it is called in Italy Tordella Gazzina,
a magpie in Italy being known as Gazza. In Portugal it is
Tor do zornal.
34. SONG THRUSH (Turdus musicus).
Generally distributed and permanently resident in all parts of
the country, this favourite songster is well known to all. Few
birds have sweeter notes, or indulge us with them oftener, and
no nest is better known to the schoolboy than the clay-lined
dwelling and spotted blue eggs of the Song Thrush. We may see
these birds throughout the year on our lawns and in our gardens ;
but, if we take notice, we shall observe that periodically their
numbers are sensibly increased by the arrival of many which have
migrated either to other countries or to other districts ; and at
other times the thrushes seem to have almost deserted us. Indeed,
Professor Newton goes so far as to say that in some parts of the
island not a single bird can be seen from the end of November to
the end of January.* Perhaps none of our songsters continues
to pour forth its melodious notes so perse veringiy as this species.
From early spring to late autumn, with but little intervals of rest,
from very early morning, long before daylight, even in the short
summer night, and before any other warbler is awake, the melli-
fluous voice of the thrush may be heard in the coppice. So
much is its superiority of song recognised in every country which
it frequents and this cosmopolitan bird ranges throughout
northern as well as southern Europe that the name by which
it is generally known alludes to its vocal powers. Thus in
France it is La Grive ; in Portugal, Tordo, ' the Thrush ;' and in
Malta, Malvitzrf as if pre-eminently ' the Thrush.' In Germany
it is, as with us, Siny Drossel ; and in Scandinavia Sdng-Trast,
' Song Thrush,' Tal-Trast, or ' Speaking Thrush,' Nordisk Ndkter-
<jal, or 'Northern Nightingale,' and also Natt Vaka, or 'Night
Watcher/ from its habit of singing all night in the lone and
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. i., p. 266. See also an
article by the same able author on ' The Migratory Habits of the Song
Thrush/ in the Ibis for 1860, pp. 8385.
t Ibis for 1864, p. 63.
92
132 Merulidce.
desolate forests during the calm and light nights of the for
north.* Notwithstanding this, our Song Thrushes are unmerci-
fully persecuted by the gardener, being insatiable devourers of
fruit, and they so provoke his malice that in his rage and thirst
for revenge he overlooks the benefit they have conferred upon
him all the rest of the year by the destruction of thousands of
worms and insects. Moreover, the songs with which they enliven
our shrubberies and gardens from early spring to the end of the
summer, and such songs too, ought to plead something in their
favour. They are great adepts at cracking snail-shells against a
stone, to enable them to get at the contents, which they appear
to relish above all things, and they return to the same stone
which they have found to answer their purpose, so that broken
shells scattered all around mark where they have been dining ;
and here, methinks, they unmistakably prove themselves the
gardener's friend in a way which cannot be disputed. But all
these benefits are forgotten when the fruit is ripe, and they crave
a share as their just portion. The old English name ' Throstle '
is doubtless from the German Drossel, and perhaps Mavis, by
which it was also known of old, from the Spanish Malvis; c r
perhaps both derived from some older and forgotten word.
35. REDWING (Turdus iliacus).
Like its congener and companion the fieldfare, this bird
visits us in the autumn, when the snows of its native country
in the north render its home untenable and force it south-
wards. It arrives a few weeks before the fieldfares, but after-
wards associates with those birds in flocks, when its smaller
size and the conspicuous red of the under wing-coverts cause
it to be easily distinguished. Though seldom heard in this
country, it has a most melodious note, which is so highly prized
in the north as to have procured for this bird the title of
the ' Swedish Nightingale,' a title since usurped by the famous
Jenny Lind. This fact of the surpassing powers of song of the
redwing may probably be unknown to many, and seeing it only
Lloyd's 'Scandinavian Adventures/ vol. ii., p. 288.
Redwing. 133
in the silent months of winter, and hearing then nothing but an
occasional and rather discordant chattering, few have any notion
of the loud and clear and exquisitely sweet note with which it
enlivens the thickets and copses of Norway in a summer night,
if, indeed, that can be called night where the sun merely ap-
proaches the horizon and ascends again, or at the most sets and
rises within the hour ; and where, during a three months' tour, I
never saw a candle, but could see to read and write in the darkest
of log-huts at any hour of the night. This, indeed, was the time
and place to appreciate the song of the redwing ; when we drove
through the sombre forests in the night, as we frequently did to
escape the excessive heat of the sun, which, scarcely ever being
out of sight during the summer, does not suffer the air to get
thoroughly cooled during the night, and strikes down almost as
hot as I have felt it in Rome in May, or Naples in June, to the
great advantage of the crops, but to the scorching of the mid- day
traveller. Passing on in single file, each in his carriole, through
the interminable forests, one of which we traversed for no less
than 100 miles, while on the Swedish side it stretched out 50
miles on our left, with but one road for wheels throughout its
length and breadth; scarcely meeting a human being in those
vast solitudes, save only at the few posthouses, at long interven-
ing distances ; imagine all this, and it may be understood how
full of enjoyment we found it to listen to the delicious notes of the
redwing, poured forth in the wildest yet most harmonious strains
from the tops of some of the highest trees around us. Indeed,
the absence of the redwing would be a serious blank in Norway,
and very sensibly felt by the inhabitants, who, being a remark-
ably primitive and simple people, unsophisticated and kind-
hearted, never wantonly illtreat their birds or animals, but
cherish and protect them, and are rewarded by the most un-
bounded confidence in return; birds which are wildest and
shyest with us building close to the houses of the Norwegians,
and not caring to move out of the way as you drive by. But if
this long digression on the home of the redwing appears irrelevant
to my subject on Wiltshire birds, I submit that the cause of its
134 Merulidte.
introduction is the hope of inducing those who have thought-
lessly persecuted those poor birds, when they are driven by
inexorable -winter to seek shelter and food in our more genial
climate, to stay their hand from such ruthless slaughter, and
reflect that while it is thought here almost an act of sacrilege to
destroy the nightingale and robin, the one so endeared to us by
its song, the other by its confidence in man, the Swedish night-
ingale partakes of both these virtues, and, moreover, is quite
harmless and innocent, seeking nothing from man's stores for its
support, but frequenting the meadows during the open weather,
where it feeds on worms, snails, and larvse, and, when frost sets
in, repairing (not to the rickyard and cornstack, but only) to the
hedges, where the berries of the ivy, the hawthorn, and the holly
supply its wants ; and, if unusually severe weather occurs, migrat-
ing (as is reported by naturalists) still further southwards, even
to the shores of the Mediterranean. Montagu reports that
vast numbers of these birds resorted to this and the adjacent
counties in the hard winter of 1799, when, exhausted by long
journeys, they were unable to prolong their travels, and deprived
of food by a sudden fall of snow, they perished by thousands
from starvation: Gilbert White speaks of their delaying their
departure northwards till June, after the dreadful winter of 1739-
40, and the cold north-east winds which continued to blow
through April and May. Colonel Hawker, in his admirable
' Instructions to Young Sportsmen/ printed in 1838, and there-
fore now out of date, when everything relating to shooting has
been changed, but yet for all that still a book of practical in-
formation and sound advice, says,* that when Redwings appear
on the East Coast they as commonly announce the approach of
the Woodcock, as does the arrival of the W T ryneck that of the
Cuckoo in the south. It is the smallest of the Scandinavian
Thrushes, and it does not breed in colonies like the Fieldfare,
nor is it so shy of the presence of man as that most wary bird.
Mr. Cecil Smith saysf it is known in Somersetshire as the ' Wind
Thrush/ and declares it is hardier than the Fieldfare, because,
Page 248. t ' Birds of Somerset/ p. G4.
Blackbird. 135
unlike that bird, it subsists in great measure on snails. Now
snails must certainly be a nutritious diet; so at least an old
parishioner of mine at Yatesbury, now deceased, used to declare,
and, acting on that opinion, at some special season of the year,
hunted in the banks near his cottage for the common garden
snail, and prepared them for his dinner by frying them in the
shovel ! Notwithstanding its snail diet, however, I am so far
from thinking that the Redwing is hardier than the Fieldfare
that I believe it to be the first of all its congeners to succumb
under prolonged frost : though it seems strange that both these
species, bred in the far north of Europe, should be more sensitive
to cold than those which are indigenous here. The Song
Thrush, however, is almost as delicate, and one of the first to
perish in very severe weather. It has often been reported as
breeding in England, but every alleged instance has so far as I
know on investigation proved to be a mistake, founded on con-
fusion of the species.
In Germany it is Rothdrossel, ( Red Thrush ;' in Portugal Tordo
ruivo, ' Reddish -brown Thrush/ in distinction to Tordo branco,
* White Thrush/ as the Thrush, Tordo, is sometimes called ; in
Scandinavia Hodvinge Trast, ' Red-wing Thrush / in Spain
Nalvis ; and in France le Mauvis.
36. BLACKBIRD (Turdus menda).
' The ouzel cock, so black of hue with orange-tawny bill/ as
that great observer of nature, Shakespeare, has described it, is so
well known that I need say very little about it. In Sweden it is
known as Kol Trast, or ' Charcoal Thrush/ and in Somersetshire
as the ' Colly bird.' The gardeners know, to their cost, its pen-
chant for fruit in the summer, and no devices of theirs will avail to
scare it from the gooseberry and raspberry bushes, and the straw-
berry-beds, as long as any fruit remains ; but it changes its
residence with the season : as soon as wet weather sets in, the
blackbirds may be found in the turnip-fields, where they find
slugs and snails in abundance ; and in hard weather the hedge-
rows and thick bushes are its resort. It is of a shy and restless
136 AlerulidcK.
disposition, and solitary withal, never seen to congregate with
many of its species, and hurries off with a loud scream of alarm,
and buries itself in the nearest bush the instant it is discovered :
it has a fine full rich voice, with which it often favours us ; and
it is a matter of great dispute among connoisseurs whether the
blackbird or thrush has the finest song, though I think most
votes would be in favour of the latter ; but yet the former has
many stout partisans, and not without reason, for its notes are
very melodious ; it is also one of the earliest songsters we have.
Blackbirds appear to be especially liable to exhibit variations in
plumage, specimens continually occurring in pied and mottled
garb, sometimes in pure white, though the name of the bird
causes such a statement to sound contradictory. And here, per-
haps, I may be allowed to make one or two observations on these
albino varieties in birds, having examined the subject with great
attention, and stated the result in a paper published by the
Zoologist in 1853. I will not inflict on my readers the arguments
by which I arrived at my conclusions, as they would be somewhat
out of place here ; suffice it to say, that I conceive that physical
weakness either in the individuals themselves, or in their parents,
one or both of them, is the radical origin of the varieties in colour
so often seen ; and that the natural and habitual functions of the
bird are through debility so disarranged, as to have the effect of
withdrawing the pigment or colouring matter from the growing
feather, as it springs from the follicle sheath or capsule in which
it is enveloped, and where it is nourished by juices in which the
pigment is supposed to reside. There may be many exciting causes,
such as peculiar food, sudden fear, extreme rage, etc., serving
to develop this peculiarity in colour, or it may have existed from
the nest, but in all cases I apprehend that constitutional weak-
ness is the real root of the matter ; and as bright well-marked
plumage undoubtedly betokens good health and strength, so and
on the same principles I conceive that an unwonted variety or
absence of colour marks physical debility : and therefore I am no
admirer of these anomalous specimens, but rather look upon
them as miserable deformities and wretched abortions, the
Ring Ouzel. 137
w offspring of weak parents, unfitted to rank with their fellows. I
may add that I have collected authentic evidence of the exist-
ence of such varieties in no less than fifty-seven species of our
British birds, in their wild state, and have no doubt that if
further investigated it would be seen that such occasional
deformities resulting from weakness do sometimes occur in every
species of bird ; though in those wearing the darkest livery
(such as the Blackbird and the Book) and therefore requiring a
larger supply of pigment, such varieties will be found to be more
frequent.
I have the authority of the B.O.U". Committee for stating
that the specific name Merula is derived from ^e/\a?, ' black/
Modified from the Latin, we have in French Merle noir, and
in Spanish, Mir to ; and in Portuguese the word itself, Merula,
but more commonly it is known all over the latter country as
Melro, by the same strange transposition of letters as that in use
\amongst our Wiltshire labourers, where they commonly miscall
pulpit, pilput bishop, buship, etc.
37. RING OUZEL (Turdus torquatus).
Here we have another migratory species of Thrush, but unlike
its congeners, the fieldfare and redwing, which come to us in
the autumn and retire northwards in the spring, the Bing Ouzel
comes to us in April, and retires again in October. It is, how-
ever, in this county but a bird of passage, passing on to more
northern districts in the summer, and returning to more southern
climes in the winter. It is easily distinguished from the black-
bird by the absence of the bright yellow bill, and by the white
collar or broad crescent-shaped ring round the chest, whence its
specific names, Latin and English; in other respects, such as
general appearance, shape, bulk, habits, food, etc., it resembles
that well-known songster : it differs from it, however, in occa-
sionally associating in flocks towards the beginning of autumn,
and so migrating in company, but sufficiently resembles it to be
called provincially the 'Mountain' and the ' Michaelmas' Black-
138 -Mend 'nice.
bird, alluding to the haunts it loves and the season when it
appears on its way south. In Sweden it is known as the Ring
Trast, or 'Ring Thrush;' and in Malta, as Malvitz tas-sidra
balda, the ' White-chested Thrush. 1 In some parts of France it
is distinguished as Merle terrier, or Buissonier, from its lowly
placed nest, either on or very near the ground. In Portugal it is
Metro de papo branco, ' Thrush of white throat.' I have seen it
occasionally in Switzerland and the Tyrol, and very frequently
in Norway, where in one especial locality, at the foot of the
highest peak in that land of mountains, it would come every
morning, and perching on the turf roof of an adjacent chalet, sing
most melodiously, while its mate was sitting on the nest among
some rocks hard by ; but the spot it seems of all others to prefer
is the copse on the sloping foot of a mountain, shelving down to
some quiet tarn. I have never seen it alive in Wiltshire, nor
has Mr. Marsh been more fortunate : I have, however, numerous
records of its occurrence here. Mr. E. Sloper speaks of it as
often seen in flocks of five or six, and of two being killed near
Devizes in 1851 ; another (now in Mr. Marsh's collection) was
killed at Compton Bassett by the Rev. A. Austin : it has often
been taken in Clarendon Park. The Rev. A. P. Morres has met
with it in his own parish of Britford, and on the downs near
Salisbury, and also on those near Ebbesbourne; he also possesses
a specimen killed at Odstock Copse in the spring of 1866 or
1867, and records another as seen in the garden of The Cliff at
East Harnharn the previous year : while a bird-trapper in his
parish assured Mr. Morres that he not unfrequently trapped
them on the downs. Mr. Baker generally saw it on the downs,
near Mere, in its vernal and autumnal migrations. Mr. King
reports that specimens were brought to him for preservation,
nearly every year, from the neighbourhood of Warminster. Mr.
Grant has supplied me with a list of thirteen specimens which
have been taken in various parts of Wiltshire within the last
twenty-five years ; previous to which the late Mr. Withers
assured me that scarcely a spring or autumn occurred but he
saw and generally captured some on the downs near Devizes.
Golden Oriole. 139
Besides the occurrences enumerated above, I have a very inter-
esting communication from Mr. Isaiah M. Jupe, of Mere, dated
May 19, 1858, in which that gentleman says: 'On the 12th of
April, 1858, a man of this town (Mere) seeing what he considered
a blackbird on its nest, shot it as it flew off, and on account of
its ring brought it to me as a curiosity, and I immediately
secured its nest and two eggs. The nest was in a thick thorn
hedge, close to our Castle Hill ; the eggs, in appearance, similar
to a blackbird's, but smaller, and not so pointed ; the nest also
resembles the blackbird's.' Both bird and eggs were preserved.
This is the only instance I have of the King Ouzel being known
to breed in this county, though, from its great resemblance to a
blackbird, it may easily be overlooked. Mr. Morres, too, heard
rumours of a nest having been found near Bath, but could not
obtain sufficient evidence to verify the statement. My friend-,
Colonel Ward, however, reported to me a Ring Ouzel, or ' black-
bird with a necklace,' as one of his family styled it, as frequent-
ing his lawn at Bannerdown, near Bath, July 3, 1879, when it
should have been, and perhaps was, engaged in rearing its young
brood. In the Marlborough College 'Nat. Hist. Soc. Reports/
there are several notices of the nest being found in Savernake
Forest : in 1866, May 4 (p. 25) ; April 30 (pp. 62, 65, and 66) ; in
1868, May 4 (p. 94). It is, however, much more common in the
wild mountainous and stormy districts of the north than in this
county.
38. GOLDEN ORIOLE (Oriolus gcdbula).
This splendid bird, with its bright yellow and black plumage,
so conspicuous from the striking contrast of the two colours, is a
rare visitant in Britain, but once seen, it can never be mistaken :
it is a denizen of warm latitudes, Asia and Africa being its proper
habitat, and it is only occasionally that a straggler finds its way
to our coasts, and then so attractive is its bright plumage that it
cannot escape observation, and has no chance of avoiding capture
or death. My first record of its occurrence in this county is of
very many years ago, when two males were taken in the neigh-
140 Mtrulidoe.
bourhood of Tidworth. One was observed and killed in a small
fir plantation, and carried to the Rev. F. Dyson, who, thinking it
probable that the bird was not without its mate, immediately
employed a man with a gun to search for and procure the
female ; the man, however, returned with another male bird, and
it was conjectured that the comparative dinginess of colour in
the female enabled her in the dark fir plantations to escape
detection. The Rev. G. Powell announced to me the capture of
a magnificent male in full golden plumage at Tisbury on May 1,
1862. Mr. Ernest Baker was so fortunate as to fall in with a fine
male in perfect plumage on the western borders of the county,
on May 9, 1870, as he was driving down a lane, and the bird flew
on in front, perching from time to time on the top of the hedge,
as if to display its brilliant plumage to an appreciative ornitholo-
gist : an unwonted piece of good-nature on the part of the bird,
as it is generally of a most shy and retiring nature ; to which I
am in a position to testify, from the many hours I have spent in
patiently watching for a view of the songster which I had heard
and of which I had caught a passing glimpse, as it buried itself
in the deep shelter of a lemon orchard at Mentone. The Rev. A.
P. Morres records that in the spring of 1877 a pair was seen on
some crab trees at Dinton, and that he was informed by Mr.
Wyndham that they had been reported to have bred on Teffont
Common, and had certainly been seen there more than once :
and that another fine male was shot in an orchard near Mere
in 1870, and is now in the possession of Mr. Osborne of Tisbury.
It is an inhabitant of the southern countries of Europe during
summer, migrating from Africa about the middle of April,
and establishing itself through all the northern coasts of the
Mediterranean, and in all these countries it generally derives its
name from the full, flute -like musical whistle for which it is
famous Turiol in Spanish, Lorlot in French, and Oriole in
English, being all supposed to represent the call-note of this
remarkably handsome and melodious bird; but everywhere it
exhibits the same timid, shy disposition, frequenting secluded
groves, and feeding on fruits, berries, and insects.
Golden Oriole. 141
The scientific name Oriolus is from aureolus 'golden/ and
galbula signifies 'yellow.' In Spain it is often known as
Oropendola, a word which appears to refer in the first syllables
to its golden colour, and in the last to the pendulous nest which
it forms beneath the branch of a tree.
CHAPTER V.
DENTIROSTRES (tooth-billed}, continued.
SILVIAM: (THE WARBLERS).
THE very name of this family speaks of warmth and spring and
harmony : and even in the depth of winter, conjures up before-
our imaginations lively pictures of the coppice and the hedgerovv-s
bursting into full leaf, radiant in the sunshine ; the air redolent
with the perfume of a thousand flowers, and filled with the song
of countless birds. It is pleasant to bask for awhile in such a
sunny spot, while we pass in review before us the sweet
songsters of the grove, which compose the family we are con-
sidering.
The warblers are the largest family amongst all the birds, I do
not mean numerically, but specifically; and with a few exceptions
they may all be found in Wiltshire, no less than nineteen species
being either indigenous to our county, or periodical or occasional
visitants ; but some of these species bear such a close resemblance
to one another, and are so extremely difficult to distinguish from
one another, that they will defy any but the most accurate and
painstaking observer to discover their personal identity. Their
principal characteristics are elegance and gracefulness of form,
a delicate structure and slenderness of bill, and a sweetness and
richness of note ; and though some may be disposed to cavil
at the statement, I am inclined to the opinion that in a greater or
lesser degree all the species composing this family partake of
these three characteristics.
Hedge Accentor.
39. HEDGE ACCENTOR (Accentor modularis).
Well known to everyone as the Hedge Sparrow, though the
name is most unfortunate, causing it to be confused in the minds
of many with the House Sparrow, with which it has not the
smallest affinity, the latter being bold, hard-billed, and grain-
loving, while the Hedge Accentor or Hedge Warbler is meek, soft-
billed, and insect-eating. In Worcestershire it bears the pro-
vincial name of 'Blue Isaac/* which at first sight seems unintelli-
gible enough ; but * Isaac ' as was pointed out by a clever
reviewer in the Guardian^ is simply the modern pronunciation
of the Anglo-Saxon hege sugge (Chaucer's heisugge), meaning
'Hedge Sucker,' in obvious allusion to the habits of the bird.
' Hedge Betty/ another provincial name in use in the same
county, is evidently later, and admirably expresses its dull and
somewhat lustreless plumage. In Somersetshire it is known as
' Blind Dunnock/J The scientific names bestowed on this species
have sole reference to its singing powers, for the meaning of
Accentor is given by the B.O.U. Committee, 'one who sings with
another;' and Modalaris ' one that sings in a measured manner;'
from modulus, ' a measure/ or < melody.' On the Continent its
sombre hue and retiring habits are more recognised in the names
it bears, as in France, Le MoucJtet, ' the spotted one ;' Train e
b'Uisson, ' hedge-frequenter ;' Faiivette de bois, Fauvette d'hiver,
and Roussette, ( reddish one.' In Germany, Schiefer Brastiger
Sanger, ' warbler with slate- coloured breast. 1 In Portugal,
Negrinha, ' little negress/ and Pretinha, 'blackish.' The English
word ' Sparrow/ Swedish Sparf, German Sperling, and similar
words in other languages, are all (says Professor Skeat) from the
Teutonic Sparwa, ' a Sparrow/ literally a ' flutterer/ from Spar,
'to quiver/ hence to 'flutter/ Unlike most of this family, the
Hedge Warbler remains with us throughout the winter, and
* ' The Nation in the Parish,' by Rev. E, Lawson. See Glossary.
t Jan. 21st, 1885.
J ' Birds of Somerset/ by Mr. Cecil Smith, p. 77.
144 Silviada.
loves to creep about the bottoms of hedges and among shrubs, and
if there is a pile of old wood lying about the yard, there you may
invariably see its dusky figure, as it seeks a scanty subsistence,
not disdaining to search for food at the bottom of drains and
gutters, for pride has no part in its composition, not one of all the
race being so modest and humble as this. Its song, though not
loud nor continuous, is sweet, but chiefly prized for the season
at which it may be heard ; it sings, indeed, all the year through,
but in winter, amid piercing winds and frost and snow, it is refresh-
ing to hear the warbling of this little bird, as it sits perched
on some shrub or bush ; while, as the spring advances and brings
in troops of other and louder warblers, nobody notices the poor
Hedge Accentor amidst the flood of music which then abounds.
There is one exception here, however, for at this season the
cuckoo singles out the Hedge Warbler and shows its appreciation
of its domestic qualities by the doubtful compliment of selecting
its nest oftener perhaps than that of any other bird wherein
to deposit her egg.
['Alpine Accentor' (Accentor alpinus). I have no right, and
I have no intention, of including among the warblers of Wilt-
shire this rare visitant to our island, for I have no instance
before me of its appearance in this county ; still, from the
facts that one of the three instances of its occurrence given
by Yarrell was in the adjoining county of Somerset, from
the garden of the Deanery at Wells ; that the specimen in Mr.
Marsh's collection was said to have been killed near Bath ; and
that the opinion of that keen and accurate observer coincides
with my own, that these birds are probably much more common
than is generally supposed, their shy retiring habits and sombre
plumage never making them conspicuous from these premises I
venture to conclude that the 'Alpine Accentor' probably visits us
occasionally, and I therefore mention it in passing. In colour it
is reddish-brown, but the chief distinguishing features which
mark it at once from its congener, the common 'Hedge Ac-
centor,' are its greater size and the dull-white throat, thickly
spotted with black. It is not uncommon on the Continent, and
Redbreast. 145
is fearless, courageous, and confiding, and frequents rocks and
stones in preference to bushes.
40. REDBREAST (Sylvia rubecula).
Not only in England, but throughout Northern Europe, in
Sweden and Norway, Russia, and Germany, the Redbreast is a
favourite, and has a name of endearment : with us he is Robin ;
in Sweden he is Tommy ; in Norway and Russia, Peter ; and in
Germany, Thomas ; but in Italy and France he shares the fate of
all other birds, little as well as big, and is mercilessly killed and
eaten. Mr. Waterton says he has counted more than fifty lying
dead on one stall at Rome, so that it is no wonder English
travellers complain of the silence of the woods and fields in
France and Italy, and lament the absence of the varied members
of the feathered race which cheer and enliven us at home. Now
I have often heard it asked why the Redbreast is so great a
favourite ? and its confidence in man has been regarded as the
result of its immunity from persecution, but I apprehend this is
mistaking the cause for the effect ; for this above all other birds
is by nature tame and familiar with man, fearlessly venturing
close to him, and by its very confidence begetting the protection
which its innocence and bravery seem to claim : for that indeed
must be a bad and cruel heart which could abuse such an
appeal, and long may our village children, and indeed all of
every age and rank, respect this one at least of our winter
songsters, so harmless, so pretty, and so confiding.
At the same time it cannot be denied that our friendly Robin
is of all birds the most quarrelsome. A very tyrant among his
fellows, he will brook no rival, but attack any intruder on his
haunts with the utmost fury. Throughout the year he sings ;
even in the cold bleak days of winter he will pour forth his feeble
song from some leafless spray ; but not always to the delight of
the listener ; for in some places where superstition still lingers
and where does it not ? the song of the Robin is thought to
bode death to the sick person who hears it, and much uneasiness
is consequently caused when its note, or 'weeping/ is heard
10
146 Silviadce.
near a house where anyone happens to be ill. And so in the
north of Devon they have a saying that when a Robin perches
on the roof of a cottage, and utters its plaintive ' weet,' the baby
in the cottage will die. Another widely-spread belief is that if a
Robin should chance to die in your hand, from that day forth
your hand will always shake, as if with palsy ; hence the obvious
moral, be careful to have no hand in causing the death of a
Robin. Amongst many other superstitions current regarding this
bird, I will mention only the following pretty legend current in
Wales, that, ' far, far away is a land of woe, darkness, spirits of
evil, and fire. Day by day does this little bird bear in its bill a
drop of water to quench its flames. So near the burning stream
does he fly, that his dear little feathers are scorched, and hence
he is called Bron-rhuddyn, or " Breast-burnt." To serve little
children the Robin dares approach the infernal pit, so no child
of proper feeling will hurt this devoted benefactor of man. But
the Robin returns from the land of fire, and therefore feels the
cold of winter far more than his brother birds, and in consequence
deserves and claims man's especial protection and assistance.'*
Its name is almost universally derived in all countries, as with
us, from its highly-coloured breast ; thus rulccula is ' the little
red bird,' from nibeo, ' I am red/ Erithacus, again, the generic
name bestowed on it by some ornithologists, is from tpivOw, ' I
make red.' In France it is Bee-Jin Rouge gorge ; in Germany,
Rothbrustiger Sanger; in Sweden, Rodkake Sdngare, 'Red-throated
Warbler;' in Spain, Gargantirojo, 'Red-throat/ and Pechi-rulio,
4 Red-breast.'
41. REDSTART (Phcenicura ruticilla),
Or 'Redtail/ for start is but the old English word for 'tail,'
familiar to us in Start Point, the tail-end of England, or the
promontory jutting out into the sea last seen by the outward-
bound voyager. It is also called 'Firetail' and 'Brandtail/ from
its flaming colour; and ' Quickstart,' from the rapidity with which
it flirts that member. In Swedish, Rodstjert-Sdnyare or ' Red-
* Dyer's ' English Folk-lore,' p. GO.
Redstart. 147
tail Warbler.' In France it is Bee-Jin de Murailles, ' Wall Warbler/
in allusion to its hailnts and nesting-place; in Germany, Schwartz-
keliger Sanger,' Black-throated Warbler. The scientific name,
Ph(jenicura, signifies ' red-tail,' from <poli>i^ ' purple red,' and oipd
'tail;' ruticilla is a repetition of the same in another form,
meaning 'Red-tail/ from mtilus, 'red,' and cilia, 'tail,' the
termination we have seen in Albicilla, 'White-tailed Eagle,' and
shall see in Motacilla, the generic name of the Wagtails ;
Bomby cilia, ' Silk- tail,' etc.
Towards the end of April this handsome and interesting bird
arrives in England, and may be seen darting after insects on the
wing, and capturing them with unerring precision ; or running
after its prey on the grass with equal certainty of success. In
plumage it is the brightest and gayest of all the warblers ; the
female, in more sombre hue than her mate, is clad in a dress ot
pale reddish-brown ; but the male, with his jet-black head and
throat, bright chestnut breast and tail, white forehead, and gray
back, presents a handsome appearance from the contrast and
combination of colours : but the distinctive peculiarity of these
birds consists in their spreading out the feathers of the orange-red
tail, and jerking it from side to side, an action belonging to the
Redstarts alone, and by which they may be distinguished from all
other birds. Harting remarks that in this horizontal shaking of
the tail, they move them as dogs do when they fawn, whereas
the tail of a wagtail, when in motion, bobs up and down like
that of the jaded horse.* They delight in 'buildings, especially
old walls, in the crevices of which they make their nests ; they
are good songsters, and continue their %ong from morning till
night. From my own observation I should say it is now much
more scarce than it was a few years back ; certainly its numbers
in the localities where I have annually watched it are very much
decreased. ,
* White's ' Selborne,' Harting's edition, p. 121; 'Our Summer Migrants,'
pp. 7578.
102
148 Silviadce.
42. BLACK REDSTART (Phcenicura titys).
This little bird has been somewhat ill- treated by ornithologists
in regard to its name. Originally designated tltys by Linnaeus,
with the meaning of a ' small chirping bird' relics of which
we have in our Tilmouse and Tidark it became by mistake
converted into tithys, for which there is neither authority nor
reason. And this false title usurped the place of the rightful
owner, and reigned in the works of many of our chief authorities,
even in that of Yarrell himself, until detected and deposed, in
the fourth edition, by the vigilance of Professor Newton, whose
accurate eye no flaw of title could escape. It has also been most
erroneously termed the ' Blackstart,' a name utterly misleading,
as with a generally black or dusky plumage, its tail alone is of
a reddish-bay. I am glad to add it to our Wiltshire list, on the
authority of Mr. T. Humming, of Red House, Amesbury, who
very obligingly wrote to inform me that one had appeared near
that place, and that he had himself seen it killed, but 'he could
not give me the exact date; and again, I have one more instance
for which I am indebted to Mr. Grant : it is of a specimen shot
by Mr. H. Sargent, of Enford Farm, on April 16, 1881. It is a
bird with which I am very familiar, having met with it frequently
at Mentone, Bordighera, Cannes, and other parts of the Riviera,
as well as at various times and places in Switzerland. I also saw
it daily in Cairo, where one frequented a wall just outside my
window, in Shepheard's Hotel ; and again, in the very heart of
Lisbon, a pair occupied, and probably were nesting, in some
house-roofs below my windows in the Hotel Braganza, and I
found it common throughout Portugal. It is not, however, very
often noticed in England, though much more frequently of late
years ; but abundant as it is in Southern and Western Europe,
I cannot help thinking that its scarcity here is perhaps in some
degree due to its having been overlooked and mistaken for its
more brilliant congener, which in general habits it very much
resembles, though it frequents the mountain-sides and rocky
districts in preference to valleys and plains. In France it is
Stonechat. 149
known as Bee-fin rouge queue; in Germany, Schwarze Roth-
sckwanz ; in Spain, Coliroyo; and in Portugal, Raboruivo all
with the meaning of ' red-tail ;' but in the latter country it has
many provincial names as well, as Negrone, ' the black ;' Noite
negra, 'the night black;' and ' Pisco ferreiro,' 'the blacksmith
iinch.'
43. STONECHAT (Saxicola rubicola).
This and the two following species comprise the genus ' Chat/
and all of them are tolerably numerous in this county. They
run with great celerity, being enabled to do so by the great pro-
portional length of the tarsus, and are pretty, little, lively,
restless, noisy birds, and their absence would cause a sad blank
on our downs, which they chiefly frequent ; their habit is to flirt
the tail up and down continually, but not after the manner of
the redstart. I met with Chats of many species in Egypt and
Nubia, where in some localities, especially above the first Cata-
ract, they are the most abundant birds seen; and it is quite
marvellous how well their colours are adapted to the ground
they frequent. Some, as S. leucomela, S. leucopygia and S. leuco-
vephala, in their respective dresses of black and white, readily
escaping notice amid the dark granite rocks which run inland
from the banks of the Nile to the desert, which hems it in on
either shore ; others again, as S. isalellina, S. stapazina, and
S. deserti, in their russet clothing, scarcely to be seen on the
sands of the desert. But the Stonechat, with which we are now
concerned, I found most abundant in Portugal, where I met
with it throughout the country in considerable numbers ; for the
wide tracts of heathland, covered with aromatic shrubs and
other bushes, and which often extend over many square leagues,
exactly suit its requirements.
The Stonechat is the only one which partially remains with us
through the winter, and may generally be met with in stony
places or open pastures covered with small shrubs : it is of
bright plumage the head, neck, back, and throat nearly black ;
wing and tail coverts and sides of the neck white, and rich
150 S'dviadce.
chestnut breast ; it utters a kind of clicking note, 'Chook, chook,
hence sometimes called ' Stoneclink ' and ' Stonechatter/ and is
for ever on the move from one stone to another, or from the
summit of one bush to the next. The Rev. G. Marsh used to
say it was called the ' Furze Robin ' in his neighbourhood.
Elsewhere in the county it is known as the ' Horse Matcher,'*
though the origin and meaning of the name are alike unknown
to me; but in Turkey it has the strange title how derived I
know not of ' One in ninety.' The specific name, rubicola,
means an ' inhabitant of bramble-bushes ;' and the generic,
Saxicola, ' one that dwells among rocks,' from saxum + colere ;
in France it is Traquet Pdtre, ' Shepherd's Mill- clapper ;' and in
Germany, Schwarskehliger Steinschmatzer, ' Black - throated
Stone-kisser;' in Portugal, it is Chas Chas, and Chasco. In that
country it is looked upon with disfavour, for the country people
have a superstition that it is an excommunicated bird, for it led
Judas to the place where our Blessed Lord was to be found.
They say that, as it led Judas on "the way, it cried 'Chas, Chas,
por aqui bem las, ' This is the way;' but the Chaffinch tried to
lead in a contrary direction, by crying, Pirn, Pirn, por aqui bem
mm, ' Come this way;' wherefore the Chaffinch is honoured and
the Stonechat detested.f
44. WH INCH AT (Saxicola rubetm).
The haunts, habits, and general character of this warbler are
very like those of the last described. It is to be met with in the
same localities, and, though not quite so common as the stone-
chat, may often be seen on our downs. Montagu, speaking of
it fifty years ago, says ' it is plentiful in Wiltshire ;' but being a
shy and solitary bird, only seen singly or in pairs, it is certainly
not now numerous. In plumage it is not so gay as its congener,
but prettily marked, and in colour mottled brown ; and in
song it is pronounced superior : it is also said, when reared from
the nest in a cage, to be a skilful imitator of other birds. It
' Wild Life in a Southern County,' p. 196.
t Ibis for 1887, p. 88, Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.
Wheatear. 151
derives its name of ' Whinchat' and ' Furzcchat' from the whin
or furze which it loves to frequent ; and for the same reason is
known in Sweden as the Busk sqvatta. In Sussex it is known
as the ' Barley-ear,' probably from the date of its arrival coin-
ciding with barley earing, or ploughing for barley.* The
scientific name Rubetra would either refer to the ' ruddy' colour
of its plumage, or more probably to the bramble-thickets it
frequents, on the topmost twigs of which it will perch, and then
pass on with undulating flight to the highest spray of another
bush. In France it is Grand Traquet and Traquet Tarier ; in
Germany, BraunJcehliger Steinschmatzer, 'Brown- throated Stone-
kisser ;' in Portugal, its correct name is like that of the species
last described, Chasco ; but its provincial name, by which it is
more popularly known, is Tange-asno, literally ' Gee-up, donkey!'
because its note is supposed to resemble that used by the donkey-
boys to urge on their beasts.f With us it is migratory, arriving
in April, and departing for more southern latitudes in the
autumn.
45. WHEATEAR (Saxicola cenanthe).
This is essentially one of our down birds, and few inhabitants
of Wiltshire can be ignorant of its handsome active figure. It
loves the bare open down, especially a stony down, where it flits
from stone to stone in search of its insect food : it is the largest
of the genus, and very prettily marked ; the upper part of the
head and back pearl-gray, the wings and cheeks black, the under
parts pale buff, while the upper part of the tail is pure white,
and from the singular manner in which by a lateral expansion of
the feathers it spreads its tail like a fan, it may at once be
recognised : it is migratory, but one of the first to arrive, and the
last to leave us. For several years past I have noticed its first
appearance here on or within two days of the 26th March. And
Mr. CordeauxJ calls it the ' Sea-blue bird of March,' though he
c Gen. xlv. 6 ; Exod. xxxiv. 21 ; Deut. xxi. 4 ; 1 Sam. viii. 12.
t Ibis for 1887, p. 87, Mr. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.
J ' Birds of the Humber,' p. 30.
152 Silviadoc.
says it seldom arrives in the marshes of his neighbourhood m
March, but very regularly during the first week in April ; but it
does not nest there, merely passing on and returning for a short
time in September. With us it breeds in a deserted rabbit-
burrow, or some deep hole under the turf, where I have occa-
sionally found its eggs. Though pretty generally dispersed over
the Wiltshire downs, I do not think it could ever have been so
numerous with us as it is, or was, on the Southdowns of Sussex,
where vast quantities were trapped by the shepherds for the
London markets, and found a ready sale, as the morsel of
meat they yielded was, unhappily for them, considered an
epicure's delicacy. Pennant speaks of 1,840 dozen being taken
in one year near Eastbourne, in Sussex ; and 84 dozen are
said to have been trapped by a single shepherd in one
day! Would not any species be thinned by such wholesale
destruction ?
As we have seen the Stonechat to be dubbed by Wiltshire
rustics the ' Horse Matcher/ so the late Rev. G. Marsh used to
say this species was called in Wiltshire the ' Horse Snatcher / but
he did not know the reason of the term, and the name was quite
new to me. ' Fallowchat' is another provincial name, the meaning
of which is apparent enough ; for, unlike its two congeners above
mentioned, this species avoids bushes and shrubs, and seeks the
open field or down. The scientific name, (Enantke, is attributed
by the Committee of the B.O.U. to the appearance of the bird in
its spring migration at the season when the vine shoots;* but
the meaning of the English ' Wheatear' has been much ques-
tioned. Mr. Harting says that perhaps it is a corruption of
whitear, from the ' white ear,' which is very conspicuous in the
spring-plumage of this bird ; or else it may be derived from the
season of its arrival. The latter is, I think, the true origin ; but
then I submit that it cannot allude to the wheat being in ear
when it reaches us in the middle of March, but must refer to
the old meaning of ear, ' to plough/ and unquestionably the
Wheatear does arrive when the ploughing and sowing of spring-
* Aristotle, ' Hist. An.,' ix. 49, B. 8.
Grasshopper Warbler. 153
wheat is in operation. In France it is Vitrec and Traquet
moteux, which may be translated ' restless mill-clapper ;' in
Germany, Grauruckiger Steinschmatzer, l Gray-backed Stone-
kisser'; in Italy, Gulbianco, ' White throat ;' and in Portugal,
Caiada, ' Whitewashes'
46. GRASSHOPPER WARBLER (Salicaria locustella}.
This, the most shy and retiring of all the warblers, derives its
name from the rapid ticking noise which it will continue for a
long time without intermission ; and its curious note is so like
the chirp of the grasshopper, that it is often mistaken for it. As
soon as it arrives in the spring, it makes known the fact by the
cricket-like ticking which proceeds from the midst of the very
thickest bush or furze, where it hides itself from human sight,
and here it skulks arid creeps, and at the bottom of the furze
amid the thickest grass it conceals its nest ; indeed, so shy is it
that it is rarely seen, and but for its incessant chirp would
escape general notice. Selby calls it a ventriloquist, because it
not only imitates the notes of several other birds, but in uttering
its peculiar note can cause the sound at one moment to proceed
from the immediate neighbourhood of the listener, and at the
next, as if removed to some distance, and this without any actual
change of place in the operator a peculiarity which it shares
with the corn-crake, also a bird very difficult to raise on the
wing. It is of elegant shape, and its plumage consists of mottled
shades of brown.
The generic name Salicaria is simply ' Willow Warbler,' and
locustella, the diminutive of locusta, 'grasshopper/ from its
cricket-like cry; hence, too, our specific name, and with pre-
cisely the same signification we find Bee-fin Locustelle in France,
and Heuschrecken Sanger in Germany.
Montagu, speaking of the localities where he had seen this
bird, says, ' We have found it in Hampshire, South Wales, and
Ireland, but nowhere so plentiful as on Malmesbury Common in
Wiltshire, to which place the males come about the latter end
of April.' The late Canon John Wilkinson sent me the eggs
154 Silviadce.
which he had taken from a nest at Broughton Gifford, in June,
1856, and described the nest as being completely hidden and
cleverly covered with rank grass in the clover-field where it was
found, after the manner of this species. Mr. Baker says that it
is common at Mere, where it is known as the ' mowing-machine
bird/ in allusion to its remarkable note.
The Marlborough College Natural History Society's Reports
speak of many nests taken in the neighbourhood in 186G ;
mention it occasionally in several subsequent years, and in 1881
record that an unusually large number of this species visited
Marlborough during the summer of that year. I have, also,
many notes of its occurrence in all parts of the county, but
sparingly, for it is not so common as either of its congeners, and
is much more retiring and timid.
47. SEDGE WARBLER (Salicaria phragmitis).
We must look for this elegant species by the banks of streams
or the margins of lakes, and there amongst the tall sedge and
reeds we shall be almost sure to find it, for it is by far the
commonest of the genus, and few patches of sedge or willow beds
are without it. It is an incessant songster, or rather chatterer,
for its notes, though very various and rapid, are not particularly
melodious, and yet from its habit of singing throughout the
summer's night, it has been sometimes mistaken for the nightin-
gale: when silent, it may be excited to renew its song by the
simple expedient of throwing a stone into the bush where it is
concealed.
Professor Newton observes that many of its notes are very
harsh, and the frequent repetition of one of these has gained for
the species in some parts of England, particularly in the valley
of the Thames, the name of 'Chat,' by which it is there mainly
known.* This I can corroborate, for such was the name by
which it was designated at Eton, where I used to find it breeding
in abundance, on the reedy banks of the Thames.
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. i., p. 379.
Heed Warbler. 155-
Its colour is on the upper parts oil-green and yellowish-brown
and below yellowish dusky white, but though it closely resembles
its congeners in other respects, it may on comparison be dis-
tinguished from them by the distinct white streak that passes
above the eyes.
It derives its scientific name phragmitis from tppdypa, ' a fence/
from its habit of haunting fences or hedges. The French name,
Bee-fin phragmite, the Swedish, Sdf-sdngare, and the German,
Schilfsanger, as well as our English name, are taken from the
localities it affects. It is the first of the River Warblers to arrive
here.
48. REED WARBLER (Salicaria arundinacea).
Very difficult, but for the mark over the eye, just described
is this species to be distinguished from the last, which it
resembles in the time of its arrival and departure, in the
localities it frequents, in habits, general appearance, and colour :
it is, however, not nearly so common. Montagu says that 'in
Wiltshire and Somersetshire, where the Sedge Warbler abounds,
not a single Reed Warbler is to be found ;' here, however, our
worthy countryman is mistaken, for I have myself observed it by
the banks of more than one reedy stream ; the Rev. G. Marsh has
frequently seen it on the Avon ; Mr. Withers has taken it near
Devizes. The Rev. A. P. Morres pronounces it nearly if not quite
as abundant as the Sedge Warbler in his district near Salisbury,
and adds that it is one of the most favourite nests selected by the
cuckoos of that neighbourhood for their nursery. Mr. Harting
says it is a species much overlooked, and instances that a notice of
its occurrence at Marlborough was given ' for May 31st, at least
six weeks after its usual time for arriving.'* I used to find in
my bird-nesting days the deep cup-shaped nest of this species,
cleverly suspended between three or four reeds on the banks of
the Thames at Eton, in perhaps greater profusion than the nests
of the Sedge Warbler. t
* ' Our Summer Migrants,' p. 326.
t See Zoologist for 1853, p. 4095, on the nesting of the Reed Wren.
156 Silvia dee.
Mr. Selby pronounces its song to be superior to that of the
Sedge Warbler, both in volume and in sweetness, but in truth it
requires a very accurate ear as well as eye to distinguish these
two graceful little warblers from one another.
One of the specific names by which it is oftentimes designated
is strepera or ' noisy/ in allusion to the perpetual babble in which
it indulges. In the more marshy parts of England, where the
chirping of grasshoppers and crickets is not a very common
sound, this bird has long been known as the ' Reeler,' from the
resemblance of its song to the noise of the reel used, even at the
beginning of the present century, by the handspinners of wool.
The power of so-called 'ventriloquism,' ascribed by some to this
bird, has been in a measure explained by writers to be the effect
of the bird turning its head while singing, so as to change the
direction in which the sound of its voice is thrown.* In France
it is Bee-fin des Roseaux; in Germany, Rokrsanger, in ac-
cordance with our ' Reed Wren ;' but in Portugal, where its song
is more appreciated than with us, it is llouxinol pequeno decs
Cani$as, ' Little Nightingale of the Reeds.'
49. NIGHTINGALE (Philomela luscinia).
I need not point out the localities which these birds frequent;
for who does not know whether a nightingale haunts the thicket
near him, and who does not remember the spots where he has
listened to this wondrous songster of the grove, or as good old
Izaak Walton styles it, this ' chiefest of the little nimble musicians
of the air that warble forth their curious ditties, with which
nature has furnished them, to the shame of art' ? But the
nightingale seems very fanciful in her selection of habitation,
and is guided by some choice which we cannot fathom. In the
most western and warmest parts of our island it is rarely heard ;
and in our own county, while one wood resounds night after
night and year after year with their wondrous melody, a neigh-
bouring copse, apparently in all respects equally suited to their
Professor Newton in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British BirJs,' vol. i.,
p. 385. See also paper by 0. Salvin in Ibis for 1859, p. 303.
Nightingale. 157
tastes, is never honoured by their presence. Some say that
dampness of soil, a trickling stream, or a moist meadow, is needed
to tempt it ; and M. Viellet declares it is partial to the vicinity
of an echo! Montagu propounded I know not with what
reason that possibly it is not to be found but where cowslips
grow plentifully ; but I think we have hardly mastered a know-
ledge of its requirements. It arrives here towards the end of
April or beginning of May ; and being of a very shy, timid
nature, seeks the thickest hedges and most impenetrable copses,
where, though so often listened to, it is rarely seen, and few are
acquainted with the form of the humble but elegant little brown
bird which charms them so much with its unrivalled song.
It owes its generic name to the mythological writers, who
state that Philomela, the wife of Tereus, was turned into a
nightingale ; and the name was in use for that bird at all events
as long ago as the time of Catullus; and the specific name
hiscinia is conjectured by the B.O.U. Committee to be derived
from the root of A-aXo?, ' talkative/ and cano, c I sing.' In France
it is Eossignol ; in Portugal, Rouxinol ; in Spain, Ruisenor ; in
Germany, Naclitigall, which latter, as well as our ' Nightingale,'
is derived (as Pennant informs us) from Nacht, ' night,' and the
Saxon word yalan, ' to sing ;' not, however, that it is silent
during the day, but then the chorus of voices, loud and shrill
and numerous, drown it so that it cannot so readily be distin-
guished as in the witching hour of twilight, when other songsters
are hushed in repose. Not everywhere, however, is the Nightin-
gale known as a songster. In Egypt, to which it retires for the
winter, its voice, except its somewhat harsh alarm-note, is un-
known; just as the Redwing the 'Swedish Nightingale' though
notorious for its vocal powers in Norway and Sweden, is never
recognised while in its winter quarters here as capable of song.*
It is sad to think what vast numbers are caught in England by
the professional bird-catcher ; and that the modern inhabitants
of Malta, appreciating it more for the delicacy of its flesh than for
the quality of its song, persecute it unrelentingly ,f with about as
* Selby's ' Illustrations of British Ornithology,' vol. i., p. 207.
f Mr. C. A. Wright in Ibis for 1864, p. 66.
158 Silviadce.
much sense as the unreasoning Roman epicure of old attempted
to gratify his palate with a dish of nightingales' tongues. But
strange to say, persecution does not seem to thin its numbers.
Mr. Morres speaks of them as quite abundant near Salisbury ;
.and though I have never known them in such profusion in north
Wilts, I have seen and heard them in many localities there ; and
in the oak copses of Sussex, and the leafy lanes of Surrey, I have
found them in great force. But in Portugal, and especially at
Cintra, and on the banks of the Lima in Minho, they positively
swarmed ; while in the Ionian Islands, Corfu, and many portions
of the Grecian coast, their numbers are astonishing.
50. BLACKCAP WARBLER (Curruca atricapilla).
This active little warbler is second only to the nightingale in
song, and being a regular summer visitant to our gardens and
orchards, as well as hedgerows, is known to most observers. Its
.general colour is ash-gray, but the jet-black head of the male and
the brown head of the female mark it at once from all others.
Insects and fruit are its favourite food, but few will quarrel with
it on the latter account, as it makes ample amends for any petty
thefts it may commit in the garden by the quantities of various
kinds of insects which infest fruit-trees, upon which it feeds its
young, as well as by the sweetness of its song, and its interesting
and engaging manners. Montagu designated it the ' Mock
Nightingale,' and Harting says it has been called the 'contralto
singer among birds,' and this title is certainly not undeserved.*
In Germany it is provincially called the ' Monk/ in allusion to
the hooded appearance of both male and female; and in the
Azores the female is known as c Red Hood ;' otherwise in all
Continental languages it derives its name, as with us, from its
black head. In France it is Bee-fin d tete noir; in Germany,
Schwarzkopfige Grasmucke ; in Italy, Capinera commune; in
Portugal, tutinegra for toutanegra, i.e., 'black poll;' in Sweden,
Svart hufvad Sdngare. It is a timid bird and very restless,
scarcely stationary an instant, except when it pours forth its
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 49.
Garden Warbler. 159
rich and clear notes from the top of some tree or bush. The
Rev. G. Marsh thought, it not very common in Wiltshire, but
my own observation does not agree here, as I see it frequently in
many parts of the county ; and it arrives at Yatesbury, as well
.as in the neighbourhood of Devizes, regularly every spring in
some numbers.
51. GARDEN WARBLER (Curruca kortensis).
Though closely resembling in general colour and appearance
several others of this family, the Garden Warbler may on com-
parison be distinguished from its congeners by its superior size,
being nearly an inch longer than any other species answering to
the same description. Its plumage is grayish-green above, and
.greenish-yellow below; it is even more restless, more shy, and
more retiring than the last described, and is at least equally
common. It frequents the same localities, has the same pro-
pensity for fruit, and is an excellent songster ; hence it is called
by Bechstein Bastard Nachtigall, the ' Spurious Nightingale/
In Sweden it is, as with us, Trddgdrds Sdngare, ' the Garden
Warbler; in France, Bee-fin Fauvette; in Germany, Graue Gras-
mucke, ' Gray Grassfly ; in Italy, Beccafico cenerino, l Ash-
coloured Fig-pecker.'
This and the two following species are indiscriminately called
* Nettle Creepers ' by our Wiltshire lads. It is the ' Greater
Fauvette or Pettychaps' of Willoughby, Pennant, Latham,
Montagu, Bewick, and our earlier ornithologists ; and it is the
famous ' Beccafico,' so highly prized as an epicure's morsel in
Italy and France. But though so much esteemed, and conse-
quently so much sought after, it is wonderful in what vast
numbers it appears every spring throughout Western Europe.
In Italy it may be seen exposed for sale in every market ; and
in Malta, as many as a hundred dozen are sometimes brought in
at a time.* Montagu says of it : 'In Wiltshire, where I have
found this species not uncommon, it resorts to gardens in the
Mr. C. A. Wright in Ibis for 1861, p. 67.
160 Silviadcu.
latter end of summer, together with the Whitethroat and Black-
cap, for the sake of currants and other fruit.'
52. COMMON WHITETHROAT (Curruca cinerea).
This is the commonest of all our little summer warblers, and
may be seen in every shady lane or thick hedge, almost in every
bramble and bed of nettles. Its head and back are light brown,
under parts dusky white slightly tinged with rose-red ; in habits
it resembles its congeners previously described ; but it has one-
peculiarity, which consists in its often singing on the wing, as it
rises with a very peculiar flight, sailing round in little circles, till
it attains a considerable height in the air, and then descends,
slowly to the same spot whence it started ; at other times it will
erect its crest, puff out its throat, stretch its neck, and exhibit
every mark of excitement and defiance, while it seems to strain
every nerve to raise its voice above its rivals.
The generic name, Curt^uca, if derived from the Latin, and
signifying ' the runner,' may, I suppose, with sufficient accuracy,,
describe its rapid movements at the bottom of the thickest
hedges. In France it is Bee-fin grisette, and in Sweden Grd
Sdngare, which are mere translations of the specific name
cinerea. In Germany, too, it is Fahle Grasmucke, ' Ash-coloured
Grass-fly;' but in Portugal it is known as Pcqm-amoras,
literally ' Blackberry or Mulberry Eater.'* Mr. Tait adds that its.
disappearance in October coincides Avith that of the blackberries,,
of which it is gluttonously fond ; and it is probable that many
blackberry plants are dispersed by seeds dropped by this bird.
In Wiltshire it is popularly known as the ' Nettle Creeper/
from its partiality to ditches and banks where nettles abound ;
and there it delights to make its semi-transparent nest, mooring
it to the stems of nettles, much as the Reed Warbler attaches
her nest to the reeds on the banks of streams. Though undoubt-
edly fond of fruit, it confers untold benefits on man by its.
wholesale destruction of caterpillars, aphides, and other destruc-
tive insects.
His for 1887, p. 90, Mr. W. C. Tait en the Birds o Portugal.
Lesser Whitetkroat. 161
53. LESSER WHITETHROAT (Curruca sylviella).
Quite as common in Wiltshire, if not more so, than the last,
with which it is often confounded. Indeed, the eggs of this and
the preceding species form a large proportion of the whole on
every schoolboy's string a table, by the way, of no mean autho-
rity in calculating the abundance or rarity of any species in any
particular locality. It is even more retiring than its larger
namesake, and creeps away out of sight among the brambles the
instant it is discovered, threading its way with the rapidity and
adroitness of the mouse. From the peculiar character of its
note, a low soft warble, it is called the ' Babbling Warbler,' and
by Continental naturalists, ' C. garrula' and ' Bee-fin babillard ;'
and from the clicking sounds with which it repeats its call-note,
' Klapp, klapp, klapp,' which much resembles the sound emitted
from the clapper attached to the little windmills one often sees
placed in gardens to scare away sparrows and other birds, it has
obtained in Germany the name of Klapper Grasmiicke, and
provincially of Weismuller, ( White Miller,' and Mullercken or
* Little Miller.' In Sweden it is known as Art Sdngare, or 'Pea
Warbler/ so called from its frequenting the pea-fields, for which
it has a great partiality.* The Wiltshire ploughboy, who is not
appreciative of the minute distinctions which mark the species,
knows this, too, by the name of ' Nettle Creeper/ to which per-
haps it is even more entitled than its larger congener, inasmuch
as it is more ready to escape observation by hiding in the bed of
nettles, which offers so convenient and so- effectual a shelter.
This appears to be the Pettychaps of (Gilbert White. -f- Pro-
fessor Newton observes that the repetition of notes which
have been syllabled as ' Sip, sip, sip/ is almost incessant, espe -
cially if the weather be sultry ; and that it continues its song
much later in the summer than any of its congeners,! while
Harting not only says its song is less powerful than that of the
Common White throat, but is merely a kind of convulsive 'laugh
* Lloyd's 'Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 299.
t Harting's ' Sketches of Bird Life,' p. 70.
Fourth edition of YarrelFs ' British Birds/ vol. i., p. 411.
11
162 Silviadcv.
or call.* Montagu says that he observed the arrival of this bird
in Wiltshire for several years together, and that it ranged from
April 21st to May 10th.
54. WOOD WARBLER (Sylvia sylvicola').
Extremely difficult is it to identify this pretty little bird from
its two congeners, more particularly from the one next to be
described : both are graceful and elegant, and frequent woods and
plantations ; both have a plumage of gray-green above, and prim-
rose yellow below ; both feed on insects, and sing sweetly from
the top of some tall tree. There are, however, several marks by
which we may distinguish them ; on close examination we shall
find that the Wood Warbler has a purer green on the upper
parts of its body, and more white on its under plumage, while
the Willow Warbler has more yellow : and again, the nest of the
Wood Warbler is always lined with fine grass and hair, while
that of the Willow Warbler contains feathers.
Perhaps nobody has more clearly pointed out in few words the
marks by which the three British Willow Wrens may best be
distinguished from each other than Mr. Harting, who says: (1)
The Wood Wren is the largest of the three ; it has comparatively
the longest wings, and the longest tail : in colour it is much
greener above and of a purer white beneath than either of its
congeners; legs flesh-coloured. (2) The Willov; Wren is the
yellowest of the three species ; legs also flesh-coloured. (3) The
Chiff Chaff is the smallest of the three ; wings remarkably short ;
colour greenish-brown above, white tinged with yellow benea-t/i ;
legs hair-brown.f Compare with this the Swedish names by
which these birds are designated: (1) Wood Warbler, Gr<"m
Sdngare or Green Warbler; (2) Willow Warbler, Lof Sdngare
or Leaf Warbler; and (3) Chiff Chaff, Gi'd brustad Sdngare ,
Yellow-breasted Warbler; and we have their respective points
of distinction pretty accurately expressed.
To Gilbert White is due the credit of separating and calling
* 'Birds of Middlesex/ p. 51.
t Harting's edition of White's ' Selborne,' p. 57.
Wood Warbler. 163
attention to the points of difference between these closely allied
species, and his 19th letter to Pennant is entirely occupied with
this subject. It is with him ' the Larger Willow Wren/ and he
describes it as a trifle larger than its congeners : he also calls atten-
tion to its remarkable tremulous note, in consequence of which he
calls it the ' Sibilous Pettychaps.' In France it is generally known
as Sec-fin Siffleur; and Sibilatrix, ' one that hisses or whistles/ is
the specific name by which it is generally known to Continental
naturalists. This is certainly to be preferred to the somewhat
unfortunate name it bears here ; for Sylvia, ' a wood bird/ and
Sylvicola, ' an inhabitant of woods/ is not a very happy or de-
scriptive title. This is the Regulus non cristatus major of
Willoughby ; but Montagu having in 1790 carefully observed this
species at Easton Grey in North Wilts, furnished an account
of it in 1796 to the Linnean Society, under the name of Sylvia
sylvicola.
In Malta it is styled Bti-fula, 'father of a bean/ from its
partiality to the olive and carob trees, where it finds both shelter
and the insect -food suited to its taste. It also frequents the fig
and almond trees when in leaf, the colour of whose foliage mostly
assimilates to its own plumage, and renders it not easy of
detection when at rest ;* hence its scientific name. It is not so
numerous as the other species, but it visits us annually, and I
have occasionally met with its nest near Devizes, as well as in my
own parish of Yatesbury. Mr. Morres says that it is not common
in his district near Salisbury ; but that it has been recognised at
Mere and Stourton, and near Warminster.
55. WILLOW WARBLER (Sylvia trochilus).
This is by far the most abundant of the genus, and may be
seen in every plantation and hedgerow, but chiefly in meadows
intersected with streams and watercourses which give birth to
osiers and willows, for amongst these it delights to revel. In
addition to the points of difference mentioned above, it far
* Mr. C. A. Wright's ' Birds of Malta/ in Ilia for 1864, p. 70.
112
164 Silviadce.
surpasses its congeners in song ; indeed, so sweet and musical arc
its notes, as to give it the sobriquet of the ' Warbling Pettychaps,'
and 'Melodious Willow Wren/ Gilbert White says it has a
'joyous, easy, laughing note; it is constantly in motion, flitting
from branch to branch, in search of the smaller insects that con-
stitute its food: for this and its congeners are perpetually em-
ployed in the destruction of Aphides or insect blight, which are
so injurious to our fruit and other trees, and sometimes threaten
to overwhelm them with their numbers; but little account is
taken by short-sighted man of the incalculable benefits which
these insect-eating birds confer upon him. All the Willow
Warblers live entirely on insect-diet, and never eat fruit or
berries, though they often frequent the fruit trees in search of
their insect prey. The specific name trochilus is given in the
B.O.TJ. Catalogue, as if 'a runner;' but if this is the correct
derivation, the name does not appear to be very happily chosen.
It is derived from rpiy^u, ' I run,' and is the same name as that
given by Herodotus to the Crocodile bird, the 'Spur-winged
Plover' (Charadrius spinosus), which was supposed to pick the
leeches from the open mouth of that formidable reptile. In
France it is from its singing powers known as Le Chant-re as
well as Bee-fin PouiUot ; in Sweden it is Lof-Sdnyare, ' Leaf
Warbler.' Why it is called 'Willow' Warbler is not quite ap-
parent, though for this several sufficient reasons may be found.
Perhaps, says Mr. Harting, from its partiality to willows and
the aphides which abound on them ; perhaps from its prevailing
green colour ; perhaps from its arrival as the willow is budding.*
From its domed or hooded nest, with a large hole at the side,
both this species and its congeners are sometimes known as
' Oven birds.'
56. CHIFF CHAFF (Silvia Itippolais).
This is one of our earliest spring arrivals, and may be readily
recognised on reaching us, for alone of its congeners it makes
its appearance early in April, sometimes even in the last week of
' Our Summer Migrants,' p. 25.
Chiff Chaff. 165
March ; indeed, next to the Wheatear, it is the earliest migrant
to tell us that spring is at hand. And, again, it may be distin-
guished by the peculiar monotonous song of two notes which it
begins to utter immediately on arrival, and which it continues
to repeat throughout the summer, and whence it derives its
name; ' Chiff Chaff/ 'Chip Chop,' 'Choice and Cheap/ 'Twit
Twit/ 'Fit Fit/ being some of the syllables which various
observers have applied to it, and which it continues to pour
forth incessantly, even in the bleakest and most boisterous
weather, from the top of some tall tree or leafless branch. It is
distinguished from its congeners in France by the title of Bee-fin
a poitrinejaune, and in Sweden as Gul-brostad Sdngare, 'Yellow
breasted Warbler/ Hippolais is derived by the B.O.U. Committee
from uro + Xaag, a name originally given by Aristotle to some
bird from its habit of creeping under stones. But Professor
Newton bestows* on it the specific name of Collubita, from
xoiJ.vGiffrfa, ' a money-changer/ a name given it by Vieillot,
because in some parts of Normandy it was called, from its note,
' Compteur d' argent.'
It is the smallest of the three species, and differs very little
from the last, but may always be distinguished by the dark
colour of its legs and feet, those of the Willow Warbler being of
a pale brown : it is much more familiar than its congeners, and
as it reaches us before the trees and hedges are in leaf, is more
frequently seen and better known. It is the ' Lesser Pettychaps'
of Gilbert White and Montagu, and in truth it does resemble,
though on a much smaller scale, the ' Greater Pettychaps/ as
they called the ' Garden Warbler.' It is a very sprightly and
active as well as hardy bird, and does not leave us till October,
being one of the last to depart as it was one of the first to arrive
here. It winters in Algeria, and Egypt and North Africa gene-
rally, assembling in countless multitudes, and spreading over the
cornfields and gardens until its short winter is past.
* Professor Newton in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. i.,
p. 442.
166 Silvia dee.
57. DARTFORD WARBLER (Melizophilus Dartfordiensis).
The name Melizophilus is explained by the compilers of the
B.O.U. list of British Birds to mean 'song-loving/ from ,*/./>>,
' I warble,' and p/Xg*;, ' I love ' ; and undatus, one of its accepted
specific names, as ' marked with waves/ undce. As to the
quality of its song, there is a wide difference of opinion, some
calling it harsh and unmusical, and some describing it as sweet
and plaintive ; but there is no question that it is prolonged and
almost incessant, so the 'song-lover' may apply sufficiently well.
But as to the ' wave-markings/ they must have reference, I sup-
pose, to the plumage, and these can belong only to the 'chestnut
brown chin, which in autumn is mottled with white undulations,
which disappear in spring ;'* but this seems but a feeble cause
for so pronounced a name. This pretty little warbler frequents
the downs and commons abounding in furze, in the thickest
parts of which it will conceal itself, and over which it will hover
on outstretched wing while it utters its short hurried note. It
is a hardy bird, and remains here throughout the year : its body
is very small, scarcely exceeding that of the common wren, but
its great length of tail gives it the appearance of superior bulk ;
the general colour of its plumage is dark brown above and
chestnut brown beneath. Mr. Withers informed me that some
years since, several of these birds were shot annually by Mr.
Edwards at Amesbury ; they were decoyed from the midst of the
bush wherein they concealed themselves by a certain noise made
by Mr. Edwards, when they rose to the top spray and were easily
killed. The Rev. G. Marsh was also informed by the man who pro-
cured the specimen in his collection, that by imitating their note
he could bring these birds to the top of the furze, and that he had
so killed three in one morning in the neighbourhood of Chippen-
ham. Mr. Baker sees them on the downs near Mere, where they are
almost certain to be roused from the gorse when the hounds are
drawing the cover ; and I have other instances before me of its
Professor Newton in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds ' vol. i ,
p. 404.
Golden-Crested Regains. 167
occurrence in Wiltshire, which is one of the counties given by
Professor Newton as its abode.* But, in truth, wherever there
are open downs or heaths covered with furze, there I suspect this
shy solitude-loving species will be found by the patient watcher.
Montagu, who devoted much attention to this bird, says, that
'when roosting at night, like the Long-tailed Titmouse, they
assembled with a plaintive cry at a convenient spot chosen for
the night, and then each strove for an inner berth.' By day, he
pronounced them most active, almost in perpetual motion,
throwing themselves into various attitudes and gesticulations,
erecting the crest and tail at intervals, accompanied by a double
or triple cry, which seemed to express the words, ' Cha, cha, cha.'
Buffon called it ' Le Pitchou de Provence ; and it was there and
in other districts of Southern France, more especially on the
shores of the Kiviera near Cannes, that I first became acquainted
with it, though I afterwards became very familiar with it in
other southern lands.
58. GOLDEN CRESTED REGULUS (Regulus cr-wtatus).
Regulus, the diminutive of rex, as if ( a little king,' or 'kinglet ;'
in France, Roitelet ; and Kungs Vogel, or ' King's Bird,' in
Sweden, in whose vast forests it abounds as far north as the pine-
woods grow ; in Italy, regolo; but in Portugal, estrellinha, ' little
star.' Well known to everyone is this charming little favourite,
the smallest and most fairy-like of all our British birds ; three
inches and a half only in length, and 75 grains in weight, yet it
braves the cold of winter, and remains with us throughout the
year. Its numbers, however, are considerably increased in
autumn by the arrival of large flocks on the Eastern coast, which
reach our shores from Scandinavia early in October, and hence
the little bird is known in Yorkshire as the ' W T oodcock Pilot.'f
as it seems to lead the way to that species, so eagerly expected
by the sportsman and the epicure. It is almost inconceivable
* Professor Newton in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i.,
p. 399.
t Cordeaux's ' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 37.
168 ^ Siluiadcv.
how these delicate and fragile-looking creatures can accomplish
so long and weary a flight over so rough and stormy a sea as a
passage over the North Sea in autumn generally is, as I know
by experience ; but that they do manage it cannot be doubted,
as they have been repeatedly watched both on passage and on
arrival. It prefers fir plantations, but may be seen in hedgerows
and gardens ; it is incessant in motion, hopping from branch to
branch, now clinging to the under boughs of the firs with back
downwards, in search of its insect food wherein it closely resem-
bles the titmice, with which it often associates now hovering
over a twig or flower, suspended in the air, and fluttering its
wings, and all the while singing melodiously; wherein it re-
sembles the little warblers last described, and so forming a link
between the two families. Its colours are brownish-green and
greenish-yellow, while its head is ornamented with a stripe of
long silky feathers, yellow tipped with orange, forming a golden
crown. It abounds in this county, as I know by personal
observation, and it sometimes breeds in my garden, suspending
its nest below the bough of a yew-tree. There is another species,
of whose occurrence in Wilts I have no certain tidings, with
which it may easily be confounded, known as the ' Fire-crested
Regulus,' or 'Firecrest' (Regulus ignicapillus). It may, how-
ever, on examination be distinguished ; for, as Mr. Harting con-
cisely points out, ' The Firecrest invariably has a white line both
above and below the eye, and a black line running through tho
eye. Hence Temminck calls it Roitelet a triple bandeau. These
three lines are absent in the Goldcrest.'*
PARIM: (THE TITMICE).
Exceedingly interesting are all the members of this pert, active
family, ever restless, creeping and running and flitting from
bough to bough in quest of insect food, careless whether they
are hanging beneath or climbing along, or running up or down
the branch; hardy too, for they are all permanent residents
* ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 5G.
Great Titmouse.
here, chattering, and bold and familiar and pugnacious withaL
There are no better friends to the gardener than the bold
Titmice which we see around us, so constantly employed in
searching for spiders, earwigs, woodlice, and all manner of
destructive insects, which they hunt for among the leaves and
pick out from the crevices of the bark as they run over the
branches. The original sense of the word Tit (says Professor
Skeat) is merely something small, as titlark, 'little lark;' tit-
mouse, t little mouse,' etc. The genus Parus contains in all
seven species, of which five are to be found abundantly in Wilt-
shire, the remaining two the ' Crested Tit ' (Parus cristatus)
and the 'Bearded Tit' (Parus biarmicus) being of very rare
occurrence in England, and no instance having reached me of
the appearance of either of them in this county.
59. GREAT TITMOUSE (Parus major).
First in point of size, and therefore at the head of the family,
stands this well-known bird, whose peculiar markings and well-
contrasted colours render it unmistakable. The black head,
white cheeks, and yellow breast, parted down the middle by
a broad black stripe, distinguish it at once from all others.
The Great Tit is to be found in every wooded district, and
it clears the buds and leaves of trees from an incredible
number of insects ; but it loves fruit as well, and being some-
what bold, fierce, and bloodthirsty, will occasionally vary its
diet with the flesh of some bird which it has done to death
with its sharp beak, and whose bones it picks with wonderful
skill. In Sweden it is known as Kiod Meise, or the 'Meat
Titmouse,' from its penchant for scraps of meat where it can
iind them, a taste which it shares with other members of the
family. In that country, as in England, during summer it
frequents woods and coppices; but in the autumn it collects
about the houses, ' to live amongst people/ as the peasants
express it : and when it comes to their dwellings, and, as they
say, picltar Jcittet af ylassn, ' picks the putty from the windows/
170 Paridcc.
the near approach of winter may be confidently expected.* Its
note is a loud cheep, followed by a harsh chatter ; but in spring
and early summer this changes to a curious see-saw note, not
unlike the sound produced by sharpening a saw with a file
hence in some parts of England it is known as the ' Sawsharper.'
These notes are very loud for so small a bird, and may be heard
at a great distance.-)- This species is noted for the strange
places it will sometimes select for its nest. In my garden at
Yatesbury it has for several consecutive years selected a spot
within a bee-house, just outside one of the bee-boxes, containing
a hive of bees in full activity : and here it piles up an extra-
ordinary mass of moss and cowhair, and on the top it places its
soft nest of feathers, and has hitherto always been fortunate in
bringing off its brood in safety ; but whether or no the bees
always escape, and whether they approve as a neighbour so
determined a persecutor of the insect race, is not quite so
apparent. In France it is La Grosse Mesange, or Charbonuiere ;
in Spain and Portugal, Carbonero, all with the meaning of
' Charcoal-burner.' In Italy it is Cinciallegra maggwre, and in
Germany Kohlmeise. In Portugal, however, where it is very
abundant, it is more correctly known as Cedovem. Mr. Tait
says that in that country it begins to sing its peculiar note in
February, and, according to the country people, seems to say,
Semeia linho, semeia linho * Sow flax, sow flax ' indicating that
the time has come for that seed. They believe that when the
bird sings much it is a sign of an abundant harvest, and that it
also says, Tudo bem, tudo bem ' All's well, all's well.' He remarks
also that it is the only species which he has observed eating the
procession caterpillar, the hairs of which are well known to be
highly irritant to the human skin, and Par us major must there-
fore have a strong throat, gizzard, and stomach. J
* Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 306.
t Harting's ' Sketches of Bird Life/ p. 89.
J Mr. W. C. Tait on the ' Birds of Portugal/ Ibis for 1887, p. 183.
Blue Titmouse. 171
60. BLUE TITMOUSE (Parus cceruleus).
Commonly called the 'Tom Tit,' and as well known by its
blue cap and pert appearance as by its lively active habits.
Like the Great Tit, its efforts are directed not against the buds
and blossoms, with which it is so often charged, but against
the larvse and eggs of the insect tribe, which are therein
deposited in incredible quantities, and which these useful little
birds seek out and consume. It is, for its size, the most
bold and pugnacious of the feathered race, and will attack
and sometimes kill birds much larger and heavier than itself.
It is known to village boys as ' Billy Biter,' from the severe
bite or pinch with which it will punish the fingers of the
incautious lad who seeks to take its nest from the hole of some
tree. In Norfolk it is popularly called ' Pick-cheese.' The Blue
Tit is remarkable even among the Titmice for the singular and
even grotesque attitudes it assumes in seeking its insect prey,
now hanging head downwards, now scrambling underneath a decid
branch, as if it were walking on a ceiling, and with its tiny but
strong bill chipping off a fragment of the loose dead bark.* In
France it is Mesange bleue ; in Germany, Blaumeise ; in Sweden,
Bld-mes, equivalent to our ' Blue Titmouse ;' but in Italy it is
Cinciallegra piccola, and in Portugal Cedovem pequeno, as it
were Parus minor. It is so constantly before our eyes that I
need say no more of its appearance or habits,
61. COAL TITMOUSE (Parus ater).
Not so common as the two last species, but generally dis-
tributed, and of similar habits. It closely resembles in appear-
ance the Marsh Tit, next to be described, both having black
heads, white cheeks, and grayish olive- green backs ; but the
Coal Titmouse may at once be recognised by the irregular white
patch at the back of its neck, which is totally wanting in the
Marsh Tit. In France it is called Mesange petite Charbonniere,
the Great Tit bearing the title of Mesange Charbonniere; in
* ' Gamekeeper at Home,' p. 79.
172 Paridw.
Sweden, where it braves the severe winter and does not seem
affected by the intense cold, it is known as Svart Mes. Professor
Newton has pointed out that in like manner (and as the specific
name ater indicates), ' Coal,' and not ' Cole/ Titmouse is the correct
English name. In Germany it is Tanne Meise, ' Fir-tree Tit-
mouse;' in Spain, Herrerillo, 'Little Blacksmith.'
62. MARSH TITMOUSE (Pams palustris).
The specific name points out the localities which this Tit
frequents. I should say it is not so common in this county as
the last at least, I have not met with it quite so often ; but
wherever there is moist ground, and alders and willows flourish,
there it may frequently be seen. Mr. Cecil Smith says that he
has seen it busily engaged in eating the berries of the honey-
suckle, occasionally picking one off and holding it in its claw like
the parrot, while it was getting out all the edible parts.* It
makes its nest in holes and sometimes in the scrubby heads of old
pollard willows. In Germany it is, as with us, Sumpfmefa, the
' Marsh Titmouse ;' in France, from its sombre dress and black
hood, La Nonnette, ' the Little Nun ;' in Italy, CinoiaUegra
cinerea ; and in Spain it shares, with the species last described,
the name Herrerillo.
63. LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE (Parus caudatus).
This very ball of feathers with a long tail is common in all
woods, and may be found in hedgerows, but rarely visits our
gardens. Its body is scarcely bigger than that of the ' Golden-
Crested Eegulus,' but its very long tail and its habit of puffing
out its feathers give it an appearance of greater size than it
really possesses. Its beautiful oval nest, so cleverly formed of
moss and wool, coated with lichen and lined with feathers, is
the greatest marvel of the kind we possess in this country, and
in this snug cradle it will rear twelve or more young ; and in the
winter months you may see the whole family, including the
parents, flitting with undulating movements from tree to tree
'Birds of Somersetshire,' p. 128.
Long -tailed Titmouse. 173
lience deriving the specific name vagans attributed to it by some
authors following in a long line, and keeping up a shrill and
incessant cry of Twit twit, and anon hanging in an inverted
position from the ends of the small twigs while in search of
insect food. Montagu relates that he once observed a brood of
twelve on a July evening as it became dusk, apparently very
restless, when, on the utterance of a single note by one, and as
instantaneously repeated by the whole, they assembled in a
moment and huddled on a branch so close together as to appear
like a ball of down.* The specific name seems in all languages
to refer to its long tail, as caudatus, and our own ' Long-tailed
Tit.' In France it is Mesange a longue queue; in Germany,
.Schwanzmeise ; in Italy, Codibugnolo ; in Holland, Staartmees ;
and in Sweden, Stjert Mes. It is sometimes called provincially
1 Bottle Tit ' and ' Bottle Tom ' from the shape of its nest, and in
this county is generally styled ' Huckmuck,' a truly Wiltshire
word, the derivation of which I cannot fathom.
AMPELID/E (WAXWINGS).
Of the family of Fruit-eaters we have but one single example
occurring in England ; their characteristics are short bill but
wide gape, enabling them to swallow whole the large berries
and fruits on which they feed ; and short legs and feet formed
for perching, as they are never seen on the ground. The mean-
ing of the family name Ampelidce is really 'fruit-eaters,' or,
literally, birds which frequent a//^/^, ' the vine.' The single
species visiting us is styled the
64. BOHEMIAN WAXWING (Bombycilla garrula).
Called also the ' Silktail,' and ' Chatterer ;' it is a winter
visitant, and though it occasionally conies in some numbers, it is
by no means regular or periodical in its arrival ; an interval of
several years often elapsing between its visits. It is recorded by
Ray to have appeared in this country in large flocks in the
winter of 1685 ; Gilbert White records its visit in 1767 ; Bewick
' Ornithological Dictionary,' Supplement.
174 Ampelidce.
in 1790, 1791 ; Selby in 1810, 1822, and 1823 ; Yarreli in 1830,
1831, 1834, and 1835 ; and Professor Newton that while scarcely
a year passes without the arrival of some individuals, the winters,
of 1830-31, 1834-35, 1849-50, and 1866-67 were remarkable for
the numerous occurrences of this species. Subsequently to this,
they have appeared in force in the winters of 1N72-73, and in
1882-83. Its true habitat is Northern Asia and the North-
eastern parts of Europe, where thirty years since Mr. Wolley
discovered its nest and eggs, which up to that time were un-
known to science. I happened to be in Paris when I heard that
this discovery of 1856 had been followed up in 1858 by the
taking by Mr. Wolley and his collectors of no less than 150-
nests, containing 666 eggs ; and soon after, chancing to call on
the well-known naturalist, M. Parzudaki, I communicated ta
him this interesting piece of bird news, and never shall I forget
the passion into which he worked himself, the mixture of envy,
vexation, and indignation, not unmixed with admiration, with
which this hot-tempered but enthusiastic ornithologist received
the intelligence, as he marched up and down the room, shrugging
his shoulders and throwing up his arms as he exclaimed over
and over again : ' Six cent soixant six, six cent soixant six,' the
real cause of his fury being that Mr. Wolley at this time declined
to sell any of these eggs, but sent them all to England, and none
were to be had by M. Parzudaki and his friends in Paris.*
It is a handsome, gay bird, of a cinnamon- brown colour, tinged
with red ; the feathers on the head are long and silky in texture,
forming a crest : but the peculiarity from which it takes its name
consists in its having on the tips of the wing quill-feathers, littlo
flat scarlet horny appendages, exactly resembling drops of red
sealing-wax ; the tail-feathers are tipped with pale yellow. The-
specific name, garrula, and one of its common sobriquets,
* Chatterer/ would seem to proclaim it at once as of noisy habits -
but this, Professor Newton points out, is by no means the case>.
* For a most interesting and detailed report of the breeding of the Wax wing
see Ibis for 1861, pp. 92-106 ; and Ibis for 1862, p. 295. Also Professor
Newton in fourth edition of Terrell's * British Birds,' vol. i., pp. 528-533.
Bohemian Waxwing. 175
for, on the contrary, it is a remarkably silent bird ; but it was so
called from its likeness to that notorious chatterer, the Jay,
(Garrulus glandarius). For the same reason it is known in
France as Grand Jaseur, ' Great Chatterer.' But in Sweden and
Germany, where it is better known, it derives its name from the
red, horny, or parchment-like appendages the existence of
which, so says Lloyd, seems to have been somewhat overlooked
by English naturalists but which, as the bird advances in years,
make their appearance at the extremity of the yellow at the end
of the tail-feathers ; and these increase annually in size and
number. It is only, continues Lloyd, when these red excres-
cences are fully developed that the Waxwing can lay claim to
its present pretensions that of being the most beautiful of all
Scandinavian birds. Hence the generic name Bombycilla,
* silky tail,' and the Swedish Siden svans, and the German
Seidenschivanz. Its natural food appears to be the berries of
the hawthorn, juniper, and mountain-ash; and it usually asso-
ciates in flocks. I was told in Norway that this bird visits that
country also at irregular periods, many years sometimes elapsing
between its visits. It was as abundant throughout Scandinavia
in 1850 as it was here. I have many notices of its occurrence
in this county. The Rev. G. Marsh has seen it in the woods at
Winterslow, and stated that a pair were killed in Clarendon Park
in 1820. Mr. Withers told me that many were killed at Potterne
in 1850. The Rev. H. Hare, of Bradford, sent me notice of one
killed in his field December 7th, 1857, while engaged in picking
hawberries from a hedge. Colonel Ward saw one in his garden
at Castle House, Calne, in the month of February, about 1865.
The late Mr. Butler, of Kennett, a very careful observer of birds,
told me he had seen a party of five or six of this beautiful
species in some trees in his neighbourhood about I860. The.
Rev. A. P. Morres records one shot by Mr. Fussle at Corsley x
about two miles from Warminster, and brought to Mr. King, of
that town, for preservation about forty years ago ; and the Marl-
borough College Reports speak of one observed at Draycot in
1864.
176 MotacillidoB.
MOTACILLIM) (THE WAGTAILS).
Graceful and elegant are the epithets best suited to this
family, as everybody will confess who has watched their engaging
manners, running along the grass-plots, darting by the streams,
xind ever flirting their long tails, which alone seem to preserve
their equilibrium, as they hurry this side and that, and seem in
danger of losing their balance ; and this perpetual fanning
motion of the tail, which is never still, and is so characteristic
of the members of this family, has been wisely applied to desig-
nate them ; the Latin Motacillidce, as well as the English
counterpart, signifying * tail-movers/ as indeed they \ are p-:ir
excellence. They are of slender form and very active, the lightest
and most buoyant of birds ; and as most of them remain with us
during the winter, they are doubly valued and doubly welcome.
65. PIED WAGTAIL (Motacilla Yarrellii).
No one can be ignorant of this very common bird, with its
parti- coloured dress of black and white ; its food consists of
insects which it finds in running over the grass or on the margins
of streams and lakes, in the shallow waters of which it will wade
in search of its tiny prey. Gilbert White also long ago called
attention to its habit, which we may constantly verify, of running
close up to feeding cows, in order to avail itself of the flies that
settle on their legs, and other insects roused by the trampling of
their feet. Though some are resident in Great Britain through-
out the year, there is no doubt that this is one of the birds
which partially migrate from the high, cold, bleak uplands to
the sheltered valley or the coast. Moreover, it is certain that
large numbers arrive in spring from beyond sea, and recruit our
home birds. Indeed, indigenous though it is, this is one of the
first spring arrivals which I anxiously look for on the downs,
nor is it till the severity of winter is past that I am able to
welcome this harbinger of a more genial season to my upland
home, for a pair of these pretty birds return every year to rear
their young in a rose-tree trained against my house. Thoj-c
Pied Wagtail. 177
that remain in England through the winter generally join the
Pipits in resorting to turnip-fields, where they find shelter and
minute slugs, as well as insect food. In Scandinavia, where they
never pass the winter, their appearance in spring about the time
the ice is breaking up is anxiously looked for, and the bird is
known as Is-spjdrna, literally, the 'Kicker away of the Ice.'
Elsewhere in Sweden it is known as Kok Aria, or the ' Clod
Wagtail/ because it is so constantly seen among the clods in the
new-ploughed fields. There is, moreover, a saying in some parts
of the country that if the farmer commences ploughing either
before the coming or departure of the Wagtail, success will not
attend his endeavours.* In Egypt, where it is very common, it
is figured in the hieroglyphic legends as ' the type of an impure
or wicked person;' and is still called there Aboo Fussad, or the
' Father of Corruption,' though why it should be a bird of bad
omen does not so readily appear.*f- The name by which it is
generally known in Wiltshire is ' Dishwasher/ and in France La
Lavandiere, and in Spain Lavandera, ' Washerwoman ;' but in
Germany Bachstelze, ' Brook- trotter/
66. GREY WAGTAIL (Motacilla boarula).
By no means common, but yet generally, though sparingly,
dispersed, and to be found in most localities. It is even more
graceful and slender, and has a still longer tail than the last.
Its prevailing colours are slate-gray above and bright yellow
below, with black throat, wings, and tail. It is less sociable and
familiar than its pied relative, and is, in short, of solitary habits,
and seeks secluded spots where it may live undisturbed, haunt-
ing the margins of streams, which it seldom leaves. In allusion
to the localities it frequents, the Maltese call it Zadak ta del,
' Wagtail of shady places/ Why it should be dubbed melanope,
or ' black-faced/ as it is by some of our best ornithologists, I am
at a loss to know, though doubtless they have some good reason
Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 302.
f Dr. A. L. Adams on the 'Birds of Egypt and Nubia,' mills for 186i,
p. 21.
12
178 Motacillidce.
for such title. Is it possible that the black throat which it
exhibits in the breeding season should give rise to the name ?
In Scotland it is known as the ' Seed-bird,' because it arrives at
the season when in those more northern latitudes farmers are
sowing their land. In Wiltshire it remains, though sparingly,
throughout the year ; and this is one of the few South- Western
Counties enumerated where it has been known to breed. In
France it is Bergeronnette jaune, ' Yellow little Shepherdess' ;
Gul Aria, ' Yellow Wagtail/ in Sweden.
67. GRAY-HEADED WAGTAIL (Motacilla negkcta).
This species is rarely met with in England, perhaps I should
say is rarely recognised, for it bears so close a resemblance to
M. flava, next to be described, which is extremely common every-
where, that it is difficult to distinguish between them without
very close and minute examination ; and so, in all probability, it
is very often overlooked. A careful observer will, however, notice
that it has a white line over the eyes, and a white chin, both of
which in Ray's Wagtail are yellow ; and that it has a gray head,
which in M. flava is light olive. In habits and manners it differs
nothing from its congeners.
I place it with the utmost confidence in the Wiltshire list, on
the authority of the Rev. G. Marsh, who possessed a specimen
killed at Marshfield, near Chippenham, in October, 1841. The
Rev. A. P. Morres, though he cannot speak positively, thinks he
has seen it in the water meadows at Britford. Mr. Norwood
reports that he saw a pair near the South- Western station at
Salisbury, and Mr. Baker killed a bird at Mere, which he con-
sidered to belong to this species, but of which some doubts were
afterwards entertained.
68. RAY'S WAGTAIL (Motacilla flava}.
This is our common Yellow Wagtail, which flocks here every
summer, and leaves us in the autumn ; it frequents open planta-
tions and arable land, and fields of sprouting wheat, as well as
meadows, open downs, and sheep pastures, and does not seem so
Ray's Wagtail. 179
dependent on the neighbourhood of water as its congeners. It
has a shorter tail, and is altogether less graceful in form than the
Gray Wagtail ; but in colour it is more brilliant, and of a more
pronounced yellow than that bird, the olive-green of its upper
plumage partaking of the yellow tinge which is so bright and
clear below. It was called Raii, in honour of John Ray, the
friend of Willughby, and one of the pioneers of British ornitho-
logy, who flourished about two hundred years ago. In some
places it is called the ' Barley Bird,' and in others the ' Oatseed
Bird,' from its arrival being coincident with the spring sowing of
those two species of grain. In Malta, on arriving on migration in
flocks, these birds are caught in nets, and kept in shops and
houses for the purpose of killing flies,* with which that island is
infested in summer, and none but those who have experienced it
can conceive what an intolerable nuisance the plague of flies is.
In France it is Bergeronnette printaniere or de printemps,
* Little Shepherdess of Spring.' In Germany, Gelbe Bachstelze ;
and in Sweden, Gul Aria, ' Yellow Wagtail.'
ANTHID.E (THE PIPITS).
This is the last family of the tooth-billed tribe, and it forms an
excellent connecting link between the soft-billed insect-eaters
and the hard-billed grain-consumers. In many respects allied
to the Wagtails last described, in others nearly resembling the
Larks, the first family of the Conirostral tribe, it is, however, a
true soft-billed race, and subsists entirely on insects.
The Anthidse derive their name from Anthus, known in
mythology as the son of Autonous and Hippodameia, who was
torn to pieces by his father's horses, and was metamorphosed into
a bird, which imitated the neighing, but always fled from the
sight of a horse.f
69. TREE PIPIT (Anthus arboreus).
This is a summer visitor, and though far from common, may
be seen in most woodland districts : it is by far the most beautiful
Mr. Wright's < Birds of Malta,' in Ibis for 1864, p. 62.
t B.O.U. ' List of BritLh Birds,' p. 32.
122
180 Anthidce.
of the genus, and the sweetest songster ; and has a habit of rising
above the top of some tall tree, and singing with outstretched
wings on its descent. In colour it very much resembles the larks ;
is somewhat larger than its congener next to be described, from
which it differs in the stronger and broader bill, and in the short
and hooked hind claw ; also its gait on the ground is a slow walk,
while the 'Meadow Pipit' runs after the manner of the Wagtails.
It is notorious that the eggs of this species differ very much,
both in general colour and in markings ; but Mr. Seebohm says
that those in each cluster are alike ; and that it is more probable
that each bird lays a peculiar type, which it has inherited from
its parents, and transmitted to its offspring.* It is like its
more numerous and indigenous congener A. pratensis often
called the ' Titlark ;' and Mr. Knox reports that it is styled by
the Brighton birdcatchers the 'Real Titlark/ to distinguish it
from its fellow.f Oil the Continent it derives its name, as with
us, from the trees in which it dwells ; in France it is Pipit dcs
buissons ; in Germany, Baumpieper ; and in Sweden, Trad-
Pipldrka.
70. MEADOW PIPIT (Anthus pratensia).
Yery common, especially on our furze-clad downs, where it
remains the whole year, though it will occasionally assemble in
flocks, and haunts stubble and turnip-fields in winter. ^Ir.
Cordeaux says that in Yorkshire the resident birds receive large
additions to their number in early spring by the arrival of
migratory flocks ; and that they are the first of the little spring-
visitors whose cheery note is so welcome in the bleak marshes,
where they arrive early in March, usually preceding the less
hardy Pied Wagtail by a full fortnight.^ But in truth it will
brave very severe weather, for it has been met with in abundance
in Northern Lapland and even on the highest fjall moors of
Scandinavia, to which it resorts in summer to breed ; and when
autumn comes with its icy blasts, warning all strangers to retire,
' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 222.
t * Birds of Sussex,' p. 203.
J ' Birds of the Hcmber/ p. 44.
Meadow Pipit. 181
it is the last of the smaller migratory birds that takes its depar-
ture for the south.* In Ireland and Scotland it is known as the
* Titling' and 'Moss-cheeper,' the latter in allusion to the moss
and peat covered ground in which it delights, and also to its
call-note. In the northern counties of England it is called the
* Ling Bird,' again from its partiality for the moors ; but in most
places it is generally known as the Titlark. It sings in the air
as it descends to the earth, as its cousin the Tree Pipit does in
descending to some lofty tree-top ; it is a quiet, unobtrusive
bird, builds its nest on the ground, and is very frequently the
foster-parent of the young cuckoo : its hind toe is furnished with
an elongated and straightened claw ; its- bill is slender; it warbles
rather than sings ; and its flight consists in short jerks. The
Rev. G. Marsh said that its scent is so strong that pointers com-
monly mistake it for the partridge indeed, much more frequently
than they do the skylark.
In France, as in England, it is known under many names, as
Pipit Farlouse and le Cujelier, and I'Alouette des Pr<?s; in
Germany, it is Wiesenpieper ; and in Sweden, Ang-Pipldrka. In
Spain and Portugal, as is so often the case in those countries,
the several species are not recognised; but all the Pipits in
Spain are called Cinceta, and in Portugal Sombria and Cia.
This closes the list of the tooth-billed perchers resident in or
visiting Wiltshire.
* Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 304.
CHAPTER VI.
INSESSORES (Perchers).
CONIROSTRES (Cone-lilled).
WE come now to the second great division of the Perching birds ;
and having examined all those whose soft notched bill proclaims
the insect nature of their food, we have arrived at those exhibit-
ing a harder and more conical-shaped beak, bespeaking at once
that grain forms the principal part of their diet. As we proceed
with the families of this tribe, we shall see this typical charac-
teristic develop itself more and more, till we come to some species
armed with such strong sharp-pointed beaks as to be enabled
to break the very stoutest seeds and even the stones of many
fruits, as well as to pierce the hard ground, in search of food ;
but, as I before pointed out, nature makes no rapid strides from
one distinct kind to another, but only gradually and step by
step leads us on ; thus, insensibly as it were, and through many
connecting links, joining together genera and species, the most
opposite to one another in appearance and habits.
ALAUDID.E (THE LARKS).
We cannot have a better proof of what I have just said than
in the family we now proceed to consider, standing at the head
of the Conirostral tribe, and bearing so great an affinity in many
respects to the last family of the Dentirostres, viz., the Pipits :
for the Larks, though to a certain extent grain-consumers, yet
feed on insects as well ; and though they have a short strong
bill, yet it is styled by Selby and Yarrell Subconic, rather than
conical, proving the exact position they hold.
Skylark. 183
Alauda is said to be a Celtic word, meaning 'great songstress/
from al, ' high' or ' great/ and and, ' a song.' Hence is derived
the French Alouette (B.O.U.). Our English word 'lark* is a
contraction of ' lavrock/ meaning ' a crafty worker/ ' a worker of
ill/ and the name points to some superstition, now forgotten,
which regarded the bird as of ill- omen [Skeat].
71. SKYLARK (Alauda arvensis).
Intimately associated in the minds of all with blue sky, bright
sunshine, open down, and aerial music, is the very name of this
favourite songster. All its motions betoken such excessive
happiness in unconstrained liberty, such intense appreciation of
freedom, as it mounts upwards higher and higher, and soaring
into the clouds, pours forth such strains as ravish mortals below,
that it is positively painful to see it incarcerated in a cage, and
to reflect how its heart must throb, and how intensely it must
pine to burst its prison bars and soar away out of sight of its
persecutors, singing a hymn of gladness and gratitude at its
escape. It remains with us the whole year, and is essentially
one of our down birds, preferring open arable lands to more
inclosed districts ; towards autumn it associates in flocks and
frequents stubble and turnip fields. Its food consists of seeds of
all kinds, as well as insects of various sorts ; and the benefit it
confers on the agriculturist in this wholesale destruction of
noxious weeds and insects is incalculable. But notwithstanding
this, it is killed in astonishing numbers for the table in England
France, Italy, and especially Germany. In the London markets
alone, in 1854, 400,000 are said to have been sold, 20,000 or
30,000 having been often sent together. There can be little
doubt that over the western half of Europe the Skylark must be
the most numerous bird, as from a commercial point of view it is
one of the most valuable.* In France it is Alouette des champs,
and in Germany Feldlerche, which are simply translations of
arvensis ; but in Sweden it is Sang Larka, ' Song-Lark ;' and in
Professor Newton in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. i.,
p. 622.
184 Alaudidce.
Italy A llodola, ' the one who gives praise.' In Spain, on the con-
trary, it is Zurriaga, ' the scourge which inflicts punishment/
It never perches on trees, but walks or runs on the ground
very swiftly, which it is enabled to do by means of the very long
straight hind claw, which gives it a firm footing on the ground.
In the north of England the country people have a curious
notion that, if you are desirous of knowing what the lark says,
you must lie down on your back in the field and listen, and you
will then hear him say :
* Up in the lift go we,
Tehee, tehee, tehee, tehee !
There's not a shoemaker on the earth
Can make a shoe to me, to me !
Why so, why so, why so ?
Because my heel is as long as my toe.'
Elsewhere its song is described by a more ambitious poet :
* Ecce ! swim tirili, tirili, tirilirlirl tractim
Candida per vemum cantat alauda solum.'
It sings in descending as well as in ascending and while hover-
ing in the air; and anon, as some fright or sudden impulse
seizes it, down it will come like a stone to the earth and away
amongst the corn to its nest, but only to soar upwards again
presently, rising on quivering wing almost perpendicularly, and
singing more merrily than before ; and we may hear it carolling
away long after we have lost sight of the rapidly diminishing
speck retreating into the clouds, for ' Excelsior ' is ever the motto
of this aspiring bird. Montagu says ' the Field or Meadow Lark
is nowhere so plentiful as in the north of Wiltshire,' and I am
happy to report that the account he gave some fourscore years
ago still holds good. It is still one of our most abundant, as
well as one of our most charming, birds, scattered over the broad
tracts of corn-land, and as plentiful on Salisbury Plain as in
North Wilts. The same author remarks that they are seen in
Egypt about Cairo in autumn in incredible numbers, and are
supposed to come there from Barbary. In Egypt they are called
As/our Djebali, or ' Mountain Birds.'
c Dyer's ' English Folk-lore,' p. 75.
Wood-Lark. 185
72. WOOD-LARK (Alauda arborea).
In France, Alouette lulu ; in Germany, Baumlerche ; in Sweden,
Trad Ldrka, ' Tree Lark ;' in Malta, CiuJdaita, or ' Rattle ;' in
Portugal, Cotovia pequena, 'the Lesser Lark.' Very like its
congener, but considerably smaller, with, a shorter tail, and a
white line over the eye and round the back of the head, this
species is sparingly scattered through the county, frequenting
woods, as its name implies, and singing sweetly while perched
on some tree as well as while sailing about on the wing : indeed,
it has generally the reputation of excelling the Skylark in song,
though I am scarcely willing to allow this. Montagu was the
first to call attention to the fact that, with the hedge warbler,
redbreast, missel thrush, and throstle, it will frequently sing in
frosty weather after Christmas if the weather is bright in midday,
and, he adds, all these birds are early breeders. It is a permanent
resident with us, and in food and nesting closely resembles the
preceding. I have before me many notes of its occurrence from
various localities both in North and South Wilts, proving that it
is generally distributed throughout the county. Mr. Morres
relates what, I think, is very unusual, that a flock of sixty was
seen in a wheat stubble near Lord Nelson's seat at Trafalgar, and
that nine of them were caught by a bird-catcher.
EMBERIZIM: (THE BUNTINGS).
Members of this family may at once be distinguished from all
others by a hard, bony, oblong knob in the upper mandible,
which is narrow and smaller than the lower one. They are
somewhat clumsy in form, with large heads and short necks, and
heavy in flight ; they eat grain and seeds in the winter, but in
the summer insects and their larvse form no small portion of
their food. Our English word 'Bunting' means, according to
Professor Skeat, ' one that pokes his head forward,' the old word
luntin signifying ' short,' ' thick,' ' plump,' which is sufficiently
descriptive of the short neck of members of this family.
186 Emberizidce.
73. SNOW BUNTING (Plectrophanes nivalis).
This native of northern regions, known in Sweden as Sad-
Sparf t ' Snow Sparrow;' in France, Bi*uant de Neige; in Germany,
Schneeammer ; in Italy, Ortolano Nivola, seldom comes so far
south as Wiltshire, though it appears pretty regularly every
winter on our eastern and northern coasts, and I have met with
it in considerable numbers on the shores of the Wash, in Norfolk.
At that season, however, its plumage is reddish-brown above and
dull white beneath, and so much do individuals vary from one
another in hue as well as in the distribution of their colours,
that they have often been erroneously divided into several
species, receiving the sobriquet of ' Tawny ' and ' Mountain *
Bunting, according to their sex and age and garb ; but it is in
summer plumage and in the extreme north that this bird is to
be seen in perfection, arrayed in its attractive dress of deep black
and pure white, and haunting the highest and most desolate
fjelds of Scandinavia. And there I have been so fortunate as to
meet with it on several occasions, now flitting from one lichen-
covered rock to another, now running quickly ov.er the snow,
seeming to delight in those wild inhospitable regions, so con-
genial to its habits, but so little to the taste of most members of
the animal kingdom. Though it strays southwards in winter, it
returns regularly in spring within the Arctic Circle to breed in
very high latitudes ; and touching tales have been told of the
extravagant delight and wild excitement of the crews of ice-bound
vessels who had passed the long dreary months of winter, fast
frozen in during some Arctic expedition caused by the ap-
pearance of the first Snow Bunting, which was seen fluttering
about among the hummocks, uttering its sweet and plaintive
chirp, which to them was the most pleasing music they had
heard for many a long day. No wonder the sudden appearance
among them of this little visitor was so interesting, for it was the
first bird they had seen for nine long months. Even the in-
valids, as they lay on the sledges, requested that they might
have their faces uncovered, so as both to see and hear the little
Snow Bunting 187'
friend that had flown off to them, as if it were a messenger to-
welcome the ship's crew back to life and friends.* Other
Arctic voyagers have also spoken with enthusiasm of the arrival
of this harbinger of spring, and recounted how the despondent,
homesick sailors were cheered by the pleasant twitter of this,
welcome visitor.-f- And Major Fielden found a nest in Grinnel
Land above lat. 82 J ; indeed, it is not known that any bird
breeds farther north than this thoroughly Arctic species.
I have never seen it in this county, but I learnt from Mr..
Withers that it has been occasionally killed in various localities,
and brought to him for preservation ; and Mr. Elgar Sloper, of
Devizes, informs me that he has seen several which had been,
killed on Salisbury Plain. The Kev. A. P. Morres records its occur-
rence now and then in very hard winters near Salisbury ; two-
having been seen near Grately in 1868, associating with a large-
flock of Bramblings; one killed at BrixtonDeverill and one at Mere
some years since. I should therefore describe it as an occasional
and not very infrequent straggler, though by no means a regular
winter visitant here.
It is sometimes called the 'Snow-flake,' and Saxby writes,
' Seen against a dark hillside or a lowering sky, a flock of these
birds presents an exceedingly beautiful appearance ; and it may
then be seen how aptly the term ' Snow-flake' has been applied
to the species. I am acquainted with no more pleasing combina-
tion of sight and sound than that afforded when a cloud of these
birds, backed by a dark gray sky, descends as it were in a shower
to the ground, to the music of their own sweet tinkling notes.!
The meaning of the generic name Plectrophanes is given in the-
B.O.U. list as ' Spur-showing,' from 7r\rJKTpov, ' a spur,' and $awto f
' I show.' Temminck, too, classes it in a distinct section of the
Emberizidoe, which he calls Bruants eperroniers, ( Spurred
* ' The Great Frozen Sea,' a personal narrative of the voyage of the-
Alert during the Arctic expedition of 1875-6, by Captain Albert Hastings
Markham, R.N.
f Nordenskiold, ' Arctic Voyages in 1858-1879,' pp. 51, 218-265.
J Professor Newton's fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds, 1 vol. ii.,.
p. 7.
188 Emlerizidce.
Buntings/ though I cannot find that he assigns any reason for
the name.
74. COMMON BUNTING (Embcriza miliaria}.
Though extremely common, especially in the vast tracts of
arable land on our downs, this bird, from its great similarity of
plumage to the Skylark, is seldom recognised by ordinary ob-
. servers ; and yet its more bulky shape and heavier gait and more
awkward flight should at once distinguish it from its more
sprightly companion. It has little or no song, but may be seen
perched on the topmost spray of some low hedge, uttering its
somewhat harsh screaming note. It is the largest of the family,
and remains with us throughout the year; but though some are
undoubtedly resident, their ranks are augmented every year by
the arrival of large flocks of migrants. 'During the pairing
season,' says Professor Nilsson, 'it flies in a totally different
manner to what it does at other times. Its legs hang down, it
elevates its wings, and moves them rapidly, and thus gradually
drags itself, as it were, from one elevation to another. Again,'
he remarks, ' it never leaves the open line of country where it
once appears, and never flies over a forest.' This is in allusion to
its summer habits in Sweden ; for here, when frost and snow ap-
pear, it congregates in flocks with Finches and Sparrows, and
seeks the shelter and the food which the rickyard offers. The
specific name miliaria simply signifies * feeder on millet,' an un-
fortunate title, which might, with equal propriety, have been
given to any other of the genus. Nor is our ' Corn' or ' Common
Bunting,' or ' Bunting Lark,' nor the Scandinavian name Korn
8parf, ' Corn Sparrow/ more happy. In Leicestershire both this
and the Yellow Bunting are called ' Writing Larks/ from the
strange markings of the nature of scribbling, perhaps by the pen
of an Arab, on their peculiar eggs.* In Sussex it is known as
the ' Clod Bird/ from its habit of perching on a projecting clod of
turf or clay in a stubble or fallow field, while it utters its
monotonous note.f In France it is le Proyer or Bruant Prayer ;
Zoologist for 1885, p. 466. t Knox, ' Birds of Sussex/ pp. 132, 205.
