COMMON SCOTER
Œdemia nigra
The male of this species is of a deep black all over, whence it is often locally known as the “Black Duck.” Bill black with a bright patch of orange yellow down the centre of the upper mandible. The female and young are sooty brown and lack the orange on the bill. Length 20 in.; wing 9 in.
This species closely resembles the last in habits, but is much scarcer round our coasts and generally keeps farther out to sea.
It is a rather larger bird than the Common Scoter, and of a dense velvety black, with a small white spot behind each eye and a white bar across the wing. The bill is orange yellow, with a large black basal knob and a narrow dark line along the culmen. Legs orange. The female is brown, rather lighter underneath, and has a dull white patch before, and a smaller one behind, each eye. Bill dark. Legs reddish. Length 22 in.; wing 10·75 in.
This North American species has on several occasions occurred on our coasts.
The male may be at once distinguished from the other Scoters by the presence of a broad patch of white on the forehead and another on the nape. In the female the nape patch is present though often indistinct. There is no white bar across the wing. Length 21 in.; wing 9·5 in.
The Goosander is the first of the three species of “Sawbills” that are found in this country. Unlike other Ducks, the bill is moderately long and narrow, and both mandibles have a very rough toothed surface enabling them easily to secure and hold their prey, which consists entirely of fish. They are all expert divers. On the east coast of England this species is not uncommon during the winter months, frequenting estuaries and freshwater lakes, but in the south and west it is of irregular occurrence. In Scotland it is known to nest in a few localities, but on the west coast and in Ireland it is decidedly rare. The nest is placed down a hole among rocks, or in a tree, and in Sweden and Lapland it makes extensive use of the nest-boxes put up for it and other species by the Lapps. The eggs, which may be as many as thirteen in number, are creamy white. The note is a very harsh “kaar,” and when swimming this bird is not unlike a Cormorant in general outline. When wounded it will always attempt to escape by diving.
The male has the head and neck dark glossy green; back and scapulars brown, passing to grey on the rump; wing coverts white; lower neck and under parts creamy white, tinged with pink in the living bird. Bill and legs red. The female is rufous brown on the head, greyish on the upper parts and flanks, and buffish white below. She is rather smaller than the male. The young resemble the female. Length 25 in.; wing 11 in.
Nearly allied to the preceding species, the Merganser is fairly common round our shores in winter, and nests in considerable numbers in Scotland, both on lakes and tarns, as well as on the coasts in the north and west. In Ireland it is a very common resident, breeding especially abundantly on the west coast. In habits and food it resembles the Goosander, but is less frequently found inland and far more partial to the sea than that species. The nest is not placed in a hole but in thick cover at no great distance from water; the eggs, generally about ten in number, are of a pale greenish drab and are never of that creamy tint which distinguishes those of the former species. In these Ducks the male apparently helps the female in attending on the young and in catching the small fry on which they live.
Although smaller, this species is not unlike the Goosander; the male may always be recognised by his reddish breast, streaked with black; the wing patch is white, barred with black, and on the breast at the point of the wing there is a conspicuous tuft of white feathers, with black margins; the long falcated inner scapulars are black. The female has a distinct black bar across the wing patch, but in other respects, except size, closely resembles the Duck Goosander. Length 24 in.; wing 9·5 in.
This species, the smallest and scarcest of the Sawbills, only comes to us in the winter, its breeding haunts being near the limit of tree growth throughout Northern Europe. It may be found on inland rivers and lakes, as well as in sheltered bays and estuaries on the coast. Immature examples with a red head, known as “Red-headed Smews,” far out-number the adults, and old males in full plumage are rarely seen.
This is one of the species that occupies the boxes in Sweden and Lapland, and the discovery of its eggs, fifty years ago, was due to the energy and perseverance of an Englishman, John Wolley, who, after four years’ search, succeeded in obtaining three eggs together with a sitting bird. The eggs are cream coloured and not unlike those of the Wigeon, but they are slightly smaller.
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER
Mergus serrator
The adult male is entirely white, except for the mantle and quills, which are jet black. The rump, upper tail coverts, and tail are bluish grey, and the flanks delicately vermiculated with the same colour. Stretching half-way across the breast is a narrow black bar, and a shorter but broader one starts a little farther back. There is a black patch between the bill and the eye on each side, and another high up on the occiput joining its fellow on the opposite side, this black crescent being broken by the overlapping of the slightly elongated feathers of the head.