Blackheaded Bunting. 189'
in Germany, Grauammer ; in Spain (where it is pronounced by
Howard Saunders to be ' the most abundant bird in Andalusia,""
and the ' number of it brought into the markets to equal that of
all the larks, sparrows, and thrushes put together'), it is known
as Ti'iguero, ' Corn-merchant.'
75. BLACK-HEADED BUNTING (Emberiza schcenidus).
Called also the Reed Bunting from the localities it frequents,,
and the Reed Sparrow from its general resemblance to our
common House Sparrow. In Sweden, Sdf Sparf or ' Sedge
Sparrow;' in France, Bruant de rosean ; in Germany, Rohr-
ammer ; and its scientific name schceniclas is also derived from
the Greek a^o/vo:, ' a rush or reed.' This bright handsome bird
may be met with sparingly wherever there is water ; indeed, I
have often seen it frequenting a dry ditch, and have found its-
nest at some distance from the nearest stream : it delights,
however, in moist wet places, abounding in sedge and reeds and
coarse grass, and here you may generally see its black head
standing out in contrast with its white collar.
Harting says that he has seen it, when in pursuit of food,,
walk into the water, like a true wader, until the water reached
above the tarsus.* It is resident with us throughout the year,
but (as with so many of our residents) its numbers are reinforced
in winter by arrivals from abroad. In winter the male loses its-
black head, and comes forth in March bright in nuptial array.
It is notorious for the clever manoeuvres it displays in alluring
the intruder from its nest, just as the Lapwing, and the
Partridge, and some others do, shuffling along on the ground,
trailing its wings, or dragging its leg as if broken, and all to
entice the unwelcome visitor from dangerous proximity to its
young.
76. YELLOW BUNTING (Emberiza citrinetta).
Well known to everybody as the Yellow Hammer, though here
we have an instance of a general error so universally propagated
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 76.
190 Emberizidce.
that any effort to correct it would seem almost hopeless : yet in
truth Yellow Ammer is the correct word, ammer being the
German term for Bunting, which is undoubtedly meant by the
generic name we ordinarily employ, prefixing an unnecessary
and meaningless H, after the manner of certain of our provincial
countrymen.* The Yellow Bunting may be met with in every
hedge and wood during the summer, when it feeds its young
entirely, and itself subsists -mainly, on caterpillars and insects of
various sorts ; and in autumn consumes the seeds of weeds to a
very large extent, in all of which it proves itself the farmer's best
friend. In winter it may be seen in flocks on the bushes and in
the open fields, occasionally resorting to the stackyard in severe
weather ; and a very beautiful bird it is, with golden-yellow head
.and chestnut and yellow plumage, and highly would it be prized
were it not so common : but alas ! with birds as with human
beings, we are apt to overlook the brightest and best, if they are
ever before our eyes, whereas we highly prize and bestow
abundant attention on the inferior and less deserving, if only
occasionally seen by us.
The specific name Citrinella appears to me a somewhat far-
fetched adjective, and, moreover, one which fails to describe
what it would portray ; for under this diminutive, as if from ' a
little Citron,' or 'coloured like a little Citron/ who would
recognise the brilliant yellow of this handsome species, the
Bruant jaune of France ; the Gul Sparf, or ' Yellow Sparrow/
of Sweden ; and the Goldammer of Germany ?
In the northern parts of England it has by some mischance
incurred the superstitious dislike of the peasantry, and is
commonly known as the 'Devil's Bird.' For it is currently
believed that it drinks a drop, some say three drops, of the
devil's blood, every May morning, or, as others affirm, every
Monday morning. It is therefore much persecuted, and its nest
* Professor Newton in his fourth edition of Tan-ell's ' British Birds ' has
a learned note on this subject, and adduces the high authority of Mr. Skeat
to prove that the prefix H was not added by inadvertence by our old English
ornithologists. I cannot, however, honestly say that I am convinced, but I
refer my readers to the passage, vol. ii., pp. 43, 44.
Cirl Bunting. 191
receives less mercy than that of almost any other bird; while
the boys address it in the following rhyme of reproach :
' Half a puddock, half a toad,
Half a yallow yorling ;
Drink a drap o' the deil's blood
Every May morning.'*
77. CIRL BUNTING (Emberiza cirlus).
The specific name Cirlus is, we are told, derived from the
Italian Zirlare, 'to chirp.' In Germany it is known as Zirl-
ammer ; in France, as Bruant Zizi ; and in Italy, as Zivolo or
Zigolo, all bearing the same signification. But in the north of
Portugal, where Mr. Tait says it is by far the commonest of the
Buntings, it is called Escrevedeira, 'the Scribbler/ from the
markings on the eggs, as I mentioned above.
Montagu first discovered this species in 1800, on the coast of
Devonshire, and after much patient watching and careful
examination of its habits, after the usual manner of that most
accurate and painstaking inquirer, recorded the result of his
observations in the ' Transactions of the Linnsean Society.' Selby
hazarded the assertion that it was only to be found on the coast
of Devon. Yarrell too, though he gives Wiltshire as one of the
counties it frequents, somewhat inconsistently says that it is
' generally found on the coast, and does not often appear to go
far inland ;' but here for once our grand-master in Ornithology
is at fault, and, indeed, ' quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus ;'
for in addition to many notices of its occurrence in all parts of
the county, north and south, from various observers on whose
accuracy I can rely, I have repeatedly watched it in several
localities which it regularly haunts, and have not only killed it,
but have found its nest in the neighbourhood of Devizes.
Only last summer, Mrs. Story Maskelyne informed me that it
was nesting in the gardens at Basset Down ; and in South Wilts
the Rev. A. P. Morres described it as widely scattered, though
not numerous, in the neighbourhood of Salisbury. Mr. Baker,
* Dyer's ' English Folk-lore,' p. 71.
1 92 Eniberizidce.
too, says it breeds annually at Mere, and that he has seen it for
the last twenty years in one particular spot, but has never met
with it in any other part of the parish. In habits it closely
follows the Yellow Bunting, which it also greatly resembles in
general appearance ; differing, however, sufficiently to be at once
distinguished from the commoner species, by the dark green top
of the head and throat, olive-green breast, and other marks.
FRINGILLIDJE (THE FINCHES).
By some authors these are styled Passerine birds or Sparrows :
with the exception of the bill (which is broad and concave, in-
stead of being narrow and furnished with a prominent knob) they
closely resemble the Buntings last described. The members of
this family are all of small size, and their characteristics are largo
head, short neck, and compact body; they are an active lively
race, gregarious in winter, for the most part granivorous, and
very abundant numerically as well as specifically: we have no-
less than eleven distinct species in this county, either as
residents or occasional visitants.
78. CHAFFINCH (FringUla ccekbs).
As common as the Sparrow, and as well known to everybody, is
this active handsome bird, flocking to our yards in winter, and
frequenting our meadows and woods in summer; but not so
generally known, perhaps, is the cause of its specific name
ccelebs, ' the Bachelor.' It arises from the separation of the sexes
into distinct flocks in the winter in northern countries, the
females migrating southward by themselves, and leaving the
males to club together, as bachelors best may, or to follow after
their truant wives at their leisure: on this account Linnaeus
named them codebes, and the name is not undeserved even in
these more southern latitudes; for the males and females
frequently divide into separate flocks in the winter, as good old
Gilbert White of Selborne long since pointed out, and as we may
verify for ourselves any winter.
Mountain Finch. 193
Its nest is a perfect marvel of artistic skill, most dexterously
put together, and then adorned with bits of lichen, applied with
.admirable ingenuity on the exterior. In France it is called
Pinson; in Spain, Pinzon ; in Portugal, Pim-pim; in Germany,
Gemeine Fink ; in Italy, Pinsione ; and in Southern Scandinavia,
where it is very abundant, Bo Fink; and in England it is
provincially known as Pink, Spink, and Twink, all having re-
ference to the sound of its call-note. In olden times the plaintive
note of the Chaffinch was interpreted as a sign of rain ; when,
therefore, the boys heard it, they first imitated it, and then
i-hymingly referred to the expected consequences :
'Weet, weet ! dreep, dreep !'
This is another undoubted benefactor to the agriculturist, for
during the summer it subsists and feeds its young almost entirely
on insects, and at other seasons devours the minute seeds of in-
numerable noxious weeds. Our English word 'Chaffinch,' says
Professor Skeat, is 'the finch that delights in chaff;' given to
it because it frequents our barndoors and stackyards.
79. MOUNTAIN FINCH (Fringilla montif ring ilia).
This pretty bird, called also the 'Brambling,' though not a
regular winter visitant, occurs so frequently as to be by no
means uncommon; I have notices of it from several parts of
Salisbury Plain, and Mr. B. Hayward told me it occurs on the
Lavington Downs occasionally in some numbers ; Mr. Withers
said it had often been killed near Devizes, and many of them
have passed through his hands ; and during 1858 I received a
fine specimen in the flesh from the Rev. F. Goddard, which was
killed March 10th at Sopworth, Malmesbury, and is now in my
collection*; and was very kindly offered another by the Rev. H.
Hare, which was killed at Bradford. Since then I have myself
shot it in my garden at Yatesbury, out of a small flock which
was occupying some larch trees, and the Rev. A. P. Morres
relates that in 1868 it visited the neighbourhood of Salisbury in
Chamber's ' Popular Rhymes.' p. 190.
13
94 Frinyillida'.
very large flocks, amounting to thousands; when forty were
killed at one shot, and six or seven dozen were trapped by a
birdcatcher in one day. Its visits here, however, are most
irregular, and several consecutive winters often elapse without
the arrival of a single individual. By the Maryborough College
Natural History Reports, I learn that flocks were seen in that
neighbourhood in January, 1871 ; that early in February, 1873,
vast numbers arrived, and were to be found all round the town,
when thirty-five were secured at a single shot ; that in December,
1875, they were again seen in large flocks on the farms bordering
on Marlborough Forest, and that in 1877 they were common on
the downs above Rockley. Lord Arundell mentions one that
had been brought to him which was killed at Wardour. Mr.
Grant has furnished me with a list of twenty-two which have
passed through his hands for preservation since 1863, which
were taken at Berwick Bassett, Netheravon, Keevil, Patney,
Roundway, Wedhampton, Collingbourne, Lavington, Allington,
All Cannings, and Bratton. Lord Radnor writes me word in
March of this year (1887) that he picked up one dead at Long-
ford ; while the Rev. A. P. Morres says they were common both
this year and last about Britford, and that seven were killed at
one shot in Longford Park. In the name Fringilla monti-
fringilla there is unnecessary repetition ; frlngilla is defined
to mean 'a bird that squeaks or twitters/ but 'the twitterer
mountain twitterer' is clumsy. In France it is Le Pinson
d' Ardennes; in Germany and Sweden, Bergfink ; in Italy,
Fringuello montanino ; in Spain, M octanes; and in Portugal,
Tentilhdo montez.
The Mountain Finch, when it appears here, is always found
associating with the Chaffinches, which it much resembles in
habits, but is conspicuous amongst them by its exceedingly
handsome plumage of black, white, and fawn-colour so mingled
as to form a pleasing contrast. Its true habitat is in the vast pine
forests of Northern Europe, where it breeds, not fearing to
penetrate to the far north, even to the woods which come down
to the borders of the Icy Sea ; and where it finds its favourite
House Sparrow. 195
birch-tree, which it selects in preference to all others for its
nursery. But on its return to more southern latitudes on the
approach of winter, the migratory flocks of this species assume
dimensions which seem to our unaccustomed eyes almost in-
credible ; for we read of columns a quarter of a mile long, and
fifteen yards broad ; and again of some hundred thousand
frequenting the foot of the Thuringerwald ; and again of six
hundred dozen being killed every night in Lorraine, on the ap-
pearance of a tiock in 1765 ; and as a climax, a flight of about
sixty million in Luxemburg in 1865 !* In quoting these numbers
I have no thought of disputing or doubting their accuracy, but I
would point out that living in an island, and in an inland county
in that island, we little know the amazing numbers in which
flocks of birds occasionally move.
80. HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus).
So well known to everybody that I need not say a word about
it, beyond calling attention to the extremely handsome plumage
of the cock-bird, which is often overlooked ; the colours, black,
gray, chestnut, and brown, blend with peculiar harmony; I
mean of course in our country specimens, for in favour of town
sparrows I have nothing to say, pert, ill-conditioned, dirty, and
grimed with soot as they are. Here, however, I would call at-
tention to the Sparrow Club, or the Sparrow Fund, which used to
exist in so many of our agricultural parishes in this county; and
in many of the Churchwardens' account-books may be seen, as
a considerable item of the Church-rate annually and for very
many years past, so many dozen Sparrows destroyed at so much
per dozen, the price varying according to the maturity or im-
maturity of the victims : Thus in an old Churchwarden's book,
belonging to my small parish, dating from above 100 years ago, I
see the items every year of from 20 to 90 dozen old Sparrows at
4 pence the dozen, and from 10 to 70 dozen young birds at 2
pence the dozen ; and these, with an occasional shilling for the
* Professor Newton in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii.,
p. 77.
1-32
Fringillidce.
capture of a fox, a groat for a polecat, and an occasional sixpence
given to a sailor, seem to have formed the principal part of the
church expenses of the good parish of Yatesbury for above 100
years so lightly did the Church-rate sit upon our forefathers !
and this continued to within forty years ago, when my pre-
decessor considered Sparrow-killing scarcely a legitimate Church
expense. Now I am not about to deny that Sparrows are mis-
chievous, or to inveigh against their destruction, which I suppose
to a certain extent is rendered necessary ; but I would observe,
first of all, that they are not wholly inimical to man, for (like
most, if not all, of their fellows) they feed their young altogether
on caterpillars and insects, as may readily be granted if we con-
sider how unfitted must be the callow young at that early stage
of their existence to digest seeds or corn. And again, I would
observe that the cause of their immoderate abundance is the
indiscriminate extermination of all our birds of prey, useful and
mischievous alike, at the hands of the gamekeepers and others ;
for I contend that, were Nature allowed to preserve her own
balance, we should not witness the extinction of one species and
the enormous increase of another, to the manifest injury of our
Fauna. And with reference to the foregoing remarks, before
taking leave of the above-named Churchwardens' accounts, I
would make two observations which strike me in perusing its
pages, viz., the great abundance of foxes, polecats, and such like
vermin, and the paucity of Sparrows 100 years ago, as compared
with later entries ; for whereas in the middle of the last century
4 foxes, 6 polecats, and 30 dozen Sparrows seem to have been the
annual tale of the slain, at the beginning of the present century
2 foxes, 1 polecat, and 60 dozen Sparrows form the average sum-
total. But the last entry recording such items, viz. A.D. LS40,
shows that whereas foxes and polecats are exterminated from
the parish, as far as their persecution by Church-rate is con-
cerned,, no less than 178 dozen Sparrows met with an untimely
end in that year ; proving that notwithstanding the persecution
raised against them, Sparrows still increase upon us, and have
enormously increased since the universal destruction of so many
Tree Sparrow. 197
of our birds of prey, for whose behoof they seem in great part to
have been provided.
In France it is known as Le Moineau, doubtless on account of
its apparent cowl; in Germany, as Haus Sperling; and in
Sweden, as Grd-Spink ; in Italy, Passer o ; in Spain, Gorrion or
'little pig;' and in Portugal, Pardal, 'the gray bird/ as in
Sweden. 'Our word Sparrow' says Professor Skeat, 'means
" flutterer," from spar, " to quiver," or " flutter." '
Before I take leave of the House Sparrow, I would relate an
anecdote of that bird communicated to me by Mr. James Waylen,
of Devizes. In 1785, in the days of lofty head-dresses, some
ladies and gentlemen were drinking tea in a garden in the Close
at Salisbury, when a Sparrow perched on the head of one of the
ladies, and then disappeared ; till after some time it was dis-
covered to have made the ladies' head its resting-place, un-
perceived and unfelt by the owner. The philosophical Editor of
the Salisbury Journal conjectured that it must be some love-
stricken spirit !
81. TREE SPARROW (Passer montanus).
In my former papers on the Ornithology of Wilts, I omitted
this species ; for at that time I did not feel sure of its presence
in the county. Subsequent observation has, however, enabled
me to add it to our list ; for I have myself seen it on more than
one occasion ; and others, both in North and South Wilts, have
recorded it from time to time. Still, though doubtless often
overlooked, it appears to me to be very local, and somewhat
capricious in its choice of abode. Nowhere, however, in Wilts is
it by any means common. In short, I believe it to be very
sparingly distributed over the Western Counties of England,
but little known in the neighbouring county of Somerset, and
scarcely if at all recognised in Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall.*
It is to be distinguished from the House Sparrow by its smaller
size, chocolate-coloured head, and triangular patch of black on the
* Cecil Smith's ' Birds of Somerset,' p. 184.
198 Fringillidce.
sides of the neck.* It is called ' Tree Sparrow' from its habit of
resorting for rest as well as for breeding purposes to trees apart
from the habitation of man, and montanus from its supposed
partiality for hilly districts. It does, however, on occasions
build in the thatch of a barn, in company with the House
Sparrow, but in such cases it has been observed, singularly
enough, to differ from its congener in its mode of entering the
nest, not from the inside of the building as does the species
with which we are most familiar, but by holes on the outside
of the thatch. In France it is distinguished as Le Friquet,
which I can only translate as ' the prig ;' in Germany, as Feld
Sperling; in Sweden, as Pit-Fink.
82. GREENFINCH (Coccothraustes chloris}.
Also extremely common throughout the county, and residing
with us the whole year, and easily distinguished from all others
by its olive-green dress tinged with yellow and gray. The
generic name Coccothraustes, from KOKKO^ + Qpavw, signifies
'berry-breaker,' which is no inappropriate designation of the
several species, armed as they all are with so powerful an
instrument for securing the kernels inclosed in hard envelopes.
Chloris aptly describes the yellowish-green, which is the pre-
vailing colour of the bird, from x\o>po9, ' green ;' and this has
been the origin of its name in all the Continental languages : in
France, Le Verdier; in Germany, Grunling; in Italy, Verdone;
in Sweden, Grdn-Flnk; in Spain, Verdon and Verderon ; in
Portugal, Verdilhdo.
It is a very pretty bird, and is sometimes styled the ' Green
Grosbeak,' from the large thick form of its bill ; this gives it
rather a clumsy appearance, and indeed in shape it is somewhat
heavy and compact, and has none of the elegance which dis-
tinguishes other members of its family. It can boast of no song,
and associates in winter with chaffinches and yellow buntings,
which congregate at that season in the stubble-field and rickyard.
* Harting's ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 82.
Hawfinch. 199
Greenfinches are in the habit of returning regularly to the same
evergreen shrubs in which they roost ; and Selby has pointed
out that, before they retire for the night, they quit the company
of their associates, and make many ringing flights round their
resting station. This, however, is not peculiar to this species
only, but is a habit common to several other kinds of birds.*
83. HAWFINCH (Coccothraustes vulgaris).
When once seen will not be confounded with any other species,
its large horny beak giving it a remarkable appearance ; and this
thickness of bill renders necessary a large size of head and a
stout neck, which give the bird a top-heavy clumsy look, making
the body and limbs seem disproportionately small. It occasion-
ally visits us in the winter, when it may be seen consuming
greedily the berries of the whitethorn ; the stones of which it
breaks with apparent ease by means of its strong and massive
bill ; and it is remarkable that while it feeds on the kernels of
plums, cherries, haws, etc., it rejects the pulpy fruit which sur-
rounds them. It is of most shy retiring habits, and hence
escapes general observation even where it is not uncommon : for
this is one of the very few species of our British birds which has
been of late years, by the testimony of those most qualified to
judge, decidedly on the increase. It has also of late been dis-
covered to remain and breed here in several localities, among
which favoured spots we have been enabled (through the diligence
of a member of Marlborough College) to include this county ;t
for Mr. Reginald Bosworth Smith informed us that 'it frequents
Savernake Forest, and nearly every spring three or four or even
five nests are met with ; they select the thickest hawthorn bushes,
-and build their nests close to the top, where they are quite con-
cealed.' In addition to this statement of its permanent residence
here, I have notices of its occurrence in 1845 near Devizes from
Mr. Elgar Sloper ; of its being frequently killed in North Wilts,
and brought to Mr. Withers for preservation ; of its appearance
* gee Zoologist, for 1857, p. 5681.
t Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 107.
200 Fringillidce.
near Salisbury in 1832 from Mr. Marsh ; and I have myself shot
it at Old Park, on the topmost spray of a copper beech in the
garden (as I before mentioned in this volume, p. 39). Of later
years Major Spicer wrote me word that a specimen in good
plumage was picked up dead in Spye Park in October, 1876 ;
Mr. Alexander informed me that one was killed by his gardener
at Westrop House in February, 1877. The Kev. G. Ottley re-
ported, and courteously sent for my inspection, one killed at
Luckington Rectory in December, 1878 ; and in the same month
the coachman at Old Park reported another specimen seen there
busily engaged with the berries in some hawthorn-bushes. Mr.
W. Stancomb, jun., has seen it at Bayntun ; Mr. G. Watson
Taylor reports that it frequently nests at Erlestoke ; Mr. Algernon
Neeld says that there are always a pair or two in the grounds at
Grittleton ; and Mr. Grant has furnished me with a list comprising
thirty specimens which have been killed in the neighbourhood
of Devizes, and have come into his hands for preservation. While
in the south of the county Lord Heytesbury reports one killed
in the water meadows on his estate, within the last four or five
years. Lord Arundell says a flight of male birds with reddish
heads and handsome plumage visited Wardour some time since.
Lord Nelson possesses a specimen killed at Trafalgar. Mr. W.
Wyndham says it is common at Dinton ; and in short, the Rev,
A. P. Morres says that though formerly looked upon as a rare
straggler in the neighbourhood of Salisbury, it has now become a
frequent visitor there, and gives evidence for belief that it occa-
sionally breeds in the district round Warminster. My friend the
Rev. G. S. Master, until lately Rector of West Dean, bore testi-
mony to their annual occurrence in his garden ; on one occasion,
in 1877, accompanied by a family of five young ones, where-
to the indignation of his gardener they attacked the peas with
much chattering and screeching, and committed no small havoc
in a very short time. So that when Mr. Seebohm says there is.
no authentic account of its breeding in the West of England,* I
think he is mistaken, for both North and South Wilts claim it as.
* British Birds/ vol. ii., p. 57.
Goldfinch. 201
a native of the county. In France it is simply Le Gros-bec :
but in Germany, Kirsch Kernbeisser, ' Cherry-stone Biter / in
Sweden, Sten-Kndck, ' Stone-breaker ;' and in Spain, Casca-nueces,.
1 Nut-breaker.'
Its general colour is reddish-brown, with black throat, and black
and white wings and tail; the largest wing-feathers have a
peculiar formation, and present the appearance of having been
clipped square at the ends with a pair of scissors ; they are glossy
black, with a white oblong spot on the inner webs, singularly
truncated at their points, or (as Yarrell says) ' formed like an
antique battle or billhook.' The beak in the living bird is of a
delicate rose-tint, which, however, quickly fades after death to a
dull yellow.
84. GOLDFINCH (Carduelis elegans).
This is one of the few birds which everybody knows, and
everybody appreciates : its bright gay plumage of brilliant colours,
its sprightly form, active habits, and sweetness of song rendering
it a great favourite : its scientific name well describes it, Carduelis,
from carduus, ' a thistle/ signifying the ' Thistle Finch/ and
surely a more elegant handsome bird does not exist. But a bird
so brilliantly clad and so much sought after was sure to receive
many provincial names at the hands of the birdcatchers, some
of which have been bestowed upon it in admiration, as ' Red-
cap' and ' King Harry ;' but others in derision, as ' Proud Tailor'
and ' Fool's Coat ;' young birds are sometimes designated ' Gray-
pates ' and ' Branchers/* The names by which it is known to
Continental naturalists are derived partly from the generic Car-
duelis, as in France Le Chardonneret, and in Germany Distel-
zeisig, both meaning ' Thistle Finch ; ' partly from the specific
name elegans, as in Spain Color in (' Bright-coloured'), and in
Portugal Milheira Galante (' Beauteous Linnet'). In Sweden it
is Steglits, and in Italy Calderello.
In my early days it was quite common throughout the county,
though never so abundant as to beget too great familiarity, which,
Fourth edition of Yarrell's 'British Birds/ vol. ii., pp. 118-124.
.202 Frinyillidcv.
we have seen with other species, is too apt to breed contempt
Towards winter it used to be seen in flocks ; and commons which
-abounded in thistles, or fields where those weeds ripened their
seed, were the haunts which it loved to frequent, and where it
made its choicest banquet.
I regret to say that, unlike the species last described, it is
rapidly diminishing in numbers with us, and within my own
memory is not nearly so abundant as when I was young ; but
this was inevitable, as every year has seen waste lands and
commons taken into cultivation, and thistle-beds done away.
Canon Goddard, who has always been a close observer of birds,
has called my special attention to this. He says : 'It is remark-
able how very rare the Goldfinch has become in North Wilts. It
cannot be that its food is deficient ; for it would naturally flourish
on agricultural distress, being a consumer of the seeds of weeds !
But I have not seen a Goldfinch here (Hilmarton) for several
years, and yet it formerly abounded here above measure, and it
is the most prolific of birds. An invalid parishioner, living in a
solitary cottage in this parish, some years ago, very late in the
year (I think in October), showed me a Goldfinch's nest on an
open branch of a larch fir in his garden ; and he said there were
four young ones in it, and it was the fourth family the parents
had reared that season, each family consisting of four young
birds.' But if getting very scarce, as I am afraid it is, through-
out England generally, and as it certainly is in Wiltshire, on tlio
Continent it is still common enough. Thus on the shores of the
Mediterranean its numbers are very great, and in France and
Italy, and the East, I have met with it in large flocks, but no-
where so abundant as in Portugal.
Professor Steenstrup, in some very interesting observations on
this species, called attention to the preference it showed for the
pith of willow, lime, and thorn boughs, and the mode in which
the bird procures it. This he described as being effected by
picking off the bud, and then stripping the bark, an operation
in which the bird's longicone beak is a very apt tool.*
* See Ibis, for 1866, p. 212.
Goldfinch. 203
I conclude my account of the Goldfinch with the following
observation from the pen of the Rev. G. Marsh, and which I
believe is perfectly sound, while the names of Mr. Marsh and Mr.
Dyson are sufficient proof that their observation is accurate and
not the result of any hastily formed opinion or conjecture. Mr.
Marsh writes thus : 'In the spring of 1851 Rev. F. Dyson first
told me that there was a bird which birdcatchers call the " Chevil "
Goldfinch, quite different from the common Goldfinch, and the
only bird that will breed with the common Canary. On the 1st
of June I went with him to see one of these birds paired with
a canary ; it was certainly different from the common bird,
the red feathers not continuing under the chin ; it was a very
fine bird, and the birdcatcher (one Fisher, of Cricklade) told
me they were always the leading birds of the flock/ This
opinion, which I printed in 1860, has been amply corroborated
by the Rev. A. P. Morres, who said there is no doubt at all
about there being two distinct species of these birds recognised
by the birdcatchers of his district, one of whom said, ' We
call the bigger sort " three-pound-tenners" amongst ourselves,
and they are quite different from the others. You can distin-
guish them readily by the largeness of the white spot on the end
of the quill-feathers of the wing, and also by their white throat,
and the bigger black crescent, which comes much further round
the side of the face, and they are of a more slender shape alto-
gether than the others. They are worth more because they will
breed more readily with the canary than the smaller kind, though
the latter will do so sometimes.' Another bird-fancier said that
he knew the two birds well, and that they called the bigger sort
'the Chevil' or ' Chevril.'* Professor Newton, however, main-
tains that it is not a distinct species, but only a variety,t and
Montagu referred to it in his day as a variety, under the name of
' Cheverel,' but it is hard to say where a variety ends and a species
begins.
* Wiltshire Archceological and Natural History Magazine, vol. xviii.,
pp. 291, 292.
f Fourth edition of Yarrell ; s 'British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 124.
204 Fringillidce.
85. 'SISKIN' (Garduelis spinus).
Better known in this country as a cage-bird, mated with the
canary, than in its wild state. It is, however, by no means a rare,
or scarcely an occasional visitant, some appearing amongst us
almost every year, and sometimes in great numbers, consorting
with Linnets and Redpoles, as Mr. Withers, of Devizes, testified.
It is a native of northern latitudes, and generally visits us in the
winter, when it may be seen clinging to the alder trees, the seeds
of which it especially loves. Willoughby, indeed, said that in
his day it was known as the ' Barley Bird,' because it arrived at
the time of barley-sowing. But this is contrary to modern ex-
perience, for the flocks which occasionally visit us certainly
appear in the autumn or early winter. The Rev. A. P. Morres,
however, gives it as his opinion that at times some will remain
throughout the year, and that it occasionally breeds in his dis-
trict, a birdcatcher in his parish having trapped, in July, 1871, a
party of seven, two of which were old birds and five evidently
young, and he had reason to believe that they also bred in the
neighbouring parish of Nunton. Lord Arundell has known it
brought in to him at Wardour ; Mr. Grant has had specimens
taken at Rowde and the outskirts of Devizes ; and the Rev. A. P.
Morres informs me that in February of this year (1887) Dr.
Blackmore saw a flock of eight birds on the birch-trees in the
Museum gardens at Salisbury.
Though somewhat short and thick, it is by no means a clumsy
bird ; on the contrary, it is exceedingly graceful, and most rest-
less, resembling the Titmice in its almost incessant motions and
the variety of its attitudes. Its plumage is a mixture of green
and yellow, the former predominating ; it is also known as the
'Aberdevine.' In Sweden it is called Gron Siske, and in the
south of the country abounds in winter as well as in summer,
but resorts to the large pine forests for preference, where it
breeds. In France it is Le Tarin ; in Germany, Erlenzeisig,
* alder-finch ;' in Spain, Lubano ; and in Portugal, Vanario da
Franca. Spinus, says the B.O.U. Committee, is derived from
Common Linnet. 205
, ' I chirp shrilly/ and was the name given to a small bird
commonly eaten at Athens, from its shrill piping cry. Siskin says
Professor Skeat, is a Swedish word meaning 'chirper' or ' piper/
86. COMMON LINNET (Linota cannabina).
Extremely numerous throughout this county, more particularly
on our downs, where they congregate in autumn in large flocks.
In summer the old birds assume a red breast and red forehead,
but this is only a nuptial plumage, which they lose when the
breeding season is over, exchanging it for the more sober brown
in which they are commonly arrayed. This change of dress
caused much confusion among our earlier ornithologists, who
mistook the bird in summer and winter plumage for two distinct
species, and they named the former the Redpole, the latter the
Gray Linnet ; and this was another error which our countryman
Montagu was the first to discover and rectify. It is a joyous
gentle bird, quite harmless, and a sweet songster ; and (Yarrell
informs us) derives its name Linota, 'laLinotte/ 'Linnet,' from
its partiality to the seeds of the various species of flax (linum) ;
from whence also comes Cannabina, which has the same
signification, from Kawdftis, 'flax' or 'hemp;' and in Sweden,
Hdmpling. This is another species which, within my experience,
is sensibly and even rapidly diminishing in numbers, in con-
sequence of the waste places and commons, where thistles
and weeds luxuriated, and which were its favourite haunts,
having been now brought into cultivation. In France it is
La grande Linotte de vignes ; in Germany, Bluthaw fling ; in
Sweden, Hdmpling; in Italy, Montanello maggiore ; and in
Spain, Camacho.
87. TWITE (Linota montana).
1 did not include this species in my former papers on the
Ornithology of Wilts, for the sufficient reason that I was not
then convinced of its occurrence within the county. Now, how-
ever, I gladly admit it, on the evidence of the Rev. A. P. Morres,
of whose practical acquaintance with the birds of his locality L
206 Fringillidce.
have already made so much use, and shall continue to do so
throughout this volume. He says that, though very little known
or noticed amongst us, it is occasionally seen, and visits us, as
he believes, at any rate in the winter, annually. The birdcatcher
in his parish, before mentioned, knows the bird well, and has
sometimes trapped them, taking three or four in a day, and has
caught them at Odstock Pond and at Wittsbury Down, during
the months of August and September. Mr. Baker said that
they are not unfrequently met with on Mere Downs, and thought
it probable that they occasionally bred there ; to which conclu-
sion he was led by receiving a pair from a neighbouring bird-
catcher early in the autumn of 1870. It is of more slender and
elegant appearance than the Common Linnet, and this is in
great measure due to the greater length of its tail ; it is also to-
be distinguished by its yellow beak, whence one of its common
scientific names, flavirostris, and that by which it is recognised
in Sweden, Gul-nabbad Fink, or ' Yellow-beaked Finch.' Gene-
rally it passes the summer months in the northern parts of
Scandinavia, where it frequents the lower regions, and especially
delights in the boulders and stones at the foot of the fjelds. At
no season does it put on the red breast and head for which its
congeners are so conspicuous in the breeding season ; but at all
times the male has the rump of a reddish hue. It derives the
name * Twite' from its note, and that of ' Mountain Linnet' from
the localities it prefers. In general appearance and habits, mode
of feeding, and flight, it resembles the Common Linnet ; indeed,
at a little distance it requires a very practised eye to distinguish
between them. In France it is La Linotte de monlagne, and in
Germany, Arktische Fink, from the high latitudes to which it
resorts for breeding, as well as Gelbschnabliche Fink, from the
yellow beak mentioned above.
88. LESSER REDPOLE (Linota linaria).
This is not a common bird in our southern county, though
abundant farther north. It inhabits the pine forests of Scandi-
navia, and is seldom seen here but in winter. For breeding
Lesser Redpole. 20T
purposes, the main body of this species extends its migration
into the far north, even to the shores of the Icy Sea ; and is
chiefly seen in Sweden on passage to and from its nesting-places.
Some, however, remain in the pine forests of that country to-
breed, as indeed they do occasionally in Scotland and even in
the north of England. Mr. Withers, however, informed me that
he occasionally received one to preserve ; and Mr. Elgar Sloper
had a female in his collection that was killed at Rowde on its
nest in May, 1850. The Rev. A. P. Morres speaks of it as occa-
sionally visiting the neighbourhood of Salisbury ; and Mr. Baker
says it is to be found in small flocks on the downs near Mere,
both in summer and winter ; while Mr. King, bird-preserver at
Wai-minster, asserts that he has known instances of its breeding
in that locality ; but as none of these opinions as to its nesting
in Wilts have been corroborated by the production of the speci-
men, they must not be too readily accepted, more especially when
we consider that the species in question has congeners which
undoubtedly breed here, of such very close resemblance to it
in general appearance and colour and habits, that mistakes
might easily occur. I have also information that the eggs of
this species have been taken at Castle Combe by Mr. Watkins,
agent to Mr. Lowndes, and again near Maiiborough.* In France
it is Le Cabaret and Sizerin ; in Germany, Bergzeisig ; in Italy,
Montanello minore. The specific name, linaria, is simply
another form of linota, and with the same meaning, ' belonging
to flax or hemp.' It is a very small bird with bright plumage,
and closely resembles the Siskin in all its habits and motions ;
hence the name by which it is known in Scandinavia, Grd Siska,
while the true Siskin (C. spinus) is known as Grou Siska. Like
the true Siskin, it will also hang with its back downwards at the
extremity of the smaller branches of the birch and alder, and
assume a variety of constrained attitudes in its earnest endea-
vours to reach its favourite seeds ; in all which it also reminds
us of the family of Titmice.
* See ' Reports of Marlborough College Natural History Society ' for
18GG, p. Ill ; and for 1878, p. 94.
:208 Fringillidce.
89. BULLFINCH (Fyrrhula vulgar is).
The scientific name, Pyrrhula, is said to signify ' a red or fine-
coloured bird/ which will describe its general hue sufficiently
well ; but it has also been interpreted as meaning ' fine- coloured
tail,' from irvppos, 'the colour of flame,' and ovpa, 'a tail' (B.O.U.);
anything remarkable, however, in the colour of the tail the bird
does not possess.* ' Bullfinch' doubtless means 'large Finch/
just as a 'Bullfrog 'is a large frog, and a 'Bullrnsh'a large
species of rush. In Sweden it is known as Domherre, and in
Norway as Dompap; both Swedish and Norwegian designations
mean ' a Canon of the Church.' ' Perhaps so called/ says quaint
old Pontoppidan, ' for its melodious voice, resembling an organ,
though not loud enough to fill the choir of a cathedral where
the canons sing their Hone. 1 In France it is known as Le
Bouvreuil ; in Germany, Rothburstujer Gimpel ; in Italy, as
Ciufolotto ; and in Portugal, as Pisco chilreiro, ' Chirping-finch/
and Cardeal, ' Cardinal/ from its red dress. Handsome as this
bird is, and sweet as is its song, I fear we must confess it to be
one of the most mischievous of the feathered race, for the buds
of fruit trees are unhappily its favourite food ; and so well can
it ply its strong parrot-shaped beak, that in an incredibly short
time it will strip a tree of all its fruit-bearing buds, and therefore
of all prospect of fruit. It is on this account most hateful to
gardeners in early spring, at which season alone it has the
courage to come so near human habitations, for it is essentially
a shy, timid, retiring bird, and loves the depths of dark woods,
and the thickest of hedges for its retreat. Indeed, excepting in
spring, it feeds on the seeds of weeds, and supports its young
with caterpillars and insects ; and it should not be forgotten
that during by far the larger portion of the year it is conferring
benefits on man. It is sparingly distributed throughout the
county, and its plumage is too well known to require comment.
' List of British Birds/ by Committee of B.O.U., p. 56.
Common Crossbill. 209
90. COMMON CROSSBILL (Loxid curvirostra).
Very eccentric in the periods of its visits here, no less than in
the formation of its beak, is this truly singular bird. It is a
denizen of northern latitudes, and though an interval of many
years frequently elapses between its visits, it will occasionally
arrive here in considerable numbers, when it frequents larch and
fir plantations. And it is in extracting the seeds from the fir-cones
that its remarkable beak (which at first sight appears a de-
formity) is so useful ; this is of great strength, as are also the
muscles of the head and neck, enabling it to work the mandibles
laterally with extraordinary power (this being the only British
bird which exhibits any lateral motion of the mandibles) : these
are both curved, and at the points overlap one another con-
siderably ; and when the bird holds a fir-cone in its foot, after
the manner of the parrots, and 'opening its bill so far as to
bring the points together, slips it in this position under the hard
scales of the cone, the crossing points force out the scale, and the
seed which lies below it is easily secured.'* An old writer of
Queen Elizabeth's time quoted by Yarrell says of it : ' It came
about harvest, a little bigger than a sparrow, which had bills
thwarted crosswise at the end, and with these it would cut an
apple in two at one snap, eating onely the kernel; and they
made a great spoil among the apples.' Hence it gained the
name of 'Shell-apple' in some localities. The scientific word
Loxia is from the Greek >.&go?, 'awry/ or 'crosswise,' which is
applicable enough. When first hatched, and even while the
young bird remains in the nest, there is no crossing of the beak
to be discerned ; both mandibles being perfectly straight, and
only assuming the crossed position when the bird ceases to be
immature. In Sweden it is called Mindre-Kors Ndbb, or 'Lesser
Crossbill,' to distinguish it from its supposed larger relative, the
' Parrot Crossbill,' which is called in Scandinavia Storre-Kors
Ndbb, 'Greater Crossbill'; but modern ornithologists do not
generally allow that these so-called species are distinct. In
* Monthly Packet, ' Our Feathered Neighbours,' vol. xi., p. 274.
14
210 Fringillidce.
France it is Le Bee croisd; in Germany, Fichten Kreuzschnabel,
'Pine Crossbill;' in Spain, Pico-tuerto, 'twisted beak,' and in
Portugal Cruzabico.
I have many notices of its occurrence in almost all parts of the
county ; suffice it to say that some years since they frequented the
larch plantations at Old Park in considerable numbers. Mr.
Marsh saw some trees in his garden at Sutton Benger covered
with them in 1838, and relates that the keeper at Brinkworth
killed fifteen at a shot. In South Wilts Mr. Baker records that
a large flock visited Mere in the winter of 1868; Mr. King of
Warminster had many brought to him from Stourton about
1873 ; Mr. T. Powell of Hurdcott reports that they frequented a
plantation of Scotch and spruce fir there, some time back ; and
the Kev. A. P. Morres has numerous notices of their appearance
from time to time in the neighbourhood of Salisbury. The
'Marlborough College Natural History Reports' mention a flock
at Martinsell in 1866, and some seen in 1870. Major Henea^c
has a specimen, considered from its large size to be a Parrot
Crossbill, which was shot at Compton Basse tt in 1868. Lord
Methuen informs me that it has been seen at Corsham Court .
Mrs. Story Maskelyne recollects its appearance at Basset Down
some winters back ; and Mr. Grant received half a dozen in the
winter of 1868, when it was generally abundant in England.
In plumage scarcely two specimens in a large flock are alike,
so variously are its colours distributed, for while some old males
are nearly crimson all over, others are of a lighter shade of red,
and others again in a mottled garb of green, red, orange, and
brown. Its legs, though short, are very strong, and it will climb
and swing from branch to branch, taking firm hold with its long
hooked claws ; it is very active too, and lively in its manners, and
remarkably fearless and confiding.
STURNID^E (THE STARLINGS).
This is an interesting family, the members of it so pert and
lively, and with so many amusing habits ; they are very sociable,
and usually move in large flocks; omnivorous, for nothing seems
Common Starling. 211
to come ainiss to their appetite ; and perfectly harmless, so much
so as to have excited but little enmity and little persecution from
man.
91. COMMON STARLING (Sturnus vuLgaritt).
This is one of our most constant companions, frequenting the
roofs of our houses for nesting purposes, marching about our
lawns and gardens all day in search of worms, wheeling about on
rapid wing in small companies around us, and otherwise de-
meaning itself as an innocent harmless bird should do, its mens
conscia rectl giving it confidence, and demanding its protection,
or at least comparative freedom from molestation, at the hands
of man. Moreover, it lends its gratuitous services to the shepherd,
.and may often be seen perched on the sheep's back, giving its
friendly aid to rid them of their troublesome parasites. In.
Sweden it is looked upon I know not why with a sort of
veneration, and, in common with the stork, is protected, and
rash indeed, and dead to all sense of shame, must he be who
would molest a Starling in that country. In the desert of North
Africa, on the other hand, where vast flocks resort in winter to
the date forests, and do incalculable damage to the ripe fruit,
they are destroyed by thousands. Moreover, they are highly
prized by the Arabs as excellent food ; but notwithstanding such
wholesale and continual destruction, there seems to be no appre-
ciable diminution of its numbers till the date crop is gathered
and spring commences, when not a straggler remains in Africa.*
In like manner in the Azores, when vines were more cultivated,
it was relentlessly destroyed, as it was accused of feeding on the
grapes.f Professor New'ton says that in England a very great
increase in numbers of this species has been going on for some
years past. J The English name Starling, which is the diminutive
of Stare, the German Staar, the French Etorneau, the Spanish
Estornino, and the Portuguese Estorninho, are all derived from
* Canon Tristram, in Ibis for 1859, p. 293.
f P. Grodman, in Ibis for 18G6, p. 98.
Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 231.
142
212 Sturnidcv.
the same root as Sturnus, which means the ' twittering bird/
Though at a little distance of dull sombre dress, it will on
examination be found to possess a remarkably bright burnished
plumage, composed of long narrow silky black feathers, shining
with metallic tints of green, blue, and purple, and each garnished
with a triangular white spot at the tip. As autumn approaches
these birds congregate in vast multitudes in certain favoured
spots towards evening, arriving in flights of forty or fifty, till
many thousands and even millions are collected, and forming
quite a cloud they whirl through the air as if guided by one
impulse ; now ascending high, then wheeling round, descending
with a roar of rushing wings, till they almost brush the earth in
their rapid course, and finally down they glide into the planta-
tion or reed-bed which they have selected for their roosting-
place. And then such a hubbub of voices ensues, such chattering
and such scolding, each apparently anxious to secure the best
berth for the night ; but if a gun should chance to be fired, or
anything else occur to startle them, away goes the whole flock in
a dense cloud, with a roar which would astonish those who have
not previously seen and heard them. Such a roosting-place exists
on the Lavington Downs, at New Copse ; and here I am informed
by Mr. Stratton, of Gore Cross, that these birds flock in thousands
and tens of thousands, and he adds that it is curious to observe
their tactics when a hawk appears for as the hawk prepares for
the fatal pounce, they collect into balls or compact flocks, and so
baffle their enemy, which immediately ascends higher for another
swoop, meanwhile the Starlings hurry along towards some place
of shelter, but ball again as the hawk prepares to make a second
dash. Another favoured haunt of the Starlings is a wood in the
parish of Nettleton, near Chippenham, where, I am informed,
* one thousand were killed a few years since by thirty discharges
from a single-barrelled gun at one time ' a piece of wanton
cruelty only outdone by the massacre which Colonel Hawker
records, how he slew many hundreds of Starlings at a single shot
from his long gun in the reeds near Lymington, in Hampshire.
In the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire this habit of
Rose-coloured Pastor. 213
roosting in masses is productive of considerable mischief to the
reed-beds, which are of great value, the vast numbers settling
on the same reed bearing it down and breaking it with the un-
wonted weight ; and even plantations and copses sometimes
suffer a certain amount of damage from a similar destruction of
the leading branches of the young trees. Canon Jackson informs
me that one of these enormous colonies of Starlings had been for
many years alloAved without disturbance to roost nightly in one
of the late Mr. Neeld's plantations alongside the public way (the
Foss Road) at Duriley, near ' The Elm and Ash,' about two miles
from Grittleton ; but in April, 1850, the keeper, whose cottage
was only a few yards off, having had occasion one night to take
a few of the birds prisoners for some shooting practice the next
day, the whole colony resented the breach of hospitality, and
suddenly left the place altogether. It was then found that they
had entirely spoiled the young trees and laurel shrubs on about
one acre of the plantation ; but, to make up for the damage,
had bequeathed a valuable deposit of guano, of which no less
than sixty loads were hauled away. The Rev. A. P. Morres
reports that there is another great Starling roost in Odstock
Copse in his neighbourhood, near Salisbury.
92. ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR (Pastor roseus}.
This very beautiful bird is extremely rare in England, a few
stragglers only having occasionally appeared ; it is a native of
the hottest parts of Asia and Africa, but migrates northward in
summer, and is sparingly scattered throughout the southern
countries of Europe every year, the outskirts of the army some-
times penetrating so far north as Britain. The first instance I
adduce of its undoubted occurrence in Wiltshire was in 1853
end of July or beginning of August when a specimen was killed
by a shepherd on Salisbury Plain, near Wilton, and is now in
the possession of the Rev. G. Powell, of Sutton Veny, who
informed me that it was quite alone when shot, feeding on the
ground. Another as I learnt from Canon Eddrup was shot
214 Sturnidce.
in 1868 in the parish of Bremhill, at a small farm at the bottom
of Bencroft Hill. A third was observed in the gardens of
Bannerdown House with a companion, and remained for some
days near Box, and was shot under Kingsdown, and is now in the
collection of Colonel Ward. A fourth was shot on the western
borders of the county, on July 29th, 1869, about two miles from
Koad Hill, as I was informed by the Rev. E. Peacock, who was
then residing there. It is usually seen associating with the
Starlings, to which family indeed it belongs, and which it much
resembles in general habits, mode of feeding, etc. Its plumage
is exceedingly beautiful in the living bird, but the delicate rose
tint, whence it derives its specific name, loses much of its fresh-
ness after death, and in course of years fades to a dingy pink.
The head, wings, and tail are of a glossy velvet black, with violet
reflections, the whole of the under parts and back of a deep
rose-red ; the head is likewise adorned with a long pendent crest
of loose silky feathers of a glossy black. The legs are very
strong, and with the upper mandible of the bill reddish-orange.
It is called Pastor, the shepherd or herdsman, from its habit
(which it shares with the common Starling) of attending flocks
and cattle. Continental naturalists have generally looked upon
it as a thrush : thus in France it is Merle coideur de rose ;
in Germany, Rosenfarbige Drossel ; in Sweden, Rosen-fdrgad
Drossel; and in England it has been styled the 'Rose Ouzel/
It is, however, a true Starling in habits and in feeding, and in
Italy is called Storno roseo. In the Ionian Islands, where it
frequents the mulberry orchards in large numbers, and does no
small damage, it is known to the peasantry as o-tcafjLvocfrdyos, the
' mulberry-eater.' * It is, at the same time, a great consumer of
locusts, and for that service to man is highly appreciated. It
breeds in large colonies, arriving in enormous multitudes at its
nesting- places, amidst suitable rocks or ruins, or in deserted
stone-quarries. But for a very interesting and detailed account
of the breeding of this bird, which until then had been little
known, I must refer my readers to an admirable memoir by
Lord Lilford, in Ibis for 1860, p. 137.
Chough. 215
Signer de Betta,* a translation of which I obtained from the pen
of my lamented friend Mr. William Long, of West Hay, which
I sent to the editor of the Zoologist in 1878, and which was
published the same year in that periodical.t
CORVID^E (THE CROWS).
This is a very large and important family, very numerous too,
and widely distributed, and most of its members, being of
considerable size, attract more general attention than the pre-
ceding smaller and more retiring birds, and are therefore familiar
to the least observant. Their general characteristics are stout,
compact body; large head; thick, short neck; beak large, straight,
and pointed ; legs strong and well adapted for walking with ease
as well as for perching. Their flight, too, is strong and even ; and
as regards their appetite, they seem to devour everything they
meet with, being truly omnivorous, and refusing nothing eatable
which comes in their way. From these several properties the
Crows have been styled the most perfect of the winged creation ;
and it has been remarked that they seem to have received some
peculiar property from each order of birds, by which they stand
in the centre of the feathered kingdom, reflecting the charac-
teristics of the whole, being so well fitted for walking, equally
powerful on the wing, inhabitants of all climates, and capable of
subsisting on all kinds of food. Notwithstanding their frequent
association with man, they are a vigilant, cautious race, ever on
the watch for an enemy, and scenting danger from afar.
93. CHOUGH (Fregilus graculus).
This is scarcely a true Crow, but rather a link between the
Starlings and Crows, partaking most, however, of the habits and
appearance of the latter. It is a very graceful, elegant bird, and
slender in form ; its plumage of a glossy bluish-black, strongly
contrasted with which are the beak, legs, and feet, which are of
a bright vermilion-red or deep orange colour. The beak is very
* Atti del R. Istifcuto Veneto, ser. v. ii.
t Zoologist for 1878, p. 16.
216 Corvidoe.
long, slender, and considerably curved. It is said never to perch
on trees, but always on rocks ; and Montagu (who gives a full
account of one of these birds which had been tamed) says its
inquisitive habits are equal to those of any Crow. Its food
principally consists of insects, for reaching which in the crevices
of rocks its long sharp-pointed slender bill is admirably adapted.
Its true habitat is among the lofty precipices on the sea-coast, or
amid the rocks of inland counties ; and the only place where I
have seen it in its native haunts was in the rocky heights above
Cintra, looking down on the broad Atlantic, and the mouth of
the Tagus, and there, day after day, I met with several parties,
consisting of six or seven, of this elegant and very interesting
bird. The Chough which is found in the Swiss Alps and the
Tyrol is of another species (F. Alpinus), and lacks the red bealt
and legs so conspicuous in our bird, and may be seen among the
loftier and more desolate regions of those countries far up among
the glaciers. But it is our British species (F. graculus*) that is
found in the desert of Northern Africa, and is known to the
Arabs by the name of Oyreeb Hamraid, or the ' Red Crow,'
though it is strange that one of our northern coast birds should
be found in a scene so widely different, as Canon Tristram has
observed.* There is an old Cornish legend that King Arthur is
still alive in the form of a Chough, and certain superstitious
persons refuse to shoot these birds, from a fear that they might
inadvertently destroy the mystic warrior :
' And mark yon bird of sable wing,
Talons and beak all red with blood,
The spirit of the long-lost king
Passed in that shape from Camhm's flood.
And still when loudliest howls the storm,
And darkliest lowers his native sky,
The king's fierce soul is in that form,
The warrior spirit threatens nigh.'f
In England it is sparingly found on some of our rocky coasts,
and is often styled the Cornish Chough, from an erroneous im-
pression that it was peculiar to that county, though Shakespeare,
* Jbis for 1859, p. 292. f Hawker's ' Echoes from Cornwall.'
Chough. 217
with his usual wonderful knowledge of nature, shows that he did
not share in that mistake, for in describing the height of the
cliff at Dover he says :
'The Crows and Choughs that wing the midway air
Show scarce as gross as beetles.'
Wiltshire, too, is one of the few inland counties which has had its
stragglers of this species. Yarrell, quoting from the Field
Naturalist's Magazine for August, 1832, recounts how a Red-
legged Crow was killed on the Wiltshire Downs, near the Bath
Road between Marlborough and Calne, by a man employed in
keeping birds from corn : this must have been very near, if not
in, my own parish of Yatesbury. In addition to this, Blyth, the
editor of ' White's Selborne,' records the capture of another of
this species on Salisbury Plain. Mr. King, of Warminster,
recollects that many years ago one of this species was killed by
a shepherd lad at Battlesbury Camp, on the edge of Salisbury
Plain, about a mile and a half from Warminster, but that
specimen was, unfortunately, not preserved. The Rev. E. Duke
has one which was killed at Lake, and is in a small collection
there made by his father as illustrative of the Fauna of Lake, and
I have one more instance of its occurrence in the county, for the
Rev. F. Dyson killed one many years since on the downs at
Tidworth, where two had been seen hovering about for many
days previous. This I fear is likely to be the last specimen of
this truly graceful bird wandering to our county, for it is now
become very rare even in those localities on the sea-coast where
it was once most numerous, and will probably soon be classed in
that sad catalogue of species which, once abundant, are now ex-
terminated by the ruthless rage for slaughter so prevalent with
all classes, in which the noble Bustard already figures, and will
soon be joined by the Kite and the Bittern, and many another
interesting bird with which the last generation was familiar.
Of the meaning of Fregilus I know nothing, but by most
modern ornithologists Pyrrhocorax is the generic name in use :
this is defined by the B.O.U. Committee to be 'a Crow with
red beak,' from ffyg*oV, ' the colour of fire ' (*fy), and *o>ag, ' a
218 Cowidce.
Crow/ In France it is Le Coracias Huppt ou sonneur ; in
Germany, Stein-Krahe ' Stone (or Rock) Crow ;' and in Italy,
Coracia di montagna.
94. RAVEN (Corvus corax).
If the Crows exhibit more intelligence than all other families,
as is often asserted, here we have the most sagacious of the
Crows. Unlike many of its congeners, the Raven lives for the
most part a solitary life, at least in this country, but it is not so-
everywhere. I have had many opportunities of seeing it in
small colonies in Norway, in Portugal, and in Egypt, and Canon
Tristram, writing of the birds of North Africa, says it is gregarious
both in the mountains and deserts there, returning home to-
roost at sunset in a long file after the manner of rooks ; more-
over, though not breeding in communities, the nests are
frequently within a few yards of each other.* Mr. Salvin, speaking
of the Eastern Atlas, says it was no uncommon sight to see
twenty or thirty of these birds at one time.f It is also most
ubiquitous, and impervious (as it would appear) to the effect of
extreme heat or cold. We have seen above how they frequent
the burning desert of Africa ; and Arctic voyagers relate that it
is one of the few birds capable of braving the severity of an Arctic
winter. Sir Edward Parry met with it in the highest northern
latitudes; it was found at Melville Island; and Nordenskiold, in
his famous voyage, says that in a journey over the inland ice in
exploring a northern portion of Greenland, during the whole of
his excursion on the ice he had seen no animal except a couple
of Ravens.J
It is by far the largest of all the pie tribe in Europe, of strong
robust shape, of grave and dignified bearing ; its plumage of the
deepest and glossiest black, with purple, blue, and green reflec-
tion. The term Raven has been derived from an old word
signifying to tear away, or snatch and devour, alluding to
Ills for 1859, p. 292. f Ibid., p. 312.
% * Arctic Voyages, 5 p. 165.
Raven. 219
its voracious plundering habits, for it not only feeds on carrion,
but attacks weak and sickly animals and birds. Professor
Skeat, however, derives it from its cry, and says that krap,
' to make a noise,' is the origin of ' raven,' ' crow/ ' croak/ etc.
As to the derivation of the scientific names of the several
species which compose this family, they seem to come generally
from the same root ; for the B.O.U. Committee, under the several
heads of Corvus, Cor ax, Cor one, Cor nix, refers the reader to
xptofy, ' I caw/ and xpafy, ' I cry/ as the real origin. From the
same root appear to be derived most, if not all, of the Continental
names for this bird, as in France, Le Corbeau ; in Germany,
Kolkrabe ; in Italy, Corvo imperiale, as if ' the king of Crows ;' in
Sweden, Korp ; in Spain, Cuervo ; and in Portugal, Corvo.
Ravens will sometimes, as they fly, turn over on their backs,
with a loud croak, and seem to be falling to the ground; but
Harding points out that when this odd gesture occurs, they are
merely scratching themselves with one foot, and thus lose the
centre of gravity.*
It is supposed to live to a very great age, but this does not
seem to have ever been satisfactorily proved ; it pairs for life, and
breeds very early in the year, returning, if undisturbed, annually
to the same spot for the purpose : but it always drives away the
young birds when they are fully fledged and able to provide for
themselves. Montagu observes that between this bird and its
egg there is a greater disproportion than in any other species,
for it takes nearly fifty eggs to make up the weight of the bird.
Extremely wary and impatient of molestation, it has been ex-
pelled from many of its old accustomed breeding-places by the
persecution of gamekeepers and others ; and this persecution is
not only of modern date, but was in force in the last century, for
when the Government auditors of parochial highway accounts
examined the books of a certain parish, they found amongst the
more common items of so much for the killing of a fox, and so
much for the killing of sparrows per dozens, old and young, the
following entry, ' Resolved at a vestry, that for a Raven, on the
* Edition of 'White's Selborne,' p. 254.
220 Corvidcv.
production of the same, the person so producing it will receive
2s. 6d. from the guardian of the said parish.' Let me as guardian
of the parish of Yatesbury, in passing, assure all whom it may
concern, that to me at least the Corvicide will apply in vain for
blood-money on account of any such atrocious murder. Ravens,
however, were happily too wide-awake to be easily caught in the
days of inefficient weapons ; but now the breechloader, the trap,
and poison have all done their work so effectually, that these
grand birds are become scarce in England, though some few
chosen spots there are where they are guarded from molestation.
And, indeed, a Raven tree is no mean ornament to a park, and
speaks of a wide domain and large timber, and an ancient family,
for the Raven is an aristocratic bird, and cannot brook a confined
property, or trees of young growth : would that its predilections
were more humoured, and a secure retreat allowed it by the
larger proprietors in the land ! The time has, I trust, gone by in
England when the poor Raven was regarded as a bird of ill-omen,
and its croak dreaded as a sure sign portending some coming
evil; and yet not long ago such was the absurd superstition
regarding this much-maligned species, as we may see from
various passages of Shakespeare as well as other authors of that
and even a later date its remarkable power of smell and almost
inconceivable sensitiveness to the odour of sickness and death *
having procured it the reputation of a prognosticator of mis-
fortune, so that its harsh croak, listened to with fear when illness
of any kind was in the house, was regarded as a most inauspicious
sound, as we read in ' Othello ' :
1 Oh, it comes o'er my memory
As doth the raven o'er the infected house,
Boding to all. 1
And this supposed faculty of ' smelling death ' made its presence,
and even its voice, looked upon as accursed :
' The hateful messenger of heavy things,
Of death and dolour telling.'f
For a remarkable proof of this sensitiveness see an account given by the
Rev. A. P. Morres, of what occurred in modern days at Mere, in the Wilt-
shire Magazine for 1879, vol. xviii., p. 290.
t Dyer's 'English Folk-Lore,' p. 78.
Raven. 221
Bat this was not the only reason why the Raven was abhorred
in England. There was also a national cause for its abomination,
in that it was the symbol on their sacred standard of the hated
Danes.
In old time and in heathen countries, we all know how
anxiously its every note was listened to and its every action
studied by the soothsayer, and it was consecrated to Apollo as a
foreteller of things to come; but it may not be so generally
known that at this day not only do the North American Indians
honour it as unearthly, and invest it with extraordinary know-
ledge and power, and place its skin on the heads of their
officiating priests as a distinguishing mark of their office, but
even in Christian Scandinavia and especially in Iceland, all
which countries are at least a century behind the rest of Europe
in civilization, it is regarded with like fear, so much so as to
have gained for itself the sobriquet of the ' bird of Odin,' whose
satellite it is supposed to be, on whose shoulder it was wont
to perch, and in whose ear it was wont to whisper all the tidings
it had gained in its wanderings up and down through the world.
In former times it was supposed to have been white, and to have
been changed to black as a punishment for babbling. Amongst
other absurd notions regarding it, is the popular belief that in
its body is a so-called Korb-sten or 'raven- stone,' which is
possessed of the remarkable property, that the individual who
swallows it will be invisible to mortal eyes.*
I must not omit to mention one thing which the Ravens do not
do. They do not breed in the holes made by weather in the large
standing stones at Stonehenge, as has been asserted by an old
author of a history of this country, f a most erroneous and un-
fortunate assertion which has been copied by many writers ever
s.nce, even our excellent author of the latest treatise on Stone-
henge,]: Mr. William Long, having repeated it in his admirable
account.
Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 331.
t Speed's ' History of Great Britain,' A.D. 1G72, p. 2G7.
J Wiltshire Magazine, vol. xvi., p. 23.
222 Corvidce.
And now I come to speak of the Ravens of Wiltshire, of
which I have made careful inquiry in every part of the county,
and about which I have derived a great deal of valuable informa-
tion, negative as well as positive, from no less than one hundred
and ten correspondents whom I have invaded with questions, and
whom I heartily thank for the courtesy and ready kindness with
which they have replied to me. It will be seen that the history
of the Ravens of Wiltshire is, alas ! rather a history of that which
is past and gone than of that which is flourishing to-day. So
persecuted, shot down, trapped, and despoiled of their young
have these noble birds been at the hands of ruthless gamekeepers
and others, who have gone upon the false issue that they are very
destructive to game, whereas, with the exception of an occasional
raid on a leveret or a rabbit, they do little harm in the preserves,
for the Raven cannot bear an enclosed district he must have
plenty of room to wander over, a wide extent of open ground on
which to disport himself ; and as to being ' cabin'd, cribb'd, con-
fin'd ' within narrow woods, he eschews them altogether, and only
during the breeding season will he consent to occupy some big
tree in the park, generally the highest and most inaccessible lie
can find, and there he and his mate return, year after } T ear, to
occupy their accustomed nursery. I proceed now to enumerate
the localities which, earlier or later, Ravens have been known to
occupy, and some few of which they occupy still.
Wilton Park. I am informed by Lord Pembroke that the
Ravens are building this year (1887), as they have done during
the last four years, in a tall fir-tree in the low ground in WilU n
Park : they moved to this tree from another group of firs about
three hundred yards away. It was about six years ago that
they came to the park ; but the old people say that they used
to build there regularly, and an old groom was accustomed to
relate how the peregrine falcons for some time nested in the
park as well, and how the Ravens drove them away. At the
present time it is interesting to watch the Ravens during
the nesting season as they harry the herons flying home in the
evening. In Wilton Park the Ravens are carefully preserved ;
Raven. 223
but two years ago the cock bird was shot by mistake for a crow
while the eggs were being hatched, when the remaining bird
brought up the young ones successfully.
Compton Park. Mr. Penruddocke tells me that Ravens have
bred in his park from time immemorial, and when they have
.safely brought the young birds to that period in their lives when
they can shift for themselves, the old birds lead them away and
leave them, and permit no return to the family nest. He also
adds, ' The history of my Ravenry is rather a curious one. A
pair of Ravens have built in the fir-clump in the park beyond
the memory of the oldest inhabitant. At least, I can find
out nothing to the contrary. These birds, however, as properly
attested, left the place on my uncle's death in December, 1841,
and returned when I came to live at Compton in 1849, and
built in the same place and in the same Scotch fir-tree. This
tree fell down some twelve or fifteen years ago perhaps less
when the birds built in a Scotch fir-tree on the top of Compton
Down, in a clump of firs called " The Long Folly." Here they
were frequently disturbed by a certain gipsy, who with his sons
used to rob the nest annually.' This ungenerous treatment
seems to have daunted the spirit of the bold Ravens, for, to
Mr. Penruddocke's regret, they are not nesting at Compton this
year, though they have visited their old haunts. It is hoped,
however, that they will return to the park, where they will meet
a hearty welcome and efficient protection from the kind-hearted
owner. The Ravens' nest in the park was on a tree, which though
scarcely inaccessible, was not to be climbed without the help of
n ladder: that on Compton Downs was on a smaller and less
difficult tree. I must add that the experience of Mr. Penrud-
docke's keeper, George Barrett (who was born on the estate), and
that of his father before him (now deceased), is to the effect that
Ravens do not destroy the eggs of game : this is evidence of no
slight value from men who have seen Ravens breeding in their
midst every year.
Breamore. I learn from Mr. E. H. Hulse that Ravens used to
breed for about twenty years at the Shoulder of Mutton Clump,
224 Comidce.
near Gallows Hill, on the Breamore property ; but for the last
ten or twelve years they have not bred on the estate. They have,
however, within the last few years been seen by the keeper,
flying over, presumably on a foraging excursion. And in a
second letter, written a few days after, Mr. Hulse adds, ' Curiously
enoup-h I only heard yesterday from one of the keepers that n
pair of Ravens had been seen on Breamore Downs the day
before yesterday. It is supposed that they came after the dead
lambs, a kind of food of which they are very fond. I believe
they breed now, as they have done of late, at Rockbourne, about
three miles from Breamore.' In this immediate neighbourhood,
the Rev. C. W. Hony, Vicar of Bishops Cannings, met with tho
last Ravens he remembers to have seen in the county, viz., a
pair which he saw some eight or nine years ago, when riding
over a farm at Damerham, at the extreme southern point of the
county of Wilts.
Fonthill. I learn through the courtesy of Mr. Lightfoot, and
on the authority of Mr. A. Morrison, that there used to be a
Raven's nest regularly every year just opposite his house at
Fonthill; but he does not know if it is still tenanted, and
neither have I been able to get reliable information on tins
point.
Longleat. I have the authority of Lord Bath for saying that
a pair of Ravens used to build in a particular tree by the pond
at Longleat, but the tree was blown down two years ago. And
I have the evidence of the head-keeper, to whom Lord Bath
most kindly wrote for information, that the last nest he re-
members was in Swancomb Bottom, about four years ago, and
the nest is still to be seen there. He adds, ' There have been
three Ravens in the upper woods all this winter' (1887). Pos-
sibly by this time there may be a nest.
CornbiM^y (Tilshead). The Rev. H. V. Thompson tells me, on
the authority of Major Fisher, who was then hawking rooks in
that neighbourhood, that about twenty-five years ago a pair of
Ravens frequented some very old trees at Cornbury ; but when
the trees were cut down by Mr. Kelsey's father, they disappeared.
Haven. 225
They did not, however, enjoy a very peaceful life at the best, for
they were oftentimes molested, and on one occasion a sweep was
engaged to climb the tree and secure the eggs.
Erlestoke. Mr. George Watson Taylor says that Ravens for-
merly bred in a tree destroyed many years since at the lower
end of the lake in the park ; and though they never attempt to
breed there now, they return to their old haunts every 'spring.
South Tidworth. There is a Raven-tree at Assheton Coppice
in Sir J. Kelk's park, now occupied, and which has flourished,, as
I am told, for the last century, certainly for many years; past.
The tree is not inaccessible to a bold climber, but as the Rev.
H. E. Delme' Radcliffe informs me, is happily guarded by the
general understanding that whoso harries the Raven or its
brood is sure to meet with misfortune ; a very wholesome piece
of superstition, which is now more firmly fixed than ever in the
minds of the people, inasmuch as a rash keeper, who laughed the
tradition to scorn and destroyed one of the Ravens, soon after
fell sick of a fever in which all his family were involved, and
some of them had a hard struggle for their lives. South
Tidworth is not in Wiltshire, but in Hampshire ; but as it is only
just across the border, and the Raven is a bird of very wide
excursions, I think we may fairly claim a large share in these
Hampshire-bred birds.
Tangley Clump. I am informed by my friend the Rev. W. H.
Awdry, that there used to be a nest of Ravens every year in
Tangley Clump, which is also across the border in Hampshire,
not very far from Ludgershall ; but about ten years since some
mischievous fellow cut off the special branch of the tree which
the Ravens had made their nursery, and the birds have never been
seen there since. In reference to this Ravens' nest at Tangley, I
learn from Mr. W. H. Fowle, of Chute Forest, that on one
occasion, when one of the old birds was shot, at the time there
were young birds in the nest, the other parent bird disappeared
for about three hours, and then returned with another mate,
who helped to bring up the brood. This was told to Mr. Fowle
by a man who had himself witnessed it. The young birds were
15
226 Corvidce.
frequently taken from this nest at Tangley Clump, but this
spoliation of their young never caused the old birds to forsake
their nesting-place, to which they invariably returned year after
year.
North Tichuorth. The Kev. Canon Hodgson informs me that
there used to be a Havens' nest also in North Tidworth, at ' The
Flemings,' but when this property passed from the Poores to Mr.
Assheton Smith, the Ravens disappeared, in due accordance with
the old popular saying, that ' there are never two Ravens' nests
on one estate '!
Amesbury. The Rev. A. Phelps tells me that he remembers a
pair of Ravens nesting year after year in Porton Firs, two miles
south of Amesbury ; and that he understood they always drove
away their young ones when fully grown ; but he has not seen
them there for some time.
Beacon Hill (Amesbury). Mr. T. Rumming, of Red House,
Amesbury, informs me that Ravens nested near Beacon Hill,
about two miles east of Amesbury, for several consecutive years,
and that he had himself seen them there.
Maddington. The Rev. Canon Bennett writes, that some
years ago Ravens were often seen on the downs near Yarn-
borough Castle, and they used to build in a plantation at
Maddington, called ' The High Trees ;' but they have some time
since deserted it, and those who frequent that neighbourhood
say that they do not see them about the downs now as they did.
Everley Downs. The Hon. Gerald Lascelles, speaking of
these downs, says, ' I have not unfrequently seen Ravens here,
and have known of three nests since 1876. (1) Near the
Bustard ; (2) on the wild downs not far from Silk Hill ; (3) in
Ted worth Park.'
Enforcl I learn from the Rev. C. F. Cooke that though they
have no breeding-place in the parish, Ravens are frequently seen
on the downs above Enford, and in the meadows on the banks
of the river Avon. They may often be observed following in
the wake of a flock of sheep, usually a pair, but sometimes three
together ; and they would seem to be in expectation of a dead
Raven. 227
sheep. Indeed, the country people believe that if a Raven flies
over the fold, a sheep will be sure to die in the course of a short
time ; for the shepherds think they can scent approaching death
in the flock.
Savernake Forest. I have many records of the Ravens which
once dwelt here, but I can hear of no survivors. Mr. George
Butler, of Kennet, recollects a Raven-tree in Marlborough Forest
when he was a schoolboy fifty years ago. Mr. C. E. Ponting, of
Lockeridge, says that when he lived at Lye Hill, on the southern
edge of Savernake Forest, prior to 1870, Ravens built annually
in a clump of tall silver spruce known as Bittam Clump ; this
lies between Lye Hill and the Column Avenue, leading out of
the Salisbury road. Mr. C. Tanner, jun., informs me that the
keepers sometimes now see Ravens crossing the woods very high
up, but they no longer alight on the trees or on the ground at
Savernake.
Ramsbury. There was certainly a Raven's tree here, as indeed
there should be, considering that f Ramsbury ' is but a contracted
form of ' Ravensbury.' Moreover there was a Raven-tree here
within the memory of living man, for my friend, Mr. C. Tanner,
jun., has spoken with a man who had climbed the tree; but I
have failed to find out any particulars about it. Nor does the
squire, Sir F. Burdett, nor the vicar, the Rev. H. Baber, know
anything about it, save that there is a most venerable patriarch
of a tree, an elm of prodigious size, hollow as to its interior,
computed to be six hundred years old, now standing in the
village, in what is proudly called ' the square.' Perchance this
was the Raven-tree of Ramsbury !
Cricklade. My old friend, the Rev. F. Dyson tells me that
though there are no nests or birds there now, there is a Raven-
hurst in Bray don, in his parish of Cricklade, which I make no
doubt was so called from having been, probably for a long period,
the quondam habitation of some Ravens.
Ravenshurst (near Charlton Park). Lord Suffolk informed
me that though he knew nothing of any Ravens at Charlton,
there was a wood about four miles east of that park, the property
152
228 Corvidce.
of Sir John Neeld, called ' Ravenshurst 'pronounced Ravens-
roost where he had heard that these birds used to breed, and this
was corroborated by Mr. Algernon Neeld, who, however, added
that the Ravens have not existed there for at least thirty years
past.
Draycote Park. That there was a Raven-tree in the park here
I am very certain, because my excellent friend, the Rev. G.
Marsh, often told me that he obtained his celebrated Raven from
here more than forty years ago. It was a large elm tree, and
Canon Goddard tells me he remembers the high trees at the top
of the park where the Ravens used to breed. Now, however,
they are quite gone, and Lord Cowley knows nothing of them
there at the present day.
Charlton Park. I have already said, on the authority of Lord
Suffolk, that no Ravens' nests or even Ravens have been in
residence there in modern times : but hi the olden time, which
I suppose means fifty years ago, Ravens used to breed regularly
in the park here.
Badminton. By the kindness of Mr. Lowndes, of Castle
Combe, I have the following interesting account of the Ravens
at Badminton, from the pen of the Duke of Beaufort, and as his
Grace permits me to make use of his information, I do so with
singular satisfaction. ' Ravens used to breed frequently in the
top of the highest elm of the park, about three furlongs to the
north-east of the house, and one furlong from Allengrove. The
nest was of enormous size, and much used, and about three years
in five, young birds were hatched out there.' Some thirty years
ago a keeper destroyed the pair of old Ravens that had brought
out their brood, and caught the young birds: but the Duke,
indignant at the destruction of the Ravens, ordered the man to
bring up the young birds by hand, and turn them out into the
park : and as his farther employment as keeper depended on his
success, the man contrived to rear the young Ravens, and thus
replace the old birds which he had shot. 'About 1879 or 1880,
on a very still June day the Raven-tree fell without any apparent
cause. Then such a nest was laid open to view as I had never
Raven. 229
seen before : there must have been in it ten or eleven hundred-
weight of wood. I was sadly vexed at the fall of the tree and at
losing the Ravens ; for now they only occasionally show them-
selves in the park, and I have not heard of a nest since the tree
fell. They used to sit on the tops of the high trees in Allengrove
Bottom, and bark like dogs, which caused the park-keepers' dogs
to bark in response.' This Raven -tree of which the Duke
speaks was within, but only just within, the county of
Gloucester; the park fence dividing the park from Allengrove
being the boundary between the two counties. I will only add
that I would that the admirable sentence which the Duke passed
on the ruthless keeper was printed in letters of gold on the
market cross at Devizes, as a hint to other landowners, and a
timely warning to other keepers similarly disposed.
Corslam Court. I learn from Lord Methuen that there are no
Ravens now on his estate here, or in the immediate neighbour-
hood ; but they did build regularly in the north avenue some
twenty years ago, but were destroyed by a keeper during Lord
Methuen's absence from home.
Spye Park. There was a Raven-tree, a Scotch fir, in the fine
old park here, with which in old times I was very familiar, and
which had been tenanted by the sable occupiers time out of
mind, until Mr. Starkey sold the property to Mr. Spicer, and
then, by a strange coincidence, and as if to verify the old super-
stition, the Ravens deserted Spye Park altogether. Still more
remarkable was the coincidence related to me more than once
by Mr. Charles Wyndham, that some years after the sale had
been completed, when the late owner, Mr. Baynton Starkey,
happened to be staying with my informant at Wans House, as
he and his host walked out in the garden after breakfast, a croak
was heard above their heads, and there, sure enough, were the
Ravens, come back as if to greet their old master, and seen then
for the first time since their departure by Mr. C. Wyndham, who
is too keen an observer to have overlooked their presence, if
they had visited him before. This is so pretty a tale, and
so thoroughly in keeping with the romances about birds of the
230 Corvidce.
good old times, that it is almost too bad to affirm that it really
was nothing else but a very strange coincidence.
Roundway Park It is now a long time since the Ravens
used to breed annually in the large trees here, but I well
recollect hearing in my younger days that they had a nest here
every year, and even some time after they had deserted it they
returned, on one occasion at least, to their old haunts, but were
thought to be so destructive to game, that they were scared
away. Now, howeyer, they are never seen there, and I doubt
whether they even visit Roundway Downs and Oliver's Camp,
where they used to be found passing the day in solitary grandeur,
far removed from the hateful presence of man.
I believe I have now exhausted all the particulars with which
I have been furnished about Wiltshire Ravens, past and present,
and, thanks to my numerous obliging correspondents, the picture
is, I think, tolerably complete. There is yet, however, some
negative evidence to add, which will help to fill in the back-
ground or any gaps there may be in our landscape ; viz., the
testimony of those who have never seen or heard of a Raven in
their neighbourhood, and of others who speak of some rare and
exceptional appearance of that bird at long intervals of time.
Thus the Rev. E. Duke has no recollection of any seen or killed
in the neighbourhood of Lake. Mr. W. Wyndham's experience
of them is that they have become extremely scarce near Dinton
since the gipsies harried the nest on Compton Down, and drove
away the old birds some twelve years ago. Lord Heytesbnry
(who most kindly instituted inquiries for my benefit), reports
that none have been seen in the neighbourhood of Heytesbury,
at any rate for many years past. Mr. C. Phipps has never heard
of their appearance at Chalcot. Sir C. Hobhouse has never
seen one at Monkton Farleigh, nor is there any tradition of their
occurrence there. Colonel Wallington knows nothing of them at
Keevil, though he had tidings of a pair seen at Steeple Ashton
some sixteen years since. The Right Hon. E. P. Bouverie has
never seen them at Lavington, nor indeed anywhere in Wiltshire.
The Rev. C. Soames says that, so far as he knows, they have
Raven. 231
quite disappeared from the district round Mildenhall. Major
Heneage has never seen or heard of one at Compton Bassett, nor
any place nearer than Spye Park. Mr. Gladstone has never
known any at Bowden Park. Finally, Sir R. H. Pollen says
there are none in the immediate neighbourhood of Rodbourne,
but adds that a few years back some were seen at Bell Farm,
Stanton Saint Quintin, the property of Lord Radnor, but they
were not known to breed in the place, and were only seen
occasionally.
Before I take leave of the Wiltshire Ravens, I must say a few
words about the tame specimen which, as I have already said,
the Rev. G. Marsh procured from Draycote Park, and which
lived for years at Sutton Benger, and was a source of infinite
amusement to Mr. Marsh and his friends. I could fill several
pages with anecdotes of his quaint manners and clever tricks and
cunning ways, and the distinct sentences which that bird uttered
seemed quite marvellous to those who were not familiar with the
species, but I must content myself with one anecdote. Whenever
his owner put his open hand down towards his back, as if about
to stroke or caress him, the bird would turn his head round, look
up at his master, and say as distinctly as any human being could
speak, ' Good-bye, old fellow, good-bye, old cock 1' and then hop
on a few steps. Now it chanced one day that the bird escaped
from the outhouse in which it was necessary to confine him, on
account of his mischievous tricks and his thievish propensities,
and had wandered off, as he had often done before, across a
meadow outside the village, and not far from the high road.
But a commercial traveller who was driving by, seeing what he
conjectured to be'a wounded rook, descended from his gig and ran
across the grass, thinking to secure the bird ; but his dismay as
well as astonishment may better be conceived than described,
when on putting out his open hand to seize his prize, the Raven,
looking round at him with a knowing leer, exclaimed in most
distinct terms, 'Good-bye, old fellow, good-bye, old cock!' and
then hopped on as was his wont. But the traveller took to his
heels, jumped into his gig as fast as possible, and drove back to
232 Corvidce.
the village, where, frightened almost out of his wits, and trembling
with alarm, he declared to the highly amused villagers, who
knew the bird and his habits well, that he had met with the
arch-fiend in the shape of a big crow, and that he had spoken
to him.
95. CARRION CROW (Coitus Corone).
So much resembling the last described in form and manners,
but of smaller size, that it may well be termed ' the Miniature
Raven.' This species is likewise seldom seen in flocks, pairs for
life, and maybe found in wooded districts throughout the county.
In colour it is jet black, without the metallic lustre so con-
spicuous in the plumage of the Raven : it is very bold and a
great enemy to young game and eggs as well as to the poultry
yard. Its ordinary food, for lack of carrion, which it rarely finds
here, is any animal matter it can pick up, and failing this, it
contents itself with grain and vegetable diet.
In reference to the various kinds of food on which it feasts, it
bears many provincial names, as the ' Carrion Crow,' ' Flesh
Crow,' ' Gor (or Gore) Crow,' ' Mussel Crow,' etc., and certainly it
must be allowed to be a very destructive and mischievous bird.
This was so well-known of old, that an Act was passed in the
reign of Henry VIII. (1532), requiring every parish to provide a
Crow net for the thinning of the numbers of this marauder. But
the desired effect has certainly not yet been produced, for,
persecuted though it is by gamekeepers and others, few of the
larger birds contrive to baffle their enemies more than the Crows,
and I am afraid to say how many nests were found in one season,
three or four years ago, within the limits of my small parish of
Yatesbury. The Rev. W. Butt tells me it abounds in the parish
of Minety, where there are no keepers to molest them, and the
Rev. C. W. Hony that last year the Rooks at Bishop Cannings
were so persecuted by Crows, that he feared the lawful owners
of the rookery would have been driven away. This year (1887),
I am informed that the Crows have attacked the rookery on Mr. R.
Carrion Crow. 233
Coward's premises, in the hamlet of Koundway, near Devizes, so
effectually, that the Rooks have deserted in a body, and betaken
themselves to some large trees at the barracks hard by. Neither
in Norway, or Sweden, or Palestine, or Egypt, did I ever see the
Black Crow, but I found it common enough in Portugal, where,
as with us, it is par excellence ' the Crow,' Corvo. In France it is
Corneille noire ou Corbine ; in Germany, Krahen robe ; in Italy,
corvo maggiore ; and in Spain, Grajillo.
It has the same evil reputation for causing as well as fore-
boding misfortune with its larger relative, but that is no other
than it had in the days of the poet Virgil :
* Saepe sinistra cav prsedixit ab ilice Cornix.'
And now the women of Wiltshire at work in the fields will
remark that the farmer then lying ill will not recover, for a
Crow had been seen to fly overjhis house just above the roof-
tree.*
In the County of Essex, the peasants repeat a rhyme respecting
the Crow, almost similar to that commonly connected with the
Magpie. For if Crows fly towards you, then
' One's unlucky ;
Two's lucky ;
Three is health ;
Four is wealth ;
Five is sickness,
And six is death ;'f
and Butler in ' Hudibras ' says,
' Is it not om'nous in all countries
When crows and ravens croak upon trees ?'
Though shy and with reason suspicious of too great familiarity
with man, it is one of the most pugnacious of birds and will
attack and drive away all intruders from its nest ; Mr. Waterton,
who has protected it and studied its habits closely at Walton
Hall, says, ' It is a very early riser, and long before the Rook is
on the wing, you hear this bird announcing the approach of
morn with his loud hollow croaking from the oak to which he had
* ' Gamekeeper at Home,' p. 130. f Dyer's < English Folk-Lore,' p. 80.
234 Corvidce.
resorted the night before ; he retires to rest later than the rook
indeed, as far as I have been able to observe his motions, I con-
sider him the first bird on wing in the morning, and the last at
night, of all our non-migrating diurnal British Birds.'
Mr. Waterton also noticed that this bird is at times more
gregarious than is generally supposed. From his drawing-room
window, which was usually open, and from which a powerful
telescope always in position commanded a good view of the park
and lake, he observed this bird minutely, and he records in his
note-book that on January 11, 1830, he counted fifty Crows
going to roost ; on October 16, 1850, he saw fifty-five congregated
in the park ; on March 1, 1851, he observed sixty-four at the
water's edge; on May 11, 1853, seventy or eighty; and on
December 15, 1863, he counted more than a hundred congregated
in the park preparing to roost.
96. HOODED CROW (Corvus comix).
Loyal as I am to the instructions of my ornithological guide,
Professor Newton, I must crave his pardon if in this one instance
I repudiate with all my might the cruel act, whereby he has, by
one single dash of his pen, obliterated this handsome species
from the list of birds, and condemned it to share existence with
the Black Crow, of which he declares it to be but a variety.*
Doubtless he has good reasons for such annihilation of what
would appear to most observers to be a very distinct species
indeed, but yet I cannot honestly say I am convinced. That
they freely breed together is, I own, a very strong point in favour
of their specific identity, and Mr. Seebohm has established that
fact beyond the possibility of doubt ;f but surely the Grey Crow,
if not a larger bird, is of stouter build and of clumsier form than
its black relative. Speaking from my own experience (and
during a whole summer in Norway, and a whole winter in Egypt,
it has been one of the commonest birds around me every day), I
Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 274.
t Seebohm's Siberia in Asia,' pp. 30, 81, 84, etc., also in His, for 1878,
pp. 328-331.
Hooded Crow. 235
have such a partiality for its bold jaunty air, and its independent
impudent habits, that I cannot bear to think of my old friend
being thus suppressed altogether, or at best allowed but a half
existence, to be shared with a brother of sable hue. It reminds
me of the trite assertion that cannot be disputed, that the negro
is a fellow man and a brother with the free born- American or
Britisher ; but that does not prevent the general practice of an
absolute avoidance of the man of colour, and of the provision in
every railway train of a separate car for the negroes. So if the
two species of Crows were once identical, methinks C. comix has
raised himself above his congener, and has a right to the footing
he has so long secured. At all events I must be allowed to
regard it as all our older ornithologists have ever done, and deal
with it as a true species. Apart, however, from the interest in
so handsome a bird, I fear I have but little good to say of it.
With all the bad and none of the good qualities of the preced-
ing, this Crow is no favourite in those parts of England where it
abounds. It is a determined destroyer of the eggs and young
of game birds, more especially of the genus Grouse, and is
cowardly as well as cruel in the execution of its victims. Mr
St. John, in his ' Field Notes and Tour in Sutherland,' speaks of
it in no measured terms, and declares it is the ' only bird against
which he urges constant and unpi tying warfare,' and he excuses
himself for so doing on the plea that he has so often detected it
destroying his most favourite birds and eggs, that he has no pity
on it : and Mr. Knox, the intelligent author of ' Game Birds and
Wild Fowl ' has not a word to say in its favour : not even Mr.
Waterton, the general champion of the oppressed, has a good
word for the Hooded Crow ; so that we may congratulate our-
selves that it only appears in Wiltshire occasionally. Its visits,
however, are frequent enough to render it familiar to most
people. I have myself often seen it on the Marlborough Downs,
and I have many notices of it from various parts of the county,
more especially in the neighbourhood of Salisbury, where it
frequents the water meadows in the winter months, at which
season only it migrates so far south ; but its visits are, I fear,
236 Corvidce.
yearly becoming more and more rare. I have not personally
seen it on our downs for several years past, but one record I had
of its appearance in my own neighbourhood from my lamented
friend, the late Rev. C. Bradford, Vicar of Clyffe Pypard, who
saw one at intervals during a month in January, 1877, in the
pond meadow, near the Manor House in that parish ; and for
the last four years, as I learn from the present vicar, the Rev. E.
Goddard, it has returned to Clyffe regularly every November,
spent the winter there, and departed in March. For the first
three winters it was alone, but last year it brought back three
companions ; this year (1887) it is again alone. It does not
fraternize much with the Carrion Crows, which are very numerous
at Clyffe, but associates rather with the rooks, which, however,
do not seem to desire its company, so that it is somewhat of an
outcast ; but as nobody molests it, and it likes its winter quarters,
it returns every year. Mr. Hussey Freke reports that his keeper
shot one at Crouch Wood, near Hannington Hall, and Mr. W.
Wyndham that his brother killed one at Sutton Mandeville. I
also learn that it is generally to be seen in winter at Everley.
The Rev. J. D. Hodgson tells me it used to frequent the neigh-
bourhood of CoUingbourne, and some are occasionally seen now
on a down near CoUingbourne Wood. The Rev. W. H. Awdry
sometimes sees them at Ludgershall ; and Mr. W. H. Fowle,
about two years ago, almost invariably used to see a small flock
of them at a pond on the Upavon Downs, when riding from
Chute Forest to a farm he had in hand at Charlton. Mr. Grant,
too, at Devizes, has from time to time received a specimen for
preservation. Its true habitat is Northern Europe, where it may
be seen in great abundance, for it is the representative of the
Corvidse there, and very tame and familiar it is there, searching
the newly mown meadows for worms and slugs, and marching
on the roads in front of our horses, just as its congener the rook
does here. In Egypt it may be noticed as bold and self-asserting
as in its northern home, bullying great Kites and Hawks, and
robbing them of their prey, and driving away the huge Griffon
and Cinereous Vulture, from the carrion they had appropriated.
Hooded Grow. 237
On the eastern coast of England I have found it in some
numbers, as it resorts to the sea-shore for the never-failing
supply of food which it finds in shell-fish and other marine
productions thrown up by the tides ; and Bishop Stanley says it
may frequently be seen after vain attempts to break through the
hard shell of a cockle or mussel, to seize it in its bill, mount with
it to a great height, and then let it fall on a hard rock, by which
it is broken, and the bird has nothing more to do than to reap
the fruit of its forethought. In colour the head, throat, wings,
and tail are black, the rest of the plumage smoke gray. It is
called the Hooded Crow from its black head, and the Eoyston
Crow, as it was supposed to be peculiar to that district, where in
truth I have seen it in considerable numbers :
' Like Royston Crows, where (as a man may say)
Are friars of both orders, black and gray.'
It is also provincially named the * Gray-backed ' and the ' Scaul
Crow ;' and on the eastern coast, the ' Danish Crow,' and in the
north of England, the 'Huddie,' which is merely an abbreviation of
Hooded Crow or Hoodie. But most remarkable of all is the name
of ' Russian Nightingale,' bestowed on it at Archangel,t where
it is so abundant as to be considered one of the most characteristic
birds of the district ; but why so unmelodious a species should be
so designated, I am at a loss to conjecture. In France, it is La
Corneille manteUe, ' Crow wearing a mantle ;' in Germany Nebel-
Rabe, literally ' Mist Crow,' or ' Clouded Crow ;' in Sweden, Grd*
Krdka, ' Gray Crow/
97. ROOK (Corvus frugilegus).
In a subsequent page of this volume will be found a paper
entitled 'A Plea for the Rooks,' which I read before the Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society at Malmesbury, in
August, 1862, wherein I pointed out the habits of this most
familiar bird, and endeavoured to prove its value in destroying
J. Cleveland's Poems.
t Messrs. Alston and Harvie Brown's ' Notes from Archangel,' in Jbis for
1873, p. 65.
238 Corvidce.
grubs, so far exceeding any injury it may commit in occasionally
consuming corn, so that I need add but little more about it : it
is somewhat larger than the Carrion Crow, and may easily be
distinguished from that bird by the bare space of rough white
skin surrounding the base of the beak and on the fore part of the
head. As in the young birds these parts are covered with bristly
feathers, it has been by some supposed that the constant
plunging of the bill into the ground in search of worms and
grubs causes the abrasion of these feathers, while others affirm
it to be an original peculiarity : and the question is hardly yet
satisfactorily settled ; ' adhuc sub judice Us eat,' though I am
very decidedly of the latter opinion. The fact, however, of the
existence of the rough skin which serves to distinguish it from
its more sable congener, the Carrion Crow, is undoubted. This
skin is also very elastic and pliable, and in the spring the Rook
may be seen flying home to its nest, with its throat distended
with a supply of food for its young, as if in a pouch below the
chin, though none such exists.
Professor Newton has well described a curious habit of this bird,
which must be familiar to many. 'Occasionally,' he says, 'mounted
to a very great height, the Rooks will suddenly let themselves
drop headlong, twisting as they fall, to within a few feet of the
trees or of the ground, when they recover themselves, and glide
onwards. One after another, as though they had all gone mad,
they precipitate themselves in this wonderful way, some of them
wheeling round and rising again to perform the feat a second
time.'* When first I went to reside at Yatesbury, now thirty-five
years ago, I was extremely anxious to see a rookery established
at the Rectory, and ardently wished that some of the birds from
a strong colony on a glebe near the old rectory and church, a
quarter of a mile away, might send a detachment to occupy my
home plantations. I had, however, but small expectation that
they would do so, on account of the inferiority both in size and
in age of the trees with which I was surrounded. It so chanced,
however, about this time, that the branches of a Scotch fir,
Fourth edition of Yarrell's 'British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 298.
Rook. 239
planted too near the house, were blown by the March wind
(which is somewhat blustering on our downs) against the slates
of the roof of the rectory, and it was deemed advisable to cut
down the tree. But what was my vexation, when it fell under
the axe, to find a Eook's nest, containing three eggs, securely
fixed in the upper branches, though unseen from below, which
would have been the nucleus of the rookery I so much desired,
had I not, by my own act, unwittingly destroyed it. Now (said
I in despair) there can be no farther hope of a rookery here,
after so inauspicious a beginning : but the following season
either the same or another pair made their nest in a neigh-
bouring tree ; and so fast did they increase under my protection,
for I suffered no shooting of the young rooks for the first twenty-
five years, that I now count annually at least two hundred nests
all around my house. As long as the rooks confined themselves
to the trees on three sides of the house, the villagers merely
considered their advent as a proof of ordinary good fortune (just
as the German hails as the harbinger of prosperity the selection
of his house-roof for its nursery by the stork), but when they
occupied the trees on the fourth side, then the villagers con-
gratulated me warmly, and said ' it was a sign that money was
coming in on all sides,' for such was a very old and true saying
handed down from their fathers! which, however, I regret to
add, has not yet been verified in my case. That a rookery
thrives best when the young birds are annually shot is another
popular delusion: but as the late Mr. Sotheron Estcourt
remarked, nobody has yet shown such confidence in that
opinion as to advocate a similar experiment in a human colony ;
and certainly I am in a position to prove the contrary by my
own experience in regard to my Hooks, which are now unhappily
obliged to be thinned down nearly every year, as their numbers
are become too great for the locality. As with the raven and the
crow mentioned above, so there are superstitions and rhymes of
a like character relating to the Hook. In the north of England
the notion is very prevalent that when Rooks desert a rookery
which they have tenanted for a number of years, the coming
240 Corvidce.
downfall of the family on whose property it stands is surely
predicted. They are also said to avoid building on trees which
are unsound, however fair their outward appearance ; cunningly,
if not too sagaciously, foreseeing their coming fall ; but this in all
likelihood is to be attributed to the decay which has already
begun in the uppermost twigs, and which they have found by
experiment to be unfit for their requirements. It is also com-
monly said in some places that when a rookery is near a house,
and a death occurs in that house, the Rooks will not leave the
neighbourhood until the funeral has taken place. The following
is an old rhyme common in the northern counties of England :
* On the first of March
The crows begin to search ;
By the first o' April
They are sitting still ;
By the first o' May
They're a' flown away :
Creeping greedy back again
Wi' October's wind and rain.'
Except during the nesting season February to May Rooks
do not roost on the trees where they breed, but wing their way
from the several rookeries in the neighbourhood to some large
wood, where they congregate from all the country round. But
they generally call at their nesting trees as they pass to their
feeding grounds in the early morning, and often halt there again
as they return at the close of day. The specific name frugilegus
signifies 'fruit collecting,' but let it be remembered that the
seeds of weeds, together with grubs, wireworms, and many other
destructive members of the animal and vegetable kingdoms are
all ' fruit ' to the Rook. In France it is known as Le Freux ; in
Germany, Saat-Eobe, 'Seed-Crow;' in Sweden, where, except
in the extreme south of the country, it is rarely seen, Rdka;
in Spain and Portugal, where it is only a winter visitor, Gralha.
c Dyer's 'English Folk-Lore,' p. 77.
Jackdaw. 241
98. JACKDAW (Corvus monedula).
This lively bird is as well-known as the preceding, with which
it lives in the closest alliance, and its active bustling movements,
cunning saucy look, and sharp short voice make it a general
favourite. Wherever the rooks are feeding, there you may
invariably see the Jackdaw strutting about with careless jaunty
air, and hear its merry saucy chatter ; it will also perch, like the
starling, on the sheep's back, and for the same laudable friendly
purpose. Towers and cliffs are its general dwelling-places, but
its favourite haunts seem to be our grandest cathedrals and
largest colleges, amid the towers and pinnacles of which it loves
to nest. Often, however, where suitable buildings are not at
hand, it will breed, as it does here, in holes of trees ; and
occasionally, where neither building nor trees may be found, it
will occupy a rabbit burrow underground, as do also the stock-
dove and sheldrake at times.* For the marvellous pillars of
sticks which it sometimes builds as a support to its nest, I must
refer my readers to the pages of Yarrell, Dresser, Seebohm, and
others.f As a proof that the Daw has long been regarded with
favourable eyes by the inhabitants of this country, we may
remark that it has received the familiar prefix of Jack, just as
other feathered favourites are in like manner honoured, as Robin
Redbreast, Tom Tit, Jenny Wren, etc. The specific name,
inonedula, is derived by Ovid in his account of the nymph
Arne being mythically turned into a Daw for having betrayed
her country for gold (Metam. vii. 466), from moneta, 'money,'
and edo, 'I eat ' (B.O.U.). Professor Skeat says that ' Daw ' is
the same as c Caw/ and is derived from the note of the bird. In
France it is Choucas ; in Germany, Dohle Robe, ' Drain-crow ;' in
Sweden, Kaja ; and in Portugal, Choia, but it is very rare in
Portugal and in Spain ; in Italy, Cornacchia. Its plumage is
grayish black, glossed with blue, green, and purple, with the
exception of the hind part of the neck, which is light gray.
* Gilbert White's ' Selborne,' Letter xxi.
t See, too, Jesse's ' Scenes and Tales of Country Life,' p. 57.
16
242 Corvidce.
99. MAGPIE (Pica caudata).
Exceedingly handsome, with bright burnished plumage, and
of very graceful form, the Magpie must claim our admiration,
however we may find fault with its mischievous, cunning, greedy
character. To see it flit from tree to tree at a distance (and it
is too shy to suffer a near approach), one might imagine its
colours to be simply black and white, and even then we must
admire its elegant figure; but to come upon it suddenly, and
have a clear view of it in the golden sunshine, one can but
marvel at the reflections of green and purple and blue which
shine with metallic brilliancy on its dark plumage, wondrously
contrasted with the purest white; its long graduating tail too,
which it will sometimes spread like a fan, at other times move
up and down, is another ornament, and adds much to its grace-
fulness. It seems always on the alert for an enemy, and by its
loud continuous chattering, gives general warning when danger
is near.
The Pie gained the name of J/a#pie from the French word
inagot, implying ' a caprice,' ' a whim,' a ' quaint little fellow or
figure, or fancy,' an appellation which the Pie appears to have
obtained from its drolleries.* At all events this bestowal of a
pet name on the Pie, as on the daw and others mentioned above,
is a proof of the warm feeling of regard which was once felt in
England towards the Magpie, though now it is generally detested
and ruthlessly destroyed. So it is refreshing to find in a letter
from the Rev. W. Butt that ' Minety is a most wonderful place
for Magpies. I should never have believed any country could
so abound in them. You might see in the winter six or eight
at a time, and the trees are full of their nests.' Though so
common in some few wooded districts, it is rarely to be met with
on our downs, and its poaching egg-stealing propensities make it
no favourite with the gamekeeper. I am happy, however, to say
that the plantations which surround my garden at Yatesbury,
being a quiet and safe asylum where no gun is fired, and where
Hindley's ' Tavern Anecdotes,' p. 235.
Magpie. 243
the taking of all nests is strictly forbidden, have proved for
many years a successful nursery for the Magpies, which annually
return to breed there, and generally bring off their brood in
safety. But to see how confiding this bird can be under the
most favourable circumstances one must visit Norway. There
it is absolutely safe from persecution, being regarded with the
utmost superstitious fear rather than reverence, and so it is the
very tamest and commonest of birds, scarcely moving out of our
way as we passed by, and building its nest in some bush or tree
close to a cottage door. Something of the same superstitious
feeling appears to have been generally entertained for the
Magpie in this country, the remains of which still linger in the
following well-known lines, signifying the good or ill luck fore-
told by the number of these birds seen together :
' One for sorrow, two for mirth,
Three for a wedding, four for a birth.'
Though I would explain, as I have done elsewhere, that this was
a fisherman's saying in the first place, and applied only to the
season of spring, when it was unlucky for the angler to see a
single Magpie, because that betokened cold and stormy weather,
when one Magpie would remain on the nest, sitting on the
young to keep them warm : whereas it was lucky to see two, for
when both parents went out together the weather must be
assuredly warm and settled.
But there is an old tradition which explains the origin of the
ill luck that is supposed to arise from meeting a Magpie in the
following way. It was the only bird that refused to enter the ark
with Noah and his folk, preferring to perch itself on the roof of
the ark, and to jabber over the drowning and perishing world.
Ever since it has been regarded as unlucky to meet this defiant
and rebellious bird.* Others looked upon the bird with super-
stitious terror, because the witches, who had sold themselves to
the Evil One, and worked all manner of hurt to mankind, were
supposed frequently to assume the form of the Magpie. The
* Dyer's < English Folk-Lore/ pp. 83-86.
162
244 Corvidce.
after part of the rhyme above mentioned was doubtless added
in pleasantry, and probably without meaning ; just as the still
farther continuation, which is known in some places :
1 Five for rich, six for poor,
Seven for a witch, I can tell you no more.'
Or as another version, with equally meaningless intention :
' Five for a fiddle, six for a dance,
Seven for England, eight for France.'
With reference to France, to which the larger number is assigned,
I may remind the traveller that as the railway train hurries him
through that country, the Magpie is the only bird he will see in
abundance, occupying the interminable lines of poplars, which
stretch away for many a league into the distance on all sides, and
seeming to be the sole representative of the feathered race there.
The nest of the Magpie is of large size and of oval shape,
generally surrounded with a protective fence of thorns which
partially cover over the top like a dome, and which give it an
untidy unfinished appearance. And this half nest is accounted
for by the following ornithological legend : ' Once upon a time,
when the world was very young, the Magpie, by some accident
or another, although she was quite as cunning as she is at
present, was the only bird that was unable to build a nest. In
this perplexity, she applied to the other members of the feathered
race, who kindly undertook to instruct her. So, on a day
appointed, they assembled for that purpose, and the materials
having been collected, the blackbird said, "Place that stick
there," suiting the action to the word, as she commenced the
work. "Ah!" (said the Magpie), "I knew that afore." The
other birds followed with their suggestions, but to every piece of
advice the Magpie kept saying, " Ah ! I knew that afore." At
length, when the bridal habitation was half finished, the patience
of the company was fairly exhausted by the pertinacious conceit
of the Pie, so they all left her with the united exclamation,
" Well, Mistress Mag, as you seem to know all about it, you may
Halliwell's ' Popular Rhymes.'
Jay. 245
even finish the nest yourself." Their resolution was obdurate and
final, and to this day the Magpie exhibits the effects of partial
instruction by her miserably incomplete abode.' Whether there
are two species of Magpie resident among us, the one smaller in
bulk, and with a shorter tail, and breeding in hedges, while the
larger longer-tailed species breeds in trees, is one of those long-
disputed points which have never been satisfactorily decided.
The English name ' Pie ' is said by Professor Skeat to come from
pipere, ' to chirp ;' but the word ' pied ' is derived from the bird,
and means ' variegated like a Magpie/ In France it is La Pie ;
in Germany, Garten-Krahe, ' Garden-Crow ;' in Italy, Gazzera
commune ; in Portugal, Pega ; in Sweden, Skata ; in Spain,
Marica.
100. JAY (Garrulus glandarius).
This is another shy retiring bird, restless and noisy, of
exceeding handsome plumage, and much persecuted by game-
keepers for its mischievous propensities, though gardeners have
a better right to complain of its evil deeds, for fruit, rather than
young birds and eggs, form its favourite food. It is, however,
by no means particular whether it satisfies the cravings of
appetite with animal or vegetable diet : for its scientific name
glandarius is not distinctive, as all its congeners and several
other genera partake of the ' acorn ' with equal avidity with the
Jay. It is even a more confirmed chatterer than the magpie,
whence its specific name garrulus, and its note is harsh and
grating; but though one of the most noisy and chattering of
birds, as its name declares, the Jay becomes quite silent during
the breeding season, when its caution is extraordinary.* The
English name 'Jay,' the older spelling of which was 'Gay/ is
derived from its brightly-coloured plumage. The French name
Geai, and the Portuguese Gaio, are taken, as with us, from its
gay dress, but in Germany it is Eichel-Krahe, ( Acorn-Crow ;' in
Italy, Ghiandaja Comune, ' Common Acorn-Eater ;' in Sweden,
Not-skrika ; and in Spain, Arrandajo, and provincially Cdbezon,
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds/ vol. ii., p. 324.
246 Corvidce.
' large-headed.' In general colour it is pale chocolate ; but the
black and white crest which it can elevate and depress at
pleasure; the bright blue, barred with black and white, of its
wing coverts ; and the contrast of the white patch over the black
tail, are its most striking points. It may be found in almost all
woods and plantations throughout the county.
Here we may take leave of the Conirostral Tribe, and we may
remark in conclusion how gradually we have been conducted
through the Larks and Buntings up to the Finches, some of
which display such exceeding power of beak, and live wholly on
grain ; and so on through the Starlings and Crows down to the
Jay, omnivorous feeders as these last are, so that the transition
to the next tribe, distinct though it is, will not be so rapid, and
we can pass on without much hiatus and almost imperceptibly
to the famity standing first of the climbers, viz., the Wood-
peckers, which we shall find in many points have affinities with
those last described.
CHAPTER VII.
INSESSORES (Perchers).
SCANSORES (Climbers}.
THIS is a small tribe, compared to the two previously described,
containing but three families, the Woodpeckers, Creepers, and
Cuckoos ; but it yields to none in point of interest, all its
members partaking of habits peculiar to the tribe, and being
sufficiently scarce in point of numbers to attract attention when-
ever they appear. They are essentially inhabitants of the trees,
procuring all their food from the insects which they find in the
branches and trunks, or from the berries and fruits thereon.
Some of the families in this tribe seldom touch the ground,
and they are rarely to be found elsewhere than in wooded
districts ; they are all more or less eminent for their climbing
and grasping powers, which are developed in different degrees
in the various genera.
PICID.E (THE WOODPECKERS).
This family may well stand at the head of the climbers, for
nothing can exceed the admirable structure of their bodies, and
the formation of their legs, feet, tail, beak and tongue, all so
eminently adapted to their requirements ; the legs extremely
short and strong, giving the bird a good purchase on the trunk
or branch of the tree into which it is about to dig with its
powerful beak ; the toes long, two being directed backwards and
two forwards (an arrangement peculiar to the climbers, but
which adds immensely to its powers of grasping and climbing),
248 Picidce.
and furnished with strong curved claws, with which it can cling
to the bark : the tail composed of twelve stiff bristly feathers,
with very strong shafts, serving the bird as a fulcrum or
rest on which to support itself, while bending back the head
preparatory to a sharp hammering with the beak; the beak
straight, long, tapering, wedge-shaped and immensely strong, in
short, an instrument perfectly formed for hammering into the
wood of a decayed tree : while the tongue is very long and
slender, armed with a horny barbed tip and sharp bristles
thereon, and extends to that degree that it is capable of being
thrust out to a great length, and withdrawn again through the
mandibles when the sharp point has perforated and so secured
the insect prey, dislodged from the trunk or laid bare beneath
the bark of the tree by the action of the beak : it is also
furnished with a glutinous substance exjuding from its surface, to
which the smaller insects adhere, and so have no need to be
transfixed. Add to these characteristics that the head is large
and the body compact and small, and we have before us a
structure perfectly fitted for the habits of the Woodpecker race.
Members of this family are generally of solitary disposition,
seldom associating in flocks; and they are perfectly harmless,
never guilty of even the slightest damage to sound or healthy
trees (which is a charge frequently, though quite erroneously,
brought against them), but always selecting those which are
hollow and worthless, and have betrayed to their keen sense
unmistakable signs of decay,
101. GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER (Picus Martius).
I think myself singularly happy in claiming a specimen of
this fine species for Wiltshire, for I have never been able to
assent to the verdict of those who have pronounced all the
recorded specimens in Great Britain as mistakes or impositions.
I cannot, and I do not believe that all our older Ornithologists
were so mistaken or deceived ; and on looking over long lists of
instances given on what seems to be excellent authority, I feel
Great Black Woodpecker. 249
persuaded that P. Martins has occasionally appeared in England,
perhaps more frequently in former years than of late. At all
events, the single specimen I adduce is now in Mr. James
Rawlence's collection at Bulbridge, in the parish of Wilton, and
that gentleman received it from Mr. Samuel Pope, then of
Kingston Deverill Farm, who assured Mr. Rawlence it was killed
when they were shooting rooks in Longleat Park. I regret that
I cannot give the exact date, but it was some years ago, and it
was sent to be stuffed by Mr. King, the well-known bird-stuffer
at Warminster, now unhappily deceased, or he might have
supplied this and other desired particulars. The Great Black
Woodpecker is much larger than all the other European species,
and is entirely black in colour, the top of the head only ex-
cepted, which is of a rich blood-red. It is a strong powerful
bird, and is common in northern Europe, arid found sparingly in
the fir forests of Germany and Switzerland. When I was in
Norway in the year 1850, I was so fortunate as to fall in with it
in the great forest of the Glommen, and shot it as it was ascend-
ing the trunk of a fir tree. There were two in company, and I
followed them as they flew screaming through the forest, but
I never saw birds fly more heavily, or with such apparent
exertion and such clumsy motion as these. It was surprising,
too, with what loud-sounding taps they hammered with their
powerful beaks on the bark of the trees they were ascending ;
and I could well understand how they gained the Norwegian
name of Spill-Kraka, ' Splinter Crow/ or * Chip Crow/ from the
mass of splinters always to be found at the foot of the tree where
they carry on their labours. In France, it is Le Pic Noir ; in
Germany, Schwarzspecht ; in Italy, Picchio Corvo.
I conclude my account of this fine species with the following
Norse legend. 'When our Blessed Lord was wandering upon
earth, He and St. Peter came to an old wife's home, who sat
baking ; her name was Gertrude, and she had a red mutch upon
her head. They had walked a long way and were hungry, and
our Lord begged for a bannock to stay their hunger. "Yes,
they should have it." So she took a tiny little piece of dough
250 Picidw.
and rolled it out ; but as she rolled it, it grew until it covered
the whole griddle. " Nay, that was too big, they could not have
that." So she took a tinier bit still ; but when that was rolled
out, it covered the whole griddle just the same, and " that
bannock was too big," she said, " they couldn't have that either."
The third time she took a still tinier bit, so tiny that you could
scarce see it ; but it was the same story over again. The bannock
was too big. " Well," said Gertrude, " I can't give you anything ;
you must just go without, for all these bannocks are too big."
Then our Lord waxed wrath and said, " Since you loved Me so
little as to grudge Me a morsel of food, you shall have this
punishment: you shall become a bird, and seek your food
between bark and bole, and never get a drop to drink save when
it rains." He had scarcely said the last word before she was
turned into a Great Black Woodpecker, or " Gertrude's bird,"
and flew from her kneading-trough right up the chimney. And
till this very day you may see her flying about, with her red
mutch on her head, and her body all black, because of the soot
in the chimney ; and so she hacks and taps away at the trees for
her food, and whistles when rain is coming for she is ever
athirst and then she looks for a drop to cool her tongue.'*
102. GREEN WOODPECKER (Picus viridis).
This is the most common species among the Woodpeckers,
and a handsome bird withal. Its general plumage is yellowish
green above, and greenish yellow beneath, with a crimson head,
the crimson prolonged to the back of the neck ; it is more often
seen on the ground than its congeners, probably from its extreme
partiality to ant-hills and their contents. Its flight is heavy and
undulating; Gilbert White says ' volatu undoso, opening and
closing its wings at every stroke, and so always rising or falling
in curves ;' but it never need to travel far, for having ascended a
tree from the bottom, in an upright or spiral direction (for it is
incapable of descending unless backwards), and having concluded
* Dasent's ' Popular Tales from the Norse.'
Green Woodpecker. 251
its examination there, and cleared off all the insects in its way,
it merely flies off to the next tree, on the trunk of which it will
fix itself near the ground, and begin its spiral ascent as before.
If suddenly disturbed it utters a screeching laugh, and flies off
with a series of long undulations to some distant tree on which
it fixes itself near the roots, and immediately dodges round to
the other side, clambering up all the while with a short jerking
motion of the body. Its remarkable colour and appearance, its
harsh cries, and its habits, have all combined to give rise to a
variety of names by which it is known in this and other countries.
In China, where it is very common, it is known as (but I will not
attempt the long Chinese name, suffice that it signifies) the ' Tree-
injurer.'* In Turkey it is called Cham-agri, because its note is as
' of a fir-tree in distress '; in Germany Holzauer ; and in Sweden,
Hackspett ; and with us it is variously called in different districts
* Pick a tree ;' * Woodspite ' (or more correctly ' Woodspeight ') ;
' Hewhole,' ' Whetile ' (a corrupt form of ' Whittle/ or cutter and
chipper of wood) ; and the Rev. A. P. Morres says that in his part
of the county, near Salisbury, it is known as the 'English
Parrot;' more commonly it is styled the Yaffle or Yappingall,
from its loud hearty laugh-like note, and when it is more than
commonly vociferous, stormy weather may be confidently ex-
pected ; hence another name frequently given it of Rain-bird, as
Bewick tells us the Romans called it Pluvice avis. Lloyd in his
' Scandinavian Adventures ' says of it : ' In Norway this bird is con-
sidered better than a barometer. It is supposed not only to
predict the coming weather, but that three days beforehand : if
its notes are loud and monotonous, fine weather may be expected,
but if low, on the contrary, rain and storm are at hand ; and
should it approach the house and cry, something like a regular
tempest is to be looked for.' Thus we see that both English and
Norsemen considered this bird as highly weather-wise, though
they totally differ in the deductions they draw from the loudness
or softness of its scream; possibly we, none of us yet quite
understand what sensations are produced on many members of
Swinhoe in His for 1861, p. 338.
252 Picidce.
the animal kingdom by changes in the atmosphere, nor how
they indicate such feelings, though that many species are ex-
tremely susceptible of such impressions, and that too considerably
before man can discern any prospect of change in the weather,
admits of no doubt or dispute. Though not abundant anywhere,
it is very generally distributed throughout the country, the more
wooded parts being of course the most attractive to it, and the
most frequented by it. Here, at Old Park, it is not uncommon,
and sometimes, but not often, it will pay me a flying visit and
examine my plantations and trees at Yatesbury. I once very
nearly involved myself in some trouble in Norway, by shooting
one of these birds, which I did not then know were objects of
superstitious veneration to the simple-minded peasants. But no
such indignation was shown when I shot a specimen of the
' Great Black Woodpecker,' for the larger bird had not contrived
to attract to itself the love or fear, and consequent protection,
which its green-hued cousin, doubtless from belief in some
legend, had excited in the Norwegian mind. But to return to
Wiltshire, the localities given me of its more frequent occurrence
are : Ninety, where the Rev. W. Butt says it is very common, far
more than in any other district he ever lived in ; Erlestoke,
where Mr. G. Watson Taylor tells me it is common; Corsham
Court, where, Lord Methuen writes, it has had a nest on the lawn
as long as he can remember ; Heytesbury, where it comes every
spring, as I learn through Lord Heytesbury ; Market Lavington,
where Mr. Bouverie tells me its laughing cry was heard near the
house all last autumn ; Wardour, as I learn from Lord Arundell ;
Baynton, as I am told by Mr. W. Stancomb, jun. ; and Monkton
Farley, as Sir C. Hobhouse informs me. The continental names
for this bird are generally, as with us, mere translations of Picus
viridis; thus in France it is Pic vert; in Germany, Grunspecht ;
in Italy, Picchio verde ; in Portugal, Pica-pan verde ; in Sweden,
Gron Hackspett. But in Spain it is Pito real, ' Royal (or great)
Woodpecker ;' and provincially, Caiyintero, ' the Carpenter/
from the chips it throws about in making its nest.
Great Spotted Woodpecker. 253
103. GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Picus major).
All the Woodpeckers are so extremely alike in habits, that the
same general description applies to every species ; this is not so
common as the last, but is seen occasionally in all wooded
districts ; but it so seldom leaves the upper branches of trees,
and so seldom makes its presence known by any sound it utters
(for it is one of the most silent of birds), that it must very often
escape notice. The Rev. A. P. Morres, whose experience agrees
with mine, that it is the rarest of the Woodpeckers in this county,
says it used to breed regularly in the village of Bodenham, near
Salisbury, though it has not been noticed there of late ; but at
Hurdcott he reports that their nests were often to be found in
the woods. I also hear of it at Wilton, at Wardour, and at
Heytesbury. In North Wilts, I have many notices of its
occurrence in Draycot Park, at Erchfont, at Erlestoke, at
Lacock, at Melksham, at Keevil, in Marlborough Forest on
many occasions ; at Potterne, at Roundway Park, at Spj^e Park,
where the late Major Spicer picked up one of the remarkable
wing feathers and sent it to me for identification. I may per-
haps say generally that though certainly rare, it does occasionally
come to the notice of most observers. I have found it common
enough in Germany. Its general colour is black and white, with
a jet black top of the head and red occiput, but young birds
have the crown of the head red, and the female has no red on
the head. It may at once be distinguished from its congener
next to be described by its superior size, measuring from the
point of the beak to the tip of the tail over nine inches. In
Sussex its provincial name is the ' French Woodpecker ;' else-
where it is known as the ' Woodpie,' the ' Great Pied,' and the
' Great Black and White Woodpecker ;' and in Wiltshire as the
' Gray ' and sometimes as the ' Black Woodpecker,' which latter
is confusing. In France it is known as Pic Epeiche (ou varit) ;
in Germany, Bunt Specht ; in Italy, Picchio vario maggiore ; in
Portugal, Pica-pan malhado ; all with the signification of
' Spotted ' or ' Speckled Woodpecker.' In Sweden, however, it is
Storre Hackspett, ' Great Woodpecker.'
254 Picidce.
104. LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Picus minor).
More common, at all events of late years, but exactly re-
sembling the last, except in point of size, being not quite six
inches in length, this species occasionally visits us. It is of a
very retiring disposition, and prefers the upper branches of trees
to the trunk and more exposed limbs, and creeps out of sight
behind some friendly bough the instant it perceives an intruder.
From the observations of various authors one would say that
Wiltshire was the favourite locality of this bird. Selby says ' it
is well known in the counties of Gloucester and Wilts.' Montagu
mentions how he observed it in Wiltshire, and found its nest and
took its eggs there. Yarrell speaks of Wiltshire as one of its
habitations, in addition to which I have notices of its having
been killed within the last few years at Potterne, Round way,
Devizes, Clarendon Park and Dray cot Woods ; and Mr. Elgar
Sloper says, ' I have obtained three specimens of this beautiful
little bird: one caught near Devizes in June, 1840, lived for
some time in confinement, fed on insects and bread and milk.'
More recently, I have heard of it as shot at Collingbourne. Mr.
Grant mentions several from Devizes, Wedhampton, Wilsford,
Potterne, and Keevil; and Mr. A. B. Fisher writes that he
watched it in his garden at Potterne, in December, 1885 ; and
Mr. Gwatkin, that it breeds regularly at the Manor House in the
same parish. The Rev. E. Goddard saw it in the garden at
Hilmarton Vicarage, in 1873, and reports others seen in that
parish. Mr. G. Watson Taylor says it is common at Erlestoke,
and the Marlborough College Natural History Reports repeatedly
mention the appearance of young as well as old birds in
Savernake Forest, where they regularly breed, and which should
be a very paradise for the whole Woodpecker family. In south
Wilts, Mr. W. Wyndham says it is common at Dinton ; Lord
Arundell, that it is found at Wardour ; and Lord Heytesbury,
that it occurs at Heytesbury ; while the Rev. A. P. Morres pro-
nounces it not at all uncommon in his neighbourhood, and gives
instances to show that sometimes it is quite abundant there.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. 255
Finally, Dr. Blackmore, not long since, picked one up dead in the
Museum garden at Salisbury.
Mr. Cecil Smith says that it is known in Somerset as the
' Barred Woodpecker/ and Mr. Knox that it is called in Sussex
the ' Little French Woodpecker ;' but Professor Newton says
that it is sometimes called the 'Crank Bird,' and the 'Pump-
borer/ and used to be called the ' Wood-cracker/ from a remark-
able note which it utters in the spring, the sound being supposed
to resemble that of an auger when used on the hardest wood.
He also adds, it is especially common in the counties of Berks,
Wilts, and Somerset. In France it is known as Pic Epeichette,
diminutive of P. Epeiche; in Germany, Grasspecht ; in Italy,
Picchio sarto minore ; in Sweden, Mindre Hackspett. It
appears to be scarcely known in Spain and Portugal.
Bewick used to assert that a third Spotted Woodpecker (Picus
medius), which is not uncommon on the Continent, occasionally
appeared in England ; more modern naturalists, however, deny
this, and affirm that the young of the Great Spotted Wood-
pecker was mistaken for that bird. The late Mr. Marsh thought
that Bewick was right, and that we have three distinct species.
He says : * I have three very different from each other ; they are
sometimes found in Draycote Woods, where one of my specimens
was shot: the largest was killed there; the next in size was
killed in Clarendon Park, the smallest in Amesbury Park."
Mr. Morres also felt convinced that the ' Middle Spotted
Woodpecker ' occasionally visited us, but Professor Newton will
not allow that an authentic instance of its appearance in England
has yet occurred, and declares that Pennant and Bewick, and all
who followed them, mistook the red-headed young of the Great
Spotted Woodpecker for this purely continental bird.*
105. GOLD-WINGED WOODPECKER (Picus auratus).
There is but one instance recorded of the appearance of this
beautiful bird in England, and that was in the autumn of 1836
at Amesbury Park in this county : it was brought to M. H. Marsh,
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 484.
256 Picidce.
Esq., the late Member for Salisbury, in the flesh, immediately
after it was shot ; it was preserved by Mr. Edwards, of Amesbury,
and came into the collection of the late Rev. G. Marsh, of Sutton
Benger. It is a native of America, and in general appearance
and size bears some resemblance to the common Green Wood-
pecker, but differs from it in having bright yellow bars on the
wings, and black spots on the breast ; moreover, the throat and
chest are cinnamon colour, and a broad crescentic patch of black
crosses the chest.
It is known in America as the ' Flicker,' and Professor Newton
describes it as one of the most characteristic birds of the Eastern
United States and Canada, and says that a specimen of this far-
migrating bird is said to have been sent from Greenland. The
Professor, however, in accordance with a principle he had laid
down, refused it admission to the British list, on account of its
transatlantic origin ; while the compilers of the B.O.U. Catalogue
insert it in their list under the name of Colaptes auratus
colaptes signifying ' a chisel/ xoXd^T^s, from xoXacrrw, ' I peck
with the bill/ used almost always of birds ; and auratus t 'gilded/
from the golden-yellow colour showing under the wings and tail.
106. WRYNECK (Yunx torquUla).
From the variety of provincial names with which this prettily
marked bird is designated, one would imagine it to be extremely
common; but this is not the case, though it visits us in the
spring every year, and is sparingly distributed over all wooded
districts. The explanation of its many names will be a tolerably
complete account of its habits. That by which it is more
usually known to us, 'Wryneck/ as also its scientific name
torquilla, the French Tor col, the German Wendehals and
Natterhals, and the Italian Torcicollo, are derived from its
singular habit of stretching its neck, twisting its head round so
that it lies on its back, and turning up the whites of its eyes,
when it wriggles like a serpent [in China it is called Shay-
ling, or ' Snake's-neck '], and also from its habit of turning the
head rapidly from side to side while feeding, the body remaining
Wryneck. 257
motionless all the while, and this is especially seen when the
bird is engaged at an ant-heap, extracting those insects and
their larvae which form its favourite food ; hence another of its
names, ' Emmet-hunter.' The manner in which it seizes its prey
is by darting out its very long extensile tongue, which is even
longer in proportion than that of the woodpeckers, and trans-
fixing or securing it by means of a glutinous secretion with
which it is furnished, and this it does with wonderful rapidity
and never-failing accuracy: from this habit it is often called
'Long- tongue.' Again, it is known as the ' Snake-bird,' from the
hissing noise made by the parent and young birds when the
hole in which it has made its nest is disturbed ; on such
occasions they will puff out their feathers, snap with their bills,
hiss like snakes, and assume the most bold and defiant aspect.
It is also known as the ' Cuckoo's mate,' and ' Cuckoo's fool, 1 and
1 Cuckoo's leader,' because it arrives a few days before the
cuckoo ; and in Sweden as Gohyta, and in Norway as Sd Gouk,
that is ' Seed Cuckoo,' because its note is heard during seedtime.
In Malta it enjoys two names, Sultan issummiem, or ' King of
the Quails,' arriving on migration just before its subjects ; and
Abu lebbiet, 'Father of Crouchers,' I know not for what reason.
The late Mr. Knox said that in Sussex it is known as the
' Rinding Bird,' so called from its appearance in the spring
being supposed to indicate the proper time for felling the oak-
trees, and removing the bark or rind from the trunks and
branches. Now the operation of ' rinding ' cannot be attempted
until the sap has begun to flow ; then myriads of minute insects
are roused from their winter sleep in the deepest recesses of the
bark, and seek the surface, where the long elastic tongue of the
Wryneck extracts them rapidly from the crevices. Mr. Marsh
used to say that in Wiltshire this bird is sometimes known as
the 'Valiant Sparrow.' It received the name Yunx (in classical
Greek tuyg) from its cry sounding like the exclamation /u, whence
''uw, ' I shout ;' but, according to mythologists, the nymph Yunx,
the daughter of Echo, was transformed into a Wryneck through
the jealousy of Juno. In Spain and Portugal it derives its
17
258 Certhiada.
name from the food it loves ; in the former it is known as
Hormiguero, in the latter as Papa-formigas, both signifying
' ant-eater.' In Spain, however, it has a second name, Torcecuello
'Wryneck.' It is of shy retiring habits, in shape very like a
woodpecker, with the same arrangement of feet, two toes before
and two behind, but without the stiff bristly tail. Its plumage
is beautifully pencilled, all the feathers most delicately mottled
and marbled with bars and spots of dark and light brown, gray
and buff.
Mr. Harting describes its loud oft-repeated note as like a
repetition of the syllables, ' Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear,'
and says it more nearly resembles the cry of the kestrel than that
of any other bird, though it is less harsh* It is a solitary un-
sociable bird, seldom seen, except in the breeding season, in
company with another. The only time I ever found it in any
number, was in a marshy coppice near Bordighera, in North
Italy, from which I brought home some specimens; but the
locality it selected was not a pleasant one, a hot, steaming,
pestilential swamp which, whenever I visited it, was always
swarming with adders. My personal acquaintance with it in
Wiltshire has been very slight ; twice only have I seen it in my
orchard at Yatesbury ; but I have records of it as an occasional
visitor in various parts of the county, and Mr. Grant has
received it from Devizes, Everley, Pewsey, Netheravon, Poulshot,
etc. The Rev. A. P. Morres had one brought in alive to the
Vicarage at Britford, by his cat last summer (1886), and Mr.
Gwatkin tells me it was heard several times at Worton in 1880.
(THE CREEPERS).
This family is very nearly allied to the last, and the members
of it are quite as great adepts in climbing, though with a
different formation of feet, the toes being disposed in the more
usual manner, viz., three before and one behind ; the structure
of the hind-toe, however, is such as to give the bird peculiar
* Birds of Middlesex,' p. 113. < Our Summer Migrants,' p. 246.
Common Creeper. 259
facilities for climbing perpendicular surfaces, and even the
additional power of moving in either an upward or downward
direction. Members of this family are of small size, with slender
bodies, moderate necks, short wings, slender arched bills, and
plumage peculiarly soft and free from bristles ; like the last,
they live entirely among the trees, feeding on the seeds, fruits,
and insects which they find there.
107. COMMON CREEPER (Certhia familiaris).
This is the most elegant and delicate little bird we have, and
it is very common, living with us all the year round, but coming
to our notice most frequently in the winter, when the trees are
bare of foliage, and most of the smaller birds have left us : then
it may be seen creeping like a mouse up and down the bole of a
tree, hence it is known in the south of the county as the ' Tree-
mouse;' or else effecting a spiral ascent by a series of jerks or
runs, and constantly shifting its position, now round to the back
of the tree-stem, and now again to the front ; or perhaps search-
ing for its insect food among the rough logs in a wood-yard.
Hence its name familiaris, ' friendly,' or ' belonging to the
household;' and, indeed, nothing can exceed the confidence
shown by this fearless but unpretending little favourite.
Next to the Golden-crested Wren it is the smallest British
bird, and the most graceful in form, with a long slender curved
beak, a very diminutive elegant body, plumage brown above and
white below, and a stiff sharp-pointed tail bending downwards,
and supporting it in its climbings, after the manner of that of the
Woodpecker. Its note is a gentle monotonous chirp, which it
continues to repeat during its incessant rambles on the stems and
branches of the trees ; otherwise it is the most silent of birds,
seldom heard at all in winter, and in summer little above the
faintest whisper. Perhaps it has no time for singing, for it is one
of the most restless of birds, never still for an instant ; and a most
expert and indefatigable climber, its long claws, well curved and
strong, enabling it to cling to the rough bark, at whatever angle
the branch may be, whether vertical, horizontal, or oblique.
172
2 GO . Certhiadce.
The names it bears on the Continent of Europe have general
reference to its climbing capabilities. In France it is Le Grim-
pereau, ' the Climber ;' in Germany, Genuine Baumlaufer, ' Com-
mon Tree-Runner ;' in Sweden, Trad- Kry par e t ' Tree-creeper ;'
in Spain, Trepatroncos, ' a Creeper of Trunks ;' in Portugal, Tre-
padeira, ' Climber ;' but in Italy, Picchio passerino, ' Sparrow
Woodpecker.'
108. WREN (Troglodytes vulcjaris).
This is a general favourite ; its diminutive size, but pert aspect,
its boldness and familiarity in winter (for it never leaves us), its
full rich song and engaging manners, all bespeaking our protec-
tion : in colour it is reddish-brown, well mottled and speckled
with various shades, but its most striking peculiarity is the erect
position of its tail, Vhich gives it a very jaunty appearance.
Some authors have placed it among the warblers, but its long
tapering arched beak, long curved claws, short rounded wings
and soft plumage seem to point it out as a true creeper ; more-
over, though not essentially a climber, it clings with apparent
ease to perpendicular surfaces sideways, and is often seen on the
trunks as well as branches of trees ; it also frequents walls and
rocks, as well as banks and ditches, and its food consists of
insects, seeds, and soft fruits. Many people are not aware of the
volume and richness of its song, more particularly in the early
spring, and this is the more remarkable when the diminutive size
of the bird is taken into account. Shakspeare was evidently
ignorant of this, for he says
' The nightingale, if she should sing by day
When every goose is cackling, would be thought
No better a musician than the wren.'
In addition to its ordinary song it has a curious note of fear,
which it utters at intervals when alarmed, and which (as Mr.
Harting aptly says) somewhat resembles the winding up of a
clock* With us it bears the endearing name of ' Jenny Wren,'
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 114.
Wren. 261
and in Sweden it is in the same spirit called Tumme liden, or
* Little Thumb ;' indeed, generally its diminutive size, pert aspect,
and familiarity have bespoken its immunity from harm at the
hands of man ; but this has not always been the case. It was a
very old pastime with the Irish to hunt the Wren on New Year's
Day, following it with sticks and stones from hedge to hedge
until it was run down and destroyed ; and this sport (!), under
the name of ' toodling,' was very often practised at Eton in my
time, and in which, I am ashamed to say, I sometimes took part.
It originated from the legend of a wicked fairy having, when hard
pressed and on the point of destruction, escaped by taking the
form of a Wren, and being condemned to reanimate the same
form once a year, with the definite sentence that she must ulti-
mately perish by human hands * In consequence of this legend
the barbarous practice of hunting the Wren was year by year
vigorously kept up in Ireland, and doubtless introduced at Eton
in times long forgotten by some enthusiastic sons of the Emerald
Isle.
One naturally is inclined to wonder how such small and ap-
parently delicate birds as this and the preceding brave the
seventy of our winters in this country, and yet, notwithstanding
the insect nature of their food and the slender form of their
beaks, they somehow manage to subsist, and the Wren at least
to warble in apparent gladness of heart during the roughest
winds and the bleakest weather. This is also essentially a rest-
less bird, always on the move and never stationary for a minute ;
it derives its scientific name Troglodytes from the cave-like ap-
pearance of the large domed nest which it inhabits (from r^y\^
'a hole,' and M, 'I go into,' B.O.U.), and of which it is in the
habit of constructing several and leaving them half finished in
the neighbourhood of its real occupied nest. With what inten-
tion it follows this curious habit has never been satisfactorily
explained. Professor Newton says the general belief is that they
are built by the male bird for his own lodging at night, and are
called ' cocks' nests ' in consequence. Some suggest that they
* Dyer's ' English Folk-lore,' p. 68.
262 Certhiadce.
are built as houses of refuge in winter. Some that they are
simply unfinished nests from disturbance before completion, and
some that they are the production of inexperienced young birds.*
Professor Skeat says that 'Wren' means the * Chirper,' or
' Twitterer,' lit. the ' neigher like a horse.' In France it is Le
Troglodyte ; in Germany, Zaun Sanyer, ' Hedge Warbler ;' in
Italian, Stricciolo ; in Sweden, Gard-smyg ; in Spain, Ratilla,
' Little Mouse.'
109. HOOPOE (Upupa Epops).
Once seen, this bird can never be mistaken by the most unob-
servant, its long and beautiful crest being peculiar and dis-
tinctive : this is composed of soft silky feathers of a pale buff
colour, each ending in a black and white spot or eye ; and this
crest it can erect and depress at pleasure. When the bird is in a
quiescent state and undisturbed, the crest flows gracefully back
in a recumbent position, but upon the least alarm, or when ex-
cited in any way, the feathers are immediately erected. More
remarkable, however, is its attitude when really frightened by a
hawk, and singular indeed is the expedient to which it resorts to
protect itself. Squatting down upon the ground, it spreads out
its tail and wings to their fullest extent, bringing the primaries
round so as almost to meet in front, and throws back its head
and bill, which it holds up perpendicularly. So long as danger
threatens, it remains in this odd position, probably to deceive the
enemy.-)- The general colour of the plumage is pale buff, amply
relieved by the black and white bars of the wings and tail ; the
beak is very slender and slightly bent. The Hoopoe prefers
moist and low situations, especially where woods abound : it may
generally be seen on the ground searching for worms and grubs,
though it so far shows its climbing habits as to fly to trees when
disturbed, and to be often observed hanging from the branches
of trees, in search of the insects which dwell on the under side
of the foliage. When it rises on the wing it never flies high,
Fourth edition of YarrelPs * British Birds,' vol. i., p. 463.
t Harting's ' Our Summer Migrants,' p. 253.
Hoopoe. 263
and its flight is weak and faltering ; but it will gently steal from
tree to tree, when at ease, with the wavy flapping of the owl, or,
when alarmed, with the more suddenly jerking flight of a wood-
pecker.* Often, too, it skims over the ground with long un-
dulating flight ; and sometimes two or more will toy and gambol
with one another in the air, occasionally tumbling several feet
downwards before they can recover themselves. When it alights
on the ground, it has a habit of bending down the head till it
appears to rest the point of the beak on the earth, after the
curious manner of the Apteryx or Kiwi-kiwi, as seen in the
Zoological Gardens. As regards its diet, it is essentially a foul
feeder, searching for its food in the dirt and filth of an Oriental
village ; and when in the act of swallowing it always raises its
bill aloft. Mr. Seebohm points out that the young Hoopoes have
short straight bills, which afterwards develop gradually into
the long curved beak of the adult bird.
The only occasion on which I have had the good fortune to see
it alive in a wild state in Europe, was from a railway carriage in
Hanover. The bird was marching about with great dignity on
the embankment, strutting with conscious pride of its good
looks; and before it flew away, erected its crest, and showed
itself off to great advantage. But subsequently I became very
familiar with it in Egypt, watching it every day as it marched
about among the village outhouses, or beneath the groves of
palm-trees with which most of the towns and villages are
sheltered on the banks of the Ni]e ; just as it has done for four
thousand years or more ; for its peculiar form is unmistakably
represented, and may be immediately recognised in the famous
rock-cut tombs of Beni Hassan, and elsewhere. There it is most
tame and confiding, marching about with no more alarm at man
than is shown by our barndoor fowls, though elsewhere it is
of a shy timid disposition ; but the Arabs have a superstitious
reverence for it, for they attribute to it marvellous medicinal
qualities, and hence call it ' the Doctor.'f Its head, too, is an
Canon Tristram in Ibis for 1866, p. 80.
f Ibid., for 1859, p. 27, and for 1866, p. 80.
264 Certhiadce.
indispensable ingredient in all charms and in the practice of
witchcraft. Moreover the Hudhud, as they call it, is univer-
sally believed by the Bedouins to be inhabited by the spirits
of the departed.
It derives its scientific name ' Upupa,' as well as the English
' Hoopoe/ German Ein Houp, and French La Huppe, from its
note, resembling 'hoop, hoop,' cooed out very softly after the
manner of the dove. Professor Newton says its simple love-song
is hoo, hoo, hoo ; or hoop, hoop, hoop ; or hoo, poo, poo ; and that
it will puff out its breast and strike its bill against its perch at
each note ; at other times, however, I have heard it emit a kind
of hissing sound. Then it will parade the ground with a stately
walk and a jaunty step, bowing its head as it marches on, and
alternately raising and lowering its crest in a slow and graceful
manner. In reference to its uncleanly habits, and to the fact
that it is nowhere more at home than on the foulest dunghill, it
was known even so long ago as the time of Montagu as the
4 dung- bird;' and in France 'sale comme une Huppe' is a
proverb, proclaiming a recognition of its filthy ways ; while in
China it goes by the name of the ' Coffin-bird ' from its habit of
breeding in the holes of exposed coffins, and is execrated by the
Chinese in consequence.* But though so foul a feeder, and of
such evil habits, it is highly esteemed by the epicure of all lands,
and many was the dish of Hoopoes with which our dragoman
supplied our table in the Nile boat. It may well be called a bird
of the Mediterranean, for it may be found in every country on
its shores, as it retires to~ winter in Northern Africa in September
and returns to Europe in March ; hence it is called by several
nations ' the March fowl,' and being the earliest of the feathered
visitors to arrive at Mentone, is locally termed there Le Coq de
Mars. In Scandinavia, where it is only found in summer as an
occasional straggler, its oft-repeated cry heard in the wilds of
the forest is looked upon with alarm, for it is supposed to
torbode scarcity and war, and hence the name given to it in
Fourth edition of ' Yarrell's British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 424.
Hoopoe. 265
those countries of Hdr-vogel, or 'Army-bird.' In Italy it is
Upupa rubbola ; in Portugal, Poupa ; in Spain, Put-put ; but
in Moorish or Arabic, Abubilla, 'Father of Beaks/ which is highly
descriptive. I should add that as Upupa is a 'Hoopoe' in
classical Latin, so evo^ is ' a Hoopoe ' in classical Greek.
It is not so rare in England as some imagine, for though never
permanently resident here, scarcely a year passes when some
do not make their appearance. I have many records of its
occurrence in Wiltshire ; Bishop Stanley recounts how one was
caught on Salisbury Plain in a weak and exhausted state, which
must evidently have come from a distance, for its beak was filled
with red clay of a quality not found in that neighbourhood.
Yarrell says it has been obtained in Wiltshire. Mr. Withers
informed me that it was killed by Mr. Warriner's keeper many
years since near Kedholn turnpike gate. The Rev. G. Marsh
recorded its capture at Winterslow in 1829 ; and more recently
the Rev. George Powell (with the ready kindness with which he
continually gratifies my ornithological taste) communicated to
me the capture, on September 3, 1862, of a very fine male
specimen, by some labourers in the farm-yard of Mr. Marsh of
Heytesbury. The bird was weather-beaten and exhausted, and
appeared to have come in for its share of a great storm which
on the day preceding its capture had devastated the fields at
Lavington. When secured, it was carefully placed in a large
cage, and though at first very shy, it gradually became more
reconciled to confinement ; but at the end of seven days, without
any ostensible reason, it died suddenly. These are undoubtedly
authentic instances of the occurrence of the Hoopoe in our
county, but in 1851 the Rev. F. Goddard, Vicar of Hilmarton, who
has often seen this bird in Egypt, and is well acquainted with
its habits, was so fortunate as to meet with it alive in Wiltshire
on several distinct occasions. His description is so graphic and
interesting from the rare occurrence of the bird, that I take leave
to insert it in his own words : ' Some time in the summer, I
believe in the month of August, riding from Alderton to Norton
near Malmesbury, to do duty on a Sunday, about one mile and
266 Certhiadce.
a quarter from Alderton, at the point where Alderton, Sherston,
and Hullavington parishes meet, I passed an old crumbling
dungheap on the Foss way, and to my astonishment on that
dungheap (by-the-bye very like his native ones) sat a splendid
male Hoopoe, as calm and composed as possible, exactly as I
have seen them in Egypt, on every dungheap. I approached
close to him to admire him, and satisfy myself that this stranger
at Alderton (but to me familiar friend) was a real Hoopoe ; he
then gave one or two of his peculiar jerks, and rising with a
short undulating flight like a jay, rested on a hay-rick twenty
yards distant. As I approached the rick, he jerked himself
impatiently once or twice as before, and took flight for his dung-
heap, and again from that to the rick, but no further (like the
Vicar of Wakefield, who confined his migrations from the " Blue
bed to the Brown ") ; precisely as the bird appears everywhere
from November to March in "lower Egypt on the banks of the
Nile, only that, having in that "basest of kingdoms " an infinite
choice of dunghills, he merely removes himself and his wife (who
is always with him) from the brown to the black, and vice versd.
In the case of the bird in question, on my return from church
there he was as before. During the week I forgot his existence ;
and on the following Sunday, as I passed that way for the same
purpose, up jumped my friend from the back of the dunghill,
and settled on his hay -rick, and so I found him very becomingly
at rest on my return from service. The next day I sought him,
and found him at ivork upon his mixen, as busy as possible and
quite at home ; he seemed to imagine that he had gained a
parochial settlement under my ministration, not being aware
that the Foss, which divided the dunghill and the rick, is
invariably the division of parishes ; thus he lost the advantage
of being either in my care or that of the Yicar of Hullavington,
but I considered him entitled to my protection. I could not
hear, however, of his having been seen after that day, though I
inquired much after him.'
Again in 1854, the Rev. F. Goddard reported to me the appear-
ance of another strange bird, supposed to be a Hoopoe, near the
Hoopoe. 267
same place, in the following words : ' I heard from a person resid-
ing here ' (at Alderton) ' that a bird answering the description of
a Hoopoe with a high crest (a stranger, unknown to anyone about
the place that saw it) was shot on the top of a chimney at
Hibden Farm in Luckington Parish, distant half-a-mile from
Alderton, and about three miles from the spot where I saw the
Hoopoe in 1851. It was during the severe frost and snow of
January, 1854, that this bird, supposed to be a Hoopoe, was
killed ; but as he fell into an old chimney, from which he has
never been recovered, I cannot be sure of his identity.' So far
from the pen of Canon Goddard ; but even yet more interesting
is the last account of these birds breeding in Wiltshire, which I
have received through the same gentleman from his brother
Mr. Septimus Goddard, who writes as follows in answer to my
inquiries on the point : ' I perfectly well recollect the circum-
stance of the young Hoopoes being found in a bush near the
brook on the farm now occupied by Mr. Ackers (of Morden), in
Rodbourn Cheney Parish ; they were four in number, nearly full
grown; colour that of woodcocks, with very large topknots.
I am not quite certain what became of them, but I rather think
that they were taken back to the brook again. The old birds
laid again and sat nearly in the same place the following season ;
but the eggs, four in number, were destroyed by boys. I have
frequently seen Hoopoes in Sussex near Eastbourne, where
several have been shot on the estate of the Duke of Devonshire/
The last paragraph shows that Mr. S. Goddard is not un-
acquainted with the bird, and cannot therefore have mistaken
any other for it. This is perhaps as full an account of English
Hoopoes as has fallen to the lot of any ornithologist of this
country to meet with, and it is the more satisfactory that the
narrator, Canon Goddard, is not only an acute and accurate
observer of birds generally, but has become personally acquainted,
and that very intimately, with the bird in question during his
travels in Egypt.
More recently a fine male was shot at Savernake by Mr.
Ponting in May, 1877, and Mr. Grant, of Devizes, records another
268 Certhiadce.
which had previously passed through his hands ; while, in a
letter lately received from Canada, the Marquis of Lansdowne
obligingly informs me that one was shot at Bowood in the
autumn of 1886. In South Wilts Mr. Morres records it as having
been killed at West Knoyle in May, 1865 ; at Breamore in May,
1869; at Dean; at Upton Scudamore; at Mere, April, 1872; and
one picked up on Mr. Rawlence's farm at Wilton, in 1874 ; and
gives evidence to lead to the belief that a brood of young
Hoopoes had been successfully reared in the neighbourhood of
Stratford sub Castle in June, 1877. Mr. Thomas Baker, of Mere,
also informs me that another example of this bird was shot in
his neighbourhood very nearly at the same spot as that recorded
above, about 1868, and the Marquis of Bath writes that one was
killed at Longleat some time since.
110. NUTHATCH (Sitta Europwa).
This active little bird is to be found in our woods all the year
round ; in colour it is dark gray above, and orange-buff beneath ;
the beak is strong, straight, conical, and pointed, and with this
instrument it will hammer with repeated and most sonorous
blows the nut which it has previously fixed in some chink of
bark or crevice in the tree, and which it rarely finds impervious
to its sharp beak, which it brings down upon it with all the
weight of its body ; seldom baffled even by the toughest shell,
which it will turn round till it has tried every point of attack,
and generally succeeds at last in extricating the kernel. Should
the nut accidentally fall from the chink in which it is fixed, or
fly asunder, and the kernel drop out, the Nuthatch will dart
upon it with the rapidity of lightning, catch it in its claws before
it reaches the ground, and return with it to its former position.
It runs both up and down the stems of trees, and will descend
head foremost (in which respect it differs from all other birds),
and varies its nut diet with insects and their larva?, which it
extracts from the bark and leaves. When running up or down
a tree, it rests upon the back part of the whole tarsus, and
makes great use as a support of what may be called the real
Nuthatch. 269
heel, and never uses the tail. When roosting it will sleep with
the head and back downwards, after the manner of some of the
Titmice.* The nest of the Nuthatch differs from that of any
other bird with which I am acquainted ; and it shows very con-
siderable ingenuity and masonic skill in constructing it. Often
it will make choice of a hole in a tree, but I have found it year
after year in a brick wall, where one of the bricks had been left
out by the scaffold-maker ; and this large hole it will plaster up
with clay and small stones, leaving an orifice only just large
enough to admit its entrance and egress ; and this plastering of
mud or clay is no mere sham for the purpose of concealment ;
but a strong and substantial defence, leaving the cavity within
perfectly secure. Then, on removing this wall of plaster, I have
found the nest entirely composed of a large quantity of the inner
bark of the Scotch fir, and it is astonishing what a very soft and
elastic bed this fir-bark makes. I supplied some of this material
to the late Mr. Hewitson, when he was engaged in the last
edition of his famous book on the ' Eggs of British Birds,' as
may therein be seen, and he expressed himself as much pleased
with it, as none such had previously come under his notice.
Though on more than one occasion I cut away the plaster when
the young birds were flown, and took away the nest, the
Nuthatches, nothing daunted by such spoliation, returned
annually to the same hole, where they generally reared their
young brood in safety. In reference to this plastering propensity,
one of the names by "which this bird is known in France is Pic-
magon (its proper name, however, is Sitelle Torchepot). In
Germany its regular name is Kleiber, ' Plasterer,' or ' Mason.' In
Italy it is Picchio grigio, ' Gray Woodpecker.' The generic name
Sitta is derived from */, 'I hiss/ or 'whistle' (B.O.U.). The
name Nuthatch seems to be a corruption of ' Nuthack,' which
the habits of the bird sufficiently explain. It is to be found in
this country generally wherever woods abound, but seems to
prefer large oaks and beeches. Lord Arundel says it is generally
* Yarrell's ' British Birds,' third edition, vol. ii., p. 186.
270 Cuculidce.
numerous at Ward our; and I should say it occurs sparingly
throughout the county.
CUCULIDJE (THE CUCKOOS).
This family is but scantily represented in this county, for we
have but one species, though that one so well known, and its
periodical appearance so generally hailed with delight as a
harbinger of summer, that it has attracted as much attention
as many families comprising several genera and many species.
They all feed on insects and soft fruit, and are therefore unable
to reside during winter in cold countries; their flight is singularly
smooth and gliding and very rapid, and they move quickly from
bough to bough, rather leaping from branch to branch than
climbing like those families of this tribe previously described;
on the ground they are awkward and constrained, their feet
being very short and weak. The tails of birds of this family are
peculiarly ample, very broad as well as long.
111. COMMON CUCKOO (Cuculua canorus).
In all languages this bird derives its name from the note it
utters, which the several nations have syllabled to their own
fancy. Thus in classical Latin it is Cuculus ; in Greek, xfaxv* ;
in French, Coucou ; in German, Kukuk ; in Italian, Cucule ; in
Spain, Cucu ; in Portuguese, Cuco ; in English, Cuckoo. There
is no need to assert that this bird occurs throughout the county,
for who does not hear its well-known cry every April in his own
parish and garden; and yet everybody does not know the
appearance of the bird, so much resembling the Kestrel or
Sparrow-hawk at first sight; the dark lead-coloured plumage
above, the light under parts barred with brown, and the full
dark yellow eye, all contributing to the general resemblance;
but when we come to look nearer, we are soon undeceived, for
the beak is small, soft, slender, and nearly straight, like those of
other insectivorous birds, and the feet are small and weak, with
two toes before and two behind, after the manner of other
climbing birds, and not at all like the strong hooked beak and
Common Cuckoo. 271
powerful talons of the birds of prey. Cuckoos twenty years
since were unusually abundant at Yatesbury, and remarkably
tame, and one or more might frequently have been seen every
spring sitting on the iron railings in my garden, while their oft-
repeated cry, as they answered one another in different keys
from opposite plantations, was almost continually to be heard,
more especially towards evening, when (like many other birds)
they became more clamorous than during the day; but their
numbers are now very sensibly diminished, and they are certainly
becoming more and more scarce every year. Moreover, I have
noticed that they have lost the confidence they once evinced,
and are much more shy and retiring than they were. In the
neighbourhood of Salisbury, however, the Rev. A. P. Morres
describes them as very numerous, and frequenting the water
meadows and osier beds in that district, and speaks of six being
in sight at one time. But in truth they are of a capricious and
fanciful disposition, and, vagrants as they are, they abound for a
time in one locality, and then desert it for another. When they
have been here some time, their call becomes changed to a wild
stammering repetition of the first syllable, though an individual
which returned to my garden every spring invariably uttered
this peculiar call from its first arrival, and with a pertinacity
and in so loud a key as to attract the notice of every stranger.
The favourite old country rhyme which is well known to
everybody, marks with sufficient accuracy the arrival, song,
change of note, and departure of the bird :
' In April
Come he will ;
In May
He sings all day ;
In June
He alters his tune ;
In July
He prepares to fly ;
In August
Go he must.'
The singular habit of the Cuckoo of never building its own
272 Cuculidw.
nest, but depositing its eggs singly in those of other birds, insec-
tivorous species being almost always selected for the foster-parents,
is well known. Why the Cuckoos adopt this peculiar and almost
unnatural habit ; how they deposit their eggs in the nests of
little birds, when the situation and size of the nests preclude, as
they often do, the possibility of the egg being laid there, after
the usual manner, by a bird so disproportionate in size to the
nest it selects as the cradle for its young; how the young
Cuckoo becomes the sole tenant of the nest, its foster-brethren
being summarily expelled to make way for its rapidly increasing
size, and to enable its foster-parents to supply its voracious
appetite ; how the young Cuckoo, when come to maturity, follows
instinctively in the track of its parents, not being arrived at the
requisite point of strength when its parents leave their summer
haunts to accompany them on their annual migration south-
wards ; and more especially how Cuckoo's eggs, varying from one
another in colour, frequently resemble very closely the eggs of
the birds in whose nests they are respectively laid these and
other similar questions connected with its strange history, I
have examined in a paper which I read before the Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society at Salisbury in 1865,
and printed in the Wiltshire Magazine;* and from this I purpose
now to extract the more important portions, and to enter some-
what minutely into the economy and life-history of this singular
bird. For perhaps of all the commoner species with which we
are surrounded in the summer, there is not one of whose habits
so much misconception is abroad ; certainly there is not one in
which everybody evinces such extraordinary interest. Let me
begin, then, by refuting and clearing out of the way some of the
popular errors about it.
It is even now a very common belief, handed down from
the time of Aristotle, that the Cuckoo changes in the
course of the summer into a hawk ; while Pliny,t who wrote
on Natural History, gravely asserted (and that assertion is
still upheld by many in these days) that the young Cuckoo
Vol. x., pp. 115-130. t Nat. Hist. (lib. x., cap. 9).
Common Cuckoo. 273
devours its young foster-brethren, and finally its most atten-
tive foster-parents; hence the Swedish proverb, c en otack-
sam gok/ implying 'an ungrateful fellow.'* Even Linnaeus
gave credence to this absurd slander, and in our own country
Shakespeare utters the same calumny. In the play of ' Henry IV/
he makes that monarch exclaim :
' And being fed by us, you used us so
As that ungentle gull, the Cuckoo's bird,
Useth the sparrow : did oppress our nest :
Grew by our feeding to so great a bulk
That even our love durst not come near your sight
For fear of swallowing : but with nimble wing,
We were constrained for safety's sake to fly.'
And again in ' King Lear/ the fool is made to say :
' The hedge sparrow fed the Cuckoo so long
That it had its head bit off by its young.'
Then, again, we are told that the fate of an individual for the cur-
rent year depends on the direction in which he first hears the cry
of the Cuckoo in the spring : if it proceeds from the north, for
instance, it is a lucky omen ; but if from the south, it portends
death.-f- And, again, it is universally considered unlucky to be
without money in your pocket on first hearing the welcome notes
of this bird.J
As the story of hedging in the Cuckoo, and so securing the
permanence of spring, has been attempted to be affiliated on the
moonrakers of Wilts, I must in common honesty quote from the
veracious chronicle entitled ' The Merry Tales of the Wise Men of
Gotham/ in which the following anecdote occurs : ' On a time the
men of Gotham would have pinned in the Cuckoo, whereby she
should sing all the year ; and in the midst of the town they had
a hedge made, round in compass, and they had got a Cuckow, and
put her into it, and said, " Sing here, and you shall lack neither
meat nor drink all the year." The Cuckow when she perceived
Golf, is no other than the old Saxon geac, and the Cuckoo is still often
called ' Gowk ' in some parts of England. [Seo Bosworth's 'Anglo-Saxon
Dictionary/]
f Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures/ vol. ii., p. 347.
| Naturalist for 1852, p. 84.
18
274 Cuculidce.
herself encompassed within the hedge, flew away. " A vengeance
on her!" said the wise men; "we made not our hedge high enough.'"*
Among other errors abroad with regard to this ill-used bird,
the English translators of the Bible included it in the list of un-
clean birds which the children of Israel were forbidden to eat
(Levit. xi. 16 ; Deut. xiv. 15). But Bochart, Gesenius and others
have long since proved that not the Cuckoo, but the sea-gull
was the species intended.t
These are but samples of the many superstitions current in our
day, and in our own county, with regard to the Cuckoo ; J and it
is with the hope of substituting in their stead the very interest-
ing and peculiar economy of its real life-history, that I propose
to enlarge upon it here at far greater length than I have bestowed
on other species.
With the exception of the Honey-buzzard (Buteo apivorus) it
is the largest of British insectivorous birds ; for its food consists of
insects of many sorts, but more particularly of the several species of
hairy caterpillars which abound in the early summer, and which
long-haired caterpillars are rejected by almost all birds, with the
exception of the Cuckoo : so that it has been thought by some
that the reason why that bird leaves this country so early, is the
failure by the middle of July of its favourite food. I may observe,
too, that it is the male bird alone which gives utterance of the
peculiar note which we hail so gladly as an announcement of
spring, though, among other popular errors, the following old
couplet attributes the song to the female: \\
1 The Cuckoo is a pretty bird, and sings as she flies ;
She brings us good tidings, and tells us no lies.'
Possibly, however, this may be only the indiscriminate use of the
masculine and feminine pronoun so common in Wiltshire : I am
bound, too, in honesty to add, that the well-known cry of the
Cuckoo has been declared by some naturalists (though I think
* Sharpens Magazine, vol. x., p. 6.
f Smith's ' Dictionary of the Bible.'
J Jesse's ' Gleanings of Natural History,' p. 125.
Wood's ' Illustrated Natural History,' vol. ii., p. 574.
. || Naturalist for 1852, p. 84.
Common Cuckoo. 275
erroneously) to be common to both sexes.* Lastly, I will repeat
that the female has that strange peculiarity of depositing her
eggs singly in the nests of other species, which she selects as suit-
able foster-parents to her own young : a peculiarity not shared in
by any others of our British birds, though by no means unknown
among the feathered tribes of other countries the Cowbird, for
example, of America, j- which belongs to the Starling tribe, several
species of the African Cuckoos, and others. It is from this last
eccentricity of conduct that so many strange and unlooked-for
habits of the Cuckoo take their rise. Let us examine them one by
one ; but first let me earnestly protest against the unmeaning out-
cry and charge of unnatural, unfeeling conduct often preferred
against the Cuckoo,! as if she did not follow out the instincts of
her nature as truly as every other bird ; and as if there was not
some good and sufficient reason (though we may be unable to
fathom it) why some species delegate the care of their young to
other birds : rather, I think, should we admire the wonderful
instinct which leads them to select, as foster-parents, those species
only whose feeding is similar to their own, and so would provide
their young with suitable nourishment; and that dexterity which
enables them to insert their eggs amongst others, just at the right
moment when the foster-parent is preparing to sit.
And here I beg to state without hesitation that never by any
possibility does our British Cuckoo either build a nest of her own
or incubate her eggs on the ground. We hear constant tales of
such occurrences : every year our periodicals and newspapers con-
tain statements of such marvellous incidents, which would be
marvellous indeed if true ; but I venture to assert most positively,
without fear of contradiction, that all such stones have originated
from some error : and either the common Night-jar,|| of nearly the
* Magazine of Natural History, vol. viii., pp. 329-382. Naturalist for
1851, pp. 11, 172.
t Wilson's 'American Ornithology,' vol. ii., p. 162.
Bishop Stanley's ' Familiar History of Birds,'' vol. ii., p. 80.
Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne,' Letter iv.
|| Montagu's Supplement to ' Ornithological Dictionary/ vol. ii. Rennie's-
' Architecture of Birds,' p. 380. G. White's ' Selborne,' Letter vii.
182
276 Cuculidce.
same size, fluttering away from her marbled eggs at the root of
an old oak, or some other bird, has been mistaken for the Cuckoo,
which never, in any single instance, has been known to sit on her
own eggs.
The Cuckoo then, houseless and vagabond though she is, and the
veritable 'gipsy of the feathered tribes,' as she has been styled,
soon after her arrival here in the spring, begins to busy herself no
less than other birds in making preparations for her future
progeny ; but instead of preparing a nest, as other birds do, her
occupation is to scour the hedgerows and plantations, and watch
the busy nestmakers with more eager eye than any schoolboy ;*
observing day by day the progress made, and anxiously selecting
those which may be most convenient for her purpose. Into these
nests it is not her habit to intrude herself for the purpose of lay-
ing her egg, as all other birds do ; indeed, from her superior size
in proportion to the nest, such a course would be generally im-
possible : but she lays her egg on the ground, and then she takes
it in her beak,f and gently deposits it in the nest she has chosen.
And that the Cuckoo does thus avail herself of her beak to place
her eggs in nests which otherwise would have been inaccessible to
her, is not only d priori established from those cases where no
other means were possible, as in certain domed nests with entrance
holes at the side only, or those which are laid in the holes of trees,
as for instance those of the wren, the redstart and others ; but we
have a very interesting account from a charcoal-burner, in the
forest of Thuringer, who happened to be in his rude woodman's
hut in the forest, when a Cuckoo (which he had long observed fly-
ing about in the neighbourhood) flew into the hut, not perceiving
the owner, perched upon a bench near the entrance, laid an egg,
then seized it in her beak, and placed it in a wren's nest which
was built against the inner side of the hut, while the man looked
on in amazement, and soon after related the ' wonder' to the
Rennie's Architecture of Birds,' p. 374.
f Zoologist, 3145, 7757, 7935, 8165. Hewitson's ' Eggs of British Birds,'
vol. i., p. 205. Temminck's ' Manual d'Ornithologie,' vol. i., p. 384. Rennie's
' Architecture of Birds,' p. 378.
Common Cuckoo. 277
German naturalist who recorded the event. But I believe this to
be her invariable method, whether the small nest of the foster-
parent be accessible to her or no : and then again, this habit of -
taking the egg in her beak, and so depositing it in the chosen nest,
considered in conjunction with the similarity of her egg to that of
several species of small birds as detailed farther on, will readily
account for the frequent assertion on the part of eye-witnesses of
the Cuckoo eating the eggs of small birds, which they trium-
phantly declare they have themselves seen between the mandibles
of that bird's beak.*
It is not until after an interval of several days that the Cuckoo
lays another egg in the same manner and then deposits it in another
nest which she has previously selected ; and so on till her whole
complement of four or five or six eggs is laid.-|- But never on any
occasion does she lay two eggs in the same nest ; so that
although it is true that two Cuckoo's eggs have been sometimes
found in the same nest, these were without doubt from different
parent birds, and by no means the eggs of the same individual^
But now if the egg of the Cuckoo was at all proportioned to the
size of the bird, it would not only at once attract the attention
and alarm of the foster-parent, but it would be impossible for so
diminutive a nurse to brood over and hatch it ; and therefore
Nature, who never does anything by halves, but provides for every
emergency, has given a strange disproportion in the egg of the
bird to the size of the parent Cuckoo (the egg of the Cuckoo
being no larger than that of the Lark, though the relative size
of the two birds is as four to one) a disproportion, however, the
necessity for which is most apparent, if the little foster-parent is
to be duped into believing the egg of the intruder to be her own.
The Cuckoo then, having laid her eggs of comparatively dimi-
Naturalist for 1851, p. 162 ; for 1852, p. 33.
f Colonel Montagu dissected a Cuckoo which had in her four or five eggs
( { Ornith. Diet.'). Mr. Rennie thinks it lays a second time. Blumenbach says
she lays six eggs in the spring from time to time. [Jesse's ' Gleanings in
Natural History,' p. 125.] Naturalist for 1851, p. 162.
+ Zoologist, 8823, 9325. YarreU's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 192. Mon-
tagu's ' Ornith. Diet.,' Introduction, p. ix.
Yarrell in loco, vol. ii., p. 191. Bewick, vol. i., p. 108
278 Cuculidce.
nutive size, and entrusted each to the charge of carefully selected
foster-parents, is by many supposed to leave them to their fate,
and to take no further interest in the matter.* But this does not
seem to be the case.f On the contrary (and for this I have the
high authority of Dr. Gray, of the British Museum), the Cuckoo
has been observed to frequent the neighbourhood, and watch near
the nest during the whole period of incubation ; and then when
the eggs are hatched, whether it is the parent Cuckoo,} as
Mr. Waterton stoutly maintained, or whether it is the young one,
as Dr. Jenner || and others as positively declared, which removes
from the nest the young Cuckoo's foster-brethren and any un-
hatched eggs there may be, is a question still warmly disputed.
Whether or no there are any other offices which the parent
Cuckoo undertakes for its young, I will not venture to affirm ;
though it is the opinion of some experienced naturalists that she
really feels an anxiety for them not less than that shown by
other birds :1T while others maintain that she has occasionally,
though very exceptionally, been known to feed her own young, of
which several convincing proofs have been adduced ;** and others
again declare that she sometimes even takes the young under her
protection, when they are sufficiently fledged to leave the nest.-f~f-
But be that as it may, towards the end of July the old birds are
preparing to migrate, and the male has already changed his note
to that stammering repetition of the first syllable which (as all
observers know) heralds the cessation of his so-called song; and
which an old writer, John Hay ward, who flourished about A.D.
1580, has described in the following quaint but very graphic
rhymes :
c Zoologist, p. 1638.
t Ibis, vol. iv., p. 384. Wood's ' Illustrated Natural History,' vol. ii., p. 572.
j Zoologist, 2589, 2603, 4895, 6676, 8166, 8195, 8235, 8681. Jesse's ' Glean-
ings in Natural History,' p. 123.
' Essays on Natural History,' first series, p. 228.
|| * Philosophical Transactions,' vol. Ixxviii.
If Wood's ' Illustrated Natural History, 1 vol. ii., p. 572. Naturalist for
1851, pp. 67, 162.
** Naturalist for 1851, p. 11.
tt Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 197. Naturalist for 1851, p. 233.
Common Cuckoo. 279
' In April the Cuckoo can sing her song by rote.
In June of ttimes she cannot sing a note.
At first, koo ; koo ; koo ; sings till can she do
At last, kooke, kooke, kooke, kooke ; six kookes to pne koo. 3
By the beginning of August, then, the parent Cuckoos are gone
southwards ; but the young Cuckoo is notoriously a tedious nurse-
ling, and indeed, having to grow from the inmate of a very small
eggshell to a bird of considerable dimensions, requires time for
such development, and taxes to a very large extent the powers as
well as the assiduity of its foster-parents : by degrees this over-
grown infant not only fills the little nest which was never meant
for such a monster, but is forced to vacate it, and sits perched
on the edge, while the foster-parents, unable to reach up to it from
below, alight on its back in order to feed it.* It is at this period
of its existence that the young Cuckoo is said to possess, or to
acquire for a time, the note of its foster-parents,t whatever it may
happen to be ; but this point in its history requires corroboration,
as, though asserted by many, it has never yet been satisfactorily
settled. And then again, when they have at length attained their
full size, the young Cuckoos, though left to their own devices,
and without their elders for their guides, as all other migratory
birds have, follow towards the end of September in the track
of their parents which have gone long before, and migrate to a
warmer clime ; though what instinct teaches them when to go,
and whither to bend their course, who shall say ? Indeed, to my
mind this is one of the most astonishing points in their life-
history which we have yet touched upon.
And now I come to the most remarkable peculiarity of all ; and
indeed, amongst these so many anomalies which we have seen to
belong to this extraordinary bird (and the more one studies its
habits, the more numerous and the more apparent do they
become), there is nothing so strange or indeed so startling as the
opinion put forth, in Germany by Dr. Baldamus, and afterwards
* Gardener's Chronicle, 1851, p. 469. Magazine of Natural History, vol. ix.,
p. 638. Naturalist, 1851, p. 233 ; 1852, p. 33.
t Thompson's ' Natural History of Ireland,' vol. i., p. 361.
280 Cuculidw.
followed up and demonstrated by proofs of apparently the most
satisfactory character, on the part of himself and his friends,
that the eggs of the Cuckoo, which she lays one by one singly in
the nests of other birds, are somewhat similar in colour to the
eggs of those birds whose nests she selects* And thus it is by no
means an uncommon occurrence to see the egg of the Cuckoo
taken from a hedge-sparrow's nest, partaking of a greenish-blue
tinge ; another from the nest of a robin, of a reddish hue ; another
from a pipit's nest, of a brownish colour; and so on through
the twenty or thirty species in whose nests the egg of the
Cuckoo has been found. This was without doubt a very startling,
bold statement, and it evoked, as might be expected, no small
amount of opposition and ridicule when first it was propounded.
To my mind, however, it seemed a very beautiful idea, well
worthy of the most careful examination, so I spared no pains in
investigating it. And to this end I translated the lengthy article
of Dr. Baldamus,f and printed it in the Zoologist ; and I now
proceed to give a short re'sumd of that article.
Dr. Baldamus begins his treatise by calling attention to the
great variety in colouring as well as in marking in a collection
of Cuckoos' eggs, and the astonishing resemblance these eggs
severally bear to the eggs of a variety of small birds usually
chosen as the foster-parents of Cuckoos : a fact which he says was
well known to the great ornithologists and oologists of Germany,
including Naurnann, Thienemann, Brehm, Gloger, von Homeyer
and others ; and I may add that this point was equally well known
to our British ornithologists as well.J But Dr. Baldamus seems to
have been the first to suspect that at the root of this striking
phenomenon there was a fixed law, perhaps a law which might be
discoverable; and his suspicions in this direction having been
aroused, he proceeded to pay diligent attention to the subject.
To this end he not only made most careful personal observations,
Zoologist for 1853, p. 3988.
t ' Neue Beitrage zur Fortpflanzungsgeschichte des Europaischen Kukkuks
(Cuculus canorus), von E. Baldamus/ Naumannia, 1853, pp. 307-326.
J "Wood's * Illustrated Natural History,' vol. ii., p. 572.
Common Cuckoo. 281
but by means of oological correspondents in various parts of
Germany collected a large series of facts bearing upon the matter
which were convincing to his own mind : convictions which seem
to have been shared in by many of the leading ornithologists of
Germany. I will not weary the patience of my readers by taking
them through the several instances which Dr. Baldamus details >
but pass on at once to the results he arrived at, merely remark-
ing, by the way, that he followed up his investigations with such
earnest zeal, that when he wrote his paper he had before him no
less than one hundred Cuckoos' eggs, special care being taken to
ascertain accurately from the nest of what particular species
every one of these eggs was taken.
The first thing which Dr. Baldamus established to his own
satisfaction, by means of these repeated observations, was, that
the Cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of no less than thirty-seven
species, including not only every species of Chat, Warbler,
Wagtail, Pipit, and Lark, but even exceptionally certain of the
grain-eating Finches and Buntings : these exceptions being
doubtless in cases only where the Cuckoo was deprived, by some
accident, of the nest she had selected for her egg, and which,
when ready to be laid, she was obliged to consign to the care of
the best nurse she could find at short notice. To this seeming
inconsistency on the part of the parent bird I may however add,
that grain- eating species have been known to bring up young
Cuckoos ; and the explanation is, that even the hard-billed
birds are accustomed to feed their young, at any rate at first,
with insects.
From the thirty-seven species alluded to above, which have been
ascertained to act as foster parents of the young Cuckoo, Dr.
Baldamus enumerates no less than twenty-eight, to whose several
eggs he affirms the egg of the Cuckoo will bear some similarity in
colouring ; and this he then proceeds to prove from the specimens
lying before him, and which (as I before remarked) are all care-
fully authenticated, in regard to the nests from which they were
taken. All these specimens he examines singly, and describes
their colouring, as nearly all partaking, in a greater or less degree,
282 Cuculidce.
of the character, ground colour, and markings of the eggs of the
species in whose nests they were severally laid : while some are
so extremely similar that but for the grain* or texture of the
shell and certain characteristic specks, it would be difficult to
distinguish them apart. The exceptions to this general rule
are those laid in the nests of corn-eating species, and our author
adds that it would be extraordinary indeed if the Cuckoo's
eggs should resemble the eggs of these exceptional and never
intended foster-parents.
' The fact then' (says Dr. Baldamus) ' is quite established and
beyond all doubt, that there are Cuckoos' eggs which both in
colour and in marking are very like the eggs of those species in
whose nests they are generally laid :' and then he proceeds to
argue that Nature, who never trifles, nor acts without purpose,
has plainly given the parent Cuckoo this faculty in order to
facilitate the continuance of the species under peculiar conditions,
for (he well remarks) had this not been so, we are driven to the
alternative that the Warblers and others, which generally recog-
nise so easily all strange eggs, casting them out of the nest,t or
else deserting it, in regard to the Cuckoo's eggs are quite blind,
and cannot recognise the red eggs among their green clutches,:}:
and vice versa. Therefore (continues our author) I do not
hesitate to set forth, as a law of nature, that the eggs of the
Cuckoo are in a very considerable degree coloured and marked
like the eggs of those birds in whose nests they are about to be laid,
in order that they might the less easily be recognised by the
foster-parents as substituted.
* ' Das Kornj the German word exactly answering to our English idiom
'grain.' The grain or texture of the shell is too often overlooked by
oologists, but amongst the very similar eggs of some species, as more par-
ticularly among the Duck tribe, this is one very important means of identifi-
cation, more especially when the egg is placed under a low magnifying
power.
t Montagu's ' Ornith. Diet.,' Introduction, p. iv.
J Or ' loiters ' as our Wiltshire rustics say : ' gelege ' in German.
It is worthy of remark, that whereas it has been often asserted that the
egg of the Cuckoo is by no means found in any proportion to the number of
old birds (for it is not a rare species, and every female would seem to lay
Common Cuckoo. 283
The next question examined is c whether the same hen Cuckoo
lays eggs of the same colour and markings only, and is so
limited to the nests of but one species ? or else, does the same
individual lay eggs of different colour and markings, according to
the character of the eggs amongst which her own will be
intruded ?' Both these theories have their advocates ; those in
favour of the last view advancing the hypothesis that the sight of
the eggs lying in the nest has such an influence on the hen which
is just about to lay, that the egg which is ready to be laid assumes
the colour and markings of those before her ; and for this, phy-
siological reasons are adduced, and analogies, not forgetting the
well-known and successful experiments of the patriarch Jacob.*
But Dr. Baldamus rejects this opinion, and contends for the
other view (viz. that the same Cuckoo lays eggs of one colour
and markings only, and so is limited to the nests of but one
species) ; and this he proves by personal experience and observa-
tion ; by the fact that he has found two differently marked
Cuckoos' eggs in one nest ; that he has also found similarly
marked eggs, laid by one and the same Cuckoo, in the nests of
different species ; and that he has found Cuckoos' eggs (though
rarely) in such nests as have not yet received any eggs of the
owner ;t in which case the Cuckoo is without any pattern of a
fixed form of colour for its egg. All these points in the argument
are very carefully worked out at considerable length, and a large
array of proofs and instances brought forward to support his
views ; and then our author deduces the conclusion, that all
experience hitherto known declares in favour of his assertion ' that
every Cuckoo lays eggs of one colouring only, and consequently
(as a general rule) lays only in the nest of one species :' and he
sums up his argument as follows : ' every pair, or rather each
individual Cuckoo, is endowed with the instinct to lay its eggs in
annually from four to six eggs), the difficulty is at once disposed of, if Dr.
Baldamus' theory is correct, inasmuch as the great similarity of the egg of
the Cuckoo to those of the nest in which it is placed, may deceive human
eyes no less than those of the foster parents.
Genesis xxx. 37 et seq.
t This is corroborated in the Naturalist for 1852, p. 33.
284 Cuculidcv.
the nests of some one species of birds, which are fit to act the part
of foster-parents: so, in order that these latter may the less readily
observe the strange egg, it is found to be of similar colouring to
their own ; and for the same reasons it is also so disproportionably
small. Then every pair of Cuckoos seeks its old district, or that
spot where it breeds, just as all other birds do.* Here it generally
finds those species of insectivorous birds which it requires for its
peculiar circumstances : but assuredly they are not always in the
necessary number, or perhaps they may for some cause be breed-
ing earlier or later than its six to eight weeks' time for layingt
lasts : it will therefore be unable to find for each of its eggs a fitting
nest of that species to which it was prepared to entrust it, and to
which it was accustomed ; and so it finds itself obliged to intro-
duce one and another egg into the nests of some other species, if
haply by good chance it can do so.J Thus then it comes to pass
that there are, and from the nature of the circumstances there
must be, proportionably many exceptions to the rule. Thus too
it comes to pass that by far the greater number of Cuckoos' eggs
bear the type of the eggs of the ' White-throat' (Sylvia cinerea), and
of the ' Pied Wagtail' (Motacilla Yarrelli) t thQ most common foster-
parents of the young Cuckoo ; and perhaps, in some localities, of
the 'Meadow Pipit' (Anthus pratensis), the 'Hedge Accentor'
(Accentor modularis), and of the ' Reed Wren ' (Sylvia arundi-
Blyth's edition of White's * Selborne,' p. 78.
f * Legezeit ' is the concise German word, for which we have no English
equivalent.
The Cuckoo, however, alone of British birds, is generally supposed to
have the faculty of retaining her egg in the ovarium, after it is arrived at
maturity, for a limited period of time. (Montagu's ' Ornith. Diet.,' Intro-
duction to vol. i., p. 8. Jesse's ' Gleanings in Nat. Hist.,' p. 125.) If this
be correct, it will account for the egg laid by the Cuckoo as it fell to the
ground after it was shot, recorded by Mr. S. S. Allen (Ibis, vol. iv., p. 358),
and by my friend Mr. Chambers (Ib is, vol. v., p. 475). See also M. Yail-
lant's account of the African Cuckoo shot by himself and his faithful
attendant, the Hottentot Klaas, and the frequent occurrence of the egg laid
by the Cuckoo as she fell wounded from the tree. (Rennie's 4 Architecture
of Birds/ p. 378.)
The Pied Wagtail, the Meadow Pipit, and the Hedge Warbler, are
perhaps most frequently chosen as the foster-parents in this country.
Common Cuckoo. 285
nacea) : and that on that account eggs of such colouring form the
most frequent exceptions; that is to say, are most frequently
found in the nests of other species. Thus too, lastty, it comes to
pass that these two above-named prevailing colours of the
Cuckoo's eggs are spread over most localities, whilst at the same
time they also appear, almost everywhere, as exceptions in other
nests. For the diffusion of 'these two species (the common
White-throat and the Pied Wagtail) is very extensive, and their
haunts usually offer to the Cuckoo also the requirements of its
existence: it is therefore not without signification that one
seldom finds in their nests Cuckoos' eggs of other colours, but one
does very frequently find in the nests of other birds Cuckoos' eggs
of their type.'
[I will just quote, before I take leave of Dr. Baldamus, the
three following deductions, which he draws from his observations,
and with which he concludes his treatise.
I. * Nature must have some special motive in the circum-
stances above detailed, so many, so connected together, but so
peculiar.
II. ' That motive is plainly to be seen : viz., that by means of
certain laws originally made she may ensure and facilitate the
preservation of a species otherwise much exposed to danger.
III. ' She attains this end by a very simple method : in that she
invests every hen Cuckoo with the faculty of laying eggs
coloured like the eggs of the bird of whose nest she prefers to
make use, according to the locality; or, in other words, every
hen Cuckoo lays eggs only of a fixed colour, corresponding with
the eggs of that Warbler in whose nest she lays them (as a
general rule) : and she only lays in other nests when, at the time
for her laying, one of the species of her own peculiar type, as we
may say, which is fitted for her in every particular, is not
ready.']
Such is the very interesting and well sustained argument of Dr.
Baldamus ; and however new and startling his hypothesis, how-
ever unprecedented his conclusions, yet he supports his argument
with such a battery of facts that his position seems almost im-
286 Cuculidce.
pregnable. Facts are proverbially stubborn things, and not to bo
overthrown by opinions held only from the force of habit and not
from conviction of their truth.
The question before us is not to be set on one side as the dream
of an enthusiast, or the fancy of a superficial naturalist. It is
deliberately proposed by a leading ornithologist, of mature judg-
ment and deep scientific attainments ; it is the result, moreover,
of patient research, and a long course of inquiry among men
well calculated to form a right conclusion. At all events let
the theory be well understood: for some have ignorantly or
maliciously declared that Dr. Baldamus had given out that the
Cuckoo had the power of laying her egg of what colour she
pleased, which is exactly the contrary of what the Doctor had
stated. A great deal of controversy and some rather warm con-
tention arose between those who accepted and those who
rejected the theory ; but, as I introduced the subject to the pages
of the Zoologist, I was permitted to sum up the evidence at the
close of the discussion ; and I now proceed to state what con-
clusions I arrived at after a careful examination of the several
opinions expressed.
(1) I felt no hesitation in submitting that the balance of
opinion favours tho theory that the eggs of the Cuckoo do vary
in colour to a considerable extent, but I hastened to add that
there are some, and good ornithologists too, who deny this, and
who even declare that the eggs of the Cuckoo are of peculiarly un-
varying colour; but it will not be disputed that those who so
think, or at all events who have so declared their opinion, are in
a very small minority.
(2) I submitted that it was very generally allowed that the eggs
of the Cuckoo strangely resemble the eggs of other birds,
especially those among which the egg of the Cuckoo is frequently
found. In the view of the German ornithologists, this is thought
to be the rule, though that view is qualified by the addition that
* to this rule there are very many exceptions' In the opinion of
most of our English ornithologists, however, it seems to be con-
sidered that the rule is in favour of the colour generally (perhaps
Common Cuckoo. 287
conventionally) assigned by common consent to the Cuckoo's egg,
and the exceptions (also allowed to be numerous) when the egg
of that bird resembles those of the species in whose nest it is laid.
On these two points most of those who have examined the
question are, I think, agreed; but beyond this opinions differ
widely ; and when we come to discuss the probable reasons for
such variation in colour, and assimilation of colour to the eggs
of the selected foster parents, there are almost as many theories
as disputants, but none of these appear to my judgment so con-
vincing, or indeed so plausible, as the original motive assigned
by Dr. Baldamus and his followers.
And then I ventured to put forth a notion which had occurred
to my mind, and which has since become with me a fixed opinion,
that the young Cuckoo derives from its foster-parent so much of
that nurse's nature (whether by the diet on which it has been
brought up, on which exclusively the young of the foster-parent
would, had it survived, have been fed, or otherwise) as, when its
own turn for breeding arrived, to affect (though unconsciously to
itself) the colouring of the eggs it laid. In support of that
opinion, I would submit the following considerations.
First I would mention as worthy of observation that the young
Cuckoo has been oftentimes declared to have acquired the exact
'note of its foster-parents. Of this Mr. Thompson gives decisive
evidence in the case of a young Cuckoo which was taken out of
a Titlark's nest, and of which he says/ for several weeks after the
Cuckoo was placed in confinement it uttered, when in want of
food, a note so closely resembling that of the Titlark that it would
have been almost impossible to distinguish between them.'* It is
true this may be mere mimicry, or the result of imitation ;
but it must be remembered that, in calling for food, the young
Cuckoo can only imitate the note of its foster-parents, its foster-
brethren having perished on its account in their infancy.
Here then we have the young Cuckoo in one important respect
partaking of the nature of its foster-parents. I do not, however,
wish to push this point too far, or to lay greater stress upon it
* ' Natural History of Ireland,' vol. i., p. 360.
288 Cuculidce.
than it deserves. Let it be taken for what it is worth, though I
think it deserves consideration in connection with the subject
before us.
And now, in support of my opinion, I unhesitatingly assert that
the Cuckoo about to lay her egg has no more notion of its
colour than any other bird has. The will of the parent has
nothing whatever to do with it. I am too ignorant of the process
by which the pigment or colouring matter is diffused over the
egg, or of the exact moment when it receives that pigment before
leaving the oviduct, to be able to show by conclusive reasoning that
birds, of whatever species, are wholly passive and unconscious while
the colouring of their eggs is going on ; but I venture to assert,
without much fear of opposition, that such is the case with
all birds, and with the Cuckoo not less than with other species.
What it is that influences the colouring matter, and produces
a blue egg for one species, a brown egg for another, and a reddish
egg for a third, I can no more describe than I can account for
the varying colours in plumage in the respective species of birds.
Whether the colouring process in regard to the egg is influenced
in any degree by the kinds of food the bird eats, I do not know ;
though that food has an effect on the colour of the plumage of
birds I do know; of this the familiar case of the Bullfinch
becoming black if fed on hemp-seed is a well-known and sufficient
example.
Next, I submit that in all probability the young of the several
species of even our insect-eating Warblers are not fed on precisely
the same diet. This in many cases is obvious ; because whereas
one species procures its insect-food near the banks of streams or
ponds, another in our meadows and gardens, and another in the
hedgerows and ditches, these must undoubtedly feed their young
on the insects which abound in the districts they severally
frequent. Then I think it is not improbable that the same rule
holds good in regard to all species of birds. I mean that the
Hedge Accentor will feed its young with one kind of food;* the
Robin with another, and the Wagtail with a third, and so on
throughout the list of foster-parents to which the Cuckoo entrusts
Cuckoo. 289
her progeny. If this be conceded, and if it be considered
possible that diet may affect the colouring matter of the eggs, we
are advanced some way on the road towards allowing the plausi-
bility of my opinion.
But I would now observe that if any hen bird of any species
arrived at maturity be dissected and examined, it will be found
that her ovary will contain the germs of all the eggs she will
ever lay during her life-time. It is not impossible, then, that
if influenced at all by the nutriment on which she was brought
up, she may be permanently influenced, in regard to the colour-
ing of all the eggs she will lay ; not to mention that it is far from
unlikely that a Cuckoo, hatched by a hedge sparrow or wagtail,
might ever after affect the diet to which it was first
accustomed, just as an Eton Colleger returns in after-life with
extreme relish to the roast mutton which formed his daily dinner
at school.
It is true that in this theory I have no precedent or even
analogy in the feathered race to guide me, for how can one
expect a precedent in aught that pertains to so exceptional a
species as the Cuckoo ? but still I have some sort of corrobora-
tive evidence to adduce from the insect world. I allude to the
case of bees ; and it is now an acknowledged fact that in the event
of any accidental destruction or unexpected loss of the queen bee
(when provision had not been made for her successor, after the
usual custom, by rearing princesses in the cell specially prepared
for the royal brood) the nurses will adopt the grub of an ordinary
worker, and by feeding it with a special diet, reserved on other
occasions for the royal cells alone, will from that worker grub
develop a queen, differing in size and colour as well as vocation
from the individual it would under ordinary circumstances have
become.* Such a permanent effect in this case has a particular
diet on the unconscious and passive infant.
I repeat that the theory I have been discussing is but a fancy,
but possibly it may be worth examination. When first it
occurred to me I made an effort to get it corroborated, or over-
* See Bevan on the Honey Bee, p. 21.
19
290 Cuculidce.
thrown, by laying it before one whose authority in such matters is
of European reputation, and who would have carried conviction
in its favour, or the contrary, by any decided opinion upon it he
expressed. But when, in answer to my inquiries, the late Mr.
Charles Darwin most kindly replied ' that he had no sufficient
information on the point, such as would warrant him to pronounce
any dogmatic judgment on it,' I thought it not altogether worth-
less. I should, however, in candour own that Mr. Darwin added,
* My impression is that differences of food would not produce the
effects which you suppose possible ; and that impression is derived
chiefly from there being hardly any evidence of variations being
due to slight differences in the nature of the food.' Mr. Darwin
then proceeded to give me several interesting examples of change
of colour in plumage, and especially called my attention to the
paper (in Proc. Zool. Soc.) on the Australian Cuckoos by Mr.
Kamsay, where that gentleman 'states that two of the species,
when they lay their eggs in an open nest, manifest a decided
preference for nests containing eggs similar to their own in
colour.'
Many years have elapsed since the controversy was carried on
with reference to the colouring of the Cuckoo's egg. Several
leading ornithologists, Professor Newton amongst them, declared
that a well-authenticated blue Cuckoo's egg, somewhat similar to
that of the hedge sparrow, was wanting to complete the case as
enunciated by Dr. Baldamus ; and now in addition to those put
forth by Dr. Baldamus, and Dr. Hey, and some instances which I
and others adduced, Mr. Seebohm has published in his excellent
work on British Birds a whole plate of Cuckoos' eggs, amongst
which are two coloured blue, like those of the hedge accentor or
redstart. But I doubt if the ornithological world of England is
yet convinced. Perhaps we have not yet arrived at a full under-
standing of this, and of some other interesting details on the life
and economy of the Cuckoo, which still maintains in some
respects its character as a mysterious creature. I should not,
however, close this account without observing that the only other
species of Cuckoo with which I am familiar is the ' Great Spotted
Cuckoo.
291
Cuckoo' (Guculus glandarius), which. I met with in some numbers
in Egypt, and which lays its eggs singly in the nests of other
birds, generally of the hooded crow or the blue magpie, to whose
eggs they bear a close resemblance, both in ground colour and in
markings. Thus there is precedent and analogy to support our
Common Cuckoo in pursuing a like habit.
19-2
CHAPTER VIII.
INSESSORES (Perchers). Continued.
FISSIROSTRES (Wide-billed).
THIS last tribe of the great order of Perchers is by far the smallest
of the four, for though it contains more families than the Climbers,
viz., the Bee-eaters, Kingfishers, Swallows and Goatsuckers, yet
two of these are represented in this country by one single species
only, and the whole tribe numbers but eight individuals known in
Wiltshire. The word ' Fissirostres ' (wide-billed or cloven-beaked)
describes at once their chief characteristic, and indeed if we
closely examine those species in which this peculiarity is most
developed, viz., the common swift and the night-jar, we shall be
surprised to see to what an immense width the gape extends, and
how apparently disproportionate to the size of the head is the
enormous extent of the capacious mouth and throat, though
these are admirably adapted to their habits of feeding on the
wing and capturing flies and moths, as in a net, in their rapid
career through the air. Their feet, being little required for use,
are generally small and weak, and their flight is peculiarly smooth
and easy, gliding as they do with outstretched pinions, with
apparently little or no effort, and with surprising speed, and pro-
tracting their aerial rambles, as if they were incapable of
fatigue.
MEROPID.E (THE BEE-EATERS).
In my former papers on the Ornithology of Wilts, written above
twenty years ago, I was obliged to omit this family, as no reliable
The Roller. 293
instance of the occurrence of any member of it in Wiltshire
had then reached me. There are indeed but two species belong-
ing to it which have ever been known to appear in Great Britain,
and these are only occasional and uncertain, if not rare visitors.
But both partake of a great brilliancy of plumage, and of interest-
ing habits; and both are hailed by me as welcome additions
to our Wiltshire list ; for they are old friends with whom I have
become well acquainted in other countries.
112. THE ROLLER (Coradas garrula).
The evidence which I have of this bird's visit to Wiltshire is not
quite satisfactory, as the specimen observed was not captured, and
so cannot be brought forward as proof positive of its identity. It
was, however, well seen and thoroughly examined by one of the
masters of Marlborough College, as he was walking in
Savernake Forest in 1883, and my friend, Rev. T. A. Preston,
satisfied himself by careful inquiry that there was no mistake
in the species alleged to have been seen. But, indeed, there is
no other bird with which an intelligent observer could confuse
it. I am ready therefore to accept Mr. Preston's assurance
that ' we may be certain a bird of this species was seen at the
place and time named.' The Roller is a common bird all round
the shores of the Mediterranean, more especially in the east and
south of that inland sea ; and for myself, I saw it more frequently
than elsewhere in the Holy Land. It is generally a shy, timid
bird, of unsociable habits, retiring to the recesses of woods,
whence its harsh, loud cries may be heard from time to time, for it
is a most noisy chatterer, as its specific name garrula points out.
In Northern Africa the Arabs call it Tschugrug or Shrugwrug,
derived from one of its cries, which it well expresses. By the
French colonists it is known as the Geai d'Afrique ; in Malta
as the ' Blue Jay ;' in Sweden as the Bid Krdka, or ' Blue Crow ;'
by the Italians as Corvo marino; and by us, as the ' Roller,' because
it rolls along in its flight. But it has also a very remarkable
habit of tumbling in the air, which is well described by Canon
Tristram, as he witnessed it when encamped at Ain Sultan, in the
294 Meropidce.
hot valley of Jordan, not far from the Dead Sea. ' For several
successive evenings ' (he says) ' great flocks of Rollers mustered
shortly before sunset, on some dom trees near the fountain, with
all the noise, but without the decorum, of rooks. After a volley
of discordant screams, a few of the birds would start from their
perch and commence a series of somersaults overhead, somewhat
after the fashion of tumbler pigeons. In a moment or two they
would be followed by the whole flock, and these gambols would be
repeated for a dozen times or more. In about a week they dis-
persed to excavate the bank for their nests, and after this
dispersal not a Roller came back to the ddm trees where they
had roosted at first. The sand-beetles were their favourite food,
and they were scattered over all the wooded districts.'* In France
it is, as with us, Le Rollier, and in Portugal Rollieiro ; but in
Germany it is Blaue Racke, ' Blue Roller,' and in Spain Carranco.
Coracias is simply Kopaxtas, ' a kind of chough/ in Aristotle ;
' like a crow/ from /copal;.
113. BEE-EATER (Merops apiaster).
I have but one instance of a visit of this beautiful bird to Wilt-
shire, and that was reported to me by the Rev. G. Powell. It appears
that on May 4th, 1866, a mason named Turner, engaged in the exer-
cise of his calling on the estate of Mr. Temple, of Bishopstrow, near
Warminster, observed a bird of strange appearance and brilliant
plumage, amusing itself in a neighbouring orchard in catching
insects, and retiring with them again and again to the same
branch, against which it each time knocked its bill before
swallowing its prey. For some time the mason contented himself
with watching the bird from the roof of the cottage, where he was
repairing the tiles, till at length, attracted by the strange beauty
of the bird, he sent for a gun and shot it from the spot where he
was at work. Mr. Powell adds that the specimen thus secured
was a very fine male bird, in most brilliant plumage, and was
quite alone when shot. The Bee-eater is a native of Southern
* Canon Tristram on the ' Ornithology of Palestine/ in Ibis for 1866,
p. 81.
Bee-Eater. 295
Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia, in all of which it
breeds, retiring to winter in Central and Southern Africa, and I
well recollect the day when we were moored to the banks of the
Nile, during the prevalence of a gale of wind, which easily
daunted our sailors ; the first flock of Bee-eaters arrived in the
middle of March, and immediately made their presence known by
their loud, shrill, and somewhat harsh cries, and by their rapid
flight, not unlike that of the swallow, as they darted backwards and
forwards above the river bank. It is essentially a sociable bird,
breeding often in large colonies, in holes which it excavates on
the banks of rivers, and also retiring to roost in flocks, when as
many as possible perch on the same branch, as close to one
another as they can nestle. Montagu reported that in Egypt,
where it is sought for the table, it was called Mdinoorghi, or
* Bees' enemy,' as assuredly it is. At the Cape of Good Hope it is
named ' Gnat Snapper/ and highly esteemed there accordingly, as all
will believe who have really suffered under the attacks of the hate-
ful mosquito ; and then again it is honoured, because it is a guide to
the Hottentots by directing them to the honey which the bees
store in the clefts of the rocks. Merops is simply pepo^, the Bee-
eater of Aristotle, probably akin to /jLapTrra), ( I seize ;' or possibly
from nepifa, ' I divide/ and cty, < the face/ as if ' open-mouthed/
Apiaster, in use in the fifth century, is the Latin translation of
Merop8,from apis, ' a bee.' In France it is Le Guepier, ' Wasp-eater,'
in Germany, #ktt/resse?VBee-devourer ;' in Sweden, Bi-dtare, 'Bee-
eater / in Spain, Abejaruco, and in Portugal Abelharuco and
Melharuco ; but the latter, meaning ' Honey-eater/ is as
inappropriate as our English name ' Honey Buzzard' is to Buteo
apivorus.
HALCYONIM: (THE KINGFISHERS).
Members of this family are generally remarkable for the extreme
brilliancy of their plumage; they are chiefly natives of more
tropical climates, as the brilliant colours of their plumage
demonstrate, one species only, and that of marvellous splendour,
inhabiting this country or, indeed, Europe generally. They prey
296 Haley onidce.
upon small fishes and insects, the former of which they procure
by darting down upon them from some elevated place as they
rise to the surface of the water, and the latter by pouncing upon
them in their flight ; their feet, like others of this tribe, are small
and feeble, their beak is straight and pointed, and their flight
is rapid.
114. KINGFISHER (Alcedo ispida) .
The gorgeous colours of this, the most beautiful of all our
British birds, defy description ; there is on the upper parts such a
mixture of the brightest blue with the most vivid green, and
these colours blend with one another and are reflected with such
marvellous brilliancy and with such metallic lustre, that they must
be seen to be duly appreciated ; all the under-plumage is of a reddish
orange. The Kingfisher is not uncommon wherever there is a
stream ; indeed, for lack of a river, or brook, I have known it
haunt the foul sluggish watercourse of a long line of water
meadows, and even a stagnant pond in a cow yard at Old Park,* at
least a quarter of a mile away from any running water, but where,
year after year, it frequented the same hole for breeding purposes,
though the pond was constantly resorted to by a large herd of
cows, and hard by was the dairy farm, and its many buildings, and
far more dangerous its many boys and men in attendance on
the cattle ; yet, strange to say, this bird of such attractive plumage
somehow escaped general observation, and for several years, to
my certain knowledge, contrived to lead out its young in safety.
There has been much discussion amongst ornithologists as to
whether the Kingfisher makes any nest, and if so, of what
material, previous to depositing her eggs in the hole which she
has prepared for her nursery ; but it is now generally admitted that
the indigestible portion of the food which she casts up in pellets,
composed of the bones of small fishes, is the sole material of the
nest. The name hispida is said by the compilers of the B.O.U.
I once pointed out this strange locality for a Kingfisher's nest to Pro-
fessor Newton, who has thought it worthy of mention in his edition of
Yarrell. See fourth edition, vol. ii., p. 445.
Kingfisher. 297
' List of British Birds' to be derived from hispidus, ' rough,
prickly/ in allusion to these fish bones in the nesting- hole. On
the downs of North Wiltshire we should scarcely expect to meet-
with this bird, yet I have more than once disturbed it in one of the
winterbournes, or watercourses, within three miles of its source,
which is never more than an insignificant stream, and oftentimes is-
perfectly dry in summer ; so that the slightest thread of running
water seems to satisfy its requirements. Except in the breeding
season, it is a shy bird, and generally avoids the habitations of man ;.
it is also essentially solitary in its habits, and, except during the
breeding season, is always found alone ; its mode of seizing the
smaller fish on which it preys is singular ; it will sit for a con-
siderable time on a rail or bush overhanging the water, and watch
in patience the arrival of some victim, when with the most rapid
flight it will dart like lightning beneath the surface, and seizing
its unsuspected prey in its bill, bring it back to the station it
before occupied, there to be devoured at leisure ; at other times it
may be seen shooting like a meteor over the brook, always,
however, following the course of the stream, and if its quick eye
catches sight of food, you may see it suddenly stop, hover with
expanded wings for a moment, and then drop like a stone into the
water, from which it will as quickly emerge with its quivering
victim firmly held between the mandibles of its beak ; and this it
will either at once devour, or else beat to death against a stone and
then swallow whole. And yet with this plunging propensity, and
this fearlessness in precipitating itself into deep water from which
it always emerges unscathed, it is essentially a land bird, and has
no affinity with the water fowl, with which Bewick and some of
the older naturalists classed it. Neither can it seek the water on a
rough stormy day ; for the fishing manoeuvres above recorded to-
be successful, calm quiet weather is necessary, when the water is
neither thickened by rain nor ruffled by wind, but as the elements
are not always so propitious to its piscatory expeditions, the
Kingfisher (like the true birds of prey) will gorge itself
voraciously at one time, and then retire to digest its heavy meal at
leisure. Another habit too it possesses in common with the
298 Haley onidce.
rapacious birds, viz., that it reproduces in castings, or small pellets,
the fish bones and other indigestible parts of the living creatures
it has swallowed, and these pellets in time cover the floor of the
hole in the bank in which it dwells, and form the nest on which
it deposits its beautiful transparent white eggs. On no bird have
the old heathen poets and naturalists exercised their fancy more
than on the Kingfisher, and among other strange tales they used to
fable that this bird would sit on its floating nest for the seven days
of incubation, and that it had such power over the winds and
waves that, though in the depth of winter, a perfect calm always
reigned during that period, when mariners might cross the sea in
perfect safety ; and hence came a well-known saying, ' Halcyon
days/ which has passed into a proverb for any short season of
tranquillity. As Dryden says :
* Amidst our arms as quiet you shall be
As halcyons brooding on a winter's sea ;'
and in Wild's ' Iter Boreale ' we read :
' The peaceful Kingfishers are met together
About the decks, and prophesy calm weather.'
In Sweden it rejoices in the lengthy name of Bld-ryggig
Is-vogel, or 'Blue-backed Ice-bird/ and Professor Newton says that
the Anglo-Saxon name for it was Isern or Isen, for in hard frosts
it often collects in some numbers around any open water, and being
conspicuous as it sits on the ice, a name signifying ' Ice-bird ' has
been applied to it in all the Teutonic languages.* In 1613
it was one of the victims denounced as a ' ravenous bird/ and
persecuted accordingly by law ; and under one pretext and
another it has been hunted down ever since ; so that were not
its numbers recruited every year by the arrival of emigrants from
Holland, this, the most brilliantly coloured of all our indigenous
birds, would bid fair to become exterminated in England.f As
it is, however, I do not think its numbers are much diminished
in the county generally. If I am told by Rev. E. Goddard that
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 451.
t Cordeaux's ' Birds of the Humber District, 5 p. 71.
Kingfisher. 299
they are becoming very scarce at Clyffe Pypard and Hilmarton, I
learn from the Right Honourable E. P. Bouverie that they are still
fairly common at Market-Lavington; and if I hear from Lord
Arimdell that they are become more scarce at Wardour, I am told
by the Rev. C. F. Cooke that they are frequently seen darting over
the Avon at Enford. It is surprising that it should be so, for,
perhaps, no British bird has suffered more than the Kingfisher
from that most cruel and barbarous fashion which cannot be too
loudly condemned, and which I am sure without thought of the
consequences was adopted some years since by English ladies,
of wearing gay-coloured birds, or wings of birds, in their hats, and
which bids fair to exterminate altogether some of the species of
most brilliant plumage. We in England, doubtless, give a royal
title to this bird on account of the splendour of its plumage, just as
we name the magnificent species of Eider, 'The King Eider,' and the
brilliant Goldcrest is dubbed Regulus. In Germany it is Gemeine
Eisvogel, Common Ice-bird ; in Portugal, Pica-peixe, ' Seizer of
Fish ;' and Guardarios, ' River Watchman ;' but in France it is
Martin Pecheur, and in Spain Martin Pescador, ' Fisherman of S.
Martin.' This is in reality a nick-name, like Robin Redbreast,
Jenny Wren, Jack Daw, etc., but the Oiseau de S. Martin is
really the ringtail, or the hen-harrier. Alcedo is classical Latin
for a ' Kingfisher,' taken from the Greek d
HIRUNDINIM: (THE SWALLOWS).
This family certainly contains the most conspicuous of our
summer birds, and with their first appearance we are accustomed
to associate the departure of winter and the approach of summer,
and therefore we are naturally predisposed in their favour : but
not only do we welcome them as heralds of spring and harbingers
of sunshine; in addition to this, all their movements are so
graceful, they are so essentially birds of the air, seldom touching
the earth, but careering all day long under the bright blue sky
and through the lofty pathways of the air, that they engage our
particular admiration and interest : if we stand still to watch one
of these birds in its course, see with what arrowy speed it darts
300 Hirundinidce.
over our gardens, sweeps round our houses or skims over the
pool : now it will wheel and sport high up in the air, hurrying
here and there on the lightest wing in the gladness of its heart - t
anon it will float without effort in the vast expanse, as much
at home and at ease as other birds when perched on a tree
or motionless on the ground; and for this aerial life how admir-
ably their structure is adapted : observe the shape of the body,
how full the forepart, how gradually tapering towards the tail,
which is exactly the principle on which the fastest sailing ships are
constructed : then see the plumage, how firmly compacted, how
little liable to be ruffled by the breezes in a long and rapid flight;
mark the wings stretching out like oars of vast length, and moved
by muscles of extraordinary power : note the long forked tail>
supplying a never-failing rudder to guide the bird through those
numerous windings in which it delights. Other characteristics
of this family, in addition to those belonging to the whole tribe,
are very short beak, very broad at the base and slightly bent ;
head quite flat, and neck scarcely visible : their note is rather
a continued twitter than a song, though some of the species will
scream in a high and wild key, and others have a not unpleasing
though monotonous and very gentle melodious warble. All the
four species of this family with which we are acquainted are
summer visitants, leaving us in the autumn. It used to be
asserted by older naturalists, before the habits of birds had been
so closely observed as of later years, that the Hirundines did
not leave this country in the winter, but retired to caves or holes,
and there remained dormant, like the bats and dormice. Others
maintained the wilder theory that they plunged into the beds
of rivers and lakes, and there amidst the sedge and mud and
reeds at the bottom, slumbered away the dreary months of ice
and snow, till the genial breezes and warmth of April roused
them from their torpor to renewed life and activity. These idle
tales have long since been exploded, and we all know that the
bulk of these birds collect in enormous numbers in the autumn,
migrate in vast flocks, and steer their course due south, though
doubtless a few stragglers are often left behind, perhaps physi-
Swallow. 301
cally incapable of accompanying their brethren, and these would
naturally seek the warmest recesses they could find, and there
become torpid from cold : while the not unusual habit of these
birds to seek the vicinity of water, where their winged insect
prey chiefly abounds, and to roost amid the reeds on the margins
of lakes and ponds, has probably given rise to the wondrous
account of their voluntary immersion during winter. As an
unanswerable proof that they do not hibernate, I will add that
it has been satisfactorily ascertained that they annually moult in
February, than which nothing more clear or decisive on the
subject can be adduced: moreover, they have been frequently
observed on their passage, and there is now no question that they
leave us as soon as their young are strong enough on the wing for
a prolonged journey, and when the supply of insect food begins
to fail : and it is astonishing what an immense number of flies of
various kinds a single individual of this family will consume
in one day, all of which are caught with great dexterity in the
air in the midst of their rapid and buoyant flight ; and thus they
rid us of what but for their good offices would be an intolerable
plague of flies and gnats. I may well conclude my general
account of this family in the words of good old Gilbert White of
Selborne: 'The Hirundines are a most inoffensive, harmless,
entertaining, social and useful tribe of birds ; they touch no fruit
hi our gardens ; delight (all but one species) in attaching them-
selves to our houses ; amuse us with their migrations, songs, and
marvellous agility ; and clear our outlets from the annoyance of
gnats and other troublesome insects.'
115. SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica).
There are two marks by which this species may be readily dis-
tinguished from its congeners, viz.: the long deeply- forked tail,
and rufous forehead and throat ; the plumage of the bird is a
glossy steel blue or purple black : it is often called the ' Chimney
Swallow,' and by French naturalists ' Hirondelle de cheminfe, 9
because it frequently selects a chimney for its nesting place,
though sometimes the shaft of an old mine or the rafter of
302 Hirundinidce.
an outhouse are deemed good substitutes : for the same reason
the Germans style it ' Die Ranch Schwalbe,' or ' Smoke Swallow/
and the Swedes Ladu-Svala, or ' Barn Swallow.' In Spain it is
Golondrina, and in Portugal Andoinnha. Professor Skeat says
that our word ' Swallow/ as well as the German and Danish
names for this bird, signifies * tosser about/ ' mover to and fro/
and is allied to the Greek <ra\eveu>, ' to toss up and down like a
ship at sea/
Its great power of wing enables it to visit very distant countries.
Passing the colder months of winter in the interior of Africa, as
spring advances it migrates northwards and penetrates almost to
the frozen seas and shores lying near the North Pole. In this
country we may generally observe one or two pioneers arriving in
advance of the main body ; and so regularly does this occur that
there is scarcely a European language which does not contain
the old Spanish proverb, ' One Swallow does not make summer/
Flies and gnats of many species form its constant food, and often-
times it has been seen to take a hive bee on the wing, to the
natural indignation of the bee-master : but Mr. Harting tells us
of a Swallow shot in the act of that delinquency, that was found
on dissection to have its stomach literally crammed with drones,
but not a vestige of a working bee was to be found there.*
Perhaps the sagacious bird had discovered that the former were
unprotected with stings.
In fine weather it flies so high as to be barely detected from
below, and this is a well-known signal that no storms arc at
hand ; for at such times it is in pursuit of high- soaring insects
which are wonderfully susceptible of atmospheric changes, and
descend to the earth when clouds begin to gather: when therefore
the Swallow flies low, we know that it has followed its victims
downwards, and that rain is not far off. But it is only in the
bright sunshine, and under cloudless skies, that this joyous bird
seems to exult ; then you may see it wheel through the air,
or skim over the water, and drink and bathe while on the wing,
and scatter the bright drops over its shining plumage ; and it is
* ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 124 ; ' Our Summer Migrants,' p. 172.
Swallow. 303
really sad to think how many of these happy, innocent birds fall
victims to the thoughtless persecution of youthful gunners, who
fire at them for no other object than for practice, or from wanton
thoughtlessness, regardless alike of their sufferings, their harm-
lessness, and the benefits they confer ; and one would rejoice to
see them invested here with some of the love and reverence shown
towards them by the inhabitants of Scandinavia, among whom
the following pretty legend is a familiar household tale : ' When
our Blessed Lord was crucified a little bird came and perched
upon the Cross, peered sorrowfully down upon the Sufferer, and
twittered ' Hugsvala, svala svala Honom' ' Console, console,
console Him:' and hence it obtained the name of Svala (Swal-
low). In consequence of the commiseration thus evinced by the
Swallow towards the Kedeemer, Heaven ordained that blessings
and prosperity should ever afterwards attend on those who
protected it and its nest;'* and from this tradition the honest
Norsemen considered it sinful in any way to injure or molest this
favoured bird of Heaven. In Italy, too, there is a strong feeling of
reverence for these ' Chickens of the Madonna/ as they are styled,
and nobody dreams of harming them. As the autumn draws on
and the Swallows begin to prepare for their departure, they may
be seen congregated on the roofs of houses in thousands, giving
utterance to their soft twittering note, and apparently loth to
leave the house where they have reared their young; but at
length, when the fitting moment arrives, away goes the vast flock,
steering due south, after which scarcely a straggler is to be seen.
To the question, Where do they pass the winter ? it may now be
confidently replied that the great body retreat far into the
interior of Africa ; a considerable portion prolonging their journey
to the south of the Equator, and penetrating as far as Natal,
where they arrive in November, and whence they depart in March
or April, congregating in vast numbers just before they leave the
country, alighting in crowds on trees and bushes, as if collecting
their forces before they set out on their return journey north-
Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 355.
304 Hirundinidce.
wards, just as they do here when they leave us for the South.*
Some few stragglers, however, remain in Northern Africa,
possibly weakly birds which are incapable of a prolonged flight.
11G. MARTIN (Hirundo urbiccC).