The “eclipse” plumage somewhat resembles that of the immature male, from which it may always be distinguished by the mantle remaining black. The female is smaller; head and neck reddish brown; remainder of upper parts and breast ashy grey; under parts white. Length 17·5 in.; wing 7·6 in.
This is a North American species, which has only very rarely visited our shores. It may be distinguished by a semicircular crest or hood over the head, the posterior half of which is white, with a dark edge. The general colour is dark brown above and white below. Length 19 in.; wing 7·75 in.
Whereas in the case of many species one has to record their increasing scarcity and approaching extermination as far as these islands are concerned, with the Wood Pigeon the case is very different. Nesting in the woods throughout the country, where, owing to strict preservation, trespassers are forbidden and raptorial birds shot, this species has of late years increased with amazing rapidity and may be found in winter in flocks of thousands, which often do considerable damage to the crops. Although as a rule very shy and wary, it becomes in towns, where it is unmolested, absurdly tame, and it may now be found in the London parks and squares disputing with the omnipresent Sparrow the crumbs of bread thrown out by passers-by. It is curious and interesting to note that it is very conservative in its habits, rarely settling on any of the buildings like the wild domestic Pigeons, which are descended from the Rock Dove, but always keeping to the trees and gardens, leaving its tame relative in undisputed possession of the streets and buildings. On one occasion at least it deigned to avail itself of civilisation, for a nest was recently found in one of the parks composed almost entirely of ladies’ hairpins.
The nest is usually placed on a tree, but sometimes in bushes or hedgerows. It is made of twigs laid loosely on each other, and is such a flimsy structure that one would never imagine it capable of forming an efficient nursery for so large a bird. Two eggs only are laid, which, as with all Pigeons, are pure white. Two or three broods are often reared in the season, both sexes taking their turn at incubation and rearing the young.
Pigeons when first hatched are covered with coarse yellowish down and are very helpless; they are fed for the first ten days on a sort of soft curd known as Pigeon’s milk, which is secreted in the crop, or is, as has been stated, the secretion of two glands placed on each side near the crop, but this latter point requires confirmation. They are fed by regurgitation, the young bird inserting its beak into that of the parent.
The note of the Wood Pigeon is a soft melodious “cooroo, coo, coo.” When courting he expands his tail, blows out his crop, and holding his head high in the air utters his coo; he then bows, and raises his expanded tail. His hen, who usually shows but little enthusiasm over the display, has probably moved a little farther off, and the display ends with an awkward hop towards her.
The flight is rapid and sustained, but in the nesting season, and occasionally at other times, an upward soaring flight is indulged in over their nesting home. Its food consists chiefly of grain, seeds, beechmast, and acorns; but at certain seasons, especially when the snow is on the ground, large quantities of green food are eaten, tender turnip tops being much sought after.
The adult is a delicate bluish grey all over, having a violet green metallic patch on the sides of the neck, bounded on each side by a patch of white. The breast is a rich vinous purple. Tail and wing feathers nearly black. Bill yellow; legs red. The sexes are alike; and the young resemble their parents, but are duller in colour and lack the metallic and white patch on the sides of the neck. Length 17 in.; wing 10 in.
The Stock Dove is rather smaller and considerably less common than the previous species, but is nevertheless by no means uncommon in England, and has greatly increased of late years, especially in Scotland. In Ireland it is still a rare and local species. The name “Stock Dove” is not due, as many erroneously suppose, to its being the race from which our domestic Pigeons spring, but to its habit of nesting in the stocks and boles of old timber. Such places are, however, by no means exclusively used, for it also nests in caves, ledges of cliffs, and rabbit-burrows. Otherwise its habits are not materially different from those of the Wood Pigeon. As a rule it goes about in pairs, and large flocks are never met with, even when migrating from its more northerly breeding quarters.
It is a smaller and duller bird than the Wood Pigeon, lacking the white spot on the neck; while the vinous purple on the breast is not nearly so bright. There are traces of two indistinct wing bars. Length 13·5 in.; wing 8·8 in.
STOCK DOVE
Columba œnas
The Rock Dove is the original species from which most of our domestic varieties have been derived. It is only on the wildest and most inaccessible parts of our coast that this species can now be found in its pure state, as in all the more inhabited portions it has become interbred with feral domestic birds. It is a resident with us, breeding in caves along the coast, although on the Continent it also frequents inland and mountainous regions. The nest, built of sea-weed, is placed on a small ledge near the roof of a cave, those into which the sea comes up with each tide being chosen by preference.
They breed very early, and at least two broods are reared in a season, and in small caves which are only tenanted by one pair, two nests may often be found and are used alternately, the second clutch being usually laid before the young of the first brood are ready to fly. It is worthy of note that in this and many other species, where for the young to move from the nest before they are fledged would mean instant death, they remain actually in the nest itself till fully fledged, and do not take their first flight till they are almost as strong on the wing as the old birds.
This habit is in marked contradistinction to Rooks and many other small birds that leave the nest and perch on the branches round, long before they can fly. The Gulls form also another example, as by nature they would and do run from the nest, if the nest is on the ground, but if placed on a narrow ledge they hardly move from it until fully fledged.
In habits this bird resembles the other Pigeons; though its method of courting, which must be well known to most people, is slightly different. The male has a curious habit, shared also by the Stock Dove, of driving the hen for a few days before she lays. On these occasions his whole time is spent in keeping her on the move, and he never lets her settle or rest for a minute except on the nest.
The sexes are alike, and pale grey all over, except the rump, which is white. Across the wing are two distinct and clear-cut black bars, while the metallic patch on either side of the neck is rather more extensive than in the Stock Dove. Length 14 in.; wing 8·8 in.
This small species is only a summer immigrant with us, arriving early in May and leaving again for its winter home in Southern Europe and Africa in September. In England it is a common and widely distributed species, but in Scotland and Ireland it is rare, only occurring on migration, though it may sometimes have nested in the former country.
TURTLE DOVE
Turtur communis
It frequents woods, coppices, and tall hedgerows, constructing a frail nest of twigs on which to lay its two white eggs. It feeds on seeds and grain, gathering in large flocks in the open fields in autumn before migrating. The note is a prolonged purring “coo.”
The male has the head, nape, wing coverts, rump, and flanks bluish ash, and a patch of black feathers tipped with white on each side of the neck. Rest of the back dark brown with broad rufous edges to each feather. Throat and breast pale vinaceous, rest of under parts white. Tail feathers dark brown, tipped with white. Length 11·25 in.; wing 6·8 in.
A single example of the Rufous Turtle Dove (Turtur orientalis, Latham) was obtained near Scarborough. It inhabits India and the East, and hardly differs from our common species, but may be distinguished by its slaty blue rump.
The real home of this species is east of the Caspian, spreading through Asia to Mongolia and Southern Dauria. On several occasions during the last fifty years Europe has witnessed an extraordinary immigration of these birds, which spread westwards in countless numbers. The first wave to reach our islands arrived during the latter half of 1859, and four years later a larger invasion took place, the birds spreading throughout the country. The largest immigration, however, took place in 1888, in which year several pairs nested with us in Yorkshire and other places. In 1889 a special Act of Parliament was passed for their protection, but it came too late, for by that date they had all been slaughtered or had left for more peaceful localities.
The eggs are two in number and of a warm stone buff colour, with purplish blotches; they are laid in a depression in the ground with no attempt at a nest. Their food consists almost entirely of seeds and grain. The general colour is yellowish buff, greyer on the head and barred on the back with black. Under parts greyish buff, mottled on the gorget and banded on the belly with black. Feathers of the vent and feet white. The female and young are duller and more uniformly spotted. Length 14·75 in.; wing 9·1 in.
Although originally an inhabitant of Great Britain, this species became extinct over a hundred years ago from causes which are by no means clear. In 1837 it was introduced into Perthshire and a few other districts in Scotland, where it has increased largely, and is at the present time gradually spreading southwards through the pine, oak, and birch forests.
It is essentially a forest-haunting species, rarely, if ever, wandering far from the woods, where its call of “peller, peller, peller,” may be continually heard during the spring months, and sometimes again in autumn.
Like most game birds, it is polygamous, and an old cock is very jealous of his hens, savagely attacking other males that come near him. When courting he performs various evolutions, drooping his wings and erecting his tail, and calling out vigorously at the same time. Their food consists chiefly of various seeds and berries, and in their season the tender shoots of the Scotch fir.