This species is even more familiar to us than the last, for
whereas that is comparatively a denizen of the country (rustica) .
this is an inhabitant of the town (urbica), and it selects the eaves
of our houses and the corners of our windows as fitting situations
for its clay-built nest ; hence the names by which it is so often
designated of ' Window Swallow/ ' Hirondelle de fen&re,' ' Haus-
schwalbe.' It may be at once distinguished from the last by
the pure white of all its under parts, and the shorter forked tail,
as well as by its smaller size and more compact shape ; it has also
a conspicuous patch of white on the back, just above the tail,
which stands out in marked contrast with the dark purple hue of
all its upper plumage : its legs and feet, too, are feathered to the
toes, in which respect it differs from its congeners ; it hunts on the
wing, wheels through the air, flocks before migration, and otherwise
comports itself like the preceding, but it does not arrive in this
country till a week or two later, probably owing to its lesser
powers of wing, and consequently inferior speed. The Martin
has generally two broods in the summer, but so strong is its
instinct to join in the general migration when the fitting period
arrives, that it often leaves its young, if hatched late in the year,
to perish in the nest, rather than endanger its own safety by delay-
ing its departure after the great body of its species has gone ; and
this apparently unnatural proceeding is not confined to one or two
isolated cases, but is found to be more or less practised every year,
and in some seasons to a very great extent. Lloyd in his
" Scandinavian Adventures' (vol. ii., p. 353) says that in Lapland
half the Martins' nests of the preceding year which he examined,
contained the remains of half-grown and abandoned young. The
.same author also observes, ' Though in England we set little value
* J. H. Gurney in Ibis for 18G3, p. 321.
Martin. 305
on this bird, such is not the case in the more northern parts of
Scandinavia, where those pests, the mosquitoes, literally swarrn ;
for knowing the destruction the Martin causes amongst them, the
inhabitants not only protect it in every way, but very commonly
fasten great numbers of scroll- shaped pieces of bark of the birch
tree, somewhat resembling the sparrow- pots in use with us, to the
sides of their habitations, for the bird to breed in.' Here, too, in
this county we have an honourable pre-eminence for rearing these
birds ; for Kennie, the editor of Montagu's Dictionary, says the
greatest number of House Martins' nests he ever saw together was
under the north eave of Mr. Heneage's stables, at Compton
Basset House, in Wiltshire. There were about fifty nests in one
continuous line. The construction of the Martin's nest is well
worthy of observation; the outer shell is composed of mud, or clay,
collected from the puddles in the road, apparently kneaded and
worked into a paste, which also derives adhesive qualities from
the saliva of the bird. Of this material, a single layer only is
placed each day on the rising structure, and is left to harden and
dry until, on the following day, it is sufficiently firm to support
another layer. When the hemispherical shell is completed, and
is well lined with hay, straw and soft feathers, an admirable
nursery for the young is provided, and one which often serves
the parent birds for many successive seasons. The saliva
mentioned above is described as a viscous fluid provided from a
glandular apparatus peculiar to this family,* and, however
repugnant to English taste and English prejudice, is the principal
ingredient of the famous edible birds' nests, so highly valued,
when transformed into a soup, by the Chinese epicure. In Italy
it is known as Rondine ; in Spain, as Vencejo ; in Portugal it
shares with the swallow the name common to both species,
Andorinha ; in Sweden it is Hus-Svala. Our word ' Martin,' in
reality a nickname, has been applied to various animals and
birds, by ourselves and Continental naturalists, as we have seen
above in the case of the Kingfisher.
* Selby's ' Illustrations of British Ornithology,' vol. i., p. 119.
20
306 Hirundinidce.
117. SAND MARTIN (Hirundo riparia).
This little sober-coloured bird, dusky brown above, and dull
white beneath, receives its names of * Sand Martin,' and ' Bank
Swallow,' and ' Quar Martin,' from its tendency to make its nest
in holes in the banks of rivers, on the abrupt sandbank of a deep
road-cutting, or the perpendicular side of a quarry ; in short, the
steep face of any cliff will answer the purpose, provided only the
soil be soft and sandy enough to allow of excavation to the
depth of two or three feet ; and in some favoured spots, several of
which exist in Wiltshire, the sandbanks which these birds
frequent are completely riddled with their holes for a considerable
space. So well known for ages has this habit been, that Pliny
the elder, in his great work on Natural History, applied the term
'riparia' to the Sand-Martin 1800 years ago, and it has enjoyed
the appellation ever since. In Spain, where it is sold in the
market for the table, it is called, by the country people, probably
from its desultory jerking manner of flight, Papilion di
Montayna, 'Mountain butterfly.' Many Ornithologists of modern
date divide this species from the Swallows and Martins, and give
it the generic name of Cot He, derived from the Greek *omXa?, a
' twitterer' or 'prattler,' and having reference to the continued
babbling or chattering in which these little birds indulge, when
they assemble in the autumn in countless numbers to roost in
the reed-beds, after the manrer of starlings. In France it is
Hirondelle de rivage ; in Germany, Ufer-schu-albe ; in Italy,
Eondine riparia ; and in Sweden, Strand-svala all of which are
mere translations of the specific riparia. It arrives a few days
earlier than any of its congeners, and may be met with in its
favourite haunts about the second week in April, sometimes even
so early as the last week in March ; but as it is one of the first to
arrive, so it is the earliest to depart, for by the end of August or
very early in September the great body of these birds is gone, and
before the end of the latter month not" a straggler remains behind.
It differs from the Martin in its inferior size, and browner upper
plumage; the beak, though small and short, is very hard and
Common Swift. 307
sharp, and admirably adapted for digging, and indeed is the only
instrument employed in excavating the hole for the nest, the
sharp claws being required for clinging to the face of the bank, or
hanging to the roof of the half-made tunnel, while the beak per-
forates and loosens and excavates the sand. The gallery formed is
always more or less winding, sloping slightly upwards, and con-
tains a soft nest at the extremity. It skims over meadows, and
more commonly over lakes and rivers, where it finds an abundant
supply of insect food ; it also drinks and bathes as it flies, after
the manner of its congeners previously described, and is by far
the smallest of the Hirundines.
118. COMMON SWIFT (Cypsdus apus).
The scientific name of this bird (signifying ' the hole- frequenter
without feet, ') is intended to characterize its habits and appear-
ance cypselus rather obscurely denoting its habit of building in
holes of walls (/cvtylXai) ; apus referring to the shortness of its feet.
It has indeed, feet so short that they may almost be said to be want-
ing, and are quite unfit for moving on the ground, on which it never
alights, for in truth the shortness of the tarsi and the length of
wing render it unable to rise from an even surface. The toes, four in
number, are all directed forwards, giving the foot the appearance
of that of a quadruped rather than of a bird ; the claws are much
curved, enabling it to cling to the perpendicular face of a wall,
rock or tower which form its principal resting-places thus the feet,
useless for locomotion, where they are not needed, are perfect for
grasping, for which they are required. The wings are extremely
long and powerful, giving the bird astonishing swiftness and
endurance of flight, so that for sixteen consecutive hours, from the
early dawn to twilight of a long summer's day, these indefatigable
birds will career at an immense height above the earth ; and there
at such vast elevations they not only find innumerable insects
which soar so high above our heads, but what is more astonishing,
an abundance of a species of minute spider with which those
lofty regions appear to be tenanted, and of whose numbers we
202
308 Hirundinidcc.
occasionally form some conception when in an autumnal morning
we see the ground carpeted with the thinnest webs glistening with
moisture : these are the webs of the gossamer spider, which,
rendered heavier by the dew settling on their slender threads,
fall to the ground and cover whole acres. Sometimes, says
Professor Newton, half a dozen birds will race, within a few feet of
the ground, through the narrow lanes, or up and down the
confined courts of a small country town or village, uttering the
while their singular squeaking note, which writers have tried to
syllable swee ree. Thence it is sometimes called 'Screech Owl/
and ' Deviling.' But notwithstanding the vast powers of flight of
the Swift, prolonged through the entire day, surpassing that of
all our other birds, and with which the speed of the express train
is not to be compared for a moment, it is one of the latest of our
summer visitants to arrive, and one of the earliest to depart ; its
movements being doubtless regulated by the supply of the high-
flying insect food which it finds in the upper regions of the air.
It seems to delight most in heavy, close, thundery weather, when
it darts to and fro, screeching forth its unearthly note, and is
thought an uncanny bird by many a housewife even in this
county and in these days. Here it loves to frequent our downs in
fine weather, where it may be met with in considerable numbers ;
and in the evenings, uttering its loud and harsh scream, it wheels
round and round the tops of old towers and steeples, before
retiring to roost in their crevices and holes. Where suitable
nesting-places in church- towers or elsewhere are wanting, the
Swifts content themselves with holes in the thatch of cottages,
and both at Yatesbury and at Potterne I have seen them in full
possession of such humble nurseries. But where holes in a
tower may be had, they are occupied by choice. Nowhere have
I seen the Common Swift in such abundance as in the city of
Turin, for in the very heart of the town, not far from the Royal
Palace, and immediately opposite the Hotel d'Europe of world-
wide renown, stands a tall isolated tower, the walls of which,
unoccupied by windows, contain literally many hundreds of holes,
apparently left by the masons for scaffold purposes. All of these
Common Swift. 309
holes are in the breeding season occupied by the Swifts, and to
watch them on a summer's evening careering round the tower,
several hundreds in the air at once, as they dash by on
unwearied wing, and to listen to the wild screechings from
so many throats, is a treat which the ornithologist will look in vain
for elsewhere, and which on two separate occasions I happen to
have witnessed at Turin. Its colour, with the exception of a
dusky- white chin, is smoke-black ; its head is peculiarly flat as
well as broad, and the neck very short. It is singular that in
rough and windy weather it will not sally forth on its aerial
rambles, but contents itself in the dark in its retreat in some
tower or wall ; thus (as Bewick remarks) ' the life of the Swift
seems to be divided into two extremes the one of the most
violent exertion, the other of perfect inaction ; they must either
shoot through the air, or remain close in their holes.' Their
provincial name in Wiltshire is ' the Screech.' - In France it is
Martinet cle Muraille ; in Germany, Thurm Schwalbe ; in Italy,
Rondine maggiore volgarm, 'Common greater Swallow;' in Spain,
Avion; and in 'Portugal, Andorinhao. In Sweden it is known as the
Ring Svala from its habit of careering in circles round its nesting-
place, and the Torn Svala, or ' Tower Swallow,' from the localities
it frequents ; also the Sval Hok, or ' Swallow Hawk,' because it is
popularly believed to seize and eat up its relatives, the Swallows.
[I much regret that I cannot include in the Wiltshire list the
larger species, the 'Alpine' or 'White-bellied Swift (Cypselus
alpinus), with which I have become very familiar on the shores
of the Mediterranean and in several parts of Switzerland, for
indeed it is a bird to be admired. With longer wings and even
more powerful flight than its congener, it is, in my opinion, the
most perfect specimen of a bird formed for living in the air, and
darting on its way with the utmost velocity.]
CAPRIMULGID^E (THE GOATSUCKERS).
There is no family of birds so illused by nomenclature as this ;
not only have they received a false character, and an imputation
310 CaprimulgidcB.
of crimes of which they were never guilty, but now that their
innocence has been long since clearly proved and universally
allowed, still they continue to be designated by the same oppro-
brious title ; and what an absurd idea it was, even for our marvel-
loving old naturalists, to accuse these harmless insect-eating birds
of feeding on goats' milk, to obtain which, however, they are sin-
gularly ill-adapted. Their general characteristics are : very large
head with enormous width of gape ; large, clear and full eyes, as
befit those who hunt entirely in the dark ; short neck, and very
small body ; plumage extremely soft and full ; wings and tail very
long ; the base of the bill fringed with large bristles, which they
can move at pleasure, and which are of great assistance in securing
their prey ; their feet are very small and weak, and as they are
not formed for grasping, when these birds rest on a branch, they
seldom perch transversely, but lengthwise. But their most remark-
able peculiarity is the serrated or pectinated claw of the middle
toe, the comb consisting of about seven or eight teeth, supposed
by some to be useful in removing the legs of beetles and moths
from the bristles which surround the beak, as I have more fully
detailed in my paper on the feet of birds ;* by others conjectured
to be employed in preventing the bird from slipping side ways when
sitting length-wise on a branch. The hind toe is reversible, and
can be brought round to the front, so as to make all four toes turn
the same way. The food of the Caprimulgidre consists entirely of
insects, chiefly those which fly by night, and which they then
seize in their capacious mouth as they hurry along ; indeed, as
this family has the closest affinity with the Hirundinida, they
may well be termed ' Night Swallows/ for like them they visit us
periodically from Africa in the summer, are insects-eaters, have
great powers of flight, feed on the wing, and resemble them in
many particulars of their formation and habits. It is to this
family that the American ' Whip-poor- Will/ so dreaded by the
superstitious Indians as the ghost of one of their ancestors,
belongs.
' Surra,' p. 50.
Niyhtjar. 311
119. NIGHTJAR (Gaprimulg-us Europceus).
This is by far the most appropriate of the many names which
this much-belied bird has yet received, and it expresses one
of its most remarkable habits, for when perched on a tree with
its face towards the trunk, and its tail towards the outer branches,
and closely concealed by the thick foliage, which is the position
it most loves by day, or else squatted on the ground amid the
tall fern and heather, it will utter a most singular jarring or
whirring noiso, somewhat resembling the hum of a spinning-
wheel, while its head is bent down lower than the tail, and every
feather quivers as it utters its purring note. ' Night-churr/
' Wheel-bird,' and ' Spinner ' are other provincial names given in
allusion to this peculiar habit and the strange sounds it emits. It
is also known as the ' Fern-owl,' a most incorrect term and one
likely to mislead, for beyond the fact that it is crepuscular, and
therefore has soft downy plumage, and is seldom seen abroad
before ' the witching hour of twilight,' it has no affinity with the
owl family. In Norway it is called Natt Skarra, and more
popularly Jord-geed or * Ground Goat,' because (says quaint old
Bishop Pontoppidan), 'its note resembles the bleating of a goat';
which, however far-fetched, is at all events a more harmless
sobriquet than that of 'Goatsucker,' a misleading word which
implies an accusation for which there is no sort of foundation.
In France it is L'Engoulevent, and in Germany Tagscklafer. Its
body is small for its size, that is to say, much smaller than its
general appearance would lead one to imagine, for it is clothed
with such a quantity of soft light downy plumage, that it passes
for a larger bird than it really is. The marking of its feathers is
peculiarly fine and delicate ; the prevailing colours are shades of
brown, buff and gray, barred and spotted with every variety of
hue ; its immense width of gape at once distinguishes it from all
other birds, and its full dark eye and pectinated claw are very
striking features. The latter, however, belongs to the adult only ?
and is wholly wanting in the immature bird; nor is it peculiar
to this family, for the herons and the gannets share it; and
probably there are other families which are provided with a
312 Caprimulgidce.
similar instrument. It is essentially a solitary bird, seldom to bo
seen even in the company of its mate, which, however, may occasion-
ally be found perched on another tree at a short distance. Deep
woods and shaded valleys, as well as fern-clad heaths and com-
mons are its favourite haunts, wherein it can retire from the
glare of daylight, and emerge at twilight on noiseless and rapid
wing when the moths and beetles and other night-flying insects
on which it preys are abroad ; its flight is generally low, for its
victims are to be found near the ground, and it sweeps with
great ease and power round the bushes and in and out among the
trees. With a whirling phantom-like flight, wheeling round and
round, and with a power of wing (says Gilbert White), exceeding
if possible the various evolutions and quick turns of the Swallow
genus. The same accurate observer adds : ' As it was playing
round a large oak which swarmed with fern-chafers, I saw it
distinctly, more than once, put out its short leg while on the
wing, and by a bend of the head, deliver somewhat into its
mouth ; hence I do not wonder at the use of the middle toe,
which is curiously furnished with a serrated claw.'*
Amongst all our summer visitants (and their name is legion)
the Nightjar stands alone as the only nocturnal bird of the whole
assembly, and as it checks the increase of night-flying insects, as
the swallows diminish the number of those which appear by day,
it is not only harmless, but actively useful to man. It lays two
eggs on the bare ground, and to it may be attributed all the
plausible but erroneous tales of the Cuckoo (for which bird it has
often been mistaken) rearing her own young. It is to be met
with sparingly throughout the county, wherever deep woods
furnish it with shade and retirement, and even on our downs ;
it has more than once paid a visit to my plantations at Yatesbury.
This concludes the tribe of ' wide-billed ' (fissirostres), and with
it the order of 'Perchers' (Insessores) containing twenty families
and no less than ninety-three species ; all occurring more or less
frequently in Wiltshire, and each of which we have now ex-
amined. In taking leave of this large Order, we may remark how
'White's Felbjrce,' Letter xxxvii.
Night-jar. 31S
gradually we have been conducted from the strong stout limbs of
the more typical Perchers, through the Creepers, Wrens, and
Cuckoos, whose habits require no great powers of perching and
grasping, down to the Swallows, the almost footless Swift, and the
Nightjar with very diminutive and disproportionate feet and legs;
exemplifying once more what I have several times called atten-
tion to, the easy gentle transition from one Order and Family to
another, after the manner in which Nature loves to harmonize
her works ; so that now we are prepared to pass from the
Perchers to the Ground-birds (Easores) whose life is passed more
on the ground than amongst the branches, and who therefore
need a very different formation of feet from those we have lately
been considering.
CHAPTER IX.
RASORES (Ground-link).
THERE is no class of birds so well known, or so highly appre-
ciated generally, as the third Order of systematic naturalists, the
Rasores, or Ground- birds ; ' Scrapers/ or ' Scratchers,' as the
scientific title may be more correctly translated. It is by far the
smallest of the five orders, for the British list contains only four
families the Pigeons, the Pheasants, the Grouse and the Bustards;
and one of these families is represented by one species only in this
county, while the whole Order as known in these isles embraces
only seventeen species; fourteen of which have appeared in
Wiltshire, either as permanent residents, as regular periodical
migrants, or as occasional stragglers. So far, then, our county can
boast an unusually large catalogue of this highly prized order ;
but it will be seen in the sequel that a great proportion of this
number (I may indeed say half the species) can only be con-
sidered in the light of accidental visitors, which from one cause
or another have wandered out of their way to our inhospitable
borders, and have generally paid the penalty of their too vagrant
habits by forfeiting their lives, and yielding their skins as trophies
to some exultant ornithologist.
I have said that of all classes of the feathered race, the Ground-
birds are most generally known and valued ; and when we reflect
that they embrace the whole family of Pigeons, and the principal
part of the game birds so carefully reared and so highly prized by
the sportsman the Pheasants, the Grouse and the Partridges it
will be at once apparent that, as well for the excellent eating which
Rasores. 315
their flesh offers as for the sport which the pursuit of them entails,
they are very highly esteemed amongst us ; and consequently they
come more frequently under our notice, and their habits are more
observed and better known than is the case with any other
Order.
On this account, it will manifestly be superfluous for me
to enlarge on their general habits, which are known to all ; I
propose, therefore; to confine my remarks in this chapter to facts
and occurrences not so universally acknowledged, touching
very lightly on the ordinary economy of the Order.
Briefly, then, the characteristics of the Ground-birds are these :
they are all granivorous, though they vary this hard diet with
softer or more succulent food, as the seasons and opportunities
offer. Their beaks, adapted to the food on which they principally
subsist, are hard and horny, the upper mandible arched and the
tip blunt ; their heads are generally small, and their bodies large
and full ; their wings short and weak in proportion to their heavy
bodies ; and their legs large and strong. But the real distinguish-
ing characteristic of the Order, which indeed is, I believe, the
only general mark of distinction peculiar to this group, is an
anatomical one, and is derived from the digestive organs. It may
be described in plain terms as a very large widening of the
oesophagus or gullet, which thus forms a crop, and lies, when dis-
tended, equally on both sides of the neck.
In regard to their habits, they live principally on the ground,
where they seek their food, where most of them nest and rear
their young ; from which they are often unwilling to rise, impeded
by the shortness of wing in proportion to the bulkiness of body,
but over which they can run with considerable swiftness and ease.
They will, however, on occasion take wing, and then their flight is
strong, rapid, and continued, though heavy and somewhat
laborious. In short, unless when startled, they for the most part
prefer to seek safety in running rather than in flying. To this
end we shall find in the more typical members of this Order a
development of limb and a strength of muscle well calculated for
speed and endurance ; while the feet are constructed upon a
31 G Columbidce.
plan widely different from what we see in other birds, ' the toes
being short, and strengthened by a membrane connecting them
at the base, with the hind toe either entirely wanting or but im-
perfectly developed. Where this latter does exist, it is not
articulated upon the same plane as the other toes (as is the case
with the preceding Orders), but upon the tarsus, at a height
greater or less according to the running powers of the species.'*
It is true that this peculiar formation of the foot impedes tho
members of this Order from grasping a perch with the same
firmness and security as the regular perchers, and for this reason
most of them roost upon the ground.
Such are the more prominent characteristics of the Ground-
birds; I pass on now to describe the four families and their
respective species of which this Order is composed.
COLUMBID.E (THE DOVES).
It will at once be seen that the Doves occupy an intermediate
place between the Perchers and the Ground-birds ; and are the
connecting link, partaking of the peculiarities of both : thus,
though they feed on the ground, they perch readily on trees; and
though they walk with ease and even celerity, yet they have a
strong, rapid and protracted flight. Thus we pass gradually and
almost insensibly from the true Perchers to the typical Ground-
birds, for Nature abhors an abrupt wrench as much as a vacuum,
and all is orderly, gentle, and harmonious in her arrangement, and
we slide on from order to order, and from family to family,
and genus and species in successive steps, with no break to
disconnect the regular links in our continuous chain. This is
sufficiently perceptible in the Doves, even in the limited number
of species which belong to this country, and almost all of which
(or four out of five) are known in Wiltshire. But if we were
to extend our observations through the multitudinous species
and even genera which inhabit other countries, we should see this
rule very much more applicable, for the Pigeons form a vast
c Selby's ( Illustrations of British Ornithology,' vol. i., p. 403.
Ring- Dove. 317
staircase of species leading from the trees to the ground, some
being thoroughly arboreal, living and nesting on the trees, and
enjoying a rapidity of flight almost unsurpassed ; whilst others
at the opposite end of the list are as completely terrestrial ; with
wings as short and bodies as heavy and as incapable of pro-
tracted flight as our domestic poultry, and indeed distinguished
from the rest of their tribe by the appellation of Pigeon fowls.
To return, however, to our Wiltshire species, all of which belong
to one genus, and partake of the same nature. We shall find
them gentle, timid, shy, of powerful wing, of slender bill, and
of short leg. They feed on the ground, and both sexes alter-
nately take part in incubating the two eggs which is the normal
complement of the nest. Their notes are singularly sad and
melancholy, and though they vary much in the different species,
all partake of this mournful plaintive character, which, however,
is by no means unpleasing, but, on the contrary, rather attractive,
soothing and pleasant. Their conjugal fidelity is proverbial, and
from the days of Noah they have been honoured as the har-
bingers of peace and love, both by Pagans of Home and Greece
as sacred to Yenus, and by Christians as emblematic of the Holy
Spirit. I am bound to add that at certain seasons they are
a destructive race of birds, making great havoc in the pea-
fields, and consuming an astonishing amount of grain ; but
while I concede thus much in regard to the injury they do to the
farmer, it must not be forgotten on the other hand the essential
service they render him, in the millions of seeds of a noxious
character which they consume. This family is remarkable for the
habit, in which all the members which compose it share, of being
among the first to retire to roost, and the last to leave their night-
quarters in the morning.
120. RING DOVE (Columba palwmbus).
First and foremost of its congeners, as the largest of the
European species, and commonly dispersed amongst us, wherever
trees afford it a shelter, the Wood-Pigeon claims our notice. In
some parts of England it is known as the Quest or Cushat Dove ;
318 Columbidce.
but the Wiltshire labourers invariably call it, in our fine provincial
dialect, the ' Quisty.' It may readily be distinguished from its
congeners by the white feathers which partially encircle its neck,
and are very conspicuous, hence the specific name in English and
other languages ; in Germany, Ringel Taube ; in Spain, Paloma-
torcaz ; in Portugal, Pombo-trocaz ; in Sweden, Ring-Dufva ;
but in France it is Colombe-ramier, and in Italy Columbaccio.
Professor Skeat says that the real meaning of ' Dove ' is ' a diver/
During the autumn beech-mast and acorns form the principal
part of its diet, when its flesh is highly esteemed for the table ;
but no sooner does severe weather compel it to subsist on
the tops of turnips, than it becomes strong and rank and uneat-
able. Mr. Cordeaux says that it is remarkably partial to salt,
and that in his neighbourhood on the East Coast of England,
it frequents the drams in the salt-marsh for the purpose of drink-
ing the brackish water left by the tide.* It is abundant through-
out the county, and, except when breeding, is proverbially wild
and shy. It lives with us throughout the year, and congregates
in winter in large flocks, which frequent the open stubble-fields of
our downs, as well as the pasture-lands of the vales. Moreover, it
has increased very much in numbers of late, for the hawks which
used to persecute it are well-nigh exterminated by the game-
keepers, and large additions are made to its ranks every autumn
by the migration of vast flocks from the Continent. When it
retires to the plantations to breed in early spring, its soft musical
cooing note coo-coo-roo-o-o-o, is a complacent sound to which all
listen with delight. The nest is of the flimsiest character, and looks
a most insecure receptacle for eggs or young, for it is composed of
such scanty material that its contents may often be seen through
it from below. Our fellow-countryman, Montagu, gives the
following curious legend regarding it : ' The Magpie once under-
took to teach the Pigeon how to build a more substantial
and commodious dwelling ; but, instead of being a docile pupil,
the Pigeon kept on repeating her old cry of " Take two, Taffy,
take two !" The Magpie insisted that this was a very unwork-
' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 77.
Stock-Dove.
manlike manner of proceeding, one stick at a time being as much
as could be managed to advantage ; but the Pigeon reiterated her
" Two, take two !" till Mag, in a violent passion, gave up the task,
exclaiming, " I say that one at a time is enough ; and if you think
otherwise, you may set about the work yourself, for I will have no
more to do with it." Since that time the Wood-Pigeon has built
her slight platform of sticks, which certainly suffers much in com-
parison with the strong substantial structure of the magpie. There
is another legend with regard to this bird in the North Riding of
Yorkshire, where it is said that * once upon a time, the Ring-Dove
laid its eggs upon the ground, and that the Peewit made its nest
on high ; but that one day they agreed to make an exchange of
their localities for building. Hence the Peewit may now be heard
expressing its disappointment at the new arrangement with the
mournful cry
'Peewit, peewit.
I coup'd ray nest, and I rue it.'
The Wood-Pigeon, however, rejoices that she is safe out of the
reach of mischievous boys, and repeats
' Coo, coo, come now,
Little lad,
With thy gad
Come not thou.'*
121. STOCK-DOVE (Columba cenas).
Though by no means a rare bird, this species has been much
overlooked by ordinary observers, and confounded with its con-
gener last described. It is, however, to be met with in most of
our large woods in this county, and may be readily distinguished
from the Wood-Pigeon by its smaller size, and by the absence of
the distinctive white ring on the neck which has given its name
to the Ring-Dove. It derives its specific name cenas from the
vinous hue of the plumage of the neck, and Stock-Dove from its
habit of building on the pollard head or stock of a tree, hence
its German name Holztaube, or 'Wood-Dove;' but where such
trees are not to be found, it will content itself with some rabbit-
* Dyer's ' English Folk-lore,' p. 93.
320 Columbidcv.
burrow or the shelter of a thick furze-bush. In Scandinavia it
goes by the name of Skogs Dufva, or ' Wood-Dove,' whereas our
* Wood-Pigeon ' is Ring-Dufva. It returns every year to build
its nest amongst the thick ivy which covers one side of the
Rectory at Yatesbury, and I have satisfied myself that it has very
much increased in numbers with us within the last quarter of a
century. It does not coo like its congener, but has a distinct
note of its own a prolonged drawling note, which has been not
inaptly compared to a grunt. In general habits and in food the
two species are alike. In France it is Colombe colombin, and in
Italy Columlella; in Spain and Portugal it appears to have
no distinguishing name, but shares in that of its congener, C.
palumbus.
122. ROCK-DOVE (Columba lima).
This is the true wild Pigeon, the origin of all the numerous
varieties which inhabit our dovecots, and have been domesticated
amongst us for ages. Its natural dwelling is amongst the caves
and crevices of rocks, more particularly on the sea coast ; but it
occasionally comes inland, and used to breed in the rocks near
Roundway, whence the late Mr. Withers, the skilful taxidermist
of Devizes, frequently received a specimen for preservation. It
is of very rapid flight, and feeds, like its congeners, in the stubble
and corn-fields as well as in the meadows. It derives its specific
name livia from the lighter ' lead ' colour which distinguishes it
from other species, and it may also be easily recognised by the
two distinct black bars which traverse its wings and the pure
white on the lower part of the back. In Spain it is Paloma
brava, ' Wild Pigeon ;' in Portugal, Pombo, ' the Pigeon ;' in
Sweden, Klipp Dufva, 'Rock-Dove;' in Germany, Haustaube,
' House Pigeon ;' and in France, Colombe biset. In the localities
which it most affects in the cliffs which border so many of our
coasts it may be found in large flocks ; but in North Africa and
Egypt, the prodigious numbers which literally swarm in certain
districts are perfectly astonishing in proof of which I may add,
that in a couple of hours' shooting it was easy to bag forty head ;
Rock-Dove. 321
and that on one occasion, when I was requested by the dragoman
to procure pigeons for the commissariat, a lucky shot with a
green cartridge into a flock feeding on the ground resulted in
picking up twenty birds, which at once filled the basket, to the
inexpressible disgust of the Arab attendant, whose duty it was to
carry the load through a long day's march and under a tropical
sun to the Nile boat. That it is a very old inhabitant of Egypt
is clear from the hieroglyphics, in which it may be unmistakably
recognised notably at the temple of Medinet Haboo, at Thebes,
whereof the date is given as early as B.C. 1297.*
The late Mr. Waterton pointed out that the Rock-Dove,
though it would freely perch by day, was never known to roost
on trees during the night, nor to pass the night in the open air,
except in cases of the greatest emergency, showing its natural
propensity to retire to holes and caves in the rocks ; hence its
great attachment to the dovecot in which it is bred, which it
seldom deserts without great provocation. There are instances
of the lower stage of church-towers, immediately below the bells,
having been originally built for a ' Columbarium/ of which we have
one example at Collingbourn Ducis, in this county ; and as there
is scarcely another example in England, I am glad to add a few
details, for which I am indebted to the rector, the Rev. Canon
Hodgson. ' The dovecote in our church-tower/ he says, ' is
evidently part of the original structure. In Mr. A. Blomfield's
" Report on the Church prior to its restoration in 1877," he
describes it thus : " The western tower is a substantial structure
of late Perpendicular date, and has some interesting features.
The walls of the clock stage are constructed with internal niches,
so as to form a dovecote or pigeon-house, an entrance (now
closed) being left on the south side." This entrance is an
aperture through the south wall of the tower, two feet wide by
one and a half feet high, with dripstone above and alighting-
ledge below. It is boarded up on the inside to prevent birds
from getting in and damaging the clock-works. The niches go
all round the inside walls, except where the doorway is at the
Adams in Ibis for 1864, p. 26.
21
322 Columbidce.
top of the well staircase. Each niche is about six inches square.'
I am told that another instance occurs at the tower adjoining
the ruined chapel of Charter House Hinton, near Bath, the
lower part of which was originally intended for the priest's
residence, and the birds dwelt above him. In this case also the
east, north, and west sides are fitted up with pigeon-holes, and a
small square opening in the south wall admitted the birds.
123. TURTLE-DOVE (Columba turtur).
This beautiful little species is the only migrant of the family
with which we in this county are acquainted. It does not come
to us till the beginning of May, and leaves us early in September ;
but during that short period it abounds in those spots which
please its tastes, though it is fastidious in its choice, and is by
no means universally distributed. In my own plantations on
the downs it is extremely abundant, and its annual appearance
in the spring is to me a welcome reminder of approaching
summer. It is very much smaller than its congeners, has a
delicate appearance, and its note is peculiarly plaintive. Like
all others of the Dove tribe, it flocks in autumn, though seldom
in considerable numbers. I have, however, seen above a hundred
feeding together in a stubble-field. There is a beautiful legend
in Scandinavia respecting the Turtle-dove, not unlike that of the
swallow, quoted in a former page from Lloyd's admirable work.
* When our blessed Saviour was crucified, the Turtle-dove for a
while hovered around the fatal tree and at length perched there.
When looking mournfully down on the Sufferer it sighed deeply,
and gave utterance to its plaintive kurrie, kurrie, kurrie that
is, " Lord, Lord, Lord." Since that time it has never more been
joyful, but has constantly winged its flight around the world
repeating its sorrowful cry.'* Hence the sportsman's term a
dule of Turtles, as he would say a covey of partridges, or a wisp
of snipe, the word ' dule ' being derived from the Latin dolco, l to
grieve.' Professor Skeat says that turtur is of imitative origin,
* Lloyd's 'Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 3G1.
The Pheasants. 323
due to a repetition of tur, imitative of the coo of a pigeon.
From this cornes the French TowrtereUe, the German Tuvtel-
taiibe, the Italian Tortora, the Spanish Tortola, the Swedish
Turtur D-ufva; but whence comes the Portuguese Rola I do not
know.
PHASIANID.E (THE PHEASANTS).
This family will not occupy us long, inasmuch as it contains
but one species known in England, and that one almost in a,
state of semi-domestication ; and consequently its habits and
economy thoroughly well known : for I pass over the Turkey of
American origin, and the domestic fowl and Peacock of Indian
birth, as having no claim to a place in the fauna of Wiltshire.
I will but call attention, in passing, to the difference in plumage
which the sexes of this family exhibit; to their polygamous
habits ; to the precocious nature of the young birds, which are
no sooner hatched from the shell than they can follow their
parents and feed themselves ; to their custom of dusting their
feathers in any dry heap they can find; and to the horny,
conical, and sharp spur with which the tarsus of male birds of
th$is family is furnished. They derive their name, like other
descendants of ancient and honourable lineage, from their an-
cestral seat on the banks of the Phasis, in Colchis, which flows
from the Caucasus into the Black Sea at its extreme eastern
point, and from Asia Minor, whence Jason is said to have im-
ported them into Europe. It is not improbable that the Komans
introduced the Pheasant into England. It is certain that it
was protected by the laws of the country at a very early period,
from the following extract from Dugdale's ' Monasticon Angli-
canum': 'That in the first year of Henry I. (A.D. 1100) the
Abbot of Amesbury obtained a license to kill pheasants.'*
124. PHEASANT (Phasianus Colchicus).
Alone of this family is entitled to demand admission into tho
ranks of British birds ; for though originally of foreign extrac-
' Science Gossip' for 1884, p. 243.
212
324 Phasianidce.
tion, as I have shown, this handsome species has not only
become in course of time thoroughly acclimatized, and capable
of enduring our most severe winters, but completely naturalized,
and able, when left to itself, to thrive and multiply in a wild
state in our woods. Though grain and seeds form its food in
winter, it feeds largely on insects and roots during the remainder
of the year ; but it is seldom considered in how great a degree
it compensates for the partial injury it causes by the undoubted
benefit it confers in thus ridding the land of noxious pests. I
do not of course allude to those cases where the species is en-
couraged to multiply to excess; when the balance of nature
being destroyed, confusion ensues as a necessity, as would be the
result in the unnatural multiplication of almost any species in
the whole animal kingdom. As a proof of its wholesale con-
sumption of injurious insects, I may mention that in the crop
of a cock Pheasant were found 852 larva? of tipulw, or ' crane
flies,' and from that of a hen Pheasant were taken no less than
1,225 of these destructive lame.*
During winter the males congregate, but separate to their
several domains as spring draws on. Many sportsmen have
endeavoured to assign to a distinct species the Ring-necked, the
Bohemian, and the Pied varieties of this bird, but as these
variations are by no means permanent or hereditary, ornitho-
logists have wisely declined to admit them to any separate rank.
The Pheasant has an innate shyness or timidity, which nothing
seems able to overcome; though reared under a domestic hen,
and though fed from the hand from its earliest days, it never
attains confidence, but hurries to the shelter of thick cover at
the first symptom of alarm. Though it retires to roost on the
branches of trees, when once disturbed from the position it has
taken up it does not attempt to perch again during the re-
mainder of the night ; but on such occasions will crouch in the
longest grass and under the densest bramble it can find. It
crows, or ' chuckles,' on the least provocation, not only on retir-
ing to roost and at early dawn, but during the night as well as
c ' ' Science Gossip ' for 1884, p. 2G6.
Capercaillie. 325
during the day when any unusual noise disturbs it ; and a sudden
clap of thunder will cause every pheasant in the wood to sound
his call-note of inquiry.
In France it is Faisan, in Germany Fasan, in Italy Fagiano ;
all of which are mere adaptations of Phasianus to the languages
of the respective countries.
TETKAONID^E (THE GROUSE).
Very closely allied to the Pheasants comes the family of
Grouse, a race highly prized in this country, and containing
more than half the species of Ground-birds known to have
occurred in Wiltshire. In habits, in their mode of nesting on
the ground, and in the food they seek, they very much resemble
those last described. In like manner their head is small, beak
strong and convex, wings short, feet stout, and tarsus feathered,
but the distinguishing characteristic consists in the elevation
and diminution of the hind toe, which in this family becomes
exceedingly short, and in the succeeding family disappears
altogether. Their flight, though rapid and direct, is heavy, but
they walk and run with great agility, and they seek their food,
which consists of grain and vegetable substances, entirely on the
ground.
125. CAPERCAILLIE (Tetrao Urogallm).
The occurrence of a single specimen of this magnificent bird
within the limits of this county, as recorded by the late Rev.
George Marsh, entitles me to include it within our Wiltshire list.
That straggler made its appearance at W T interslow in 1841, and
was supposed to have escaped from Mr. Baring's park, where
several had been introduced. Indeed, it had entirely ceased to
exist south of the Tweed, and was almost extinct in Scotland a
few years back, till the Marquis of Breadalbane and other
noblemen reinforced its fast-diminishing ranks by importing
fresh colonists from Sweden, and preserved and protected it in
their extensive forests, till it has now re-peopled its former
haunts ; so that it is not probable that our Wiltshire visitor
had wandered from its home under natural causes ; nor is it
326 Tetraonidce.
likely that a bird of so heavy a body and such short wings
would have voluntarily strayed so far south. The male Caper-
caillie is as large as an ordinary Turkey, and well deserves the
honourable title of * Cock of the Wood.'
Its name in all languages seems to allude to its size. The
scientific term Urogallus (from urus, ' a wild bull,' and gallus,
' a cock ') would imply a larger or coarser species of Black Cock,
just as bullfrog, bullrush, and bullfinch signify a large species of
their respective families. So the German Auerhahn has a like
signification, the word auer having reference to the bovine
Aurochs ; and our ' Capercaillie/* of Gaelic origin, is interpreted
to mean either ' the horse of the woods,' or ' the goat of the
woods/ or ' the old man of the woods.' In France it is Coq de
Bruyere, ' Heath-cock.'
Its general plumage is very dark green, or almost black ; and
it is a native of the extensive pine forests of Scotland, Scandi-
navia, and Russia. It feeds on the leaves and young shoots of
the Scotch fir, which impart a certain resinous taste to the
flesh ; but it also devours greedily the numerous ground-berries,
blue-berries, whortle-berries, cran-berries, etc., with which northern
forests abound ; and these I have found, in incredible quantities, in
the crops of several specimens whose skins I preserved in Norway.
A full account of the peculiar 'play,' or love-song, of this
bird I had from the lips of a Norwegian officer with whom I
spent some time in a shooting expedition on the fjeld in the
summer of 1850, and who had been on more than one occasion
an eye-witness of the scene he so graphically described. In the
early morning, he said, the old male Capercaillie (or tiur) may
be seen perched on the top of a pine-tree, and soon he begins to
utter a harsh, grating sound, which the Norwegians call ' singing/
and which may be heard at a considerable distance. This music
is repeated for some time at intervals, until the hen birds (TO I)
assemble at the lek, or playing place ; and during the utterance
:: The Capercaillie, the Ptarmigan, and the Fulmar are the only three cases
in which our common English name is taken from the Gaelic. See Ibis for
1869, p. 35.
Black Grouse. 327
of his song the Capercaillie is so taken up with his own melli-
fluous voice, and all his faculties are so absorbed with his vocal
performance, that he has no eyes nor ears for anything else ; and
it is then that the Norwegian sportsman, in somewhat unsports-
manlike fashion, as we think, taking advantage of his preoccu-
pation, hurries to the spot and shoots the unconscious singer.*
Young birds do not attain maturity until their third or fourth
year, nor are they then suffered to intrude on the playing-place
of the old birds, but are either driven away or, if they venture
to resist the attack of the old bird, a fierce battle^, not unfre-
quently attended with fatal results, ensues.
126. BLACK GROUSE (Tetrao tetrix).
This, too, is but a straggler to our county, though its visits
have been more frequent ; and from the undoubted fact that it
inhabits, though sparingly, the New Forest and other suitable
haunts in the neighbouring counties of Somerset and Hants, its
appearance here as a veritable wild bird may be more readily
acknowledged. The Rev. G. Marsh assured me that they were
occasionally met with in the Winterslow woods ; and I have a
notice of one killed near Redholn turnpike, on the edge of the
plain overlooking the vale of Pewsey, which came into the pos-
session of Mr. Lewis, of Wedhampton ; and Major Heneage has
a specimen which was killed near the Upper Lodge at Compton
Bassett in 1866. In South Wilts the Rev. A. P. Morres says
that they used to be met with on the downs around Ellesbourne
and Sutton and on Teffont Common ; and Mr. W. Wyndham, of
Dinton, writes that he has a pair of local specimens in his col-
lection, both killed by his grandfather, of which the male bird
was shot on the borders of the parishes of Ellesbourne and
Sutton Mandeville on December 1st, 1818, and the female at
Langford Down just one year later, viz., on December 1st, 1819.
These were supposed to be the last native birds of this species
in the county ; but still occasionally one strays over from the
New Forest, and Mr. Wyndham's keeper shot a hen bird at
See my account of this in the Zoologist for 1850, pp. 2944 5.
328 Tetraonidce.
Dinton so lately as November 12th, 1880. Finally, Mr. Howard
Saunders says in 1884 : 'They are found sparingly in Wiltshire.'*
I am afraid, however, that we can only lay claim to the visit of
a very rare and accidental straggler, seen from time to time after
an interval of many years.
Like the species last described, it loves to frequent forests and
wild uncultivated districts, where rank herbage and undrained
morasses proclaim the non-intervention of man; and a truly
grand sight it is to see the old male, or ' Black Cock,' as it is
generally called, in all the pride of his dark glossy plumage, now
appearing of jet black hue, and anon with splendid purple
reflections, take flight with a startling rush of wings, when dis-
turbed in his retreats. It is conspicuous for the outward curve
of the four or five outer feathers of the tail on either side, and
also for the bright red naked skin above the eyes. The female,
which goes by the name of the ' Gray Hen,' is of far less pre-
tentious appearance, being contented with a sombre dress of
brown, spotted and barred with darker shades. In general
habits, food, and nesting it does not vary from its congener last
described. Like that species, too, it also has its ' play ing- places,'
or stations ; and indulges in like loud singing or calling ; and
practises the same antics in the lek ; and wages desperate battle,
and otherwise comports itself as polygamous birds frequently do.
The word ' Grouse/ which was formerly announced by Yarrell
to be derived from a Persian word groos, is now shown by Pro-
fessor Newton, who has very carefully gone into the question,-f
to be in all probability derived from the old French word
griesche, greoche, or griais, meaning ' speckled,' and cognate with
griseus, ' grisly,' or ' gray.' Other names by which these birds
are sometimes designated are ' Black Game ' and l Heath Poults.'
In France it has the prolonged name of Coq de Bruyere cb queue
fourchue, ' Fork-tailed Heath Cock ;' and in Germany, Gabel
schwanziges Waldhuhn, ' Fork-tailed Wood Fowl ; but in Sweden
it is simply Orre.
* Fourth edition of Tan-ell's ' British Birds/ vol. iii., p. 62.
t ' Encyclopaedia Britannica,' ed. 9, xi., p. 221.
Red Grouse. 329
127. RED GROUSE. (Lagopus Scoticus).
This species, so peculiarly British (for it is unknown elsewhere),
and in certain districts so extremely abundant, for where it has
been most carefully protected and encouraged it literally swarms
to an astonishing extent, is only of accidental occurrence in Wilt-
shire. Colonel Montagu speaks of a female taken alive near Wed-
hampton in this county, in the winter of the year 1794, as pointed
out to that distinguished naturalist by Mr. Poore; and I have infor-
mation of another killed by the late Mr. Colston's keeper at
Roundway Park, near Devizes ; while a third is in the possession
of Major Heneage, which was killed at Compton Basse tt ; and the
Rev. A. P. Morres, on the authority of Mr. E. Baker, of Mere,
mentions a fourth which was shot by some sportsman when
partridge-shooting at West Knoyle in 1848 ; while Mr. Grant,
of Devizes, mentions a fifth killed in August, 1866, at Wedhamp-
ton, the same locality which saw the capture of the bird recorded
by Colonel Montagu. These must have been stragglers from
Wales, and were probably driven out of their course by the pre-
valence of high winds. Unlike the species previously described,
the Red Grouse is not polygamous, and never perches on trees ; it
also differs from them in having the toes completely feathered ;
hence its generic name lagopus, ' rough-footed like a hare/
Though standing alone among birds as really confined to these
islands, and so par excellence THE British bird, the Red Grouse
is our representative here of the ' Willow Grouse ' of Norway,
Dal Rype (Lagopus sub-alpinus), which frequents the lower parts
of the fjeld, and the mountain-side clothed with birch and alder,
unlike its more hardy relative Fydll Rype (Lagopus alpinus),
identical with our Ptarmigan, which prefers the high mountain
ranges, and the rocky snow-clad heights. Both of these species
I have shot in some numbers in Norway, and I never could suffi-
ciently admire the extraordinary resemblance of their plumage to
the localities they severally represented, so that it was quite diffi-
cult to distinguish them on the ground, though within a few
paces, so well did their colour assimilate to the herbage or lichen-
330 Tetraonidce.
covered rocks or snow-patches around.* It is precisely the same
with the Red Grouse of England, for the dark red-brown heather
in which it loves to dwell is very much of the same hue with that
of its plumage. It is little known outside the British Isles, but is-
called in France Tetras rouge, and sometimes Tetras des saules,
1 Willow Grouse j' and sometimes Poule de niarais, ' Marsh or
Moor Fowl/
128. PALLAS' SAND GROUSE (Syrrhapies paradoxus).
Up to the year 1863 this handsome species was almost unknown
not only in these islands but on the continent of Europe ; when
suddenly in the early summer of that year a vast irruption of
them occurred, more especially on our Eastern coasts; and it
subsequently appeared that this strange invasion extended over
the whole of Central Europe. Driven from its home in the
steppes of Tartary, if not in the more Eastern countries of China
and Siberia, where it also abounds, this horde of wanderers
started Westwards, and spreading themselves over some twenty
degrees of latitude, the more advanced portion penetrated as far
as our island. What numbers migrated in this extraordinary
manner; what vast flocks in all probability started on this
lengthened journey ; how many halted on the way it is impos-
sible even to guess ; but in a most masterly paper on the subject
drawn up by Professor Newton, at that time editor of the Ibis,
and published by him in that journal,f he has satisfactorily
proved that several hundreds are known to have reached our
shores, after a flight of, at the least computation, some four
thousand geographical miles. What could have caused this
eccentric movement of the Asiatic species of Grouse we are con-
sidering, this ' Tartar invasion/ or ' Scythian exodus/ as Mr.
Newton styles it, it is beyond my power to explain ; whether the
* For a further account of the two species of Alpine Grouse or Ptarmigan,
and how I met with them in Norway, see Zoologist for 1851, pp. 2977-9 ; see
also in the same useful periodical for 1858, p. 6265.
t IUs for 1864, vol. vi., pp. 185-222.
Pallas' Sand-Grouse. 331
prevalence of unusual easterly winds, or other atmospheric com-
motions, impelled them on their westerly course, as some have-
suggested ; or whether the colonization by Russia of large tracts-
of Eastern Siberia, and the reclaiming of waste lands, once their
haunts, as others have surmised ; or whether the remarkable
drought that prevailed over Central Asia that summer had dried
the fresh-water lakes, and scorched up all vegetation, as others
have concluded ; or whether, as Professor Newton inclines to
think, the natural overflow of an increasing species, prolific as
are all of its genus, and exempt in a great measure from the
enemies and risks which are apt to beset ground-breeding birds,
forced it to drive forth as colonists its superabundant numbers, I
will not now stop to argue. Enough for us that, as in early times,
the tide of human migrations set in steadily from the east, and
starting from the shores of the Caspian and the valleys of the
Caucasus, wave after wave of those prolific adventurers poured
over Europe, until the Celts had penetrated her most western
boundaries, and occupied our island ; so a vast horde of winged
strangers has suddenly swept down upon astonished Europe, and
a new nomadic race has penetrated to our shores from its distant
Eastern home.
I have already said that several hundreds of this Sand-Grouse
reached the limits of Great Britain, and that by far the larger
part of them appeared, as was to be expected with Asiatic
migrants, in the Eastern counties ; some, however, detached from
the main body, under the general persecution which, I regret to
say, followed their appearance amongst us, were dispersed all over
England, and penetrated almost every county; and one at all
events reached Wiltshire, and was killed on Salisbury Plain at
Imber on the 29th of June, for the knowledge of which, as well as
the occurrence of so many other rare birds in Wiltshire, I am
again indebted to the Rev. George Powell, Rector of Sutton Yeney,
who most kindly and considerately sent me from time to time an
account of any rarity which came under his notice. Our Wilt-
shire specimen of the Sand-Grouse was a female, and was alone,
and in rapid flight from north to south, when it was shot by Mr.
332 Tetraonidce.
Joseph Dean of Imber, as I described in the Zoologist at the
time.*
Like other species of Sand-Grouse, S. paradoxus is remarkable
for its great length of wing, slender beak, shortness of foot, and
conical tail, the two middle feathers being elongated in a thread-
like manner ; also for the feathering of the legs and feet to the
extremity of the toes with short dense feathers ; the hind toe is
completely wanting. That it is not polygamous ; that both sexes
share in the duties of incubation ; and that three eggs are the full
complement of a nest, I gather from Professor Newton's paper.
And I may add from my acquaintance with an allied species in
Africa (S. exustus), that so much do its colours resemble the sands
of the desert it frequents, that it is extremely difficult to see it on
the ground ; while its sharp-pointed long wings give it a rapidity
of flight almost unequalled. In many respects it reminds one of
the Plover tribe. t Its scientific name is perhaps a little far-
fetched ; at all events its meaning is not self-evident and requires
explanation. Syrrhaptes is derived from <rvppd7rTiv t 'to sew or
stitch together/ because the last phalanges of the toes alone are
free; and paradoxus, 'strange,' 'contrary to expectation/ from
the curious structure of the feet.J
129. PARTRIDGE (Perdix cinerea).
Unlike the preceding members of this family, the well
known bird now under consideration thrives better in culti-
vated than in barren land, and nowhere multiplies more
rapidly than in the most highly farmed districts. Its appearance
and habits are so well known that it is unnecessary to enlarge
upon them. I will then merely append a few notes with which I
have been furnished by the late Kev. George Marsh : ' Since the
introduction of the new Game Laws, the numbers of this common
but beautiful and useful bird have very much declined. Their
Zoologist for 1864, p. 8888.
t See an admirable figure of this bird, as well as a good general descrip-
tion, by Mr. T. J. Moore, in the Ibis for 1860, vol. ii., pp. 105-110.
$ 'B.O.U. List of British Birds,' p. 140.
Partridge. 333
enemies are numerous, the gun, the net, the trap of man, the
stoat and weasel, the magpie, crow and jay, and the mower are
among the most conspicuous. The hedgehog is also no doubt
one of its enemies, as the keepers at Winterslow used to tell me
that an egg was the best bait for the trap intended to catch the
hedgepig. In the summer of 1841, a farmer of the neighbouring
parish of Langley heard two Partridges in a hedge in a grass field
making a great noise ; so he approached the spot, and found two
old birds manfully defending their nest against a hedgehog : he
killed the animal, and the eggs, eighteen in number, were soon
afterwards hatched. I have witnessed myself the destruction of
a nest by a magpie. In this county the poacher fixes a flue net
in the corner of a field where he has roosted birds, and then under
cover of a horse he gradually walks the birds into the net. These
birds do better when some of them are shot every year; if
all are spared, the old birds drive away the young ones.' I may
add that Partridges feed shortly after sunrise, and a little before
sunset, retiring to bask in the sun or dust themselves on dry
banks at midday. They roost on the ground in the open field
shortly after sunset, and the whole covey sits closely crowded
together in a circle, tails towards the centre, heads outwards
(like a watchful round-robin), for the sake of security, and in order
to avoid a surprise. They are said to ' jug' when they so arrange
themselves for the night. There is no question that dry weather
is especially valuable for the Partridge, and very true was the
saying of that excellent observer, the late Mr. Knox,' The drier the
summer, the better for the game/* Indeed, a continuance of wet
stormy weather, such as we often experience in this country at
hatching-time towards the latter end of June, is most destructive
to the young brood. On one occasion I was taken to see a curious
instance of a Partridge sitting on her nest, on a stubble- rick, on
the shelving side near the top, and about six feet from the ground.
This was in June, 1853, on the farm of Mr. Hillier of Winter-
bourne Monkton, in the midst of open downs, and surrounded
by hundreds of acres of wheat, barley, oats, clover and turnips, so
'Birds of Sussex/ p. 174.
334 Tetraonidce.
that there was no lack of choice of such position as Partridges
are wont to select for their nurseries. Neither could it have been
from any motive of protection from inclement weather and rude
winds (which not unfrequently prevail on these downs) that the
Partridge was led to this strange choice, for the nest was placed
on the north-east side of the stack. Colonel Hawker gives an
account of a Partridge's nest on a pollard tree, and Yarrell quotes
another instance from Daniel's ' Rural Sports/ of a nest in an oak
pollard ; but with these exceptions I have'never heard of this bird
varying so much from the usual habits of its species in its choice
of a place for nidification. In France it is Perdrix grise ; in
Germany, Graues Feldhuhn ; in Italy, Starna; in Sweden, Rapp-
Hona. 'Partridge,' says Professor Skeat is from the Latin
perdix, perhaps so named from its cry.
130. RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE (Perdix rubra).
It is our good fortune in Wiltshire to know but little of this
bird, which has been encouraged in some districts of England,
and has ended in driving away its more valuable congener, with
which in flavour of flesh it is not to be compared. It is a hand-
some species, and is common in France and the south of Europe
generally. I found it very abundant in Spain and Portugal, the
markets, which I used to frequent daily in search of rare birds,
being always well-stocked with them. In habits it resembles
P. cinerea. A few stragglers from time to time have made their
way into Wiltshire. The Rev. G. Marsh recorded their capture
at Winterslow, and the specimen in his collection, now at Salis-
bury, was killed at Draycot Park. Another was killed at Winter-
bourne Monkton by my neighbour, the late Mr. John Brown, in
whose possession I have frequently seen the specimen. More-
over, a curious instance was brought to my notice by Mr. Bull,
of Devizes, of this species and the Common Partridge laying
their eggs in the same nest, from which he extracted one of each
sort that I might identity them. In like manner in South
Wilts a straggler appears from time to time. The Rsv. A. P.
Quail. 335
Morres says it occurs occasionally, but rarely in the neighbour-
hood of Salisbury, and also near War minster. A single bird was
caught at Mere, in the yard of the Ship Inn, by Mr. J. Coward,
on April 11, 1874, having apparently taken refuge there from a
hawk. Two others were caught alive by some keepers, who were
driving the game in Clarendon Woods ; and again a brace were
killed at Holt, near Bradford-on-Avon, in the same field, though
with an interval of six years between their respective appear-
ances before the same sportsman. Mr. Grant also mentions a
specimen killed at Erlestoke in November, 1861, and thirteen
others from various districts in North Wilts. I have also several
instances from the neighbourhood of Marlborough, and other
instances will doubtless occur to many sportsmen, for, thanks to
the mistaken zeal with which their introduction to this country
has been conducted, they are by no means rare now. In France,
and indeed on the Continent generally, it is the Common
Partridge : Perdrix rouge in France, Rothe Feldhuhn in
Germany, Pernice commune in Italy, Perdiz in Spain and
Portugal.
131. QUAIL (Perdix coturnix).
Not many years since this diminutive but plump little
partridge was generally, though somewhat sparingly, scattered
over the down parishes in this neighbourhood in the summer,
but now it has become comparatively rare throughout the
county. One nest, however, was discovered at Yatesbury since
my incumbency in 1852 ; and I have notices of the bird's
occurrence of late years at Christian Malford in 1841 and 1845;
in the neighbourhood of Sutton Benger in 1847; at Langley in
1851; and at Erchfont in 1856; at Hilmarton and at Trafalgar;
at Chirton in 1860; Etchilhampton, 1863; Bishops Cannings,
1867; Potterne, Cheverel, Erlestoke, and Seend, 1868; Kowde,
All Cannings, Marden, 1871. The Rev. A. P. Morres reports
their appearance at Britford, Stratford Tony, and West Harnham,
near Salisbury ; at Holt, near Bradford, and at Mere ; and several
of these took place as late as the middle of December, which
336 Tetraonidw.
would seem to corroborate Yarrell's opinion that when the
autumnal migration in October takes place some remain behind
and winter here. Colonel Waddington says he shoots a few
brace every season at Figheldean. Nests with twelve and
thirteen eggs have been taken near Marlborough in June, 1871,
and in 1883 ; and Mr. Gwatkin records two nests of thirteen
eggs each sent him from Tilshead in 1886. Thus it is still to be
found throughout the county, and in all probability it might be
found in some part of Wiltshire every year, did not its unobtru-
sive and even skulking habits hinder its recognition. That
Quails are in marvellous abundance in their favourite haunts,
and that during their periodical migrations their flights are
prodigious, is not only recorded in old time in the books of
Exodus and Numbers,* but Colonel Montagu informs us that
one hundred thousand have been taken in one day on the west
coast of the kingdom of Naples ; and Mr. Wright speaks of their
numbers found at Malta when alighting to rest on that island
during the periods of migration as something almost incon-
ceivable. But Mr. Adams says their abundance or scarcity there
depends entirely on the prevalence or otherwise of favourable
winds, for if wafted on by suitable breezes they will pass over
the island in vast flocks without stopping to rest. Mr. Cordeaux
adds that the Maltese entertain the strange belief that the Quail
on migration keeps one wing motionless and raised like a sail,
and thus crosses the sea like a ship on her voyage.-f- That the
long flight, however, does sometimes completely exhaust the
little migrant I once had personal proof, for early one morning a
Quail arrived in the garden of the ' Villa des Pins/ at Mentone,
but a short distance from the shores of the Mediterranean (which
I occupied in the spring of 1878), so tired and exhausted as to
allow itself to be taken by hand, though after a time it recovered,
when we let it go, and it flew merrily away. That, moreover,
this handsome little bird is a cosmopolite, and inhabits the
three continents of the Old World, I can vouch, having met with
Exodus xvi. 13 ; Numbers xi. 31, 32 ; Psalm Ixxviii. 27, 28.
t ' Birds of the Humber,' p. 124.
Quail. 337
it in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Indeed, of the three specimens
now in my collection, the first I procured in the flesh at the
market of the Pantheon, at Rome, and it was admirably stuffed
by an Otaheite girl, the only taxidermist then in the Eternal
City ; and the others I shot on the banks of the Nile, within the
tropics, in Nubia. I also found it very abundant in Portugal,
where Montagu long since remarked that they remain through-
out the year, and even says, on the authority of Captain Latham,
though I am inclined to think erroneously, that they are more
plentiful in that country in winter than in summer. In Egypt,
too, it is often found in great numbers, and though not con-
sidered sacred and never embalmed, it may be distinctly recog-
nised in the bird-catching scenes on the walls of the tombs at
Beni Hassan and at Thebes, so that it can prove its title to a
settlement in Egypt of over three thousand years.
It is of so pugnacious a disposition that it was kept by the
Greeks and Romans, as it is at this day by the Chinese, for the
express purpose of fighting, after the manner of our game-cocks.
Of plump form and of self-asserting manners, the Quail may
well be designated a diminutive Partridge. Its flesh, too, is
equally good for the table ; and it is a benefactor to man by
consuming the seeds of many weeds. Its eggs are perhaps more
richly coloured than those of any other bird which breeds in this
country, the ground colour yellowish-orange, freely blotched and
speckled with rich dark brown. Whether the males are poly-
gamous, as Yarrell asserted, or whether they pair, as Howard
Saunders, Gould, and other eminent ornithologists think, is at
present uncertain ; but that both parent birds are undaunted in
defence of their young brood is generally admitted. Among
Continental ornithologists the Quail is often designated by the
specific name of dactylisonans, and we are told that it is so
called from the shrill triple note of the male, which soon makes
itself heard in the evenings on the bird's arrival. That cry to
the German peasant seems to say Buck' den Ruck, ( Bend your
back ;' to the inhabitant of the south of France, J'ai du He, j'ai
pas de sd (sac), or in Provence by Tres (trois) per un, tres per
22
338 Struthionidce.
un ; to the Spaniard, Clic-clic-lic, which perhaps led to the
invention of the castanets ; while in England it says, ' Wet my
lips, wet my lips.'* Professor Skeat says that the English
1 Quail ' and in like manner the French Caille and the Italian
Quaglia signifies ' a quacker,' from the root quachan, ' to
croak.' On the other hand, the Spanish Codorniz and the
Portuguese Codornis are from the classical Latin Coturnix, the
etymology of which is unknown (B.O.U.). Its period of arrival
in Western Europe is May, and of departure October.
STRUTHIONID.E (THE BUSTARDS).
This is a family which used to thrive in Wiltshire more than
any other county in England, inasmuch as our wide, open downs
in the north, and Salisbury Plain in the south, offered such an
extensive range and such an undisturbed stronghold as could
not be found elsewhere in the British Isles. That was in the
days when the great stretches of hill and dale were covered
with the original turf, and gave the best and sweetest of pasture
to the large flocks of sheep which wandered over them; but
when the plough invaded these solitudes, and the down was
broken up, and barley and wheat, which required hoeing in the
spring, succeeded to the sheepwalks, the Bustards were gradually
driven away or destroyed, and though here and there an in-
digenous straggler seems to have lingered on through the early
part of this century, they must have been getting very scarce a
hundred years ago ; and though now and again of late years a
specimen of either species comes over from the South of France
or Spain, it is but an accidental visitor, which meets with any-
thing but a kindly welcome when it arrives at the haunts of its
relatives of bygone years. The Bustards are essentially Ground-
birds, for they never perch, and unless disturbed or frightened
are seldom inclined to take wing. They can, however, fly with
considerable speed, and do on occasion prolong their flight to
great distances ; hence the arrival, though rarely, of visitors of
* Howard Saunders in fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds ' vol. iii.,
p. 129.
Great Bustard. 339
both species to our shores. As both in flight and running their
speed is remarkable, naturalists have been much puzzled to
account for the name so commonly assigned to them, as our word
'Bustard,' the French ' Outarde,' and the Spanish ' Abutarda,'
as also the universal scientific name for the Great Bustard, tarda;
but in an admirable paper on that bird in Eraser's Magazine for
September, 1854, supposed to be by Mr. Broderip, Albertus is
quoted as accounting for these specific names in the following
manner : ' Bistarda avis est bis vel ter saltum dans, priusquam
de humo elevetur, unde et eis nomen factum ;'* and this alleged
habit of the bird, giving two or three leaps before it rises from
the ground, and thus recalling the action of ascending a stair-
case, is mentioned as being likewise the origin of its German
name, Trapp-gans, or ' Stair Goose ;' whence also the quaint
distich :
' The big-boaned Bustard then, whose body beares that size,
That he against the wind must runne, ere he can rise.'
Pliny, too, says of these birds : ' Quas Hispania aves tardas ap-
pellat, Graecia otidas.'
Birds of this family are accustomed to pack in the autumn,
and are generally supposed to be polygamous, though (as in the
species last described) this is now disputed. The generic name
Otis is said to be derived from the Greek, meaning 'eared/ or
' with long ear feathers ;' but I fail to see how this applies to the
Bustards.
132. GREAT BUSTARD (Otis tarda).
Once the pride of our Wiltshire Downs, and which held this
county as its stronghold in Great Britain, now, alas ! driven out
from among us by the march of cultivation, and only seen at
long intervals as a rare visitor. It was my good fortune more
than thirty years ago to be instrumental in recording the capture
It is only fair to add that, according to Mr. Howard Saunders, some
recent authorities object to this derivation, and in the list published by
the B.O.U. Committee tarda is said to be a Celtic or Basque word, having
no relation to tardus, ' slow,' though what it does mean is not stated.
222
340 Struthionidce.
of what was then the last Bustard seen in Wiltshire, and of
subsequently purchasing the bird for the collection of my friend
the Rev. G. Marsh, which specimen is now in the museum at
Salisbury. My attention was thus very much directed to this
splendid species at a period when there were many living in
Wiltshire who could recollect having seen it from time to time
on Salisbury Plain; and I sought far and wide for tidings of the
last stragglers noticed in Wiltshire, and, indeed, of all the history
and traditions that appertained to this bird, wherein, as I grate-
fully and proudly record, I was very much assisted by an
interesting correspondence upon it, with which I was favoured
by the late Mr. Yarrell, the talented author of our standard work
on ' British Birds,' who also largely aided my inquiries by furnish-
ing me with a quantity of printed papers and extracts upon it.
Thus, armed with all the information I could gain, and en-
couraged by so high an authority, I prepared a paper on the
Great Bustard, which I read before the Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Society during its annual meeting of 1855,
at Warminster; and as everything connected with the Great
Bustard is still, and always must be, of special interest to Wilt-
shiremen, I propose to reproduce here the substance of that
paper, supplemented by an account of such further instances of
its occurrence in Wilts as have taken place since, thus bringing
its Wiltshire history down to present date.
First, however, let me briefly describe its general aspect and
habits. The Great Bustard is the largest of the British land
birds : its bill is nearly straight, but with the point of the upper
mandible curved ; its legs are long and naked above the knee,
very muscular and strong ; its toes, three only in number, and
these very short, united at the base, and all directed forwards ;
its wings of moderate length, but also very muscular. A full-
grown male, if in good condition, will attain to a weight of over
30 lb., and will measure three feet nine inches in length. Its
general plumage is as follows : head and neck bluish-gray ; back
and tail coverts buff-orange, barred and spotted with black;
upper part of the breast reddish-orange, all the under parts
Great Bustard. 341
white. The adult male is also furnished with long wiry feathers,
depending laterally from the chin, and moustaches of the same ;
the female, which is only about one- third in size as compared
with the other sex, has no lateral chin feathers or moustaches,
and her head and neck are of a deeper gray, but in other
respects her plumage is similar to that of the male. Of large
and bulky form, but with powerful wings as well as legs, the
Bustard likes to wander over a wide extent of country. More-
over, it is of a roving disposition, and loves vast open plains,
where amidst the long coarse grass and the fields of corn and
thick gorse it delights to dwell, and it will also frequent marshy
ground when such tracts are to be found near its favourite
haunts. Its food consists chiefly of herbage and grain, such as
rye and barley, stalks as well as ears, and insects, such as beetles ;
but reptiles and the smaller mammalia are also greedily devoured
by this omnivorous bird. The nest is a mere depression on the
bare ground, and there the hen bird lays her two eggs. As
autumn approaches they unite in flocks, and during deep and
continued snows are sometimes driven from their open plains to
more sheltered and enclosed districts. They are exceedingly
bold and pugnacious, having on rare occasions been known to
attack those who come near them with most determined ferocity.
They are at the same time generally very wild and difficult to
approach, so that sportsmen were accustomed to mask their
advance, as they do at this day in Spain, by means of a stalking-
horse. When in repose Bustards usually rest with one leg drawn
up, and with head reclining backwards on the neck. When seen
at a distance Gilbert White said they resembled ' fallow deer ' a
fact corroborated by Mr. Wolley, who saw them in Spain, appar-
ently walking in file, some with their heads down, as he was
ascending the Guadalquivir in a steamboat. When they take
wing they generally rise to a considerable height above the
ground, and will fly, often at an elevation of a hundred yards,
with a regular, but by no means slow flap of the wings, for
several miles before they alight again. Older writers on birds,
one after another, assured us that the Great Bustard was hunted
342 Struthionidce.
down by greyhounds, but that such was ever the case has been
disputed by many modern ornithologists. For my own part, I
do not see how we -can disbelieve the very decided assertions of
many trustworthy naturalists when relating the account of a
matter with which they must have been familiar ; but it is
too much the fashion now to presume that our ancestors were
mistaken, and in our conceit we attribute to them as errors what
in reality were truths at the time they wrote them, though they
may not fall in with our modern experience. Now there are
three distinct opinions on this knotty point, each of which has
its strenuous supporters: (1) That old and young birds in-
discriminately were so hunted by greyhounds ; (2) that the
young only were so coursed ; (3) that neither old nor young
could ever have been so taken. With regard to the first, that
both old and young were hunted down with dogs, Brooks in
his 'Ornithology/ in 1771, says of the Bustard in France,
near Chalons, 'Sometimes fowlers shoot them as they lie
concealed behind some eminence or on a load of straw ; others
take them with greyhounds, which often catch them before they
are able to rise.' Yarrell, in his article on the Bustard in his
' British Birds/ quotes the Rev. Richard Lubbock for the follow-
ing : ' A very fine bird, an old male, is still in preservation as a
stuffed specimen at the house of a friend in my neighbourhood,
which was taken by greyhounds forty years ago, within three
miles of Norwich/ Again, Mark Antony Lower, in his 'Con-
tributions to Literature ' (1854), says, ' The South Downs afford
a fine field for the naturalist as well as the sportsman. One
cannot but regret, however, the extinction of some of the
animals which they formerly nourished, particularly that fine
indigenous bird the Bustard. The grandfather of the present
writer was among the last who joined in the sport, about the
middle of the last century, of hunting down the last remains of
the species with dogs and bludgeons ;' and in a note which I
received from that gentleman in answer to my inquiries, he
added, ' My grandfather, John Lower, of Alfriston, was born in
1735. He was a boy at the time he went a-hunting Bustards,
Great Bustard. 343
and we may assume the year 1750 as about the period. My
friend, the late Mr. John Dudeny, of this town (Lewes), a
shepherd in his youth, and the son of a shepherd, told me that
his father, who must have been contemporary with iny grand-
father, had also taken part in Bustard-hunting in his youthful
days ;' and he adds, ' I have no hesitation in saying that fully-
grown birds were hunted down with dogs, though I have never
heard it mentioned what kind of dogs were employed/ The
next witness I adduce for the hunting of Bustards generally on
the ground is the Honourable Eobert Curzon, in his work on
'Armenia and Erzeroum.' At p. 145 he says, ' Later in the year
I risked my neck by riding as hard as I could tear over the
rocky, or rather stony, plains at the foot of the mountains after
the Great Bustard. I have more than once knocked some of
the feathers out of these glorious huge birds as they ran at
a terrible pace, half flying and scrambling before my straining
horse, but I never succeeded in killing one, though I have
constantly partaken of those which have fallen before more
patient gunners, who stalk them as you would a deer, and knock
them over with a rifle-ball or swan-shot from behind a stone or
bank.' Lastly, Bishop Stanley, in his ' Familiar History of Birds/
tells us, ' The Bustard can fly, but its usual motion is on foot,
running with such speed as often to rival a greyhound.'
For the second opinion, that the young alone were thus
coursed with dogs, I first adduce Bewick, who lived when these
birds were not yet extinct, and who (one would suppose) could
not well have been mistaken as to the method of obtaining them
generally adopted by sportsmen ; in his lifelike woodcut of the
Great Bustard in his first edition, published in 1800, we see in
the background of the picture one of these birds running, pur-
sued by greyhounds, and followed by a man on horseback ; and
in his subsequent editions, with the descriptions added to the
figures, he says, ' They are slow in taking wing, but run with
great rapidity, and when young are sometimes taken with grey-
hounds, which pursue them with great avidity ; the chase is said
to afford excellent diversion.' Mr. Howard Satmders supports
344 Struthlonidce.
this view, showing that 'in Spain, during the great heat of
August and September, young birds are sometimes run down by
horsemen and dogs, as, after two or three low flights, they
become exhausted, being at that season extremely fat.' That
they have been captured under similar circumstances in England
is probable, and indeed one case is recorded by Mr. Lubbock
where the greyhounds came suddenly through a gate, and
' chopped ' a Bustard ; but that anything like real and successful
Bustard coursing was ever habitually pursued is open to doubt.'
Mr. Saunders, however, notwithstanding this opinion, proceeds to
quote from the Naturalist's Pocket Magazine (1799-1800) as
follows : ' But though they cannot be reached by a fowling-piece,
they are sometimes run down by greyhounds. Being voracious
and greedy, they often sacrifice their safety to their appetites ;
and as they are generally very fat, they are unable to fly without
much preparation ; when therefore the greyhounds come within
a certain distance, the Bustards rim off, clap their wings, and
endeavour to gather under them enough air to rise; in the
meantime, the dogs are continually gaining ground, till at last it
is too late for flight. However, notwithstanding the sluggishness
of their usual pace, they can, when in danger, run very fast, and
once fairly on the wing, are able to fly several miles without
resting.' My last authority for this opinion is Mr. Hooper, of
Littleton, in the parish of Lavington, who has always lived on or
near the Plain, and states that he has often heard from old men
that in the days of Bustards the shepherds were in the habit of
hunting the young birds with their sheep-dogs ; he says, ' There
can be no doubt of the matter, as far as the practice of this neigh-
bourhood is concerned ;' but, he adds, ' the older birds were too
swift, under the combined help of wings and feet, thus to be
taken, and they were understood not to be so followed ; they
hunted the young ones before they were fully fledged.' With
such authority for the hunting of Bustards with dogs as I have
adduced, and I might mention much more to the same effect, I
do not see how we can deny the fact altogether, whether we
believe that the old birds were so coursed, as well as the young,
Great Bastard. 345
or no ; for my own part, I incline to the belief that the old birds
were occasionally so taken, though perhaps this was generally in
drizzling or wet weather, which was certainly the time usually
chosen for the sport, when the birds' feathers were soaked with rain.
As to those who hold to the opinion that neither old nor
young birds were ever hunted with dogs at all, they found their
disbelief on the supposed impossibility of the thing, and ignore
altogether, or treat as idle tales, the repeated accounts given by
the older naturalists. At the head of these sceptics stands
Selby, the talented author of the 'Illustrations of British
Ornithology,' who says the Bustard ' upon being disturbed, so far
from running, in preference to flight (as has been often described),
rises upon wing with great facility, and flies with much strength
and swiftness, usually to another haunt, which will sometimes be
at the distance of even six or seven miles. It has also been said
that in former days, when the species was of common occurrence,
it was a practice to run down the young birds (before they were
able to fly) with greyhounds, as affording excellent diversion ; so
far from this possibility existing, with respect to the present
remnant of the breed, the young birds, upon being alarmed, con-
stantly squat close to the ground, in the same manner as the
young of the lapwing, golden plover, etc., and in that position are
frequently taken by the hand.' The same opinion, though with
somewhat less confidence, is given by Mr. Nicholson (quoted by
Yarrell in his paper on the Bustard, read before the Linnsean
Society), who had enjoyed great opportunities of observing these
birds in the neighbourhood of Seville, where they abound. He
says, * They never try to run, one that I had winged making the
most absurd attempts possible to get away from me, and though
a young bird, showing much more disposition to fight than to
get away by running. I cannot imagine greyhounds being able
to catch Bustards, though there seems to be good authority for
believing they did.'
Another method of taking, or attempting to take, the Bustard
in ' ye olden tyme' was by means of falcons, and I am indebted to
Mr. James Waylen for the information that when Colonel
346 Struthionidce.
Thornton, who once rented Spye Park, sported in Wiltshire, he
occasionally flew his hawks at Bustards, the apparent slowness of
that bird when seen at a distance tempting him to the trial ; but
the hawks had no chance.
There is another point which has been no less warmly disputed
by modern ornithologists, in regard to the existence of a so-called
gular pouch. From the days of Daines Barrington and Edwards,
such a pouch or bag between the under side of the tongue and
the lower mandible of the bill was supposed to exist, and to
supply the bird with drink in dry places when distant from
water. This statement was accepted and confidently repeated
by Bewick, Montagu, Selby, and Yarrell. Subsequent research,
however, and careful anatomical observations, afterwards shook
Mr. Yarrell's belief in this gular pouch, and in this he was sup-
ported by the old French naturalists, with Cuvier at their head,
as well as by our own Professor Owen of the Royal College of
Surgeons. The question, however, is still an open one, with,
warm advocates on both sides: 'et adhuc sub judice lis est.'
When I was in Portugal, in the spring of 1868, 1 was so fortunate
as to procure a magnificent male bird in the flesh, which was most
liberally given me by an English friend, and whose body, after 1 had
taken off the skin, for several days formed a large item in the bill
of fare of the Hotel Braganza at Lisbon; the guests of every degree
at the table-d'hote and in private apartments partaking of the
dish, from the British Minister and his family on the first-floor
to the cook-boys in the area. This bird weighed 30 Ib.
English,* and is the finest example of 0. tarda I have ever seen.
After being brought down with shot, the coup de grace had been
given it by cutting its throat with a knife, as is the approved
method of Portuguese sportsmen ; it had also been a good deal
torn by dogs; but though thus ill-used, blood-stained and
damaged in the outset, and though it arrived in England covered
with mildew for I sent it home direct by sea it has been
admirably cleaned and mounted by Mr. Baker, the well-known
* Lord Lilford pajs that a fine specimen brought to him in Spain
weighed 32 Ib. Ib's for 188G, p. 382.
Great Bustard. 347
taxidermist of Cambridge, and, thanks to his diligence and care,
now stands in my collection as noble a specimen as may be seen
of the Portuguese ORNIS. With the assistance of Dr. Suche r
who had been a fellow-labourer with Vigors, and who was an
experienced collector and preserver of some of the larger mam-
mals and reptiles in South America, and whose anatomical skill
was of the greatest service to me, I spent several hours in
examining the soft, wattle-like protuberance which hung below
the chin and throat, and gave the whole neck a thick, puffy
appearance. The result was that I entertain no doubt whatever,
and (what is of far more value) Dr. Suche was equally positive,
that this male Bustard possessed a pouch of considerable capacity,
or rather (as it seemed to me) a number of membrane-divided
sacs, which appeared capable of extending to any dimensions,
and the larger of which would apparently contain several quarts.
I am quite aware that my own attempts at dissection were very
feeble, and I should not venture to speak thus positively on so-
disputed a point but for the able assistance in the work, and the
certain conclusions deduced therefrom, by Dr. Suche. To this I
may add, that on mentioning our work and our unanimous
conclusions to Professor Barbosa du Bocage, the well-known
ornithologist and indefatigable director of the museum at Lisbon,
to whose courtesy I was indebted for much information and assist-
ance, he not only entirely concurred with us, but declared that it
was impossible for anyone to examine the throat and neck of an
adult male Otis tar da without being convinced by his own
senses that such a pouch did exist. Even previously to removing
the skin of my bird, the position and size of the large goitre-like
excrescence standing out from the neck, though in great measure
concealed by feathers, could be plainly discerned ; and, when
handled, at once betrayed the soft, yielding nature of its sub-
stance.* Perhaps it may account for the apparently contradic-
tory opinions expressed above, if I state that the male Bustard
For an exhaustive treatise ' On the supposed Gular Pouch of the Male
Bustard,' by Professor Newton, see Ills, for 1862, pp. 107-127. See also
Ibis for 18G5, pp. 143-116.
348 Struthionidce.
does not arrive at maturity till the fourth year, previous to which
no sign of the pouch is to be seen ; also that it is the opinion of
some well qualified by experience to judge, that it is only to be
found in the breeding season, after which it gradually diminishes
in size, till it is hardly perceptible in the winter. If this is (as I
believe) correct, and the presence of the gular pouch is confined
only to old male birds, and to them in the breeding season alone,
then its absence on examination of younger birds, and at other
periods of the year, is at once accounted for.
And now I come to the history, so far as I can ascertain it,
of the Great Bustard in Wiltshire ; observing by the way that in
other countries we can trace it back to very remote times, for its
form appears among the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and many well-
known ancient writers have thought it not unworthy of mention.
Athenseus, Plutarch, ^Elian,0ppian, Xenophon, Aristotle and Pliny,
are some of those who have described it, and though much fable
is mixed up with their accounts, the description is sufficiently
clear to enable us to identify the bird. But to pass from these
Bustards of ancient Greece and Asia, to those of ancient Britain,
when the Celtic tribes roamed over the downs, and Abury and
Stonehenge were in their glory, then this bird flourished on the
unbroken Plain, and doubtless revelled in the broadty-spreading
unreclaimed wastes throughout this county. Its name is pre-
served as ' Yr araf ehedydd ;' but to what extent it abounded, or
how far it was looked upon as game, or how much it was the
object of pursuit in those days of flint arrowheads, does not so
clearly appear. To come down, however, to a much later period,
from the earliest records we have of it in comparatively modern
days viz., three hundred years since the price it fetched proved
it to be no very common fowl. Indeed, I do not think it could
ever have been very plentiful in England : its large size and
the excellent meat it furnished must always have caused it to
be greatly sought after on account of its commercial value ; and
though it is puzzling to imagine how the sportsman of old
contrived to bring about its capture, that they did obtain it
somehow is certain, from the lists of game, and the bills of
Great Bustard. 349
fare, and the prices of wild fowl which have come down to us, and
several of which are reproduced by Mr. Howard Saunders in the.
new edition of Yarrell. No species of game, however, in the.
sixteenth century seems to have been so highly esteemed and to,
have fetched a larger price than the Bustard, for the sum of ten
shillings at which it was valued represents a very high figure, if
we take into account the comparative value of money at that
period ; but, indeed, at the present day, the price of a Batarda, in
the market of Lisbon is generally equivalent to about two,
pounds, which will not be thought excessive, even in a country
where the bird is common, when we consider that it weighs.
SO lb., and that the meat, as I know by experience, is
excellent. So early as in 1534 (25 Henry VIII.) it was found
necessary to protect its eggs by law, ' upon paine of imprisonment,
for one yeare, and to lose and forfeit for every egge of any
Bustarde so taken or distroid xx pence, the one moitie thereof
to be to the King our Soveraigne lorde, and the other halfe to.
him that will sue for the same in forme aforesaide.'* Now to find
and take the egg of so large and conspicuous a bird was easy
enough for any idle fellow, but it must have required both skill
and patience to capture, even with the crossbow, so wild and sa
wary a bird, frequenting such open spots, where it was difficult ta
stalk them, and always on the alert for any surprise. Again, in
1712, an advertisement appeared in the Spectator announcing in
the market the seat of a deceased baronet, containing, in addition,
to fish-ponds, canals, etc., ' woods of large timber, wherein is gama
in great plenty, even to the Bustard and Pheasant.' And again, I
have now before me an autograph letter of the Duke of North^
umberland, bearing date May 10th, 1753, addressed to Michael
Ewen, Esq., of Milton Lislebon, on the verge of Salisbury Plain,
thanking him very heartily for a fine Bustard he had sent him,
proving the bird at that date to be sufficiently rare to be sent as a
present to a nobleman.
But Wiltshire was always allowed to be the stronghold of the.
Great Bustard, and our wide downs/and especially Salisbury Plain,
Zoologist for 1886, p. 84.
350 Struthionidoe.
were known to be its favourite haunts, and they are described as
such by most of our older ornithologists. In 1667, Merrett
notices that it was ' taken on Newmarket Heath and about
Salisbury.' In 1713, Ray thus describes its localities : ' In campis
spatiosis circa Novum Mercatum et Royston, oppida in agro
Cantabrigiensi, inque planitie, ut audio, Salisburiensi, et alibi in
vastis et apertis locis invenitur.' In 1771, "Dr. Brooks says of it,
1 This bird is bred in several parts of Europe, and particularly in
England, especially on Salisbury Plain, etc., for it delights in
large open places ; the flesh is in high esteem, and perhaps the
more so because it is not very easy to come at.' In 1775, Gilbert
White was told by a carter at a farm on the downs near Andover,
that twelve years previously he had seen a flock of eighteen of
these birds, but that since that time he had only seen two ; though
Gilbert White's correspondent, Pennant, would lead one to
suppose them far more common, for he says, 'in autumn these are
{in Wiltshire) generally found in large turnip-fields near the
downs, and in flocks of fifty or more/
Up to this point, then, we may regard the Great Bustard, if not
very numerous (which from its size and its value it was not very
likely to be), as at any rate by no means a rare bird ; and doubtless
highly prized by our sporting forefathers was this pride of Wilt-
shire, this stately denizen of our plains.
Thus in the latter quarter of the eighteenth century, when
Montagu lived in Wiltshire, the Bustard was to be found in some
numbers on our downs, as that accurate naturalist says he has often
contemplated it there with much pleasure. It was, however, begin-
ning to get scarce, and was deemed worthy of protection by law,
.and yet must have been plentiful enough to be thought worth
the effort to preserve it. Accordingly we find that a statute was
enacted in 15 George III., c. 65 (A.D. 1775), whereby a close time
for breeding was set apart, and it was forbidden, under a penalty
of one pound, to takeBustards between March 1st and September
1st. However, the native Bustards of Wiltshire gradually but
.surely decreased in number, the said Act notwithstanding.
How long the native Bustards of Wiltshire lingered on, doubt-
Great Bustard. 351
less sheltering themselves in the most retired spots they could
find, and gradually diminishing in number, is not very easy to
.ascertain; but from all the evidence I could gather, I have
reason to think they were not entirely exterminated quite so
early as has been surmised. Before, however, I proceed to record
the testimony of eye and ear witnesses of the occurrence of rare
specimens in Wiltshire in the early part of this century, I would
quote a very interesting paragraph, headed ' The Bustard of
Salisbury Plain/ which appeared in the Wiltshire Independent
in 1854, and was afterwards copied into the Times: 'There are
people now living in Wiltshire who recollect the time when it
was the custom of the Mayor of Salisbury to have a bustard as a
prominent dish at the annual inauguration feast ; and these
birds, once numerous on the wild and then uncultivated expanse
of Salisbury Plain, could at length only be shot by means of a
vehicle so covered by bushes and placed in their haunts as to
enable men therein concealed to bring them down at a long
range. For more than fifty years the Wiltshire Bustard has
been extinct, and the Mayor of Salisbury has been obliged to
forego his yearly delicacy.' I do not know who was the writer
of this curious and interesting passage, but he is certainly incor-
rect in stating that the Bustard had then been extinct in this
county ' for more than fifty years/ as I shall presently proceed
to show. Maton, in his ' Natural History of Wiltshire/ says :
* A very observant and credible person, of the name of Dew,
whom I knew as a sportsman in my younger days, informed me,
in the year 1796, that he once saw as many as seven or eight of
these birds together on the downs near Winterbourne Stoke; but
I have not met with anyone since who has actually seen the
Bustard in Wiltshire subsequently to that year/ Others, how-
ever, were more fortunate; and we have many published accounts
of it since that date, as we shall see further on. Bewick, writing
in 1797, says: 'Bustards were formerly more frequent in this
island than at present; they are now found only in the open
-countries of the south and east, in the plains of Wiltshire and
Dorsetshire, and in some parts of Yorkshire/ Daniel, in his
352 Struthionidce.
'Kural Sports,' in the year 1800, recounts how Mr. Crouch, of
Burford, shot a hen Bustard on Salisbury Plain, with a common
fowling-piece and partridge-shot, at forty yards' distance ; and
adds that there were two other Bustards in company with the
one shot, neither of which appeared to be hurt. From this time,
however, the breed began to decline apace, and as cultivation
increased, and the Inclosure Acts came into force, and the downs
began to be broken up, and the waste lands to be reclaimed and
drained and, perhaps more than all, as the system of wheat-
hoeing in the spring became general the Bustards found it
more and more difficult to escape, and we hear only of stragglers
rarely encountered on the Wiltshire Downs. ' In 1801 ' (as
reported by Mr. Britton),* ' a man, about four o'clock of a fine
morning in June, was coming on horseback from Tinhead to
Tilshead, while at or near an inclosure called Asking's Penning,
one mile from, the village of Tilshead, he saw over his head,
about sixty yards high as near as he could estimate, a large bird,
which afterwards proved to be a Bustard. The bird alighted on
the ground immediately before the horse, which it indicated a
disposition to attack, and in fact very soon began the onset.
The man alighted, and getting hold of the bird, endeavoured to
secure it, and, after struggling with it nearly an hour, he suc-
ceeded, and brought it to Mr. J. Bartley, of Tilshead, to whose
house he was going. Not knowing the value of such a bird, he
offered it to Mr. Bartley as a present ; but Mr. Bartley declined
to accept it as such, though he much wished to have it ; and
after repeated solicitations, prevailed on the man to receive for
it a small sum, with which he was perfectly satisfied. During
the first week that Mr. Bartley had this bird in his possession,
it was not known to eat anything ; however, at length it became
very tame, and would at last receive its food from its patron's
hands, but still continued shy in the presence of strangers. Its
* I make no scruple of reproducing in txtenso this most interesting account
of a Wiltshire Bustard, which was communicated by our own Mr. Britton to
Mr. Yarrell, and which that accomplished ornithologist read before the
Linnasan Society, in January, 1853, in a paper ' On the Habits and Structure
of the Great Bustard/
Great Bustard. 353
principal food was birds, chiefly sparrows, which it swallowed
whole in the feathers with a great deal of avidity ; the flowers of
charlock and the leaves of rape formed also other parts of its
food mice it would likewise eat, and in short almost any other
animal substance. The food in passing into the stomach was
observed to go round the back part of the neck. Mr. Bartley is
of opinion that the idea of the Bustard's drinking is erroneous;
in support of which he says that, during the time this bird was
in his possession, which was from June till the August following,
it had not a drop of water given it, after two or three weeks at
first. This fact he considers as a proof that the generally
received opinion of the Bustard's drinking is untrue. This bird
was judged to weigh upwards of twenty pounds, and to measure
between the extremities of its wings when extended about five
feet, and its height was about three and a half feet. Its plumage
was beautiful, and from its gait, which was extremely majestic,
a spectator would be led to infer that it was sensible of its own
superiority over others of the feathered tribe. In August, Mr.
Bartley sold this noble bird to Lord Temple for the sum of thirty
guineas. The Bustard inhabits the extensive downs of Salisbury
Plain, but its race is now almost extirpated. It is thought that
not more than three or four are now remaining. Some time in
the last summer (viz., 1801), while Mr. Bartley had this bird in
his possession, a nest supposed to belong to this bird, or at least
to its mate, for Mr. Bartley 's bird was judged to be a male was
found in a wheat-field on Market Lavington Down. It contained
two eggs ; they sometimes lay three, though very seldom : they
are about the size of those of a goose, of a pale olive-brown, with
small spots of a darker hue. The nest was made upon the
ground by scratching a hole in the earth, and lined with a little
grass. The eggs Avere rotten, and had probably undergone a
period of incubation.
' An instance of a Bustard attacking a human being, or even a
brute animal of any considerable size, was, I believe, never before
heard of, and that two instances of this kind should occur so
nearly together may be considered very remarkable. About a
23
Strutkiohidce.
fortnight subsequent to the taking of this bird, Mr. Grant, a
respectable farmer of Tilshead, was returning from Warminster
Market, and near Tilshead Lodge (which is something more than
half a mile from the village) was attacked in a similar manner,
by, as it is thought, the mate of the same bird. Mr. Grant's
horse being rather high-mettled, took fright, became un-
manageable, and ran off, and consequently Mr. Grant was com-
pelled to abandon his design of endeavouring to capture the
bird.' Such is the account communicated by Mr. Britton, and,
with reference to the bird kept by Mr. Bartley, I have further
learnt, through the kindness of the late Rev. E. Wilton, that it
was kept in a kind of staked cage, made for it in a little close
belonging to the house, and that several Bustards used to come
and congregate round their confined companion at that date, and
that people often used to hear them at night. The confined bird
is described to have been a kind of spotted turkey. At that date
the good people of Tilshead affirm there were many Bustards
haunting the flat between that village and Shrewton ; they were
also in some abundance near what was long known as the
Bustard Inn. Mr. Coleman, of Tilshead, said he perfectly recol-
lected how horses travelling over the plain were known to shy
at the noise of the Bustards. The late Mr. Robert Pinckney, of
Berwick St. James, bore witness that during his occupation of
Mr. Duke's farm at Lake the Bustard used to make its nest
every year in the water-meadows belonging to the estate, and was
disturbed annually by the mowers. Again, Mr. Compton, of East-
cott, described as a great sportsman and bird-studier, was known
to have shot two of these birds: while an old whip of Squire
Tinker's, carried nolens volens down a steep 'linchet' in the
ardour of the chase, almost rode over two Bustards, and could
have struck them with his whip, had he been prepared to en-
counter such tenants of the linchet's base : he said ' they were
spotted all's one as a pheasant.' Mr. William Wyndham, of
Dinton, informs me that his grandfather saw a hen Bustard on
the wing at Uphaven on November 27th, 1801. Mr. B. Hay ward,
of Easterton, near Devizes, more than once recounted to me that
Great Bustard. 355
the keeper at West Lavington often told him that when a boy,
as he was on the downs with his father and the dogs, they came
upon a young Bustard which he caught ; but as it was only partly
grown, his father made him put it down again, saying it would
be better worth taking in a fortnight, at the end of which time
they came up again, found, and took it. This shows the wildness
of the downs at that time, but little of them being cultivated.
Again, the father of the late Rev. R Ashe, of Langley Burrell
was riding in 1806 from Broad Hinton to Chisledon, when he
rode down what he then conjectured, and afterwards ascertained,
to be a young Bustard : having farther to go, he got off his
horse, and tied its feet with a pocket-handkerchief, and left it in
a hole in a ploughed field; but on his return, to his chagrin,
both the bird and handkerchief were missing. Another Bustard
was killed in the early part of the present century at Langley,
and came into the fine collection of Mr. Warriner of Conock.
This Wiltshire specimen, and a very fine one it is, may be seen
with the rest of the collection, deposited in the Museum at
Devizes. In 1802 Colonel Montagu, in his 'Dictionary of British
Birds,' observed that the Bustard is only found upon the large
extensive plains, and that the species is almost extinct, except
upon those of Wiltshire, where they had become very scarce
within these few years/ In 1812, the editor of the last edition
of Pennant says, ' The breed is now nearly extirpated, except on
the Downs of Wiltshire, where it is also very scarce.' In the
same year, 1812, in the month of June or July, a flock of seven
was seen when he was a boy of nine or ten years of age, and on
his way from Salisbury to Great Bedwyn, by the Rev. W.
Quekett, Rector of Warrington, and whose graphic account I
printed in the seventeenth volume of the Wiltshire Magazine,
p. 127. After this I have no record with positive date on which
I can rely of any native Wiltshire Bustard ; but I have had many
statements to which I listened attentively, from thirty to forty
years ago, from old shepherds, farmers, and labourers, several of
whom could well recollect seeing these birds on the downs in
their early days, but from whom I could obtain no reliable in-
232
356 Struthionidce.
formation as to date ; for the Wiltshire countryman, good honest
soul, is not observant of detail, and as to dates he ignores them
altogether; 'a long whiles ago' conveniently covering half a
century. However, by putting together the information I gained
from many sources, and by comparing the several statistics which
I thought reliable, I arrived at the opinion (perhaps somewhat
indistinct and hesitating) that our Wiltshire Bustard lingered on
till about the year 1820. I should add, however, that this is
somewhat later than the date of its extinction as given by
Montagu, who, in the Supplement to his Dictionary, published in
1813, says, ' We were informed by the shepherds that they had
not been seen for the last two or three years in their favourite
haunts on the Wiltshire Downs, where we had often con-
templated this bird with pleasure.' And Selby, in his ' Illustra-
tions of Ornithology/ published in 1825, 'unable on repeated
inquiry to hear of the reappearance of a single Bustard, since
the days of Montagu, even in its most favourite haunts/ pro-
nounces ' the breed to be extinct upon our extensive downs, of
which it once formed the appropriate ornament.' But Graves
(whose figure of the Great Bustard was drawn from a male bird
taken alive on Salisbury Plain in 1797, and kept for three years
in confinement, when it died) says in the third volume of his
'British Ornithology/ in 1821, 'The enclosing and cultivating
those extensive downs and heaths in various parts of Great
Britain, on which formerly this noble species was seen in large
flocks, threatens within a few years to extirpate the Bustard
from this country ; instead of being met with in flocks of forty or
fifty birds, it is a circumstance of rare occurrence that a single
individual is now seen/
Thus has this noble species, once so common in our county,
dwindled and died away, and now, alas ! is no more to be ac-
counted a resident throughout the kingdom. Like the American
Indian, the poor Bustard has had no chance against the march of
civilization, but has rapidly retired before the advancing plough-
share, till the race (once so free to rove over its vast and retired
solitudes as it listed) dwindled one by one, and the last survivor
Great Bustard. 357
was no more. Probably there are few, if any, now living in the
county who can recollect having seen the native Bustard on
Salisbury Plain, though many must have listened over and over
again to the tidings which their fathers and grandfathers gave of
their experiences with this noble species, even as I have heard
my father-in-law, the late Rev. T. T. Upwood, recount how some-
where about the year 1820, and on his own estate in Norfolk, he
came unexpectedly upon a pack of seven or eight of these huge
birds, and was probably one of the last in the kingdom to fire
upon so large a flock. He must not, however, be branded as an
oticide, perhaps in the eyes of some as odious an appellation as
that of regicide, or even vulpecide ! for however anxious his
desire to secure a specimen for his collection, and though
generally an unerring shot, he was so unnerved by the sudden
uprising of so many great birds, and the noise of so many wings,
that he clean missed with both barrels, and the flock was gone,
and never found again.
It was at about this date that a story, which I believe is
authentic, was told of a well-known sportsman not a hundred
miles from Codford, in the south of this county, who had invited
a party of neighbours to shoot partridges on his well-stocked
estate on the 1st of September. But, as it chanced, he had two
nephews staying with him at the time, who he thought would be
a hindrance to the day's sport if they accompanied him : so, to
employ them in another direction, he bade them take their guns
and go out on the Plain ' Bustard-shooting ;' with which they in
their simplicity at once acquiesced, to the no small amusement
of the uncle and his friends. But when the partridge-shooters
returned at the end of the day's sport to the house of the host*
they found the two lads had already arrived ; and to the ironical
inquiry of the uncle, 'Well, boys, what sport have you had
Bustard-shooting?' they replied, ' Oh, pretty fair ; we followed a
good many, and succeeded in killing two.' At this there was a
general laugh, as the sportsmen speculated what birds the lads
could have found ; and to satisfy their curiosity, though without
a suspicion of the truth, both uncle and friends followed the
358 Struthionidce.
youths to the back of the house, where their game was deposited :
and there, sure enough (to the utter surprise, and admiration,
and envy of all), the bodies of two fine Great Bustards met their
eyes. Then the laugh was indeed on the side of the boys, for to
have killed one of those grand birds, now very nearly extinct in
the county, both uncle and his friends would have sacrificed
almost anything within their power.
For more than a quarter of a century after the extinction of the
native Bustard in Wiltshire, I have no trace of the visit of a
straggler to this county ; but within the last forty years our
downs have been visited by it on three occasions, viz., in 1849,
1856, and in 1871, which I now proceed to describe seriatim.
On August 31st, 1849, Mr. Waterhouse, of the British Museum,
a well-known naturalist, was returning with a party of friends
from Stonehenge, at about seven in the evening, when a Great
Bustard rose and flew with a heavy but tolerably rapid flight,
at about twenty feet above the ground. It was very wild, and
would not sufler itself to be approached ; though when it rose on
the wing it pitched again two or three times before it flew over
the brow of a hill and was seen no more. Mr. Waterhouse never
entertained any doubt of the species, and had a clear view of the
bird for about ten minutes. Judging from its size he conjectured
it to be a female*
The next visit of this species to Wiltshire occurred on January
3rd, 1856, when one of Lord Ailesbury's keepers named King,
seeing a large bird which he could not recognise, but supposed
to be an eagle, flying over a part of Marlborough Forest called
Henswood, fired a cartridge at it, though on account of the
distance had little expectation of reaching it. He was not, there-
fore, disappointed to see the bird continue its flight, apparently
unharmed, and went his way thinking no more of the matter.
Subsequently, and apparently only a day or two after, a little boy
of not more than seven years old saw a large bird, crippled with a
broken leg, and succeeded in capturing it; and the following is his
own description of the occurrence, taken at the time from his own
* See Zcologut for 1849. p. 2590.
Great Bustard. 359
lips, and obligingly communicated to me by Mr. W. H. Rowland,
of Hungerford, who afterwards purchased the bird : ' I was going
to Starve-all Farm with my brother's dinner about twelve o'clock,
and passing along the edge of a field of turnips I saw a great red
bird laid down and fluttering away ; he was close to the side
of the turnips, and as I went up to him he tried to flutter away.
Then he came at me and bit my fingers, but did not hurt me
much ; and as he put out his great wings, I caught hold of one
and dragged him along, pretty near a quarter of a mile, up to
"Starve-all," where a man broke his neck. The bird was not
dirty when I first saw him, but I made him so pulling him
along the field ; he made a terrible row with his wings on the
barn floor, after his neck was broken. One of the men put the
bird on my back, and I held his head in my hand, and carried
him home to mother ; he was main heavy, and I couldn't scarce
get along with him.' So far we have the account of the brave
little captor of this Great Bustard, but it appears farther that
there was a council of war held over the bird (when the boy first
took it into the barn alive) by all the labourers, who were just at
that time assembled at dinner, and it was very nearly decided to
pick it and dress it then and there, but the boy's brother claimed
it for him, so one of the men killed it, that the boy might carry it
home better. Later in the day, as two young men out shooting
passed her cottage, the mother of the young Bustard-catcher
invited them to come in and see what a bird she had got, when
one of them offered her sixpence for it, then eightpence, and
ultimately bought it for one shilling, with the promise that the
woman should have the carcase after the bird was skinned;
but its purchase by Mr. Rowland prevented the fulfilment of
that part of the bargain. The dragging across the field by the
boy, and the rough handling of the man at the barn seriously
injured its feathers, but owing to the care and skill of Mr. Lead-
beater, its deficiencies were cleverly repaired, and it was pro-
nounced by Mr. Yarrell, who examined it, a good specimen. The
latter gentleman was extremely anxious to procure the neck for
dissection, that he might satisfy himself in regard to the gular
30 Struthionidce.
pouch, and was much disappointed to find that all the soft parts
required had been irrecoverably destroyed. Mr. Leadbeater,
however, ascertained that it was a young male, in the second
year only, and it was without the whiskers so conspicuous in the
adult male. In all probability, therefore, it would have had
no gular pouch. Though in a poor emaciated condition when
captured, it weighed 13J lb., and measured from tip to tip
of the wings 6 feet 3 inches. How so large, powerful,
and pugnacious a bird should suffer itself to be mastered by
a boy of tender age, seems strange at first sight ; but if we take
into account the broken leg (the wound in which seemed to be a
stale one of some days' standing), and its consequent exhaustion
from loss of blood, and if we suppose the boy to have caught
hold of the left wing, on the same side as the broken leg, we can
easily conceive how the bird was rendered powerless, and could
not recover itself to offer resistance. How it came by the broken
leg has been also much disputed, the limb not being shattered as
if by shot, but the bone broken off as if by ball, and the fracture
being too high up to have been caused by a trap. Mr. Yarrell
suggested the probability of the accident occurring by the bird
getting its leg entangled among the bars of a sheep-hurdle, and
making efforts to get loose ; but ever since I gained intelligence
of the keeper's shot with a cartridge, I have come to the conclu-
sion that that shot took effect, and that the bird so fired at, and
that caught subsequently by the little boy, were one and the
same ; and therefore Henswood (the scene of the keeper's shot)
being in Wiltshire, I claim this bird as a bond fide Wiltshire
specimen, though I own it was so misguided as to cross the border
to die just within the county of Berks. I am happy to add that,
by Mr. Marsh's desire, I purchased this specimen for his collection,
though at the high price of 20, and it may now be seen with the
rest of his birds in the museum at Salisbury.* And now we pass
by an interval of fifteen years during which no trace exists of the
* See Mr. Yarrell's account of the capture of this specimen in the Zoolo-
gist for 1856, p. 4995 ; and further particulars communicated by me in th e
sa me A olume, p. 5061.
Great Bustard. 361
visit of a Great Bastard to Wiltshire ; and in all that time but
two stragglers are reported to have been seen in the British Isles,
viz., one in Yorkshire in 1864, and one in Norfolk in 1867; but
in 1871 there was quite an immigration to England of Great
Bustards, which were said by some to have been driven across the
Channel through alarm at the heavy firing in France during the
Franco-German War ; but whatever the motive which impelled
them, it is certain that quite a numerous body came over to this
country, and specimens were obtained in Middlesex, in Northum-
berland, in Devonshire, in Somersetshire, and in Wiltshire.
As regards those which visited this county, I have to thank
many kind correspondents for early information on the subject,
and I now proceed to put together the story as I have gathered
it from the several accounts with which I have been furnished.