The nest is merely a “scrape” in the ground, generally at the foot of a tree, and the eggs, some twelve in number, are reddish brown spotted and blotched, with darker shades of the same colour. The young feed largely on insects and worms, and are especially fond of ants. The male takes no part in the incubation or tending of the young.
The male is very dark grey on the upper parts, breast glossy green, and the remainder of the under parts black. The feathers of the chin and throat are elongated. Length 36 in.; wing 16 in.
The female, who is much smaller, is brownish all over, mottled and barred with buff and white. Length about 26 in.
On the moors and woods of Scotland this is a common species, and it is also found locally in a few places in the west of England, but in some of its other English haunts, notably the New Forest, it has died out.
Like the Capercaillie, they are polygamous, and gather together in spring, the cocks fighting and showing off in a variety of evolutions to the hens. Eventually each cock retires with his hens, and breeding commences in earnest. The nest is merely a scrape in the heather or on the outskirts of a wood, and the eggs, generally ten in number, are yellowish, spotted with reddish brown. The young feed chiefly on insects, but when adult, grain, berries, and the tender shoots of many plants constitute their diet. In autumn they visit the harvest-fields in large numbers at daybreak and dusk. The adult male is bluish black all over, with white under tail coverts and a white wing bar. Length 22 in.; wing 10·5 in. The female, usually known as the “Greyhen,” is of a warm brown, barred and marked with black.
This is the only exclusively British species which is found nowhere else—if we except the local races of many of the smaller birds, which can only be distinguished on a very close examination. Our Grouse differs from the “Ryper” of Norway, which is its nearest ally, by its black primaries, and in the fact that it does not assume a white dress in winter.
RED GROUSE
Lagopus scoticus
Male (left). Female (right)
It inhabits moorlands from the limit of heather growth to the coast-line, and is generally and widely distributed throughout Scotland and the northern half of England, as far south as Glamorganshire in Wales, but on the east it does not occur south of the Trent. In Ireland it is fairly well distributed, but not so common as in Scotland.
Unlike the two former species, the Red Grouse is strictly monogamous, pairing very early in the season, when his call-note of “go back, go back,” may frequently be heard. The nest is a scrape among the heather, no materials being added. Ten to twelve eggs form the usual clutch; they are very handsome, being of a pale ground colour, thickly and profusely marked with dark reddish brown.
The male waits on the hen during incubation, warning her of the approach of danger with a sharp “kok, kok, kok.” Their food consists of various seeds and berries, together with the leaves and shoots of plants, and the tips of ling and heather; in autumn they also visit the harvest-fields.
The young are fed on insects. This species keeps, as a rule, in family parties, only packing together during severe weather in the less exposed places, but where they are much driven and shot, they are often found in large flocks.
They vary considerably in their plumage, about which more information is needed. The male is dark brown, barred with reddish, and is often nearly black on the breast and whitish on the vent. The female is similarly coloured, but lighter. Length 16 in.; wing 8·4 in.
Closely allied to the Red Grouse, the Ptarmigan is found on the higher slopes of the Scottish Highlands from Perthshire northwards. Elsewhere in these islands it is unknown.
In habits and food it hardly differs from the Grouse; the nest is placed among stones on the ground, and the eggs, except in being rather smaller and slightly lighter in colour, are undistinguishable from those of that species.
The Ptarmigan passes through a complicated plumage cycle, having three distinct plumages; in summer the male is dark brown, vermiculated with grey on the head, breast, and upper parts. Wings white, tail dark brown, belly white. The female is pale yellowish brown, barred with dark brown. In autumn the upper parts become slate grey, finely vermiculated with dark brown, and in winter both sexes are entirely white, except that the male has black lores. Length 14·5 in.; wing 7·75 in.
Most of the so-called “Ptarmigan” in our poulterers’ shops are the Willow Grouse or “Ryper” from Scandinavia and Russia. They may be distinguished by their larger size and the absence, in the males, of the black lores.
This species is so well known that we need occupy but little space in dealing with it.
It is now generally distributed throughout our islands, and was first introduced into England, to which it is not an indigenous bird, from a district of South Russia near the Black Sea, at some period previous to the Norman Conquest. To Scotland and Ireland it was imported during the latter half of the sixteenth century. During the last hundred years another species, the Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant, has been imported, and has so interbred with the original birds that the pure Colchian Pheasant is hardly ever shot at the present day.
The Pheasant is a woodland bird, roosting on trees and roaming in the fields during the day in search of its food, which consists chiefly of grain and seed, but during the summer months many insects are eaten. It is polygamous, and the nest is placed in thick cover on the ground; ten to twelve pale brown eggs form the usual clutch. The hen is said to be a bad mother and to desert her eggs if disturbed, but this has probably been largely brought about by the artificial conditions under which they are now kept.
In spite of their size and proportionately short wings, they are strong fliers, and when well on the wing progress at a considerable pace; if possible, however, they generally try to escape by running and squatting low on the ground until closely approached, when they rise with their well-known “whirr.” The male has a short “crow,” accompanied usually by a rattling of the wings.
No description of this well-known bird is needed. The Chinese form only differs from the original breed in having a white ring round the neck.
In England the Partridge is an exceedingly abundant species, but in Scotland and Ireland, although well distributed, it is much more local. It is strictly monogamous, pairing very early in the year, but nesting operations are rarely commenced before the end of April or early in May. The nest is a scrape in some hedge bottom, or on a grassy bank, and often contains as many as fifteen to twenty eggs, which are somewhat pyriform in shape, and of a uniform olive brown in colour. This species chiefly inhabits the open cultivated districts, where it feeds on various seeds and grain, but in summer insects are largely consumed, and the young are at first fed on them exclusively.
During the early autumn and winter the various families keep together, forming the well-known “coveys,” but if the weather be severe these birds will “pack” in large flocks like Grouse.
PARTRIDGE
Perdix cinerea
A description of this well-known bird is hardly necessary. The male differs from the female in the brighter yellowish chestnut of the head and greyer neck, and the wing coverts are longitudinally striped with buff in the male, but in the female they are barred.
In young birds the general tone of the plumage is paler, and the feathers have a median buff longitudinal stripe. Length 12·5 in.; wing 6 in.
This species has been introduced into this country at various times from 1770 onwards, and is now well established in several districts. Its home on the Continent is the east and south of France, Spain, and North-western Italy, where it inhabits dry and mountainous districts. In this country it can only be called common in the East Anglian counties, though it is also found on both sides of the Thames valley and in some parts of the Midlands. The damp climate of the west does not suit it, and attempts to introduce it into Scotland and Ireland have failed.
In food and habits it is somewhat similar to the Common Partridge, but its habit of running instead of getting on the wing renders it less desirable as a sporting bird, and its flesh is decidedly inferior. It lays its eggs in banks or under hedges, well concealed by thick cover, without any attempt at a nest beyond a slight scrape. The eggs are yellowish white, speckled with brown, and are slightly larger than those of the Common Partridge. The note is a harsh “clink, clink, clinkar,” and the male assists the female in rearing the young.
They are not quite so gregarious as the preceding species, and old males, except during the breeding season, frequently lead a solitary existence.
The sexes are alike in plumage, but the male has a blunt spur. The throat and cheeks are white, bordered with black. Sides of neck and breast grey, spotted with black. Crown grey; stripe above the eye white. Rest of upper parts warm rufous brown. Under parts fawn colour; flanks grey, boldly barred with black and chestnut. Bill and legs deep coral red.
The young are brown on the throat and breast. Length 13·5 in.; wing 6·22 in.
This species is only a summer visitor to this country, though examples have been known to spend the winter with us. Never very abundant, it has of late years become decidedly scarcer, and can now only be considered an uncommon and local bird.
Delighting chiefly in dry, broken, uncultivated land, it becomes scarcer in the north, but has been known to nest as far north as Caithness. The nest is a “scrape” in the grass, and the seven to twelve eggs are yellowish white blotched with umber brown. The male has a melodious call-note, which may be syllabled as “clerk, lik, lik,” to which the female answers with a soft “peu, peu.” The food consists of grain, seeds, and insects, and at the times of migration this bird becomes exceedingly fat and very good eating. The Quails that are found in our markets are usually snared in Italy during the spring migration, and used to be sent alive to this country, but they are now killed and sent dead. It was a migration of this species that supplied the Children of Israel with food in the desert, and large flocks still pass through Palestine yearly on migration.
The Quail is not unlike a small Partridge, and is of a uniform sandy brown on the upper parts, with paler shafts to the feathers. The chin and throat are white, with two brown crescentic bars, and sometimes a brown streak down the centre. The breast is buffish and the under parts white. This species shows a certain amount of variation in minor details of plumage. Length 7 in.; wing 4·4 in.
Grass lands throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland form the summer home of this well-known and abundant species. It is a migrant, arriving towards the end of April and leaving our shores again in September, though a few individuals occasionally remain and pass the winter in Ireland and some of the western counties of England. It is always more abundant in the west, and during the last few years has become comparatively scarce and local in our eastern and south-eastern counties.
The Rails are birds of poor flight and skulking habits, rarely taking to their wings unless hard pressed, and even at such times flying but a short distance with legs hanging down, and soon dropping again into the nearest cover. Immediately on his arrival the male Land-Rail, or Corncrake as it is often called, utters his well-known crake—a harsh “craak, craak,” repeated with monotonous frequency, especially during the long summer evenings and again before dawn.
The nest is placed in dense cover in the middle of some grass- or corn-fields; it is a deep “scrape,” generally hollowed out by the cock, and lined with bents and grass. Eight to ten eggs are the usual clutch; they resemble those of the Missel Thrush, being greenish white, spotted and blotched with red, brown, and greyish. The male, who takes no part in the incubation, is very attentive to his mate, bringing her delicate tit-bits and accompanying her when she leaves the nest. Their food consists of worms, slugs, snails, and other insects, as well as grain and seeds, so that it is practically omnivorous. When the young are hatched the “craking” ceases, and both parents brood and tend the young. These when first hatched are jet black, and become fully feathered in about a month or five weeks, their wing feathers being the last to grow. Although they can run and leave the nest as soon as hatched, they do not feed themselves for some days, but take all their food from their parents’ beaks. If the first clutch of eggs is destroyed the craking recommences, and a second clutch is laid.
LAND-RAIL
Crex pratensis
During the autumn moult this species, in common with the others of its family, casts all its primaries at once, and is for about ten days incapable of flight.
In winter it is found throughout Africa as far south as Cape Colony.
In winter the sexes are practically identical, the upper parts being dark brown, with rufous edgings to the feathers; wing coverts chestnut; throat and abdomen white; breast pale brown; flanks barred with brown and buff. After the spring moult the male has part of the head, throat, and breast ash grey. The female is greyer than in winter, but much browner than the male, especially on the breast. The young resemble the adults in winter, but the rufous margins are much broader. Length 10·5 in.; wing 5·25 in.
This is a smaller species than the preceding, and is found in marshes and swamps. They visit us in small numbers every summer, and remain to breed in suitable localities far more commonly than is usually supposed. It is, however, a very skulking species and its only note is a low “kwit, kwit,” so that it is seldom either seen or heard, and the few birds that are killed on migration are the only evidence we usually get of its presence. In Scotland it is rarer, but has been found nesting in Elgin and has occurred on migration in the Shetlands. In Ireland it is a yearly immigrant, but only a few nests have been found. Except in its liking for damper places, it resembles the Corncrake in most of its habits.
The nest is placed in a reed-bed or tussock of sedge, often entirely surrounded by water. It is formed externally of coarse weeds and lined with finer materials. The eggs, usually eight to ten, are olive buff, spotted and flecked with reddish brown. The young when first hatched are black and take to the water readily, swimming about with the ease of young Moor-hens.
The male is greenish brown on the upper parts, the feathers having darker centres as well as a few small white spots; breast brown, spotted with white; rest of under parts grey; flanks barred with brown. This bird shows no great differences in plumage, the sexes and young being much alike. Length 9 in.; wing 4·5 in.
The little Crake is a migrant breeding in Central Europe. To Great Britain it is a very rare straggler, and has only been taken about a dozen times, and only one instance is noted from both Scotland and Ireland.
WATER-RAIL
Rallus aquaticus
It is a rather smaller bird than the preceding species, from which it may be readily distinguished by the absence of spots on the throat or breast. Length 8 in.; wing 4·2 in.
This species has only been met with in these islands on the spring and autumn migrations; on one or two occasions it has been recorded as having bred in the eastern counties, but although there is no great improbability about this, British-taken eggs have never been thoroughly authenticated. On the Continent it breeds freely in Western Europe, from Holland southwards as far east as North Italy.
In plumage it closely resembles the Little Crake, from which it may always be distinguished by having the outer web of the first primary white. Length 7 in.; wing 3·45 in.
This species is tolerably abundant throughout Great Britain wherever swamps and sedge or reed-beds are sufficiently large to afford it cover. It is most abundant in winter, when our native birds receive large additions from the Continent, especially during severe weather.
During the breeding season it is very noisy, making a loud and peculiar noise, known in some localities as “sharming.” Extremely loth to take wing, but swimming, and diving with great facility, it is very difficult to get a sight of this bird, except during severe weather, when the cover is more scanty, and lack of food compels it to leave its usual haunts. The nest is placed in a thick tuft of sedge or reeds and is a deep cup-shaped structure of flags; the eggs are pale creamy white, flecked with a few reddish spots, and are seven to nine in number. The food consists of worms, snails, and other aquatic insects and plants.
The adult has the back dark brown, with broad olive brown margins to the feathers; cheeks, neck, and breast lead grey; vent buff; flanks black, barred with white. Bill red. Length 11·5 in.; wing 4·75 in.
The young have the under parts dull brownish, barred on the flanks with dark brown. The female has occasionally some of the wing coverts black, barred with white, but this is a very variable feature. This species is subject to considerable differences in size and also in the intensity of colouring on the beak, breast, and under parts.
This is the commonest, tamest, and best known of the Rails, and occurs abundantly throughout the British Isles wherever some water surrounded by cover is found, even though it be a small ditch or pond. It has even penetrated into the heart of London, and may be watched as it comes out to pick up the crumbs thrown by the passer-by, and takes them back to her young concealed in the rushes. Their food consists of insects, worms, slugs, aquatic vegetation, and a certain amount of grain. In some districts considerable damage is done in early spring to the watercress beds, the fresh tender shoots being nipped off as soon as they start to grow.
MOOR-HEN
Gallinula chloropus
In April several nests are partially begun; these are generally situated in clumps of sedge or rushes, but are sometimes built under bushes, or even trees, at some height above the ground. In one of these partially-built structures the eggs will be laid, and as soon as the site has been definitely chosen a considerable amount of material is added, and the higher leaves of the sedge are often bent over so as to conceal it from above. The young when first hatched are black, with the base of the beak bright red like that of their parents, but after about a fortnight this colour is lost, the beak and frontal plate becoming brownish green. The first few weeks are spent entirely on the water or in the thick cover fringing the banks of a pond or stream, and at such times the half-completed nests are utilised as nurseries on which to brood the young. Both parents feed and tend the young, and on the approach of danger safety is sought by diving. When swimming the Moor-hen proceeds slowly, with a curious bobbing motion of the head and neck, and on land, when undisturbed, it walks slowly, raising its tail at every step and thus displaying the white under tail coverts; if alarmed, however, it lowers its head and runs with considerable rapidity and shows no white whatever. It remains on the ground all day and roosts at night among the sedges and rushes, but in frosty weather it invariably roosts on trees.
The sexes are much alike: the upper parts dark olive brown; head, neck, and under parts bluish grey; the flank feathers streaked with white, under tail coverts white. Bill bright red at the base, with yellow tip in summer; dull olive brown in autumn and early winter. Legs greenish yellow. The young have the chin white, under parts greyish brown; they are also greyer on the back than the adults. Length 13 in.; wing 6·75 in.
The Coot is found on most of the open sheets of water throughout the country; it differs from its other congeners in being far less skulking and spending most of its time out on the open water, and procures much of its food by diving. Its feet are lobed, that is to say, have flat extensions of the skin which is constricted at the joints, down all the toes.
The nest is a huge structure of reeds and rushes placed well away from the shore, in a small clump of reeds, and the eggs, which number seven to ten, are very pale stone colour, minutely speckled and dotted with dark brown. The young bird when first hatched is black except for his head, which is sparsely covered with coarse down-like hairs of a red and orange tint.
Its food consists of aquatic insects and vegetation, as is the case with the Moor-hen. In winter, although a resident, it collects in large flocks, and many visit the bays and estuaries round the coast, receiving considerable additions to their numbers from the Continent. The Coot is extremely wary and difficult to approach, taking wing on the least sign of danger; it flies well and fast, carrying its legs stretched out behind, but has to run along the surface of the water for some distance before it can rise. The sexes are alike and have the whole of the plumage sooty black, with a narrow white bar across the wing. Bill and frontal plate white; legs dark green. Length 15 in.; wing 8·5 in.
Although as a rule this bird casts its primaries at once, this is not invariably the case, as it sometimes moults them in pairs like the majority of birds.
Three centuries or more ago the Crane bred regularly in our eastern counties, and for long afterwards it used to appear as a regular migrant every winter. At the present time, however, it is an extremely scarce and irregular visitor. It still breeds in Southern Scandinavia and thence southwards and eastwards throughout the whole of Europe. Its general colour is dark slaty grey, devoid of any markings. The inner secondaries are long and drooping and conceal the tail. The adults have a red warty patch on the crown. Length 45 in.; wing 21 in.
In the early part of the sixteenth century the Great Bustard was well known and widely distributed throughout the moors and plains of England and the lowlands of Scotland. The increasing population, and cultivation of waste lands, gradually diminished localities suitable to its habits, and in 1838 the last eggs of our indigenous birds were taken.
At intervals irregular wanderers still occur in different parts of our islands, and several attempts to reintroduce this fine species in recent years have failed. In Spain, parts of Germany, and Southern Russia, this species is still to be found as a resident and breeding bird, but over the rest of Europe it is only known as an irregular visitor.
The male has the head bluish grey; rest of upper parts brownish buff, barred with black; wing coverts white; quills blackish. Breast banded with chestnut and grey; belly white. Length 43 in.; wing 24 in.
The female is smaller and lacks the band on the breast.
The Little Bustard is only a scarce visitor, and has most frequently occurred on our southern and eastern coasts. It is a south European species, but breeds regularly on the plains of France, where it arrives in April and leaves in September.
The general colour of both sexes is sandy brown, streaked and vermiculated with black on the upper parts; the under parts are chiefly white. In summer the male has the throat and upper breast black, shading to grey on the chin, and crossed with irregular white bars. Length 17 in.; wing 9·5 in.
This is an Eastern species, breeding from Asia Minor eastwards towards the Caspian and Aral Seas, and has only occurred on two or three occasions in these islands.
This species may be recognised by having a crest of white feathers tipped with black, and a blackish ruff on the sides of the neck. The rest of the plumage above is buff, vermiculated with black, and the under parts are white. Length 38 in.; wing 15·5 in.
The Stone-Curlew is a summer visitor to this country, frequenting wild, sandy “brecks,” and undulating chalky downs. It is therefore a somewhat local species, being commonest perhaps in the “breck” district of Norfolk and Suffolk; it is also found on the downs of most of the southern and eastern counties, as well as on the Chilterns and in one or two other counties to the north, but in the west of England, Scotland, and Ireland it is entirely absent, and has only occurred on very few occasions.
Sandy brown in colour, it assimilates so well with its surroundings that it is very difficult to see, and when approached will often “squat,” stretching its neck out to its fullest extent, and so escape observation. It runs with great rapidity and flies strongly, its flight rather resembling that of a Pigeon, while the white bars on the wing coverts show up conspicuously. Its food, which is chiefly taken at dusk and dawn, consists of insects of all kinds, especially beetles.
Living as it frequently does in districts away from water, it journeys nightly to a favourite watering-place. The note is a loud whistling cry, which is uttered at night, and during the early spring these birds are very noisy.
The two eggs are deposited towards the end of April or beginning of May on the bare ground, a spot where there are many loose stones, among which they are very difficult to see, being usually chosen. In colour the eggs are pale clay spotted and streaked with dark brown, those in the same clutch being often very dissimilar in markings. Both sexes assist in the duties of incubation and rearing of the young, who, when first hatched, are pale buff with a longitudinal dark line down each side of the back. Their legs are much thickened, a feature common to many Limicoline birds, and this has led to this species being sometimes known as the “Thick-Knee.” In August old and young gather together in flocks and shortly afterwards take their departure, though occasionally individuals have been known to pass the winter in this country.