The Rev. Canon F. Bennett, Rector of Maddington and Shrewton,
wrote under date January 27th, 1871, ' You will be interested in
hearing that the Bustards have returned to the Plain. A flock
of seven large birds, thought to be wild geese, had been observed
on the downs, and no particular notice was taken of them. On
Monday last, however (23rd inst.), Stephen Smith, who was bird-
keeping near the Tile Barn, on the Manor Farm, in this parish,
saw four of these large strange birds flying low, and he killed
one of them at the distance of 132 yards with the marble with
which his gun was loaded. The three other birds are, I
believe, still about. The bird which was killed is a hen
Bustard, and it has been presented by Mr. Lywood, the tenant
of the Manor Farm, to the Salisbury and South Wilts Mu-
seum.' The Rev. Canon Goddard, Vicar of Hilmarton, also
kindly wrote to me under date January 28th : ' My son Edward
reports that on the railway en route to Winchester there was on
Wednesday last a man with the body of a Great Bustard killed at
Maddington, one of the three seen there.' That of course would
be the bird whose capture Canon Bennett reported. And a third
notice I had from the late Mr. E. T. Stevens of Salisbury, for
some time my colleague as Hon. Sec. to the Wiltshire Archaeo-
logical and Natural History Society, who wrote on January 25th,
362 Struthionidce.
1 You will be pleased to hear of the appearance of the Bustard
in Wiltshire. Three were seen on Sunday last by Mr. Lywood,
near Shrewton, and on Monday his bird- keeper, Stephen Smith,
shot one of them. The bird is a female, small, but in good
plumage ; weight not quite 71 lb. ; length from point of beak to
end of tail, 31 inches ; and from tip to tip of wings, 62 inches. It
was shot on the Yarnborough side of the Maddington Valley, and
was on the wing with its companions flying about twenty yards
above the ground. After it fell, one of the survivors wheeled
round the spot, not more than fifteen yards from the man's head.
The crop was quite empty. The skin is now being preserved for
the Salisbury Museum/ A second letter from Mr. Stevens,
dated February 2nd, informed me that he and nine others had
met ' to partake of the body of this bird from curiosity, and that
it was pronounced extremely tender and good, the breast like
plover, the thigh not unlike good pheasant.' My next witness is
Mr. Frederick Stratton, of Gore Cross Farm, on the Lavington
Downs, a keen observer of birds, with whom I have from time to
time had ornithological correspondence. He writes under date
January 26th : ' Having been confined to the house for several
weeks in consequence of an attack of bronchitis, I ventured out
on horseback on Monday last, the weather having become a little
milder, and I saw near New Copse a bird of which I cannot refrain
from giving you some account, and which I have no hesitation in
pronouncing to be a Great Bustard. I disturbed it on the edge of
a piece of swedes, and it seemed to use its wings with great
facility, flying somewhat after the manner of the Great Plover,
which hereabouts is generally though erroneously called the
" Curlew." The wings also seemed barred with white, somewhat in
the same way as those of that bird, only it was ten or twelve
times larger. I watched it alight on the ground, after a flight of
seven or eight hundred yards, and while I remained in sight,
it seemed intent on watching my movements. I was compelled to
ride home quickly, as the snow had begun to fall ; but I sent
directly to a neighbour, and asked him to shoot it if possible ;
but though he was fortunate enough to see it twice, he could not
Great Bustard. 363
get within 80 or 100 yards, and failed to secure it. He describes
it as running with considerable swiftness, and agrees with me
in thinking that its wings would stretch at least 6 feet. It
appeared to be feeding in a strip of the thousand-headed cabbage,
the stalks of which were very long, thus affording, at the same
time, both food and shelter.'
Two days after the capture of the Maddington Bustard
viz., on Wednesday, January 25th, as I learnt from a second
letter from Mr. Stevens, as well as from several other kind
friends another Great Bustard was shot in the parish of Berwick
St. James, very near Maddington. Two birds were seen to-
gether on the estate of Mr. William Pinckney, and were watched
through a glass as they were feeding in a turnip-field. As they
seemed remarkably shy and suspicious,, precautions were taken
to circumvent them ; and by a little manoeuvring, and by placing
men so as to drive them in the required direction, one of them
a fine male was shot in the wing, and so crippled as to be easily
taken. It weighed nearly 10 lb., stood upwards of 3 feet in
height, and measured from the point of the beak to the end of
tail 44 inches, and across the wings 6 feet 8 inches. The female
might also have been captured, but in the excitement of the
moment was allowed to escape, and she went off in the direction
of Chitterne.
It cannot be doubted that the female shot at Maddington on
January 23rd and its three companions, and the solitary bird
seen at Gore Cross on the same day by Mr. Stratton, and the fine
male killed at Berwick on January 25th, and its companion
which escaped, would all belong to the original flock of seven
which had been observed, but no particular notice taken of
them, on the Maddington Downs, and which had become
scattered into several small parties, and dispersed over the
neighbouring downs.
It was not, I am afraid, a very hospitable reception which
these Great Bustards met with, on coming to visit the original
haunts of their relatives ; and if any of them survived and
returned across the Channel to their own quarters they would
364 Struthionidce.
give but a sorry account of the welcome they met with here.
Far different was the hospitality offered by my friend Mr.
Upcher, when a fine male bird made its appearance on his
property at Feltwell, in Norfolk, in 1876 ; for he not only took
the utmost pains to secure it from molestation and intrusion,
but procured from Lord Lilford a female companion, which he
turned down on the spot, in hopes he might induce it to remain
and perhaps breed on his property : but all his efforts were most
unfortunately frustrated by exceptionally severe weather and
most violent storms, which resulted in the death of the hen
bird and the departure of the male.* All honour, however, to
him who did his best to protect and provide for the stranger,
instead of attacking it the moment it appeared and hunting it
to death, as was done in Wiltshire and other counties whenever
it made its appearance. At all events, during the sixteen years
which have elapsed since the last memorable visit to Wiltshire
we have seen no more of this bird, at once the largest, the noblest,
and the most highly prized of all our British birds ; and for
which our county was so notorious, as the principal stronghold
of what once stood at the head of the game list.
133. LITTLE BUSTARD (Otis tetrax).
I have no hesitation in admitting this interesting species into
our Wiltshire list, on the authority of the Right Hon. E. P.
Bouverie, of the Manor House, Market Lavington, who is a keen
observer of birds, and who fell in with two of this species on
August 6th, 1877, and on returning home was so good as to
favour me with the following account of what he had seen : c I
was riding with some friends on Monday, August 6th, on the
Plain above Netheravon, and my attention was attracted by a
large strange bird, which rose off a fallow about 100 yards from
me ; a second rose immediately afterwards and flew in a different
direction, 150 yards on to the down adjoining, and then ran,
See account in Zoologist for 1876, p. 4882, also a more full account, with
illustrations, in the Field during February, 1876.
Little Bastard. 365
very fast, a short distance. I pursued : it rose again and took
another short flight, and alighted again, ran a short way, and
then crouched. I pursued it again : it ran on, and then took flight
and swung round us at about 200 or 250 yards distance, so as to be
quite observable, with head outstretched. I have no doubt they
were a pair of Lesser Bustards. I have looked at the plates in
Bewick and Yarrell, and they correspond most closely especially
the latter with the appearance of the one we followed. Its size
and flight, as described by McGillivray, correspond exactly with
our observation: the size that of a large pheasant, or say a
blackcock ; the flight peculiar, with neck stretched out. The
head when the bird squatted, and the markings as it flew by,
were exactly like the plates. In short, apart from the evidence
afforded by handling them, there is the strongest proof that the
Lesser Bustard was on the Plain.' Mr. Bouverie is well ac-
quainted with the ' Great Plover ' or ' Stone Curlew/ the only
species with which they could be confused, and was satisfied
that the birds he saw were not of that species ; so that I have
no doubt he was correct in deciding that they were veritable
Little Bustards.
Not nearly so conclusive is another notice of its occurrence
with which the Kev. A. P. Morres furnished me ; for as its
authenticity rests on an anonymous contribution to a local
newspaper, it can only be received with extreme caution. The
writer, however, certainly seems to speak with some apparent
acquaintance with the bird, and it is much to be regretted that
he so seriously impaired the value of his information by with-
holding the authority of his name. He says : ' Hiding on the
old driftway which leads from Salisbury to Everleigh, when near
the latter place, at the back of Sidbury Hill, on the open down,
I came suddenly on a pair of Bustards. I know the birds per-
fectly, having seen them on the plains near Casa Yischeu, half-
way between Cadiz and Gibraltar, in the South of Spain. There
are two sorts : the greater and lesser. It was a pair of the
Lesser Bustards I saw this day. Meeting an old man shortly
after, I inquired if he had ever seen such a thing. His answer
366 Struthionidce.
was, " I am seventy- two, and never have ; but I have heard my
father speak of them as having been quite common in his
youth." I hope no sportsman or naturalist will think it neces-
sary to shoot them, as they may breed. Viator, April 4, 1867.'
Mr. Morres is not disposed to put much credence in this account,
because of the late date assigned to their appearance, whereas
the visits of this bird to the British Isles are generally in late
autumn or winter ; but, for my part, I do not think the Little
Bustard is so rare in this country as some imagine, though, as a
shy, timid bird, and a lover of solitary places, it keeps as far as
possible from the haunts of man. Mr. Howard Saunders says
that altogether between sixty and seventy have been recorded
as visitors to the British Islands.* These are all specimens which
have been duly reported and chronicled at headquarters; but
nobody can tell how many others may have escaped notice, or,
at all events, have lacked an historian or biographer to report
their capture. Certainly it does not include three specimens
which were shot on different occasions in the north of Norfolk,
near Lynn, by my father-in-law, the Rev. T. T. Upwood, two of
which are still in the collection which he left at his seat, Lovell's
Hall, in the parish of Terrington, and the third is in my own
collection in Wiltshire. These occurrences, however, took place
between forty and fifty years ago, when the neighbourhood of
the Wash presented a much wilder aspect than it does now, and
when ornithological prizes were continually met with, the very
mention of which makes the collectors' mouth water in these
degenerate days.
I found this species extremely common in Portugal ; indeed,
it is constantly served at table under the title of ' Pheasant/
So plentiful is it that the markets were daily supplied with it in
some numbers, and its abundance is manifest from the price I
paid for the finest adult male I could select, amounting to no
more than 200 reis, which, however large the figure may seem to
the uninitiated in Portuguese coinage, represents only tenpence
halfpenny of our money. In skinning this and other specimens
Fourth edition of YarrelPs 'British Birds,' vol. iii., p. 218.
Little Bustard. 367
I found a considerable cellular fatty deposit very thickly cover-
ing the interior of the skin of the neck, more especially at the
back of it. This I had to remove very carefully and patiently,
bit by bit, with the scalpel. It gave the neck a very thick ap-
pearance, and when felt from the outside was soft, somewhat as
in the pouch of 0. tarda ; but in this case there was no trace of
pouch or sac.*
In habits, localities it frequents, and food, it very much re-
sembles its larger congener. In Algeria it is known as ' Poule
de Carthage.' At the breeding season it pours forth its cry of
prut, prut, jumping up at the conclusion of each strain or call,
and striking the ground in a peculiar manner on its descent.-)-
For an interesting account of the manner in which sportsmen
hunt the Little Bustard on the steppes or prairies of the Do-
brudscha, and how they circumvent these wily birds by approach-
ing them under cover of an araba, I would refer my readers to
an able article by Mr. W. H. Simpson.j In France it is Outarde
canepetiere ; in Germany, Kleine Trappe ; in Sweden, Liten-
Trapp ; in Italy, Gallina pratarola, ' meadow-hen ;' in Spain,
Sison, and in Portugal, Cizdo, both meaning ' pilferer.' Tetrax
may possibly mean ' a cackler/ or perhaps it is a Persian word
(B.O.U.).
' Spring Tour in Portugal,' p. 208.
f Fourth edition of YarrelFs ' British Birds,' vol. iii., p. 218.
t Ibis for 1861, p. 370.
THE BIRDS OF WILTSHIRE.
WATER BIRDS.
CHAPTER X.
GRALLATORES (WADERS).
IT might be supposed at first sight that, in a county so deficient
in large sheets of water as ours confessedly is, the fourth great
Order of birds, comprising the Waders, would be but scantily
represented. When, however, it is considered that a large pro-
portion of this numerous class is apt at certain periods of the
year not only to retire inland, but to frequent large open plains,
however distant from lakes and rivers, as well as secluded
valleys, watered by diminutive streams, it is evident that our
wide-spreading downs, and the rich valleys which intersect and
border them, offer attractions sufficiently tempting to many of
this Order, and the consequence is that the list of Wiltshire
Waders is by no means a scanty or a meagre one.
This class of birds may be said to occupy a middle space
between the Ground birds last described, which are truly terres-
trial, and the next Order, which contains the Swimmers, or true
Waterfowl. The Waders known in the British Isles are com-
prised within six families, the Plovers, the Cranes, the Herons, the
Snipes, the Rails, and the little family of Lobe-footed birds ; and
in this list we shall again remark the gradual advancement
towards the true water-birds : those which stand at the head of
the list being in many respects nearly related to the game-birds
24
370 Charadriadce.
which they succeed, while those at the farther end approach
both in conformation and in habits very closely to the great
Order of Swimmers which follows them. The general name
assigned to them of ' Grallatores ' signifies ' walkers on stilts,'
and describes at once the characteristic for which they are con-
spicuous the great length of leg, which enables them to wado
in the shallows and marshes, whether on the sea-coast or on the
banks of fresh-water lakes and rivers. Combined with this
peculiar length of leg, we shall see a proportionate length of
neck or beak, or both together, by means of which they can
secure the food which they find in the shallow-water or mud-
banks in which they delight ; and in the more typical members
of the Order we shall find the toes of great length, and partially
connected with a membrane, by which they are the better
enabled to traverse the soft oozy ground where their prey is
most abundant, and to seek their food on the slimy mud into
which their bodies would otherwise sink. They are generally
provided with powerful wings, and their flight is rapid as well as
strong. Their food consists almost, if not quite, entirely of
animal substances, of which the lower classes of reptiles, fishes,
molluscs, worms, and other invertebrate creatures form the
principal portion. They are generally of shy and timid nature,
ever on the alert for danger, and avoid the too near approach of
man.
CHARADRIAD.E (THE PLOVERS).
Closely allied to the Bustards last described, and with the
same peculiar formation of foot, from which the hind toe is
absent, the large family of Plovers stands at the head of the
Waders. Their legs are of moderate length, and their beaks of
comparative shortness, as become those which connect the land
and water birds ; thus, too, they can, on the one hand, run with
considerable swiftness, and, on the other hand, they can fly with
great rapidity, and prolong their flight almost indefinitely.
Being generally late, if not nocturnal feeders, they are furnished
with large full eyes, which, with a corresponding expansion of
Pratincole. 371
socket, give the head a bulky appearance, which is quite charac-
teristic of the family. When in repose (and I have often seen
them standing asleep) the neck is shortened, and the head drawn
down between the shoulders, reminding one of a hunchback.
The large majority of them lay four eggs on the ground; and
when an intruder appears in the neighbourhood, the male whirls
about and feigns lameness, and practises sundry manoauvres to
draw away attention, until the female has stolen away from the
nest unperceived. They compose a very large family, and some
of the species may be found in every part of the world. During
the greater portion of the year they congregate in large flocks,
and most of them migrate, or partially migrate, retiring to the
sea-coast when frost sets in, as is the case with many other birds.
The word Charadrius is the Latinised form of %apa$pi6<;, in
classical Greek signifying 'a bird dwelling in clefts or river
valleys/ xapdSpai. (B.O.U.), though how far this description of
locality suits the family of Plovers I must leave the Greek
authors to explain. Our English word ' Plover ' is derived from
the French Pluvier, ' the Bain-bird.' Wedgewood remarks that
the German name, too, is Regenpfeifer, ' the Rain-piper ' (Skeat).
134. PRATINCOLE (Glareola torquata).
It is highly satisfactory to me that I am able to head my list
of Wiltshire Waders with this extremely rare visitor to Great
Britain, and that satisfaction is much enhanced by the circum-
stance that the individual in question has found its way into my
collection through the kindness of the gentleman who killed it.
As the bird is so very little known in this country, it may be of
interest if I extract from the pages of the Zoologist the whole
story of its capture, as I recorded it in that publication at the
time.* ' In the middle of November, 1852, when Mr. Hussey, of
Tilshead, was walking over his "land, the day being very rough
and cold, the wind blowing from the east, he saw a strange bird
descend near him with the velocity of lightning, and settle inside
a sheep-fold among the sheep. As Mr. Hussey chanced very
* Zoologist for 1853, p. 3843, et seq.
242
372 Charadriadce.
fortunately to be an observer of birds, he immediately remarked
that this was one he had never seen before, and pointed it out to
his shepherd who was with him, desiring him to watch the bird
well while he returned to his home, at the distance of a mile, for
his gun. Before he went, however, he saw the bird suddenly
rise from the ground, and after a short flight of the most marvel-
lous velocity, return again to the fold, where it seemed to enjoy
the shelter from the bleak east wind, and to care nothing for the
presence of the sheep, the men and the dogs. This short
excursionary flight was renewed several times, which made Mr.
Hussey hesitate whether he should take the trouble to return
home on so remote a chance of still finding on his return so
singularly restless and swift a bird ; however, as the bird always
came back to the same spot after each successive excursion, Mr.
Hussey hesitated no longer, but hurried home for his gun, 'giving
strict charge to the shepherd to keep quiet, and on no account
to lose sight of the bird. Now the shepherds of Salisbury Plain
(in the midst of the bleakest part of which the parish of Tilshead
lies) are not remarkable for their sharpness ; indeed, I fear we
must own them to be the perfection of all that is dull, heavy,
and ignorant ; no wonder, then, that a bird so very rapid in its
movements as the Collared Pratincole should soon elude the slow
gaze of the heavy-eyed Argus, and that on Mr. Hussey's return,
in answer to his inquiries as to the whereabouts of the strange
bird, he should be met with the provoking reply " Doant knaw,
zur ; he flee'd away so terrible sudden that I could'n zee 'en
nowhere, I could'n : I never zee sech a bird to flee." Upon this,
it may be supposed that Mr. Hussey walked on somewhat dis-
appointed, when, in a moment, at the distance of about thirty
yards, up sprang the bird, and was darting off at a prodigious
rate, but a well-aimed shot laid it dead on the ground. On
picking it up, the long wings and forked tail caused Mr. Hussey
and others to suppose it to belong to the Swallow tribe ; and the
dull- eyed shepherd, seeing no brilliant hues in the dead bird, as
if to excuse his slowness, exclaimed with a sneer of contempt,
"Well, zur, 'taint much of a bird, arter all, I'm zure." ' In
Pratincole. 373
addition to the above narrative, Mr. Hussey tells me that ' the
land on which I found the bird was a stiff clay soil. I shot it
close to the sheep-fold, where there were sheep feeding off
turnips ; the bird appeared to be rather tame, but whether from
exhaustion or nature, I cannot tell.'
I have also a notice but an unsatisfactory one which I have
not been able to verify, and without detail of time or place or
circumstances, that a second specimen was killed at Avebury
about 1860. Possibly this notice may enable some traces of it
to be discovered.
The home of the Pratincole seems to be the steppes of Tartary
and the central parts of Asia ; but when we look at its marvellous
length of wing and deeply-forked tail, we are prepared to find
that it is of frequent occurrence in Southern Europe, as well as
Northern Africa, vast distances being soon traversed by a bird of
such enormous powers of flight. It can also run rapidly on the
ground, and it catches coleopterous and other insect prey on foot
as well as on the wing. It roosts on the ground, and flies late at
night, its large eyes being well adapted for seeing in the dark ;
in all these respects it shows its affinity to the Plovers. Its
prevailing colour is dove-brown above, and buff and white below ;
and its distinguishing mark, whence it derives its specific name,
is a collar or crescent of black, which in a narrow line encircles
its throat to the eyes.
Its scientific name, glareola, is derived, according to the B.O.U.
Committee, from the localities it loves, from glarea, 'gravel/
because it inhabits ' gravelly places ' ; and ' Pratincole,' from
pratum, 'a meadow'; and incola, 'an inhabitant,' because it
frequents open meadows. Our earlier British ornithologists
called it the 'Austrian Pratincole.' In Italy it is known as
Pernice di mare, ' Sea Partridge ' ; and in Malta as Perniciotta,
'Little Partridge' ; in France it is Glareole d collier; in Germany,
Deis rothfussige Sandhuhn, 'Red-footed Sand-fowl ; in Spain,
Canastera; and in Portugal, as in Italy, Perdiz do mar. It
frequents the margins of lakes and rivers, as well as marshes in
the interior of the country. Those who are acquainted with it
374 Charadriadce.
in its own haunts speak of its fearless manner and familiar
habits. Others find it not so easy to approach by walking
straight up to it, but say that it will squat if one makes a circuit
round it, gradually lessening the distance, and will then allow
itself to be trodden upon before taking wing* Mr. O. Salvin
found it on the tablelands of the interior of the Eastern Atlas,
frequenting the salt-lakes and freshwater marshes, and gives the
following graphic description of its behaviour : ' When in
proximity to their nests, the whole flock come wheeling and
screaming round, while some dart passionately down to within a
few feet of the intruder's head, retiring again to make another
descent. When the first transports of excitement are over, they
all alight, one by one, on the ground. Some stand quite still,
watching with inquiring gaze; while others stretch themselves
out, first expanding one wing, then the other, and sitting down
extend both legs. In this position they remain some seconds, as
if dead, when suddenly springing up, they make another circuit
overhead, and the v/hole flock passes quietly away. The bird
makes no nest, but deposits its three eggs in a slight depression
of the bare sand. The eggs are usually placed with their axes
parallel.!
135. CREAM-COLOURED COURSER (Cursorius
isabellinus).
It is somewhat strange that the second species of this family
should also have occurred in Wiltshire, inasmuch as it is one of
the very rarest of the accidental visitors to this country, the
straggler whose appearance I will now relate being only the fifth
individual whose occurrence in Great Britain had then been
recorded. It was met with by Mr. Walter Langton, of Wands-
worth, Surrey, when out shooting on the estate of Mr. Stephen
Mills, at Elston, near Tilshead, on Salisbury Plain, on October 2nd,
1855 (very near the same spot where the Pratincole, last described.-
was found). It was first seen on an open piece of down land
Lord Lilford in Ibis for 1860, p. 239.
f O. Salvin in Ibis for 1859, p. 355.
C 'ream-Coloured Courser. 375
called Eastdown, which was particularly bare of vegetation, as is
generally the case at that season of the year with all down lands.
The day was somewhat stormy, the wind south-west, and Mr.
Langton and his companion were following a wild covey with a
brace of young pointers, when one of them stood on the open,
down, and suddenly a Cream-coloured Courser took wing, almost
immediately under the dog's nose, and apparently flew at the
dog's face, who snapped at the bird. Indeed, in a second letter
with which Mr. Langton most obligingly favoured me at the
time, he calls particular attention to this strange fearlessness on
the part of the bird ; which, however, is quite in accordance with
its general character. It then flew with a lazy kind of flight
about two hundred yards, and again settled on the open down,
and began to run at a moderate pace, reminding Mr. Langton of
the gait of the Landrail. That gentleman immediately followed
it, and, when within forty yards, shot it as it ran upon the ground.
It was not heard to utter any cry, and the keepers who were
present conjectured it to have been wounded; but as they seem
to have arrived at that conclusion solely from the unwillingness
of the bird to take flight, and its apparent disregard of danger,
for which its natural disposition fully accounts, no regard need
be paid to that surmise. When first found by the dog, it was
lying so close that, until it rose, though from the bare down,
nothing was seen of it. It was sent to Mr. Gardner, the well-
known taxidermist in Oxford Street, who stuffed it, and who
kindly communicated with me on the subject.
The Cream-coloured Courser, Swift-foot, or Plover, is a native
of the sandy deserts of Africa, to which its pale bluff plumage
closely assimilates in colour : hence the name isabeUinus, ' sand-
coloured,' which is most appropriate, for the colour of its plumage
is so well matched with the sand of the desert which it inhabits,
that it is as difficult to distinguish it when squatted on the
ground, as it is to see the Ptarmigan amidst the rocks and snow
patches of Norway. This remarkable assimilation in colour to
the warm-tinted sand it shares with many other species of birds
which frequent the same localities, and struck me as very ob-
37 tf Ckaradriadce.
servable, when I wandered into the desert on the banks of the
Nile. Several species of Chats, more especially Saxicola desertl
and S. isabellina, partook of this hue, but above all the ' Bush
Babbler ' (Crateropus acacice), of which I once shot two specimens
perched in an isolated ' sont ' bush, and though they both fell
quite dead on the sand beneath the tree, it will hardly be believed
that I searched for twenty minutes, and very nearly gave up the
search in despair, though they were both lying on the sand just
before me, so marvellously did their colours match with that of
the sand. Though I kept a constant look-out for the Cream-
coloured Courser when in its native land, and though it was occa-
sionally seen by some of my companions, I was never so fortu-
nate as to fall in with it. It is notorious for its surprising fleetness
of foot, as its name would lead us to infer ; and shows a strange
confidence, or rather carelessness, of man, so unusual in other
members of the family, to which I have already called attention.
Its cry of alarm is said to resemble that of the Plover ; it rests
and sleeps in a sitting posture, with its legs doubled up under it.
When disturbed, it will run off with astonishing swiftness,
rnano3uvring to get out of sight behind stones or clods of earth ;
then, kneeling down and stretching the body and head flat on
the ground, it endeavours to make itself invisible, though all the
time its eyes are fixed on the object which disturbs it, and it
keeps on the alert ready to rush off again if one continues to
approach it.* The name Cursorius, or ' runner/ is, as we have
seen, applicable enough, but Gallwus, as it used to be styled, was
most unfortunate, for it was bestowed upon it by Gmelin under
the erroneous impression that it only occurred in France. Still
more misleading is the name in use among the Maltese, who call
it the 'English Plover' (Pluviera ta I'Inghilterra), than which a
more inappropriate term could scarcely be devised. In North
Africa, where it is well known to the Arabs, they call it the
' Camel Pricker/ Song el Ibel^ but on what ground I know not.
In France it is Court-vite isabelle, 'Sand-coloured Courser'; and
M. Favier, of Tangier, quoted in ' Yarrell/ 4th edition, vol. iii., p. 244.
t Canon Tristam in Ibis for I860, p. 79.
Great Plover. 377
in Italy Corrione biondo, ' Flaxen Runner ' ; but in other countries
of Western Europe it appears to be almost unknown; at all events,
I can find no name for it in the bird lists.
,136. GREAT PLOVER (CEdicnemus crepitans).
This is the largest bird of the family with which we are
acquainted in this country : and is elsewhere known as the
Thick-kneed Bustard, the Stone Curlew, and the Norfolk Plover.
It may still be seen on our open downs during the summer
months, for it leaves this country for warmer latitudes in the
autumn, and I have met with it within the tropics in Nubia in
winter. Colonel Montagu imagined that it never penetrated to
the western parts of England, but was confined to the eastern
counties, where undoubtedly it is most abundant: but I have
information from many quarters that it was once very generally
known in Wiltshire, whose wide-spreading downs indeed offered
it the retirement as well as the space in which it delights. The
late Rev. G. Marsh told me that up to 1840 it was still common
on the downs near Salisbury. Mr. Benjamin Hay ward, of
Lavington, spoke of it as becoming more scarce, but still occa-
sionally to be seen on Ellbarrow and the higher hills. The late
Mr. Withers, of Devizes, mentioned that it had on several
occasions been shot on Roundway Down, and brought to him for
preservation; and Mr. W r adham Locke, of the Cleeve House,
Seend (to whose intimate acquaintance with birds I owe many a
lesson), wrote me word that he had seen a very large flock of
these birds in the air, migrating from north to south at the fall
of the year, when they made a most melodious whistling noise.
In addition to this satisfactory evidence, I will now add that for
several years past I have seen these birds on the downs of North
Wiltshire in a particular locality, which for obvious reasons I do
not desire to specify more minutely, and that during the summer
I can generally find them in or near their favourite haunts. Still
more interesting is the fact of their rearing their young in our
county, an instance of which was given me by the Rev. Alexander
378 Charadriadce.
Grant, Rector of Manningford, from whose letter, dated Sept. 2nd,
1864, 1 quote the following particulars : ' I think you will be glad
to hear that the Norfolk Plovers I mentioned are alive and doing
well : my son picked them up on our downs between Manningford
and Everleigh. F. O. Morris says that " the young when fledged
will squat, and allow themselves to be picked up. If disturbed
from the nest, the parent runs oft' very swiftly, with the head
stooped.' This, my son states, is exactly what occurred when he
found the birds. About ten days after he had taken them, a
person called at my house with another young Norfolk Plover,
picked up on the Rushall or Charlton downs : and about the
same time I saw at least two pairs flying and hovering about the
downs near Sidbury Hill, not far from the old track from Marl-
borough to Salisbury.
The Marlborough College Natural History Reports also state
that the egg was taken in June, 1866, in that neighbourhood, and
again on Overton Down in 1868, and again in May, 1874. Mr.
George Butler says that it still breeds on the downs near
Kennett ; Mr. G. Watson Taylor that it sometimes nests on the
downs above Erlestoke, where the keepers have caught the
young birds ; and Lord Heytesbury, on his keepers' authority,
that they come annually early in March to breed on the downs
above Heytesbury.
The Rev. A. P. Morres has also had the young birds as well
as the eggs brought to him from the immediate neighbourhood
of Salisbury, and used to consider it by no means uncommon on
the downs near him ; but he laments, what I fear is also the case
in North Wilts, that it is rapidly decreasing in numbers. I
have, however, many notices of its recent appearance in Wilts.
In letters sent me this year (1887), Mr. F. Stratton says that
whereas it was getting scarce at Gore Cross Farm on the
Lavington downs some ten years since, it is now somewhat
more numerous there. The Right Hon. E. P. Bouverie informs
me that his son shot one last autumn on the downs above
Cheverell. Mr. W. Stancomb, jun., writes that they are often
seen on the downs above Colston, and Lord Arundel that he has
Great Plover.
seen it on the downs near Wardour, while Mr. Grant's list
mentions specimens from Netheravon, Manningford, Everley,
Lavington, Erlestoke, Tilshead and Chitterne. Thus it is clearly
established that the Great Plover is no stranger to Wiltshire r
albeit of not very frequent occurrence in the present day : and
I have entered fully into the evidences of its appearance on our
downs, because it has been doubted by some whether the species-
has not been mistaken. That such, however, is not the case, I
am perfectly convinced, and indeed there is no other bird with
which it can be readily confused. It is of fine stately form, of
considerable size and of erect carriage, and its large prominent
yellow eye is the principal feature which attracts attention. It
is a nocturnal feeder, as the size and prominence of its eye
indicates, and rests by day on the wide hilly downs, which are
its chosen haunts ; but it is of a wild and shy disposition, and if
disturbed in its retreat, flies off with its legs stretched out behind
after the manner of the heron ; and after a short flight alights
again, and then runs off with great rapidity. It is a migratory
bird, arriving here in the spring, and retiring in autumn to pass
the winter in Africa. Like the Bustards, it lays but two eggs,
and in its insect and animal diet, as well as general habits, it
follows the custom of its congeners.
Its generic name (Edicnemus, from ofoog, ' a swelling,' and
XI^AMJ, ' the leg,' is very descriptive of the remarkable swelling of
the tarsal joint of the leg in the young bird, which reminds one
of a gouty man, and which is a very characteristic feature in this
species. I was informed by Mr. Parsons, of Hunts Mill, Wootton
Bassett, when looking over my collection of birds in 1870, that
there is an old saying in Wiltshire, having reference to the value
of the Stone Curlew in olden time :
' Let the curlew be white or black,
He carries ninepence on his back.'
A somewhat high price when the value of money, if only a
hundred years ago, is taken into account ; but there is no
question that it is of excellent quality for the table. In France
it is (Edicneme criard, ' Clamorous (or noisy) Thick-knee ;' in
380 Charadriadce.
Germany, Lerchengraue Regenpfeifer, and Grosser Brachvogel,
4 Great Fallow-bird ;' in Italy, II gran Piviere ; but in Spain,
Alcaravan ; and in Portugal, Alcaravdo, which carry with them
a strong Moorish flavour.
137. GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius pluvialis).
The Wiltshire sportsman on the downs will not need to be
told that here we have a winter migrant which favours our
county when frosts and snows drive it from more northern
latitudes, but which retires again as spring draws on, to breed
in the mountain districts it loves so well. It is a handsome
bird even in winter, when the golden hue which overspreads its
plumage gives it a bright appearance ; but when met with in full
breeding dress in summer, as I have seen it in Norway, on the
high fjelds of that wild country, it assumes such altered colours
that we can scarcely recognise it: for in place of the grayish
white which prevails on all the under-plumage, a glossy black
now appears, while bright golden yellow tips the edges of the
upper feathers, and the contrast of dark below and light above
is extremely pleasing. Its flesh is very highly esteemed by
epicures, and therefore it is diligently sought for by the fowler,
but thanks to its innate shyness, it is not very easily approached,
except during a fog.
I found these birds very plentiful on the upper fjelds in
Norway ; and instead of the timidity they exhibit here, they
seemed perfectly fearless. On one occasion we were overtaken
by a snowstorm on a wild and desolate fjeld, more than twenty
miles from any human habitation, and took refuge during the
night in a goat-shed, where we vainly tried to keep out the cold
by heaping up a fire of heather and brushwood, round which
our shivering horses as well as ourselves were glad to crouch,
notwithstanding the suffocating smoke which filled their noses
and throats, and the bright flames which the crackling heather
gave out. Here the Golden Plovers abounded, and neither snow-
storm nor bitter wind, nor clouds of smoke, nor crackling flames,
dismayed them. All round the hut and during the entire night
Golden Plover. 381
they were constantly uttering their plaintive melancholy cry,
most congenial with the circumstances, but most trying to the
listener. As we rode away next morning, these beautiful birds
in full breeding plumage were so tame that they would run
along the stony ground within a few yards of my horse, then fly
a few paces, and then stand and stare and run along as before.
It is very seldom that these pathless fjelds are trodden by the
human foot ; and this accounts for the absence of timidity
displayed by these birds. Our route was marked out (as it always
is in such fjelds) by small stones being placed upright on some
large conspicuous pieces of rock : these little pyramids of stone
are excellent landmarks to show the way; the snow does not
obliterate or conceal them ; and being readily formed, they are
numerous enough to guide the traveller from one to another.
It was while passing between two of these landmarks that I
discovered a nest of the Golden Plover, placed right in our path :
the nest was a mere depression of the scanty grass, unprotected
by bush, heather or rock : the eggs, four in number, and with
the small ends towards the middle (as is usual with all the Plover
tribe), had been sat upon for some time, but I succeeded in
bringing them away without damage, and they are now in my
cabinet.* In Scandinavia this Plover goes by the name of
Ljung-Pipare, or ' Heath Piper.' There are several reasons
adduced for the specific name pluvialis ; because it comes in
the rainy season, say some ; or because it frequents places damp
from rain, and marshes, say others; but without doubt, as it
seems to me, because it shows an extraordinary restlessness
before bad weather, and so announces the approach of rain-
storms. Sir K Payne- Gall wey, than whom there can be no
better authority as a field observer, says : ' Peewits and Plovers
are excellent weather prophets ; when they are heard and seen
screaming and wheeling in the evening, it is a sure sign of a
dirty night, as this is their usual hour to settle on the ooze or
meadows to rest or feed.'f But Yarrell says that the French
term Pluvier has been applied to the Plover, 'pour ce qiCon le
Zoologist for 1851, p. 2979. t ' Fowler in Ireland/ p. 14.
382 Charadriadce.
prend mieux en temps pluvieux qu'un nulle autre saison. Our
word 'Plover' is derived from the French Pluvier* This is also
a nocturnal feeder, and can run very fast : during the day it
will squat or stand asleep, with its head drawn down between its
shoulders : it flies in large flocks, and if disturbed, the whole
flock will perform many aerial evolutions and rapid wheelings
before they again settle on the ground.f Sir R. Payne-Gallwey
remarks that it has a pretty habit of trotting nimbly along a
few steps, and then stopping motionless for some seconds, ere
resuming its run, and he adds that Curlews at a distance, not-
withstanding their much greater bulk and long peculiar bills,
bear such a wonderful resemblance to the Golden Plover, from
the way they sit, especially when herded together, that it is
very difficult to identify them.J I need not specify localities,
for it may be said to be distributed in flocks, though sparingly
and uncertainly, all over the county. In France it is Pluvier
dori ; in Germany, Goldregenpfeifer ; in Italy, Piviere dorato ;
in Spain, Chorlito ; and in Portugal, Tarambola.
138. DOTTEREL (Charadrius mormellus).
This, too, is, or perhaps I ought to say was, a thoroughly
Wiltshire bird, our county being one of the few enumerated by
Yarrell as its regular haunts. At the beginning of this century,
Colonel Montagu described it as a bird which annually visits us
in spring and autumn in its migratory flights to and from its
breeding-places in northern Europe ; and he adds, ' On the
Wiltshire downs it resorts to the new-sown corn or fallow
ground for the sake of worms, its principal food : in the autumn
they fly in families of five or six, which we have observed to be
the two old birds and their young ; but sometimes a dozen or
more flock together.' They generally rested but a few days
amongst us, but during that period they were often so numerous
that sportsmen now alive have killed from forty to fifty. Now
Yarrell's ' British Birds,' 3rd edition, vol. ii., p. 449.
t Selby's ' Illustrations of British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 234.
J Sir R. Payne-Gallwey's ' Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 174-182.
Dotterel 383
they are rarely to be met with, and though scarcely a year
passes without a notice of the capture of one or more on some
portion of our downs, it is but an accidental straggler, which has
wandered out of its way. My good friend, Rev. W. C. Lukis,
chanced to see such an one, as he was driving with the Rector
of Manningford Bruce, between Upavon and Enford in May,
1857 ; it was close to the roadside, standing on a clod of earth,
all alone in its glory, and did not care to move out of the. way.
My own specimen, now in my collection, was shot on the
Lavington downs. It came to me in the flesh in 1841, and
is one of the few Wiltshire birds of my own preparation and
mounting, handled in those early days, which has survived to
the present time. Lord Nelson possesses a specimen killed at
Trafalgar. Lord Heytesbury, on the authority of Lis keeper,
reports that they are often on the downs in that neighbourhood ;
but Mr. G. Watson Taylor says that though often seen in former
years on the downs above Erlestoke, none have been observed
there of late. The late Mr. Withers had many pass through
his hands for preservation ; and indeed everybody conversant
with our Wiltshire birds will know something of its occurrence.
Mr. Morres speaks of them as not uncommon on the downs
near Salisbury some years since, though now seldom seen, and
mentions a trip* of three as observed in the spring at Stockton
in 1873. Mr. Baker writes me word that an immature specimen
was killed at Fonthill on October 1st, 1876, and that others were
seen by him on two or three occasions on Mere Down, the last
on March 7th, 1881. However, of quite recent date, the Rev.
T. N. Hart Smith, President of the Marlborough College Natural
History Society, tells me that in their museum are two specimens
which were shot on the Kennet two years ago. Mr. Gwatkin
records a Dotterel taken at Tilshead in the spring of last year
{1886). The Rev. W. H. Awdry saw a trip of Dotterel near
* A small flock of dotterel is known as a trip; and it is worthy of obser-
vation how various are the terms applied to the several species when in com-
pany : Thus we have a, cast of hawks, a flock of sparrows, a flight of starlings
or pigeons, a dule of doves, a nid of pheasants, a covey of partridges, a bevy
of quail, a brood of grouse, & flight of woodcocks, a wisp of snipe, a wing of
384 Charadriadce.
the Druid's Head on Saturday, March 12th of this year (1887),
and the Hon. Gerald Lascelles reports a good-sized flock near
Everley, also in March last (1887). These recent occurrences
prove that it is not yet extinct, but I fear it is every year
becoming more scarce in this county, and will soon be as
completely wanting on our downs as the Great Bustard itself.
Its flesh it considered a great dainty, and in the days of its
abundance on our downs it was eagerly sought for by fowlers.
It may be readily known by the dark orange brown of the breast,
which deepens into black lower down ; and by the streak of
black and another of white which cross the breast. It is a
nocturnal feeder, and rests by day, and has a habit of stretching
out its legs, wings and head, as many other birds do, when roused
from a state of repose ; but from this habit, wherein it has been
credited with aping the actions of the fowler who was in pursuit
of it, it derives its specific name morinelius, ' little fool,' or
' simpleton/ as if the actions above described were in imitation
of those of human beings, and were peculiar to this species alone.
The Arabic name for it is El Molir, * The Rich/ but I know not
the origin of that appellation : I should rather incline to think
that /Ao?po9, ' a fool/ was the root of that word too. Our English
word ' dotterel ' is interpreted by Professor Skeat to signify ' a
foolish bird/ from the old word dote, ' to be foolish/ remains of
which we may see in dotage, dotard, etc. In France it is
Pluvier guignard, ' Gaping (or Leering) Plover ;' in Germany,
Der dumme Regenpfeifer, ' The Stupid Plover ;' in Italy, Piviere
de corrione, ' Simpleton Plover / but in Spain, Chorlito marismeiio,
t Plover of the Salt-water Lake ;' and in Sweden, Fjall-Piparc,
' Fj all-Piper.' It is a smart dapper little species, and its
dwindled numbers and rapid extinction from among our down
birds is much to be lamented.
The tenth of May, says Mr. Howard Saunders, quoting from
Hone's ' Every-Day Book/ used to be known on the borders of
plover, a sege of herons, a covert of coots, a herd of swans, a skein of geese
(when flying), a gaggle of geese (when at rest), a team of wild duck, a
sprig of teal, a dropping of sheldrake.
Ringed Plover. 385
Hertford and Cambridgeshire as ' Dotterel day ;' but in Wiltshire
it certainly used to arrive at least a fortnight earlier. Its
appearance in the autumn was regarded by the shepherds as a
sign of coming winter, hence the following rhymes :
1 When dotterel do first appear,
It shows that frost is very near ;
But when the dotterel do go,
Then you may look for heavy snow.'*
139. RINGED PLOVER (Charadrius hiaticula).
Common enough on the seashore all round our coasts, this
species is such a lover of salt-water that it very rarely is seen far
inland. I have a notice by the late Rev. G. Marsh of a specimen
which was killed near Malmesbury, in 1838, and which I have
seen in his collection ; and that was the only individual which
had come to my notice as having appeared in Wilts, until, on
August 13th, 1881, a small flock of seven were seen in my parish
of Yatesbury by Mr. C. A. Tanner's shepherd, near the sheep-
fold. As the man happened to have a gun, he shot at them
and knocked down three, two of which he secured, and by the
courtesy of Mr. Tanner they were at once sent to me in the flesh, and
are now in my collection. Mr. Grant, of Devizes, tells me that one
was killed at Lavington at the same date. The Rev. A. P. Morres
once, and once only, saw a single bird in some water-meadows
immediately behind the Vicarage at Britford ; and I now learn
that Mr. Grant had received specimens from Netheravon in 1869,
and from Ufcot in 1873 ; and the Marlborough College Natural
History Society's Report speaks of one shot at Kennet on August
12th, 1881, probably one of the flock which came to Yatesbury. It
is a prettily marked little bird, light brown above and white below,
and is conspicuous for the distinct collar of white and then of black
which encircles its neck. It is indigenous in our island, and I
have met with it at all seasons on the Norfolk coast in consider-
able abundance ; like other shore-feeding birds, it follows the
tide, and runs rapidly at the edge of the advancing or retreating
waves, with neck outstretched and head thrown well back between
* Dyer's ' English Folk-Lore,' p. 96.
25
386 Charadriadce.
the shoulders : it also flies very swiftly, but seldom to any great
distance. Its cry is, like that of so many other members of this
family, wild, mournful, and plaintive. The specific name
hiaticula is given by the B.O.U. list as derived from its habit of
haunting the mouths of rivers, hiatus; and the generic name
jEgialitis (which it has received from some modern ornitho-
logists, in lieu of Charadrius), has the meaning of 'belonging
to the shore :' but neither of these names seems to me very happy,
as they may, with equal propriety, be applied to a large pro-
portion of the Order of Waders. In Sussex it bears the pro-
vincial name of 'Stone-runner.' Sometimes the cavity in the
sand in which it deposits its eggs is lined or covered with a
number of small stones about the size of peas, upon which the
eggs are laid, and this habit has gained for it in some counties
the provincial name of ' Stone-hatch/ * In Norway and Sweden,
where it is very common, both on the coast and on the sandy
shores of the lakes of the interior, it is known as the Storre
Strand-Pipare, or ' Greater Strand-Piper.' It also ascends to
very high latitudes, having been found in Lapland and Iceland,
and even occasionally in Spitzbergen,t and in Greenland, where
it has been known to breed. J
It is often known in England as the ' Ring Dotterel ' and the
' Sand-lark.' In France it is Grand Pluvier d Collier ; in Italy,
Piviere col Collare; and in Germany, Halsband Regenpfeifer ;
but by some authors Buntschnabliger Regenpfeifer, ' Plover with
Parti-coloured Beak ' : in allusion to the orange-yellow base and
black point of the beak of the male in summer dress. In Spain
it is known as Anda-rio, 'Stream Rover,' and sometimes as
Correplaya, 'Shore-runner'; in Portugal it is Lavadeira, 'Washer.'
140. LAPWING (Vanellus cristatus).
Here we have the true Plover of the downs of modern days ;
and what Wiltshireman does not know the peculiar call-note of
Howard Saunders' 4th edition of Yarrell's * British Birds,' vol. iii., p. 258.
t Professor Newton in Ibis for 1 865, p. 504.
$ Reinhardt in Ibis for 1861, p. 9.
Lapwing. 387
the Peewit, or the remarkable flight of the Lapwing (for both
names belong to one and the same bird), as he traverses any
portion of the downs ? Kesplendent with a metallic gloss on its
dark green upper plumage, capped with a crest or tuft of long
narrow curling feathers ; elegant as it runs forward at a rapid
pace, and as suddenly stops, and then runs forward again in
spasmodic jerks, the Lapwing arrests the attention of the most
unobservant. It is indigenous in England, and breeds on our
downs ; but assembling in large flocks as autumn approaches, it
retires to the sea- coast in November, and returns again at the
end of February or beginning of March : and I have long been
accustomed to watch for its arrival as the first harbinger of spring
in my upland home. Mr. Cordeaux informs us that immense
flocks of this species arrive in autumn on the eastern coast from
the North, and in Wiltshire Mr. F. Stratton gave me the gratify-
ing intelligence on June 29th, 1875, that he had noticed a most
extraordinary increase of this bird on his land at Gore Cross, on
Salisbury Plain : for whereas he used to see five or six pairs
breeding there annually, that year there were hundreds. The
previous week he was scarifying a piece of rough land, when the
men destroyed forty nests in that place only. The following day
he found a Peewit on that same piece of ploughed land sitting
on four eggs, whence he concluded that four hen birds must have
laid their eggs in that one nest since the previous day. The
fact, however, probably was that the bird had been disturbed
from its original nest, and had removed its eggs one by one, and
was sitting on them. Its eggs are very highly esteemed in the
London market, and though doubtless the majority of veritable
Plovers' eggs, as the dealers declare, are the produce of the
Black-headed Gull, the Peewit's nest is still the object of diligent
search : fortunately, however, it is so difficult to find in the
extensive corn-fields or wide-spreading expanse of turf, and the
parent birds are so cunning in their artifices to entice away the
intruder, that it is not very often found in this county at least,
where the search for its eggs has happily not become a regular-
trade. The bird and its habit of pretending lameness, and the
252
388 Charadriadce.
various devices it performs to attract the attention of the intruder
on its nest, and entice him and his dog away from its young, are
so well known that I need not further describe them. As regards
feeding, it is altogether a nocturnal bird. In Ancient Egypt it
is the head of a Lapwing that is so often represented in the
hieroglyphic figures, and on the walls of the tombs and temples,
upon the 'augural staff' of the gods ; but though thus honoured
by the divinities, I am not aware that any mummied specimens
have been found, or that its body was ever embalmed. It derives
its generic name, Vanellus, and the French Vanneau, from
vannus, ' a fan,' in allusion to the peculiar slow flapping motion
of its long wings. The French also call it Dixhuit, as we call it
'Peewit,' in imitation of its note. In Sweden it is known as
Vvp<*>> and is one of the first of the migratory birds that appears
in the spring, and as it often happens that a sharp frost sets in
after their arrival, the peasants call such a frost Vip-winter, or
* Lap wing- winter,' when the birds suffer severely. It has been
observed there that, if they fly away altogether, the frost will be
of long continuance, but if they remain it will soon be over.*
In England, in old times, it bore the name of ' Egret,' which has
occasioned no little confusion to modern ornithologists ; for when
we read of a thousand Egrets being served up at a single enter-
tainment (temp. Henry IV.), we marvel at the abundance of a
bird now so rare in this country ; but when we remember the
long tuft on the head of the Lapwing, we see how that bird also
became thus designated. Its flesh was highly esteemed for the
table, both in this country and in France ; in the latter they have
a proverb :
' Qui n'a mange grive ni vanneau
N'a jamais mange bon morceau.'
In Lancashire they are called the 'Seven Whistlers' and 'the
' Wandering Jews/ and are looked upon with horror, and their
cry listened to with dismay as the omen of ill-luck ; for there is
a tradition that they contain the souls of those Jews who assisted
at the Crucifixion, and in consequence were doomed to float in
* Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 370.
Lapwing. 389
the air for ever.* Montagu tells us that in his time it was
sometimes called ' Peeseweep.' This is one of those birds which
wears a spur or horny tubercle on the carpal joint or elbow of
the wing, but which is more especially noticeable in the fine
species, Hoplopterus spinosus or ' Zic-zac,' of which I shot many
specimens in Egypt. In Germany it is Gehaubte Kiebitz ; in
France, Vanneau huppe, ( Crested Lapwing ;' in Italy, Pavoncella
Comune, sharing the name with the Peacock; in Spain, Ave
fria, ' Bird of Tribute,' and also Judia, ' Jewess,' probably from
the same tradition as that of Lancashire mentioned above ; but
in Portugal it is Bibes, from the Moorish word Beebet, at Casa
Blanca on the coast of Morocco ; but in the North of Portugal it
is known as Gallispo, from gallus, ( a cock,' in allusion to the
crest-plume.*f*
141. OYSTER-CATCHER (Hcematopus ostralegus).
This robust powerful species is a true salt-water bird, and
seems to have no place in our inland county : but an account of
its capture at Bradford on Avon in September, 1859, as recorded
in a newspaper at the time, permitted me to include it in the
Wiltshire catalogue in my former papers on the birds of the
county. More recently Mr. Grant has recorded a second instance
of a Wiltshire-killed specimen which came into his hands for
preservation. It was taken in August, 1877, at Enford, a spot
even farther from the sea than Bradford ; but doubtless in each
case the birds wandered up the rivers on which they were re-
spectively found until they lost themselves, and knew not how
to return : but how they came to follow the rivers so far from
their haunts on the seashore, and what they found to subsist on
during the journey, I am at a loss to conjecture. Its plumage is
striking, from the pleasing contrast of black and white which it
displays : and its bright orange-red bill, of a peculiar wedge-
shaped form, to enable it to wrench open the shell-fish which
constitutes its food, and its vermilion legs, give it a handsome
Dyer's Folk-Lore,' p. 96.
f W. C. Tait on Birds of Portugal in His for 1887, p. 83.
390 Charadriadce.
Appearance. It is a very common bird in those localities on the
coast which abound in the molluscs on which it feeds, and its
loud ringing whistle, as it hurries shrieking away, must be
familiar to all who are acquainted with the seashore. From its
parti-coloured plumage it is sometimes (says Montagu) known as
the ' Skeldrake/ or ' Skelderdrake ' : sometimes, too, it is called
the 'Sea Pie,' and 'more correctly* (says Mr. Cecil Smith), 'for
it does not catch oysters ;'* and Mr. Harting is of opinion that
its long bill, powerful though it is in detaching limpets from the
rock and breaking open mussels and small crabs, is altogether
baffled in attempting to open an oyster.f Selby, however, main-
tains that it will insert the wedge-shaped point of its bill within
the valves, as the oysters lie partially open in shallow water, and
thus wrench them apart and extract the shell-fish : and that
they sometimes attempt this and are caught in so doing is
notorious, for instances have been known of the unfortunate bird
being made prisoner by the oyster closing upon its beak. In
Scandinavia it is known as Strand-Skata, or ' Strand- Magpie/
and in some parts of England as the ' Mussel Picker/ which it
certainly is. The scientific name, Hcematopus, signifies ' with feet
the colour of blood ' which is sufficiently, though not very accu-
rately, descriptive from a^ia+Trou?; and ostralegus is derived
from ostrea, ' an oyster/ and lego, ' I collect ' (B.O.U.), and from
this are derived most of the names by which it is generally
known ; as in France L'Huiterier Pie ; in Germany, Geschackte
Austern-Fischer, 'Pied Oyster-fisher/ and in Portugal Ostraceiro.
When alighting at the edge of the water (says Harting), the
flocks always pitch with their heads to the wind, and no doubt
the reason for this is, that were they to alight with the wind at
their backs they might be carried over the edge into the water.
When wounded they will swim with great buoyancy, and even
dive when occasion requires.
* ' Birds of Somerset,' p. 343. f ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 161.
Crane. 391
GRUID.E (THE CRANES).
The magnificent birds which comprise this family may be said
to occupy the position among the Waders which the Bustards
enjoy among the Ground-birds. Of great size, tall and erect,
they are a stately race, and stalk among their fellows with elegant
and lordly mien : the few species known in Europe are all migra-
tory; and their chief peculiarity consists in the long, flowing,
flexible, and arched feathers (reminding one of the plumes of
the Ostrich) ; which, curled at the end, and springing from the
wing, overhang the tail, and which the bird can erect or depress
at pleasure.
142. CRANE (Grus cinerea).
Though once known in England as the Common Crane, this
specific title is a sad misnomer, for this handsome bird is now
become exceedingly scarce ; indeed, an occasional straggler alone
visits us at rare intervals. But a hundred years ago it formed
an important item at all state banquets, and was the noble
quarry at which falconers were wont to fly their largest hawks.
As with the Bustard, so with the Crane, by an Act passed
(25 Henry VIII., cap. xi.) A.D. 1534, to 'avoid the destruction of
wilde fowle,' it was prohibited to ' take the egges upon peine of
imprisonment for one yere, and to lose and forfeit for every egge
of any Crane so taken or distroid xx pence.'* But even as late
as 1780 it must have continued to breed in England, for it was
decreed by the Fen Laws of that year 'that no person shall
bring up or take any Swan's egg, or Crane's egg, or young birds
of that kind, on pain of forfeiting for every offence three shillings
and four pence.'f It was pretty generally distributed over all
unenclosed districts, whenever uncultivated tracts enabled it to
roam undisturbed ; and doubtless our wide-spreading downs
afforded it a welcome retreat : but now the ornithologist must go
to foreign lands to see this noble bird in a wild state. In Egypt
* J. E. Harting in Zoologist for 1886, p. 84.
f Cordeaux's Birds of the Humber District, 'p. 100.
392 Ardeidce.
I have watched it for hours on the mud-flats and sandbanks of
the Nile, as it walked with majestic step a very king amidst the
smaller Waders, striding about with commanding air, strutting
as if in self-conscious superiority, arching its long neck and
demeaning itself as the very queen of the shallows ; but the most
complete monograph on any bird with which I am acquainted is
the story of the Crane in its breeding-place in Lapland, as detailed
by my lamented friend, the late Mr. John Wolley, in the Ibis,* a
most perfect description of this now uncommon bird. When
migrating, as all known species of Cranes do, it collects in large
flocks, and is said to fly at a great height, and to keep up a
perpetual hoarse scream, or trumpet-like shrill cry, which, owing
to the very remarkable structure of the windpipe, is louder than
the note of any other bird, and which may be heard when the
birds are far out of sight. Mr. James Waylen has most obligingly
furnished me with the following interesting anecdote of a Wilt-
shire Crane: 'In 1783 it was recorded in the Salisbury paper
that a gentleman shot a Crane, on whose leg was found a piece
of copper which he himself had attached in the year 1767, after
having caught the same bird by means of a hawk : the copper
plate bore his initials, and the date 1767.' I am afraid that I
have no more modern instance of the occurrence of the Crane in
Wiltshire.
The English word ' Crane ' is derived from the Latin grus, and
that, as it seems, from the Greek yepavos, which in all probability
arose from the cry of the bird. So in France it is Grue cendree;
and in Germany Aschgrauer Kranich, 'Ash-coloured Crane;' in
Italy, Grue; in Spain, Grulla; in Portugal, Grou; but in Sweden
Trana.
ARDEID.E (THE HERONS).
Though wholly incapable of swimming, the various species
which compose this large family may certainly be ranked as
Water-birds, so entirely are their haunts and habits aquatic. Con-
spicuous for the excessive length of their legs, and for their long
Ibis, vol. i., pp. 191-198.
The Herons. 393
and sharp-pointed beaks, with which they can transfix their prey,
or seize it in shallow water, the various members of this truly
elegant family roam wherever marsh, lake, river or brook offers-
a suitable fishing ground : and there they may be seen standing
motionless in shallow water, the very emblems of patience,
carefully watching till the prey they seek comes within reach of
their powerful beak, which they dart with unerring precision on
the hapless victim. Many of the true Herons are adorned with
elongated flowing plumes, which spring from the back of the
head, the neck, and the back ; the occipital crest is composed
of soft loose pendant silky feathers ; and the dorsal plumes have
long hair-like webs or barbs, all of which give an air of
elegance and finish to these gracefully formed birds. Notwith-
standing the immense length of their wings, their flight is heavy ;
and as they flap slowly overhead to and from their hunting
grounds, their progress seems slow, and the exertion laborious.
And yet on occasion, or when prompted by fear, they can show
great speed ; but the race seems somewhat indolent and disin-
clined for unnecessary exertion. During their progress on the
wing, their neck is bent back, so that the head rests upon the
shoulders ; and the long legs are extended behind as a
counterpoise to preserve the balance of the body ; thus the
Herons present a peculiar appearance in their flight, and may
readily be distinguished at a great distance. There is a popular
delusion still prevalent amongst the ignorant (however ridiculous
it may seem), that the Herons when sitting on their nests project
their legs through holes formed for that purpose at the bottom :
now, not to mention the very awkward and uncomfortable, not to
say impossible position which the poor bird would thus be
condemned to assume, I will merely point out that the thighs
of the Heron being of a length exactly proportioned to that of the
legs, the bending of the knee causes the leg to recede sufficiently
towards the tail to allow the feet to come to the centre of
the body (as has been most ably demonstrated by Mr. Water-
ton in his essay on the Heron) ; and therefore it is not one whit
more irksome to the Heron to perform its task of incubation after
394 Ardeidce.
the accustomed manner of other birds, than it is for the sparrow,
the finch, or the domestic fowl. Their habits are generally soli-
tary, except at the period of breeding, when they usually con-
gregate in large companies.
143. COMMON HERON (Ardea cinerea).
This is the only species of the whole family which we can
really designate an inhabitant of Wiltshire ; those others which I
have to mention being now mere stragglers of very rare oc-
currence. But the Common Heron is known to everybody, and
we have all seen this majestic bird on the wing to and from
its roosting-places, or surprised it standing motionless in shallow
water watching for its prey. It bears a bad character with those
who preserve fish, but Mr. Waterton has pointed out that this is
quite undeserved, as the benefits it confers by destroying rats,
reptiles and insects more than compensate for the few fish which
it will devour when it can find them in the shallows. At
one time it was in high favour, and indeed protected by law
as the most noble game at which hawks could be flown ; royal
game it was then, and a severe penal statute was enacted for its
preservation'; the taking of its egg subjecting the offender to
no less a penalty than twenty shillings, which was an enormous
fine in those days. Even now it is designated in Spain and
Portugal as Gar$a real. From a list of the game served at
a wedding-dinner in 1530 we learn that the price of a heron
was at that time 12d., of a swan 6s., of a crane 3s. 4d., of a
bittern 14d. ; and these prices will appear much higher when we
read that at the same feast an ox cost 30s., a calf 3s., a sheep
2s. 4d., and a lamb Is. 6d., while chicken were Is. 6d. per dozen.*
In those days its flesh was greatly esteemed as a most dainty
morsel ; but those palmy days when it stood high in the estima-
tion of English gentlemen are gone by, and now it is despised
alike by the epicure and the sportsman, and persecuted by the
gamekeeper and the fisherman. At that happy period it was
much more numerous than at present ; but even now one may
Cordeaux's ' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 102.
Common Heron. 395
sometimes steal unawares on this wary, suspicious bird, though
always on the alert against surprise. In Wiltshire it is known
by the provincial name of ' Jack/ and unfortunately is generally
known to the country people as the ' crane/ which it is difficult to
persuade them is a misnomer, and which creates no little confusion
of species. The middle claw of each foot of this bird is serrated
on the sides, like the foot of the nightjar. In France it is known
as Heron huppe, ' Crested Heron/ and Heron cendrt; and in
Germany as Aschgrauer Reiher, ' Ash-grey Heron ;' in Italy as
Aghirone and Airone; and in Sweden as Hdger. Professor Skeat
says that all these, as well as our English word ' Heron/ are prob-
ably derived from the harsh voice of the bird. That the Common
Heron breeds in colonies is well known to everybody ; but it will,
I think, be a surprise to many, as I own it was to myself, until
I investigated the matter carefully, to find that we have no less
than seven Heronries in Wiltshire, in addition to some outlying
nests or small colonies which have been noticed in various locali-
ties. As I made the existence of Heronries and their details
a special object of inquiry, and as I have received the informa-
tion I sought from a large number of obliging correspondents
in all parts of the county, I believe I am now able to offer
a pretty accurate account of all the existing Heronries in
Wiltshire, and I proceed to enumerate them in order, beginning
with the most northern district.
1. Grouch Wood, Highworth. The largest Heronry which
flourishes at this day in the county is of very recent origin, and
is situated at Crouch Wood, in the parish of Highworth, but on
the Hannington Hall property, and belonging to Mr. Hussey-
Freke. The covert at Crouch was planted with gorse as a fox-
cover some fifty-four years since, and amongst the gorse were
scattered a certain number of trees, chiefly larch. It was only
about eight or nine years ago that the Herons began to occupy
these trees, just before Mr. Hussey-Freke bought the wood and
the farm adjoining. The Herons are very carefully protected
here, and last year the nests were computed to amount to
between sixty and seventy ; but as elsewhere in the county
396 Ardeidce.
when the birds leave home for the banks of streams, more
especially where there are trout fisheries (as in this case, where
the river Colne enters the Thames, or rather Isis, not far from
Crouch), they are special objects of persecution at the hands of
keepers, and many are destroyed. The consequence is there is
this year a great falling off in the number of inhabited nests at
Crouch. For all the above particulars I have the authority of
the owner. I have since been informed that the number of in-
habited nests this year (1887) is probably only between twenty
and thirty.
2. Bowood. Next in order as we proceed from north to south
is the well-known old-established Heronry at Bowood, situated on
an island in the lake, within sight of the house. This was for
many years the only recognised Heronry in North Wilts, and
used to contain from forty to sixty nests, but from the same
cause as that just mentioned in regard to Crouch Wood, the
Herons have been so persecuted and destroyed that but fifteen
nests, as I learn from Mr. Herbert Smith, are occupied this year :
a sad and rapid falling off indeed, which is very much to be
deplored.
3. Savernake. There is in North Wilts a third small Heronry
or little colony, the offshoot or nucleus of a Heronry at Saver-
nake. This at present consists of only six nests, as I am
informed by my friend Mr. C. Tanner, jun., who kindly took the
trouble to count them on my behalf. Until about four years
ago, when the high trees thereof were cut down, the Herons
occupied a wood called ' Bedwyn Brails,' but when the trees were
felled they removed to the pleasure-grounds at Savernake House,
and at one time mustered as many as ten or even more nests.
4. Longleat. We have mentioned a Heronry at the seat of the
Marquis of Lansdowne, and another at that of the Marquis of
Ailesbury ; it is remarkable that my next instance is at the seat
of the Marquis of Bath : so that each of our three noblemen of
highest rank in the county has a Heronry attached to his estate.
That at Longleat is on an island on the lake at the back of the
house, and I have the authority of Lord Bath for saying that it
Common Heron. 397
is unquestionably in Wiltshire, though very near the borders of
Somerset. From ' time immemorial,' up to about 1852, there
had always been from one to two nests, the Herons being kept
down by a reward of five shillings paid for every Heron killed.
But about 1852 the present Marquis discontinued the reward for
killing them, and encouraged the Herons ; in consequence they
very soon began to multiply, and there have been as many as
from twenty to thirty nests. But of late years they have again
decreased in number, in consequence of the birds being waylaid
and killed down the river Wylye, and the number of nests now
varies from ten to fifteen.
5. Fonthill There is a small Heronry situated near the lower
end of the lake at Fonthill, the seat of Mr. Alfred Morrison,
which generally numbered from ten to twelve nests yearly, as I
learn from the head-keeper, or from eight to ten^ as Mr. Ernest
Baker estimates them. As in all the other Heronries previously
described, the numbers here too are diminishing, and last year
eight nests only were occupied.
6. Compton Park. Mr. C. Penruddocke has most obligingly
communicated to me full particulars of this interesting Heronry,
which has been established in some part of Compton Park as far
back as the memory of living men can penetrate, and which its
owner recollects for more than fifty years, during which time
it has, on the whole, neither increased nor diminished. The
number of nests varies from fifteen, which appears to be the
maximum, to eleven, which seems to be the minimum. This
year (1887) there are twelve nests. The name of the covert in
which the Heronry is situated is ' Sellwood,' commonly called
' Sillars,' or ' Sellars,' and it is distant about 250 yards from the
river Nadder. The nests have been built for the most part in
oak trees, but of late years many are found on larch fir-trees, of
the age of thirty to thirty-five years, while occasionally they
have been built on plane trees and elms in the park itself. Mr.
Penruddocke's experience is that five or even six young may
generally be reckoned as the produce of each nest ; and he has
known seventy-five young birds, in favourable seasons, hatched
398 Ardeidce.
out in this Heronry. Mr. Penruddocke also adds his valuable
testimony, founded on experience, that the Heron, though un-
doubtedly an occasional consumer of fish, is also a destroyer of
some of the worst enemies of the fish; and at a meeting at
Salisbury of Conservators of Fisheries in that neighbourhood, he
has heard Mr. Marryat a great fisherman and authority on the
subject defend the Herons from the accusations generally made
against them, and declare the compensating benefits they confer.
7. Longford Castle. This is but a small colony, which Lord
Kadnor does not dignify with the title of Heronry. Still, as a
certain number of nests has now been established there for many
years, and as there is no large Heronry in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of which it can be considered an offshoot, I submit
that it has a right to rank as a Heronry, and I claim it as such.
The spot selected for the nests is a clump of the highest trees in
the park viz., some lofty beeches about equi-distant from the
Avon and the stream which runs through the Chalk valley, the
Ebbe as it is called, perhaps half a mile or so from the water, and
in the very middle of the park. I do not know how long this
Heronry has existed, but when the Rev. A. P. Morres visited it
twelve years ago there were at least ten or a dozen nests. Since
that time the keeper says there were always five, or four at
the very least, but oftentimes, and of late years, seven or eight
nests. But here, too, as we have seen in other Wiltshire
colonies, the old birds, wandering off in search of food, are ruth-
lessly shot, and their numbers are everywhere decreasing.
I have now enumerated all the Heronries which exist in Wilt-
shire at this present date. But I have several instances to record
of their having bred in small parties, ' offshoots,' as I may
call them, from the established breeding-places, or 'outlying
nurseries,' colonized by a few birds only ; and also of their fre-
quenting certain districts more determinedly than as passing
visitors.
a. Easton Piers, or Percy. I have the authority of Aubrey
('Natural History of Wilts/ p. 65) for saying that ' Herons bred
heretofore (sc., about 1580) at Easton Piers, before the great
Common Heron. 399
oaks were felled down near the Mannour House, and they do
still (about 1690) breed in Farleighe Park.' I have made
diligent inquiry in both these localities, but in neither can I
trace a vestige of a Heron's nest within the memory of living
man.
b. Heytesbury. A small outlying colony, in all probability an
offshoot from the Heronry at Longleat, established itself four or
five years ago at Heytesbury. This little colony consisted of
only two nests, which were carefully protected by the tenant,
who also did all in his power to keep their existence a secret, for
fear they should be disturbed. The two nests were not close
together, but one was on some trees in the water-meadows, and
the other in a plantation near the house, believed to have been
built in a fir tree. These particulars were most kindly collected
for me by Lord Heytesbury.
c. Amesbury. Two nests were established last year (1886)
near the water on the property of Sir Edmund Antrobus, and
both hatched out their broods in safety. This year, however,
from some unaccountable reason, they are not breeding there,
though the keeper has seen the old birds flying out of the wood.
One of these nests was on an ash, the other on a beech-tree.
For the above interesting information I am indebted to the Rev.
A. W. Phelps, Vicar of Amesbury.
d. Herons' Corner, Mildenhall. The Rev. C. Soames tells me
that there is a spot in his parish called ' Herons' Corner/ within
the borders of Savernake Forest, but he never heard of any
Herons nesting there. It is almost certain, however, that they
must have done so at one time, when they gave their name to
the locality.
e. Noke Wood, Savernake Forest. Mr. C. Tanner, jun., informs
me that there was a very small offshoot of a Heronry established
for four consecutive years in an outlying part of Savernake
Forest called ' Noke Wood.' It consisted of two nests only, and
it has been deserted some three or four years.
/. The Lawn, Swindon. I am indebted to Mrs. Ambrose
Goddard for the information that Herons very often visit the
400 Ardeidce.
ponds on the estate here ; and that on one occasion a pair tried
to build on some high trees near the water, but they disappeared
before the nests were completed, and in all probability one or
both of them were shot.
g. Badminton? To the kindness of Mr. Lowndes, of Castle
Combe, and to the courtesy of the Duke of Beaufort, I am in-
debted for the knowledge of a Heronry which formerly existed at
Badminton, in a wood called ' Allengrove,' which, though it
adjoins the park, is itself in Wiltshire, for the park fence which
divides the park from Allengrove is the boundary between the
two counties. Here, in the extreme north-western corner of the
county, the Herons used to breed year after year, but the Duke
has not known a Heron's nest there now for some years.
h. Erkstoke. I learn from Mr. G. Watson Taylor that, though
Herons have never been known to breed there, some remain all
the year round, and roost in Hemming's Wood, in the park, and
in the pleasure-grounds, close to the wellhead or pond ; and in
the summer nine or ten Herons may often be seen circling above
Hemming's Wood. This looks extremely like the produce of
two nests which have escaped the notice of the keepers, and I
should not be surprised to hear that such a colony was
established ; more especially as Erlestoke is too far from Bowood
and Longleat to be so constantly visited by birds belonging to
either of these distant Heronries.
i. Estcourt. A few Herons may generally be seen in this park
and the adjoining meadows ; and on one occasion, as I am told
by Mr. G. Sotheron Estcourt, seven Herons were observed to be
staying about the lake for some months. This has a strangely
suspicious appearance of a pair of old birds and their five young.
Mr. Estcourt also says that Herons are to be found all down the
banks of the Avon, in the neighbourhood of Malmsbury and
Christian Malford.
k. Christian Malford. Sir Henry Meux informs me that he
often sees Herons at Dauntsey, and that they sometimes roost in
the winter in Christian Malford Wood, but that he has never
heard of their building there. This is corroborated by the Rev.
Common Heron. 401
A. Law and by the keeper, who says that two Herons only
roosted in the wood during the winter before last, and that he
has not seen any since, and that they certainly never bred
there.
1. Grittleton. Mr. Algernon Neeld says, '-Herons are often
seen about here and on the stream at Castle Combe, and the
upper Avon above Malmesbury, and sometimes they roost in the
woods all the winter, but they never breed here.'
m. Charlton. Lord Suffolk informs me that the Herons
infest his trout- water, and that it is only within the last dozen
years, since he succeeded in getting up a good stock of trout,
that they have taken to visiting him with any regularity. He
does not know where they come from, nor where they breed;
certainly not at Charlton.
n. Corsham. Lord Methuen writes me word that, though
Herons are often seen at Corsham Court, they all come from
Bo wood, the distance being not much more than five miles as
the crow flies. He has never heard of any Herons' nests nearer
Corsham than Bowood.
o. Burderop. I learn from Mr. Calley that though Burderop
is frequently visited by stray Herons, and he is not sure whence
they come, there are no nests in the immediate neighbourhood.
He has no doubt, however, that if unmolested they would nest at
Coate Reservoir, at the end of Burderop Wood.
p. Rodbourne. Sir R. H. Pollen is sure there is no colony of
Herons at or near Rodbourne, though one or two may be occa-
sionally seen near the river there.
q. Ramsbury. Sir F. Burdett says his Kennet water is occa-
sionally visited by Herons, but not many are seen there. He
does not know where they come from, and has never heard of
any colony near Ramsbury.
r. Ninety. The Rev. W. Butt writes me word that it is the
rarest thing with him to see a Heron in that district, though ho
is frequently wandering along the banks of the Swill. They are,
however, common three or four miles off, visiting the so-called
Thames.
26
402 Ardeidce.
s. Holt. I am told by Mr. Medlicott that Herons are in the
habit of congregating near Holt, and that a farmer of that
neighbourhood informed him that sometimes fifty might be seen
there together. This is very remarkable, for Holt is at a distance
from any Heronry. Mr. A. Mackay, of Holt Manor, observes that
they may constantly be seen in the valley between Bradford and
Bath.
t. Baynton. Mr. W. Stancomb, junr., reports that though
Herons frequently come to the pond in front of the house at
Baynton, he thinks they come from Bowood, as their flight is
always in that direction. At all events, he knows of no colony
nearer than Bowood.
u. Bulkington. I am informed by Colonel Wellington that
Herons occasionally come to the mill in this place, and are often
shot by the miller, who almost every year sends one to a friend
who appreciates the old-fashioned dish.
v. Wilcot. The Rev. C. Soames remarks on the fact that
Herons appear in great force between Townsend, at Wilcot, and
the canal ; and wonders whence they come and where they roost
and nest !
w. Breamore. Mr. E. H. Hulse tells me that occasionally he
sees a Heron in the water-meadows at Breamore : but these are
Dorsetshire and Hampshire birds, which come over the border
into Wilts from the Heronries at Mottisfort, the seat of Lady
Barker-Mill ; and Somerley, the seat of Lord Normanton.
I conclude my account of the Herons of Wiltshire with an
anecdote communicated to me by the Rev. A. P. Morres. ' Dr.
Humphrey Blackmore, some time since, found a Heron with its
beak firmly fixed through a large eel : the eel had twined itself
round the Heron's neck so firmly as to strangle it, and the Heron
had been unable to extricate its bill. They were both quite dead,
and frozen hard.' This is an exact counterpart of a similar case
mentioned by Yarrell, to which I refer my readers for a clever
vignette illustrating the catastrophe.
Squacco Heron. 403
144. SQUACCO HERON (Ardea comata).
I have the unexceptionable authority of Yarrell for the fact
that this beautiful species has been taken in Wiltshire, but no
particulars of the capture, the locality, or the date are recorded
by him : I presume, however, that he derived his information
from Colonel Montagu, who relates that a bird of this species
was shot at Boyton, in Wiltshire, by Mr. Lambert, in 1775, and
that mention is made in the Minutes of the Linnsean Transac-
tions, vol. iii., that Mr. Lambert presented a drawing of the bird,
April 4th, 1797.* It is an Asiatic and African bird : the delicate
buff-colour streaked with dark lines of the upper plumage ; the
pure white of the under parts ; the hair-like feathers of the back,
whence the specific name comata ; and the general shape and
bearing of the bird, combine to give it an elegance unrivalled
even in this graceful family : but it is a very rare bird in the
British isles, and its appearance is annually becoming more and
more infrequent.
The only locality in which I have met with it in its own
haunts was on the causeway which crosses the upper end of the
Lake Bourget, at Aix-les-Bains, in the South of France, when
driving in company with Mr. H. M. Upcher, a brother member of
the ELO.U., an able ornithologist, and notorious for the laudable
efforts he made to retain the Great Bustard which visited his
estate at Feltwell, in Norfolk, in 1876. We were both equally
delighted to watch this rare species, as it sat unconcernedly
perched on a pole in the lake, within a short distance of the
carriage as we drove by ; and when it did take wing it flapped
gracefully away with slow easy movements, a true Heron in all
its ways and appearance. Canon Tristram found it breeding in
large colonies in a dense bed of reeds at Lake Halloula, in North
Africa, each nest piled up to a height of three or four feet above
the mud, supported on tufts of reeds, and composed of great
heaps of weeds and rushes. -f- Mr. Seebohm, too, fell in with a
Montagu's Supplement to ' Ornith Diet.' in loco.
t Ibis for I860, p. 163.
262
404 Ardeidce.
colony breeding on pollard trees and bushes in the immediate
neighbourhood of a swamp on the Lower Danube. By Continen-
tal naturalists it is generally known as A. ralloides, ' like a rail '
from rallus, ' a rail/ and o25o?, appearance (B.O.U.). So in Ger-
many it is Eallen Reiher, ' Rail Heron ;' but in France Heron
Crabier, ' Crab-eating Heron ;' and in Italy Scarza ciufetto,
' Tufted Heron/
145. LITTLE BITTERN (Botaurus minutus).
This is a very rare bird in England, though common enough
in France and Germany, and I have met with it on the Simplon
Pass in Switzerland: it is a diminutive member of the great
Heron family, and a very prettily marked species. I have a
record of one mentioned by Montagu as killed in the neighbour-
hood of Bath in 1789, but whether in Wilts or Somerset there
is no evidence to show ; but I have information of several un-
doubted specimens being taken in this county : one killed about
1850 in the parish of Seend, and in the possession of Mr. Taylor,
of Baldham Mill, as I was informed by the late Mr. Withers :
another shot by Mr. Jervoise's keeper at Britford, near Salisbury,
about 1851, in the month of June ; for the knowledge of which I
am again indebted to my good friend, the Rev. George Powell,
rector of Sutton Yeny. One, an adult male, killed at Stourton,
in 1820, by Jacob Riddick, gamekeeper to Sir R. C. Hoare, as I
am informed by Mr. Baker; and one procured at Wilton, by
Mr. C. Parham, on September 8th, 1869, as I learn from the
Rev. A. P. Morres.
The chief characteristic of the Bitterns, wherein they differ
from the true Herons, consists in the plumage of the neck,
which, in the hinder part is bare, or scantily clothed with down,
but the front and side feathers being long and extending back-
wards completely cover the naked space ; these feathers can also be
expanded laterally at will, when the bird assumes a strange appear-
ance, reminding one of the voluminous folds of cravat in fashion
in the palmy days of Beau Brummel ; the neck is also considerably
shorter, and the beak stouter than in the preceding species. The
Bittern. 405
Little Bittern is common in the south-east of Europe, as well as
in Asia and North Africa ; is a migratory bird, of solitary habits,
and its usual position when at rest amidst the reeds or aquatic
herbage of a marsh is that of sitting upon the whole length of
the tarsus, with the neck bent and contracted, the head thrown
back, and the beak pointing almost perpendicularly upwards.*
In Sweden it is called Dverg Hdger, or ' Dwarf Heron.' Its
note is remarkable, unlike that of any other bird, and both
loud and harsh, resembling the barking of a large dog, when
heard at a distance, says M. Vieillot ; or like the grunt a pavior
gives when dropping his, rammer, says the Kev. T. Frere.f In
France it is Heron Blongios and Blongios de Suisse ; in Ger-
many, Kleiner Reiher ; and in Portugal Garg a pequena, ' Little
Heron ;' but in Italy, Sgarza guacco.
146. BITTERN (Botaurus stellaris).
Fifty years ago this species was not uncommon in this country,
wherever marsh or swamp or fen invited its approach. My
father killed it in Gloucestershire in his sporting days, and
my father-in law, the Rev. T. T. Upwood, shot several in Norfolk,
of which one is in my collection. Even then, about 1820, it
was beginning to be regarded as a rare bird ; now, however, it is
gradually disappearing before the march of agricultural improve-
ments and the reclaiming of waste lands, and bids fair to be very
soon exterminated from amongst us. I have notes of its oc-
currence in many parts of the county, north and south ; and the
late Rev. John Ward, Rector of Great Bedwyn, informed me that
a specimen taken in that parish exceeded in beauty of plumage
any he had ever beheld. One of the finest specimens which
I have ever seen was killed at Enford, and was in the hands
of Mr. Withers, at Devizes, who was preserving it for Mr.
Stratton. On January 23rd, 1875, a notice appeared in the Field
newspaper that Mr. J. J. Estridge, of Bradford-on-Avon, had
killed a fine specimen half a mile from that town, and one
hundred yards only from the railway. On January 12th, 1883,
Selby in loco. Zoologist for 1849, p. 2498.
406 Ardeidce.
the Rev. E. Peacock informed me that three weeks previously one
was caught while hiding in some brambles by a small stream
in one of his fields at Rockfield House, near Frome. This will
have been on the extreme borders of the county. And again this
year a fine specimen, in good plumage, was sent me for identifica-
tion by Mr. William Mackay, of Trowbridge, who described it
as shot on January loth, 1887, at Hilperton Marsh, within a mile
and a half of Trowbridge. The Rev. A. P. Morres says that in the
winter of 1875-76, three were killed on the river Avon in his
immediate neighbourhood; and in the same season five more
were procured from the neighbouring river, the Test. This is in
accordance with Yarrell's statement, that in one year it may be
tolerably common, and then for several successive seasons scarcely
to be found at all. I have also notices from Lord Nelson of two
killed at Trafalgar, the first about 1836, and the last about 1876 ;
of two killed on Fonthill, recorded by Mr. Morrison's keeper ; of
one, if not two, killed at Longleat, as I am informed by Lord
Bath ; of one shot in a wood called West Park, near Corston, last
winter (1886), by Mr. Chubb, while pheasant - shooting, as I
am informed by Mr. Algernon Neeld, and Sir R. H. Pollen ;
of one shot at Lyneham in 1850, and now in the collection
of Major Heneage, at Compton Basset t ; and of one shot and pre-
served at Corsham Court, as I learn from Lord Methuen. It is a
very handsome bird, and the mixture of various shades of buff
and brown, spotted, speckled and barred in every direction is par-
ticularly pleasing. The cry of the Bittern, which is a hoarse,
booming sound or bellowing, when heard on a dark night in the
lonely retreats which the bird loves, has a startling effect on the
hearer, and is strangely weird and unearthly. The Welsh
for Bittern is like most other Welsh names wonderfully de-
scriptive, viz., Aderyn-yJywn, 'the Bird with the Hollow Sound ;'
from bwmp, ' a hollow sound ;' hence probably the English word
' boom/ so generally applied to the noise made by this bird. Our
word ' Bittern,' and the French butor, are evidently taken from
the generic botaurua, and thus has been generally thought to be
derived (as Professor Skeat observes) from bos taurus, from the
Night Heron. 407
note of the bird, which bellows like an ox. The B.O.U. Committee,
however, denies that it is so derived. The specific, steUaria,
' marked with stars (stellce),' not inaptly describes its plumage ; so
in Italy it is Sgarza stellare. In some countries it takes its name
from the reed beds it frequents, as in Germany Grosse Eohrdrom-
mel, and in Sweden tidrdrum ; but in Spain it is Garza
mochuelo, literally 'Red Owl Heron/ and in Portugal Gallinhola
real, literally ' Royal ' or ' Great Woodcock.' Like many other
members of this family, it is a solitary bird, and lies concealed in
the rank herbage of a swamp during the day, emerging at twilight
to hunt for food in the marshes. Its flesh was very highly
esteemed when the bird was better known than it is now.
147. NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax griseus).
I am indebted to the Rev. E. Duke, of Lake, for information of
the occurrence of a single specimen of this bird, which was killed
on his property many years ago, and added to the small collection
illustrative of the Fauna of the district formed by Mr. Duke's
father, and still preserved at Lake House. The Night Heron
is but a rare straggler to the British Isles, its home being in the
Southern and Eastern parts of Europe ; but its range is very ex-
tensive, for it has been found in all the quarters of the globe. It
is, as its name imparts, a night-feeding species, remaining quietly
at rest in the reeds on the margins of streams, or on the tops
of high trees, during the day, and as evening comes on seeks its
food in the marsh, the meadow, and the river. In Egypt I
frequently found it in the palm groves, and have shot it as it
flew from some lofty palm when disturbed in its day-dreams
on the banks of the Nile. This is a bird which has been and is
the subject of much superstitious reverence and fear. In Ancient
Egypt it was considered the emblem of Osiris, and as such was
venerated, if not worshipped with divine honours. We may see
its portrait now, depicted on the walls of the tombs at Thebes,
with two long plumes depending from its head. In China it is 4o
this day looked upon with superstitious dread, and is thought to
have some connection with evil spirits ; and under the name of
408 Ardeidce.
Am kong cheow, or ' Bird of Darkness,' is both propitiated and
protected. Our great authority on Chinese ornithology, Mr.
Swinhoe, has given an admirable account of the breeding of this
sacred bird in the fine old banyan trees in the courtyard in front
of the great Honam temple at Canton, where it is encouraged
and protected, and to his graphic description I would refer my
readers.* Nycticorax is strictly 'the night raven/ from w'f-f
Kopa% ; and griseus, 'gray' or 'grizzled.' Some of our older orni-
thologists used to call it the ' Night Raven/ and Bechstein
describes it under the name of Nacht Reiher ; not that it was
ever supposed to have any affinity with Corvus corax, but
simply by way of literal translation of the scientific name. The
young bird was for a long time considered a distinct species, and
was called A. Gardeni, and 'Gardenian Heron/ and 'Spotted
Heron/ the plumage of the immature bird being brown, covered
with light coloured spots, and resembling in no slight degree the
plumage of the immature Spotted Eagle, and of the immature
Gannet. In France it is Bihoreau d manteau noir ; in Italy,
Sgarza nitticora ; in Spain, Martinete.
148. WHITE STORK (Ciconia alba).
It is very sad that this bird, so ready to be familiar with
man, and which may be seen in Holland and Germany building
its nest on the roofs of houses, and meeting that encouragement
and protection which its confidence deserves, should be scared
away from England by the persecution it has met with here.
And yet the White Stork is not only harmless, but positively
useful, and acts the scavenger to perfection. In Scandinuvia,
we are informed by Mr. Lloydf that it is looked upon with
a kind of veneration similar to that entertained towards the
Swallow and Turtle-dove, because (so the legend runs) it flew
over the Redeemer at the Crucifixion, crying in a sympathising
tone, ' StyrJc, Styrk, Styrk Honom,' ' Strengthen, strengthen,
strengthen Him. 1 Hence it derived the name of Stork, and
Ibis for 1861, pp. 53-56, and for 1863, pp. 423-425.
t ' Scandinavian Adventures/ vol. ii., p. 390.
White Stork. 409
it was in remembrance of the affectionate solicitude it evinced
on this occasion that the gift was bestowed upon it of bringing
peace and happiness to the roof where it was allowed undis-
turbed to rear its young.
This attribute is also equally assigned to it by the inhabitants
of Germany, but whether resulting from a similar legend to that
accepted in Sweden, or from some other conceit, I am unable to
determine.
It has also been fortunate enough to secure the good- will of
the Crescent as well as of the Cross, for in the East it is protected
by the Mahommedans ; in the first place probably from a recog-
nition of its value in consuming the refuse and garbage of the
streets, and since then as a bird of good omen, which it would be
not only impious but dangerous to molest ; and so its nest may
be seen on the mosque towers and other buildings, and its
selection of them hailed by the owners with delight, just as in
Europe. In some German villages, especially in Bavaria, I have
seen an old cart-wheel firmly fixed on the top of a house, and a
very tempting site it appeared to be in the eye of the Storks, to
uphold the mass of sticks which forms the foundation of the nest.
It is so frequently seen on the Continent by every tourist, and
its fearlessness permits such close observation, that it will be
needless to describe its appearance. It is migratory, arriving in
Europe in the spring, and retiring to Africa, where I have met
with it in large flocks, in winter, fishing on the shallows and
sand-banks of the Nile. When at rest, it stands upon one leg,
with the neck bent backwards, the head resting on the back, and
the beak resting on the breast : and when alarmed, it is apt to
snap the mandibles of its beak together with a loud clattering
noise. I have the authority of Yarrell for stating that an indi-
vidual of this species has been killed near Salisbury. I have
also a newspaper notice of an immature bird, supposed to have
flown over from Holland, shot in August, ] 789, by Mr. Selfe, as
it was seen feeding in a meadow, near Downton; so that a
hundred years ago it was considered of sufficient rarity to deserve
special notice in print. But the Rev. A. P. Morres is able to
410 Ardeidce.
record quite a recent occurrence, as one was shot at Codford by
Mr. Cole, of that parish, on a chimney-stack on his premises, on
September 5th, 1882, and is now in that gentleman's possession.
Our English word ' Stork/ and the German Storch and Swedish
Stork, may perhaps signify stark, ' the strong one,' from o-repeo?,
' firm ' ; or perhaps ' the tall one/ from the Anglo-Saxon steale,
1 high ' ; for f stork ' and ' stalk ' appear to have the same deriva-
tioa (See Skeat's Dictionary in loco.) In France, Cicogne
blanche; in Italy, Cicogna bianca ; in Spain, Ciguena ; in
Portugal, Cegonha ; but the origin of the specific word ciconia,
(which is classical Latin for Stork) is unknown.
149. GLOSSY IBIS (Ibis fakinellus).
The long arched beak of this bird, with a blunt rounded tip,
at once commands recognition, and its dark brown plumage,
glossed with a metallic lustre of green and purple reflections,
equally arrests attention. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey says that the
plumage of a recently-killed specimen is a beautiful shade of
shadowy black -green, and that it soon fades, but for some time
resembles in its metallic sheen the body of a large fly or beetle.*
Moreover, the portion of the head from the beak to the eyes is
quite bare of feathers, and the naked skin is of a green colour.
It is the only species really known in Europe, for though the
celebrated Sacred Ibis (/. religlosa) has obtained a place in Mr.
Bree's excellent work,-)- yet the author candidly owns that its
right to figure there is extremely doubtful; moreover, it is so
rare even in Egypt, that only an occasional straggler, at long
intervals, appears in that classic land : and the black and white
Ibis (' the Father of the Bills/ as the Arabs expressively term it)
must be sought for in Abyssinia, or still nearer the equator.
The Glossy Ibis, though certainly an uncommon bird, is not
amongst our rarest visitors, as scarcely a year passes without the
notice of the occurrence of one or more in different parts of
England, the fenny districts of Cambridgeshire, Lincoln and
* ' The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 238.
t ' The Birds of Europe not observed in the British Isles,' vol. iv., p. 45.
Glossy Ibis. 411
Norfolk being generally favoured ; and I have the authority of
the late Rev. George Marsh for stating that a specimen was
killed at Whetham near Calne, the residence of the then Rector
of Yatesbury, Rev. W. Money, in the year 1825. The hook-
shaped beak, which is so striking a feature, and whence it has
derived the title of 'Sickle-bill,' enables this bird, which is a
true Wader, the better to probe and search in the soft mud
where it seeks its prey. It was venerated in Egypt no less than
its more distinguished relative, and I brought home the em-
balmed bodies of these birds both from Memphis and Thebes,
some of which are enclosed in red earthenware pots, with their
covers still cemented to the top, and having externally a very
modern appearance ; but if one is opened and examined there is
no mistaking the bird within, swathed and bandaged though it
has been for 3000 years or more. By some modern ornithologists
the r good old generic name of Ibis is discarded, and Plegadis
substituted in its place ; and though the meaning of that word,
' of a sickle/ is appropriate enough, it is but a repetition of the
specific name, falcinellus, which also means ' a little sickle.' It
is the ' Black Curlew ' of European sportsmen, and the Svart
Ibis of Sweden. In North Africa, Canon Tristram found a
Glossy Ibis here and there among clouds of Buff-backed and
Night Herons, like a black sheep in a flock; and the Arabs,
seeing this dark-plumaged stranger among so many white birds,
have named it Mdazet et Md, ' the Devil's Crow.'* Hence it is
known in Spain as Garza diablo ; in France it is simply Ibis
falcinelle ; but in Germany Sichelschnabliger Nimmersat,
' Sickle-billed never satisfied ;' and in Italy, Chiurlo, ' Dolt.'
' Ibis ' is said to be a word of Coptic or Egyptian origin (Skeat).
It was our countryman, Colonel Montagu, who made careful
investigation into the subject, and unravelled the mystery which
then prevailed in regard to the several so-called species of Ibis,
and proved that the Bay, the Green, and the Glossy were all
one and the same species, but differing in plumage according to
sex, season and age.-f-
Ibis for 1860, p. 78. f See supplement to Ornith. Diet, in loco.
412 Scolopacidce.
SCOLOPACID.E (THE SNIPES).
Many of the species which compose this large family are well
known to the sportsman as well as to the epicure. The most
observable characteristic of the race is the long and slender
round-tipped beak, with which they are enabled to probe the
soft earth or mud and extract their prey, which consists of
worms and various insects and grubs ; for the Snipe family does
not live on air, or on nourishment derived by suction from
muddy water, as is very often popularly supposed. And yet
these birds are in one sense truly designated ' birds of suction/
for their beaks are marvellously formed for the purpose required,
by means of an unusual development of highly sensitive nerves
to the extreme tip, thus endowing them with an exquisite
sense of feeling ; while at the same time that member is further
provided with a peculiar muscle, which, by the closing or con-
tracting of the upper part of the mandibles, operates so as to
expand them at the point, and enables the bird, with the beak
still buried in the ground, to seize its prey the moment it is
aware of being in contact with it. Thus the delicate sense of
touch down to the very point of the beak, and its capability of
seizing as in a forceps the worm which it cannot see, renders
that admirable organ complete for its purposes, and enables it
to serve the place of eyes, nose, tongue, and hand. Hence the
name Scolopacidce from o-tcoXoyfr, ' anything pointed,' or ' a stake ';
which well applies to the beaks of alt the members of this family.
Birds of the Snipe family have also for the most part long and
slender legs, large and prominent eyes, and well-developed wings.
They are all migrants, and also move from one chosen locality to
another, as the frost compels them ; for soft damp ground in
which they can bore with their sensitive beaks without difficulty
is absolutely essential to them.
150. CURLEW (Numenius arquata).
This was a common bird on the downs within the memory of
many living sportsmen. The late Mr. Butler, of Kennett (from
Curlew. 413
whom I derived much practical information on the Ornithology
of Wilts), told me that he could recollect the time when they
were frequently killed here : and others assure me they used to
breed regularly in certain districts on the downs. Possibly they
may still occasionally do so, as Mr. Im Thurn pointed out in
his ' Birds of Marlborough,' showing that they had been reported
to breed on the Aldbourne downs, and for which the Rev. A. P.
Morres gave corroborative evidence, saying that they had lately
nested on the downs within seven miles of Salisbury. Indeed,
though I have no positive proof to bring forward, I do not know
why this assertion should be questioned, seeing that the
habit of the bird is to retire in the breeding season from the
coast, and to resort to heathy and mountainous districts ; seeing,
too, that N. arquata is still occasionally seen on our downs ;
and that it did, though not so regularly as (Edicnemus crepitans,
breed in the more retired districts of our Wiltshire downs.*
Mr. Howard Saunders says : ' A few pairs in the breeding season
may be scattered through Wilts and Hants/ and he adds, ' It is
the most wary of all birds, with the keenest sense of smell and
sight, and its shrill scream soon spreads the alarm among other
fowl.'-f- The Marlborough College Natural History Reports
mention eggs taken on Aldbourne Down in 1876, and a
specimen taken from the grasp of a hawk, by a keeper, in West
Woods in the same year, and one killed on Monkton Down in
April, 1877. Major Heneage has a specimen which was killed
at Compton Bassett in 1881. Lord Nelson possesses one killed
at Trafalgar. Lord Heytesbury's keeper has seen it occasionally
on the downs in his district ; and Mr. Grant reports one from
Coate, near Devizes, in January, 1862 ; another in December
of the same year from Bulkington, and one from Upavon
in January, 1864. These are all the records I have now
before me of the occurrence of single birds in various parts
of the county; but they are only stragglers and by no
means regular visitors now. Everybody knows the wild, mourn-
* Compare Zoologist for 1877, pp. 38 and 106.
f Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. iii., pp. 501-504.
414 Scolopacidce.
ful whistling cry of the Curlew, as it rises from the marsh or
mud-bank on the sea-shore; and equally well known is the
peculiar long curved beak with which it is provided. As is the
case with so many other birds with beaks of unusual length or
shape (e.g. the Crossbill, Spoonbill, Avocet, Hoopoe, Shoveller,
etc.), the young when hatched have the ordinary short beak of
other species, and it is not till they advance towards maturity
that their beaks develop, until they attain the shape and
dimensions of that of the adult. It is of a shy timid nature, and
avoids the proximity of man, and is so wary, vigilant, and
withal so quick-sighted, as to be the first to discover and give
notice of the presence of an intruder, as every shore-shooter
knows to his vexation and cost. And as it seeks out for its
retreat the most retired and lonely spots, I conclude that the
breaking up and cultivation of our wild downs has been the
cause of banishing it from amongst us.
The English word 'Curlew,' and the French Courtis are
supposed to represent the strangely wild note of this bird. In
the B.O.U. list we find that Numenius is derived from * the new
moon,' veos + fjujwr), and has reference to the crescent-shaped beak.
Arquata, too, has much the same signification, meaning ' bent
like a bow,' arcus. It was in old time highly esteemed for
the table, but my experience of one which I obtained on the
Norfolk coast is decidedly the other way. Mr. Cordeaux, who is
intimately acquainted with it on the Yorkshire coast, says : ' To
modern taste its flesh is bitter and unpalatable ; but it is curious,
showing the estimation in which it was held by our forefathers,
that the price of the ' Kerlew,' as set forth in the Northumber-
land Household Book (begun in 1512) was twelvepence, an
extraordinary sum for that day : Pheasants, Bitterns and Herons
being valued at the same price, while such modern delicacies
as the Woodcock and Teal were fixed at Id. and ljd., and
Mallards and Partridges at 2d. each.* I conclude this account of
the Curlew with some remarks on it by Sir R. Payne-Gallwey,
whose keen observation is only equalled by his graphic descrip-
' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 109.
Curlew. 415
tion of the birds of which he writes : * The bill of a Curlew is a
mere bundle of delicate nerves of the most sensitive order
enclosed in a thin skin : by reason of this tender soft bill it feels
the effect of frost sooner than any other bird. Their bill being
adapted for feeding on soft ground only accounts for their
preference for the mud of estuaries and harbours, and for their
seeking the oozy flats just uncovered by the tide. But how
Curlews can tell from inland fields, farYrom and out of sight of
the tide, the exact moment to make for the shore, is more than
I can guess at. But they are more regular in repairing to their
haunts than any other birds. To the minute they will desert
the moors and meadows to leave for the coast : and they fall
arrive just as the ooze is sufficiently uncovered to enable them
to get their food whilst wading. I have watched them, several
miles from the tide, cease feeding, call to one another, collect,
and then point for the sea, and this, too, at the very moment I
knew the shallows must be nearly exposed. Spring tides they
will hit off exactly, never late, always on the spot just as the
banks begin to show. They may at these times be seen travelling
in long strings to their favourite haunts.'* In Continental
languages it bears the title of ' Great,' in reference to its congener
the ' Whimbrel,' next to be mentioned. Thus in France it is
Grand Courlis cendre; in Germany, Grosse Brachvogel, 'Great
Fallow-Bird ;' in Italy, Chiurlo maggiore ; in Spain, Chorlito real;
in Portugal, Magarwo real ; in Sweden, Stor-Spof.
151. WHIMBREL (Numenius phceopus.)
Doubtless this bird is often confounded with the preceding, to
which it bears a very close resemblance in all points, and from
which it differs in little else than in size. It is about one-third
less than its congener, and hence has derived the names of Half-
Curlew and Jack-Curlew. The first instance I adduce of its
occurrence in Wilts is the specimen in the Kev. George Marsh's
collection, which was obtained in his own parish in 1838, killed
in Sutton Mead, where it had been observed alone for some time.
* ' The Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 232-237.
416 Scolopacldce.
Lord Nelson possesses a specimen killed at Trafalgar. Mr. Grant
records a pair shot at Swindon in April, 1865, one at Overton
in May, 1873, and one at Enford by Mr. Sargent in May, 1882.
Then in 1876 a flock of six was seen at Berwick Bassett on May 13th,
and one of these was shot by a labourer who was scaring birds.
It was an adult male, in very fair plumage, and extremely fat :
its gizzard contained the remains of earthworms with a blade or
two of grass, and a few small stones ; all of which particulars
were recorded in the Zoologist* Since that date Mr. Swayne, of
Wilton, in a letter dated November 14th, 1883, informed me
that about the middle of October Lord Pembroke shot a
Whimbrel on the hill above Butteridge, and said that he had
seen four or five fly over his head the previous year in the
meadows just out of shot, but, except that they looked too small,
he thought they were Stone Curlews, of which there are generally
some about the hill, and several of which Mr. Swayne has seen
killed. The specific name, phceopus, means ' dusky-foot/ from
<ato?, ' dusky,' and TTOU?, ' a foot,' and marks one point in which
it differs from its larger congener, whose feet are light blue.
Mr. Cecil Smith says that they are called by the fishermen on
the Somerset coast ' Young Curlews '; and Mr. Knox that in
Sussex they are locally designated ' Titterels,' from the trilling
note which they utter while on the wing. Elsewhere they are
known as the ' May Bird/ because they arrive on migration so
regularly in that month. These, too, are the genuine ' Seven
Whistlers/ a term which is now applied to several other species,
but belongs by right to the Whimbrel alone, whose whistle is
supposed to be repeated just seven times. Mr. Cordeaux gives
the ' Knot Curlew ' as one of its many names in Yorkshire, and
adds : They are very partial to washing and bathing ; coming
down to the tide edge each day and wading out breast deep, they
scatter the water with their wings in sparkling showers over
their backs and bodies. After the bath they stand on the fore-
shore, gently fanning their wings to and fro, or preening and
arranging their plumage. When migrating they advance at an
For 1876, 2nd series, p. 5166.
Redshank. 417
immense height, generally in line, one leading, the rest following,
not directly, but en tchelon, and are constantly repeating their
call- note.* In France it is Le petit Courlis or Courlis Courlieu ;
in Germany, Regen Brachvogel; in Italy, Chiurlo minore; in
Spain, Zarapito ; in Portugal, Ma$arico ; and in Sweden, Sma-
Spof.
152. REDSHANK (Totanus calidris).
This species is thoroughly well known on the coast, and little
beloved by the shore- shooter, for its wary eye is the first to
detect the intruder, and its shrill note of alarm, as it hurries off
on rapid wing, puts every bird in the marsh on the alert. So
well known is this its regular habit in every country it frequents,
that in Greece it is nicknamed pdprvpos, or the ' Tell-tale,' and
in Sweden Tolk, or the * Interpreter.' Sir E. Payne-Gallwey,
indeed, says that this is ' not from timidity, for it will continue
its search for food within a few yards of your punt, but from
pure restlessness of disposition, which never allows it to remain
long in one spot ; and on the wing it always calls loudly, whether
near or far, and whether frightened or unsuspicious.'f I must,
however, own that this is contrary to my experience, for I always
found it to be the most timid and the first to take alarm of all
the birds on the shore ; and, indeed, that such is its general
character the nicknames mentioned above sufficiently prove.
One writer has observed that he was much struck with the
curious manner in which Kedshanks dart their bill into the
sand nearly its whole length, by jumping up and thus giving
it a sort of impetus, by the weight of their bodies pressing it
downwards. It is a bird of erect, somewhat martial bearing, and
used to be known in England, according to Bewick and others,
as the ( Red-legged Horseman,' and in France, according to
Temminck, as Chevalier gambette, and, according to Cuvier, as Le
grand Chevalier au pieds rouges. By Italian authors it is
described as Gambetta, which signifies a 'small thin leg/ and
' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 111.
t ' The Fowler in Ireland/ p. 239.
27
418 Scolopacidce.
by old British writers, Latham and others, it was known as
Tringa gambetta. The meaning of calidris is unknown, but it
is as old as the time of Aristotle, who designated some speckled
water-bird under this name, and it was applied by Linnaeus to
the Redshank, which it is to be hoped will retain it to the end
of time. This species seldom comes far inland except in the
breeding season, and I have but two instances of its occurrence
in "Wiltshire, both communicated to me by Mr. Grant, who
received the two specimens in the flesh, the one on May 26th,
1865, the other in September, 1868, both, strangely enough, from
the same locality, Whitley, near Melksham. In addition to the
names mentioned above, it is known in Germany as Rothfussiger
Wasserlaiifer, * Red-Footed Water- Runner ;' in Sweden as Rod-
bent Sndppa ; and in Portugal as Chalrtta.
153. GREEN SANDPIPER (Totanus ochropus).
This and the following species seem interlopers in the midst
of the Snipe family, and scarcely deserve to be classed with
them, for their beaks are neither so long nor so sensitive, and
they seek their food on the surface as much as below the
mud. In other respects they are closely allied to the other
members of the family. This is a far more common bird in
'Wiltshire than many suppose. It has been shot by the late Rev.
G. Marsh in the water-meadows at Salisbury in 1833 : and the
Rev. A. P. Morres, who lives in a locality far more suited to its
requirements than that which I inhabit, says they are almost
always to be found in the water-meadows near Salisbury ; indeed,
he has seen them there in every month of the year, with the
exception of June. Mr. W. Wyndham writes that it is common
at Dinton ; and Lord Heytesbury that a specimen was killed by
one of his grandsons in 1884. In North Wilts I learn that^one
was seen at Littlecote in May, 1876, and Mr. Grant furnishes me
with a goodly list of sixteen which have passed through his
hands for preservation, having been taken within a radius of ten
or twelve miles of Devizes. It does not remain on the sea-coast
Green Sandpiper. 419
when it reaches our island in its migrations, but proceeds at
once to the rivers and streams of the interior. I have met with
it in great abundance in Egypt in winter, and I have seen it in
summer in its breeding haunts in Norway, and have occasionally
met with it in the creeks of the Wash on the coast of Norfolk.
When disturbed, it will hurry away with a shrill whistle, flying
low, and skimming over the surface of the water, and generally
following accurately all the bends and angles of the stream. We
have the excellent authority of Dr. Kruper in Pomerania, and
that of Herr Badeker and Mr. Wainwright in Norway, that this
bird, contrary to expectation, will occasionally, if not generally, lay
its eggs in the old nests of fieldfares or other tree-building birds.*
This, as well as the Common Sandpiper, and some other members
of the same family, is frequently dubbed the ' Summer Snipe.'
Its scientific name, ochropus, signifies ' with pale yellow feet/
from to^/009, ' pale yellow/ and TTOU?, ' a foot '; but this is singularly
in opposition to the fact, for the feet are very dark gray or
nearly black, with a green tinge. Some modern ornithologists
remove it from the genus Totanus and call it Helodromas, which
signifies ' Marsh Runner/ and is appropriate enough. It is also
called the ' Whistling Sandpiper/ from its shrill note, said by the
Rev. R. Lubbock, in his 'Fauna of Norfolk/ to be probably the
loudest note for its size of any of our fen birds. In France it is
Chevalier cul-blanc, 'White-tailed Horseman;' in Germany,
PunJctierte Strandldufer ; in Italy, Culbianco ; in Sweden,
Grd-bent Sndppa.
154. WOOD SANDPIPER (Totanus glareola).
This is but an occasional straggler to the British Isles, so that
its occurrence in Wiltshire was hardly to be expected; and,
indeed, I have but one instance of its being taken within the
borders of our county, and that was at the hands of Mr. W.
Macey, of Lavington, on January 13th, 1879, as I am informed by
Mr. Grant. It is somewhat smaller than the Green Sandpiper,
* See Canon Tristram in Ibis for 1860, p. 169, and Mr. Simpson in same
vol., p. 390.
272
420 Scolopacidce.
with which it is often confounded, and with which it was always
supposed to be identical, until our countryman Montagu pointed
out wherein it differed; but though similar to that bird in
plumage, in general habits, and especially when breeding, it
more closely resembles the Redshank. Its true home is in
Central Asia and Central Europe, where it frequents thickets of
alder and willow in marshy ground, and is common in winter
throughout the Mediterranean, including the northern shores of
Africa. The specific name glareola, which is a diminutive from
glarea, ' gravel/ would imply that it haunts gravelly places, but
such appears to be by no means characteristic of this species.
It is the Tringa grallatoris and 'Long-legged Sandpiper' of
Montagu, and, indeed, its length of leg seems disproportionate to
the size of its body. The English specific name, * Wood Sand-
piper/ as well as the French Chevalier Sylvain and the German
Wald Strandlaufer, all point to the peculiar haunts it loves,
wherein it differs from all its congeners. In Sweden it is known
as Gron-bent Sndppa.
155. COMMON SANDPIPER (Totanus hypolewos).
This is a far more common species than T. ochropus, as its
trivial name implies, and may be frequently met with in summer,
not only on the banks of our streams, but even occasionally on
our downs. The Rev. G. Marsh told me that it is especially
abundant in the neighbourhood of Salisbury ; and that is tho-
roughly confirmed by the Rev. A. P. Morres, who sees them every
summer there. Sometimes, but only very seldom, I have met
with them in the water-meadows in the parish of Yatesbury. It
is an elegant little bird, and all its movements are graceful and
pleasing : whether on the wing, as it skims over the surface of
the water with a shrill piping whistle, or on foot, as, perched on
a stone, it continually moves its tail up and down, or runs with
great rapidity by the margin of the stream. It is also said to be
able to dive as well as swim on emergency, and, in short, is a
bird of most active habits and most lively motions. Its note,
too, is remarkably loud for its size. To most people it is known
Common Sandpiper. 421
under the name of f Summer Snipe.' The specific name, hypo-
leucos, 'white underneath,' though not distinctive, tells accurately
of the pure unspotted white of the plumage on the under surface
of the body. I found this species most abundant in Egypt during
the winter, and met with it at every turn of the river ; and not
less common in Norway during the summer, where it established
itself in its breeding quarters on every river and stream, and
where I have taken the young just out of the shell, and marvelled
at its size in comparison with its parents. But the Drill Sndppa,
as it is there called, is very abundant all over Scandinavia. By
the Lapps it is called Skillili, and they have a saying as to the
disproportionate size of the egg to the bird which may be thus
rendered :
' Skillili, Skillili ! I carry, I carry
An egg large as that of a Ripa,
So that my tail cocks in the air.'
In like manner as the Dunlin is commonly said in Iceland to
guard and tend the Golden Plover, so on the islands of the Baltic
Sea the Common Sandpiper is reported to act the part of a
servant or guardian towards the Redshank. Now, the Redshank
(T. calidris) is known to the fishermen as Tolk, or ' Interpreter,'
because of its shrill cry, whereby it warns other birds of the
coming of the fowler, for which reason the Common Sandpiper
is there often designated TolJca-piga, or ' Handmaid to the
Interpreter.' In France it is Chevalier guignette ; in Germany,
Trillender Strandlaufer ; and in Italy, Piovanello.
156. GREENSHANK (Totanus glottis).
This is a rare bird in Wiltshire. The Rev. A. P. Morres had
the good fortune in 1865 to see three together on two con-
secutive days in some water-meadows near Salisbury, where
they had been noticed to have taken up their quarters, and to
have occupied the same spot for some four or five days pre-
viously. They were very wild, and would not admit of too near
approach. It is not usual to see three in company, for when
found in this country it is almost always a single bird that is
422 Scolopacidce.
found alone. Another instance of its occurrence in Wiltshire
was communicated to me by the Rev. A. W. Phelps, who informed
me that a specimen had been killed from the ' Diamond/ opposite
the Abbey at Amesbury, by Sir E. Antrobus' keeper, on the
August Bank Holiday of last year (1886). A third passed
through the hands of Mr. Grant, which was shot at Foxhanger
in August, 1870. A fourth, as I am told by Lord Methuen, was
shot near the waters at Corsham Court, and is preserved there.
Mr. Rawlence possesses a specimen killed at Gombledon, near
Salisbury ; and Lord Heytesbury called my attention to an
instance of which the Rev. G. Powell had previously informed
me, which had been observed on the 27th of August, 1868, by
Mr. William Swayne, in the Knook meadows in the parish of
Heytesbury, and after flushing it several times, that gentleman
contrived to get a shot at it as it rose from some rushes and
killed it. It appeared to have been wearied by previous long
flight; and my informant, who examined the bird carefully,
believes it to have been a young bird and a hen. The Green-
shank, though a scarce bird in England, does make its appear-
ance almost every year as a straggler, and is generally observed
during the spring or autumn migrations, either on its way to or
its return from its breeding-places in the far north. Hence the
specimen last mentioned was undoubtedly on its journey south-
wards when it halted to rest in the parish of Heytesbury. Like
many others of its congeners, it will on occasions perch on the
top of a tall tree, to the no small astonishment of the observer*
who is ignorant of this unlooked-for habit in a true wader. Its
beak is, though very slightly, yet perceptibly curved upwards.
In connection with this upturned beak, Mr. Harting remarked a
peculiarity in its manner of feeding, for he noticed that it placed
the bill upon the surface, the under mandible almost parallel
with the mud, and as it advanced scooped from side to side after
the fashion of the Avocet, leaving a curious zigzag line im-
pressed upon the ooze.* Its food consists of small molluscs,
worms, beetles, and insects of various kinds. Our English word
'Birds of Middlesex,' p. 181.
Bar-tailed Godwit. 423
' Greenshank ' indicates at once the grayish-green-colour of the
legs, which distinguishes it from the Kedshank. Its scientific
name glottis, and in Swedish Glutt Sndppa, signify the bird
' with a tongue ;' so the French call it Aboyeur, ' the Barker/ for
it is most vociferous, and its loud shrill note, with which it rises
when disturbed, alarms all other birds in the fen. In Germany
it is Grunfussiger Wasserlaufer, and in Italy Pantana
verderello.
157. BAR-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa rufa).
Common though it is on the coast, I have only one instance of
the occurrence of this bird in Wilts, and that was a specimen
shot in the neighbourhood of Marlborough ; and as it puzzled its
captors, it was sent tome to name on November 6th, 1881, when
it was of course in winter plumage. In Sweden it rejoices in
a name almost as long as its beak, being known as Rost-rod Lang
Ndbba, or ' Rust-red Long-Bill,' but provincially Augusti Snappa,
because it appears in August. Its scientific name, Limosa,
meaning * muddy,' marks the localities it prefers, and here it will,
with its long semi-flexible bill, probe the muddy deposit on the
banks and mouths of rivers, wading deep in the water, immersing
the head at intervals, and searching the ooze beneath.* When
disturbed and raised on the wing, the Red Godwit will send forth
a cry not unlike the bleat of a goat, whence, I suppose, the name
cegocephala bestowed on it by old writers, for in no other respect
assuredly does it bear any resemblance to the head of a goat. In
consequence of their great length of beak, they are often called
' Sea Woodcocks/ and as they arrive on the east coast pretty
regularly on or about May 12th, that day is known to the fen
men as * Godwit-day/ a plain proof, if any were wanting, how
numerous they once were in the fen districts of England. Hart-
ing says Godwits come with an east wind, and are more plentiful
in mild than in severe winters ; he also adds, in their winter dress
they greatly resemble Whimbrel, from which, however, they may
be distinguished at a distance by their note, which sounds like
Selby's ' Illustrations of British Birds/ vol. ii., p. 94.
424 Scolopacidce.
lou-ey, lou-ey* Professor Skeat derives our English word
' Godwit ' from the Anglo-Saxon god, ' good,' and w-iht ' creature,'
the goodness of the creature having reference, I conclude, to its
edible qualities. In France it is Barge rousse ; in Germany, Rost-
brauner Wasserlailfer ; in Portugal, Macarico gallego.
158. RUFF (Machetes pugnax) .
This is truly a fen bird, and belongs of right to the eastern
counties, from which, however, the draining of the fens and the
rage for reclaiming waste land have nearly succeeded in banishing
it. But I am glad to hail it as a straggler to our county, for it is
extremely handsome, and withal a very interesting species. Two
instances have come to my knowledge of its occurrence in Wilt-
shire, one killed by a farmer in the neighbourhood of Wootton
Bassett, about 1850 ; the other taken in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of Salisbury in 1828. The striking feature of the bird
is the strange frill or ruff of feathers which, together with con-
spicuous auricular plumes, surrounds the neck of the male bird
in his breeding plumage, and which when raised form a shield
round the head, reminding one of the costume of the worthies,
with whose portraits we are familiar, of the time of Elizabeth. At
that season, so much do they vary in colour of plumage that it is
scarcely possible to find two alike; the ruffs which these birds
assume being of all shades, from white, yellow, chestnut, brown,
or a mixture of any or all of these colours, to pure black. At all
other seasons of the year, they are of comparatively sober hue, and
more nearly resemble the females, which are called Reeves.
These birds are polygamous, unlike all the rest of the Snipe
family ; and, like the Capercaillie and Blackcock, select a dry
hillock in the breeding season on which to ' hill,' as it is termed,
or take their stand in defiance of all rivals. And here these
magnificently bedizened Lotharios strut about in their pride of
dress, and proclaim aloud their readiness to combat all opponents,
and challenge such to fight for possession of the somewhat dowdy-
looking females assembled around. Indeed, they are most ex-
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 184.
Woodcock. 425
ceedingly pugnacious ; no gamecock could be more combative,
and hence they derive both their generic and specific names,
Machetes, signifying 'warrior/ from /m^-nf?, andpugnax, ' fond of
fighting/ from pugna. So in France it is Becasseau combattant ;
in Germany Streitstrandlaufer ; in Italy, Gambetta scherzosa, or
'Playing Horseman/ in reference to the lek, or' hill ' ; and Com-
battente, in reference to its pugnacity ; in Spain it is Com-
batiente, and in Sweden Brus-hane. The Rev. R. Lubbock says
that when the ' hill ' is over the males seem to be much inconve-
nienced by the collar of long feathers which obstructs their flight,
rendering it slow and laboured; but, relieved of this by the autumn
moult, their flight becomes powerful and glancing, like that of
the female. No birds were in old time more highly esteemed by
epicures than the Ruffs ; consequently the price they fetched was
very remunerative, and they were caught in nets in great numbers
and fatted on bread and milk, hempseed, boiled wheat, and sugar.
But the method of killing them when fat enough for the table,
though as quick and certain as by the guillotine, seems to us
barbarous enough, for it was the custom to cut off their heads
with a pair of scissors, in order that the blood might more readily
be discharged, and then they were dressed like woodcock.*
159. WOODCOCK (Scolopax rusticola).
I need scarcely assert that this is a winter migrant to our
county, though I fear it is becoming less abundant every year.
A few pairs undoubtedly remain in England to breed in summer,
and a nest was found at Winterslow in 1830, but the larger part
retire to more northern and more secluded localities. It loves
open glades, and moist ground in woods, and is not therefore
often seen in the down districts. Occasionally, as I learnt from
Mr. Stratton, of Gore Cross, as well as from the late Mr. William
Tanner, of Rockley, it is to be met with in our more exposed
covers on the hills. But the moister climate of Ireland seems to
have attractions for the Woodcocks which this country does not
hold out, for we learn from Mr. Knox's admirable book that
Cordeaux's ' Birds of the Humber,' p. 121.
426 Scolopacidce.
1 forty couple is frequently the result of one day's sport in the
Emerald Isle/* and Sir R Payne-Gall wey speaks of even a larger
bag ; while in 1881 an exceptional year for abundance of Wood-
cock a thousand head a week for three weeks were forwarded to
London by one dealer only ; and over five thousand were brought
into a small town in County Clare during the three weeks' frost
of January of that year. And yet this is as nothing compared to
the immense quantities which are obtained in the evergreen woods
and swamps of the Greek coast and Ionian Islands, as we may
gather from Lord Lilford's graphic account in the Ibis.^ The
Woodcock is a nocturnal feeder, as might be inferred from its
immense, full, dark, bright, and very prominent eyes, which are
also placed very far back in, and nearly on a level with the crown
of, the head, and give the bird a singular staring appearance.
That the eyes are so placed is doubtless to avoid their contact
with mud and wet, as well as to see while they plunge their bills,
nearly forehead deep, while in the act of feeding. Unlike its
congeners, it seeks the retirement of woods during the day, only
emerging at twilight or dusk to its feeding-places in swampy
ground. Its flight is perfectly noiseless, and very rapid, and it is
marvellous how quickly and accurately it will thread its way
through the thick branches of the trees, and very soon it will close
its wings, and suddenly drop into any tempting cover, and then
run to shelter into any rank grass or thick underwood it can
find. St. John observes that its flight in the evening is rapid and
steady, instead of being uncertain and owl-like, as it is often in
bright sunshine;* an( * Sir R. Payne-Gallwey, ' that if flushed when
a hurricane is blowing, its immense powers of wing (unrivalled
almost) will carry it along in any direction as if it was merely a
summer zephyr. It is a solitary bird, and seldom associates with
its fellows. Its plumage is peculiarly rich, of a deep brown
* ' Game Birds and Wild Fowl,' p. 50.
t Ibis for 1860, vol. ii., pp. 340-342. See also Thompson's ' Natural History
of Ireland/ vol. ii., p. 242.
t * Highland Sports,' p. 220.
' The Fowler in Ireland/ pp. 16, 218-225.
Woodcock. 427
colour, barred and spotted, and crossed with, black or very dark
brown. Woodcocks frequently arrive on the east coast in the
autumn migration, very much exhausted, and will drop immedi-
ately on reaching land in the nearest available cover, or even at
the base of the rocks on the shore. It is curious how they always
seem to arrive two or three days after the Golden Crested Wren,
hence dubbed the 'Woodcock Pilot.'* Gilbert White has been
censured for refusing to credit what he called the improbable
story of the naturalist Scopoli as to the Woodcock, when
alarmed for the safety of its young, carrying them off in its beak,
'pullos rostro portat fugiens ab hoste;' for he considered the long
and unwieldy beak of that bird very ill adapted for such a
purpose. But in truth our good old English naturalist was quite
right in his opinion, for though the Woodcock does, beyond
question, remove its young when in danger, it is not with the beak,
but either with the feet, grasping the young bird in its claws, as
an owl will carry off a mouse, or else supporting it with both
feet and bill, which that bird could well do, as it always flies with
bill pointed downwards to the earth, or else pressed between the
thighs. This has been witnessed over and over again of late
years, and for instances and further particulars on this very
interesting subject I refer to the pages of Bewick, Yarrell,
Lloyd, St. John, Stevenson, Harting, Howard Saunders, and, above
all, Sir Kalph Payne-Gallwey. In Sweden it is called Mor-kulla.
or ' Moor-maid/ and it is commonly supposed there that there
are two species, the Common and the ' Stone Woodcock,' the
latter known in Germany as the Stein- Schneppe, and described as
of darker colour, and as nearly one-third less in size than the
other. But it would appear that this divergence is only attribu-
table to the difference of sex, the male bird, as Mr. Cecil Smith
has pointed out, being much smaller than the female. Indeed,
Yarrell says a young male shot in October will sometimes
weigh only 7 oz., while an old female will probably weigh
as much as 14 or 15 oz. It is only of late years that it has
been known to breed in England, but now that attention has
c " Cordeaux's ' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 136.
428 Scolopacidce.
been called to it, there are few counties in England which
cannot boast of a Woodcock's nest. In Wiltshire I learn from
Mr. C. Penruddocke that its nest is occasionally found in the
woods at Compton ; from the Kev. S. L. Sainsbury, Rector of
Beckington, that it breeds in some of the covers at Longleat;
and I hear that it is strongly suspected to breed within tho
precincts of Savernake Forest, though I have no positive infor-
mation on this point. The specific name rusticola is a diminutive,
meaning ' belonging to the country ' (B.O.U.). In France it is
La B&asse; in Germany, Wold Schneppe, ' Wood Snipe;' in Italy,
Beccaccia; in Spain, Gallineta, and in some districts Chocha;
in Portugal, Gallinhola.
160. GREAT SNIPE (Scolopax major).
I have little doubt that this species is often confused with its
commoner relative, and mistaken for a large specimen of S.
gallinago ; while fine individuals of that bird have undoubtedly
in their turn equally been hailed as S. major. Since, however,
the attention of naturalists has been directed to the points in
which these species differ, the Great Snipe is found to be
sparingly scattered over the country every autumn ; and Wilt-
shire is one of the counties named by Montagu in which it had
then been observed. The late Rev. G. Marsh reported that one was
killed in Winterslow Wood in 1831, and he had himself seen a
specimen in Christian Malford, though he was not able to obtain
it. The Rev. George Powell tells me of one killed in South
Wilts in 1854, and of another killed by his brother at Hurd-
cott, on the 25th September, 1868 ; and the Rev. A. P. Morres
mentions one killed at Pewsey on September 23rd of the same
year, which Mr. Grant, who preserved it, tells me weighed 7J oz.
Another killed near Hungerford in October, 1874, is recorded by
Mr. Grant.
In 1868, from some unexplained cause, these birds were
extraordinarily numerous in many parts of England : and I have
notices of one killed on Salisbury Plain, another at Milton,
near Pewsey, and of several others on the borders of the county.
Great Snipe. 429
It is often called the ' Solitary ' Snipe, as it was supposed, though
it seems erroneously, to shun the society of its fellows. It is also
called the 'Double' Snipe, from its size ; the ' Silent' Snipe, from
its uttering no cry as it rises on the wing ; and the ' Meadow '
Snipe, from its habit of frequenting fields of long coarse grass,
whence it is also designated by the Germans Wiesen Schnepfe.
It is rarely seen in England but in the autumn : in summer I
have met with it in Norway, where it retires to breed on the
vast wild fjelds of that thinly populated country. The principal
points wherein it differs from the Common Snipe are its greater
size and heavier form ; its smaller and shorter beak ; its stouter
and shorter legs ; and the under-plumage invariably barred with
brown and white, which in the commoner species is pure white.
The eye, too, is placed very high in the head, and it flies more
like a Woodcock than a Snipe, more heavily and sluggishly, and
without those turns and twists for which the latter is notorious.
It also prefers drier situations than its congeners, the heather-
covered hillside or the rough grass of a sheltered bank being
favourite haunts. When on the wing, it spreads its tail like a
fan. In France it is Grande ou Double Bdcassine ; in Germany,
Mittelschneppe ; in Italy, Beccacino maggiore ; in Portugal,
Narseja grande; and in Sweden, Dubbel Beckasin.
Like the Huffs and some other species described above, Great
Snipes have their leks, or playing grounds, wherein the males
strut and posture, droop their wings, spread their tails, swell out
their feathers, and do battle for the admiration and approbation
of the other sex. The English word ' Snipe ' is undoubtedly
derived from neb, the Anglo-Saxon for a 'bird's beak,' and
certainly that is the most noticeable feature in all the members
of this family.
161. COMMON SNIPE (Scolopax gallinago).
It is unquestionable that these birds, once so numerous here
in winter, are gradually becoming perceptibly scarcer every year.
This may be attributed to the general increase of draining, and
the reclaiming of fens and marshes ; so that, like the Red Indian
430 Scolopacidce.
in America, the Snipe will soon be improved off the face of this
country by the rapid advance of high farming. In Wiltshire
and the more southern parts of England it is a true migrant,
arriving in the autumn and departing in the spring ; but in more
northern counties many pairs remain annually to breed in the
moors or fens. The shrill alarm cry of this bird, and its peculiar
zigzag flight, are too well known to require comment. I may
mention, however, that in addition to the sharp scream with
which we are all familiar in the winter, it makes a drumming or
bleating noise in the breeding season, and hence is called by the
French Chdvre volant, and in several other languages words
equivalent to the ' Air-goat,' or the ' Kid of the Air.' More
poetically it is called in Germany Himmel ziege, or ' Goat of the
Heavens ' ; and by many modern authors Capella ccelestis ; and
in some parts of England ' Heather Bleater ' and ' Moor Lamb,'
the bleating sound being described in Norfolk as 'lambing,'
because of its similarity to the bleating of lambs.* But in
Norway, where this peculiar note is supposed to resemble the
neighing of a horse, it has obtained the appellation of Skodde-Foll,
or ' Horse of the Mist ' ; and in some parts of Hors-Gok, or ' Horse
Cuckoo,' for, in that land of legends, this bird is indeed believed
to have at one period been a veritable steed.-)- It has been much
disputed whether this bleating or humming proceeds from the
mouth or from the motion of the wings. It seems, however,
unquestionable that it only occurs when the bird is descending
rapidly with wings shivering or violently agitated. It is also to
be noted that rooks, peewits, ring-doves, and black-headed gulls
all occasionally produce a loud humming sound with the wings.J
Mr. Mitchell, in his admirable little book on the 'Birds of
Lancashire,' says Snipes are amongst the earliest risers in the
morning, and may often be heard drumming before daylight.
Christopher Davies' ' Norfolk Broads and Rivers,' p. 13.
t For the legend referred to, see Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,'
vol. ii., p. 406.
See Harting on this subject in ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 190 ; his edition
of ' White's Selborne,'' p. 119 ; and in Zoologist for 1881, pp. 198-200.
'Birds of Lancashire,' p. 186.
Jack Snipe. 431 .
In France it is Btcassine ordinaire ; in Germany, Heerschneppe ;
in Italy, Beccacino reale; in Sweden, Enkel Beckasin, 'Single
Snipe ' ; in Spain, Agachadiza ; in Portugal, Narseja ordinaria.
To distinguish it from the succeeding species, it is in England
sometimes called the ' Whole ' Snipe.
162. JACK SNIPE (Scolopax gallinula).
This diminutive species might, with much more reason, be
denominated ' Solitary ' than its largest relative, inasmuch as it is
almost always found alone. ' He is rarely seen ' (says Sir R Payne-
Gall vvey) ' careering in a storm ; not he : he sticks like a limpet
to the lee of a " tuft," his little body crouched warm and low in
the herbage. If disturbed, he will make for another shelter at a
short distance, and even return to the same.'* But it utters no
cry when it rises from the ground ; hence known in Sweden as
Stum Beckasin, or ' Mute Snipe ' ; and it lies so close that you
may almost tread upon it before it will move, and, as Harting
says, really appears to be so deaf that the French name for it,
Btcassine sourde, is not an inappropriate one. When at rest,
the head reclines upon the back, between the shoulders, giving
the bird the appearance of having no neck : the bill rests on the
ground in front, the breast touches the ground, and the tarsus
and tibia touch, and are parallel. When, however, it is roused^
the bird rises so suddenly as to cause an involuntary start on
the part of the observer,f but it does not fly with such twists as
does the preceding; and it invariably departs to northern
countries for breeding purposes. In general habits, feeding and
nesting, the Snipes are all alike. It is often called the ' Half '
Snipe, in allusion to its size; and is said to have derived the
name of Jack Snipe from an old erroneous supposition that it
was the male of the ' Common Snipe. The provincial names of
these three species accurately describe their relative size; the
Jack or Half Snipe weighing about two ounces ; the Common,
Whole, or Full Snipe four ounces ; and the Great or Double Snipe
eight ounces.
' The Fowler in Ireland/ p. 17. f ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 194.
432 Scolopacidce.
In Germany it is Moorschneppe, ' Fen Snipe ' ; in Sweden,
Half-enkel BecJcasin, ' Half-single Snipe ' ; in Italy, Beccacino
minore; in Spain, Agachadera; and in Portugal, Narseja
gallega ; and here I may observe that gallega, as a diminutive,
is given to several other species, as the smallest woodpecker, the
short-toed lark, the little bittern, etc.; probably because the
servants and porters of Portugal, coming from Galicia (one of
the northern provinces of Spain), as hewers of wood and drawers
of water, have come to be looked on as inferiors, and hence
gallego is a term of inferiority; just as real, ' royal/ is on the
contrary applied to species of a large size.
It is called gallinula, or ' the chicken/ I suppose, as if it must,
from its diminutive size, be the young of a larger species ! But
if the bird is small, its eggs are large : perhaps of greater bulk,
relatively to the size of the bird, than any others in the British
list ; for whereas the Jack Snipe weighs two ounces, its four eggs
weigh more than an ounce and a half.
163. CURLEW SANDPIPER (Tringa mbarquata).
This is sometimes known as the ' Pigmy Curlew/ the specific
name, subarquata, having also the meaning of ' a little like a
Curlew ; '* and the beak of this pretty little bird, gently curved
downwards, reminds one immediately of Numenius arquata, of
which it looks like a miniature edition. It has often been con-
fused with the Dunlin, which in general appearance it much
resembles ; moreover, it is not nearly so rare a visitor to our
shores as was once supposed, a considerable number being noticed
every year. This is especially the case in the south-western ex-
tremity of England, and the late Mr. Rodd, of Penzance, pointed
out to Professor Newton and myself, when we were on an excur-
sion through Cornwall, several specimens in his most interesting
collection. The only instance I have of its occurrence in Wilt-
shire I give on the authority of my friend, Colonel Ward, who
informed me that it was picked up alive by a labourer on Chip-
B.O.U. ' List of British Birds,' p. 170.
Knot. 433
penham Bridge, and was taken to Mr. Dangerfield, bird-preserver
of that town, who at once wrote to Colonel Ward to come and
see it, which that gentleman did, and secured it for his own col-
lection. This was in July, 3869, when it should have been breed-
ing in more northern latitudes; but, strange to say, several of the
occurrences recorded in England bear the date of July. Hitherto
this species has contrived to elude the sharp eyes of ornithologists
when searching for its nest, and its eggs have never been dis-
covered, and are quite unknown to science. Mr. Seebohm, indeed,
confidently hoped to add this to the other laurels he gained in his
famous journey to Siberia, but the Curlew Sandpiper baffled him,
and he came home without accomplishing that portion of the
task he set himself to fulfill.* In Sweden it is known as Bdg-
ndbbad Strand-Vipa.
164. KNOT (Tringa canuta).
This is in my judgment one of the most excellent birds for the
table : nor am I singular in that opinion ; for however little
known to modern epicures, it derives its name, Latin as well as
English, from the famous Danish King Knut or Canute, who had
an especial liking for the flesh of this, the most delicate perhaps
of all the well-flavoured family to which it belongs. It has, how-
ever, been suggested that the name may be derived from its
littoral habits, in allusion to the story of Canute's celebrated
reproof to his courtiers ; but I prefer the other derivation. It is
strange how the eggs of this bird are still absolutely unknown to
science, and how curiously they have eluded discovery. Swedish
and Norwegian naturalists considered that they bred on the
higher fjelds in the more northern parts of Scandinavia, within
the Arctic Circle, but even Wolley failed to discover their nests
there. When the famous Arctic Expedition of 1875-76, under
Captain Nares, attained the high latitudes to which the Alert and
Discovery penetrated, Captain Markham wrotef that in August,
See his ' Siberia in Europe,' p. 233 ; also his ' British Birds,' vol. iii.,
p. 181.
f 'The Great Frozen Sea,' p. 127.
28
434 Scolopacidce.
1875, some Knots were obtained, but no amount of search was
successful in discovering the egg of that bird ; and even Captain
Feilden, enthusiastic ornithologist as he was, and determined as he
was to unravel the mystery, was baffled in his efforts, though
every man on both ships was on the look-out for the nest, and the
parent birds in full nuptial plumage, and evidently breeding, were
almost daily seen. Again, when Mr. H. Seebohm made his famous
expedition to the valley of the Petchora in European Siberia,
the Knot was one of the half-dozen birds whose breeding grounds
were wrapped in mystery, and whose eggs he especially desired to
find; but it was the only bird of the six which he never met with
at all in the valley of the Petchora,* and we may be sure it would
never have escaped the notice of that keen ornithologist if it had
been in that district. Neither was he more successful in regard
to this bird in his subsequent adventurous journey to the banks
of the Yenesei.f In Norway it is called Isliindsk Strand-Vipa,
as if Iceland was its home ; but its nest is quite unknown there.
In this country it is a winter migrant, and the mud-flats and
sand-banks of the eastern coast literally swarm with the vast
flocks of this species ; at one moment they will rise simulta-
neously in a compact body, and, after a short flight, settle again
in close array on the shore ; then they will run at the extreme
odge of the receding tide, and seek their food in the ooze laid bare
by the retreating waves. The numbers which compose these
great flocks must be immense; they cannot contain less than
many thousands, so widespread and at the same time so dense is
the cloud, which, with one impulse, takes wing, wheels about with
simultaneous movement, and as rapidly settles again at the edge
of the waves. This general account of their immense numbers
may in some degree prepare the way for a marvellous shot, which
I am about to relate ; and which will doubtless seem incredible to
those whose experience is confined to inland shooting only, and
who are unaccustomed to see the vast flights of birds which occa-
sionally collect on our coasts ; but of the truth of which I have
satisfied myself, and therefore do not hesitate to publish the
* ' Sibeiia in Europe/ p. 2. f ' Siberia in Asia.'
Knot. 435
story. It is the custom of the wild-fowl shooters or 'gunners/ as
they are called on the Norfolk coast, to paddle noiselessly down
the creeks of the Wash in a low narrow gun-boat or canoe, with
a large duck gun moving on a swivel lashed like a cannon in the
bow ; and a single lucky shot into a flock of geese, or ducks, or
knots, or other birds, frequently produces a great harvest of spoil.
With one of these gunners I was very well acquainted, and have
been accustomed to overhaul the produce of his day's or rather
night's excursion, in search of rare ^specimens; and from him I
have gathered a great deal of information on the shore-feeding
birds of the eastern coast. He has often astonished me by the
quantities of ducks of various species with which his boat was
loaded on his return, and I have seen half a sackful of Knots,
amounting to above 200 in number, turned out on the floor of his
cottage as the result of one fortunate shot with the long gun ; but
when he assured me that on one occasion he had picked up and
brought home after a single discharge no less than 36 dozen and
11 Knots, or 443 birds, I acknowledged that I was incredulous,
till conversation with sportsmen of the neighbourhood convinced
me that the story was true ; and then I felt ashamed that ignor-
ance of shore-shooting in the fens led me to doubt the word of an
honest man. Since then I have often watched the Knots by the
hour together on the Norfolk coast, on the shores of the Wash;
and with a double field-glassXthe ornithologist's best companion)
have followed the every movement of these busy birds ; and
seeing the dense array of the countless hosts which compose
a flock, I can well understand the havoc which a well-aimed dis-
charge of the big gun must cause.
In my former papers on the ' Ornithology of Wilts ' I quoted
Thompson as having more practical knowledge of shore-shooting
with the swivel gun than any other author of birds with whose
work I was then acquainted, and as one who will be found in
great measure to corroborate this assertion ;* but since then we
have had the advantage of the books written by Sir K. Payne -
See Thompson's 'Natural History of Ireland,' vol. ii., p. 292, under the
head of ' Dunlin,' and p. 309, under the head of * Knot.'
282
436 Scolopacidce.
Gallwey, who is the highest living authority on shore-shooting,
and he speaks of the vast numbers of Knots which frequent the
coast and the tidal harbours and estuaries, and relates how he
once killed 160 at a shot with his big gun, having mistaken
them on a dark evening for Plover.* Still more emphatic is the
testimony of Mr. Cordeaux as to the extraordinary gathering of
Knots on the Humber flats, and the noise made by their occa-
sional short flights along the coast ; the roar, or rather rush,
made by their wings in flight reminding him, more than any-
thing else, of the noise made by a mighty host of Starlings when
settling down for the night. Thousands and thousands of Knots
were massed together on the foreshore as the tide was coming in :
here crowded as closely as they could sit, there again straggling
out into a more open line, and there again massed together by
thousands. Some hundreds of yards in length and about thirty
in breadth, along the edge of the water, were fairly crowded with
them.-)- Colonel Hawker in his time, and provided only with the
clumsy punt-gun of old, says, ' Knots sit on the edge of the mud
so thick that you may sometimes kill the whole company at a
shot ;'J and Selby speaks of the vast numbers which frequent the
ooze on the coast.
I have three instances of the occurrence of this bird in
Wiltshire. The first, a male, killed at the side of the rail-
way cutting at Langley, in 1850, by Mr. Bethell, of Kellaways
Mill, and, I believe, still in his possession ; the second, killed
at Seend in February, 1870, as recorded by Mr. Grant ; and the
third, reported to me by Mr. W. Wyndham, as shot by his keeper
at Langford on December 10th, 1879. As it is generally seen in
England in winter garb, the Knot is of very sober plumage,
composed of ash-gray above and white beneath ; but in summer
dress it is far more attractive. Keddish-brown above and rich
reddish-chestnut below render it very gay, and enable it to vie
with the Gray and Golden Plover in their respective nuptial
< The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 24.
t 'Birds of the Humber District,' p. 134, and Zoologist for 1866, p. 75.
$ ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen,' p. 230.
Dunlin. 437
dresses. In England it is often called the 'Plover Knot/ on
account of its general resemblance to Plovers ; in France it is
B&asseau Canut or Maubbche ; in Germany, Aschgraue Strand-
iailfer ; and in Italy Chiurlo. Considering the high favour in
which all birds of the Snipe family are deservedly held for the
table, and the method of dressing these birds as practised ( in
England, though repudiated abroad ; considering also the positive
assertion which I have made that they do not live by suction,
but devour worms and various grubs and insects, it is but fair
that I should add that the digestion of all these birds is extra-
ordinarily rapid.
165. DUNLIN (Tringa variabilis).
This is one of the most abundant birds on suitable coasts, and
immense flocks may generally be seen where sand-banks and
mud-banks are left bare by the receding tide ; but it is seldom
found far from the seashore, and it is quite by accident when an
occasional straggler is driven so far inland as Wiltshire. It
seldom comes so far south except in winter, for the breeding
places of the great bulk of the species are in the distant north ;
hence its modern specific name, alpina. And out of the seven
specimens of which I have records in this county, six were killed
in the month of February viz., in 1870 two were killed on
February 10th at Chitterne, on February 16th, one at Market
Lavington, on February 18th, one at Compton Bassett, now in
the possession of Major Heneage. In 1873, one was shot on
February 13th at Avebury, one on February 22nd at Wed-
hampton ; and in 1875, on December 9th, one was shot by Mr.
T. Jenner, of Netheravon. So much does its breeding plumage
differ from its winter garb that it was long known under two
names, the ' Dunlin ' and the ' Purre ' ; and the identity of these,
till then recognised as distinct, was discovered by our country-
man, Colonel Montagu, who unravelled so many similar cases of
confusion, and pointed out the truth. When a flock of Dunlins
is on wing above the mud-banks, it is marvellous to see by what
simultaneous impulso every bird twists and turns, now exposing
438 Scolopacidce.
the upper, now the under, surface of the body a feat which we
who live far from the seashore may see faintly imitated by the
somewhat similar, though more clumsy, evolutions of a flock of
Starlings. All its movements, too, on the sand are graceful and
elegant, and it runs with great swiftness, for it is as active on
foot as on the wing. It derives its name variabilis from the
difference of plumage exhibited by a flock in transition from
winter to perfect summer dress. So abundant a bird is certain
to be honoured with many provincial names on the coast, and
accordingly we find it recognised by the fishermen of various
districts as the ' Ox-eye ' and the ' Oxbird,' the ' Sea Snipe ' and
the ' Least Snipe/ and the ' Sea Wagtail/ from a habit it has of
jerking the tail up and down. In Iceland it is known as Low
Prodi' the Servant of the Golden Plover ;' for it is there said
that a solitary Dunlin will attach itself to a solitary Golden
Plover : and this strange notion has extended to the Hebrides,
where, from its habit of associating with those birds, it is called
the ' Plover's Page.' I found it very abundant in summer on the
high fjelds of Norway, and no less numerous in spring on the
coast of Portugal ; indeed, it was the only member of the genus
which I met with in that country. But it is one of the most
cosmopolitan of birds, swarming in the island of Formosa and in
Japan ; very common in winter on the northern coast of Africa
and in the Red Sea, and breeding in Greenland, British North
America, and Hudson's Bay.* The Continental names are
generally mere translations of variabilis ; as in France, Bdcasseau
variable ou brunette; in Germany, Veranderliche oder Alpui
Strandlaiifer ; in Sweden, Fordnderlig Strand-Vipa.
166. PURPLE SAND-PIPER (Tringa maritima).
This is another winter visitant to our shores, and generally
comes in large flocks where it finds a rocky coast suitable to its
taste : for it abhors the sand-banks and mud-flats so dear to the
greater number of its congeners. Hence it was once known as
the ' Rock Tringa/ I conclude it was called Maritima because
* Ilia, 1859, p. 347 ; 1860, p. 80 ; 1861, p. 11 ; 1863, pp. 97, 132, 412.
Purple Sandpiper. 439
it was supposed never to come inland. Wherefore the arrival of
a specimen in the heart of Wiltshire, at Everleigh Rectory, on
February 3rd, 1881 (as I learn from Mr. Grant, who received it
in the flesh and preserved it), must be looked upon as the single
exception which proves the rule. By the B.O.U. Committee the
name maritima is now abandoned in favour of striata the
' striped ' which was undoubtedly the name under which it was
described by Latham and Gmelin. It is readily to be distinguished
from all its congeners by its dark purple or bluish lead colour.
Hence provincially it is the 'Black Sandpiper'; in France^
B&asseau violet, and in Sweden, Svart-grd Strand-Vipa.
When the spring arrives it departs for the highest latitudes,
having been found to breed in the most northern districts of
Europe and America in Greenland, Spitzbergen (where it was
said to be the only species of the Grallatores seen), and in Nova
Zembla, as well as in Davis Straits, Baffin's Bay, Melville Island,
and the shores of Hudson's Bay. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey, who
reports that they are numerous in some districts in Ireland, says
' they are so tame you may pelt them with stones, and they will
not rise, but merely trot farther off. It is common to see them
running about or sitting huddled upon the rocks at the verge of
a lashing sea. Each wave looks as if it must overwhelm them ;
but no ! they judge their distance to a nicety, or stick like
limpets to the rock, amid the spray and foam.'*
RALLIM; (THE RAILS).
We are now approaching the more essentially aquatic birds,
and there are several characteristics in the family of Rails which
lead on to the true Water-fowl. Thus their bodies are more
compressed and boat-shape, and most of them can swim with
ease. Their legs are shorter and their feet larger, and with the
hind toe more developed than in the preceding family. Their
beaks, too, are much harder and stronger, and some of them are
furnished with a narrow membrane on the sides of the toes,
which is the first approach towards a web- foot. They are, for
' The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 243.
440 RalUdce.
the most part, a shy race, and as they generally prefer inland
ponds and lakes to the sea-coast, they secrete themselves in the
flags and reeds and rushes which border their haunts, and are
often found in wet ditches. They creep through the thick cover
with amazing quickness, winding their way amidst the dense
grass, and are very unwilling to rise on the wing; but when
compelled to do so, their flight is heavy and awkward, as might
be expected from the shortness of their wings.
1G7. LAND-RAIL (Crex pratensis).
This species, known also as the Corn- Crake, is familiar to the
partridge shooter, and well known also to him is its disinclination
to rise, and the rapidity with which it skulks with depressed
head through the stubble ; and if forced to take wing where it
can drop into cover again, it will fly with legs hanging down and
prepared to run the instant it alights. Harting says that, besides
running with great swiftness, it has a curious method of avoiding
the dogs by leaping with closed wings and compressed feathers
over the long grass some three or four yards ; and, then running
a short distance and leaping again ; and that the scent being
thus broken, it eludes the most quick-scented dogs.*
It is common enough in our cornfields in summer, and yet it
is a genuine Rail, and resorts to damp meadows and marshy soil
to seek its food, for St. John declares it to be wholly insectivorous,
and never to eat corn or seeds ;( but other authors assign to it a
vegetable as well as an insect diet. The name crex is a Latinized
form of A-ptf, ' a Rail/ and this has the same derivation as Kptica>,
'I strike so as to sound ' (B.O.U.). Hence our English ' Crake.'
' Rail/ too, comes from its cry, from roller, ' to rattle in the
throat ' (Skeat). In France it is Poule d'eau or Rale de Genet;
in Germany, Wiesenknarrer, ' Meadow-Crake ;' in Sweden, Kom-
Knarr and Ang-Knarr ; in Portugal, Codornizdo. It is a true
migrant, and never winters with us ; but in May its harsh
croaking cry of crek, crek, may be frequently heard ; and the
* ' Our Summer Migrants/ p. 297. t ' Highland Sports/ p. 145.
Land-Rail. 441
bird which produces it has the remarkable power of the
ventriloquist in causing the note to sound now on this side, now
-on that, now under your feet, now at the farther end of the
field ; and many a hopeless chase, and many a bewildered and
baffled pursuer, has been the result of this peculiarity. When
uttering its cry the neck of the bird is stretched perpendicularly
upwards. Gilbert White speaks of it as having been abundant
in the low wet bean-fields of Christian Malford in North Wilts.
But, indeed, we may say it is very common at this day in all
parts of the county. In the South of France the peasants call
it Eoi des cailles, and in Spain it is known by the name of Guion
de las codornices, owing to an idea that it places itself at the
head of the Quails, and precedes them on their migrations.*
Harting believes that Corn-Crakes hibernate ; while Gilbert
White says it is poorly qualified for migration.
Undoubtedly it is a difficult problem to solve how a bird which
flies so heavily and awkwardly across even one field can prolong
its flight from the other side of the Channel ; but it is certain
that other species of feeble r powers of flight do annually perform
the passage. Sir K. Payne-Gallwey, however, brings forward
proof which cannot be gainsaid, that Corn-Crakes do occasionally
winter in Ireland. He has himself twice found them, to all
appearance asleep, in the month of February, ensconced in the
centre of loose stone walls close to the ground, and has met with
several other instances of the kind. He has also evidence of
others, taken in a semi-comatose state out of a rabbit-hole.t
The Rev. H. E. Delme Radcliffe writes me word that he
observed one in his garden at Tedworth on the remarkably early
date of April 1st, and that he saw it again and again in the very
short grass in his field ; and as it always ran back to the hedge
and ditch full of dead leaves, in which it crouched, he was able
to examine it minutely. On the other hand, Mr. W. W^yndham
gives me instances of its late appearance at Dinton : in 1881
* Howard Saunders, fourth edition of ' YarrelPs British Birds,' vol. iii.,
p. 139.
f ' The Fowler in Ireland, 1 p. 251.
442 Rallidce.
he himself shot one on November 12th; and in 1883, on
November 23rd, his retriever caught an old bird, and in very
good condition, one of whose wings had been previously slightly
injured.
168. SPOTTED CRAKE (Crex porzana).
Though not in reality uncommon, this sombre-clad little
species is so retiring and timid in its nature, and seeks such
little-frequented, quiet ponds for its haunts, that it escapes
observation, and is supposed by many to be a rarer bird than it
really is. I have heard of several in Wiltshire : the late Rev. G.
Marsh killed one in some marshy ground at Christian Malford in
October, 1849 ; Mr. MacNiven, junior, shot another at Patney
about 1871 ; and the Rev. A. P. Morres records the capture of
several in South Wilts. ' In the autumn of 18G9 a pair were killed
at Hinks Mill pond, in the parish of Mere, by Mr. Forward ; and
in the very same field another specimen was killed on October
12th, 1878. In 1873 one was picked up dead at Gillingham,
having been killed by flying against the telegraph-wires; and
another met its fate in the same year and in the same way near
Westbury. In 1879 a friend brought me a wing of this bird, for
identification, which had also been picked up under the wires
near Salisbury, and which had been apparently quite severed
from the body by the force of the concussion ; and these three
occurrences happening so near together would certainly prove
the bird to be more numerous than is generally supposed, for
none of these three specimens would, in all probability, have been
heard of had it not been for their singular misfortune. In addi-
tion to all these instances, Mr. Baker reports that a nest containing
twelve eggs was put out in a clover-field adjoining a marsh beside
the stream at Mere, and that he sent up one of the eggs to
the Field office, where it was pronounced a genuine egg of
C. porzana* Lord Heytesbury wrote me word that one was
killed by one of his grandsons on his estate last year (1886) ; Mr.
W. Wyndham that he shot one at Dinton on October 25th, 1875.
See Field of June 18th, 1881, ' Natural History Notes.'
Spotted Crake. 443
One was picked up at Marlborough, and secured for the College
Museum, September 12th, 1872, by Mr. Coleman ; and Mr. Grant
reports one from Wedhampton, near Devizes, November, 1863,
and from Melksham, December, 1879. It is, like its congener, a
migrant ; but, unlike that species, it is one of the earliest to
arrive, and one of the latest to depart. Its general plumage is
dark green and brown, speckled with white.
In Sweden it is distinguished by the lengthy name of Smd-
flacldg Sump-Hona, or ' Small-spotted Fen-Hen ' ; and with us is
provincially called, according to locality, ' Spotted Kail/ ' Spotted
Water-Kail/ and ' Spotted Water-Hen.' From the difficulty ex-
perienced by sportsmen in forcing it to move, and the hard work, in
consequence, which it gives to the dogs employed for this purpose,
it has obtained in the South of Europe the sobriquet of ' Kill- dog/
Tue-chien, Mata-perros, Cansa-perros, etc.* Its great length of
foot enables it to run lightly over floating leaves, and its narrow
and compressed body to penetrate through the dense herbage
which forms its retreat. Porzana seems to be a corruption of
the Italian sforzana. In France it is Poule d'eau marouette ;
in Germany, PunUiertes Rohrhuhn ; and in Italy, Gallinellcv
aquatica sutro.
169. WATER-RAIL (Rallus aquations).
This is a very common bird in wet and marshy districts, and,
I am told, is especially numerous in the lowlands near Salisbury.
I have shot it in the water-meadows at Old Park, and I have in-
stances of its occurrence in all parts of the county. Like all
other members of the family, it seeks safety in running amidst
coarse herbage, and in hiding itself in the thickest cover it can
find ; and I have seen it, when driven by a dog from its place of
refuge, fly up and settle in the branches of a thick bush, in pre-
ference to seeking safety by flight. It will on occasion run on
the water, making use of the flags and floating water-plants as
stepping-stones in its course; and hence, I suppose, from the
* H. Saunders in fourth edition of 'Yarrell's British Birds/ vol. iii.,
p. 146.
444 Rallidce.
softness of its tread on the floating herbage, which it traverses so
nimbly, it is provincially known as the ' Velvet-runner,' the
4 Brook-runner,' and the ' Runner/ Montagu calls it the ' Oar-
Cock ;' and Mr. Cecil Smith says it is known in Somersetshire as
the ' Skitty,' and calls attention to the extreme narrowness of its
breast-bone, whereby it is enabled to creep through very small
holes and very tangled grasses.* This bird (in common with the
Moorhen and Coot) has a small rudimentary claw or spur on
the wing ; but this in a kindred species a specimen of which
was kindly brought me from New Zealand by Miss Awdry is
developed into quite a formidable weapon.f In France it is Rale
d'eau ; in Germany, Wasser Ralle ; in Italy, Gallinella palvistre ;
in Sweden, Vatten-RalL; in Spain, Rascon, 'Scratched; and in
Portugal, Frango d'ayua. It can both swim and dive with great
ease. It remains with us throughout the year.
170. MOORHEN (GaUinula chloropus).
This is the most common species of the whole family, for it
may be seen on almost every retired pond or lake, either
swimming amidst the rushes with its peculiar jerking motion,
or alarmed at the presence of an intruder, seeking the shelter of
the most distant bank and the thickest sedge ; and there it will
sink in the water, submerging the whole body with the exception
of the beak, which alone protrudes above the surface to enable it
to breathe, and holding on to that position by means of some
rush, or reed, or water-plant, which it grasps with its feet. As
evening draws on, it will wander over the newly-mown grass of a
hay-field, searching diligently for food. Though a shy bird, it is
more familiar and shows more confidence in man than the
preceding species, and has been known when undisturbed to
become quite tame. In the classic grounds at Walton Hall, the
seat of the late well-known naturalist, Mr. Waterton, where all
' Birds of Somerset,' p. 443.
t See article by Mr. P. L. Sclater ' Ou the Claws and Spurs of Birds'
Wings,' in Ills for 1U6, pp. 147-U1.
Moorhen. 445
birds were encouraged and protected, I have seen the Moorhens
feeding just beneath the drawing-room windows, and not caring
to move nearer the water, even when a stranger approached. At
Bowood they show great boldness, and at Draycot pond, where
they are not molested, they evince none of that timidity for
which the race of Kails is renowned. Where, however, they are
not so protected, and are surprised in an open space, they will
skim along the surface of the water, dipping with their toes as
they hurry along ; partly flying, partly running, legs as well as
wings being actively employed, till they have retreated into
thick cover. But though their flight for a short distance, with
legs hanging down, seems heavy and awkward, they can, and do
on occasion, indulge in a prolonged flight with apparent ease :
they can also perch in a bush or on a low- tree. They are
conspicuous for the bright scarlet frontal plate or horny shield
which extends above the beak, and as they swim over the pond,
with a nodding motion of the head, examining every weed on
either side, or as they hurry through the meadows, in both
cases perpetually jerking up their tails, they always seem in a
bustle, and as if they had no time to waste.
The specific name, chloropus, ' green- footed/ is most applicable :
so in Sweden it is Gron-fotad Sump-Hona, or ' Green- footed
Fen-Hen'; but with us the 'Common Gallinule,' ' Water-Hen/
and ' Marsh-Hen,' and used in old time to be 'Mot-hen,' meaning
'Moat-hen/ for (says Pennant) in the days of moated houses
they were very frequent about the moats. In France it is Poule
d'eau ordinaire; in Spain, Polla de agua; in Portugal, Gallinha
de agua; in Germany, Grunfussiges Eohrhuhn; and in Italy,
Pullo sultano cimandorlo.
171. CAYENNE RAIL (Aramides Cayannensis).
Though denied a place in the British list by those in authority,
and ignominiously denounced as an escaped convict from some
zoological garden or other place of detention, to which it had been
transported from its native land, I cannot pass over in silence
this interesting stranger, which was killed in October, 1876, on
446 Rallidce.
the river between Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon, and which
the Rev. A. P. Morres, who saw it in the flesh the day after its
capture, described as ' evidently a Gallinule, but somewhat larger
than, and quite different in colour to, our Moorhen ; the legs and
iris of eye of a rich crimson lake ; beak light green, inclining to
yellow at the base; head, neck, and thighs, pure gray; back,
bright olive-green ; tail, tail coverts, and vent, black ; breast, rich
rufous brown, and wings bright brown, with a touch of crimson
on the quills. On the underside of the wing the axillaries were
beautifully barred with rufous and black* Mr. Morres most
obligingly took out one of these feathers, and sent it to me,
together with a description of the bird and details of its capture.
But I, being wholly ignorant of the species, and so unable to
supply the information required, forwarded the feather to
Professor Newton, at Cambridge, and there Mr. 0. Salvin, guided
by that single feather alone, recognised the bird and declared its
species, a declaration which a comparison with some skins in the
museum at Cambridge amply confirmed. This was certainly a
great triumph of ornithological acumen, and Professor Newton,
in proof of the correctness of the determination thus happily
arrived at, enclosed to me another feather which almost exactly
matched the feather I had forwarded to him. Professor Newton
added : ' I purposely chose one that is not exactly the same, that
there may be no confusion, the larger feather being the one I
had from you, the smaller one from a specimen in the Swainson
Collection. As its name implies, it is an inhabitant of Cayenne
and adjoining parts, occurring in Trinidad, but I should think
nowhere nearer to this country : it has been brought over several
times to the Zoological Gardens, and probably you might see it
there now. I cannot imagine that it should find its way to us
unassisted, but if it should make good its escape, I dare say it
might continue to exist for some weeks or months in this country,
except in winter. Aramides is a rather aberrant genus of Rails,
found only in the New World.' On making inquiries at the
Zoological Gardens at Clifton, Mr. Morres could not learn that
any such bird had ever been confined there, nor could he discover
Cayenne Rail. 447
elsewhere any tidings of the escape of any such captive. It
seems, therefore, but for the decisive verdict given above by
authority, as if it were permissible to imagine this specimen a
possible straggler from America. Most remarkable, however, is
the sequel to this tale : for now, after such close examination of
this stranger, Mr. Morres bethought him of a stuffed bird, of just
the same size and appearance, though not of such bright colour-
ing, with which he had been familiar for years, and which stood
in the hall of a friend, Mr. Edward Everett, now deceased. For
this bird Mr. Morres at once made diligent inquiry, and was so
fortunate as to recover it ; and on inspection it proved to be a
second specimen of Aramides Cayannensis, with the same
remarkable rufous and black feathers under the wing. As to
the history of this specimen, it was impossible to gain any
positive information, beyond that it had been shot many years
ago by some friend, and that Mr. Everett had had it set up.
But whether this was an escaped convict, or whether both birds
were mere roving Americans, voluntarily visiting the old country,
as so many Americans birds as well as men do every year, it
is impossible to say, though in a question so uncertain I would
claim, by common English law, that the prisoner should have
the benefit of the doubt.
LOBIPEDUXE (LOBE-FEET).
There is no more perfect example of the gradual transition
from one class of birds to another than is to be seen in the little
family of Lobe-feet. Occupying a position as they do at the end
of the Order of Waders, and immediately before that of the
Swimmers, we find them partaking of the anatomical structure
as well as the habits of both. They kave neither the stilted legs
and lengthened beaks of the one, nor have they the webbed feet
of the other, but yet they approach both these characteristics.
With slender naked legs of moderate length they possess feet of
a very remarkable structure, inasmuch as these are furnished
with a lateral development of membrane, which, though it does
448 Lobipedidce.
not connect them as in the true Swimmers, projects in rounded
lobes on either side of the toes. With these they can swim and
dive with perfect ease indeed, they pass the greater portion of
their lives in the water, though frequently seen on land too.
There are but three species of this family known in England,
and I have instances of the occurrence of all of them in
Wiltshire.
172. COMMON COOT (Fulica atra).
This is a common bird, generally to be found in the haunts of
the Moorhen, and, like that species, has a horny frontal plate,
which runs from the base of the beak to the forehead, and which,
being of a pure white colour, is very conspicuous on the nearly
black plumage of the bird ; hence it is often called the ' Bald
Coot.' It is the only species of the family which frequents inland
lakes ; and in its general habits, innate shyness, retirement
amongst sedge and reeds on the least alarm, and method when
flushed of scuttling over the surface of the pond, striking the
water with its feet to aid its progress, it bears a very close
resemblance to the Moorhen last described. Like that bird, too,
though so heavy and even clumsy in flight as it hurries over the
water to some place of concealment when disturbed, it does
occasionally indulge in a long flight at a very high elevation,
proving its powers of wing when the time of migration arrives.
For though to a certain extent, and in suitable localities, a
permanent resident in the South of England, its numbers are
very much increased in winter by the arrival of vast flocks from
the North. When on one of these aerial excursions the Coot
may be easily recognised from its legs stretched out behind and
acting like a tail, after the manner of Herons. William of
Malmesbury, A.D. 1200, tells us that in his day the fens of England
were so covered with Coots and Ducks that in moulting time,
when they cannot fly, the natives took from two to three thousand
at a draft with their nets.* But even now Sir R Payne-Gallwey
says that on inland fresh-water lakes he has seen from two to
' Birds of the Humber District/ p. 146.
Gray Phalarope. 449
three thousand together, and many thousands may be met with
on some of the Norfolk broads. As regards the flesh of this
bird, my own taste obliges me to say that it is most unpalatable
and fishy in the extreme indeed, the fact that it is allowed by
the Komish Church to be eaten on jours maigres, as are some
other birds which partake of the same fish-like flavour, condemns
it at once in my judgment as affording the reverse of delicate
meat. Its generic name, fulica, is from the Greek $a\aicpo<s,
meaning ' bald-headed,' whence also the French Foulque; but in
Germany it is the Schwarzes Wasserhuhn ; and in Sweden the
Sot Hona, or ' Soot Hen/ Harting observes that it may always
be known from a Moorhen on the water by its attitude. The
Coot swims with head and tail very low and the head poked
forward, but the Moorhen with head erect and tail jerked up
almost at right angles to the back. The Moorhen's white tail,
or rather under-tail coverts, also serve to distinguish it, the
same parts in the Coot being black.* In Spain it is Mancon
and Focha ; in Portugal, Galeirdo. The English word ' Coot ' is
probably of Celtic origin, from civta, 'short,' 'docked,' 'bob-
tailed.'
173. GRAY PHALAROPE (Phalaropus hiatus).
This pretty little bird belongs rather to the ocean than the
land, and its home is in Northern Asia, Siberia, and Northern
America, where it breeds in the most desolate regions within the
Arctic Circle, amidst the ice and snow and piercing cold of the
extreme North. On Parry's Arctic voyages it was found in very
high northern latitudes, in summer swimming unconcernedly
amongst the icebergs ; and Major Feilden observed it in July
breeding in latitude 82 30' N., so that when it visits us in
Wiltshire it is as an accidental straggler indeed, and yet I have
many records of its occurrence here. The specimen from which
Colonel Montagu took his description, and which was in his own
museum, was taken at a pond at Alderton.f Yarrell reports
* { Birds of Middlesex, 3 p. 212.
f ' Ornithological Dictionary ' in loco.
29
450 Lobipedidcc.
that ' Mr. Lambert presented to the Zoological Society a beauti-
fully marked adult bird, which was killed in Wiltshire in the
month of August, and retained at that time a great portion of
the true red colours of the breeding season or summer plumage/ *
The late Kev. G. Marsh recorded that one was brought to him
which was killed by some boys with a stone on Dunspool pond,
on the downs at Winterslow. Another was shot at Dauntsey by
the Kev. A. Biedermann ; and another at Kellaways Mill by the
Kev. K. Ashe. Lord Nelson showed me a fine specimen in his
possession, which was taken on the borders of the county on the
Hampshire side. The late Rev. John Ward announced the
capture of another at Great Bedwyn ; and Mr. Elgar Sloper, of
Devizes, speaks of several as having been killed in that neigh-
bourhood, one which came into his collection having been taken
on the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal in November, 1840.
The Rev. T. A. Preston wrote me word that one had been killed
near Marlborough in 1869, and the Rev. G. Powell that another
was killed at Deverill by Mr. George in September, 1870. The
Kev. A. P. Morres mentions two killed at Woodlands, in the
parish of Mere, as well as several others, in the winter of 1870 ;
one at Pertwood, November 17th; and another at Codford,
November 19th, 1875 ; and one knocked down with his oar by
Mr. Edwards while rowing on the river near Salisbury in or
about 1875. The Kev. E. Duke possesses a specimen shot on
the river at Lake fifteen or twenty years ago. Mr. Kawlence has
one in his collection killed at Wishford. The Marlborough
College Natural History Reports mention one now in their museum
shot by Mr. Coleman at East Kennett in 1866, and two others
killed on the edge of a pond at Pewsey in 1876. The Rev. E.
Goddard saw one on the Bowood water on October 2, 1877 ; and
Mr. Grant's list contains twelve specimens, eleven of which were
taken in the month of October, and the other in November : viz.,
one in 1869, from Wedhampton ; but in 1870 (when there seems
to have been an immigration of these birds to North Wilts) from
Upavon, Conock, Lacock, Beckhampton, Devizes, Allington,
' British Birds,' vol. iii., p. 132.
Gray Phalarope. 451
Lavington, and Potterne; in 1876 from Easton, and in 1877 from
Marston.
If we exchange the scene from the retired inland pond to the
open ocean, we shall find the habits of the Phalarope very like
those of the more familiar Coot ; they are, however, perhaps still
more aquatic, and they differ in having great power and swiftness
of wing. In summer their plumage is of a reddish-chestnut or
rich brown hue, but in winter of a light gray colour ; which great
variation has given rise to much confusion in identifying these
birds as belonging to but one species only. It is most buoyant
on the water, and swims with the lightness of a cork, after the
fashion of a Gull, as Mr. Cecil Smith well describes it, and keeps
on incessantly nodding its head. It is of a bold, fearless, unsus-
picious nature, probably resulting from its inexperience of man
and his persecutions in the uninhabited regions it frequents.
Seebohm says that from their habit of following the whales and
approaching them when they blow, in order to catch the small
marine animals that are then disturbed, they are called by the
sailors ' Whale-birds ' and ' Bow- head birds.' The word ' Phala-
rope ' has exercised the ingenuity of many to discover its origin ;
as when dissected into (frdXaKpos, '" bald-headed,' or ' with a patch
of white on the head,' and TTOU?, ' a foot/ the meaning is not very
transparent. There can, however, be very little doubt that its
true intention is ' Coot-footed,' or ' possessing feet like those of
a Coot.' Platyrynchos, 'broad-billed,' was the specific name
assigned to it by Temminck, Sabine, and others, and its beak will
on examination be found in some degree to answer the descrip-
tion. So in Norway, where it is seen on migration to and from
its breeding-places in the Arctic regions, it is known as Bred-
ndbbad Simm-Sndppa, or 'Broad-billed Swimming Snappa';
and in France, Phalarope platyrhinque ; but in Germany, Roth-
bauchiger Wassertreter.
29-2
452 Lobipedidcv.
174. RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (PUalaropus
hypcrboreus).
This elegant but diminutive species is far more rare in England
than its larger congener. The specific name, hyperboreus, fully
declares its habitat, for it ranges over all the Arctic regions of
the Old and New Worlds, and descends as low as the Orkneys
and the northern coast of Scotland, where it is not uncommon.
The plumage may be generally described as lead-coloured above ;
chest and neck reddish bay, otherwise white below. I have a
notice from Mr. Elgar Sloper that a male bird in the breeding
plumage was shot by him in the brickfield at Old Park in May,
184], and that, as the pinion of one wing was the only part in-
jured, it lived for several weeks, feeding in the water on animal
food with which Mr. Sloper supplied it, and swimming with great
facility : and the Rev. T. A. Preston, in the autumn of 1869, re-
corded a specimen killed in a garden at Marlborough, with
plumage in a transition state between the summer and winter
dress. These are the only notices I have of the occurrence in
our county of this stranger from the extreme North. The distin-
guishing mark by which it may be recognised, without fear of
confusion with its congener, is its more slender beak : hence in
Sweden it is known as Smal-ndbbad Simm-Sndppa, 'Small-
billed Swimming Snappa ' ; and in Lapland it is called by the
Finnish squatters Wesitiainen, or ' Water- Sparrow,' which shows
a paucity of idea in regard to the several species of birds on the
part of those gentlemen. Reinhardt reports that it breeds in
Greenland, and in Spitzbergen it is common enough to have
earned two names, being known there as the ' North-East Bird/
doubtless from its indifference to the coldest blasts of air, and
also as ' Mahogany Bird,' from the colour of its neck. In Orkney
it is known as ' Half- Web,' and Selby attributes to it the pro-
vincial name of * Water Snipe.' In frequenting the icy regions
of the extreme North, in its fearlessness of man, and in its general
appearance and habits, it closely resembles its congener last
described. Our countryman Montagu, in the Supplement to his
Red-necked Plialarope. 453
Dictionary, quotes a correspondent who says : ' It swims with
the greatest ease, and when on the water looks like a beautiful
miniature of a Duck, carrying its head close to the back in the
manner of a Teal.'
In France it is Phalarope hyperbore, and in Germany Eothhal-
siger Wassertreter.
We have now reached the end of the fourth great Order of
Birds viz., the Waders and but one more Order remains to be
considered, the true Water-Fowl, or Swimmers.
CHAPTER XI.
NATATORES (Sivimmers).
As the fifth and last great Order of Birds contains those only
which are thoroughly aquatic, and as by far the larger portion of
these belong to the ocean as their peculiar habitat, it is manifest
that Wiltshire as an inland county can scarcely lay claim to an
extensive acquaintance with this Order. And yet with such ease
and celerity do they pass over the intervening land which
separates us from the coast, that the Ducks, Geese, and Gulls,
which enjoy a great power of wing, very frequently visit us, often
in considerable numbers; while even the heavy-flying, short-
winged Divers, Grebes, Auks, and Cormorants appear at rare
intervals as occasional visitants, and thus all the families which
compose the Order of Swimmers are more or less represented in
our county, and have been met with from to time in various
localities.
The characteristics of this Order are to be seen in the long
boat-shaped body, so admirably adapted for swimming, or rather
sailing, on the water ; in the structure and position of the legs
and feet, placed so far behind as to cause an awkward gait on
land, but so well fitted to act as oars and paddles and rudders in
propelling the body over the surface of the water, and in the
close oily plumage, which is altogether impervious to wet. They
are therefore, for the most part, neither active nor graceful on
land, and their attempts at walking result in a waddle or a
shuffle, and some of them are little less agile on the wing ; but
in their own proper element the most clumsy on shore will be
nimble enough, diving, swimming, sailing, even in rough water,
Gray Lag Goose. 455
with the utmost buoyancy and ease, and thoroughly at home,
and even sleeping on the waves.
ANATID^E (THE DUCKS).
This very large family comprises not only the almost innu-
merable species of Ducks proper, but also the Geese, the Swans,
and the Mergansers. They are all of one general uniform
character, and their structure, as well as habits, are too well
known to require comment. The distinguishing mark of this
family, wherein its several members partake in a greater or less
degree, and wherein they differ from the remaining families of
the Order, centres in the beak, which is of a broad, flattened
form, of a softer consistence than is seen in others, and covered
with an epidermis or skin, excepting at the tip, which is fur-
nished with a horny nail. There are other peculiarities regard-
ing the beaks of these birds, suited to the special requirements
of the individual species ; but in all the family the edges of the
mandibles are provided with plates, rugosities, or even hooks,
more or less developed, which are serviceable either in seizing
and holding the slippery prey on which they feed, or in sepa-
rating and removing the mud which unavoidably accompanies its
capture. For the same purpose their tongues are usually very
large, thick, fleshy, and extremely rough.
175. GRAY LAG GOOSE (Anser ferus).
This is the true original Wild Goose, as its specific name ferus
implies, the Wild Goose par excellence, and above all its con-
geners, though in point of numbers some of them may now
exceed it. Moreover, it is generally allowed to be the origin of
our domestic species, and was at one time common enough in
this county, but has now become extremely rare, since the
draining of our fens and marshes : for in the good old times
before so much waste land was reclaimed, it used to be a per-
manent resident in England, breeding regularly in Lincolnshire
and other fen districts, and from thence wandering in winter
over the southern and western counties. Colonel Montagu
456 Anatidce.
described it in his day (at the beginning of the present century)
as ' frequently killed upon the Downs in the south of England,
feeding on green wheat,' and he adds, ' We remember one, being
shot in the wing by a farmer, in the neighbourhood of the Wilt-
shire Downs, was kept alive many years, but would never
associate with the tame ones/ In more recent days the late
Rev. George Marsh informed me that two or three fine specimens
of this bird were killed on the river Avon by Mr. Ferris, of Sutton
Benger, in the very severe winter of 1838, and doubtless it is
still occasionally met with in hard weather. It is to be dis-
tinguished from its congeners by the pink flesh-colour of its
beak, legs, and feet, the nail of the beak being white. Mr.
Harting says it has also invariably some black feathers on the
belly, which the other species lack, and the gray colour in the
wings of the Gray Lag runs through the wing like a double bar,
which is very conspicuous when the pinions are stretched.* The
meaning and derivation of the word lag was for a long time a
puzzle to many. Yarrell conjectured it to come from the
English lake or Italian lago, both derived from the Latin lacus ;
but in 1870 Professor Newton, the then editor of the Ibis, with
the able assistance of Professor Skeat, unravelled the mystery,
and set the question at rest for ever. ' The adjective " lag," ' he
says, ' means originally " late," " last," or " slow," whence we have
" laggard " and " laglast," a " loiterer," etc. Accordingly the
Gray Lag Goose is the Gray Goose which in former days lagged
behind the others to breed in our fens, as it now does on the
Sutherland lochs, when its congeners had betaken themselves to
their more northern summer quarters.'-)- Most certainly it did
not imply any inferiority to either of its congeners in rapidity of
flight, for, like them, it is very strong and powerful on the wing,
and fifty or sixty miles an hour is the rate at which they are
said to fly. We who live in this inland western county have
little conception of the large flocks of domesticated geese derived
from this species which are still brought up in the fen districts
'Birds of Middlesex,' p. 216.
t Ilia for 1870, p. 301.
Bean Goose. 457
of the eastern counties, and which, until very lately, if not still,
underwent the cruel process of plucking, and were driven out to
pasture in the morning and brought home at night by the goose-
herd or ' gozzard ;' very] much as Sir Francis Head described
in his famous 'Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau,' only
there the flock consisted of contributions from many owners, one
or two from each house in some German village ; but here the
whole flock, often some hundreds in number, was the property
of one owner. In France it is Oie cendrtfe ; in Germany, Wilde
gemeine Gans ; in Italy, Oca paglietane ; in Spain and Portugal,
Ganso bravo ; and in Sweden Grd-Gds.
176. BEAN GOOSE (Anser segetuni).
This is so much more common amongst us in these days, that
it has now generally usurped the title of its larger relative last
described, and is known as ' the Wild Goose.' Specimens occur
in various parts of the county almost every winter, and during
the hard weather in January of this year (1887) the Kev. H.
Algar, occupying my house at Yatesbury, wrote me word that he
saw six presumably of this species, pitched in Yatesbury Field,
though at his approach they of course took wing. The general
colour of the beak is black, the middle of it flesh-red, and the
nail at the extremity black ; the form of the beak is also shorter
and stouter than is the case with A. ferus. These birds fly
in flocks varying in form according to their. size, a little band
always flying in a long line in Indian file, and in close order,
looking as if linked together by a string ; hence they are spoken
of as a ' skein ' of geese : but a large flock, called a ' gaggle,'
probably from the cackling noise it perpetually keeps up, assumes
a > like form, the sharp angle being always forward, and one
bird acting as leader and taking the head of the party, while the
rest form themselves into two lines converging towards their
guide ; the same bird, however, does not always keep its place
at the van, but after a time falls into the line, and another takes
its post. This interesting manoeuvre was first pointed out to me
in Norfolk many years ago by the famous Arctic voyager, Captain
458 Anatidce.
Edward Parry, who in his prolonged voyages in the Polar seas
had unlimited opportunities of marking the habits of the race
of Anseres. The Bean Goose is essentially an inland feeder,
frequenting marshes and meadows as well as cornfields by day,
and returning at dusk to mud-banks or sands where it can pass
the night in security. Sir R. Payne- Gall wey says, ' It is provided
with a most suitable bill for grazing, and can cut off wet soft
grass or young shoots as with a sharp pair of scissors/* It was
very generally supposed that the English specific name of this
goose was derived from the black nail at the extremity of the
beak, of about the size and appearance of a bean ; but Selby
pointed out that it was because of its partiality to bean or pea
fields, rather than from the shape of the nail of the upper
mandible that the bird was so named, and this is now generally
admitted. Cordeaux adds that beans being cut late in
autumn, more especially in wet and backward seasons, there is
always a considerable loss by the opening of the pods and shed-
ding of their contents : it is then that the geese arrive in
large flocks to feed on the scattered beans.-)- In corroboration of
this view the Swedish name for our Bean Goose is Sad Gas,
or ' Grain Goose ;' in Germany, Saat Gans ; and provincially in
some parts of France Qie des Moissons, or ' Harvest Goose ;' and
the recognised scientific name is A. segetum. In Continental
Europe generally it is by far the commonest of all the geese, and
is called in France Oie vulgaire, and in Italy Oca salvatica.
I conclude my notice of our commonest wild goose by a very
valuable extract from the writings of Sir R. Payne-Gallwey, who
from his personal experience is more entitled than any other to be
listened to on this subject. ' Geese (he says), like swans, are slow
in taking wing, either from land or water, and give more or less
notice of their intentions previous to flying. They stretch out
the neck, cackle loudly, run along the ground ere they can rise,
and beat the surface with their wings if on the water. They
always appear to have a sentry on duty, an outside bird, who,
'The Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 145, 148.
t 'Birds of the Humber District,' p. 149.
White-fronted Goose. 459
whilst his companions are greedily feeding, stands erect, looking
suspiciously round on all sides. I have remarked, when near
enough to hear, that the watching goose continually utters a low,
guttural chuckle, which seems to imply " All's well, all's well !"
On suspecting danger he is instantly silent. This cessation of
sound on his part is at once followed by the startled attention of
all the rest. This sentinel is from time to time relieved of his
duties by a companion.'*
177. WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (Anser albifrons).
This is really as common in England, if not more common,
than the species last described ; but it so happens that, with the
exception of the very reliable testimony of the Rev. G. Powell, who
tells me he has seen it in South Wilts, I do not chance to have
any other notice of its occurrence in the county, and yet it is
most probable that so regular a winter visitor to our island
frequently favours Wiltshire with its presence. Selby, indeed,
says that it is more abundant in the South and Midland parts of
England than the Bean Goose ; but it is the first to disappear at
the approach of spring, and by the middle of March all have de-
parted for their northern breeding-places ; and yet it has, time
out of mind, resorted to Egypt for winter quarters, like a wise
bird that it is, and was the most abundant of all the geese which
I saw in vast flocks on the Nile. Moreover, that it was domesti-
cated in Egypt of old is certain, for its portrait, as represented
on the walls of the temples and tombs, may be readily identified.
It is an inland feeding bird, and seeks low, marshy districts, and
not cornfields, for, as St. John observes, it is entirely and
absolutely graminivorous. The specific name, both in Latin and
English, describes its mark of distinction in the white patch above
the beak, extending to the forehead. It is also sometimes called
the ' Laughing Goose,' and is L'Oie rieuse of Buffon and Tem-
minck, from the peculiar note, supposed to resemble a man's
laugh ; and provincially known as the ' Bar Goose,' from the dark
bars upon the breast. This, and not the Bernicle, is the true
' The Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 145, 148.
460 Anatidcv.
Fyall Gas, or ' Mountain Goose ' of the Swedes, as Professor New-
ton has shown in an article on Anas erythropus* the latter
being the specific name given by Fleming and others of the older
ornithologists, and which calls attention to its orange-coloured
legs. It is Blassen Gans, ' the Pale Goose,' in German ; and in
Italy, Oca Lombardella. Mr. Harting, to whom we have already
been much indebted for accurately pointing out the distinguish-
ing marks by which closely allied species may be identified, has
drawn up" the following useful table in regard to the commoner
species of gray geeset :
Gray Lag Goose : till, flesh-colour ; nail, white ; legs, flesh colour.
Bean Goose : orange ; black ; orange.
White-fronted Goose : pink ; white ; orange.
Pink-footed Goose : pink ; black ; pink tinged with
vermilion.
[Of the species just mentioned, the ' Pink- footed Goose' (Anser
brachyrhyncus), I regret that I have no example to record, and
so no proof of its occurrence in Wiltshire ; but that it must very
often visit us is almost certain, for not only does it so much
resemble the Bean Goose (the most abundant now of all our wild
geese) as to be frequently mistaken for it, though somewhat
smaller in size, but in some districts of England it is declared to
be even more common than that species. It is to be hoped,
therefore, that Wiltshire sportsmen will keep a sharp look-out on
the specimens which fall to their gun, and announce the dis-
covery of a Wiltshire killed A. brachyrhyncus, or the 'Short-
beaked Goose/ whose bill, scarcely more than an inch and
a half in length, offers a good mark of distinction.]
178. BRENT GOOSE (Anser torquatus).
This little black species is the most numerous of all the Geese
on our coasts, but is so essentially marine in its habits the most
oceanic (says Mr. Cordeaux) of all the Geese that it is by no
means common in the interior of the country. Occasionally,
Ibis for 18GO, pp. 404-406. f < Birds of Middlesex,' p. 216.
Brent Goose. 461
however, a straggler wanders out of its course, and I have several
instances of its occurrence near Salisbury, near Corsham, and
near Calne ; and of later date Mr. W. F. Parsons, of Hunt's Mill,
Wootton Bassett, wrote me word that a specimen was killed
about the middle of February, 1870, during the very severe frost,
by Mr. Isaac Tuck, of Greenhill. He found it in the brook on
his farm known as the Upper Avon, when the weather was un-
usually cold. The Rev. A. P. Morres also records one now in his
collection, which was killed in his own parish of Britford, in
April, 1884 ; and I am informed by the Rev. J. Hodgson that
two handsome specimens have been shot in the meadows of
Collingbourne : one in the winter of 1881-82. by Mr. Pike, of
Hougoumont Farm ; the other in the spring of this year (1887),
by Mr. Russ' bailiff. Mr. Grant also records a specimen killed
at West Lavington in October, 1881.
Its beak is very short, and, like the general colour of its
plumage, quite black. Indeed, with the exception of a small
patch of white on either side of the neck, and the tail coverts,
which are also white, its plumage is either slate-gray or smoke-
black. It is said to have derived its English name ' Brent ' from
its 'burnt' or generally charred appearance; and its scientific
name torquatus from the ' collar ' of white feathers on the neck.
Montagu calls it the ' Clatter Goose,' from the constant chattering
it keeps up while feeding ; wherein it differs from the Gray Geese,
which feed in silence. Selby calls it the ' Ware Goose/ from the
marine vegetabfes which constitute its food ; and for the same
reason it is known as Rotgans, ' Rot/ and ' Road Goose,' with
the meaning of ' Root Goose.' It is strange that whereas the
Brent Geese, sometimes called ' Sea Bernicles/ frequent the
muddy shores of the south and especially the east coasts of
England, where they occur at times in enormous numbers, the
true Bernicle Geese, known as ' Land Bernicles/ are seldom seen
there, but inhabit the west coast, where Brent Geese are almost
unknown ; so rigidly do these closely allied Black Geese keep to
their several localities. They are both winter migrants, arriving
here in the autumn from the North ; and are both of shy,
462 Anatidce.
suspicious nature, ready to take wing at the slightest alarm of
danger. Both, too, retire to breed in the Polar regions, Green-
land, Spitzbergen, and still farther towards the North Pole.
Captain Markham, in his narrative of the voyage of the Alert
during the Arctic Expedition of 1875-76, says the Brent Goose
was one of the very few birds met with in the high North, and
that in considerable numbers. As regards its edible qualities, I
was astonished to see the late Mr. Knox write, ' This is the best
bird I ever tasted/ and to find that verdict corroborated by Sir
R Payne-Gallwey, who places it first among the Geese, though
he somewhat qualifies that proud distinction by adding, ' But no
goose except a Brent, unless a very young bird, is fit to serve up
whole.' My own experience, and judging from the single
specimen of which I made trial in Norfolk thirty years ago, is
that it has a most villainous, rank, and fishy flavour.
In France it is Ole Cravant ; in Germany, Eingel Gans ; in
Italy, Anatra Columbaccio ; in Sweden, Prut-Gas, from its con-
tinued murmuring cry when on the wing.
I cannot forbear to call attention here to the monstrous popular
error which very generally prevailed regarding the origin of this
goose, sometimes called the ' Brent Bernicle,' as well as that of
the other Bernicle (A. leucopsis) ; and to this end I will quote
the story as related by an old writer of the time of Queen
Elizabeth :* ' There are found in the north parts of Scotland,
and the islands adiacent, called Orchades, certaine trees,
whereon do growe certaine shells of a white colour tending to
russet, wherein are contained little liuing creatures, which shells,
in time of maturity doe open, and out of them grow those little
liuing things, which falling into the water, do become fowlcs,
which we call barnacles ; in the north of England, brant geese ;
and in Lancashire tree geese : but the other that do fall vpon the
land, perish, and come to nothing. Thus much, by the writings
of others, and also from the mouthes of people of those parts,
which may very well accord with truth.
' But what our eies haue seen, and hands haue touched, we
* Gerard's 'Herbal ; or, History of Plants,' p. 1588, edition 1636. ;
Brent Goose. 4C3
shall declare. There is a small island in Lancashire, called the
Pile of Foulders, wherein are found the broken pieces of old and
bruised ships, some whereof haue beene cast thither by ship-
wracke, and also the trunks and bodies, with the branches of old
and rotten trees, cast vp there likewise ; whereon is found a
certain spume or froth that in time breedeth vnto certaine shells,
in shape like those of the muskle, but sharper-pointed, and of a
whitish colour ; the other end is made fast, wherein is contained
a thing in forme like a lace of silke, finely wouen, as it were,
together, of a whitish colour, one end wherof is fastned vnto the
inside of the shell, even as the fish of oisters and muskles are ;
the other end is made fast unto the belly of a rude masse or
lumpe, which, in time, commeth to the shape and forme of a bird
When it is perfectly formed, the shell gapeth open, and the
first thing that appeareth is the foresaid lace or string : next
come the legs of the bird hanging out, and as it groweth
greater, it openeth the shell by degrees, til at length it is all
come forth, and hangeth onely by the bill. In short space after,
it commeth to full maturitie, and falleth into the sea, where it
gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowle bigger than a mallard,
and lesser than a goose, hauing blacke legs and bill or beake,
and feathers blacke and white, spotted in such manner as is our
magpie, called in some places a Pie-Annet, which the people of
Lancashire call by no other name than a tree Goose, which place
aforesaid, and all those parts adjoyning, do so much abound
therewith, that one of the best is bought for threepence. For
the truth hereof, if any doubt, may it please them to repair vnto
me, and I shall satisfy them by the testimonie of good witnesses.
Moreover it should seem that there is another sort hereof, the
history of which is true, and of mine own knowledge : for
trauelling upon the shore of our English coast, between Douer
and Rumney, I found the trunke of an old rotten tree, which
(with some help that I procured by fishermen's wiues, that were
there attending their husbands' returne from the sea) we drew
out of the water upon dry land. Vpon this rotten tree, I found
growing many thousands of long crimson bladders, in shape like
464 Anatidcv.
vnto puddings newly filled, before they be sodden, which weere
very cleere and shining, at the nether end whereof did grow a
shell-fish, fashioned somewhat like a small muskle, but much
whiter, resembling a shell-fish that groweth vpon the rockes
about Garnsey and Garsey, called a Lympit. Many of these
shells I brought with me to London, which, after I had opened,
I found in them liuing things without form or shape : in others,
which were neerer come to ripenesse, I found liuing things that
were very naked, in shape like a bird : in others, the birds
covered with soft downe, the shell halfe open, and the bird
ready to fall out, which no doubt were the fowles called barnacles.
I dare not absolutely auouch euery circumstance of the first part
of this history, concerning the tree that beareth those buds afore-
said, but will leave it to a further consideration ; howbeit, that
which I have seen with mine eies, and handled with mine hands,
I dare confidently auouch, and boldly put down for verity. Now
if any will object that this tree which I saw, might be one of
those before mentioned, which either by the waues of the sea, or
some violent wind, had been ouerturned, as many other trees are ;
or that any trees falling into those seas about the Orchades, will
of themselves beare the like fowles, by reason of those seas and
waters, these being so probable conjectures, and likely to be true,
I may not without prejudice gainsay, or indeauour to confute.'
The little shell-fish which these wise people supposed to have
brought forth the geese still go by the name of ' barnacles,' and
the Latin name, Lapas anatifera, ' the goose-bearing bernicle,'
recalls the belief respecting them; yet surely the extravagant
and ridiculous theory detailed above must have severely taxed
the credulity even of the ignorant and unscientific age in which
it was propounded.
179. BERNICLE GOOSE (Anser leucopsis).
As the Brent Goose abounds on the eastern, so the Bernicle
Goose frequents the western coasts of Great Britain, but not in
such numbers as its darker relative. It is called leucopsis, or
' white-faced,' or ' white-fronted/ to distinguish it from its darker-
Bernicle Goose. 465
headed and darker-breasted congener the Brent, with which it is
often confused. Saunders says that, unlike the Gray Geese,
which feed in silence, these ' Black Geese,' as they are called,
both when feeding and when on the wing keep up a constant
cackling. I have already said that this is sometimes known as
the ' Land Bernicle/ and the Brent as the ' Sea Bernicle,' but
indeed both species are essentially dwellers on the sea, and rarely
come to dry land ; and it must have been an unusually severe
gale which could have driven so far inland the only three
specimens whose visit to Wiltshire I am able to chronicle, two
of which, I learn from Mr. Grant, were killed at Enford on
February 25, 1865, and the third, as Mr. Rawlence informs me, was
killed at Britford. In Sweden it is sometimes called the Hafre
Gos, or ' Oat Goose,' from its partiality for oat stubbles. It is
more generally known in that country as the Fjdll Gos, and
some few breed in the fjalls of Northern Scandinavia, but the
great bulk in the breeding season penetrate to the most northern
latitudes ; and Nordenskiold relates that, from the most northerly
point of Spitzbergen hitherto reached, vast flocks of this species
have been seen steering their course in rapid flight yet farther
towards the north a conclusive proof (so the walrus-hunters
affirm) of the existence of some land more northerly than
Spitzbergen.* In France it is Oie Bernache ; and in Germany,
Weisswangige Gans, ' White-cheeked Goose.'
180. EGYPTIAN GOOSE (Anser Egyptiacus).
I am indebted to my friend Colonel Ward, of Bannerdown
House, Bath, for an account of the occurrence of this very
handsome species in our county, two of which were killed at
Corsham Court some few years back, and were preserved by Mr.
Dangerfield, of Chippenham. They were in perfect plumage,
and had every appearance of being genuine wild birds, and
not (as has sometimes been the case with such stragglers) mere
semi-domesticated specimens which had escaped from some
ornamental water. The Rev. A. P. Morres says it is occasionally
' Arctic Voyages,' 1858-1879, p. 53.
30
466 Anatidce.
met with near Salisbury, and specifies one that for two or three
days was seen feeding with the ducks near the river in his own
neighbourhood.
The Egyptian Goose is a splendid bird, and the rich colours of
its plumage make it an exceedingly attractive species ; and when
seen in a large flock, as I have met with it on the sandbanks
and shallows of the Nile, presents as gorgeous an appearance as
the most enthusiastic ornithologist could desire. It is a very
wary bird, and will not readily admit of near approach, and it
was only when sailing with a brisk breeze, and suddenly and
noiselessly rounding some corner of the river, that we were
enabled to come upon it at close quarters ; but at such times,
or occasionally when quiet at anchor in the dusk, we have been
in the midst of a flock, and could thoroughly admire the well-
contrasted and brilliant colours of their plumage before they
took alarm and decamped at their best speed.
Chenalopex is the modern generic name with which this bird
is now often favoured. It is the same as Vulpanser of Herodotus *
in a Greek dress, or, as we should say, the ' Fox-Goose,' so called
from its living, or rather breeding, in holes. It appears fre-
quently on the monuments of Egypt, and is often delineated
with great artistic skill. The richness of the plumage and
remarkable appearance of this species, compared with the other
Nile Geese, would have naturally attracted the early artists.
Wherever the colouring has been preserved, we find usually the
head and neck painted red, the breast and belly blue, the back
yellow, with the tips of the wings red, the tail with narrow
lengthened feathers, like the Pintail Duck, which many of the
Karnak intaglios more closely resemble. The Goose was the
emblem of Sib, the father of Osiris, but was not sacred ; it
signified 'a son,' and consequently occurs very often in the
Pharaonic ovals, signifying ' Son of the sun.' Horapollo says it
was adopted in consequence of its affection for its young.f It
has been found frequenting the lakes south of the equator in
Book ii., c. 72.
t Dr. A. L. Adams in Ibis for 1864, p. 34.
Spur-winged Goose. 467
East Africa and in Somali-land, where it is known to the in-
habitants as Etal Jaz, or 'who lives at the wells.'* It is
generally allowed to be the most unpalatable of all the tribe, and
by most people considered quite uneatable.
181. SPUR-WINGED GOOSE (Anser gambensis).
I have an account of the capture near Netheravon, on the edge
of Salisbury Plain, on September 4, 1869, of this very rare
African Goose, of which but three other specimens are known to
have occurred in the British Isles.f It had been seen for some
days previously associating with some tame geese in the fields,
and was killed by Mr. Rowden, of Upavon, as I was informed
by my friend the late Rev. C. Raikes. I had also notice
of another which was shot near Ramsbury in November, 1881,
but on inquiry this turned out to be an escaped prisoner from a
pond in the neighbourhood, where two, which were sent over
from Africa, had been for some time in captivity. It is not im-
probable that the Netheravon bird may also have escaped from
confinement, but of this there is no evidence to show. This-
species is not only extremely handsome, with well-marked glossy
and bronzed plumage, but it is remarkable for the strong white
horny spur, above half an inch in length, and turning upwards,
situated on the carpal joint of each wing, as in the Spur- winged
Plover (Ckaradrius spinosus), at whose formidable weapons in
every variety of bluntness I had often marvelled in the many
specimens which I shot on the Nile* It is a native of tropical
Africa, and though called a goose, and with the general appear-
ance of a goose, it is thought to be more nearly allied to the
ducks, which it resembles in manner of feeding and some other
respects. It derives its specific name, gambensis, from Sene-
gambia, in West Africa ; and plectropterus, ' Spur- winged/ the
generic name bestowed upon it by some, from the peculiarity
mentioned above.
Capt. J. H. Speke in Ibis for 1860, p. 248.
f Recorded in the Fourth Edition of ' Yarrell/ vol. iv., p. 305 ; and in
Science Gossip for 1870, p. 51.
302
468 Anatidce.
182. CANADA GOOSE (Anser Canadensis).
The last-mentioned species was a straggler from Africa. This
is no less rare as an occasional and very unfrequent visitor to the
British Isles from America, in the north of which continent, and
in Hudson's Bay, Greenland, and the regions still farther north,
it is found in very great numbers, where it has proved a welcome
source of provision to Arctic explorers, as well as to the fur-
traders and voyageurs of the territories of the Hudson's Bay
Company, to whom it is universally known as the 'Common
Gray Goose.'
For its occurrence in Wiltshire I am indebted to the pen of
Mr. Henry Blackmore, of Salisbury, who thus records its app< ar
ance in that very useful periodical, the Zoologist: 'On Monday,
the 21st of January, 1867, a fine specimen of the Canada or
Cravat Goose (Anser Canadensis) was shot in a meadow at
Coombe Bissett, Wiltshire, by Mr. Crosse, of the same place. 1 1
came into my possession the following day, and on dissection
proved to be a male bird, weight twelve pounds. Another u as
shot in the same locality on Saturday, the 26th of January, and
was purchased by Mr. Marsh, of Ramridge House, for his
collection. This specimen appeared to me to be the saw in
every respect as the one I have (a male bird in equally rood
plumage and condition). Mr. Whatman, of this city, told me
that he had seen a flock of these birds on the 19th instant in a
meadow at Homington, which is the adjoining village to Coon i he
Bissett, where the two birds were killed. From inquiries 1 IIMVC
since made, I cannot learn that these birds were kept on ny
ornamental water or lake in the neighbourhood; it may then -fun-
be deduced that they are bond fide specimens of the bird in its
natural state.'* The Rev. A. P. Morres wrote me word that h<-
had himself seen the flock of seven from which the aU>\<>
specimens were shot, and that they remained for some tinx- in
ithe Britford water-meadows. But this again is a spec'u
attractive appearance, which is frequently kept on ornamental
Zoologist Second Series, April, 1867, p. 709.
Whooper. 469
waters, so that it is difficult to say whether the Wiltshire killed
specimens were mere tourists on their travels come to visit , this
inhospitable country of their own free will, or whether they were
escaped convicts, involuntarily transported to these shores. In
either case their reception was a warm one. Mr. Grant records
another specimen killed at Enford Manor Farm in September,
1870. This bird has obtained the trivial name of ' Cravat '
Goose, from the conspicuous patch of white feathers on the chin
and throat, almost encircling the black neck, which bears a
certain resemblance to a neckcloth. These birds are the
' bustards,' les outardes, of the Canadians.
183. WHOOPER (Cygnus musicus).
More commonly known as the Wild Swan, and is an annual
visitor to our coasts in winter. Indeed, I have seen nine brought
in to the Lynn poulterers by a single gunner in a morning in
severe weather. It is a bird of very powerful flight, which
travels at a great height above the earth and in a straight line,
and its speed is said sometimes to exceed a hundred miles in an
hour ; so no wonder it is wont to appear at times on most of our
larger inland lakes and rivers. The late Rev. George Marsh
reported that a dozen of them settled on the Draycot Pond in
1838, which was one of the hardest winters within the memory
of living man. He also recorded that one was brought to Lord
Radnor at Salisbury, who offered a guinea if the man would get
him another. The worthy fowler soon returned with one of his
lordship's tame Swans, and received the guinea, and neither he
nor the noble earl was aware of any difference between the two
birds. The Rev. A. P. Morres records the sudden appearance of
a small party of four Whoopers as Mr. Attwater, a farmer of
Britford, and the keeper Butler were resting under a tree after a
successful day's duck-shooting. These fine birds, after circling
round for a while, pitched in the Britford meadows on the brink
of the river at no great distance, when two of their number were
then and there shot. On February 9th, 1877, Mr. Nelson
Goddard, of the Manor House, Clyffe Pypard, my much-valued
470 Anatidce.
friend and neighbour and a keen observer, wrote me word that
as he was riding in a field below his house he saw a Wild Swan
pass over his head, making for the westward that is, towards
Bowood; and that he had never seen one on the wing before,
and much marvelled at the speed at which it travelled. It was
soon, he said, out of sight. This occurrence of the Wild Swan
so far inland was the more remarkable, because the winter of
1877, so far from being severe, was one of the mildest and wettest
ever known in this country. Lord Nelson tells me of a Whistling
Swan which was killed at Trafalgar, and Mr. Herbert Smith of
one shot at Bowood in the year 1885 by one of Lord Lansdowno's
keepers. It derives its specific name, muxicus, not from its
fabled song just before its death, but from the peculiar grand
clanging trumpeting or whooping note which it repeats several
times at intervals ' hoop, hoop/ ' hoop, hoop ' whence its name
* Whooper ' and ' Whistling Swan.' Lloyd, who was well accus-
tomed to see it in Sweden during the spring and autumn
migrations on the way to and from the breeding-stations in the
far North, says : ' Its voice, though it consists but of two notes, is
beautifully melodious, more especially as frequently happens
when birds of different ages, whose notes differ, take part in the
concert. Some think that in the distance their song resembles
the finer notes of the bugle. KjaBrbolling likens it to the sound
of distant church bells; and adds that in cairn weather it may
be heard at more than a Danish (4J English) mile's distance.'*
Oordeaux says : ' The cry of the Wild Swan is extremely wild and
musical. I once, during the prevalence of a severe "blast," saw
forty- two of these noble birds pass over our marshes, flying in
the same familiar arrow-head formation as Wild Geese use a
sight not to be forgotten, not alone for their large size and snowy
whiteness, but for their grand trumpet notes ; now single, clear,
distinct, clarion-like, as a solitary bugle sounds the " advance " ;
then, as if in emulation of their leader's note, the entire flock
would burst into a chorus of cries, which resemble a pack of
hounds in full cry.'f Cordeaux also calls attention to the
* Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 429.
t 'Birds of the Humber District,' p. 157.
Whooper. 471
singular formation of the upper mandible of this bird, which
possesses a hinge-like joint, allowing a greater extension and
distension of the mouth. St. John remarks that c when Wild
Swans are feeding one always keeps his head above water as
sentinel;' and Montagu that it 'carries its head straight and
erect, either upon the water or when stationary on land ; but in
walking the head is lowered, and the neck reclines over the back.'
In Ireland there is a deeply-rooted superstition that something
dreadful will happen to him who has the misfortune to kill a
Swan, for the Irish entertain the strange belief that a departed
spirit, perhaps of one of their own kin, is imprisoned in the
outward form of each bird of this genus.* There is yet another
fable connected with this bird, very commonly believed in
England viz., that it is able to break a man's arm or leg by the
stroke of its wing. But for this there is no sort of foundation ;
indeed, as uncompromising Montagu remarked, the tale is quite
ridiculous. If I may judge from the only specimen which I ever
obtained in the flesh, through a gunner on the coast of the Wash,
and which, after I had taken off its skin, we roasted and ate, I
should pronounce the flesh tough, and the flavour coarse and un-
palatable. There were some, however, of the large party which
partook of it who declared it to be good, especially when cold.
In France it is Cygne d bee jaune ou sauvage ; in Germany, Der
Singschwan ; in Italy, Gygno salvatico ; and in Sweden, Vild
Svan.-f*
184. MUTE SWAN (Gygnus olor).
I am somewhat at a loss to know why this species should be
reckoned as a British bird, seeing that it certainly cannot be
called fera naturce in these islands. However, as it is included
in all the British lists, and as we have our share of this hand-
some bird in all parts of the county, I, of course, follow suit, and
add it to my Wiltshire catalogue. Though, for the most part,
Sir R. Payne- G all wey's 'Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 164-171. -
f For an account of the Whooper in its natural haunts, see Scebohm
and Harvie Brown on the ' Birds of the Lower Petchora,' in Ibis for 1876,
p. 437.
472 Anatidce.
of gentle, peaceful manners, it becomes very pugnacious during
the breeding season ; and I well recollect when a boy at Eton,
while sculling in a light skiff near the rushy banks of an eyot on
the Thames, I unconsciously found myself in close proximity to
a Swan's nest, and the old bird came at me with such furious
aspect of beak and wings that I made my escape as fast as
possible, fairly driven off' by the victorious bird, which even
followed me for some distance, triumphing over my defeat. There
is one simple mark of difference whereby the W hooper may be
distinguished from the Mute Swan, viz., the colours of their
respective beaks. In C. musiciw the beak is black at the point
and reddish yellow at the base ; in C. olor these colours are re-
versed, the point of the beak being of a reddish orange colour,
the base black. In other respects the two birds seem externally
alike, though on dissection they show several anatomical differ-
ences of structure. The Mute Swan has been from early times
reckoned a royal bird in England, said to have been brought
from Cyprus and introduced into this country by Richard I. ;*
and I learn from Yarrell that 'anciently the Crown had an
extensive swannery annexed to the Royal Palace or Manor of
Clarendon, in Wiltshire.' The privilege of having a swan-mark
or ' game ' of swans was considered a high honour in old time,
and was seldom granted except to those of high rank in Church
or State, or to corporate bodies of some pretensions to dignity.
All such owners of Swans were registered in the book of the
royal Swan-herd ; and swan-marks, cut on the upper surface of
the upper mandible of the beak, were most jealously guarded.
So long ago as in the eleventh year of Henry VII. (A.D. 1496) a
law was passed that ' no manner of person, of what condition or
degree he be, take or cause to be taken, be it upon his own
ground or any other man's, the egg of any Swan out of the nest r
upon pain of imprisonment for a year and a day and a fine at
the King's will.'f The conceit that this species was accustomed
'Birds of Somerset,' by Mr. Cecil Smith, p. 472.
t 'Journal of Archaeological Institute,' vol. xli., p. 295. See whole
passage on ' Swan Marks,' treated archaeologically.
Mute Swan. 473
to sing before its death is as old as Pliny, who refuted it ; but it
is strange that the bird into which Orpheus the musician was
changed, and which was called the bird of Apollo, the god of
music, with a reputation for sweet singing which has descended
with it from such ancient times, should now come to be dis-
tinguished in England by the specific name of ' Mute ' Swan r
That, however, seems in reality to be its characteristic. Yarrell,
indeed, assures us that it has a soft low voice, rather plaintive,
and with little variety, but not disagreeable ; and that he ha&
heard it often in the spring, and sometimes later in the season,
when moving slowly about with its young. On the other hand,
Waterton altogether denies that it has any such melodious-
warblings. Coleridge, speaking of the superstition alluded to-
above, says :
4 Swans sing before they die, 'twere no bad thing
Should certain persons die before they sing.'
Before taking leave of this graceful species, let me recommend
all who have the opportunity to pay a visit to the Dorsetshire
Swannery at Abbotsbury, near Weymouth, where they will see
the splendid sight of from 700 to 1,500 of this magnificent bird in
their own breeding haunts : the particulars of which I communi-
cated in the Zoologist of 1877, pp. 505-511, to which I would
refer my readers, and will not repeat myself here. Lord Arundell
remarks that, ' though not rare birds, Swans may be mentioned as-
a feature of the country near Wardour ; as from the circum-
stance of there being several large pieces of water within a few
miles, at the Fonthills, Pythouse, etc., the Swans, four or five at a
time, are frequently seen on the wing, flying from one pond to
another; and I know of few things more impressive than the
metallic sound of the Swan's wing when in flight.' The specific
name, olor, is classical Latin for a 'Swan.' In France it is-
Cygne tubercule ou domesiique ; in Germany, Hocker Schwan r
1 Swan with a bump,' in allusion to its beak ; in Italy, Cigno
reale; in Sweden, Tarn Svan, ' Tame Swan ;' and in Spain, Cisne*
474 Anatidce.
185. COMMON SHELLDRAKE (Tadorna vulpanser).
As this fine species may be said to stand at the head of the
Ducks, it will be well to observe that there are two distinct
groups of these birds which entirely differ from each other in
habits. These are the surface feeding, or ' true Ducks,' and
the diving, or ' Oceanic ' Ducks. Of the surface feeders, with
the exception of sundry very rare and accidental visitors, all the
British species, eight in number, have been found in Wiltshire.
They generally frequent fresh- water lakes, rivers, marshes, and quiet
pools ; have great powers of flight ; never dive for their food, and,
in short, are almost as much at home out of the water as in it ; in
all which respects they differ entirely from the Oceanic ducks.
First of them comes the Common Shelldrake, so conspicuous for its
bright coloured plumage, and so attractive for its general appear-
ance. It is by no means uncommon on the coast, and occasionally
a straggler has appeared in our county. The Rev. F. Goddard,
at that time Vicar of Alderton, informed me that a specimen was
killed in that neighbourhood about the year 1856 or 1857 ; and
the Rev. A. P. Morres records the capture of another, on the
river near Britford, by the keeper, some years since. Lord Lans-
downe has seen it on the lake at Bowood, and Mr. Grant had
a specimen brought him for preservation in September, 1868,
which had been taken at Overton. Some say it is called the
* Shelldrake-' from the partiality it evinces for the smaller shell-
fish which constitute the principal part of its food ; others say,
from its tortoiseshell colour; or because it has a lump at the
base of the bill like a shell ; but others, with more probability,
from sheld, signifying ' pied,' flecked,' or ' parti-coloured,' and
certainly a plumage which exhibits such marked contrasts of
colour as green, chestnut, white, and black, deserves to attract
special notice. The generic name, tadorna, is pronounced to be of
Italian origin, but derivation and meaning unknown ; the
specific, vulpanser, ' fox duck,' either from its dark-red, fox colour
or from its habit of breeding in a hole. The specific name now
often bestowed on it of cornuta, 'horned,' from cornu, has
Common Shelldrake. 475
reference, 1 suppose, to the bright red knob at the base of the
upper mandible, which is developed in the breeding season.. Pro-
vincially it is known as the 'Burrow Duck/ and in Sweden as the
Graf- And, ' Grave ' or ' Hole ' Duck, from its habit of selecting
for its nest a cavity in the rock, or a deserted burrow of a rabbit.
For a similar reason it is called in Scotland the ' Stock Annet/
because it sometimes breeds in the hollows of decayed trees, and
in Orkney the ' Sly Goose/ from the manoeuvres it employs to
entice the intruder from its nest. Its flight is slow and heavy,
like that of a goose ; but Sir R. Payne-Gall wey says, ' I have
noticed them fly into their burrow with a dash, the wings folded
at that instant, rather than alight at the entrance and leave
a trace behind for plunderers/ The same experienced observer
also says, 'I have seen from ten to twelve of the young ducklings
climb up on the mother's back, each little one holding a feather
in its tiny bill, and thus carried by the parent to the safety of the
sea. 5 * Like the Egyptian Goose, with which it has many affini-
ties, though so gay in plumage, it is coarse and bitter to the taste,
and indeed quite uneatable. In France it is Tadorne ; in
Germany, Brandente, ( Burnt or Flame-coloured Goose ;' in Italy,
Volpoca tadorna, ' volpoca ' being the exact equivalent of ' vul-
panser' ; in Spain, Patotorro, ' the Pan Duck/ but why this title
I know not. Like the Geese, but unlike the Ducks, between
which it stands, the female wears very much the same coloured
plumage as the male.
186. SHOVELLER. (Anas clypeata).
The beak of this species at once distinguishes it from all other
Ducks, as here we see in its most perfect form the laminated
structure (as it is called) to which I have already alluded : the
laminae taking the shape of fine long bristles ; those of the upper
mandible projecting beyond the margin, and concealing the front
part of the lower mandible, and these fit beautifully into each
other, forming a kind of sieve, by which the bill is capable of
separating what is fit for food, and rejecting' through their inter -
* The Fowler in Ireland/ pp. 63-66.
476 Anatidce.
stices the mud and other superfluous matter. Moreover, the beak
is peculiarly broad, .flat, and depressed, the tip more particularly
spoon-shaped, and terminated by a hooked nail. But it is to be
observed that the bill of the young bird possesses none of this
peculiar shape, and is no longer than that of an ordinary duck-
ling. From the remarkable appearance of the adult bird, in con-
sequence of this wide bill, which gives it rather a top-heavy look,
come the numerous names by which naturalists of various
countries have designated it : Spathulea, ' with a bill broad like a
spoon ' ; Platyrhyncos, in some parts of England, ' Broadbill ' ; in
Germany, Loffel Ente; and in Sweden, Lejfel-And, or 'Spoon Duck'
but it derives its specific name, clypeata, ' armed with a shield/
from its white shield-like gorget. It is the most cosmopolitan of
birds, having been found not only in abundance in Europe, Asia,
Africa, and America, but even rarely in Australia ; and I believe
that can be said of scarcely any other bird. It is of shy, timorous
disposition, and the localities it loves best are the marshes and
muddy shallows at the mouths of rivers. Cordeaux says, ' Shovel-
lers have a curious habit of swimming round and round each
other in circles for hours together, with the neck and head
depressed to the surface of the water.* The Rev. A. P. Morres
records a pair killed in the meadows at Britlbrd, by the keeper,
some time back, but says they are the only instances he has heard
of their occurrence near Salisbury, and he believes them to be
quite uncommon in that district. It has, however, been met with
from time to time in various parts of Wiltshire, and Mr. Herbert
Smith has observed it on the lake at Bowood. In France it
is Canard Souchet ; in Italy, Anatra Mestolone, ' Ladle Duck';
in Spain, Pato Cuchareta, 'Small-spoon Duck'; in Portugal, Pato
trombeteiro, ' Trumpeter Duck.' Though by no means a common
species in England, I may say it is sparingly distributed every
year over the country.
'Birds of the Humber District/ p. 161.
Gadwall. 477
187. GADWALL (Anas strepera).
Since my former papers on the Ornithology of Wilts were
published, I have a notice of the occurrence of this species in our
county, for a specimen was shot at Amesbury at the latter part
of 1871 by Mr. S. Hayes, as I learn from Mr. Grant, of Devizes.
It is not a common bird in England, though met with sparingly
every year. The specimen in my collection I considered myself
very fortunate in obtaining in 1855 from a 'gunner' on the
shores of the Wash, with whom I had frequent dealings ; for it
was the only specimen of the species he had ever shot, though
he had then pursued the calling of fowler on those mud-banks
for twenty-five years. It is common in Holland, but its home is
in the far north of America, as well as of Europe and Asia. It is
a very shy bird, and seeks the most lonely spots it can find in
which to > shelter itself. It excels in the art of diving, is more
rapid in flight than most of the ducks, and has been pronounced
by Lord Lilford ' by far the best for the table of the European
Anatidaa/ Sir R Payne-Gallwey says it may easily be mistaken
at first sight for a female Wild Duck, but the patch of white
near the centre of the closed wing affords a good mark of distinc-
tion. It is a fine, plump-looking bird, with a very broad chest ;
and the markings on the breast, which are peculiar to it, are very
beautiful, and have a dappled appearance, which is formed by
small white half-moon shaped pencillings on each feather, almost
an eighth of an inch from the top.* It is remarkable for the
length and delicacy of the laminae of the upper mandible, which
project upwards the tenth of an inch beyond the margin ; and
from that peculiarity the Gadwall has obtained from modern
ornithologists the generic name of chaulelasmus, which literally
means 'with outstanding teeth/ but here applies to the projecting
laminae. Its specific name, strepera, ' noisy/ in German Schwatter
Ente, in French Le Chipeau, and in Swedish Snatter And, all
meaning ' Chattering Duck/ take their origin from the loud,
harsh, shrill notes which it repeats over and over again. It is
The Fowler in Ireland/ p. 56.
478 Anatidce.
sometimes known as the ' Gray Duck,' which Yarrell says the
term Gadwall is intended to imply; but he omits to explain
how.
188. PINTAIL DUCK (Anas acuta).
There is no more elegant and graceful duck than this. Of
slender form, with thin neck, elongated tail-feathers, and hand-
some plumage, it rivals our brightest and gayest birds, whether
of land or water. It is common on the southern coast of Eng-
land, and in Dorsetshire is known by the provincial name of
'Sea-Pheasant,' a sobriquet derived from its prolonged tail
It is almost needless to say that the specific name, acuta, also
refers to the sharp-pointed tail, which is its chief characteristic.
In Germany it is Spiesa-ente 'Spear-duck'; in Swedish, Stjert-
And, 'Tail-duck'; and provincially in this country the 'Spear
Widgeon,' all having reference to the elongated tail-feathers of the
drake. It may be identified at a long distance, and discerned
among other fowl, by the snow-white neck and breast.* As
regards its excellence for the table, it is placed by Sir R Payne-
Gallvvey at the head of the wild fowl, and is said by him to excel
all the other ducks and geese in delicacy of flavour. Mr. Cecil
Smith,f who keeps it in confinement on his pond, says it obtains
its food by tipping its head downwards into the water, after the
manner of tame ducks, and that it feeds on the pond-weed and
the insects and small mollusca which it picks up with it ; but
that he never sees it feed on grass, like the Widgeon, as Meyer
asserts.
I may mention here that in the good old times of yore our
ancestors saw the wisdom of protecting this and other valuable
birds from wanton destruction at improper seasons ; and by the
Code of Fen Laws, or orders for regulating the fens, passed in
the reign of Edward YI. (A.D. 1548), it was decreed that ' no
person should use any sort of net, or other engine, to take or kill
* ' The Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 20-22, 50.
f ' Birds of Somersetshire,' p. 483.
Wild Duck 479
any fowl commonly called moulted ducks in any of the fens
before Midsummer-day yearly.'*
The Rev. A. P. Morres mentions one killed on the water at
Clarendon Park, and now preserved at the house. Mr. Ponting
tells me that Sir H. Meux's keeper shot a good specimen on the
Kennett near Lockeridge, in February, 1886. The Marlborough
College Natural History Reports show that one was killed at
Mildenhall in February, 1870, and another at Axford in January,
1871 ; but wherever sportsmen are accustomed to shoot wild
fowl they meet with it from time to time, associated with the
Common Wild Duck, Teal, and Widgeon.
In France it is Canard a lomgue queue ; and in Italy, Anatra
di coda lunga.
189. WILD DUCK (Anas boschas).
Though rapidly becoming more scarce under the present
system of draining, this is still too common a bird to require
comment on its appearance and habits. It breeds on a pollard-
tree or ruined wall, as well as on the ground, and (as Selby
pointed out) is careful to cover the eggs with down when it quits
the nest for food. This may be partly to keep them warm during
her absence, but still more to hide them from the sharp eyes of
the marauding Carrion Crow or other evil-minded thief who may
be prowling about. It is the Gemeine-ente, ' Common Duck,' of
Germany ; ' Le Canard sauvage ' of France ; the Grds-And, or
' Grass-Duck,' of Norway ; the ' Stock-Duck ' of British North
. America ; and whether in India and China, in the Ionian Islands
and Malta, in Northern Africa and Egypt, or in Greenland and
America, it is always the Common Duck of the country ; so that
the numbers of this universal and familiar friend must be, could
a census be taken of it, something prodigious. But when we
reflect that in the active days of the Lincolnshire decoys over
thirty thousand birds were sent to London in one season from
one district only, and of these productive returns the Wild Duck
formed the main staple, we can only marvel that the species is
Cordeaux's 'Birds of the Humber District/ p. 163.
480 Anatidw.
so abundant now. Harting observes that Ducks, when bent on
a long flight, do not all move through the air at the same
altitude, but some much higher than others; and large flights
generally seem to have a break in the centre, and present a
figure very much resembling the outline of North and South
America as it appears on the map. When flying near the surface
of land or water, they are often in a confused mass.* Wilson, in
his ' North American Ornithology/ has described an amusing
and ingenious method of taking Wild Ducks adopted by the in-
habitants of India and China, where the sportsman, covering his
head with a calabash or wooden vessel, wades into the water,
and keeping only his head thus masked above it, advances
towards and mixes with the flock, who feel no alarm at what
they look upon as a mere floating calabash. He is thus
enabled to select his victims, whom he seizes by the legs, and,
pulling them under water, fastens them to a girdle with which
he is equipped, thus carrying off as many as he can stow aw;iy.
without exciting distrust and alarm amongst the survivors. -f-
The Rev. A. P. Morres says the Wild Duck is very common near
Salisbury, and breeds there in considerable numbers. In the
winter he has seen more than a hundred rise from a part of the
river called the 'Broad,' close to Longford Castle. The Marl-
borough College Natural History Reports speak of a flock of
seventy seen at Ramsbury, November ]0th, 1876. Mr. Herbert
Smith, writing to me this spring (1887), says : ' We have had a
very fair amount of Wild Ducks on the Bo wood Lake this year.
One morning I saw, I should say, about five hundred at one
time; and among them I noticed the Common Mallard, Teal
Pochard, and Tufted Duck.' Mr. Hussey-Freke, writing from
Hanningford Hall, in the extreme north of the county, says :
'We get a few wild fowl at the Thames.' And of single speci
mens I hear in all quarters.
In Italy it is Anatra salvatica reale; in Spain and in Portugal.
Pato real.
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 228.
f Selby's ' Illustrations of British Ornithology,' vol. ii., p. 307.
Garganey. 481
190. GARGANEY (Anas querquedula).
This is often called the < Summer Teal/ and though larger than
A. crecca, it bears considerable resemblance to that pretty little
species, with which we are so familiar. It is really half-way in
size between a Widgeon and a Teal, and is distinguished from its
congeners by a white streak down the sides of the neck. Pro-
fessor Skeat derives the name querquedula from querq or kark,
significative of any loud noise, in allusion to its note, which is
said to be a harsh knack, and very loud in proportion to the size
of the bird. In Germany this species is known as Knack-ente.
Besides this, its ordinary note, in spring the drake makes a
peculiar jarring noise like that of a child's rattle, whence the
name of ' Crick ' or ' Cricket Teal ' in the eastern counties, where
it is best known.* It arrives in the spring, and the late Rev. G.
Marsh used to describe it as by no means uncommon in his
neighbourhood, twenty years ago. Mr. Grant received one in
May, 1874, from West Lavington. The Rev. A. P. Morres
mentions a little party of four birds marked down in a bend of
the river at Britford, all of which the keeper shot ; and I hear
from Mr. Hussey Freke that his keeper killed one at Hannington
last year. It may be said to occur in this county, but sparingly.
The only country in which I ever met with it was Portugal, from
which I brought back specimens. In France it is Sarcelle d'tte ;
in Portugal, Marreco and Marrequinho ; in Sweden, Arta.
191. TEAL (Anas crecca).
This beautiful little duck, the smallest of the Anatidse, is well
known throughout the county. It is a night-feeding species:
for all day it reposes on the water, or sits motionless on the very
brink, with the head crouched between the shoulders; but
immediately after sunset it will fly to its feeding-grounds. Sir
R. Payne-Gallwey saysf the habit of this, the prettiest and
smallest of all wild-fowl, is to swim near the surface, with only
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. iv., p. 395.
f ' The Fowler in Ireland/ pp. 59-61.
31
482 Anatidce.
head and bill showing above water. They prefer inland lakes so
long as they are unfrozen. For beauty of feather, no bird can
excel the adult male Teal: the dappled breast, the exquisite
contrast of velvet black, metallic green, and rich cream yellow,
with the graceful sprightly aspect, are unrivalled. A number of
Teal, collecting at night, or in a happy humour by day, chatter
and whistle loudly ; they sometimes then sound like a stand of
Golden Plover. The whistle of the male is low and shrill, the
call of the female is a subdued imitation of the Wild Duck. Its
flight is very rapid, and Harting says * that, on being disturbed
at a brook which has plenty of cover along the banks, it will,
after flying a short distance, drop down suddenly again, like
Snipe and Woodcock. The specific name, crecca, is undoubtedly
derived from its note, as is Crick-ente of Germany, and Krick-
And of Norway, where it breeds in the upper fjall morasses, as
well as in the lower marshes. In France it is Sarcelle d'hiver ;
in Portugal it shares the same name as the Garganey ; but in
Spain it is Patito and Cerceta.
192. WIDGEON (Anas penelope).
As common as the last. The enormous numbers of this species
obtained by the fenmen and gunners on the east coast of England
by means of a duck boat and swivel gun surpass conception, and
the heap of slain must be seen to be believed. I have many
times turned over half a sackful which my friend the Norfolk
fowler obtained by a successful shot from the big gun ; and a
large proportion of the ducks taken in decoys were of this species.
Colonel Hawker said that for coast night shooting the Widgeon is
like the fox for hunting : it shows the finest sport of anything in
Great Britain. As it only fetches half the price of a Mallard or
Brent Goose, it is known to the fenners as ' a half-bird/ It is
pre-eminently a river duck, resting and sleeping on the water,
but, when the tide permits, resorting in large bodies to the
Zostera beds on the mud flats.f Harting says : ' I have observed
c ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 230.
t ' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 167.
Widgeon. 483
Widgeon call a good deal at night ; their soft whistling note like
whee-ou, whee-ou, maybe heard on still nights at a great distance.'*
From this peculiar whistling call-note they are known as ' Whew
Ducks ' ; in France, Canards siffleurs ; and in Germany, Pfeif-
ente; but in Sweden it is Bids And, or 'White-fronted Duck/
When they are feeding they are remarkably silent, and the
larger the flock, the quieter they are, for numbers give confidence
and a feeling of security. In Spain it is Pato-silbador ; and in
Portugal, Assobiadeira, both with the meaning of 'Whistling
Ducks.' Mr. Waterton has proved that, unlike its congeners,
the Widgeon is not a night-feeding bird, but devours hy day the
short grass which the Goose is known to pluck; hence it is
called in Lapland the 'Grass Duck.'
To see a large flock of Widgeon reposing on the lake at Walton
Hall, perfectly wild birds, and yet quickly gaining confidence by
finding themselves unmolested in that happy spot; to observe
them dressing their feathers, sporting with one another, chasing
each other, splashing up the water, in a state of security, where
they could lay aside the anxious alarm which they must so
frequently feel ; and to watch their playful antics through the
big telescope which Mr. Waterton always kept adjusted at the
drawing-room window, and directed towards the lake, was one of
the many treats of a visit to Walton Hall, and a sight which
alone would repay a journey to Yorkshire.
193. EIDER DUCK (Somateria mollissima).
We now begin the second division, the Diving, or ' Oceanic '
Ducks, as they are called. Above we noticed that the surface-
feeders comprehended those species only which frequent fresh-
water lakes, marshes, and dry land ; have great powers of flight,
and seldom dive. But the Oceanic species, on the contrary, have
no partiality for fresh- water or for dry land, but frequent the
harbours, the estuaries, and the open sea, and obtain their food,
which lies at the bottom of the water, by diving. They may be
recognised by the well- developed and broadly- webbed hind- toe,
* ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 234,
312
484 Anatidce.
which materially assists their progress under water. At their
head in the British list stands the Eider Duck, which well
deserves to occupy that post of honour. This large and hand-
some species abounds in Northern Europe and America, where
its well-known down forms a most valuable article of traffic to
the inhabitants : so compressible and elastic, so soft and light is
this famous down, that a large quantity which I brought from
Norway, and which when unpacked was enough to fill four
quilts, was easily squeezed into a hat-box for the convenience of
transport. On the northern shores of England, and in Scotland,
it is commonly met with, but is rarely seen on our more southern
coasts ; so that I the more marvel what fortunate accident has
enabled me to add it to our Wiltshire list. But an undoubted
specimen of this bird was killed a few years back on the water at
Lyneham, the property of Major Heneage, and is still to be seen
in the Hall at Compton Basset House; and Mr. Grant reports
another killed at Bottlesford, near Woodborough, in March, 1866.
It is, however, notorious for very powerful flight, and the speed
at which it flies is marvellous Montagu says at the rate of ninety
miles an hour but on land it is very inactive and sluggish. The
beak has a thick swollen appearance, is elevated at the base, and
is terminated with a strong rounded hooked nail. The generic
name, somateria, literally means ' body- wool,' from aw^a-ro^, ' of
the body/ and epiov, ' wool/ in allusion to the down which the
bird plucks from its breast for the lining of the nest ; and that it
is mollissima, 'most soft/ will be readily admitted. It is still
known on the coast of Durham and Northumberland as 'St.
Cuthbert's duck.' The true home of the Ejder Gas, or ' Eider
Goose,' as ifc is there called, is on the islands off the north-
western coast of Norway, called Fugle veer, or ' Bird preserves/
where they are strictly protected. Like the Swan, the Eider
does not seem to be in any manner affected by the cold ; and,
unless the sea is frozen over, it remains on the coast during the
whole winter. Indeed, it has been observed in the highest
latitudes. Professor Newton says it ' breeds abundantly in Spitz-
bergen, 1 and Reinhardt that 'it breeds in Greenland.' Captain
King Duck. 485
Markham, in his narrative of the voyage of the Alert, during the
expedition of 1875-76, says it is one of the few birds which, they
met with in some numbers in those high latitudes ; and more
recently Lieutenant Greely, in his disastrous expedition of 1881-84,
found it breeding in hundreds on Littleton Island, in the month
of August, in latitude 78. There is an opinion entertained by
Ekstrom and some other Norwegian naturalists that there are
two kinds of Eider in Scandinavia, the Common and the Smal-
ndbbad, or ' Narrow-billed,' but this opinion has not been gene-
rally endorsed. Professor Skeat says that ' Eider ' is entirely a
Scandinavian name, and this has been adopted in most European
languages ; in France it is Canard Eider; in Germany, Eiterente;
but in Italy, Oca settentrionale.
194. KING DUCK (Somateria spectabilis).
This is another species of Eider Duck, more rare in England
than the last, but frequenting the same or even still more
northern latitudes than its better-known congener. It is also a
very handsome bird, and the well-contrasted colours of its
plumage attract notice. The only information I have of its
occurrence in this county is a short note by my friend the late
Rev. G. Marsh, who wrote, ' The King Duck in my collection was
killed in Wilts/ but I have no farther particulars of date or
place of capture. The down of the King Eider and its mode of
nesting, as well as general habits, are identical with those of
S. moilissima. The specific name, spectabilis, means ' worth
seeing,' as applied to the splendour of its plumage. In Sweden
it is called Prakt Ejder, or ' Beautiful Eider ' : and, indeed, it
does wear right royal robes, and comports itself as every inch a
king. But not on that account do we assign it the rank of
royalty, but because of the remarkable orange-coloured comb or
knob resembling a crown which it wears on its head : and so the
Icelanders dubbed it Aeder Kongr, or 'Eider King'; and we,
taking the hint from those who are more familiar with it, call it
the ' King Duck.' During the breeding season it resorts to very
high northern latitudes; and as it is found there in immense
486 Anatidce.
numbers and is pronounced palatable, it has proved a welcome
addition to the food of Arctic voyagers from the days of Parry,
Sabine, and Ross to those of Markham, Nordenskiold, and Greely.
In France it is Canard a Tete grise ; and in Germany, Brand-
ente.
195. COMMON SCOTER (Oidemia nigra).
The specific name, nigra, sufficiently describes the appearance
of this bird, whose plumage may be shortly defined as deep-black
in the male and brownish- black in the female : hence it is
generally known to the fishermen as the ' Black Duck/ and in
Sweden as the ' Sea Blackcock ' Sjo Orre. It may easily be
distinguished, even at a distance, by its rich, velvety black
plumage and orange knob at the base of the bill, and from its
congeners by its small size and the absence of white on the wing
and neck. Its regular breeding-places are in the far North,
though some remain even on our southern coasts throughout
the year ; but in winter it is a very common bird all round our
shores, and especially off the eastern counties of England, where
the waters are said to be quite black with them. It derives its
name oidemia from oiBrjpa, a ' swelling/ from its tumid bill. Its
flesh is so rank and fishy that in Roman Catholic countries it is
considered in the light of a fish, and allowed to be eaten on fast
days. In France it is Canard macreuse ; and in Germany, Die
Trauer-ente, as if ' the duck in mourning dress.' It is a very
common bird on the coast, and doubtless visits us in this county
occasionally, but the only positive instances I have of its recent
occurrence in Wilts are, first, from my kind correspondent, the
Rev. George Powell, Rector of Sutton Veney, who met with a
specimen on Salisbury Plain in 1849 ; secondly, from Mr. Grant,
of Devizes, who reported that one had been shot on the canal
near that town by Mr. Greenhill, of Rowde, at the end of 1871 ;
thirdly, from the Marlborough College Natural History Reports,
which state that one was caught in the town of Marlborough,
and a second seen at the same time in February, 1873. More-
over, Yarrell mentions that though seldom found on fresh water
Pochard. 487
inland during winter, yet the late Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart.,
sent him word that his keeper had shot a Scoter on the orna-
mental water in the park at Stourhead, Wiltshire, which is more
than twenty miles from the sea in a straight line, and no such
bird had been seen there before. In truth, it is a thoroughly
oceanic bird a true Jack tar which seldom comes ashore, and
there cuts but a sorry figure, but which is quite at home in the
heaviest surf, and swims and dives with equal facility.
196. POCHARD (Fuligula ferina).
This species, known also as the Dun Bird, visits our shores in
winter in immense numbers, and penetrates inland wherever
retired lakes and quiet rivers offer it a suitable asylum : for it is
a very shy bird, and generally avoids the proximity of man. In
contrast to its usual habits of timidity, and in proof of the con-
fidence which even the wilder birds soon learn to entertain when
unmolested, I have seen the Pochards arrive on the lake at
Walton Hall (where I was on a visit to my revered friend, Mr.
Waterton) and fearlessly swim in flocks before the windows, where
we could watch their motions at leisure, while they seemed wholly
unconcerned at our presence. The Pochard bears a close re-
semblance in colour and general appearance to the famous Canvas-
backed Duck of America, and is said to be little inferior to that
bird in delicacy; consequently it is much sought after by the fowler
and taken in vast numbers. The specific name, ferina, ( belong-
ing toferce, wild animals/ is said to have reference to its 'game*
flavour ; for the same reason it is known in Germany as Tafel-
ente, the ' Table Duck.' In France it is Canard Milouin ; in
Sweden, Rod-halsad Dyk-And, 'Red-necked Diving Duck'; in
Spain, Cabezon, ' Large-head ' ; in Portugal, Tarrantana. The
generic name, fuligula, seems to be a diminutive of fulica, though
what the Red-headed Pochard has to do with the Bald Coot I am
at a loss to conjecture. A bird so common as it is on all our coasts
and on the eastern coast it is especially abundant is sure to
have many provincial names, and amongst them the ' Red-headed
Widgeon' and the ' Red-headed Poker ' are, in addition to those given
488 Anatidce.
above, perhaps the most common. It is also sometimes called the
' Ked-eyed Poker/ from the peculiar colour of the eye, a peculiarity
not shared in by any other British bird. Pochards, from the
backward position of their legs, are awkward and clumsy on land.
They swim, however, very rapidly, but deeply immersed in the
water, and are especially gifted with diving powers. They are
also, though somewhat heavy, very quick and powerful on the
wing, but fly in a closely packed body, and not in line or in the
triangular shape that we see in wild ducks. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey
says that Pochards, in common with most of the diving ducks,
when alighting on the water, curve the tail downward, and the
feet forward, like a Swan, against the water, to check the impetus
of flight as they tear along the surface.* It is a well-known
species in Wiltshire. Mr. Herbert Smith pronounces it common
on the Bo wood water. The Rev. A. P. Morres regards it as quite
common in the neighbourhood of Salisbury, where it is found in
flocks every winter: and as an annual visitor to the lake at
Stourton. The Rev. C. Soames reported it as shot at Stoney
Bridge, near Marlborough, on January 20, 1881 ; but I need not
enumerate further instances, when it occurs so frequently in all
parts of the county.
197. FERRUGINOUS DUCK (Fuligula nyroca).
This is not a very common visitor to England, for North-
eastern Europe and Northern Asia appear to be its home ; it
wanders however, in winter, westward and southward, being
abundant throughout the Mediterranean and in Northern Africa,
and is reported to be the commonest species in Malta, as it
undoubtedly is in Egypt, whence the name given it by Buffon,
la Sarcelle d'Egypte. But the most persevering flights penetrate
in some numbers as far west as the British Isles, and as it
prefers the fresh-water lakes and ponds of the interior to salt
water, it is as likely to occur in Wiltshire as in any other county.
I have, however, but three instances of its appearance within our
* The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 100.
Scaup Duck. 489
borders : two of which were shot by Mr. W. H. Stagg, of Nether-
avon, on December 9, 1875, and for information as to the third r
I am indebted to the Rev. E. Duke, of Lake House, who kindly
wrote me word that a specimen had been captured on the river
there. The specific name, nyroca, is Latinized from the Russian,
which I can neither spell nor pronounce ; but the English specific
name, 'ferruginous,' is obviously derived from its dark-brown
back. It is also called the ' White-eyed Duck/ and the ' White
Eye,' by our older writers ; as in France, Canard a iris blanc ;
and in Germany, Die iveissaugige Ente ; and by our Fleming,
Nyroca leucopthalmos, from the conspicuous white eye which is
its distinguishing characteristic. It may however, as Sir R.
Payne- Gall wey points out, be easily mistaken for the female
Golden-Eye, not only from the colour of the irides, but from the
white wing-patch, and the general colour of the plumage. In
Spain it is Pardote ; and in Portugal Negrinha, ' Negress.'
198. SCAUP DUCK (Fuligula marila).
This, too, is a very common bird on the British coasts, and as it
frequents the southern shores in vast numbers, it is not surprising
that a straggler occurs in Wiltshire occasionally. Mr. Grant
records the capture of one at Erlestoke Park, on February 13,
1862, and another at Bulkington in January, 1864. The Marl-
borough College Natural History Reports state that one was shot
at Mildenhall in 1870, by the Rev. C. Soames, and Mr. S. B.
Dixon mentions that one was shot in the Pewsey water-meadows
in February, 1873, by Mr. C. Goode. But it is a thorough sea-
bird, preferring the muddy estuaries and tide-washed sand-banks-
to any inland lakes or rivers, in which it differs materially from
the Pochard, to which it is otherwise closely allied. It is a
winter visitor here, arriving early in November, and retiring in
spring to high northern latitudes, where it breeds. It is of stout
compact shape, and the black head and neck glossed with green
reflections, and the gray and white spotted plumage of the back,
contrast to great advantage. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey, however,
pronounces it 'an ungainly-looking fowl, especially about the
490 Anatidce.
head.' Willoughby explained that ' Scaup ' means ' broken shells,'
in allusion to the smaller univalve and bivalve shell-fish on
which it feeds ; marila (fiapiKrj) means literally ' the embers of
charcoal/ in reference to the pitch-black colour of the plumage
on the front parts. So on the Somersetshire coast it is known
as the ' Black Duck,' * which is not a very distinctive title, seeing
how many other species, clothed with similar dark-coloured
plumage, partake of the same name. More appropriately it is
known in some localities as the ' Blue-bill.' In British North
America it is ' the Big Black-head,' but in Sweden Hvit Buk, or
' White Belly.' In France it is Canard Alilouinan ; in Germany
Berg-ente.
199. TUFTED DUCK (Fuligula cristata).
This is a regular winter visitant to our shores, and is not un-
frequently found inland, for it follows up the rivers from their
mouths, and is in no hurry, where it can find an undisturbed
retreat, to return to salt water. It is of plump shape, short and
compact figure, and partakes of the general appearance of the
Scaup, to which it is closely allied. The specimen in my
collection was kindly given me by Mr. Swayne, who killed it
in 1856,' when shooting with the late Lord Herbert at Grovely,
and I have notices of its occurrence in several parts of the
county. Major Heneage possesses one which was shot at
Lyneham in 1881. Mr. Herbert Smith reports it as common on
the Bowood water, and Mr. G. Watson Taylor that it comes to
Erlestoke in hard weather. The Rev. A. P. Morres says it is the
commonest of the rarer ducks in the neighbourhood of Salisbury,
where he sees it in the meadows every hard winter. It is locally
known there as the ' Pie-curr.' Mr. Grant reports a pair shot at
Netheravon by Mr. F. W. Hussey at the end of January, 1871 ;
and I learn from the Field newspaper, under date January 23,
1875, that a fine specimen had been killed by Mr. J. J. Estridge,
of Bradford-on-Avon, near that town. It derives its name from
a long pendant crest of narrow silky feathers, three inches in
* Mr. Cecil Smith's ' Birds of Somersetshire,' p. 500.
Long -tailed Duck. 491
length, and curving from the top of the head down the neck
From Mr. Cordeaux we learn that it is known in Yorkshire as
the ' Brass-eyed Poker Duck/ in reference to the brilliant golden-
yellow of the eye, which is its most attractive feature ; and from
Mr. Cecil Smith that in Somersetshire it is the ' Curr Widgeon '
and is the commonest there of all the Diving ducks, except
perhaps the Pochard, which is also dubbed ' Curr Widgeon ', but
elsewhere the ' Black Widgeon,' and is almost as much esteemed
for the table as that bird. In other places it is called the ' Small
Black Diver.' In Sweden it is the Vigg, or ' Wedge/ so called
because, when on the surface of the water, it almost always lies
with its neck stretched forwards, as if ready to dive ; whereby
the body assumes a somewhat wedge-like shape. In France it
is Canard Morillon ; in Germany Reiher-ente, 'Heron-duck.'
In Portugal this species is also called Negririha, from its dark
plumage.
200. LONG-TAILED DUCK (Fuligula glacialis).
I include this species in the Wiltshire list without hesitation,
as I do so on the authority of that excellent ornithologist, the
late Rev. George Marsh : otherwise I have no farther notice of
its appearance amongst us : indeed, as its specific name, glacialis,
'icy,' implies, it is a thoroughly Arctic bird, inhabiting and
breeding in, not only Lapland, Spitzbergen and Greenland, but
even the very highest latitudes to which our Polar expeditions
have penetrated. Moreover, as it is a true denizen of the ocean,
seldom coming inland, it is necessarily much more scarce in
England than either of its congeners previously described : and
yet hardly to be accounted a rare bird in Britain : as it is (though
in small numbers) a regular winter visitor to our northern coasts.
It is remarkable for the elongated tail-feathers, whence it derives
its name, and which are quite pheasant- like in appearance. It
is also called * Hareld ' in some places, and by some consigned to
a separate genus, Harelda, which appears to be an Icelandic
name. Montagu says it is provincially known as ' Coal and Candle
Light,' from a fancied resemblance of its long and plaintive winter
492 Anatidce.
call to these words. In the Orkney and Shetland Islands it is
known as ' Calloo/ which is there supposed to represent its song.
Cordeaux so much admires this strange note that he says r
' Amongst all the varied cries and calls of our numerous sea-fowl,
that of the Hareld is the sweetest, most melancholy and harp-
like. Heard from a distance at sea, in the spring, on a still day,
it is inexpressibly wild and musical.' But in America it is
derisively termed ' South Southerly/ and ' Old Squaw/ from its
' gabbling notes/ so diverse are opinions and tastes as to excel-
lence of voice, whether in the feathered or the human race. In
Norway it is called Angle mager, ' Hook-maker/ doubtless from
its cry, connected with the time of its appearance when the sea-
fishing begins:* and in that country its arrival is hailed with
delight, for its down is held next in estimation to that of the
Eider. For an admirable account of this species see Messrs.
Seebohm and Harvie Brown on the Birds of the Lower Petchora
in the Ibis for 1876, p. 445. In France it is Canard de Midon ;
in Germany, Eisente Winter Ente; in Sweden, Al-Fogel.
201. GOLDEN-EYE (Fidigula clangula).
This very active, sprightly, and withal beautiful bird, with a
remarkable brilliancy of eye (which is of a golden yellow colour,
whence its name), is tolerably common on the coast, though
rarely seen in the interior of the country. I have often met
with it on the shores of the Wash, but have never seen it far
from the sea. I have, however, an instance of its occurrence in
Wiltshire from the pen of the Rev. G. Marsh, who wrote that a
specimen of this bird had been killed on the river at Salisbury
in 1830 ; and had been preserved at the house of Mrs. Bath.
The Rev. A. P. Morres reports its appearance, though rarely, in
the water-meadows at Britford, and instances a fine male shot by
the keeper some years back, and now preserved at the ' Moat ' in
that parish. Another was killed at Stourton in 1874 : and an
immature bird was shot at Mere by Mr. J. Coward, in the winter
of 1880. Another was killed at Mildenhall in 1867 : and Major
* J. Wolley in Ibis for 1859, p. 70.
Golden-Eye. 493
Heneage possesses two specimens which were shot at Lyneham
in 1870 and 1883, and it is most probable that other instances
which have not come to my notice have occurred. This species
breeds in Lapland in holes in the trees, or in tyllas, or nest boxes,
generally portions of hollow wood which the natives affix to the
trees, often at a considerable height above ground, and I have
eggs in my collection taken from such a situation by my lamented
friend Mr. John Wolley, who was so keen and accurate an ob-
server, and did so much for Ornithology, and had already earned
for himself a European reputation, as a master in natural science,
and would undoubtedly (had his life been spared) have proved
one of the first naturalists of the day. This duck is also known
as the ' Morillon,' which at the beginning of this century was the
name bestowed on the female and immature bird, from the
supposition that they belonged to another species : and St. John
to the last maintained that the Golden-Eye and Morillon are
distinct : * but the contrary has been authoritatively determined,
and the question is no longer to be entertained. So active are
they in the water, and so rapid in their movements, and so easily
do they dive at the flash of the gun, and so avoid the shot, that
in America they are called ' Conjuring/ or ' Spirit Ducks :' but
they are awkward enough on land, and their gait shuffling and
ungainly, owing to the large size of their feet. Their old name
was Garrot, as it is still in France ; in Germany, Schelle Ente ;
and in some parts of England ' Curre,' in regard to which
Colonel Hawker says, ' If you see a single Curre by day, when he
dives, you must run ; and the moment he comes up, squat down ;
so you may go on till within ten yards of him.' t The specific
name, clangula, 'noisy,' may possibly refer to the rapid beating
of the wings and the distinct whistling sound so caused; and
hence perhaps they may be called ' Rattlewings/ 'Whistle-wing,'
and 'Whistler'; some, however, think the latter term has reference
to the voice, which is very loud. It is also known as the ' Magpie
Diver/ a very descriptive name, by reason of the black and white
* 'Highland Sports/ p. 132.
f 'Instructions to Young Sportsmen.'
494 Anatidce.
plumage of the adult male ; and they seem to have the power
(says Sir K Payne- Gallwey) when rising from the bottom of the
water, to spring on wing into the air with the same upward
shoot ; nor do they appear to hesitate a couple of seconds on the
surface to recover breath ere flying, as is the case with Scaup
and Pochard.* In Sweden it is known as Knipa.
202. SMEW (Mergus albellus).
I am again indebted to the Rev. G. Marsh for the first informa-
tion that the Smew Merganser has been killed in Wiltshire.
Two other instances have since been recorded by Mr. Grant,
which came into his hands for preservation, one from Fy field,
Enford, in January, 1876, and the other in December, 1879, but
where it was killed I am not able to say. Though admitted at
the end of the great family of Ducks, and partaking of their
general habits and appearance, the Mergansers (of which this is
one), differs from them, in being provided with a beak, both
mandibles of which are toothed or serrated, the saw-like teeth
inclining backwards, the better to prevent the escape of the
slippery prey. The form of the beak is also long and extremely
narrow, and it is terminated with a very strong hooked nail.
Armed with this admirable implement, the Mergansers have no
difficulty in supplying themselves with fish, which constitutes
the bulk of their food : moreover, they can swim and dive and
fly with great quickness, but, from the backward position of their
legs, are awkward on shore. In swimming they appear deeply
immersed in the water, the weight and flattened form of the
body giving them that appearance, the head, neck and back only
being visible. In diving, they seem to fly beneath the surface
with great rapidity, and they remain for a long time below, and
on rising for breath they merely raise the bill above water, and
then dive again, without causing any perceptible disturbance of
the surface. Montagu says it is called in Devonshire the ' White
Widgeon,' and sometimes the ' Vare ' (or Weasel) ' Widgeon,' from
the supposed similitude about the head to a Weasel or Vare, as
* * The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 110.
Red-breasted Merganser. 495
it is called in Devonshire ; and indeed the head of the female^
which is very small, does in colour resemble in some degree
that of the Weasel. Mr. Cecil Smith says it is also known in
Somersetshire as the ' Weasel Coot/ as well as the c Ked-breasted
Smew '; and elsewhere it is known as the ' White Nun/ and the
' White Widgeon.' The generic name, mergus, meaning ' Diver/
is appropriate enough, and the specific term, albellus, ' the Little
White Bird/ is equally applicable. In Germany it is the Weisser
Sager, or ' the White Sawyer/ The terms ' Red-breasted Smew/
and 'Lough Diver/ refer only to the young bird in immature
plumage. Like most of its congeners, it is a very shy bird, and
cannot tolerate the presence of man. Its true home seems to be
the northern countries of Europe and Asia, more especially
Northern Russia and Northern Siberia. It would be but
blemishing the tale if I were to attempt to condense the admir-
able account by the late J. Wolley of the nesting of the Smew,
which, until its discovery by that ardent, painstaking ornitho-
logist, was wholly unknown. I must therefore refer my readers-
to the story as told by him in the Ibis for 1859, pp. 69-76 ; and
also for an excellent account of the same bird in its native
haunts to Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie Brown's paper on the
Birds of the Lower Petchora, in the Ibis for 1876, p. 448. In
France it is Le petit Harle Jiuppe, ou la Piette ; in Italy, Mergo
oca minore ; and in Sweden, Sal-Skrake.
203. RED BREASTED MERGANSER (Mergus serrator}.
The form of beak at once proclaims that the habits of all the
species of Mergansers are identical. This is a more common
bird than that last described, but is seldom found inland. I
have, however, positive evidence of the occurrence of one fine
specimen which Lord Nelson pointed out to me in his collection,,
which was killed in his water on the Avon, by the Rev. J. N.
Neate, in December, 1864 ; of another killed by Mr. Heath at
Quemerford, near Calne, about 1860 ; of another taken at Trow-
bridge, in March, 1873; and of another fine specimen shot at
Great Bedwyn, and presented to the Wiltshire Archaeological
496 Anatidce.
and Natural History Society by the Rev. W. C. Lukis, in the
year of its inauguration, 1853. Lastly, the late Major Spicer
wrote to me on February 5, 1881, that his keeper had that
morning brought him in a good specimen of a female Merganser,
killed on the pond at Spye Park, where he had disturbed it the
previous evening, but to which it returned during the night.
The Merganser, or ' Diving Goose/ as that name signifies, may
well be called serrator, or ' one who wears a saw,' so effective an
instrument for holding its slippery prey must be its long serrated
crimson beak. In Ireland it is known to the fishermen and
fowlers as the ' Skeld Duck/ and sometimes as ' Spear Widgeon/
on account of its sharp-toothed bill. In England it is provincially
known as the ' Harle/ and the ' Jack-Saw/ and in Sweden it is
the Smd-SkraJct, ' Small Saw-bill/ One cannot but admire the
remarkable position of the legs of this and all the other Mergi,
and Colymbi as well, which, though it renders them clumsy on
land, to which they seldom resort, so marvellously supplies them
with oars and rudders in the water, where they spend their lives.
Both these families were called by Linna3us Compedes, because
they move on the ground as if ' shackled ' or ' fettered.' * Of all
fowl ' (says Sir R. Payne-Gallwey,) ' except perhaps the Golden-
Eyes, they are the most restless and wary : never quiet, always
swimming, diving, or flying, and to no apparent end.' I never
yet saw one at rest with head down and bill tucked under wing.
They build in cracks and crevices in the rocks and shore, but do
not choose rabbit holes. Ekstrom, the Norwegian naturalist,
says, ' The Saw- bill is the best of barometers ; if, during a partial
thaw in the winter, it reappears, one may be very sure there will
be no more severe frost that year.' In France it is Harle huppt ;
in Germany, Langschnabliger Sager ; in Italy, Mergo oca di
luwgo becco ; in Portugal, Merganso.
204. GOOSANDER (Mergus merganser).
This is the largest species of the genus, and perhaps the most
common, though none of this little group of birds are very
plentiful on our coasts : and very seldom does a straggler from
Goosander. 497
such truly oceanic ducks penetrate so far as our inland county.
The Rev. George Marsh, however, had a pair in his collection
which were killed in Wiltshire on the river Avon, in February,
1838. Mr. Grant, of Devizes, reports one killed at Wedhampton,
in the parish of Erchfont, in January, 1861 ; another on the
canal at Devizes in 1862; one at S to well in 1875; and one at
Spye Park in 1881. Major Heneage has a pair shot at Lyneham,
one in 1856, the other in 1857. The Marlborough College
Natural History Reports state that one was shot at Stitchcombe
by Mr. R. Butler in December, 1879. Lord Arundell mentions
one killed at Wardour about twenty years ago. Lord Nelson
has a specimen killed at Trafalgar ; and the Rev. E. Duke, one
killed at Great Durnford, on the estate adjoining Lake. The
Rev. W. H. Awdry tells me of one killed near Ludgershall this
spring (1887), and Mr. G. Sotheron Estcourt records how one
has visited the lake at Estcourt this winter, swimming about for
several weeks with the domesticated wild ducks, but especially
with the Coots. Again, I have a notice, which I extract from
the Zoologist* of its occurrence at Clarendon Park, Salisbury,
where the bailiff picked up a fine male specimen quite dead on
the banks of the lake in February, 1867, its mouth full of fresh-
water weeds. The Rev. A. P. Morres has twice fallen in with
them in the meadows at Britford, where on the first occasion two
adult birds in fine plumage, and on the second occasion, in 1870,
a small band of three attracted his attention ; and as a proof that
he was not mistaken in the species, which he only saw on the
wing, one was killed by the keeper in the evening of the same
day. Lastly, Mr. Hussey Freke, of Hannington Hall, reported
that a female specimen was shot on the river Thames, in the
parish of Highworth, on January 6, 1871. It is called 'Goosander'
by us, and Merganser, or ' Diving Goose/ as its scientific name,
on account of its size, as it is the largest of the genus. So in
Sweden it is Stor Skrake, or ' Great Saw-Bill.' From its manner
of fishing in flocks, and driving the fish before it, it has acquired
in Sweden the name of Kor-fogel, or ' Driving Bird.' Then, when
Second Series, volume for 1867, p. 709.
32
498 Anatidce.
gorged, it retires to open water to rest and digest its food, and
allows itself to be rocked by the waves. Whence its designation
in some districts of Vrak-fogcl, or ' Wreck Bird/ implying that at
such times it lies like a wreck on the billows.* Most of the
provincial names given to its congeners, as related above, are also
indiscriminately applied to this species, for in the eyes of fisher-
men and labourers small distinctions are overlooked ; so this,
too, is the 'Harle,' the 'Saw-bill,' and the 'Jack Saw;' but I
believe alone it enjoys the names of 'Dundiver' and 'Sparling
Fowl,' as given it by Bewick, Montagu, and others. Before I
take leave of this genus, I would quote the following instructive
passage from the masterly hand of Sir R. Payne-Gallwey :
1 Mergansers have longer wings and lighter bodies for their size
than the diving ducks, and are therefore more powerful on the
wing than the latter. Their actions, like those of other divers,
when alighting, are governed by their power of rising. Feet and
legs being near the tail, they cannot fly from, or pitch on, the
water with the facility exhibited by the true ducks. In structure
they are admirably formed for fishing; and their prey once
caught has as much chance of escaping from the serrated beak
as has a roach from the mouth of a pike. As in the case of the
pike, the saw-like teeth on the edges of the mandibles curve
inwards/ ( In France it is Grand Harle ; in Germany, Oansen-
Sager oder Taucher Gans, ' Diving Goose ' ; and in Italy, Mergo
oca marina e Mergo dominicano. When alive, this species
shows a most delicate rose colour on its neck and breast, which
(as in the case of Pastor roseus and several other species) fades
very quickly after death. A magnificent specimen which I once
procured from a Norfolk fenman as he was returning with his
spoil, and which quite glowed with a rich rosy hue, soon after
faded (to my intense disgust) to a dingy smoke colour, and has
now no trace of its former beauty.
* Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., p. 480.
f ' The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 117.
The Divers. 499
COLYMBID^E (THE DIVERS).
This very remarkable family of Diving birds shows a most
complete structure, and a general formation thoroughly adapted
to their submerged habits, for all the species which comprise it
pass a considerable portion of their lives, not only on the surface
of the water, but beneath it. The form of body is remarkably
long and oval ; the neck long and tapering, the head small, and
the beak straight, hard, and sharp-pointed ; the legs are placed
at the extreme end of the body, and the feet are large, thus
acting as paddles propelling from the stern ; the tarsus is re-
markably thin or laterally compressed, and the feet, though
furnished with membranes, have the toes so articulated as to
fold into a very small compass when drawn towards the body,
after making the necessary stroke, thus offering the least possible
resistance in the water. By this arrangement they are enabled
to pass rapidly through the water beneath the surface, and can
remain a long time submerged ; but on land they are awkward
and ungainly enough, standing quite upright, and resting upon
the whole length of the leg from the foot to the first joint, re-
minding one of the kangaroo, and when surprised or alarmed
they shuffle into the water on their breasts, somewhat after the
manner of the seals. But they rarely come on shore except at
the breeding season, and then they place their nests at the
water's edge. Though their wings are short and their bodies
heavy, they can fly with astonishing strength and swiftness, yet
the flight is necessarily laboured ; but, once in the water, none
are more active and rapid, and even graceful, in their movements
than the Divers. Many of them are quite tail-less, and others
have but rudimentary apologies for tails ; but perhaps the most
admirable provision for their subaqueous habits centres in their
plumage, which is not only thick, downy, and soft, but has a
glossy, silky lustre, which renders it so completely waterproof
that prolonged immersion has no effect in penetrating beneath it.
There are but two genera belonging to this family, the Grebes
and the Divers, and we have instances of both as having occurred
in this county.
322
500 Colymbidce.
205. GREAT CRESTED GREBE (Podiceps cristatus).
This fine species well deserves to take rank at the head of the
family, and an adult bird furnished with its ruff or fringe round
the neck, and long occipital tufts or horns, presents a dignified
appearance. It spends a part of its life amidst inland lakes and
part in the shallow waters of the coast, whence it procures its
food. So rapidly does it dive, and such progress can it make by
exerting wings and feet beneath the surface, that it requires a
well-manned boat and sturdy rowers to keep pace with it. The
generic name, podiceps, from poditis + pes, signifying ' with feet
at the stern/ calls attention to one of the most marked features
which the whole genus shares. It was known in old time in
Lincolnshire, where it was abundant, as a ' Gaunt/ which, Mr.
Harting says, signifies ' one who yawns/ from the Anglo-Saxon
geanian, and is applicable to these birds, as he has frequently
observed in the Grebes and Divers a spasmodic action analogous
to gaping or yawning.* But I would with deference venture to
submit whether, taking into consideration the shape of the bird
' an elongated cone/ as Yarrell describes it the word ' gaunt '
may not bear the more obvious meaning of ' slim/ ' slender/ for I
find the word in Skeat's Etymological Dictionary signifies a
' thin pointed stick/ or a ' tall thin man/ and is there said to be
an East Anglian word, presumably Scandinavian, and corre-
sponds to the Norwegian gaud. Mr. Harting further adds that
in the r^ign of Edward I. land was held in the county of Bucks
by the tenure of providing, among other things, ' two Grebes
when the King came to Ailesbury ' ; nor does he doubt that duas
gantes signified 'two gaunts,' whose soft, satiny plumage was
esteemed of great value for the trimming of robes and mantles.
On the broads of Norfolk it is known as a ' Loon/ with the
meaning of 'clown/ 'slow/ 'ungainly/ with reference to its
awkward gait on land, and in Ireland as ' Molrooken/ Some-
times it is called the 'Satin Grebe/ from the delicate silvery
whiteness and shining silky appearance of the under surface of
Zoologist for 1884, p. 350.
Great-Crested Grebe. 501
the body. The English word ' Grebe ' is from an old Breton word
signifying 'crested ' or 'tufted with feathers ' (Skeat). In France
it is Grebe huppt ; in Germany, Gehaubter Steissfuss ; in Italy,
Colimbo crestato ; in Sweden, Hvit strupig Dopping, ' White-
throated Dipper ' ; in Portugal, this and all the other species
known there are called in common Mergulldo, ' Diver.' Its nest
consists of a mass of wet sedge or half-rotten decayed water-
plants floating on the surface of the water, and how the eggs are
hatched in such moisture seems extraordinary. This nest is so
fastened to the reeds amongst which it is placed that it cannot
be driven away by the wind ; and (strange to say) near each nest
is a second platform, or pad of sedge, upon which the male bird
rests while his mate is sitting. When the Grebes are alarmed
they immediately sink, without splash, in the water, and dive away
for security ; and when the young are hatched the parent birds
will on emergency take them down under their wings for safety
when they dive, the young birds being placed with their heads
towards the tail, and their bills resting on the back of the
parent. Though necessarily only an occasional straggler in Wilt-
shire, where we have no large lakes suited to its habits, I have
several instances of its occurrence. Mr. Elgar Sloper informs
me that a young male in his collection was shot on the Kennet
and Avon Canal near Devizes in February, 1839. Mr. Withers
had an immature specimen sent to him for preservation which
was killed at Enford ; Mr. Marsh possessed a female shot on the
Avon in February, 1838 ; and Lord Methuen has one killed on
the water at Corsham Court.
206. RED-NECKED GREBE (Podiceps rabricollis).
This is a smaller species than the last, and if not a more rare
visitor to our coasts, is more rarely noticed, as it prefers salt
water to fresh, and being an inhabitant of more northern
latitudes, only comes to us in winter. It is said, when diving,
' to dart through thick entangled masses of weeds and grass with
the ease and rapidity of the fish/ but not to use its wings under
water, as from the very weedy nature of the lakes or streams
502 Colymbidce.
it invariably frequents, that would only impede its progress.
Like others of their congeners, they swallow a mass of their own
feathers to aid the digestive process, somewhat after the habit of
hawks and owls. I am fortunate in having several instances of
the occurrence in our county of so rare an inland straggler ; and
I am again indebted to Mr. Elgar Sloper for the information that
one was killed near Devizes in 1840 ; to Mr. Baker that another,
an adult bird, was killed at Westbury in 1874 ; and to the Rev.
T. A. Preston that two specimens, which he saw, had been sent
to the Marlborough bird-preserver to be converted into plumes
for hats ! this was in April, 1870. I have also notices from the
Marlborough College Natural History Reports of one killed at
Preshute many years since ; and from Mr. Grant of specimens
shot at Eastcott in 1868, at Stanton in 1870, and at Lyneham
in 1870 ; the latter is now in the possession of Major Heneage at
Compton Bassett. Amongst the most advanced ornithologists
in England, P. rubricollis is now known as P. grisegena, or
' Gray-cheeked,' as already it had been generally known on the
Continent ; in France, Gr&be jou-gris ; in Germany, Graukehliger
Steissfuss ; and in Sweden, Grd-strupig Dapping, or 'Gray-
throated Dipper/
207. SCLAVONIAN GREBE (Podiceps comutus).
In my former papers on the Ornithology of Wilts, I was
obliged to omit this species from the Wiltshire list, as I had no
instance before me of its occurrence within the county, though I
remarked it did in all probability occasionally appear amongst
us, as it is, in comparison with some of its congeners whose
visits I am able to record, common in England. In 1864, Mr.
Henry Blackmore reported one shot in the immediate neighbour-
hood of Salisbury, which was brought to him in. the flesh on
January 19.* The Rev. A. P. Morres has himself shot it in his
own parish of Britford. Major Heneage possesses a specimen
which was killed at Lyneham in 1870. Mr. Baker, of Mere,
possesses one which was shot on a sheep pond at Knoyle in 1874 ;
* Zoologist for 1864, p. 9048.
Eared Grebe. 503
and in the winter of 1877 a policeman, walking down the street
in Warminster on a cold, dark night, when it was snowing
heavily, heard a flight of birds passing overhead, and shortly
after was startled by hearing a heavy thud behind him, which
turned out to be a Sclavonian Grebe, its plumage and wings
being so encrusted with frozen snow that it could no longer use
them. Like the last-named species, it is a winter visitor here,
retiring in spring to breed in the far north. In breeding-plumage
it may well be called cornutus, for it not only has a fine chestnut
tuft about the head, but below the chin, and round the sides of
the neck, a rich dark-brown ruff, giving it a very distinguished
appearance. It is also known as the * Dusky ' and the ' Horned '
Grebe ; the former referring to its immature or winter dress, the
latter to its summer plumage. Our countryman, Colonel Montagu,
was the first to make it known as British. Like others of the
family, it has been known to dive with its young under its wings
on occasion of alarm, and has also been seen to fly with the
young birds on its back, when it was necessary to transport them
to a place of safety otherwise than beneath the water ; for Sir R.
Payne-Gallwey* points out that the idea common in Ireland,
that the bird flies with its young under its wings, is manifestly
an error, since no bird could sustain its flight, and at the same
time grip an object under the wings. In France it is Grebe cornu
and le Grebe d'Esclavonie ; in Germany, Gehornter Steissfuss.
208. EARED GREBE (Podiceps auritus).
This is the rarest British Grebe, and I am glad to be able to
include it in our Wiltshire list : indeed, I have several records of
its capture ; the first on the authority of the late Rev. G. Marsh,
who informed me that a specimen was killed at Christian Malford ;
the second and third from the no less reliable testimony of the
Rev. G. Powell, who on March 24, 1875, wrote me word that he
had that afternoon seen a specimen of this rare visitor to Wilts.
It was killed near Knoyle, and (strange to say) another specimen
was killed, or picked up dead, in the same locality, not many
' The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 142.
504 Colymbidce.
years previously. The Marlborough College Natural History
Reports mention one caught near the ' Burnt House,' Savernake
Forest, on January 27, 1878; and Mr. Grant records three
specimens which have come to him in the flesh : viz., in 1864
from Stanton, in 1865 from Chitterne, and in 1877 from Keevil.
The most modern school of ornithologists call it nigricollis, and
certainly the ' black neck ' does offer a point of distinction ; but
auritus, ' eared,' was the name used by all our older authorities :
Pennant, Montagu, Bewick, Fleming, Selby, Yarrell, Temminck,
etc. It may also be at once distinguished from the species last
described, and which it much resembles, by the beak, which is
bent slightly upwards and depressed at the base. Canon Tristram
gives an admirable account of a colony of Eared Grebes, the most
gregarious of the genus, which he found breeding in societies
more densely crowded than any rookery, on Lake Halloula, in
Algeria : the nests, formed like those of other Grebes, were raised
on artificial islets, frequently almost touching each other, and
sometimes piled on stout foundations rising from more than a
yard under water.* Mr. Cecil Smith, who has kept this bird in
confinement, says, ' Grebes do not sit erect, but with face to the
ground; but when walking or running, the posture is nearly
erect, and they proceed along with a waddling gait. When
resting, they do not place their feet upon the ground, but turn
them up so as to place them under their wings, which they
cover with their side feathers, and thus entirely hide them from
view. They will also rest in the same manner upon the water.f
In France it is Grebe oreillard ; in Germany, Gehorter oder Ohren
Steissfuss ; in Italy, Colimbo Suasso turco.
209. LITTLE GREBE (Podiceps minor).
We come now to the commonest and best known of all the
genus, the familiar ' Dabchick/ which may be generally seen on
every retired river or large pond ; a shy retiring species, disap-
pearing beneath the surface at the first alarm, and only re-
* Ibis for 1860, p. 159.
t ' Birds of Somerset,' p. 532.
Little Grebe. 505
appearing at a considerable distance; and then perhaps, after
the manner of its race, only thrusting its head above water,
while the body is still submerged. Like most, if not all of its
congeners, it covers its eggs during temporary absence from the
nest, but this does not appear to be for any purpose of retaining
the warmth of incubation, but for concealment and consequent
protection from marauders. It is strange that with this species,
too, the nest is wet below, and the eggs are covered with wet
weeds. As it flutters along the surface of the pond when dis-
turbed, its feet (which are longer in proportion to its size than
those of any other Diver) appear to weigh it down, and it drags
them dip, dip, dipping along the water behind it.* Indeed, it is
most reluctant to take flight, and trusts to its wonderful diving
powers to elude an enemy ; but, when once on the wing, its flight
is both rapid and well sustained. When it stands upright, it
has a very awkward, knock-kneed appearance. Provincially in
many parts of England it is known as the ' Didapper,' or ' Little
Diver.' In Sussex it is called the ' Mole Diver.' By many authors
it is now no longer known under the old familiar name of
Podiceps minor, but transferred to a separate genus of its own,
and called Tachybaptes fluviatilis, or the ' River Quick Diver.'
In France it is Grebe castagneux, or ' Chestnut-coloured Grebe,'
in allusion to the colour of its neck in the breeding season ; and
in Sweden Smd Dopping, or ' Little Dipper ' ; in Germany, Kleiner
Steissfuss; in Spain, Zambullidor, ' Dipper,' or ' Plunger.' Before
taking leave of this genus, I would again call attention to the
feet of the Grebes, which are very peculiar, and are furnished
with a broad membrane down the sides of the toes, not unlike
those of the Lobipedidse.
210. GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (Colymbus gtacialis).
This magnificent species is an inhabitant of northern seas, as
its name implies, and one of the most glorious sights to me as an
ornithologist when in Norway was the almost daily view of a
pair of these fine Divers, or its congeners, the ' Black- throated '
4 The Fowler in Ireland/ p. 142.
506 Colymbidce.
(C. arcticus), or the 'Red-throated' (C. septentrionalis), swim-
ming in the midst of some salt-water fjord or fresh-water inland
lake, monarchs of all they surveyed, for I never recollect meeting
with two pairs on the same water. They are all wild, shy birds,
and extremely difficult to shoot, from the facility with which
they would dive, the distance they would traverse before they
rose again to the surface, and their instantaneous disappearance
again beneath the water when alarmed ; and I have spent hours
in chasing them in a boat before I could secure the specimens I
wanted.
In diving, indeed, it is most expert, and its progress at the
bottom is said to be at the rate of more than seven miles an
hour, while it continues its submarine hunting with apparently
little exertion. In swimming, its flattened body is often immersed
deep in the water, the head and neck only appearing above the
surface ; at other times it will swim as high as a duck, and float
as buoyant as a cork. But on land it presents a very sorry
figure, with little more means of walking than a seal has : for
the construction and position of its legs combine to render it
incapable of moving on its feet like other birds. Accordingly,
venire d terre, it shoves itself forward on its breast by jerks and
by striking the ground with its feet. So averse is it to leave the
water, and so reluctant to fly, that it will swim and dive for hours
when hotly pursued ; but when once it does take wing its flight
is swift and, for so heavy a bird, wonderfully powerful Its cries,
as you listen to it on a still night in Norway, uttered with loud
voice from the midst of some fjord, are most plaintive and
melancholy ; and many in consequence are the idle superstitions
and fearful tales connected with this bird, thoroughly believed
in by the credulous Norsemen, and gravely detailed by the
marvel-loving, quaint old Bishop, Pontoppidan.* Its plumage is
so thick and close and impervious to wet, and, moreover, its skin
is so tough and strong, that it is much prized by the natives of
Northern Europe for making into warm articles of clothing.
Among the Laplanders more especially I have seen it so em-
* Lloyd's ' Scandinavian Adventures,' vol. ii., 487.
Great Northern Diver. 507
ployed. The generic name, colymbus, is simply the Latinized
form of Ko\u/z/3o9, 'a diver.' The specific, glacialis, 'living
amongst the ice/ marks it at once as an inhabitant of Arctic
regions ; and the Swedish Is Lorn and the German Eis Taucher,
' Ice Diver/ are a close translation of Colymbus glacialis. Pro-
vincially, on some parts of our coast it is called the ' Great
Doucker/ which is clearly the same as the German Taucher. It
is also known to fishermen as the ' Immer/ or ' Ember Goose/
and also as the ' Herdsman of the Sea/ from its habit of driving
before it the fishes which it pursues, even to a very great depth.
In France it is Plongeon Imbrim ; in Germany, Schwarzhalsiger
Seetaucher, ' Black-necked Sea-Diver ' ; in Italy, Mergo Maggiore.
Though all the three species of Divers occur sparingly on our
coasts, and from each we have had one or more visits in Wilt-
shire, the Great Northern Diver is that most frequently found
inland ; and of its occurrence in this county I have no less than
ten instances. Lord Arundell informed me that one was killed
at Wardour about ten years ago ; Lord Methuen possesses a
specimen which was killed on the water at Corsham Court;
Lord Bath tells me that one, if not two, have been taken at
Longleat ; Lord Nelson has one killed at Trafalgar ; Mr. Grant
reports one killed at Whitley in December, 1869, by falling on
the ice on a Sunday in the midst of a number of people. The
late Rev. G. Marsh had an immature specimen in his collection,
shot by his brother in the river at Salisbury in 1831 ; and also an
adult specimen, killed on the borders of the county near Bath,
in February, 1838. Holliday, a bird-stuffer at Calne, informed
me that he had preserved one which was shot at Bowood in
1855. A very fine specimen was taken in a brook leading from
Spye Park to Chittoe in November, 1853, and came into the pos-
session of Captain Meredith, the particulars of whose capture I
recorded in the Zoologist at that time ;* and another was killed
on Major Heneage's water at Lyneham, and is now preserved in
the hall at Compton Bassett House.
Zoologist for 1854, p. 4166.
508 Colymbidce.
211. BLACK-THROATED DIVER (Colymbus arcticus).
I think this is one of the handsomest birds when in full-
breeding plumage which I have ever seen in a wild state, and I
met with it frequently in Norway. The arrangement of black
and white feathers, the square and lozenge- shaped spots of pure
white on a black ground, the velvet black of the neck, set off by
a collar of black and white lines and the pure white of the under
surface of the body, combine to give it a most attractive dress
though it has no bright colours in its plumage. In all their
habits and powers of diving, swimming, and flight, the Divers
resemble one another, and all are equally ungainly on dry land,
so that ' the peasants of Norway have the somewhat irreverent
saying that when first created their legs were forgotten, but sub-
sequently thrown after them. This in their eyes accounts for
their pedestals being placed so singularly far behind.' It is also
believed, in consequence of its difficulty in coming ashore, to
carry about its two eggs, each in a hollow which exists for the
purpose under either wing, and there, without the necessity of
leaving her favourite element, or of climbing on to the hated
land, the parent bird hatches out her young in comfort and in
security. Another strange fiction in regard to this bird,
commonly believed by the Scandinavian peasant, is that when
its two eggs are hatched, finding a difficulty in providing for two
young ones, it immediately destroys one, and devotes itself to
the maintenance of the other. To pass from fable to fact, I
found this species many times in Norway on the lakes in the
interior, and sometimes in the more retired fjords, but more
especially on the lakes of the upper mountain plateaux, the
coldness and dreariness of which nothing can exceed, for they
never seemed at any time in the summer to be secure from snow
and frost and ice and cold biting winds. I suppose it was the
solitude and wildness of these lakes which made them so attrac-
tive to the Black-throated Divers ; certainly they preferred them
to other lakes lower down the mountains, and most certainly
they were seldom disturbed there, and very seldom intruded on
Black-throated Diver. 509
by man. The Lapps are very fond of ornamenting their dresses
and tobacco-pouches with the feathers of these handsome birds,
as well as using their skins for articles of clothing ; and I bought
of them a small bag of reindeer's skin, which they had tanned
for themselves and ornamented with tufts of feathers from these
birds. Its skin is also said to be highly prized by the Esquimaux
for its warmth and beauty, for which purpose they are much
sought after and dressed and made into garments, such as that
much-to-be-pitied people wear. This species is somewhat larger
than its red-throated congener ; hence known in Norway as Stor
Lorn, or ' Great Lorn.' Of all three species of Divers this is the
most rare on the English coast ; and I am happy in being able
to add it to our Wiltshire list, on the authority of Mr. E. Baker,
of Mere, who himself saw the bird, and described it in transition
plumage, though killed in the month of December, 1872, in the
neighbourhood of Salisbury. I have since learned from Lord
Methuen that he possesses a specimen which was killed on the
water at Corsham Court. In France it is Plongeon lumme ou d
gorge noire ; in Germany, Der polar Taucher oder Schwarz-
kehliger Seetaucher, ( Black-throated Sea-Diver.'
212. RED-THROATED DIVER (Colymbus septentrionalis}.
Of this species I have three occurrences in Wiltshire to record.
The first was captured after a severe storm on Knoyle Down,
when it was so exhausted and unable to rise that Mr. R Godwin
struck it down with a riding-whip and so secured it, when it
came into the collection of Mr. Baker, of Mere. The second was
shot at Lyneham in 1866, and is now in the possession of Major
Heneage ; and the third, as Mr. Grant informs me, was killed
at Erlestoke in November, 1876. I found it very common in
Norway, both on the inland freshwater lakes and on the salt-
water fjords. In the latter, however, they generally get up
towards the extreme end, where the narrow arm of the sea pene-
trates far into the interior of the country, often as much as eighty
or a hundred miles from the sea-coast. Here the fjord becomes
much like an inland lake ; and as large streams and torrents are
510 Colymbidce.
perpetually pouring their waters into it on every side, and
especially at the extreme end of every arm, these fresh waters have
in some parts so great power over the sea water that the fjords at
their heads, though true branches of the sea, have but little taste
of salt in their waves : and here the Red-throated Diver retires
to breed ; and whether sailing about on the waters they have
appropriated to themselves, or flying high in the air with long
necks outstretched, and with a wailing scream, they never failed
to impart additional interest to the scene. In Norway it is Smd
Lorn, or ' Little Lorn,' being somewhat smaller than the Black-
Throated. Mr. Cecil Smith says that in Devonshire it is known
as the 'Loon,' which is evidently the same as the Norsk Lorn
and the Lapland Lumme, which is said to mean ' lame,' in
reference to its hobbling mode of progression on land. Some-
times it is called the ' Speckled Diver ' and sometimes the ' Rain
Goose/ as it is apt to utter hoarse cries before rough weather.
Elsewhere it is known to the fishermen as the ' Sprat Loon,' from
the partiality it shows for that fish ; but in Finmark, in con-
sequence of its harsh and disagreeable cry, it is called in derision
' Lofodden's Nightingale.' Of its amazing powers, both of diving
and swimming, and, I may add, of flying, I can speak by ex-
perience, having spent many hours in chasing it in a boat manned
by sturdy Norwegian boatmen before I could secure the speci-
mens I desired to add to my collection. It comes to the British
coast oftener than either of its congeners, and may at any season
and age be readily distinguished from them by the slightly up-
turned bill. In France it is Plongeon Cat-marm oil d gorge
rouge; and in Germany, Rotkkehliger Tawher.
ALCAD.E (THE AUKS).
This family comprises the Guillemots, the true Auks, and the
Puffins, and it is strange that I am able to record any member
of the family as a visitor, however rare, to Wiltshire, so seldom
do they straggle so far from the coast, and so thoroughly
maritime a race all the members of Alcadse are. Indeed, so
entirely marine are their habits, that they pass almost all their
Common Guillemot. . 511
lives in and on the sea, and accordingly their legs are placed so
far behind that they are wholly incapable of walking on land ;
not, however, at so great an angle with the body as in the Divers,
so that they are able to sit in an upright attitude, resting equally
on the feet and the whole length of the tarsus. Then their
wings are little more than rudimentary, and are advanced so
far forwards that, though admirable as oars or fins in propelling
them through the water, they are of comparatively little service
in enabling them to fly through the air. But they do literally
fly through the water, the wings having exactly the same action,
though not quite so much extended nor so rapidly moved, as
when they are flying in the air. On this account the presence
of any member of this family in our inland county is indeed
marvellous.
213. COMMON GUILLEMOT (Uria troile).
This is more abundant, perhaps, than any other of the sea-birds
which swarm in some portions of our coasts, and is common
enough all round our island. But its powers of locomotion on
land are very limited, owing to the backward position of the legs,
and the shortness of the wings ; so that it is wonderful how any
individual of this species ever reached Wiltshire. I am indebted
to Mr. Grant, of Devizes, for the information that it has been
found in our county, one having come into his hands for
preservation, which had been killed at Salisbury in December,
1871. It breeds in vast colonies on the precipitous cliffs on the
coast, laying its one large egg on the narrow ledge, in close
proximity to scores of others, but the variety of colour, shape,
and size of these eggs is astonishing. There is no nest, but the
Guillemot sits in an upright position on her single egg, which is
conical in shape, and very broad at one end, and very narrow at
the other ; and this form protects it from rolling off the shelving
rock on which it is deposited, since if accidentally disturbed it
merely describes a circle within its own length. I have four eggs
in my possession which, common as they are, and only worth a
few pence, I value more than any others in the whole collection,
512 Alcadce.
for they were given me by Mr. Waterton when I was on a
visit to him at Walton Hall, and he described to me how he took
them with his own hands at Flamborough Head, on the coast of
Yorkshire, when he made the perilous descent of that lofty cliff,
and was let down by a rope from the top, after the custom of the
adventurous fishermen who have pursued that dangerous practice
for generations. The young bird, when about three weeks old, is
carried down to the sea on the back of the mother, who soon in-
structs it in the arts of swimming and diving, and carries it out
to sea far from the shore. This is another species which
penetrates to Polar regions. Nordenskiold* observed it in great
numbers hovering about the tops of the rocks, and settling on the
ledges in Northern Spitzbergen, as early as the 4th of March ;
and Sir Edward Parry met with it in latitude 81. As regards
the name, we have adopted the French term, ' Guillemot/ derived
from the cry of the adult; but on the south coast it is called
' Willock' or ' Willy/ which is supposed to represent the cry of
the young bird. Elsewhere it is known as 'Murre,' from the
murmuring noise of the assembled multitudes at their breeding
haunts: and by the fishermen on the east coast as 'Scout/
perhaps from its short or 'cutty' tail; also as 'Marrock' or
'Marrot.' In Sweden it is Sill Grissla, or 'Herring Grissler';
and in Germany, Dumme Lumme; and by us the 'Foolish
Guillemot/ because it is so unsuspicious of harm, and so con-
fiding as oftentimes to endanger its life. In Portugal it is Airo.
The B.O.U. Committee says that the specific name, troile, was in-
tended as a compliment to Troil the Icelander.
214. LITTLE AUK (Mergulus alle).
This is another thoroughly oceanic bird, and chiefly at
home in the more northern part of the Polar seas, where it
has accompanied the most intrepid of the Arctic explorers to
the farthest point attained by them. It is commonly known
to English sailors and to Arctic voyagers generally as the
'Rotche/ and the numbers congregated in some spots of the
Nordenskiold's ' Arctic Voyages,' p. 217.
Little Auk 513
far North appear almost incredible; but there it finds an un-
limited supply of the crustaceans and other small marine animals
on which it subsists. Colonel Sabine related that off the coast
of Greenland, in latitude 76, in the channels of water separating
fields of ice, ' hundreds were killed daily for food/ and the ship's
company supplied with this acceptable change of diet. Norden-
skiold speaks of an ' Auk- fell in Spitzbergen inhabited by millions
of Auks, which sit closely packed together in all the clefts and
crevices of the rocks, and the air was literally darkened by the
multitude of fowl on the wing at one time. Other vast flocks
were sitting upon and between the ice-floes, seeking their food.'
In another part he came to a mountain fifteen hundred feet in
height which, ' from the hundreds of thousands of Auks which
frequent it, was called Alk hornet, " the Auk horn," and here land,
sea, ice, and sky seemed darkened with the dense flocks :' while
in the same dreary country Admiral Beechey ' frequently saw a
column of Rotches which by means of a rough calculation he
estimated as consisting of nearly four millions of birds on the
wing at one time.'* The Little Auk is only a winter visitor to
our coasts, and then seldom comes to land, except when driven
in by stress of severe storms, so that I esteemed myself fortunate
in obtaining two specimens for my collection, which had been so
carried inland on the coast of Norfolk. It is a quaint-looking,
heavy bird for its size, with short wings, but great powers of
diving. Mergulus indeed signifies 'Little Diver,' but alle is a
Lapp name, presumably taken from the bird's note. In addition
to the familiar names given above, it is also known provincially
as the 'Sea Dove,' and the 'Little Black and White Diver/ but
in Sweden it is promoted to the rank of royalty, being known
there as Sjo Rung, or 'Sea King.' In France it is Guillemot
nain, 'Dwarf Guillemot' ; in Germany, Der Kleine Alk; in Italy
Uria minore. I am again indebted to Mr. Grant for the in-
formation of its occurrence in Wiltshire, two specimens having
Professor Newton in Ibis for 1865, p. 204 ; Captain Beechey's ' Yoyage
of Discovery towards the North Pole,' 1818, p. 46 ; Nordenskiold's Arctic
Voyages,' 1858 1879, pp. 53, 68; Lieutenant Greeley's 'Three Years of
Arctic Service,' vol. ii., p. 373.
33
514 Alcadcc.
come into his hands, one on October 26, 1869, from Gore Cross
Farm, on the Market Lavington Down, and the second on
October 17, 1870, which was taken on Wilsford Down.
215. PUFFIN (Fratercula arctica).
Most marvellous, indeed, is the appearance of this bird, and
even ludicrous its aspect, on account of the singular form and
colour of the bill, which is higher than long, very much com-
pressed at the sides, both mandibles arched and grooved and
notched towards the point, and very highly coloured with the
brightest orange and yellow and bluish -gray. Singular, however,
as it is to look at, this beak is extremely powerful, and can bite
the intruding hand thrust into a hole in search of its egg in a
way not readily forgotten. And now it has been discovered
that the Puffin sheds portions of its bill in autumn, the horny
frontal sheath scaling off in pieces like plates of armour.* This
species is truly oceanic in its habits, and never resorts to fresh
water. It breeds in a rabbit burrow or other hole in the ground,
and lays but one egg. Unlike the young of the Guillemot,
which its parents convey at a tender age from the giddy heights
on which it is hatched to the sea below, the young Puffin
remains at the end of the rabbit-burrow or hole in the rock in
which it is bred until it is able to fly down to the sea, unaided
by its parents. Once on the sea, it finds itself thoroughly at
home, for it dives with the utmost facility. Its flight, too, for a
short distance is rapid, but cannot be continued far, for its short
narrow wings seem scarcely able to support its heavy bod}^. It
is strange that this bird, which penetrates as far as Greenland
and other high latitudes in the breeding season, should be so
little known in Sweden that it is called by the fisherman
UtldndsTc Alk, or ' Foreign Razor Bill.' Off the northern coast
of Norway, however, it is exceedingly abundant, and in one
island named Fugle-0, or 'Bird Island/ its numbers are in"
calculable. The same may be said of the slopes of Lundy, or
* Puffin ' Island, deriving its name from the Scandinavian word
Fourth edition of c Yarrell's British Birds,' vol. iv., p. 95.
Puffin. 515
Lunde, ' Puffin/ and ey, island, a name given it by the northern
rovers who once made it their residence, and here the Puffins
still burrow in myriads. We can imagine how warmly their
arrival was welcomed by the Arctic voyagers, when, after a long
dreary winter in the ice, they first caught sight of these summer
migrants, not so much on account of the fresh meat which they
afforded, but from their lively manners and the return of summer
which their presence proclaimed. As early as the reign of
Edward I. the Crown rent was paid in Puffins, not for the sake
of their flesh, but for their feathers : as for the same reason the
rent of some of the western islands of Scotland continues to be
paid in birds to this day. So the Scilly Islands once owned by
a Wiltshireman were held under the Crown at the rent of fifty
Puffins, or 6s. 8d., per annum. In 1484 the islands were returned
as worth, in peaceable times, forty shillings ; in war times,
nothing.* This bird is said to have derived its name Fratercula,
1 Little Brother,' from its sociable gregarious habits and its habit
of dwelling in communities, and arctica, as it is to be met with
in the far North; but its provincial names are too many to
enumerate, ' Sea Parrot,' ' Bottle Nose/ and ' Coulter-Neb,' all
alluding to its extraordinary beak, being among the most
common. The word ' Puffin ' is, on the authority of Skeat,
either from its puffed-out, rounded stomach, or, more probably,
from its peculiar swelling beak, like that of a parrot. The Kev.
T. A. Preston sent me for identification a specimen which had
been found near Marlborough in the autumn of 1869. It was
in immature plumage, and was, in fact, a bird of the year, having
neither arrived at the size nor the distinctive characteristics of
the parents ; indeed, except for a faint indication of transverse
grooves along both mandibles, neither the shape, colour, nor
markings of the beak betokened the remarkable formation
peculiar to this bird when in adult dress. There were two
individuals which made their appearance near Marlborough, and
both of which were seen by Mr. Preston in the flesh. They were
not found together, but one was caught on the banks of the
Wiltshire Magazine^ vol. i., p. 156.
332
516 Alcadce.
Rennet on the 25th of October ; the other was subsequently
picked up dead, and was in so emaciated a condition as to imply
that it had died of starvation. Another instance is given by the
Kev. A. P. Morres, who says that a bird of the year, but of full
size, was brought to him in the winter of 1863, which a carter
had caught on a high-lying fallow in the parish of Britford, and
which had bitten his fingers so severely that in exasperation he
killed it. Mr. Grant records another specimen killed at Salis-
bury, December 28th, 1871, which came into his hands for
preservation; while the Maryborough College Natural History
Keports mention two seen at a pond near the Warren at St.
Catharine's, Savernake Forest, one of which was captured on
November 21, 1879. In France it is Macareux moine ; in
Germany, Arktische oder Graukehliger Alk ; in Norway, Lunne
Fogel ; in Spain, Cagafet ; in Portugal, Papagaio do mar.
216. RAZOR-BILL (Alca torda).
Here we have another species which abounds on our coasts,
though perhaps not in quite such overpowering numbers as
either of those mentioned above. It partakes of the same habits
on sea and land as its congeners, breeding with the Guillemots
on the ledges of cliffs, and showing itself equally expert in diving
and swimming. For this constant immersion in the sea they
need waterproof clothing, and the plumage with which they are
provided is very thick and close-set, and quite impervious to the
action of water. The adult birds are furnished with a bill par-
taking, in some degree, of the character of that of the Puffin
that is to say, it is much compressed and curved and grooved
towards the point. Like other birds with largely developed
beaks as the Hoopoe, Crossbill, Spoonbill, etc. that feature in
the Razor- Bills and Puffins when first hatched is quite narrow,
and for some time shows no sign of the transverse furrow which
it afterwards assumes. When it takes wing, which it does with
evident reluctance, it invariably flies low, just above the surface
of the water: and, like the Guillemots, it carries its young on its
back from the cliffs to the sea. Bishop Pontoppidan's account
Razor-Bill 517
of this species is somewhat quaint and amusing : ' They can fish
and swim beyond many others, but are very weak at flying or
walking, because the legs are placed so very far behind that it is
troublesome to move them on land; the bird therefore totters
like a drunken man.' On this account is the saying, ' Drunk as
an Alk.' I should add that Alca is the Icelandic, and torda the
name by which it is known in Gothland. Provincially it is
called 'Parrot-billed Willock,' or 'Willy/ In France it is
Pingouin macroptere ; in Germany, TordAlk; and in Sweden,
Tordmule. The young bird of the year of A. torda was for a
long time considered a distinct species, and honest old Bewick
describes it (though evidently with some hesitation) under the
title of the ' Black-billed Auk ' Alca pica ; but Colonel Montagu
has no such scruples, and boldly contends that Dr. Latham in
his Synopsis is mistaken in supposing it to be no other than the
immature Razor-bilL More careful observation, however, has
proved that the doctor was in the right. Mr. Grant, of Devizes,
mentions a specimen killed at Melksham early in February,
1862 ; and a second, shot by Mr. E. Gibbs at Chitterne at the
end of January, 1871 ; also a third killed at Netheravon, January
18th, 1866, and a fourth at Salisbury at the close of 1871, all of
which came into his hands for preparation. Besides these the
Rev. A. P. Morres records that one was picked up by a dairy-
man on the downs near Wittsbury, close to Britford, on
February 19th, 1883, which was preserved by Mr. White, of
Salisbury.
PELICANID.E (THE PELICANS).
We pass on to the Pelicans, which is. a high-sounding title ;
but the British members of that aristocratic race are but humble
and degenerate offshoots of a noble family, and can only claim
to rank as remote relations of a lordly house. For the true
Pelicans are magnificent birds ; and seen (as I have many a
time watched them within the tropics of Upper Egypt and
Nubia) proudly sailing on the broad Nile ; or swimming at their
best pace down the stream, while my Arab boatmen gave chase -
518 PelicanidcB.
in our small boat ; or rising in the air and flapping with enormous
wing overhead, with the sun shining on their cream-coloured
plumage tinged with pink, are a sight not readily forgotten.
The principal characteristics of this family are to be observed
in the foot, which consists of four toes, all directed forwards, and
all connected with a membrane ; in the beak, which is strong,
large, and terminating with a powerful hook ; in the legs, which
are remarkably short, sturdy, and strong; and in the wings,
which are moderately long and equal to very vigorous flight.
There are two genera belonging to this family in the British list,
the Cormorants and the Gannets, and I have instances of the
appearance of both of them in Wiltshire.
217. COMMON CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax carlo).
In many respects this bird partakes of the general habits of
the Divers and Auks : thus on land it sits erect, and is awkward
enough, although it can walk with somewhat more ease than the
Colymbidse or AlcacLe : it swims with the body deeply immersed;
and it dives with great readiness and celerity : but unlike that
family it can perch on trees, and grasp the branches with its toes ;
while its flight is strong and rapid. It lives on fish, and (perhaps
to enable it to retain the slippery body of its victim) the claw of
the middle toe is serrated or indented with comb-like teeth.
The quantity of fish it consumes is enormous, and it is not
without reason that it has become the type of gluttony. More-
over, it is an ill-favoured, slouchiDg, unclean bird, and seen sitting
on the rocks gorged with food, and staring with haggard,
scowling eyes, and spreading out its wings to dry, coupled with
its foul odour, it always reminds me of that most unsavoury bird,
in my eyes, the Egyptian Neophron, and accordingly is no
favourite with me. Montagu, however, has a good word to say
for it, for he describes it as docile, and by no means of a savage
spirit, and easily domesticated, while its diving powers are
incredible. He adds that it has a habit of violently beating the
water with its wings, without moving from the spot, each beating
being succeeded by a shake of the whole body, and ruffling of all
Common Cormorant. 519
the feathers, at the same time covering itself with the water. It
may often be seen perched on rails or posts at the water's edge,
more especially on the buoys which mark the channels through
the shallow waters of the Wash on the coast of Norfolk and
other similar mud-banks at the mouths of rivers; and very
unpleasant and uncanny do they look as they so perch them-
selves, in my opinion. It will not be forgotten that Milton, with
great j udgment, as I think, represented the arch-fiend as taking
the form of a Cormorant. They breed in colonies, occasionally
in trees, like the Herons, but more commonly on lofty cliffs and
precipitous rocks. It kills its prey previous to swallowing it,
by squeezing it in its powerful and hooked beak. The colour of
its plumage is bluish-black, with metallic green reflections ; and
it has patches of pure white on its thighs, and a white throat.
The tail is composed of stiff hard feathers, and is frequently used
on land as a prop to support the body. It is tamed by th e
Chinese, and trained to take fish, being cast into the water after
its finny quarry, much as a falconer will, in hawking, cast off his
bird at a heron, or the courser slip his greyhound after a hare ;
only in the case of the voracious Cormorant it is found
necessary to fasten an iron ring round the bird's neck, or the
prey would be instantly swallowed. This sport, which is still
practised in China, was at one time an English pastime, and was
in great repute in the sixteenth century ; and as there are still
the high offices attached to the court of ' Master of the Buck-
hounds,' and ' Hereditary Grand Falconer,' so in former days it
was no slight honour to be c Master of the Cormorants ' to our
sovereign lord King Charles I. Previous to his reign, fishing
with Cormorants had become a fashionable amusement in the
reign of James I., who had a regular establishment for these
birds at Westminster; and the royal Cormorants trained for
fishing wore leather collars, often ornamented with silver.*
It is a very common bird on all our rocky coasts ; and I have
met with colonies of it far up the Nile, at least 450 miles from
the sea ; so that fresh water must be as palatable to it as salt,
Harting in his edition of ' White's Selborne,' p. 164.
520 Pelicanidce.
provided only the supply of fish is sufficient. In this county I
have an instance of one killed in 1856, on Mr. Heneage's water
at Lyneham, whence the Great Northern Diver was obtained ;
and another (as I learned from a paragraph in the newspaper)
was killed at Bradford-on-Avon, in September, 1859. Lord
Arundell reports one killed at Wardour Castle about twenty years
ago : and Mr. W. Wyndham that one was shot at Lower Teffont ;
Lord Nelson possesses one killed at Trafalgar ; and Lord Methuen
says that one has been killed on the water at Corsham Court
and preserved. Lastly, the Rev. E. Goddard has just reported one
seen perched on the spire of Salisbury Cathedral this summer.
The Rev. A. P. Morres reports that on one occasion three
Cormorants appeared in the water-meadows of the parish of
Britford, perched on some of the hatches ; and that the keeper
shot one of them, which proved to be a young bird in immature
plumage, but full grown. They were all busily employed in
fishing when he came upon them. Some years after Mr. Morres
saw a single bird in the same locality. Again on August 13th,
1885, an immature specimen was shot on the stream at Mere,
and about a week after two others were killed at Stourton, all
three proving to be young birds. The ponderous name plmli-
crocorax signifies the ' bald-headed raven,' from ^aXa/^/jo?, ' bald-
headed/ and /ropaf, ' a raven,' and carlo, ' a coal,' has reference
to the soot-black plumage of the bird. Amongst many provincial
names, ' Skart ' is that by which it is most generally known,
and ' Great ' or ' Black ' Cormorant to distinguish it from its only
congener. The word ' Cormorant ' is altogether a misnomer, for
it is literally corvus martntt*, a ' sea crow/ but very far indeed
is it removed from the Corvidse. In France it is Cormoran, and
Professor Skeat says that, though of Latin origin, it has probably
been modified in spelling by the Breton word Morfran, derived
from mor, 'the sea,' and bran, 'a crow.' So in Spain it is
Cuervo marino ; in Portugal, Corvo marinho ; in Italy, Corvo
aquatico, and also Mar anyone, ' the Carpenter,' I know not
why. But in Germany it is Der Schivarze Pellkan, and in
Sweden Stor Skarf, ' Great Skarf.'
Shag. 521
218. SHAG (Phalacrocorax graculus).
This is a smaller species than the last, from which it may also
be distinguished by its plumage of a deep glossy, black- green,
with no intermixture of white feathers, and no white patch upon
the thighs. It never nests in trees, but always on the rocks, and
very frequently within caves or deep fissures. Both species have
the claw of the middle toe serrated or pectinated on the inner
edge, the use of which has never been satisfactorily determined ;
for it is now stoutly denied by some that it was ever used, as was
formerly supposed, for the purpose of assisting to hold their
slippery prey. In its habits the Shag resembles the Cormorant,
excepting that it is more maritime in the localities it frequents,
for it seldom leaves the sea coast, as it is not accustomed to
ascend rivers as its larger relative so often does. Therefore
Montagu expressed surprise on learning that one was shot so far
inland as Newbury, but he concluded the bird had been ' enticed
so far by that noble river the Thames, into which the Rennet
flows.' I am able, however, to give an instance of its occurrence
in Wiltshire, on the same river Kennet, but, in this case, very
near the source of that stream ; for my excellent neighbour. Mr.
Thomas Kemm, of Avebury, himself a lover of birds, wrote me
word on October 26th, 1876. that in the previous week Mr.
Gwatkin, of Lincoln's Inn, when shooting there, had killed a fine
specimen, though a young bird, of this species. Lord Methuen
also mentions one killed on the water at Corsham Court ; and the
Marlborough College Natural History Reports record one shot at
Durnford Mill, in the parish of Mildenhall, by Mr. Sidney Willis,
September 8th, 1871.
The fishermen on our coast give to this species also the name
of ' Skart ;' others call it the ' Green Cormorant,' and the ' Crested
Shag.' In Sweden its true name is Topp Skarf, or 'Crested
Skarf,' but these are not distinctive names, inasmuch as both
species assume a crest in their breeding plumage. More commonly
it is known in Sweden and Norway as Hafs Tjdder, or 'Sea
Capercaillie,' and sometimes as Al Kraka, or ' Eel Crow/ because
522 Pelicanidw.
it feeds greatly on eels; but I believe they apply these terms
indiscriminately to both species. The Norwegian naturalist of
olden time, Bishop Pontoppidan, has many marvellous tales in
regard to this bird. In France it is Cormoran nigaud, ' Foolish
Cormorant'; in Germany, Krahen Pelikan, 'Crow Pelican.' In
Spain and Portugal it shares the same name as its larger
congener. The English word Shag, meaning 'rough,' or
' shaggy,' is supposed to refer to its rugged crest.
219. GANNET (Sula alba).
Known also as the Solan Goose, and is common enough on our
coasts. In general form and in regard to the peculiar structure
of foot, it closely resembles the Cormorant, but in habits it
widely differs from that bird : for it never dives, though it some-
times floats on the water, and Knox says that in mid-Channel off
the Sussex coast, where it is abundant during the herring season,
it sleeps on the waves so profoundly as sometimes to allow the
boats to pass over it. But it is almost continually on the wing,
and in seeking its prey soars to a great height, and then, partially
closing its wings, suddenly darts down upon it with amazing
impetus ; but, indeed, its power of flight seems inexhaustible,
and being of a light and buoyant nature, and provided with an
internal supply of air-cells, it can float on unwearied wing with-
out exertion. Montagu says that intermediate air is dispersed
between the skin and the body, which is not only a great security
against cold in the upper regions of the atmosphere, where it
passes so much of its life, but also lessens the concussion in its
rapid descent upon the water when it precipitates itself on its
prey. Though so light and buoyant, it is a large bird, with an
immense expanse of wing. It has a strong sharp-pointed beak,
not hooked as in the Cormorant. It has also the claw of the
middle toe serrated on its inner edge. It lays its single egg on
the lofty crags which overhang the sea, and which are often
quite inaccessible. Stack Island, the Skerries, and St. Kilda are
some of the chief breeding-places of the Gannets. Every year a
boat makes an expedition to them to collect the young Gannets
Gannet. 523
for their down, feathers and flesh, when several thousands are
ruthlessly slain.*
The adult is of a yellowish- white colour with black tips to the
wings ; but the immature, known also as the ' Spotted Booby,' and
in France as Le Fou tackete, is of a clove brown, spotted with pure
white, as if a snow shower had fallen upon it ; and as it takes
four years in arriving at maturity, it was for a long time con-
sidered a distinct species. Why this bird is called by us ' Booby'
and by the French Fou, and by the Germans Tolpel, is simply
because, being of a confiding nature, and unsuspicious of harm, it
suffers itself to be approached by its enemies without taking
alarm, and to be attacked without resistance. The authors of
the B.O.U. list of British Birds derive sula from the Norse sule,
1 an awkward fellow/ or ' a dolt ;' but it is to be observed that
sule is an old Norwegian word also signifying 'Swallow'; and
Hafs-Sula or Hav-Sule, by which it is commonly known in
Scandinavia, means ' Sea-Swallow,' a term which may well be
applied to it from its rapid and continuous flight. Sometimes it
is known in those waters as Sill-Bos t ' Herring Persecutor/ since
it persistently follows the shoals of that fish. The specific name,
bassana, is derived from the Bass Hock in the Firth of Forth,
because at one time it was supposed to breed nowhere else, and
it has pretty well monopolized that isolated rock, and converted
it into an extensive nursery. In Germany it is Der Bassanische
Pelikan ; in Portugal it is Patola, ' Fool.' Yery commonly in
the South of England it is called the 'Solan/ 'Solent/f or
'Channel Goose;' but, indeed, the word 'Gannet' is no other
than ' Little Goose/ the first syllable occurring in our word
Gander, and in the German Gans, to which is added the
diminutive suffix et. Young birds are sometimes called ' Black
Gannets.' Four times within my knowledge has this species
occurred in Wiltshire of late years ; once (as I learned from Mr.
Marsh) a specimen was taken on the borders of the county
* Ibis for 1869, pp. 23, 24, 30.
t In a very able monograph on this species by Dr. Cunningham in the Ibis
for 1866, pp. 1-23, it is suggested that the ' Solent' more probably takes its
name from this bird, and not the bird from the channel.
524 Pellcanidce.
towards Bath, which came into his collection; for the second
instance I am indebted to the daughter of Captain Meredith,
who informed me of one killed at Heddington about 1856. The
Rev. G. Powell told me that early in September, 1870, during
the prevalence of violent gales, a Gannet, doubtless blown inland
by the tempest, was knocked down by a labourer on Mr. Wood-
cock's farm at Bemerton, and came into the collection of
Mr. James Rawlence, of Bulbridge. Mr. Powell saw the bird
when it arrived at the bird-stuffer's at Warminster, and described
it as emaciated and starved. Subsequently, in July, 1874, I
received a letter from the Rev. Gray Lawson, informing me that
one was shot by Mr. Nippress at Littleton Drew, at the extreme
north-west of the county, in a pasture adjoining the churchyard,
in the previous month. Canon Jackson also wrote to me to the
same effect, at the same date, alluding without doubt to the
same specimen, but mentioning the adjoining parish of Luckington
as the scene of its capture. The Right Hon. E. P. Bouverie tells
me he has a specimen which was shot on Cheverell Down, in
November, 1881, and Mr. Grant mentions another shot at
Netheravon by Mr. Newman. For the marvellous account of
this bird, as imagined in olden time by an advanced naturalist
in Norway, I must again refer my readers to the pages of Bishop
Pontoppidan.
LARIDJE (THE GULLS).
We have now reached the last family of birds, and it is a very
large one, comprising the great tribe of Terns, the still larger list
of Gulls, and the Petrels. They are all long- winged, and enjoy
a prodigious power of flight, which is not only extremely rapid,
but can be indefinitely prolonged and apparently without
exertion, at all events without causing fatigue. They are all
web-footed, and seek their food on the surface of the sea or on
the shore where it has been washed up by the waves ; but
though they float with buoyancy on the ocean, they are unable
to dive. They are consequently rather birds of the air than of
the water, and their evolutions on the wing are extremely
Common Tern. 525
graceful and pleasing ; and as the distances they traverse are
very great, they are frequently seen far inland, so that we are well
acquainted with many of them in this county, to which an excur-
sion from the southern coast is a mere morning's amusement.
220. COMMON TERN (Sterna hirundo).
The ' Sea Swallows/ as all the species which compose this
genus are commonly called, represent the fissirostral tribe of the
Insessores, and are of light and elegant shape, with small slim
bodies, but with wings of prodigious length and deeply forked
tails, the latter being a characteristic feature shared in common
by all birds of extraordinary powers of flight ; and when they
dash down with unerring aim on some luckless fish swimming
near the surface, it is with very great velocity and amazing
power. As they shoot over the waves or skim through the air,
and occasionally dip into the water, they bear a close resemblance
in general appearance to the real Swallows, whose arrival we
hail with such joy every spring. But in reality they have no
connection whatever with the Hirundinidce, for in anatomical
structure and habits they are true water-birds, and all their food
is derived from the sea or from freshwater rivers and lakes, from
which they are never long absent, and on whose shores they
make their nests. They are said to be very bold in driving away
any who trespass within the vicinity of their breeding haunts,
even attacking the intruder, and having been known to strike
his hat in their indignation and alarm. St. John remarks
farther, that though they hover about the place where the nests
are placed to drive away strangers, they do not care to sit upon
their eggs during fine weather in the daytime. Their beaks are
long and straight and sharp- pointed, and their legs are short
and their feet small. By many modern authors this species is
called fluviatilis, from its habit of ascending rivers to a con-
siderable distance, and sometimes visiting inland lakes far
removed from the sea ; but when its powers of flight are con-
sidered this will not seem surprising. In Sweden and Norway,
where it is the most common of all the Terns, it is distinguished
526 Laridce.
as Fitik Tdrna, or ' Fish Tern ' ; but by the fishermen it is more
generally known as Mack-rill Tdrna, or ' Mackerel Tern,' from its
habit of following the mackerel shoals in order that it may pick
up marine insects, Crustacea, and small fish which these in their
progress frighten up to the surface of the water. Its provincial
names on the British coast are so numerous that I will not
attempt to recount them. The Common Tern is in France
Hirondelle de mer pien*e garin; in Germany, Gemeine Meer-
schwalbe; in Portugal, Andorinha do mar; and in Spain,
Golondrina de mar, all bearing the same meaning of ' Sea
Swallow.' The Common Tern is not, however, so generally dis-
tributed on our shores as its name would seem to imply. It is,
however, abundant in some favoured localities : more common
on the western than on the eastern coasts of Great Britain.
Montagu expresses surprise that it has been found so far from
the sea as Bath, but many such instances must now be familiar
to all observers. Lord Methuen tells me it has been killed at
Corsham Court ; I hear of another killed at Kennet in 1881, and
one at Poulshot in 1861. But, indeed, I have had so many
notices of its occurrence from time to time, both in North and
South Wilts, that it would only be tedious to enumerate them.
I may mention, however, that Mr. Grant alone has had the
following specimens pass through his hands : In 1866, Sep-
tember 20, one from Collingbourne ; in 1868, August 21, one
from the Canal, Kowde ; and October 3 one from Devizes Locks,
and another from Potterne ; in 1869, September 23, two from
Berwick Bassett ; in 1871, September 29, one from Erchfont ; in
1874, May 29, one from Great Bedwyn. Its general plumage is
pearl-gray above and white below ; but the velvet-black crown
of the head and the bright red beak, legs, and feet conduce
much to the really handsome appearance of this slender,
graceful bird.
221. ARCTIC TERN (Sterna arctica).
This species is perhaps numerically more abundant than the
preceding, to which, indeed, it bears a very close resemblance,
Arctic Tern. 527
and with which it is doubtless often confounded. It is only to
be distinguished from 8. hirundo by its shorter and deeper-
coloured beak and by the darker under plumage, which is of a
light gray colour. It is most probable, therefore, that several of
the instances recorded above really belonged to this species.
Without doubt it must be a frequent visitor in Wiltshire, and
Yarrell mentions Devizes as one of the places visited by con-
siderable numbers in the strange irruption of these birds in 1842,
as recorded by Mr. Strickland in the ' Annals and Magazine of
Natural History ' for that year. Beyond this notice I have other
evidence of its occurrence in our county : first, in a note from
Mr. Elgar Sloper, who informs me that three were brought to
him which had been killed on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near
Devizes, after a gale from the west in October, 1844; and
secondly, from the Rev. G. Powell, who wrote me word on
September 28, 1870, that an Arctic Tern was killed by Mr.
Charles Phipps at Charlcote a few days previously. The Marl-
borough College Natural History Reports speak of one found on
the Canal at Savernake in 1867, and another in 1881 on the
Canal at Wootton Rivers ; and Mr. Grant received one from Mr.
T. Kemm, of Avebury, in October, 1875. As its name implies,
it frequents high northern latitudes. Reinhardt found it breed-
ing in Greenland ; and Professor Newton records that it breeds
in numbers in Spitzbergen, where it feeds principally on surface-
swimming animals, crustaceans, mollusca, and the like,* and it
has been noticed in still more northern regions by Arctic
voyagers. But S. arctica, which certainly, more than either of
its congeners, is found in polar regions, has been of late deprived
of its title by some modern ornithologists, and designated
macrura, with the meaning of ' long-tailed,' from pa/epos and
ovpd ; while in Norway it is Rod-ndbbad-Tdrna, or ' Red-billed
Tern,' neither of which appear to me to distinguish it sufficiently
from its fellows. In France it is Hirondelle-de-mer arctique.
The flight of this and all the other Terns is exceedingly graceful,
and Harting calls attention to the very interesting sight of a
Ibis for 1865, p. 215.
528 Laridcv.
flock of these birds fishipg in undisturbed enjoyment ; and Sir
William Jardine observes that all the Terns are very light, and
the body being comparatively small, the expanse of wings and
tail so buoys them up, that when shot in the air they are
sustained, their wings fold above them, and they whirl gently
down like a shuttlecock.*
222. BLACK TERN (Sterna fissipca).
The dark sooty colour of its plumage at once distinguishes
this species from its congeners. Although in every respect a
true Tern, it differs in habits from those previously described,
inasmuch as it seeks freshwater lakes and rivers in the interior,
where it lives upon such flies and other insects as suit its palate.
Hence it has more frequently been met with in Wiltshire than
any other of its congeners. Thus I was informed by Mr. Withers
that three specimens had been brought to him for preservation
in the spring of 1853, one of which was killed at Compton
Bassett by Mr. Heneage's keeper, and two at Berwick Bassett.
The Rev. G. Marsh showed me two in his collection which were
killed near Bath in 1845. .The Rev. Henry Methuen not only
recorded the capture of one at All Cannings on May 2nd, 1849,
but generously presented it to our Museum at Devizes (a very
considerate and liberal act, which I cannot too highly commend
to the imitation of any who may obtain specimens of our rarer
birds killed in Wiltshire), and Mr. Elgar Sloper informed me
that one was killed near Salisbury in 1840, and added to his
note in reference to this species, 'I may here remark that I
have scarcely known an April or October without hearing of the
occurrence of some of the Sternidce.' Mr. Baker possesses two
specimens in his collection, one killed 'at Mere in summer
plumage, and another shot at Norton Ferris in 1860 in winter
dress, and also records the capture of a third, which hovered
.over the water quite close to him when he was fishing at Steeple
Langford on April 29th, 1884, and which proved to be an adult
bird in full breeding plumage. The Rev. A. P. Morres, too, had
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 247.
Black Tern. 529
a personal interview with one, for while he was rowing on the
river at Downton one of these birds, in adult plumage, flew
round and round the boat, coming so close to him that he had a
perfect view of it. The Marlborough College Natural History
Eeports mention, on the authority of Mr. Dixon, of Pewsey, that
a specimen was shot at that place on May 18, 1876, and two
others in the middle of May, 1880, the one at Hungerford, the
other at Ramsbury. Mr. Grant reports one killed at Fyfield by
Mr. Lavington in May, 1876, and Mr. Rawlence one killed at
Wishford. In France it is known as Hirondelle de mer
epouvantail, ' Scarecrow,' or ' Bugbear Sea Swallow,' probably
from some superstitious terror on account of its sombre dress ;
but in prosaic Germany it is Schviarzgraue Meerschwalbe ; in
Sweden, Svart Tdrna; in Italy, Sterna Cenerina o di testa nera;
and in Spain, Fumarel. Modern systematists have removed this
species from the true Terns, and relegated it to a small group
of 'Marsh Terns,' and inflicted on it the tremendous name of
Hydrochelidon, or ' Water Swallow.' The specific name, fissipes,
arises from the fact that the membranes which connect the
three toes in. front are short and deeply scalloped a distinctive
mark recognised by the fishermen, who in some parts call it
provincially ' Cloven-foot Gull.' Formerly, before the fens and
marshes of the eastern counties were drained, it used to breed
in great numbers in Norfolk and Lincolnshire ; in the former it
was known as the ' Blue Darr/and in the latter as ' Car Swallow/
Selby compares its flight, which is peculiarly buoyant, to that
of the Nightjar ; and Montagu described how it escaped from the
repeated pounces of a Peregrine Falcon by means of the rapidity
of its flight and the dexterity and singular quickness of its
manoauvres.
223. LITTLE GULL (Larus minutus).
The Gulls differ from the Terns in their more sturdy and less
elegant shape, in their stronger, shorter beak with curved tip, in
their longer and stouter legs, and in the partial or total absence
of fork in the tail. They seem equally at rest, whether floating
34
530 Laridoo.
buoyantly on the surface of the sea, gently flapping on powerful
wing through the air, or standing quietly, often on one leg, on
the beach. Though they float like corks on the waves, they
seldom swim and never dive. They may be almost called
omnivorous, so welcome to their insatiable appetite is every kind
of animal food they can secure. The Little Gull, the smallest
of its genus which figures in the British list, and, I believe, of the
whole genus, is distinguished in most languages by a name
which calls attention to its diminutive figure. In France it is
Mouette pygmde ; in Germany, Die kleine Meve ; in Sweden,
Dverg-Mdse, or 'Dwarf Gull'; but in Russia, where it is best
known, it is honoured with the distinguished title of Scheik.
It is by no means a common bird, even on our coasts : but .1
have three undoubted instances of its appearance in Wiltshire,
as the Rev. G. Marsh had a specimen in his collection which was
killed on a pond at Rodbourne in 1848, and sent to him by Mrs.
Pollen. The Rev. George Powell informed me that a very good
specimen, in winter plumage, was killed in January, 1869, at
Upton Scudamore, near Warminster. It was quite alone when
discovered, and had doubtless been driven inland by one of the
south-westerly gales which prevailed at that period. And a
third was picked up dead on March 28, 1870, on Rockley Down,
near Marlborough, as I was informed by the Rev. T. A. Preston,
who secured the specimen for the admirable museum which was
established by his efforts at Marlborough College. The home of
this elegant little bird is in Central and Northern Russia and
Siberia, where it is said to congregate in immense colonies and
to literally swarm in the air a few feet above the surface of the
lakes, like Swallows over a river on a summer's evening, or like
mosquitoes, which (as some of my readers may know to their
cost, or if not, let them take the word of one who has often and
in many lands been driven in by their attacks) hover over their
favourite pools in countless myriads.*
* W. H. Simpson in Ibis for 1861, p. 362.
Black-headed Gull. 531
224. BLACK-HEADED GULL (Larus ridibundus).
I consider this to be the most common species of Gull on our
British coasts ; and the immense numbers which congregate
together for breeding purposes at their well-known haunt,
Scoulton Mere, in Norfolk, must be seen to be understood. This
is a true cosmopolite, and I have met with it both near the
Arctic circle and within the tropics. One specimen I brought
home from Nubia, which I shot on the Nile no less than seven
hundred miles up the river : and it has been repeatedly found
as far from the sea as the lakes of Central Asia. Occasionally it
is found in North Wilts, and Mr. Grant has received specimens
from Biddestone, near Chippenham, in August, 1873, and a few
days later from Cheverell ; and in October, 1878, from Broadleas,
near Devizes. It is often seen on Salisbury Plain and on the
downs of South Wiltshire, following the ploughman after the
manner of Rooks, and greedily devouring the grubs which are
thus exposed. For it differs from all its congeners in the
localities it frequents, turning its back on the sea and the sea-
shore, and preferring freshwater lakes and rivers, and meadows
and plains ; and when the breeding season comes, resorting to
some chosen inland morass or marsh, and not to the precipitous
rocks overhanging the sea, which is the usual nesting-place of
the Gulls. The eggs laid by this species vary in colour and in
markings more perhaps than those of any other species; and,
though they differ from them much in colour and still more in
shape, are often sold to the indiscriminating public in London
and elsewhere as Plovers' eggs. Perhaps as a salve to the
conscience of such fraudulent dealers, this species is provincially
called the ' Peewit Gull.' The specific name, ridibundus, ' full
of laughter,' in German, Lachmeve ; in French, Mouette rieuse ;
in Norsk, Skratt Mdse, are all derived from the hoarse cackling
note which is generally supposed to resemble a human laugh.
It is also called the ' Sea Crow,' ' Mire Crow,' and ' Blackcap/
Cordeaux says it is an unfailing weather prophet, and that when
342
532 Laridce.
it soars high and flies round in circles it is a certain sign of wind
and rain within twenty-four hours.*
225. KITTIWAKE (Larus tridactylus).
This, too, is a common species on our coasts, though seldom
seen in winter; but considering its abundance, it is, though
occasionally met with on our downs in summer, by no means a
frequent inland visitor. Indeed, its legs are so short that it is
unable to run or walk with much freedom. In consequence it
is more thoroughly marine in its habits than others of its con-
geners, and derives almost all its food from the surface of the
sea or the seashore. Also, unlike the species last described, it
never breeds on the open ground, but always on the cliffs and
precipices which it finds overhanging the sea. However, I have
many instances of its occurrence in Wilts. The first was re-
corded by Mr. Elgar Sloper as having been picked up dead on
the snow in the neighbourhood of Devizes in November, 1847 ;
the Marlborough College Natural History Reports mention one
killed at Brimslade in 1881 ; Sir H. Meux tells me of another
shot at Fylield, near Marlborough ; Lord Heytesbury informs me
of a beautiful specimen picked up on his property about ten
years ago, and now in the possession of Mr. Henry Swayne, of
Heytesbury ; and Mr. Grant's list enumerates no less than sixteen
of this species which have come into his hands from the follow-
ing places : in 1863, from Lavington ; 1864, from Swindon ; 1865,
from Netheravon and Lavington ; 1866, from Tinhead ; 1868,
from Stanton ; 1869, from Charlton, Bromham, Chitterne, Wilcot,
Edington, Bratton, Bulkington ; 1872, from the Crammer Pond,
Devizes ; 1879, from Clatford, killed by Mr. Hussey ; and in 1881,
from Enford, killed by Mr. Sargent. It is called tridactylus,
and in most Continental languages the equivalent to ' three-toed/
from the imperfect development, almost, I may say, the absence,
of a hind toe, which peculiarity at once distinguishes it from the
Common and other Gulls of about the same size and colour.
Our English word, ' Kittiwake/ is supposed to syllable the note
' Birds of the Humber District,' p. 202.
Kittiwake, 533
it utters, ' Kitti-aa, Kitti-aa,' which, Mr. Seebohm says, imagi-
nation likens to ' Get away, get away/ especially when the
intruder is near the nest.* Sir R. Payne-Gallwey gives a very
graphic account of the preparation of the nest in the breeding
season. He says : ' About the beginning of February they may
be seen to come and view their old nests to see whether the
storms have swept them away. Then they wheel round the
caves a few times and depart. Then they squabble over any
nests which may happen to have remained intact since the
previous spring, great chattering and disputing going on all the
while. Nodding and chattering ends in biting and fighting, in
violent struggles, often in clinging together, and falling and
rolling sometimes a hundred feet into the sea below. Laying
the foundation of a nest is an important and anxious piece of
architecture. Wet clay is brought and placed on the small
projecting piece of rock, often not more than six inches square.
Each time a fresh supply is fetched and laid down it undergoes
a process of hardening and consolidating by the little black feet
of the builder. Round and round he tramps, here a little and
there a little. If, as is sometimes the case, he has not room to
make a complete circuit, by reason of his tail striking the wall
of cliff, up and down he pats it smooth, now more clay, now
grass, then sea-weed, more tramping, and the nest is ready.'f in
France it is Mouette tridactyle ; in Italy, Gabbiano terragnala e
galetra ; in Sweden, Tre-tdig Mdse, ' Three-toed Gull ' ; but in
Portugal, in common with several other species of Gull, Gaivota.
226. COMMON GULL (Laws canus).
I doubt whether this species, numerous though it is, deserves
its trivial English name so much &&L.ridibundu8; but, perhaps,
in Wiltshire it may fairly be entitled our ' Common Gull.' In
the southern parts of the county it is very frequently met with,
and I have often seen it in North Wilts passing overhead, or
perched on the downs. It is also an indefatigable attendant on
' British Birds,' vol. iii., p. 342.
f ' The Fowler in Ireland,' pp. 169, 270.
534 Laridce.
the ploughshare, frequenting the interior of the country the
greater part of the year in search of worms. The Rev. A. P.
Morres says it is very frequently seen flying up and down the
river near him, and picking up any refuse matter it can find on
the banks. The late Rev. G. Marsh used to say that in South
Wilts it obtained the sobriquet of ' Barley Sower.' The Rev.
W. C. Lukis kept one alive for some time that was captured at
Great Bedwyn in 1854, and was present when another was
secured in the parish of Burbage, in March, 1857, during a snow-
storm, by which, and the furious gusts of wind which prevailed
on that day, it seemed quite overcome and exhausted. Perhaps,
too, the same violent gales had driven it from the coast, and it
may have been faint from hunger. It is called canus, ' hoary,'
from its light-coloured plumage of pure white and pearl gray,
than which no Quaker's dress could be more subdued in colour,
or more pure and spotless. In France it is Mouttte d pieds
bleus; in Italy, Gabbiano mezza mosca, 'Half-gray Gull.' In
Sweden it is the Fisk Mdse, or ' Fishing Gull ' ; and in Germany
the Sturm Meve, or ' Storm Gull/ though why such a title should
be applied to a species which is the first to seek shelter from the
coming tempest I know not ; for this species only comes to land at
the approach of rough weather at sea, hence the popular rhyme :
' Sea-gull, Sea-gull, sit on the sand,
Tis never good weather when you're on the land.'
Throughout Norway and up to the North Cape, in the interioi
as well as on the sea coast, it is found in immense numbei
Whatever it may be in Great Britain, it is certainly th<
' Common ' Gull of Northern Europe.
227. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (Larus fuscus).
Though common enough on the coast and within a few mile
of the sea, this species is generally supposed not to venture ven
far from salt water, but yet it certainly does come boldly inlan<
both for the food it finds on meadows and pasture lands, and
also for breeding purposes; in proof of which I have several
instances of its appearance in various parts of our county. The
Lesser Black-backed Gull. 535
first of which. I have any record was shot many years since in
the middle of Salisbury Plain near Tilshead, as I was informed
by Mr. George Elgar Sloper. Again the Kev. G. Powell wrote
me word in December, 1875, that he had seen a specimen about
three months previously, which was said to have been killed in
Wilts; and Mr. Grant tells me of nine specimens which have
come into his hands for preservation; one killed at Bromham,
August 29th, 1865 ; one taken at Wexcombe, near Marlborough,
August 30th, 1872; one from Biddestone, near Chippenham,
August 12th, 1874; another from Brimslade, and another from
Cheverell at about the same date ; in 1876, one from Tilshead
and one from Eowde; in 1877, one from Nonsuch ; and in 1879,
one from Avebury. It is well called fuscus, as the dark colour
of the upper plumage distinguishes it at once from its congeners
of the same size : its bright yellow legs also are no less charac-
teristic of the species. In France it is known as Ooeland a pieds
jaunes ; and in Germany as Gelbfussige Meve ; but in Sweden
this species is Sill-Mdse, or the ' Herring Gull.' As Harting well
observes : ' Gulls appear to be longer in arriving at maturity of
plumage than perhaps any other class of birds. Many species
of birds attain the adult plumage after the first moult; but most,
if not all of the Gulls, pass three years in a state of gradual
transition before they display the colours of their parents.'*
228. HERRING GULL (Larus argentatus).
This is the commonest of all the species of Gulls on the
southern and western shores of England, and with the Black-
backed and some other species frequents the newly- ploughed
land for grubs: and Montagu says it will trample the ground
upon the same spot, turning about in all directions to make the
worms emerge ; and Selby attributes to it a like movement on
the sand, in order to bring to the surface the shrimps and worms
from beneath. It is a sad pilferer of its neighbour's goods, and
is sometimes called the ' Egg-Gull,' from its habit of devouring
the eggs of other sea birds. Its note is a wild cry or hoarse
' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 261.
536 Laridcc.
laugh, and when its ringing shriek is heard, it is the signal of
alarm to other birds, and puts them on the alert. Sir R Payne-
Gallwey says this species takes five years to obtain maturity
of plumage. The specific name argentatus, 'silvery white/
sufficiently describes its light-coloured dress, as do the French
Goeland cendre, the German Weissgraue Meve, and the
Swedish Grd Trut ; but, as with ourselves, the Italians mark
its fishing propensities, and call it Pescatore. The Rev. A. P.
Morres has often seen these birds passing overhead in the
neighbourhood of Salisbury. Air. Baker has often found them
near Mere. I am informed by Mr. Stratton, of Gore Cross Farm,
in the parish of Market Lavington, that he has killed this bird
on his own land on the downs ; and that he has often seen them
passing over his fields, and wondered whither they were going,
for they always flew in the same direction, viz., to the north, so.
he conjectured they were making for Gloucester and the Severn.
On January 23rd, 1885, an immature specimen, in the plumage
of Bewick's ' Wagel,' was sent me for identification by the Rev.
T. A. Preston. It was shot close to Marl borough; and. Lord
Methuen tells me there is a stuffed specimen at Corsham Court,
which was shot on the waters there.
229. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL (Larus marinus).
This, the largest of all the British Gulls, is sparingly scattered
round the coast of Britain, but on the mud-flats on the shores of
the Wash in Norfolk I have seen it in some numbers, and a
giant indeed it looks amongst its congeners, as big and master-
ful, and conspicuous among the smaller Gulls, as the Crane when
stalking amidst the smaller waders on the sand-banks of the
Nile. Moreover, it is a bully and a robber, overpowering any
weaker animal, fish, flesh, or fowl, within its reach, and purloining
eggs whenever it can find them : for it is of voracious appetite,
to which nothing comes amiss, and has well been designated
' the Scavenger of the Shore.' Its flight, though easy and
buoyant, and even majestic, is decidedly slow, as are all the
movements of this overgrown species. Its note is very loud and
Great Black-backed Gull. 537
harsh, a sort of rough barking noise or a hoarse laugh. It is
also most wary and suspicious of danger, and is not easy of
approach. Sir R. Payne-Gallwey says : ' Black-blacked Gulls
are as " Vultures of the Sea," and scent plunder from afar. They
will attack a disabled Wigeon or Teal, and tear it in pieces in a
few seconds, ripping open the breast as with a knife. They may
be often seen to lift their prey with the bill, a few yards into the
air, only to let it fall. They would like to carry it to the land to
feast at leisure, but their feet not being formed for grasping, they
cannot retain a hold of their capture.'* In Kent and Essex it is
called c Cob,' from its large size, after the same rule by which we
call a large species of nut a Cob-nut, and a big pony a Cob, etc.
In Sussex it is called the ' Parson Gull,' from a supposed resemb-
lance in its black and white plumage to the hood and surplice of
a clergyman. In Sweden, too, it is generally known as the Prost,
or 'Deacon,' as its dress is said to resemble the attire of a
Lutheran priest in full canonicals, or as some wickedly declare
from its lugubrious voice ! The Rev. A. P. Morres has several
times seen them flying overhead at some elevation, both in his
own parish and quite recently at Clarendon, when they were at
no very great height above him. Mr. Grant has received at
various times three specimens of this fine Gull for preservation ;
one from Wootton Bassett, on July 24th, 1873 ; another from
Bromham, July 30th of the same year ; and the third on August
27th, 1874, from Cheverell. In France it is Gdeland a manteau
noir ; in Germany, Mantel Meve, ' Cloak Gull ' ; in Sweden, Hajs
Trut, ' Sea Trut.'
230. COMMON SKUA (Lestris cataractes).
The robber Gulls, of which this is the more common species,
may be distinguished from their more honest peaceful brethren,
described above, by the formidable hooked beak and strong-
crooked talons with which they are armed, and with which they
are able to hold fast the prey they have seized, and to tear it in
pieces while so holding it. In these respects they resemble the
' The Fowler in Ireland,' p. 88.
538 Laridce.
raptorial birds which stand at the head of our list. In habits,
too, they are persecuting and exacting, for no sooner do they
behold their quieter congeners returning from their fishing
excursions, than they give instant chase, and do not desist from
harassing their unoffending fellows till they have compelled
them to disgorge the fish they have swallowed, and which they
seize before it reaches the water, and carry off in triumph. They
are known as ' Parasitic Gulls,' because they are supported on
the food procured by other Gulls; and 'Brown Gulls,' from
their prevailing colour ; while the generic name, lestris, ' robber,'
aptly describes them. They are called ' Skua Gulls ' because the
cries they utter are supposed to resemble the syllables ' Skui.'
They are natives of the Arctic regions, and are often found in
very high latitudes. Their flight is performed by a succession of
jerks, and is strong and rapid, as indeed is indispensable for
such marauders. They are so fierce and bold that they will
attack any animal bird or beast and even man, if he should
intrude upon their nests ; and they will kill and prey upon
other Gulls, splitting open their heads with a single blow of their
powerful beak, and rending them in pieces with their crooked
talons. Mr. Morres well observes that they ought to be called
the 'Bullies of the Sea.' In some respects they show much
affinity with the Petrels.
I have several instances of the occurrence of this bird in
Wiltshire : one which I saw in the hands of Mr. Withers, taxider-
mist at Devizes, in December, 1857, and which had just been
killed by Mr. Hooper, of Lavington, and which Mr. Withers de-
scribed to me as the ' Black Gull ' ; another of which the Rev.
George Powell wrote me an account, shot at Heytesbury in
September, 1863, by Mr. O'Brien, son-in-law of Lord Heytesbury,
while partridge-shooting, and which proved to be a young
female. Since which Lord Heytesbury tells me a second
specimen has been killed in his water-meadows within the last
four or five years. Another was also seen in a field of Mr.
Norman Wentworth's at Avebury, with a broken wing, and
attacked by a number of rooks, in January, 1872, and was
Richardson's Skua. 539
brought to Mr. Grant for preservation. It measured four feet
six inches across the wings, and 23 inches in length, and weighed
3 Ib. And a fifth specimen was caught in my own parish of
Yatesbury, by Mrs. Tanner's shepherd, at the latter end of
August, 1882. It appeared to have been wounded, and was
unable to rise from the ground. It was preserved at Calne, and is
now in the possession of Mr. Munday, late bailiff to Mrs. Tanner.
The Marlborough College Natural History Reports mention
one seen in that neighbourhood in 1882 ; and Mr. Grant tells me
of one killed at Wedhampton in 1861, and of another taken at
Swindon in May, 1864. The Rev. A. P. Morres was informed by
Mr. White, the taxidermist of Salisbury, that one of these birds
was picked up on the downs at Orcheston St. Mary, by Mr. Mills,
on October 31st, 1882. The same species is found in the Southern
Ocean, where it is known as the ' Cape Hen ' of the sealers, and
the ' Port Egmont Hen ' of Captain Cook, and displays the same
fierce daring disposition as with us.* By Yorkshire fishermen
it is called the ' Morrel Hen/ and by others the ' Sea Eagle,' on
account of its boldness in attack and its violence. It is called
cataractes from its habit of rushing down on its prey like a
cataract, Latinized from the Greek /carappd/cTr)?. In France it
is Stercoraire cataracte or Le Gdeland brun ; and in Sweden,
Stor Labbe, ' Great Labbe.'
231. RICHARDSON'S SKUA (Lestris crepidatiui).
Sometimes called L. Richardsonii, sometimes L. parasiticus,
and sometimes L. arcticus; but inasmuch as all the Skua Gulls
are visitors to Arctic regions, and parasitic in their habits, such
specific names are only confusing. It is called crepidatus,
'wearing sandals,' from its parti- coloured feet, but this pecu-
liarity of yellow legs and black toes belongs to the immature
bird only. With equally little reason it is sometimes called the
'Black-toed Gull.' More characteristic and more appropriate,
because they refer to the long and slender tail feathers which
belong to the adult bird, are the Continental names for this
Button in Ibis for 1865, p. 277, and for 1867, p. 185.
540 Laridw.
species, as in France, Le Stercoraire d tongue queue; in Germany,
Struntmeve, ' Tail-Gull ' ; in Italy, titercorario di coda longa ; in
Sweden, Spets Stjertad Labbe, or ! Pointed-Tailed Labbe.' Bishop
Pontoppidan, when speaking of this bird, calls it Jo-tyv, or ' Jo-
thief,' and says it is an enemy to all other birds. The fishermen
and sailors on our coasts call it the ' Boatswain,' or ' Bo'sun,' as,
indeed, they call almost all birds with pointed tails, because
they carry their ' marline-spike,' the boatswain's emblem of office
in the merchant service, as is the whistle in the navy.* Else-
where it is called the 'Teazer,' which is very appropriate. In
its mode of flight, persecution of birds of inferior power, and
thievish propensities, it resembles its congener described above.
It is not by any means uncommon on our coasts all round the
island, though, of course, more abundant as we advance towards
the north, for its home is in the Arctic regions, and Sir E. Parry
found it as high as 82 north latitude. I have the pleasure of
adding this species to the Wiltshire list on the authority of Mr.
Baker, for he reports a specimen killed at Heytesbury in October,
1879, which he had an opportunity of examining at the bird-
stuffer's at Warminster, and pronounced it an immature bird,
the two central tail-feathers not having been developed. And
I have since learned from the Marlborough College Natural
History Reports that a specimen was shot near Martinsell in
1881.
232. MANX SHEARWATER (Puffinus anglorum).
The Petrels are at once recognisable by their peculiar beaks,
which are very much curved, arched, and hooked towards the
point, and also furrowed and indented and furnished with
tubular nostrils, through which they can eject at will a quantity
of oil, and for which latter valuable article they are highly
prized by the hardy natives of the Western Isles of Scotland.
Their legs are placed far backwards, which facilitates their
singular practice of running along the surface of the waves in
* Fourth edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. iii., p. 683.
Manx Shearwater. 541
search of food * but on land they can neither stand nor walk
upright, but shuffle along on the breast. They are true birds of
the ocean, and, I may say, birds of the storm : for during the
darkest nights and the most tempestuous weather they may be
descried following in the wake of the ship in ease and comfort,
skimming along the surface of the water, and even resting in
the greatest composure in the most tremendous seas. Their
principal food is fat or whatever floating animal substance they
can find which is reducible to oil. The Manx Shearwater,
though rarely seen on the eastern, is abundant on the western
coasts of England ; but from its habit of passing the day in the
holes or burrows where it breeds, and only sallying forth by
night, it is not very generally met with. When on land they
sit very nearly in an upright position. This bird is not in
reality a Puffin, nor does it even belong to the same family as
, the well-known grotesque species which we know so well under
that name ; but it has come to be generally recognised as
Puffinus from Willoughby having called it ' the Puffin of the
Isle of Man ' : nor, indeed, has it special claims of Manx citizen-
ship beyond the fact that the western coasts of Great Britain are
the localities it chiefly affects. But it retires to the Mediter-
ranean for the winter. This is the species so numerous on the
Bosphorus, where long files of them are ever flying through the
channel, an up and down train several hundred yards in length
being often in sight at the same time. These are commonly
believed to be the dmes damne'es of Sultanas who got the sack
under the old regime.^ I am aware of but two specimens
having made their appearance in Wiltshire, one that was taken
by a boy at Market Lavington from a hole in a hayfield and
carried to Mr. Elgar Sloper at Devizes ; and the second, as Mr.
Thomas Kemm informed me, taken by his son at Avebury alive,
but apparently wounded, early in September, 1879. In France
it is Petrel Manx and Le Puffin cendre" ; in Norway, Skrapa ;
and in Spain, Baltridja, and in some parts Virot; but, from
Selby's ' Illustrations of British Ornithology/ vol. ii., p. 527.
f W. H. Simpson in Ibis for 1861, p. 366.
542 Laridce.
their habit of dashing hither and thither in the gloom of night,
they are known to the Malaga fishermen as 'Animas' and
< Diablos.'*
233. WILSON'S PETREL (Thalassidroma oceanica).
The Petrels are at once to be distinguished by their remark-
able beak, which differs from that of all other birds ; and they
possess the power of squirting from their tubular nostrils a
clear liquid oil. They are of very rapid flight, and, though far
separated in all respects from that family, bear a general re-
semblance in appearance and colour to the Swallows, whence
Temminck called them Petrels Hirondelles. They are of nocturnal
habits, remaining underground in the holes t where they breed
during the day, for bright daylight seems to overpower them,
and they abhor the brilliant sunshine : and they come forth in
the evening to fly with astonishing speed over the waves.
Stormy weather, however, attended as it generally is with a
darkened sky, tempts them forth in the daytime : and hence
they are looked upon by superstitious sailors as the harbingers,
if not the promoters, of a tempest, and are hated by them
accordingly.-f- The scientific name, thalassidroma, sufficiently
describes the habit of the species which compose this genus of
running on the surface of the waves ; whence, too, their English
and French name of ' Petrel ' is derived, in allusion to the in-
cident narrated in the Gospels, of the Apostle St. Peter walking
on the water. Wilson's Petrel is one of our rarest British birds,
but three or four specimens alone having been obtained in this
country. It is therefore with especial gratification that I am
able to record, on the unimpeachable testimony of the late
Rev. G. Marsh, that a fine specimen of this bird was picked up
dead from exhaustion in Sutton Benger Mead in November,
1849. The labourer who found it took it home to his cottage,
with the intention of taking it to the Vicarage ; but on his wife
persuading him that it was only a Swift, he threw it out into
* Howard Saunders in Ibis for 1871, p. 401.
f Zoologist for 1859, p. 6192.
Forked-tailed Petrel 543
the road. But happily another labourer passed by, who had a
better knowledge of ornithology ; and satisfied in his own mind
that a Swift did not possess webbed feet, he picked it up and
brought it to Mr. Marsh, doubtless to the ultimate satisfaction
of both of them. So nearly, however, was this most rare and
most valuable specimen being lost. There were no remarkable
gales blowing at that time, but it was observed that it was just
previous to a long-continued frost. It may be distinguished
from its congeners by the superior length of leg and by the
absence of a hind toe ; and Mr. F. Godman, who fell in with this
species at the Azores, observed that in flying they carry their
legs stretched straight out behind them, and their feet protruded
about an inch beyond the tail, producing the effect of two long
feathers.* The name of oceanica, ' belonging to the open sea/
is very applicable, for when ships have advanced into the broad
Atlantic, hundreds of miles from shore, this little bird has often
been seen careering in headlong flight among the great waves,
or sheltering itself from the violence of the wind under the lee
of the vessel.
234. FORKED-TAILED PETREL (Thalassidroma Leachii).
This species is considerably larger than the Common Storm
Petrel, which otherwise in general appearance and habits it very
much resembles. The forked tail, too, from which it derives its
name, at once distinguishes it, and its shorter legs separate it
from the species last described. Like the other Petrels, this
bird is seldom seen at sea but in tempestuous weather, in which
it appears to rejoice; and yet, after severe gales, it is often
picked up dead far inland, as if unable to withstand the violence
of the wind, and, driven far from its native haunts, perishes
miserably of starvation. In the Zoologist for 1866, p. 101, Mr.
Henry Blackmore records the occurrence of two specimens of
this somewhat rare species near Salisbury, one of which was
picked up on the 27th of October, 1859, by a railway porter on
the Great Western Railway, two miles from the city, having
* Ibis for 1866, p. 104.
544 Laridce.
apparently met its death by flying against the wires of the
electric telegraph ; the other was supposed to have been killed in
the same manner, as it was also found near the railway embank-
ment with its wing broken on the 25th of November, 1866, at
East Grimstead, near Salisbury. I learn from Mr. Grant that on
January 10th, 1867, a specimen was brought to him which had
been taken at Pewsey. On March 21st, 1876, a note from
Major Spicer, of Spye Park, informed me that about six weeks
previously his keeper had picked up between the house and the
stable a specimen quite dead, which he conjectured must have
been blown off the sea by a gale of wind and starved to death,
for it was in an emaciated condition. In December, 3884, I
received the fifth Wiltshire specimen, sent me for identification
by Rev. T. A. Preston, which had been picked up dead in
Savernake Forest by one of the keepers on November 28th of
that year. In France it is, as in the old scientific name, Pttrel
de Leach; but by modern ornithologists it is now commonly
called leucorrhoa, from Xiyxo'f, ' white,' and S^o?, ' the rump,'
from its white hinder parts.
235. STORM PETREL (Thalassidroma pelagica).
The last bird on the British list is also the smallest of the
Order of Swimmers, and this is the Common Petrel, which is
known to all, and which sailors have designated as 'Mother
Carey's Chicken,' ' Little Witch,' and a variety of other appella-
tions indicative of the superstitious awe they feel towards these
innocent little birds, which, as I said above, they consider not
only the forerunners of stormy weather, but the actual cause and
origin of the tempest. It is true that all the Petrels are more
often seen during the prevalence of gales than in calms ; and
they seem thoroughly to enjoy the most boisterous weather,
when they will skim over the crested waves, patting them with
their feet as they run over the surface, or fly down into the
hollows of the great waves and then up and over some gigantic
billow, in evident delight at the storm of elements raging around.
Sometimes they will stand for a moment on the summit of a
Storm Petrel. 545
billow, with wings expanded, while they pick up some dainty
morsel at top of the wave, for they procure all their food from
the surface of the sea ; but they seldom alight on the water for
swimming, and they are quite incapable of diving. Considering
their thorough appreciation of angry weather, it is strange how
many specimens are annually picked up either dead or in a
dying, exhausted condition, during stormy weather in inland
districts, as if buffeted to death by the violence of the gale.
Possibly it may be that, driven from their proper element, they
are faint from starvation, and so unable to contend against the
fury of the wind ; at all events, not an autumn passes without
many such casualties to the Storm Petrel occurring in our
inland counties. In Wiltshire I had a notice from my friend
the Rev. W. C. Lukis of a specimen picked up dead by a labour-
ing man, in the parish of Ludgershall, in November, 1859. Mr.
Grant reports a specimen found at Cherrington, November 9,
1863. The Rev. Townley Dowding, then Vicar of Marlborough,
told me that in April, 1865, he distinctly saw a bird of this
species fly to a portion of the Kennet at the foot of his garden,
where it remained some five minutes dabbling in the water, then
flew off, and alighted again a short distance farther down the
stream ; and lastly, as a fitting conclusion to this long catalogue
of Wiltshire birds, wherein I have derived so much assistance
from the records furnished me by my late lamented friend, the
Rev. George Marsh, I mention a specimen of which he informed
me, which was picked up dead at Somerford Parva in the year
1830, which had evidently died from exhaustion, and which was
preserved by Mr. Wightwick, of Brinkworth, but subsequently
became moth-eaten, and no longer exists.
If Wilson's Petrel deserved the name of oceanica, certainly
this species is no less entitled to pelagica, 'belonging to the
open sea ;' for what can be more truly oceanic than this little
bird, which, as Montagu says, alone of the feathered creation
dares venture so far from shore as the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean, where it appears to find subsistence, and only retires
during the breeding season? From its enjoyment of rough
35
546 Laridce.
weather it has derived its name in most countries. With us it
is the 'Storm Petrel ;' in France, Pttrel tempete ; in Germany,
Kleinster Sturm vogel ; in Sweden, Liten Storm Svala, l Little
Storm Swallow ; in Portugal it is Alma de mestre, ' Soul of the
Master.' Among Norwegian fishermen it is known as Lever-Lars,
or ' Liver-Laurentius/ because, being of a fearless nature, it
approaches cl6se to the fishing boats in the North Sea, and
greedily devours the offal, and especially the fish-liver, which is
thrown overboard. Bishop Pontoppidan calls it Hav Hest, or
' the Sea-horse/ and gives a most singular portrait as well as a
marvellous account of it. In 1756, in County Kerry, this bird,
of all others, was esteemed a delicacy for the table, and was
named the 'Irish Ortolan.' There is certainly no accounting
for taste ; but it must have been a very strong and a very oily
morsel.
With this pretty little species I close the list of birds which
have appeared within the County of Wilts.
CHAPTER XII.
ON MIGRATION.
I HAVE already remarked that there is almost always migration
going on amongst our feathered tribes, sometimes on a large, but
generally on a small scale ; sometimes across the sea and for long
distances, but more often from one inland district to another, or
from the interior of our island to the sea coast. And the principal
motive which impels this so frequent movement, and urges the
restless flocks to pass on to pastures new, is not altogether, as
many suppose, the inclemency of weather, or the extremes of heat
and cold, but the profusion or the scarcity of the food upon
which their very being depends. See the countless troops of
little warblers which as soon as the warm days of spring waken
vegetation, and quicken into life the insect hordes arrive on
our shores, and soon spread themselves over this island, revisit-
ing each its own old haunt of former years, the. native place
where it was reared, maybe ; or mark the vast flocks of birds
which, taking leave of us in the spring, penetrate to distant
northern lands, there to spend the short but brilliant summer
within the Arctic Circle ; and in either case their arrival coincides
with the development of countless myriads of insects which are
absolutely essential to the very existence of their young. None
but those who have visited those northern lands can have any
notion of the immense quantities of gnats and mosquitoes which
literally cloud the atmosphere ; and, revelling in perpetual sun-
shine, with no chills of night to check their increase, they make
the most of the few months of continuous daylight, and abound
in the greatest profusion. To the unhappy traveller, indeed,
352
548 On Migration.
they are a source of perpetual irritation and annoyance, to a
degree scarcely to be conceived by those who have not ex-
perienced it ; but to the birds which resort in such numbers to
those sequestered breeding-places, what an inexhaustible store of
the food best suited to their tender brood ! In a very much less
degree indeed numerically, but perhaps, in proportion to the
birds which breed in this inland district, not so far behind, are
the insects which spring forth into life with the warm days of
early summer, and which afford an ample supply of the food
they need, not only to the soft-billed Warblers which fill our
coppices and gardens in spring, but to the hard-billed Finches
and others, whose tender young equally require an insect diet
during the days of their dependence on their parents, while they
are yet confined to the nest. The profusion or scarcity of food,
then, is, I believe, the chief motive which regulates the migration
of birds, which also leads them to abound at one time in, and to
absent themselves altogether at another from, their favourite
haunts. But I do not say it is the only motive. The Warblers,
which come to us in the spring, would doubtless be led to seek
their breeding quarters in a temperate climate, more suitable to
their nature than the hotter latitudes wherein they passed the
winter. Those species, too, which leave us in the spring for the
far North, are doubtless attracted in some measure by the solitude
of the districts they frequent, where they can breed undisturbed
by the presence of man. But when the short Arctic summer is
ended, and the frosts of early winter paralyse the insect hordes,
then the parent birds lead their now full-fledged young to a more
genial climate in the South ; while our less hardy Warblers in
like manner move off with their broods to warmer latitudes. It
is very wonderful, indeed, if we reflect upon it, how such diminu-
tive creatures, so short- winged, so light, and so feeble, as some
are (the Golden-crested Regulus for instance), can prolong their
flight, as we know they do, over the Northern Sea ; or how others,
equally unfitted, as we should suppose, for so long a journey (the
Willow Warblers for example), pass on every autumn to the
interior of Africa, to return again to Wiltshire the following
On Migration. 549
spring ! Whether they rise to a great height and are carried
along by currents in the upper atmosphere, how they find their
way, and how they steer their course, for the most part so un-
erringly, are some of the many problems connected with migra-
tion upon which we are as yet but little informed. So im-
possible, indeed, did migration to distant lands seem to our older
writers on ornithology, including even the accurate Gilbert
White of Selborne, that they had recourse to the utterly unten-
able hypothesis that the Swallows and their compagnons de voyage
resorted to the reed-beds as autumn drew on, and hibernated at
the bottom of rivers ! not to revive and seek the upper air until
the entire winter had passed away and spring had returned ! A
wider experience and the observations of naturalists in other
countries have taught us whither our summer visitors betake
themselves, so that we can trace them on leaving our coasts to
the warm districts of North Africa, and see many of them pro-
longing their journey to the equator and even beyond it. More
and more marvellous, indeed, does this seem, when we recollect
the feeble flight of some diminutive Warbler, as it flits across one
of our meadows in Wiltshire from one hedge to another ; or the
laboured flapping of wings when some short-winged species
hurries off at its greatest speed, when suddenly alarmed. And
yet, by some means or other, when the season for migration
comes round, the diminutive and the feeble, the short-winged
and the heavy-bodied, generally collect into flocks or parties and
move off in a body, and in due course reach their destination.
Much of their journey ings necessarily takes place at night ;
but neither darkness, nor fogs, nor storms unless of unusual
violence nor wind, nor rain, nor anything else seems to baffle
them. On they go with unerring instinct, straight for the
point they desire to reach ; and generally, and within a very
few days of their usual appearance, they may be found in tlieir
old familiar haunts, as much at home as if they had never been
absent. How they know the direction, by what intuitive percep-
tion they steer their course so accurately, is another problem in
reference to migration which we cannot explain ; and this incom^
550 On Migration.
prehensible act reaches its climax when we consider that some
(the young Cuckoos for example) have to make the long journey
alone and for the first time, with no parents to show them the
way, for they have long ago departed; and yet the young
Cuckoos, too, somehow make out the route to be taken, and these,
too, arrive at their destination in due course.
To return again to the vicissitudes of weather which they must
encounter, on which I have briefly touched. Think of tho
furious gales, the torrents of rain, the pelting hail, the scorching
suns, they must at various periods of their travel meet with : how
can such frail bodies, supported by such tiny wings, endure such
tremendous assaults of the elements, and survive amid such
difficulties and dangers ? I make but small account of the
excessive cold to which in their passage they must often be ex-
posed, because I conceive that most birds are capable of enduring
a very low temperature without inconvenience. And I am not
disposed to make too much of rain-storms, because I have a
notion that most birds on migration ascend to a great altitude,
above the clouds, where they probably meet with currents of air
which waft them in the required direction. But even if we allow
them these advantages, they have difficulties enough to contend
against. That many species keep together in the flock in which
they started, and do not lose one another on the darkest of nights,
by means of the perpetual clamour they keep up, is certain, for
the cry of a migrating host may be often heard as it passes over-
head ; and it is not improbable that the smaller species in like
manner communicate to one another their mutual positions by
twitterings and call-notes peculiar to themselves.
But, however successful their passage, that they are generally
exhausted when they reach the land, and drop down to rest in
the nearest available cover, is well known to all who are favourably
situated for observing them, on our eastern and southern coasts
more especially. The Quail which I mentioned above* as having
dropped down in my garden at Mentone, after a passage over the
Mediterranean from Africa, and suffered itself to be taken up in
* Supra, p. 336.
Oil Migration. 551
the hand, having apparently no further strength left for self-pre-
servation, is the greatest proof I ever saw of such utter prostra-
tion after a prolonged journey : but similar accounts are con-
stantly given by those who have witnessed on our eastern coasts
the arrivals from Northern Europe. Vast numbers, too, un-
doubtedly perish in the sea, unable to prolong their flight when
adverse winds have buffeted them beyond their powers of endur-
ance ; so that though they must depart when the restless spirit
of migration seizes on them in spring and autumn, it is a perilous
path which they are pursuing, beset with many difficulties and
dangers, and oftentimes a fatal path which only leads to a watery
grave. The great bulk, however, of our migratory birds does, I
suppose, succeed in the enterprise, and arriving here from the
South, or departing hence for the North, all are busy during the
six months of spring and summer with their nurseries, and then
the return journeys are entered upon, when in most cases their
numbers are much increased by the vast flocks of young which
accompany their parents.
These few preliminary remarks on the great subject of migra-
tion are only intended to introduce a table of our Wiltshire
migrants, which may be looked for at their respective dates every
year. In preparing this table, and in assigning specified days for
the arrival of each species, I have taken considerable pains to
arrive at as correct a date as possible, first by careful examination
of the notes which I have kept as accurately as I could during
the last thirty-five years, both at Yatesbury and at Old Park ;
and then by comparing them with similar tables, put forth by
other observers in other localities, both within this county and
outside it. When I add that in the case of many of the more
favourite migrants, I have no less than fifty such tables lying
before me, it will be seen that the dates which I assign are not
mere guess work, but are corrected by the experience of many
other observers similarly employed with myself. It is obvious
that these dates of arrival vary with forward and backward
seasons, as was to be expected ; but by adding the earliest and
latest days on which their first appearance has been recorded in
552
On Migration.
the tables before me, I mark the range within which the species
under examination^has been first noticed. This, however, is only
supplementary to the true date on which each migrant is declared
to be due in Wiltshire.
To proceed, then, with the list of migratory birds in the order
of date in which they visit us, omitting occasional and rare
visitants, and confining myself to the common regular birds of
passage :
Name of species.
General date of
first arrival.
Range of first arrival.
1. Lapwing
March 2
Feb. 15 to March 23.
2. Pied Wagtail
18
.. 11 n >, 25.
3. Wheatear ...
26
March 13 April 23.
4. Chiff chaff
30
ii I 1 ii 12-
5. Wryneck
April 11
> 2J ,, ., *5.
6. Sand Martin
H
April 5 May 1.
7. Nightingale
15
5 April 30.
8. Blackcap Warbler ...
15
ii 5 ii ii 28.
9. Willow Warbler ....
,; 16
>i 2 ,, 28.
10. Meadow Pipit
17
8 May 5.
11. Redstart
ti 17
7 12
n ***
12. Tree Pipit
;; is
n 1 ii 3.
13. Swallow
18
March 28 April 30.
14. Kay's Wagtail
, 19
April 3 May 8.
15. Martin
20
1 3.
16. Common Cuckoo ...
22
)) 1 11 ,) o.
17. Common Whitethroat
22
4 5.
18. Whinchat
it 23
16 9-
19. Reed Warbler
23
n 12 6.
20. Lesser Whitethroat
24
n 12 ,i 11.
21. Sedge Warbler
26
.. 1 ., ,, i .
22. Garden Warbler ...
26
12 15.
23. Wood Warbler
, 28
fi 12
99 '* 19 l .
24. Grasshopper Warbler
May 2
ii is ii n n-
25. Turtle Dove
>. 4
May 1 June 1.
26. Night-jar =
27. Common Swift
6
ii 6
April 15 May 25.
n 21 31.
28. Red-backed Shrike
, 8
,, 27 30.
29. Laud Rail v
ii 10
25 28.
30. Spotted Flycatcher
11
9) IJ /*
,, 13 31.
31. Common Snipe
32. Jack Snipe ...
33. Woodcock ...
Sept. 15
i, 24
Oct. 10
Aug. 12 Oct. 30.
Sept. 6 30.
14 , 31.
34. Short-eared Owl ...
10
30 21.
35. Fieldfare ...
? J
,, 20
>> ^^ 9> 9J **
27 Dec. 13.
36. Redwing ...
., 22
Oct. 1 Nov. 23.
37. Merlin
38. Golden Plover
30
30
Sept. 11 21.
24 26.
39. Teal
)? w
30
. 0rv A| . p^m
7 12
40. Mountain Finch
. M vV
Dec. 8
n > n "
Nov. 19 Dec. 20.
On Migration. 553
The dates assigned above, upon which the arrival of our
commoner migrants may be expected in Wiltshire, will perhaps
appear to some to be generally full late ; but whether it is that
Wiltshire is colder than most counties, and our migrants in con-
sequence defer their arrival here later than elsewhere, which I
do not apprehend to be the case ; or whether, as I suspect,
exceptionally early dates of first appearance are oftentimes alone
remembered by superficial observers, and the ordinary times of
arrival are passed by without notice, is a fair subject for inquiry ;
but I venture to insist that the only way to insure a correct
estimate on this point is by registering dates of arrival with as
great accuracy as possible, and comparing such registers after a
long series of years. Figures and dates and statistics may be
dull, tedious, and prosaic, but in this case they alone will give a
true verdict, and enable us to arrive at a right conclusion.
The whole question of migration is indeed an exceedingly diffi-
cult one ; but great light has been thrown upon it within the
last few years through the exertions of a select band of ornitho-
logists, deputed by the British Association for the Advancement
of Science, to institute inquiries ; and this has now, for several
years past, been systematically pursued, not only by the personal
observations of men of science specially qualified for the task,
but also by enlisting the assistance of those in charge of the
lighthouses and lightships, who enjoy extraordinary opportunities
of witnessing the migrations of birds. It is, indeed, quite
surprising what vast numbers of birds on migration commit
involuntary suicide, by dashing themselves against the light-
houses, round which vast flocks will occasionally flutter, like
moths round a candle, apparently lost in the darkness and
unable to tear themselves from the fatal light. To those who
are interested in the subject I commend these British Associa-
tion Reports on Migration, eight of which have now been
published since the Committee began its work; and I would
also call attention to a work on ' Bird Migration/ by Mr. William
Brewster, President of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, and pub-
lished in the Memoirs of that Club in the United States of America.
CHAPTER XIII.
ON THE NESTING OF BIRDS IN WILTSHIRE.
OF all the interesting questions connected with bird life, there
is not one which, in my opinion, excites our admiration and
astonishment so much as the building of the nest. All the
details connected with the preparation of that receptacle for
the eggs, and which shall afterwards serve as the nursery for the
young brood, show such marvellous skill that we stand amazed
as we consider them. Let us take the familiar case of the nest
of the common Rook ; awkward enough, and inappropriate as
we should suppose, and unwieldy are some of the sticks which
we see carried off in the bird's bill to the top of some_lofty elm;
but the foundation of the nest must be firmly fixed indeed,
buffeted as it will assuredly be, and swayed to and fro, by the
equinoctial gales of spring ; and yet these awkward sticks are
somehow placed so securely as to defy the fury of the tempest,
and enable the nest to ride out in safety the persistent assaults
of the high winds of March. If man were to try his hand at
building a Rook's nest, and if he were provided only with the
materials and the implements which those birds use, I think he
would utterly fail in completing a structure which should answer
the required purpose and withstand the blasts of wind to which
it would be exposed. But the birds, inheriting the instincts of
their ancestors, know how to arrange the sticks so securely that
they build a firm foundation, and upon it, little by little, prepare
the nest which shall conveniently and safely shelter their eggs
and afterwards their young. Or take the case of the common
On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire. 555
Wood-pigeon, whose nest we may find in every plantation. As
we walk beneath the branch on which it is laid, so flimsy does it
seem, so fragile and so slight, that we can positively see the two
white eggs through the interstices of the few sticks on which
they are laid ; and if we climb up and examine the nest more
closely, we marvel to see how flat it is, with no protection at the
sides for retaining upon it the eggs, and afterwards the young ;
only a slight platform or wicker ledge, from which one would
expect the eggs to roll at the slightest stirring of the breeze.
But no ; the narrow stage has been found sufficient by hundreds
of generations of Wood-pigeons, and precisely the same nest as
their ancestors built is prepared by the Wood-pigeons now.
Next mark the variety of positions for their nests selected by
the several species. The Song Thrush chooses a thick bush ;
the Blackbird, the bank of a ditch ; the Misseltoe Thrush, the
exposed branch of an apple-tree ; the Wheatear seeks a deserted
rabbif-burrow, or some other hole in the ground; the White-
throat chooses a nettle-bed ; the Spotted Fly-catcher, the
support of a beam or rafter ; the Titmouse, a hole in a stump ;
the Skylark, the open cornfield ; the House-sparrow, the thatch
of a cottage or barn ; the Starling, any hole it can find in the
roofs of our houses ; the Rook, the top of an elm-tree ; the Wood-
pecker, a hole in the tree-stem; the Nuthatch, a hole in a
brick wall ; the Kingfisher, a hole in the river-bank ; the Sand-
martin, a hole in a dry sand-quarry ; the Swift, a hole in the
church-tower ; the Nightjar, a mere depression of the ground at
the foot of a tree ; the Partridge, the meadow where growing
crops afford concealment and protection ; the Lapwing, the open
cornfield or down ; the Waterhen, a floating bed of rushes ; the
Little Grebe, a wet mass of sedge at the margin of the stream.
These are but samples of the principal localities which the several
species choose, and the list might be very much prolonged ; but
enough is given to show how various are the situations adopted
by the breeding birds.
Next let me draw attention to the variety of materials which
are sought for by the nest-builders, and these comprise almost
556 On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire.
everything which can be made available which comes within
their reach. First we see some species acting as plasterers,
preparing their mortar, kneading it, and working it, till it attains
the proper consistency, and then daubing it on, not in lumps, but
in thin layers ; and like wise builders as they are, suffering one
layer to dry and harden before the next is added. As examples
of those which in one form or other adopt this material, I
instance the Thrushes, the Nuthatches, the Swallows and the
Martins. Next come the Weavers, and under this head indeed
we may range the great majority of species which have any
pretensions to nest-making ; for most birds, whether as regards
the fabric of the nest itself, or whether only with reference to its
lining, weave the moss and hair and feathers together so cleverly
that the result is a smooth and even surface to the walls of the
cup-shaped cradle they have so skilfully prepared. Sticks, as
we have already seen, and fibrous roots, are often used for founda-
tions, and (besides the substances mentioned above) wool and
lichens and leaves and grass, stems and cobwebs and the down of
various seeds, are brought into requisition, either as lining, or as
an outer covering for protection or concealment.
Then, what opposite views are entertained by the different
species of what their nest should be ! The Guillemot and the
Razor-bill on the ledge of some sea-cliff, and the Lapwing and
the Partridge on the open cornfield, are contented with the bare
ground on which to deposit their eggs. The Sand-martin and
the Bee-eater have little beyond the smooth surface at the end
of the holes they have severally excavated in the sand or the
river-bank. The Kingfisher has a nest, if it may be so called,
peculiar and indeed unique, composed of the fishbones and
indigestible remains of the fishes which it casts up. The Wood-
peckers and the Owls want no more than the hole in the tree or
the hollow stump where they can deposit their eggs. But the
great majority of species are not so easily satisfied. The
Thrushes, the Warblers, the Titmice, the Buntings, the Finches,
the Crows and the Herons are examples of those which require,
each to its own taste, more substantial nurseries, and some of these
On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire. 557
prepare a very elaborate structure, which exhibits no little
architectural skill on the part of the artificer. I would instance
first the doomed nests of the Common Wren and the Willow
Warblers: what warm, snug habitations for their young ; how well
protected, how cleverly constructed for shelter and concealment,
how softly lined ! Or see the neat, trim nest of the Chaffinch ; how
admirably finished off' with its lichen adornments, which serve to
impart a resemblance to the branch on which it is placed ! What
consummate skill does this compact, pretty nest evince! Mark
again the well-constructed nest of the Golden-crested Regulus, sus-
pended beneath the branch of some yew-tree or spruce-fir: what a
charming receptacle for the smallest eggs we know in the British
Isles ! And as a climax of perfection of architectural ingenuity, let
me point to the oval nest of the long-tailed Titmouse, with which
nothing else can compete for efficient shelter and warmth, as well as
for the less substantial virtues of beauty, symmetry, and finish.
These are but samples of the various nests which we find around us,
and, as we examine them carefully, we cannot fail to be astonished at
the excellence of their workmanship, and at the perfect adaptability
of each to the object for which it was intended. How the several
species succeed so well in producing nests exactly resembling
those of their respective ancestors is an interesting question on
which I will not here enter. Whether it be by reason, or by instinct,
or by hereditary habit, or by imitation, has been discussed at
length by advocates of each theory, and to their arguments I would
refer my readers.*
And now I come to the interesting question of the colouring
of the eggs. As a rule, those which are not exposed to sight,
but are placed in holes in trees, or house roofs, or in banks or in
the ground, are either white or so faintly tinted as to be ap-
proaching to white, as, for example, those of Owls, Wheatears,
Starlings, Woodpeckers, Wrynecks, Kingfishers, Martins, Swifts.
With others, again, the colouring of the eggs assimilates in some
* See especially Wallace's 'Natural Selection,' pp. 211-231; Darwin's
' Descent of Man,' vol. ii., pp. 166-182 ; an admirable chapter by Mr. Charles
Dixon, ' On the Protective Colour of Eggs,' in Introduction to vol. ii. of Mr.
H. Seebohm's ' British Birds ;' and Canon Tristram in Ibis for 1867, p. 74.
558 On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire.
sort to the general hue of their surroundings. This is curiously
the case with the highly coloured eggs of the Ptarmigan, Grouse,
and Quail ; with the sombre tints of those of the Sedge-warblers,
the Wagtails, Buntings, and Larks ; and especially the mottled
marbled eggs of the Nightjar. But with the great majority of
the eggs of birds, I should say that the colouring is so conspicu-
ous as rather to attract notice, and that not only from man, who
is in comparison but dull of sight at the best, but from the
pilfering Magpie, Jay, or Carrion Crow, marauders who are ever
on the look-out for a meal, such as an unguarded nest of eggs
would supply. See the Hedge Accentor, one of the earliest
breeders among our commoner birds, whose nest can readily be
discerned in early spring in the quickset hedge, as yet destitute
of leaves ; can anything be more conspicuous than the bright-
blue eggs of that familiar warbler ? See, again, the ruddy eggs
of the Redbreast, the speckled eggs of the Willow Wrens, the
blue eggs of the Thrush, the brick-red eggs of most of the Falcons,
the green eggs of the Crows, the mottled eggs of the Pipits, the
Garden Warbler and the Blackcap, the spotted eggs of the
Finches, and the blotched eggs of the Crakes ; and it must be
admitted that these variously-coloured eggs, however pleasing to
the eye of the naturalist, are undoubtedly too conspicuous for
safety, unless they are in some way concealed. But in order to
protect their eggs from observation, it is the habit with some
species on leaving the nest to cover their eggs with leaves, moss,
or flags, according to their several surroundings. Familiar in-
stances of this we have in the Pheasant, the Partridge, and the
Little Grebe. With others, again, the female bird which broods
over the nest is of dull and sombre colour, which harmonizes
with the tints of the nesting site ; and as long as the eggs are
covered by the sitting bird, they are, of course, completely shielded
from view. For securing this object, we may notice how many
of the hens are of sober, subdued colour when compared with
the brilliant plumage of their respective mates : for example, the
Blackbird, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Pheasant, and the whole family
of Ducks.
On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire. 559
I proceed now to enumerate the species which have been
known to breed in this county ; and the table which I here offer
is for the most part that with which I supplied Mr. A. G. More
when, in 1864, he was preparing his valuable treatise, 'On the Dis-
tribution of Birds in Great Britain during the Nesting Season,'*
when he applied to me to furnish him with a list from Wiltshire ;
and in compliance with his request, I went carefully into the
subject, with a view of contributing as accurate a list as I could
draw up. It is a copy of that list, with such additions and
modifications as the further experience of the last twenty-three
years has given, that I now lay before my readers. Those printed
in italics have either altogether ceased to breed in Wiltshire,
or have only vary rarely been known to breed within the county.
To each of these species I propose to call attention in due course.
Let me, however, here remark that, for every nest discovered, there
are probably two or three which escape detection ; so that even
those species which have only been recognised once or twice as
nesting within our borders may possibly'do so somewhat more
frequently than is generally supposed.
1. Peregrine Falcon. That this noble bird used to breed in
Wiltshire even so late as the beginning of this century
we have seen above; for they had a nest in Wilton Park
annually, until driven away by the overbearing Ravens.
And that they bred, or attempted to breed, on the spire of
Salisbury Cathedral in quite recent years we are also posi-
tively assured (see above, p. 70).
2. Hobby (see p. 73).
3. Kestrel (see p. 80).
4. Sparrow Hawk.
5. Kite. Fifty or sixty years ago the nest of this species was
well known in Wiltshire (see p. 83, 84), but now, not only is
the nest never found amongst us, but the bird, too, is no
longer to be seen within the county.
* Printed in the Ibis for 1865, pp. 1-26, 119-143, 425-458.
560 On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire.
6. Common Buzzard. This bird, once so common, as its trivial
name shows, has long ceased to breed in Wilts ; and I
have heard of no recent nest within the limits of the county.
7. Rough-legged Buzzard. I am more fortunate in regard to
this species ; for in 1882 a pair succeeded in hatching out
five young ones near Tisbury (see p. 87).
8. Hen Harrier. Not many years since, this species used to
breed regularly on Salisbury Plain ; and it is not improbable
that a nest still may be found in suitable localities; but that
it is surely, if gradually, being exterminated from Wilts is
only too certain (see p. 94).
9. Montagu's Harrier. This species, which I believe to have
bred pretty regularly in Wiltshire in days gone by, still
occasionally is found nesting in the county. (See p. 96 for
a very interesting account of a nest of this species in the
gorse at Fifield Bavant, communicated by Mr. Tyndall
Powell.)
10. Long-eared Owl (see p. 105).
11. Barn Owl (see p. 109).
12. Tawny Owl (see p. 112).
13. Red-backed Shrike (see p. 122).
14. Spotted Flycatcher (see p. 125).
15. Missel Thrush (see p. 128).
16. Song Thrush.
17. Blackbird.
18. Ring Ouzel (see p. 139 for the evidence of a nest of this
species being found near Mere).
19. Hedge Accentor.
20. Redbreast.
21. Redstart (see p. 147).
22. Stonechat.
23. Whinchat.
24. Wheatear (see p. 152).
25. Grasshopper Warbler (see p. 153).
26. Sedge Warbler (see p. 154).
27. Reed Warbler (see p. 155).
On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire. 561
28. Nightingale.
29. Blackcap Warbler.
30. Garden Warbler.
31. Common White throat (see p. 160).
32. Lesser Whitethroat.
33. Wood Warbler (see p. 162).
34. Willow Warbler.
35. Chiff-chaff.
36. Dartford Warbler. From the nature of the localities which
this bird frequents, viz., the thick gorse on the unfrequented
downs ; from its retiring, shelter-loving habit of dropping
down into concealment in its impervious retreat on the
approach of an intruder ; and from the position of its nest
in the very thickest part of the densest gorse, there is per-
haps no bird which breeds annually in the county whose
nest is so seldom found. The patient watcher, however,
who will devote time to the task, may by dint of careful
and prolonged examination be rewarded by the discovery of
the well-concealed nest ; or he may quite as probably, not-
withstanding all his labour and patience, go away baffled
and disappointed.
37. Golden-crested Regulus (see p. 168).
38. Great Titmouse (see p. 170).
39. Blue Titmouse.
40. Coal Titmouse.
41. Marsh Titmouse.
42. Long-tailed Titmouse (p. 172).
43. Pied Wagtail (see p. 176).
44. Gray Wagtail (see p. 178).
45. Ray's Wagtail.
46. Tree Pipit (see p. 180).
47. Meadow Pipit.
48. Skylark.
49. Woodlark.
50. Common Bunting.
51. Black-headed Bunting.
36
562 On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire.
52. Yellow Bunting.
53. Cirl Bunting (see p. 191).
54. Chaffinch (see p. 193).
55. House Sparrow.
56. Tree Sparrow. I am assured that the nest of this species
has been found in Wilts ; but I have no personal knowledge
of it ; and I confess that I admit it amongst Wiltshire nest-
builders with considerable hesitation (see p. 198).
57. Greenfinch.
58. Hawfinch (see p. 199).
59. Goldfinch.
60. Common Linnet.
61. Lesser Redpole. This is another species which breeds freely
in the northern counties of England, but has only on rare
occasions been known to nest in this county (see p. 207).
62. Bullfinch.
63. Common Starling.
64. Haven (see pp. 222-232).
65. Carrion Crow.
66. Rook (see pp. 238-240).
67. Jackdaw (see p. 241).
68. Magpie (see p. 244).
69. Jay.
70. Green Woodpecker.
71. Great Spotted Woodpecker.
72. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
73. Wryneck (see p. 256). This bird, so common in many parts
of England, but very rarely breeds in Wiltshire ; indeed, in
the West of England generally, it may almost be considered
an accidental straggler.
74. Common Creeper.
75. Wren (see p. 261).
76. Hoopoe. For the very remarkable occurrence of the nest of
this bird in Wiltshire, I refer to the account given above,
- p. 267.
77. Nuthatch (see" p. 269).
On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire. 563
78. Common Cuckoo (see pp. 272-291).
79. Kingfisher (see p. 296).
80. Swallow.
81. Martin (see p. 305).
82. Sand Martin (see p. 306).
83. Common Swift (see p. 308).
84. Nightjar (see p. 312).
85. Ring Dove (see p. 318).
86. Stock Dove (see p. 320).
87. Turtle Dove.
88. Pheasant.
89. Partridge.
90. Red-legged Partridge.
91. Quail.
92. Bustard. Now, alas! extinct; but within less than a hun-
dred years a regular breeder on the Wiltshire Downs (see
p. 353).
93. Great Plover (see p. 378).
94. Lapwing (see p. 387).
95. Common Heron (see pp. 395-402).
96. Curlew. Mr. More expresses a doubt whether this bird
really breeds in Wiltshire and Dorsetshire, and conjectures
that where this has been stated the Stone Curlew (CEdicne-
mus crepitans) was mistaken for Numenius arquata ; but,
though it is unquestionable that there is often much con-
fusion between these two species, I am satisfied, by the
assurance of those on whose authority I can rely, that the
true Curlew (N. arquata) does occasionally breed on the
fallows of the open downs (see p. 413).
97. Woodcock (see p. 428).
98. Common Snipe. Occasionally, but rarely, found breeding
in Wiltshire.
99. Land-rail.
100. Water-rail.
101. Moor-hen.
102. Common Coot.
564 On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire.
103. Mute Swan (see p. 472).
104. Wild Duck.
105. Teal Occasionally, though rarely, a nest has been found in
Wiltshire ; but more frequently in the neighbouring counties
of Hants and Dorset.
106. Little Grebe.
In addition to those enumerated above, there is a strong pro-
bability of the correctness of the information in regard to the breed-
ing of two other species in Wiltshire ; but the evidence seemed
scarcely strong enough to warrant their insertion in the list of those
which have undoubtedly bred within the county. These are :
Great Grey Shrike (see p. 120).
Golden Oriole (see p. 140).
Before I conclude this chapter, I would say a few words on the
subject of bird-nesting, for I maintain that if a man should be
defined as a ' reasoning animal,' in order to distinguish him from
all the rest of the living creatures around him, then with equal
aptitude should a boy be designated as a 'bird -nesting animal,'
so universal, so innate, so all absorbing is the passion in the mind
of a boy for seeking after and finding the nests and eggs of birds.
Now, to attempt to prevent boys from bird-nesting altogether would
be about as hopeless a task as to try to dissuade the birds them-
selves from nesting, migrating, or following out any other instinct
of their nature. It would be like trying to turn back the rushing
stream towards its source. I, at all events, am not about to
attempt any such impossible work ; but still I hope that this
chapter may not be without profit, as well as interest, to the
youthful part of the inhabitants of Wiltshire, if I try to point out
to my younger friends how their hobby may be most advanta-
geously as well as pleasantly ridden, not indiscriminately, nol
cruelly, not recklessly, but how it may be carried on with the
greatest delight to themselves and the least injury to the birds
they love so well. For it is not, be it remarked, the more intelli-
gent collector of eggs who does the mischief, for he requires no
more than four or five of a species for his collection, which are all
On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire. 565
the better specimens if they are selected separately, one from a
nest. But it is the indiscriminate glutton, who with senseless
recklessness destroys wholesale, his only object being to amass
great numbers of eggs on a string, amongst which he knows
no difference, pretends to no order or arrangement, and who
rejoices in quantity, without reference to variety. He it is who L c
such an enemy to the whole feathered race, and his plunderings
of eggs can only be characterized as heartless and selfish, and
denounced for their cruelty. But for him who desires to make a
collection of real value and interest, I offer a few remarks, and I
venture to lay down certain broad rules which should be rigidly
adhered to.
1. First, let it be thoroughly understood and determined that
any egg, however handsome in appearance, rich in colour, and
strange to our experience, is perfectly useless as a specimen, and
to be ruthlessly ejected from the cabinet, unless it is certainly
identified and absolutely known to be that which it professes
to be.
2. Let every egg admitted to the cabinet be prepared, first by
drilling a single hole on one side with an egg-drill ; then by
means of a small glass or metal tube, manufactured for the
purpose, blowing out the contents ; afterwards injecting a little
water, and rinsing out the interior, taking care to remove every
particle of the inner skin; and then injecting a very small
quantity of solution of corrosive sublimate. The egg wilt then be
safe from the ravages of mites. Mem. For very small and deli-
cate eggs the latter part of the treatment above described is
neither necessary nor advisable.
3. Every egg prepared for the cabinet as above described
should at once be marked with ink on the shell near the drill-
hole, either with the name of the species, the date, and the locality
where taken, or else with a letter and number, referring to a
catalogue in which these details are given.
4. Eggs so prepared and inscribed should on no account be
affixed to a card, but laid on a bed of cotton-wool in the cabinet,
each species in its own compartment, and all in systematic order ;
566 On the Nesting of Birds in Wiltshire.
and every such compartment should be marked with a label
printed for the purpose.
But for all these principal rules, as well as for full and detailed
instruction in all that appertains to the subject of egg-collecting,
I would refer my readers to the short but exhaustive pamphlet by
the pen of Professor Alfred Newton, entitled ' Suggestions for
forming Collections of Birds' Eggs.' *
I will also add that egg-drills, blow-pipes, labels, and every ap-
paratus required by the field oologist may be procured of any
good naturalist, such as Messrs. Cook, Museum Street, Blooms-
bury, or Messrs. Doncaster, 36, Strand.
It is, perhaps, almost unnecessary to add that, of course, the
eggs must not be varnished (though I have more than once seen
even that enormity committed), for such a process manifestly
destroys at once the natural appearance of the egg, and renders
it worthless as a specimen.
Originally printed in 1860, in America, in a circular of the * Smithsonian
Institution.' Reprinted in England in the Zoologist for the fame year
(pp. 7189-7201). Translated by Dr. Baldamus into German, Journal fur
Ornithologie, 1860 (pp. 447-459) ; and by M. Jules Verreaux into French,
Revue et Magazin de Zoologie, 1862 (pp. 285-292, 319-331).
CHAPTER XIV.
A PLEA FOR THE ROOKS.*
IT is hard to fight against the prejudices of mankind, but inas-
much as in some districts of Wiltshire, not content with the
annual ruthless slaughter of the newly fledged brood, some have
thought fit to begin a war of extermination, by wholesale poison-
ing and otherwise, against the whole family of Rooks, it is time
for the friends of those ill-starred birds to expostulate, and
point out the suicidal policy of those short-sighted men who,
under a mistaken notion of their true character, are destroying
some of the best friends the farmer has.
It would be fair, in the first place, to bespeak in behalf of this
persecuted tribe the goodwill of all who love country life, by calling
to mind the cheery note, so eloquent of lengthening days and
advancing spring, which charms the ear of those who live near
a rookery ; or by pointing out the animation which all Nature
derives from their presence, and the sad blank which would exist
in our meadows and fields, in the event of their destruction : but
as we may fairly conjecture that such pleas border too much on
the romantic to weigh with such matter-of-fact minds as those of
their would-be-destroyers, I will waive all such considerations,
and rest my cause on their substantial merits alone.
I begin by stating at the outset that it is not at all my inten-
tion to endeavour to prove my prote'ge's perfectly harmless and
immaculate, because I am well aware that a certain amount of
* The substance of this chapter was read before the Wiltshire Archaeo-
logical and Natural History Society during the annual meeting at Malmes-
bury in August, 1862.
568 A Plea for the Rooks.
mischief is occasioned by them, and I have no wish to slur over
their bad qualities, and magnify their virtues ; convinced as I am
that such a proceeding would be fatal to my favourites, and that no
good purpose is ever answered by too violent partisanship. More-
over, I am so confident of the strength of my case, that I desire
nothing more than the plain unvarnished truth to be stated on
both sides, and have no fear for the verdict; being perfectly certain
that, on investigation, it will be acknowledged by every fair and
candid mind, that the benefits conferred on man by those members
of the animal kingdom whose cause I am advocating far outweigh,
indeed utterly obliterate, any harm they may at certain seasons
commit.
To plunge at once^ then, in mediae res, and to take the bull by the
horns. The charge so often brought against Rooks by the agricul-
turist is, that they will occasionally pilfer and devour corn and
other crops, and undoubtedly, unless watched and scared away by
the bird-boy (or crow-tender as he is termed in some districts), they
will at certain seasons make considerable havoc, and do no small
mischief. This is the one single misdemeanor alleged against
them, and of this, too, it is never pretended that they are guilty
but for a very trifling portion of the year, and even here, too,
though I allow that it is a true bill in the main, they are sometimes
accused when innocent, and when they are intent upon very dif-
ferent food, the wireworm and the grub ; and are busily engaged in
the farmer's service in exterminating those most destructive pests;
but granted that they will for a very short period, if not prevented,
commit depredation on the corn, let us examine how they are
employed, and where they feed, and on what they subsist, during
the remaining nineteen-twentieths of the year, and we shall see
that it is on the larvae of a variety of noxious insects, wireworms of
various sorts, and grubs of cockchafers, and a thousand other
kindred ravagers of crops, which swarm throughout our fields, and
which, but for the assistance of Rooks (and other members of the
animal kingdom which come to our aid, and, making them their
prey, rid us of the evil), would breed a famine in the land, by their
enormous number and voracity.
A Plea for the Rooks. 569
Now, the Rook is an omnivorous bird, and nothing seems to come
amiss to its appetite. We have seen that it will occasionally eat
corn, but its food principally consists of worms and insects, an
astonishing number of which a single Rook will devour in a single
day ; and when we consider the vast flocks of these birds which
abound in every parish, I may almost say on every farm, we'shall
be lost in -wonder and admiration, for the mind falters at the
amount, and fails, to take in the enormous quantity of injurious
insects which these useful birds destroy every year.
And now that I have shortly stated my case, I proceed to prove
it by the testimony of all our best and soundest ornithologists, and
most accurate out-door observers ; and here I can bring such an
array of witnesses, and names of so great and so deserved notoriety
on the point, that he must be a bold and hardened sceptic, who
still holds out and refuses credence to their united assertions.
There can be no question that in former dajs public opinion in
this country was entirely against Rooks, as we may infer from the
following entry among certain presentments concerning the parish
of Alderley in Cheshire, in 1598, being the fortieth year of Queen
Elizabeth's reign: 'We find that there in no Crow-nett in the parish,
a payne that one be bought by the charge of the parish.'* A
pretty clear proof that the destruction of these birds was at that
day regular and systematic ; and I need not stop to point out that
from that day to this, though I hope not regularly and systematic-
ally, Rooks have met with persecution, under the impression of
their mischievous habits. To prove, then, that this was a gross libel
on their character at that day, and that it is not through education
or strict discipline that they have mended their manners in these
days, I will adduce as my first witness in their favour our own
countryman, Aubrey, who flourished about the year 1670. In his
13th chapter, he says, ' In the peacefull raigne of King James I.
the Parliament made an Act for provision of Rooke-netts and
catching Crows to be given in charge of court barons, which is by
the stewards observed, but I never knew the execution of it. I have
heard knowinge countrymen affirme that Rook wormes, which the
* ' Stanley on Birds,' i. 248.
570 , A Plea for the Rooks.
Crows and Rooks doe devour at sowing time, doe turne to chafers,
which I think are our English locusts ; and some yeares wee have
such fearfull armies of them that they devour all manner of green
things ; and if the Crowes did not destroy these wormes, it would
oftentimes happen. Parliaments are not infallible, and some think
they were out in this bill.' Such was Aubrey's opinion, and good
old Bewick* follows in the same strain, 'They are useful in pre-
venting a too great increase of that destructive insect the chafer or
dor-beetle, and thereby make large recompense for the depredations
they may occasionally make on the cornfields/ The accurate
Selby says,*f ' The Rook has erroneously been viewed in the light of
an enemy by most husbandmen, and in several districts attempts
have been made either to banish it, or to extirpate the breed. But
wherever this measure has been carried into effect, the most
serious injury to the corn and other crops has invariably followed,
from the unchecked devastations of the grub and caterpillar.
As experience is the sure test of utility, a change of conduct has in
consequence been partially adopted ; and some farmers now find
the encouragement of the breed of Rooks to be greatly to their
interest, in freeing their land from the grubs of the cockchafer
(melolontha vulgaris), an insect very abundant in many of the
southern counties. In Northumberland I have witnessed their
usefulness in feeding on the larvae of the insect commonly known
by the name of " Harry Longlegs" (Tipula oloracea), which is par-
ticularly destructive to the roots of grain and young clovers.' So
far Selby. Yarrell (who is a host in himself), writes thus :| ' Early
in the morning Rooks visit meadow-land while the grass is yet wet
with dew, to break their fast on worms and slugs, which the
moisture of that period induces to crawl forth. Later in the day,
they may be seen either searching newly-ploughed ground for the
various insects there exposed, or again visiting pastures for other
purposes. There they are accused of destroying the grass by
pulling it up by the roots ; but it has been stated, and I believe
* ' Bewick's Birds,' i., p. 72.
t Selby's 'Illustrations of British Ornithology,' vol. i., p. 353.
J Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii., p. 94.
A Plea for the Rooks. 571
truly, that this is an error arising out of the following circumstance.
In searching for grubs which are concealed in the earth, and
supported by eating the roots of the grass, the Rook pulls at the
blade of grass with its bill, and when the grass comes up readily,
the bird knows that there are under it insects which have destroyed
its roots, and in this way detects them ; but if the blade of grass
is firm, the Rook goes to another part of the ground. In a field
where grubs are very abundant, the Rooks scatter the grass every-
where, so as to give the appearance of having rooted it up, while
they have only exposed the depredations of the insects by which
the roots have been destroyed/ The author of the c Journal of a
Naturalist,' speaking of the readiness with which Rooks detect the
places where grubs are sure to be found, says : ' I have often
observed them alight on a pasture of uniform verdure, and ex-
hibiting no sensible appearance of feathering or decay, and imme-
diately commence stocking up the ground. Upon investigating
the object of their operations, I have found many heads of plain-
tains, the little autumnal dandelions, and other plants, drawn out
of the ground, and scattered about, their roots having been eaten
off by a grub, leaving only a crown of leaves upon the surface/
It may readily be supposed that extensive injury at the root of a
plant cannot exist long without some alteration in the appearance
of the leaves, or other parts, above ground, and the Rooks seem to
have learned by experience hew to select those plants which are
the most likely to afford them some recompense for the trouble
they take in grubbing them up. Jesse,* in his instructive 'Glean-
ings,' says : ' A gentleman once showed me a field which had all
the appearance of having been scorched, as if by a burning sun in
dry hot weather : the turf peeled from the ground as if it had
been cut with a turfing spade, and we then discovered that the
roots of the grass had been eaten away by the larvae of the cock-
chafer, which were found in countless numbers at various depths
in the soil. This field was visited by a great quantity of Rooks
(though there was no rookery within many miles of the neighbour-
hood), who turned up, and appeared to devour the grubs with
Jesse's * Gleanings in Natural History,' p. 30.
572 A Plea for the Rooks.
great satisfaction.' To prove their utility on other occasions, two
or three quotations from the Magazine of Natural History, among
many others, will suffice : ' A flight of locusts visited Craven, and
they were so numerous as to create considerable alarm among
the farmers of the district. They were, however, soon relieved
from their anxiety, for the Rooks flocked in from all quarters by
thousands and tens of thousands, and devoured them so greedily
that they were all destroyed in a short time.' Again, ' It was stated
a few years ago, that there was such an enormous quantity of
caterpillars upon Skiddaw, that they devoured all the vegetation
on the mountain; and people were apprehensive they would
attack the crops in the enclosed lands ; but the Rooks, which are
fond of high ground in summer, having discovered them, in a very
short time put a stop to their ravages.' I have not yet done with
my authorities. Jesse, in the second volume of his ' Gleanings
in Natural History,' makes the following remark on this subject :
' In order to be convinced that these birds are beneficial to the
farmer, let him observe the same field in which his ploughman and
his sower are at work ; he will see the former followed by a train
of Rooks, while the sower will be unattended, and his grain remain
untouched.' Bishop Stanley, in his charming ' Familiar History
of Birds,'* writes : ' We feel quite certain, that notwithstanding the
depredations which may fairly be laid to their account, on striking
a fair balance, the advantage will be in favour of preserving the
Rooks, and that, if every nest were pulled to pieces, the farmers
would soon do all in their power to induce the old birds to rebuild
them, finding out, when too late, of what immense service they
are, in destroying those large white grubs of beetles which, living
underground no less than from three to four years, devour incess-
antly the tender roots of grasses and every description of grain ;'
and again the Bishop says, ' It is scarcely necessary to name the
wireworm as one of the greatest scourges to which the farmers
are exposed, and yet it is to the Rook chiefly, if not entirely,
that they can look for a remedy. Cased in its hard shelly coat, it
eats its way into the heart of the roots of corn, and is beyond the
* Stanley on Birds, i. 249.
A Plea for the Rooks. 573
reach of weather or the attacks of other insects, or small birds,
whose shorter and softer bills cannot penetrate the recesses of its
secure retreat, buried some inches below the soil : the Rook alone
can do so ; if watched when seen feeding in a field of sprouting
wheat, the heedless observer will abuse him when he sees him
jerking up root after root of the rising crop ; but the careful
observer will, if- he examines minutely, detect in rnany of these
roots the cell of a wireworm, in its silent and underground
progress, inflicting death on stems of many future grains. Their
sagacity, too, in discovering that a field of wheat or a meadow
is suffering from the superabundance of some devouring insect
is deserving of notice. Whether they find it out by sight, smell,
or some additional unknown sense, is a mystery, but that they
do so is a fact beyond all contradiction.' And now as a climax I
come at last to the evidence of him whom I consider the first of
modern naturalists, Mr. Waterton,* and he says in his first book
of Essays, wherein he has devoted a whole chapter to the Rooks :
' Now, if we bring, as a charge against them, their feeding upon
the industry of man, as, for example, during the time of a hard
frost, or at seed time, or at harvest, at which periods they will
commit depredations, if not narrowly watched, we ought, in
justice, to put down in their favour the rest of the year, when
they feed entirely upon insects,' and then he refers us, ' if we wish
to know the amount of noxious insects destroyed by Rooks,' to an
admirable paper on the services of the Rook, in the Magazine of
Natural History, -f- and concludes by saying, 'I wish every farmer
in England would read it ; they would then be convinced how
much the Rook befriends them.' But in the second series of
Essays J the same excellent writer is again provoked to defend his
sable friends by a threatened extermination of them in Scotland,
and he says, ' We have innumerable quantities of these birds in
this part of Yorkshire, and we consider them our friends ; they
appear in thousands upon our grass lands, and destroy myriads of
Waterton's ' Essays in Natural History,' first series, p. 134.
t Yol. vi., p. 142, paper by T. G. Clitheroe, Lancashire.
J Waterton's 'Essays in Natural History/ second series, p. 169.
574 A Plea for the Rooks.
insects. After they have done their work in these enclosures, you
may pick up baskets full of grass plants all injured at the root by
the gnawing insects. We prize the bird much for this, and we
pronounce them most useful guardians of our meadows and our
pastures. Whenever we see the Rooks in our turnip fields, we
know then, to our sorrow, what is going on there : we are aware
that grubs are destroying the turnips, and we hail with pleasure
the arrival of the Rooks, which alone can arrest their dreaded
progress. The services of the Rooks to our oak trees are
positively beyond estimation : I do believe, if it were not for this
bird, all the young leaves in our oaks would be consumed by the
cockchafers. Whilst the ring-dove is devouring the heart shoot
of the rising clover, you may see the Rook devouring insects in
the same field.'
I trust that such a host of witnesses as I have adduced, and
witnesses of the first order in intelligence and intimate acquaint-
ance with the subject, will not have failed to carry conviction to
my readers ; but as facts are stubborn things, and preconceived
opinions are hard to eradicate, and the world is apt to accuse orni-
thologists of riding their hobby too hard, and concealing every-
thing that tells against their favourites, before I conclude, I will
state the experience of practical men, who, thinking to interfere
with the balance of powers as arranged and sustained by nature,
have thus recorded their failure.* ' The inhabitants of Virginia
contrived to extirpate the little crow from their country at
an enormous expense, and having done so, they would gladly
have given twice as much to buy back the tribe.'f ' A reward
of threepence a dozen was offered in New England for the
purple grackle, which commits great havoc among the crops, but
protects so much more herbage than he destroys, that the insects
when he was gone caused the total loss of the grass in 1749,
and obliged the_colonists to get hay from Pennsylvania, and even
to import it from Great Britain. A few years since an Act was
Quarterly Revieiv, January,' 1858, Article on ' Sense of Pain in Men and
Animals,' p. 203.
f Stanley on Birds, i. 252 ; King'sJNarrative, ii. 217.
A Plea for the Books. 575
passed by the Chamber of Deputies to prohibit the destruction
of birds in a particular district of France ; they had been
recklessly killed off, and the harvest being swept away in its
first green stage by millions of hungry reapers, the earth had
ceased to yield its increase.'* In our own country, on some very
large farms in Devonshire, the proprietors determined a few
summers ago to try the experiment of offering a great reward
for the heads of Rooks ; but the issue proved destructive to
the farms, for nearly the whole of the crops failed for three suc-
cessive years, and they have since been forced to import Rooks
and other birds to restock their farms with.' A similar experi-
ment was made a few years ago in a northern county, particularly
in reference to Rooks, but with no better success ; the farmers
were obliged to reinstate the Rooks to save the crops. I have
been also credibly informed by an intelligent farmer in Norfolk
that ' the trees in a neighbouring rookery having been cut down
for the repair of farm-buildings, and the Rooks thereby banished,
he has lost hundreds and hundreds of pounds by wireworm and
a peculiar beetle which abounds in cornfields, which Rooks alone
destroy :' by which I conjecture he means the grub of the cock-
chafer described above. While another occupier in the same
county told me c that one boy after another, placed by him to
keep off the Rooks from a piece of wheat, having ' played him
false' (as he called it), he determined to leave it alone ; when the
Rooks actually swarmed on it, and he expected no crop, but to
his great surprise, when harvest came, he had the best crop he
ever saw.' But perhaps the best proof of the advantage supposed
to be derived from these birds is, that in some districts enlight-
ened farmers are going to considerable expense and taking some
pains to introduce them on their property.
With such facts before us and such unanswerable evidence of
the value of Rooks, and of the grievous want of them where they
have from any cause been expelled, I feel the greatest confidence
in pleading for their preservation ; and to sum up all that has
been said in the words of an excellent article in an old volume of
Yarrell, ii., p. 96.
576 A Plea for the Rooks.
the Quarterly Review :* ' While the grub of the cockchafer com-
mits great ravages both upon grass and corn by gnawing the
roots of the plants so that entire meadows are sometimes denuded
by it, the Hook eats those destroyers by thousands, and by one
act gets food for himself and protects the wheat which is the
staff of life to man ; they are the grubs which chiefly attract him
to follow the plough, and when he plucks up a blade of grass or
corn it is almost invariably for the sake of some description of
worm which is preying upon its root. The plant which he eradi-
cates will be found upon examination to be dead or dying, and
by devouring the cause of the mischief he saves the rest of the
field from blight. Unobservant persons, who never look below
the surface, often mistake the policeman for the thief: luckily,
their power to injure their benefactor is not equal to their will,
or they would exterminate him altogether, and leave the depre-
dators unmolested to consume the whole of the crops. When
an unhappy success has attended efforts of this kind, we have
seen that the evil consequences have been signal and immediate.'
A flight of Rooks, then, renders services which could not be
performed by all the cultivators of the soil put together ; and if
the poor birds are occasionally mischievous, they are richly
worthy of their hire. Make the largest possible allowance for
their consumption of a portion of that crop, the whole of which
they preserve, and they are still immeasurably the cheapest
labourers employed upon a farm. Volumes would be required
to tell all the mistakes which are committed in the blind
for destruction, and in the readiness of man to believe that
everything which tastes what he tastes is a rival and a loss.
But I do trust that that day of short-sighted ignorance is not
to return to Wiltshire, and that we no longer jumble in one
miserable confusion our friends with our foes. I trust that we
have learnt to know our benefactors ; and if the Rooks do take a
little of our newly sown grain, or, when pinched by hard weather,
Quarterly Review, January, 1858, p. 204, on 'Sense of Pain in Men and
Animals.'
A Plea for the Rooks.
577
if they are driven by starvation to peck holes in our turnips and
potatoes, let us not grudge them the petty theft, but call to mind
the vast benefits they confer on us at other seasons, and protect
them as our best allies, and encourage them by every means in
our power.
87
CHAPTER XV.
A PLEA FOR SMALL BIRDS.
THROUGHOUT the whole range of Natural History there is per-
haps no more popular delusion than that which respects blight,
and yet I need hardly observe that there are delusions enough
and errors enough abroad in every department of Natural
History. Let the air be thick and hazy during the prevalence of
an east wind, and nineteen out of twenty people of the educated
classes, I mean will tell you that it is a ' blight/ having said
which they are perfectly satisfied that they have sufficiently ex-
plained the whole matter, and no more need be said ; while by the
uneducated classes in Wiltshire I have more than once heard
that state of atmosphere denounced as a 'blightning,' through the
manifest jumbling of this peculiar dark haziness with the vivid
concomitant of the thunder-storm. But if you are unreasonably
inquisitive, and, being scarcely satisfied with the explanation
given, persistently push your inquiries as to how the blight came,
and whence it arose, the chances are ninety-nine in a hundred that
you will be informed it came with the east wind, borne along on
the breeze ; and your informant will triumphantly point to the
haziness of the atmosphere, and tell you that it is the Might or
blightning, as if the air was really thick through myriads of the
tiny insects literally darkening the sun.
Now, I am the last to say that the air may not be momen-
tarily darkened positively and sensibly by the passage of an
insect cloud, for I have seen this very thing in the case of a vast
flight of locusts in Syria ; but that is a very different matter from
A Plea for Small Birds. 579
the haziness which often attends the east wind in this country,
and which sometimes continues during several days.' And when
I mention that the blight on the rose-tree, on the gooseberry, the
apple, the larch, the beech, the oak, the lime, the hop, the bean,
and other plants or trees, does not consist of the same species of
insect which infests them all, but that the several trees and
plants have each their own particular blight, peculiar to them-
selves, it is manifest to every thinking mind that it is beyond
the bounds of possibility that the east wind should, with discrim-
inating exactness, bear each species of blight to its own individual
tree or plant. The blight, then, I make bold to assert, does not
come on the wings of the east wind. Let us get rid of that error
first.
In one sense, however, ' blight ' may be said to come with the
east wind ; in the same way that grass may be said to come with
the genial south-west wind in the spring. Just then as nobody
of course supposes that grass is actually borne along to us by
the balmy breezes of May, but everybody understands that the
especial state of the atmosphere which fosters the growth of the
young herbage prevails, and has its effect on the plants : so pre-
cisely in the same manner the east wind harsh and disagreeable
though it is to many animals according to the old proverb,
' When the wind is in the east
"Tis neither good for man nor beast '
exactly suits the requirements' of the ' blight ' of various
species : and on the principle that ' 'tis an ill wind that blows
nobody good,' the east wind, so detested by many, presents just
that state of atmosphere best suited to the development of all
kinds of blights, so that those pests of our gardens and fields
flourish when all else is drooping under the pernicious blasts
of the much-dreaded east wind.
It is time now to inquire What is blight 1 and I reply that it is
in every case an insect, especially adapted for the particular tree
or shrub or plant on which it is found, and whose proper name, by
which it is known to entomologists, is Apkis. It belongs to the
large order of Hemiptera, and the suborder Homoptera, which
372
580 A Plea for Small Birds.
contains many genera, and a vast number of species differing
from one another in many essential particulars, though united in
general form and habits, and having many affinities in common.
These several Aphides, more vulgarly known as ' plant lice/ have
many very remarkable peculiarities in their mode of life, wherein
they differ from all other insects ; some of them being at one
period of their existence viviparous, and at another oviparous ;
some of those of the same species being winged, and others wing-
less : but they all follow the same occupation of preying on the
juices of the several plants they infest, to the carrying out of
their own economy, but to the manifest injury of the plant. By
way of example, let us take the case of the gooseberry blight or
fly, with which everybody is familiar, and let us very shortly
follow its career. The fly, a handsome, gay, innocent-looking
insect enough, as it darts about in the sunshine on its gauxy
wings, repairs to the gooseberry-tree, where she lays her eggs.
This species is one of the Saw Flies, and by means of her saw
or ovipositor she contrives to lay her eggs on the under side of the
leaf she has selected, all along the midrib, and then along the
side ribs, till all the principal ribs are garnished with eggs in
regular rows, and about seventy eggs are laid on that particular
leaf. Within a single day, these eggs begin to grow rapidly, and
within a week or ten days the grub makes its appearance, and im-
mediately begins to eat. After a short time the grubs descend the
footstalks, and, wandering in different directions, each finds a leaf
for itself, and the work of devastation progresses in real earnest.
This is but a sample of the career of the gooseberry blight, and
the mischief it effects. But there are many other blights even
more pernicious than this the ' hop blight,' for example, upon
whose absence or presence in the hop gardens every year depends
the success or failure of the crop. There are ' turnip blights/
again, which, as every farmer knows to his cost, in dry seasons in
early summer, destroy successive sowings of that valuable root,
and very materially injure the farmer's provision of food for his
sheep. There are ' apple blights ' and ' pear blights ' (more
particularly watched for in cider-making counties), which deposit
A Plea for Small Birds. 581
their eggs singly in the very centre of the bud or calyx of the
opening blossom of the apple-tree ; and from every such egg
a grub is hatched, which eats into the blossom and destroys the
fruit. There are blights, again, familiar to every observer in the
oak, the larch, the rose, the lime, and many another tree or plant.
Indeed, I believe I may say without exaggeration that there is no
plant without its plant-louse, or aphis, or blight, just as there is
no species of animal or bird or insect without its parasite. These
blights vary in colour : sometimes they are black, sometimes
black and white, sometimes gray; but (far more often than
<all other colours put together) green of various shades and
hues. The true blight or aphis has a long trunk or sucker which
is used as a pump or siphon, through which the sap of the plant
is drawn up ; and as all blights infest the young and juicy shoots
and leaves of plants for the purpose of sap-sucking, they cause no
small injury to such plants as they honour by their visits.
There is one advantage which some of the aphides confer in
the honey-dew, as it is called, so well known to bee-keepers, and
so highly esteemed by bees. Honey-dew is, without doubt, a
secretion from the aphides, and is appreciated by ants no less than
by bees : nay, there is nothing in the whole range of entomology
more curious and interesting than the affection which ants show
for the aphides, which some naturalists have described as their
domestic ' cattle,' and which it is certain they diligently wait
upon, which they regularly milk, and in whose produce they
delight. Patient observation has determined that they do this
with the utmost care, licking them with their tongues, and pro-
tecting them from the parasites which infest them; for the
aphides, too, are troubled with parasites, after the famous saying,
' Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
The little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum :
And the great fleas themselves have got some greater fleas to go on,
And greater fleas have greater fleas, and greater fleas, and so on.'
But as I am not writing a history of the aphides, I forbear
to dilate on this very interesting race, but for further par-
ticulars refer to the splendid monograph on them, by the pen of
582 A Pica for Small Birds.
G. B. Buckton, published in four volumes by the Ray Society, and
fully illustrated with coloured figures. My object now in view is
gained if I have pointed out what myriads of these minute insects
infest our plants, shrubs, and trees, and how injurious, nay, haw
destructive, they would be to vegetation generally, were their
numbers unchecked. But simultaneously with the hatching of
the aphides in the spring come the troops of Warblers which
soon overrun our gardens and hedgerows in every direction, and
make their presence known by their joyous songs. At once they
begin to feast on the new-born aphides, but by the time they
have built their nests and hatched out their young, the aphides
are swarming on all sides, and now begins their wholesale destruc-
tion, when the parent birds have to supply their ravenous young
with an insect diet ; and it is almost incredible how large a num-
ber of these injurious insects are destroyed in a single day by
each pair of diminutive Warblers catering for their brood.
Nor are the Warblers alone in their raid on these insect
hordes. The Titmice and the Finches are not far behind-hand,
for they, too, must provide the same soft diet for their callow
young. Even the much-abused House-sparrow lends his aid in
their destruction, and carries home supplies of insects for his
young brood in the thatch.
Then turn to the Swallows, Martins, and Swifts, careering
through the air on rapid wing what hosts of gnats does not
every one of them consume, catching them on the wing, and
clearing the air as they go of the superabundance of these pests
to man ! Or think of the Thrushes and Blackbirds what hosts
of noxious grubs do they not destroy, what vast quantities of
slugs and snails, so destructive of many valuable plants, do they
not devour !
But as one ounce of fact is worth more than ten pounds of argu-
ment, let me call attention to the action of the United States, which,
at considerable expense of time and money, found it advisable,
for economic purposes, to introduce a number of European small
birds into their country ; and amongst these was particularly
specified the Titmouse, which the English gardeners more espe-
A Plea for Small Birds. 583
cially persecute for its supposed delinquencies amongst their
fruit-trees, but which the far-seeing American more correctly
pronounces ' one of the most successful foes of insects injurious
to vegetation/*
See, again, a similar course of action which the authorities of
New Zealand deemed it advisable to pursue, when, in order to
rid themselves of the insect hordes which threatened to over-
whelm them and destroy their crops, they imported large
numbers of small birds from England, though the cost of such im-
portation from so great a distance, and of so perishable an article,
was necessarily attended with great expense. Accordingly we read
that one vessel alone carried out from England 1,130 living birds ;
viz., Blackbirds, Thrushes, Starlings, Goldfinches, Redpolls of
each, 100; Hedge-sparrows, 150; Linnets, 140; Goldfinches, 160;
Yellowhammers, 170 ; and, lastly, Partridges, 110. Arrived in
New Zealand, they were let fly under proper authority ; and a
heavy penalty was enforced against shooting at or in any way
injuring any of these birds. For, however little appreciated
their gratuitous services are here, the New Zealand farmers
declared that they could not get on without them, for they alone
would keep down the insects that ravage the crops. It was also
estimated that one little bird single-handed would, from his size
and build, be able to get at and destroy in a few hours more
insects than ten men would in a week.-f
Supported thus by such undeniable evidence, I do not hesitate
to say that the small birds, which the gardener so often condemns,
are in reality the very best friends he has. He sees them busy
at the fruit-trees and I do not deny that many species will have
u share of the fruit if they can get it and then he condemns
them and persecutes them to the death, as if they were his
bitterest foes. Whereas, during all the rest of their sojourn in
this country, they are employed in his service, ridding him of a
real evil, which he is powerless otherwise to overcome, and
which, without their aid, would overwhelm his fruit-trees alto-
gether, to the utter destruction of blossom and leaf, and all hope
* Zoologist for 1873, p. 3696. f Ibid i 1875 P- 4336 -
584 A Plea for Small Birds.
of a crop. Let him, then, net his fruit-trees, or otherwise pro-
tect his crop, but let him cherish and protect the small birds as
his most invaluable allies ; for they are the policemen who alone
can catch the real thieves, and they are the volunteers who alone
can defend his goods from the destructive raids of a powerful
enemy. I conclude this short chapter with a paragraph from
the Farmer, dated July 21, 1879, under the head of ' Winged
Guardians': 'The Swallow, Swift, and Nighthawk are the guar-
dians of the atmosphere. They check the increase of insects
that otherwise would overload it. Woodpeckers and Creepers
are the guardians of the trunks of trees. Warblers and Fly-
catchers protect the foliage. Blackbirds, Thrushes, Crows, and
Larks protect the surface of the soil. Snipe and Woodcock
protect the soil under the surface. Each tribe has its respective
duties to perform in the economy of nature; and it is an un-
doubted fact that if the birds were all swept away from oft' the
earth, man could not live upon it ; vegetation would wither and
die, and insects would become so numerous that no living thing
could withstand their attacks.'
INDEX.
ALPINE ACCENTOR, 145
Aphides, 579-582
Auk, Little, 512
Auks, 36, 47, 510
Avocet, 37, 51
BAR-TAILED GODWIT, 423
Beaks of Birds, 28, 30-41
Bean Goose, 457
Bee-eater, 294
Bee-eaters, 34, 292
Bernicle Goose, 464
Birds of Prey, 11, 31, 42, 49
Bittern, 405
Little, 404
Blackbird, 135, 560, 583
Blackcap Warbler, 158, 552, 561
Blackcock, 26
Black Grouse, 327
Black Tern, 528
Black-throated Diver, 508
Bohemian Waxwing, 173
Brent Goose, 460
Bullfinch, 208
Buntings, 33, 185
Bunting, Black-headed, 189, 561
Cirl, 191, 562
Common, 188, 561
Snow, 186
Yellow, 189, 562
Bustards, 338
Bustard, Great, 4, 339-364, 563
Little, 364
Butcher-birds, 116-119
Buzzards, 43, 56
Buzzard, African, 88
Common, 85, 560
Honey, 88
Buzzard, Rough-legged, 86, 560
CANADA GOOSE, 468
Capercaillie, 325
Carrion Crow, 232, 562
Chaffinch, 192, 562
Chiff-chaff, 164, 552, 561
Chough, 215
Classification of Birds, 7-18
Climbers, 16, 33, 247
Common Guillemot, 511
Sandpiper, 420
Scoter, 486
Snipe, 429, 563
Coot, 51, 488, 563
Cone-billed Birds, 15, 33, 182
Coot, Common, 51, 488, 563
Cormorant, 40, 518
Crane, 391
Cream-coloured Courser, 374
Creepers, 34, 258
Creeper, Common, 259, 262
Crake, Spotted, 442
Crop of Birds, 35
Crossbill, Common, 36, 209
Crows, 27, 33, 215
Crow, Carrion, 232, 562
Cuckoo, Common, 270-291, 552, 563
Curlew, 26, 28, 35, 412, 563
Curlew Sandpiper, 432
DARTFORD WARBLER, 166, 561
Dipper, 127
Divers, 25, 36, 47, 499
Diver, Black-throated, 508
Great Northern, 505
Red- throated, 509
Dotterel, 382
Doves, 316
Dove, Ring, 317, 563
Rock, 320, 563
Stock, 319, 563
Turtle, 322, 563
Ducks, 25, 28, 47, 455'
Duck, Eider, 483
Ferruginous, 488
King, 485
Long-tailed, 491
Pintail, 478
Scaup, 489
Tufted, 490
Wild, 479, 564
Dunlin, 437
EAGLES, 24, 32, 43, 56
Eagle, Golden, 60
White-tailed, 59, 62
Eared Grebe, 503
586
Index.
Ears of Birds, 25
Egyptian Goose, 4C5
Vulture, 55
Eider Duck, 483
Eyes of Birds, 25
' FACULTIES ' of Birds, 23-30
Falcons, 32, 42, 54
Families of Birds, 16, 54
Feeling, sense of, in Birds, 28
Feet of Birds, 41-53
Ferruginous Duck, 488
Fieldfare, 129-131,552
Finches, 33, 192-582
Finch, Bull-, 208, 562
Chaff-, 192, 562
Gold-, 201,562
Green-, 198, 562
Haw-, 39, 199, 562
Mountain. 193
Flycatchers, 24, 32, 124
Flycatcher, Pied, 125
Spotted, 124, 552, 560
Forked-tailed Petrel, 543
GADWALL, 477
Gannet, 522
Garden Warbler, 159, 552, 561
Garganey, 481
Genera of Birds, 16
Glossy Ibis, 410
Goatsuckers, 309
Godwit, Bar-tailed, 423
Golden-Eye Duck, 492
Crested Regulus, 167, 548, 561
Oriole, 139, 564
Golden Plover, 380, 552
Goldfinch, 201, 562, 583
Gold-winged Woodpecker, 255
Goosander, 496
Goose, Bean, 457
Bernicle, 464
Brent, 460
Canada, 468
Egyptian, 465
Gray Lag, 455
Spur-winged, 467
White-fronted, 459
Goshawk, 80
Grasshopper Warbler, 153, 552, 560
Gray Lag Goose, 455
Gray Phalarope, 449
Great Black Woodpecker, 248
Bastard, 338-364
Crested Grebe, 500
Northern Diver, 505
Plover, 377, 563
Great Snipe, 428
Spotted Woodpecker, 253, 562
Titmouse, 169, 561
Grebe, Crested, 500
Eared, 503
Little, 504, 564
Red-necked, 501
Sclavonian, 502
Greenfinch, 198, 562
Green Sandpiper, 418
Greenshank, 421
Green Woodpecker, 250, 562
Griffin Vulture, 55
Ground Birds, 12, 34, 46, 49
Grouse, 325
Black, 327
Pallas' Sand, 330
Red, 329
Gulls, 36, 524
Gull, Black-headed, 531
Common, 533
Great Black- backed, 536
Herring, 535
Kittiwake, 532
Lesser Black-backed, 534
Little, 529
Guillemot, Common, 511
Gyr Falcon, 66
HARRIERS, 43, 56
Harrier, Hen, 93, 560
Marsh, 91
Montagu's, 95, 560
Hawks, 32, 43, 56
Hawk, Sparrow, 81
Hawfinch, 39, 199, 562
Hearing of Birds, 25-27
Hedge Accentor, 143, 560, 583
Herons, 26, 35, 52, 392
Heron, Common, 394-402, 563
Squacco, 403
Hobby, 72, 559
Hooded Crow, 234
Hoopoe, 39, 262
IBIS, Glossy, 410
JACKDAW, 241, 562
Jack Snipe, 431
Jay, 245, 562
KESTREL, 24, 78, 559
King Duck, 485
Kingfisher, 296, 563
Kite, 83, 559
Kittiwake, 532
Knot, 433
Index.
587
'LAND BIRDS,' 3, 11
Land-rail, 440, 552, 563
JLapwing, 386, 552, 563
Larks, 33, 182
Lark, Sky, 183, 561
Wood, 185, 561
Lesser Redpole, 205, 562
Spotted Woodpecker, 254, 562
Linnet, Common, 205, 562, 583
Little Auk, 512
Bustard, 364
Grebe, 504
Lobe-footed Birds, 51, 447
Long-tailed Duck, 491
MAGPIE, 242, 562
Martin, 304, 552, 563, 582
Manx Shearwater, 540
Mergansers, 36
Merganser, Red-breasted, 495
Merlin, 75, 552
Migration of Birds, 16, 547-553
Moorhen, 444, 563
Mountain Finch, 193, 552
Mute Swan, 471, 564
1 NESTING ' OF BIRDS, 554-566
Night Heron, 407
Nightingale, 156, 552, 561
Nightjar, 26, 34, 50, 311, 552, 563
Nomenclature of Birds, 18
Notes of Birds, 29
Nuthatch, 34, 268, 562
' ORDERS' OF BIRDS, 11
Osprey, 32, 43, 49, 64
Owls, 24, 25, 32, 44, 98-102
Owl, Barn, 107-111, 560
Eagle, 102
Hawk, 113
Little, 114
Long-eared, 105, 560
Scops, 103
Short-eared, 106, 552
Tawny, 111-113, 560
Oyster Catcher, 40, 389
PALLAS' SAND GROUSE, 330
Partridge, 332, 563, 583
Red-legged, 334, 563
Perching Birds, 12, 32, 44, 49, 116
Peregrine Falcon, 68, 559
Petrels, 40, 542
Petrel, Forked-tailed, 543
Storm, 544
Wilson's, 542
Phalaropes, 51
Phalarope, Gray, 449
Red-necked, 452
Pheasant, 323, 563
Pigeons, 25, 35
Pintail Duck, 478
Pipits, 32, 179
Pipit, Meadow, 180, 552, 561
Tree, 179/552, 561
Plea for Small Birds, 578-584
Plea for the Rooks, 567-577
Plovers, 370
Plover, Great, 377, 563
Golden, 380
Ringed, 385
Pochard, 487
Pratincole, 371
Puffin, 39, 514
Purple Sandpiper, 438
QUAIL, 335, 563
RAILS, 439
Rail, Cayenne, 445
Land, 440, 552, 563
Water, 443, 563
Raven, 24-28, 218-232, 562
Razor Bill, 516
Redbreast, 145, 560
Red-footed Falcon, 74
Red Grouse, 329
Red-legged Partridge, 334, 563
Red-necked Grebe, 501
Red-necked Phalarope, 452
Redshank, 417
Redstart, 25, 146, 552, 560
Redstart, Black, 148
Red-throated Diver, 509
Redwing, 132, 552
Richardson's Skua, 539
Ring Dove, 317, 563
Ring Ouzel, 137, 560
Ringed Plover, 385
Rock Dove, 320, 563
Roller, 293
Rook, 24, 28, 52, 237, 562, 567-577
Rose-coloured Pastor, 213
Ruff, 424
SAND GROUSE, PALLAS', 330
Sand Martin, 306, 552, 563
Sandpiper, Common, 420
Curlew, 432,
Green, 418
Purple, 438
Wood, 419
Scaup Duck, 489
Sclavonian Grebe, 502
588
Index.
Shag, 521
Shearwater, Manx, 540
Shelldrake, Common, 474
Shoveller, 38, 475
Shrikes, 32, 116-119
Shrike, Great Gray, 119-122, 564
Red-backed, 122, 552, 560
Woodchat, 123
Siyht of Birds, 23-25
Siskin, 204
Skua, Common, 537
Richardson's, 539
Smell. Sense of, in Birds, 27-29
Smew, 27, 28
Snipes, 35-39, 412
Snipe, Common, 429, 552, 563
Great, 428
Jack, 431, 552
Songs of Birds, 29
Song-thrush, 26
Sparrow-hawk, 81-83, :.:.!
Sparrow, House, 195, 562, 582
Tree, 197, 562
Species of Birds, 17
Spoonbill, 38
Spotted Crake, 442
Flycatcher, 124, 552
Spur- winged Goose, 467
Squacco Heron, 403
Starling, 24, 33, 211, 562, 583
Stilt Plover, 51
Stock Dove, 319, 563
Stonechat, 149, 560
Stork, White, 408
Storm Petrel, 544
Swallows, 34, 299, 563, 582
Swallow, House, 301, 552
Swan, Wild, 469
Mute, 471, 564
Swift, 24, 50, 307, 552, 563, 582
Swimmers, 13, 36, 47, 49, 454
TEAL, 481, 552, 564
Tern, Arctic, 536
Black, 528
Common, 525
Thrushes, 32, 126, 583
Thrush, Missel, 128, 560
Song, 131, 560
Titmice, 32, 168, 582
Titmouse, Blue, 171, 561
Coal, 171, 561
Great, 169, 561
Long-tailed, 172, 561
Marsh, 172, 561
Toes of Birds, 41, 46, 48
Tongues of Birds, 28, 33
Tooth-billed Birds, 15, 32, 116, 142
Tree Sparrow, 197
Tribes of Birds, 15
Tufted Duck, 4! m
Turnstone, 37
Turtle Dove, 322, 552, 563
Twite, 205
'VOICES 'of Birds, 29
Vultures, 23, 27, 31, 42, 54 -".6
'WADERS,' 13, 35, 46-49, 369
Wagtails, 32, 176
Wagtail, Gray, 177,561
Gray-headed, 178
Pied, 176, ;.:,-_>, :,r,i
Ray's, 178,552, 561
Warblers, 32, 142, .M>.
Warbler, Blackcap, 158, 5.VJ, :,;i
Dartford, 166, .M',1
Garden, 159, 5.VJ. f.r.l
Grasshopper, 153, 552, 560
Reed, I.V., .V.2, 560
Sedge, 154, 552, 560
Willow, 163, 552, 561
Wood, 162, 552, 561
Water Birds, 4, 11, 4iJ
Water Rail, 443, 563
Waxwings, 173
Wheatear, 151, 552, 560
Whimbrel, 415
Whinchat, 150, 552, 560
White-fronted Goose, 459
White Stork, 408
Whitethroat, Common, 160. 552, ~r,l
Whitethroat, Lesser, 161, 5.VJ, .".''.1
Whooper, 469
Wide-billed Birds, 16, 34, 292
Wigeon, 482
Wild Duck, 479, 564
Willow Warbler, 163, f,.Vj
Wilson's Petrel, 542
Wiltshire Birds, Number of, 4
Woodcock, 28, 39, 425, 552, 563
Woodpeckers, 34, 51, 247
Woodpecker, Great Black, 248
Great Spotted, 253, 562
Green, 250, 562
Gold-winged, 255
Lesser Spotted, 254, 562
Wood Sandpiper, 419
Wren, 200, ;V,2
Wryneck, 256, 552-562
YELLOWIIAMMER, 189, 5G2, 583
BILLING 4 SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORU