SM'AN'S ■ ' I i,i 1 I %, . ;ll!i!l'!(liIil!:i''Wli!i!if!H'iir;i''lilil;!)l!t!iil)!!!( ..^....^^•.■.^. AA4ii^^~U., ^..^u^ ,... ..:■■ ■,*j ^^^ \ '^'^ ^ FOR THE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ^^ -^ V^ THE SPORTSMAN'S BRITISH BIRD BOOK The Spciiiiicns from whiih nearly all the Illustrations in this Volume are taken 'were mounted in the Koivland Ward Studios. H SJ^ c-v-c^V THE SPORTSMAN'S BRITISH BIRD BOOK By R. LYDEKKER LONDON ROWLAND WARD, Limited "THE JUXGLE,- 167 PICCADILLY, W. I 908 AU rights reserved '^ "l*1*"^i96U^ TO THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD AN UNTIRING OBSERVER OF BRITISH BIRDS IN THE FIELD THIS BOOR IS BY HER (IRACE'S PERMISSION INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION In this volume it has been my aim to place before the public, and especially the sporting section of the same, a concise work on British Birds which, while accurate and up to date, should be as free as possible from technicalities and as simple and readable as the circumstances of the case permit. In this aim I have been greatly assisted by my friend Mr. W. P. Pycraft (to whom I am also indebted for reading the proofs), who has drawn up the descrip- tion of each species in such a manner as to admit of its ready identification, while at the same time avoiding all unnecessary details. The wording of these descriptions is, however, in most cases my own work ; and in drawing them up the needs of the field-naturalist have been specially borne in mind. The details concerning the colouring of the young of each species (except in the case of the perching birds) form a special feature of the work. The records of the occurrences of rare visitors to the British Isles are also fuller than in any other work ; and in this connection I desire to take the opportunity of expressing my indebtedness to the valuable ornithological journal published by Messrs. Wetherby under the title of British Birds. As regards the technical names of the various species, I have in the main adopted those used by my former teacher, the late Professor Alfred Newton of Cambridge, being convinced that the splitting-up of generic groups, now so much the fashion, is a mistake. In this opinion I am following the views of a valued colleague, the late Dr. W. T. Blanford, as expressed in the \-olume on birds in the Fauna of British India. vii Vlll PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION The illustrations, which speak for themselves, are absolutely true to nature, having, in the great majority of instances, been photographed under the personal superintendence of 'Sir. Rowland Ward from specimens mounted at his studios in Piccadilly for this particular purpose. A considerable number of these specimens have been pre- sented by 'Sir. Ward to the Natural History Museum, where they are exhibited in the l^ritish Saloon at the end of the Bird Galler)\ A novel feature is the omission of the names of authorities and observers of the facts recorded in this volume, many of whom are unknown to the general public. This is justified by the circum- stance that when a statement has once been published it becomes public property. In certain books on the same subject it has been attempted to draw a distinction between birds which can properly be regarded as British and those which cannot lay a claim to such a privilege. Any such distinction is, however, manifestly an impossibility, and all the species are accordingly treated in serial order, although such as are mere stragglers are not accorded insets of their own in the text. The introduction of a certain number of technical terms relating to the plumage, such as wing-coverts, primary and secondary quills, etc., is unavoidable. The meaning of these — as well as of other terms used in scientific ornithology — will, however, be made apparent at a glance by the diagrammatic sketch of the topography of a bird's plumage on page xviii. In future editions, should such be called for, it will be the special aim of both the publisher and author to keep the work up to date. R. LYDKKKKR. HARPENDiiN Lodge, Herts, August 1908. CONTENTS Game-Birds rA(;K Capercaillie I Blackcock 4 Grouse .... 7 Ptarmigan 9 Pheasant .... 1 1 Partridge 13 Red-legged Partridge i6 Quail .... i8 [Virginian Quail] 20 Pallas's Sand-Grouse 21 Pigeons Wood- Pigeon or Ring-Dove 23 Stock-Dove 25 Blue-Rock or Rock-Dove . 27 Turtle-Dove 29 Rail Tribe Water-Rail 30 Corn-Crake or Land-Rail . 33 Little Crake 35 Baillon's Crake 37 Spotted Crake . 38 Moor-Hen or Water-Hen . 40 Coot .... 42 Crane Group Crane Bustard . Little Bustard . [Hubara Bustard] 44 46 49 50 Plover Group Stone-Curlew or Thick-knee Cream-coloured Courser Pratincole Turnstone Plover [Lesser Golden Plover] Grey Plover Lapwing or Peewit [Sociable Lapwing] . Ringed Plover . [Little Ringed Plover] Kentish Plover [Kill-deer Plover] [Caspian Sand-Plover] Dotterel . Sea-Pie, or Oyster-Catcher Stilt Avocet Curlew Whimbrel [Eskimo Curlew] Black-tailed Godwit . Bar-tailed Godwit Red-breasted Godwit Sandpiper or Summer Snipe [Spotted Sandpiper] . Green Sandpiper [Solitary Sandpiper] . Wood-Sandpiper Redshank Spotted Redshank Marsh Sandpiper] . Lesser Yellowshank] Greater Yellowshank] 50 54 56 58 61 64 64 66 69 69 72 72 74 74 75 77 80 81 84 86 87 87 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 99 lOI 102 103 103 ' The names of species which are only very rare stragi^lers to the British Isles are enclosed in square brackets. CONTENTS Greenshank Ruff Buff-brcastcd Sandpiper Hartiani's Sandpiper] Half-webbed Sandpiper] Sanderling Stint Temniinck's Stint Sharp-tailed Sandpiper IJonaparte's Sandpiper] Baird's Sandpiper] knot Purple Sandpiper Curlew-Sandpiper Dunlin Broad-billed Sandpiper Red-necked Phalarope Grey Phalarope Woodcock Snipe Great Snipe [Wilson's Snipe] Jack-Snipe Gui.i. Group Common Gull . Herring-Gull Greater White winged Gul Iceland Gull Great Black-backed Gull Lesser Black-ljacked Gull Black-headed Gull [Bonaparte's Gull] [Mediterranean Black-headed Gull] [Great Black-headed Gull] Little Gull Sabine's Gull [Ross's (iull] . Ivory-(iull Kittiwake Black Tern [White-whiskered Tern] White-winged Tern Caspian Tern . Clull-billcd Tern Common Tern . Arctic Tern Roseate Tern Sandwich Tern VAi.E 03 05 09 09 09 10 I 2 14 16 18 18 18 20 - j 26 27 30 31 35 3« 39 39 41 45 47 49 50 53 55 57 57 5« 5« 59 60 60 62 64 66 ('7 68 69 71 73 75 76 FAGK "Sooty Tern] 179 Little Tern 179 Noddy] .... 180 (ireat Skua 181 Temniinck's Skua ■83 Richardson's Skua • '85 Long-tailed Skua 188 Auk (iRoup Auk or Razorbill 189 Great Auk •93 Guillemot '95 [Brunnich's Guillemot] 198 Black Guillemot 199 Little Auk or Rotche 201 Puffin or Sea-Parrot . 204 Petrel Group Storm-Petrel 206 Fork-tailed Petrel 209 [Madeira Petrel] 2 I I Wilson's Petrel 2 1 1 [White-bellied Petrel] 2 I 2 Fulmar .... 2 1 2 Great Shearwater 215 Manx Shearwater 217 [Levantine Shearwater] 219 [Little Uusky Shearwater] . 219 Sooty Shearwater 220 Capped Petrel] 22 I Collared Grey Petrel] 22 I 'Schlcgel's Petrel] 222 Bulwer's Petrel] 222 Grebes and Diners Great Crested Grebe Red-necked Grebe Sclavonian Grebe Black-necked Grebe . Dabchick Great Xorthcm Diver [White-billed Diver] . P)lac k-throated Diver Red-throated Diver . Hi:kon Trihe Heron Purple Heron 227 2 29 230 232* 235 237 238 240 :4i '■45 CONTENTS [Great White Heron] [Little Egret] . [Buff-backed Heron] Squacco Heron Night-Heron [Little Green Heron] Little Bittern Bittern American Bitte Stork Black Stork Glossy Ibis Spoonbill Duck Group Whooper Swan Bewick's Swan [Trumpeter-Swan] Mute Swan Grey Lag Goose White-fronted Goose Bean-Goose Pink-footed Goose [Snow-Goose] . Barnacle Goose Brent Goose [Red-breasted Goose [Canada Goose] Mallard or Wild Duck Gadwall . Teal [Green-winged Teal] Wigeon . [American Wigeon] Pintail Garganey Shoveller Sheldrake Ruddy Sheldrake Red-crested Pochard Pochard . White-eyed Pochard [Eastern Pochard] Scaup-Duck Tufted Duck . Golden-eye [Buffle-headed Duck] Long-tailed Duck [Harlequin-Duck] I'AGIi 248 248 249 250 2 c 2 252 254 256 257 259 259 261 265 269 270 270 271 274 276 277 279 279 281 282 283 283 286 288 291 291 294 294 297 300 303 306 309 311 314 316 316 319 321 324 324 326 Eider-Duck 326 King-Eider 329 Scoter .... 331 Velvet-Scoter . 333 Surf-Scoter 334 Smew .... 335 Goosander ■ 338 Merganser 340 [Hooded Merganser] 342 Cormorant Group Cormorant 343 Shag .... 347 Gannet .... 349 F.\LCON AND Eagle Group Peregrine Falcon 353 [Lesser Falcon] 357 Hobby .... 357 Greenland Falcon 359 Iceland Falcon 360 [Norwegian Falcon] . 361 Red-footed P'alcon 362 Merlin .... 363 Kestrel . . . . 366 [Lesser Kestrel] 368 Honey-Buzzard 369 Goshawk 372 [American Goshawk] 374 Sparrow-Hawk 374 Buzzard .... 377 Rough-legged Buzzard 380 Hen-Harrier 382 Montagu's Harrier 386 Marsh-Harrier . 387 Kite .... 389 [Black Kite] 392 [Black-winged Kite] . 392 [Swallow-tailed Kite] 392 White-tailed Eagle 392 Eagle .... 394 [Spotted Eagle] 396 [Griffon-Vulture] 396 [Scavenger-Vulture] . 396 Osprey ..... 397 Owls Barn-Owl .... 400 Long-eared Owl 404 CONTENTS Short-eared Owl Tinvny Owl Tenj,'malm's Owl Eaglc-OwI Snowy ( )wl [Hawk-Owl] Scops Owl Little Owl " I'icARiAN " Birds Cuckoo . [(ireat Spotted Cuckoo] [Yellow-billed Cuckoo] [Black-billed Cuckoo] Nightjar . [Red-necked Nightjar] [Egyptian Nightjar] Swift Alpine Swift [Needle-tailed Swift] Roller Bee-eater Kingfisher Hoopoe . (ireen Woodpecker Great Spotted Woodpecker Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Wryneck .... BERCHING lilRDS •107 408 4 10 412 414 416 416 418 420 425 425 425 426 428 428 428 431 432 432 434 436 439 441 444 446 448 Thrush 450 Mislle-'lhrush . 453 Redwing . 454 Fieldfare . 456 [.American Robin] 457 Blackbird 457 Ring-Ouzel 459 [Siberian Black-thi oated Thrush 461 [Siberian (Ground-' 'brush] . 461 While's 'I'hrush 461 [Dusky Thrush] 462 [Rock-Thrush] . 462 Nightingale 463 [Kastern Nighting lie] 465 l5 317 320 322 325 327 330 55^ 3i3 334 336 339 341 343 344 348 350 352 353 557 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Iceland Falcon . PAGE . . . 361 Hedge-Sparrow PAGE . 478 Iceland Falcon (hover ing) . . .362 Spotted Flycatchers (male and female) 480 Red-footed Falcon ■ • • 363 Pied Flycatcher (male ) .482 Merlin ■ 364 Swallow . ■ 484 Kestrel (male) . • 366 Sand-Martin (flying) . 486 Honey- Buzzard . • 369 Sand- Martin • 487 Goshawk (female) • 372 Martin . 488 Sparrow-Hawk (male • 375 Whitethroat (male) . 490 Sparrow-Hawk (fema! e) . . . 376 Lesser Whitethroat • 492 Buzzard (female) • 378 Blackcap . • 494 Rough-legged Buzzarc • 381 Garden- Warbler • 495 Hen-Harrier (immatu re male) . . 383 Dartford Warbler • 497 Hen-Harrier (female) • 384 Wood-Wren • 499 Montagu's Harrier • 386 Willow-Wren 500 Marsh-Harrier (male) . 388 Chiff-Chaff ■ 501 Kite ■ 390 Sedge-Bird • 505 White-tailed Eagle • 393 Reed-Wren • 507 Eagle • 395 Marsh-Warbler . 508 Osprey • 397 Grasshopper-Warbler . 509 Barn-Owl . 401 Savi's Warbler . • 511 Long-eared Owl • 405 Golden-crested Wren • 512 Long-eared Owl at ba y . . . 406 Fire-crested Wren • 513 Short-eared Owls • 407 Water-Ouzel ■ 514 Tawny Owls (male an d female) . . 409 Wren . 516 Tengmalm's Osvl . 411 Reed-Pheasant (male) • 518 Eagle-Owl . 412 Reed-Pheasant (femal e) . . . 519 Snowy Owl (female) • 414 Blue Titmouse . • 520 Scops Owl • 417 CJreat Titmouse . 522 Little Owl ■ 419 Coal-Titmouse . . 522 Cuckoo 420 Coal-Titmouse (male) • 523 Young Cuckoo . . 424 Marsh-Titmouse • 524 Nightjar . 426 Crested Titmouse • 525 Swift • 429 Long-tailed Titmouse • 527 Alpine Swift • 432 Nuthatch (female) . 528 Roller • 433 Tree-Creeper • 530 Bee-eater . ■ 435 Pied Wagtail (male in summer) . . 532 Kingfisher • 437 White Wagtail (sumra er) . . . 534 Hoopoe . . 440 White Wagtail, showir g upper and lower Green Woodpecker ■ 442 surfaces • 534 Tail and foot of Greer 1 Woodpecker . 444 Grey Wagtail (male) • 535 Great Spotted Woodp ecker . . 445 Grey Wagtail (female ■ 536 Lesser Spotted Wood pecker . . 447 Yellow Wagtail (male ) ■ ■ -536 Wryneck (male). . 448 Yellow Wagtail (fema le) . . . 537 Thrush • 451 Blue-headed Wagtail (male) . . 538 Mistle-Thrush . • 453 Tree- Pipit ■ 540 Redwing . • 455 Titlark . • 541 Fieldfare . . 456 Richard's Pipit . • 542 Blackbird (male) • 457 Tawny Pipit • 543 Ring-Ouzel • 459 Rock-Pipit • 545 W'hite's Thrush . 461 Shore-Lark . 546 Nightingale . 463 Lark • 547 Redbreast . 466 Wood- Lark • 549 Redstart (male) . 469 Bunting • 550 Black Redstart . • 471 Yellow Hammer • 552 Wheatear (male) • 472 Cirl- Bunting • 553 Whinchat (male) ■ 475 Reed-Bunting (male) • 554 Stonechat (male and f smale) . . 476 Snow-Bunting . ■ 556 XVlll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE i-AGE Lapland Bunting .... 55S Red-backed Shrike (male) . . . 579 Chaffinch . 559 Wax wing (male) 581 Brambling 560 Golden (Jriole . 582 Goldfinch (male) 561 Starling 583 Siskin 562 Rosy Starling (male) . 585 Linnet (male) 564 Raven 587 Twiie 565 Crow 589 Lesser Redpoll . 567 Grey Crow 590 Sparrow (female) 568 Rook 591 Tree-Sparrow . 569 Head of Young Rook 592 Serin 569 Jackdaw . 594 Crossbill . 571 jay . . 595 Bullfinch . 573 Magpie 597 Hawfinch (male) 574 Nutcracker 598 Skull and Lower jaw of Hawfinch 575 Chough . 599 Greenfinch (female) . 575 Common Partridge, .showing se.xual Greenfinch (male) 576 difterence of wing . 600 Grey Shrike 577 Lores foreluai ^ar-ccverti. — Crtim BrtCLit. S«eindary coverts Ur Bastard urino- ?Vl7ri(in( coverts— - Unier ZaiZ^cof ertt ■-..UKbtr faii CcverEs RO STUOIOS CAPEKCAILLIE. THE SPORTSMAN'S BRITISH BIRDS Capercaillie In a book on British birds, written more expressly (Tetrao upog-allus) ^° meet the needs of the sportsman and the amateur rather than the requirements of the scientific orni- thologist, it is specially fitting that we should commence with the capercaillie, or capercailzie, as typifying the game-birds, or Gallinae, which take their popular title as being the group of most importance to the gunner. On the other hand, it is not to be supposed that the selection of this group as the starting-point has been in any way made in deference to its special interest for sportsmen. Quite the contrary, for although it has been customary in works of the present nature to commence with either the birds-of-prey or the perching-birds, modern researches have tended to show that the game-birds form perhaps the most generalised group in the entire class of birds, and consequently nearly related to the ancestral stock from which a number of the more specialised groups have taken origin. They are therefore eminently suited to form the starting-point for a systematic account of the birds of the British Islands. Apparently, indeed, the game-birds are intimately connected with the ostriches and their allies, by means of that remarkable group of South American birds known as tinamus, which lay such beautifully glazed blue or purple eggs. 2 GAME-BIRDS To record all the distinctive characteristics of the various major groups (commonly designated " orders," but preferably ranked merely as " suborders "), into which British birds are divided, is not within the scope of the present work. It will, however, be convenient to notice a few of the more obvious of these, as occasion arises. Apart from certain features of the skull and skeleton, the more typical game-birds, such as those to be met with in the British Islands, are characterised by their stout and compact build, rather long neck, strong and arched beak of moderate length, and powerful legs, which are furnished with four toes and specially adapted for scratching the ground — whence the name Rasores, as an alternative title for the group. The concave wings, which fit closely to the body, are adapted for a strong, although often noisy and laboured flight ; and the body- feathers have after-shafts. Very characteristic of the group is the advanced condition in which the young are born ; and it is specially noticeable that in the longitudinal striping of the first downy dress many of these birds resemble ostriches and tinamus. The great difference between the plumage of the two sexes is likewise a characteristic of many game-birds. The eggs, of which there is frequently a large number in a clutch, are laid on the ground in the case of all the more typical representatives of the group, with but little protection in the way of a nest, and are either uniformly coloured or marked merely with superficial spots, and none of the more deep- seated markings found in those of many other birds. The essentially primitive and generalised nature of the typical game-birds is thus further exemplified by their nesting-habits, since it seems probable that the practice of nesting in trees is one which has been acquired, and that laying on the ground was the original condition. The capercaillie is the typical representative of the genus Tetrao, and thus of the family Tetraonid.ne, or grouse-tribe, in which the hind- toe is elevated above the other three, while the nostrils are concealed by feathers, and the legs, and in most cases also the toes, are more or less completely feathered. Distinguished from all other British game-birds by its great size — cocks measuring about 35 and hens 25 inches in length — the caper- caillie is further characterised by the rounded tail of both se.xes. In the adult male the beak is whitish horn-colour ; there is a bare patch of vermilion skin above the eye ; the head and neck are black, powdered with gic\-, the back and upper tail-coverts dark slate-colour, almost black, and speckled with grey ; while the upper surface of the wings is rusty black, with grey stipi)ling. The tail-coverts are tipped with CAPERCAILLIE 3 white, and a white bar of irregular shape also traverses the middle of the tail, which is elsewhere black. A dark glossy green bar runs across the fore part of the breast ; the abdomen is white ; the legs are covered with long hair-like feathers ; and the toes are fringed with scales showing a comb-like arrangement. Young males in first plum- age resemble females ; at the next moult the adult dress is assumed, but it is three years before the full weight is attained, or the white bar on the tail completed. The female may be distinguished from the greyhen by her rounded tail and larger size. Further distinguishing marks are the triangular rufous patch at the base of the neck, and the colour of the greater coverts, which are black tipped with white. The back is mottled with light yellow and large blotches of black ; and the feathers on the under-parts are buff, with a subterminal bar of black, and broad white tips. The chick is light buff, with a black horse- shoe mark on the forehead, the crown variegated with black, and the back tinged with white and showing indistinct black mottlings. The meaning of the name capercaillie is somewhat doubtful, but it probably signifies " bird-of-the-wood," although it has been translated as " horse-of-the- woods." The range of the species originally extended from the British Islands to north-eastern Turkestan, the Altai and Lake Baikal ; but the bird was exterminated — probably to a great extent owing to the felling of the pine-forests which form its habitat — in the British Islands during the eighteenth century, although it has been reintroduced with fair success into Perthshire, Forfarshire, and the neighbouring districts. So early as the middle of the seventeenth century this magnificent bird had already become scarce in Great Britain, and it was probably killed out, even in Scotland, by about the year 1770. The discovery of its bones in a cave near Teesdale proves its former abundance in Yorkshire. In Ireland a few capercaillie survived in the neighbourhood of Thomastown, County Tipperary, till about the year 1760; and the species probably still existed in some parts of the country ten or twenty years later, but there is no evidence that it lingered at the dawn of the nineteenth century. Three other species of capercaillie respectively inhabit the Ural Range, north-eastern Siberia, and Kamchatka. In Scandinavia the capercaillie ranges to 70"' north latitude, but diminishes both in numbers and in bodily size as the limits of the pine-woods are approached. The nest consists of nothing more than a scantily lined hollow scratched in the ground, and usually well concealed from view. The eggs are very similar to those of the greyhen, but larger ; their colour 4 GAME-BIRDS beini; L^enerally reddish buff marked with tlccks and blotches of reddish brown. From ci<;ht to twelve seems to be the normal number in a clutch. As already mentioned, the capercaillie is essentially a bird of the pine-forests, and feeds on the leaves and )-oung shoots of the Scotch fir. It is a polygamous bird, and at certain seasons of the \-ear the cocks take up positions on tall pines and attract around them a number of hens, before whom they make a nuptial display, known in Scandinavia as the s{>el. During the breeding-season frequent contests take place between rival cocks. Capercaillie cocks vary in weight from lo to as much as 13, or even 16 or 17 lbs., southern Sweden producing some of the heaviest birds, while those introduced into Scotland appear to be small. From 5 to 6 lbs. is the weight of a hen. Capercaillie- shooting lasts from August 10 till December 20. Blflpkpoek There appears to be some degree of uncertainty ^Tetrao tetrix) whether the name " grouse " was original)}- the designation of this species or of Lagopus scoticiis. If, however, it really means, as seems probable, the speckled or mottled bird, there can be little doubt that it proj)crl\' pertains to the latter ; and since, in an\' case, it has been accepted for generations as the name of that species, it is best to follow that usage. Moreover, as the present species is a relative of the capercaillie rather than of the grouse and ptarmigan, it seems preferable that it should be called the blackcock rather than black grouse, the designation " black game " not being by any means a good specific title. If it be objected that in taking the designation of the male (the female being known as the greyhen) as the title of the species we are departing from normal usage, the case of the robin, or robin redbreast, may be cited in justi- fication. The fact of the male and female in this particular species having separate designations is doubtless due to the extraordinary difference in the plumage of the two sexes — a difference altogether unsurpassed among the larger British birds, if not indeed among all the birds of our islands. The fact that the tail of the male is of the well- known lyrate shape, instead of wedge-like, has been held to justify the .separation of the blackcock as a genus apart from the capercaillie under the designation Lyriiriis tetrix. Such refinements in classifica- tion .seem, however, uncalled for. In this case the tail of the greyhen, although distinctly notched, does not depart far from the capercaillie type ; and the blackcock merely shows an ultra-specialisation in this respect, as well as in colour, in the male ; such specialisation, so far BLACKCOCK 5 as colour is concerned, being paralleled among mammals by the black- buck among antelopes and the bantin among wild oxen. The lyre-shaped tail of the cock, and the rather deep forking of this appendage in the hen are sufficient to distinguish this species ; steely blue is the colour of the plumage of the cock, although there is a white bar across the secondary wing-quills, while the under tail-coverts are wholly colourless. A vermilion band of bare skin runs above the eyes ; the beak is black ; and the legs are feathered to the bases of the toes, which, like those of the capercaillie, are clad in scales and fringed at the edges. The black mark- ings on the tail of the hen differ from those of the capercaillie in being stippled in fine lines, in- stead of forming bars ; while the back is irregu- larly barred with golden brown between large oval black blotches. The chestnut - brown crown and black stripe behind the eye distinguish the blackcock from the caper- caillie chick ; the former also having a dusky stripe, turning into chestnut-brown on the loins, and down the back. The blackcock has an extensive range in Europe and Central and northern Asia, being found so far south as the eastern Pyrenees, northern Italy, and the north of the Caucasus. The bird inhabiting the greater part of the Caucasus has, however, been described as a distinct species, as have those respectively found in southern Russia and Turkestan on the one hand, and in west Siberia on the other. Whether, however, some of them are more than local races, may be doubtful. In their distribution blackcock are therefore very similar to. capercaillie, although ranging farther south ; and the affinity between BLACKCOCK (ON RIGHT) AND GREYHEN (ON LEFT) GAME-BIRDS the two birds is further shown by the fact of their interbreeding freely. In Great Britain blackcock at the present day are widely distributed in Scotland and the north of England, and also occur locally in many parts of the south, notably Somerset and Devon, as well as in the Kew Forest. In Tudor times they occurred at Eltham, in Kent, and in VVolmer Forest. From the latter area they had, however, become e.xterminated when Gilbert White wrote his Selborne, but the\' have been reintroduced there, as well, apparently, as in the neigh- bourhood of Guildford in Surrey, whence they have spread to some of the adjacent counties. The moors of Cornwall are also .sanctuaries for the species, which like- wise lingered in Leicester- shire, and near Sandring- ham, as well as in other localities too numerous to mention. In Wales the species appears to be indi- genous only in Montgomery- shire ; but a few occur in most other counties except Anglesey. Among the isles of the north of Scotland blackcock are still numerous in Islay, although they have long since disappeared from Gigha, where they once oc- curred. The species appears to have been alwaj's un- known in Ireland, and whenever introduced there invariably dies out in a short time. Possibly the climate is too mild. Pine-woods and birch-forests are the home of the blackcock in many parts of Scotland, but in more southern districts it has perforce to dwell on the open moors, to which, as well as to stubble-fields, it al.so resorts to feed in the north. Where its home is among woods, the blackcock is indeed almost as much an arboreal bird as is the capercaillie ; and, like the latter, it is also a polygamous species, the cocks at the beginning of the breeding-season selecting particular spots for displaying themselves before their coveys of grej'hens, and likewise engaging in contests for the possession of the latter. During the time of this spel or lek the scarlet patches above the eyes of the cocks become .so swollen as to ri.sc above the crown of the head, and then FOOT OK BLACKCOCK. GROUSE 7 only assume their full splendour of tint. Both blackcocks and grey- hens, especially in Siberia, not unfrequently show a large but variable admixture of white in those parts of the plumage which are normally dark ; and this same tendency towards albinism is also dis- played by the occasional occurrence of drab-coloured greyhens. The assumption of the male plumage by barren individuals of the latter is also not uncommon in this species, as in certain other game-birds. The interbreeding of this species with the capercaillie has been already mentioned ; and, what is more remarkable, hybrids between it and the grouse are also known. Weights of between 2 lbs. 1 1 oz. and 3 lbs. are recorded for Scotch blackcock, and of 3 lbs. for greyhens. The nest is very similar to that of the capercaillie, being a slight hollow in the ground among bracken, sparsely lined with leaves. From six to ten eggs, very similar to those of the capercaillie, are usually found in a nest, but as many as sixteen are on record ; the latter number being probably the joint product of two hens. Blackcock-shooting lasts from August 20 till December 10 except in Somerset, Devon, and the New Forest, where the period is from September i till December 10. Grouse Whether or no the name grouse was originally applied (Lag-opus seotieus). ^^ ^he present species or to the blackcock, universal usage associates it with the latter, which is the grouse par excellence, and, consequently, so far as British birds are concerned, needs no prefix ; the title, red grouse, thus being superfluous. Nevertheless, the British species is not the type of the genus Lagopiis ; that position being held by the ryper or willow-grouse (Z. albus) of Scandinavia. The members of this genus differ from the capercaillie and blackcock not only by the thick feathering of the legs and toes and the presence of sixteen (in place of eighteen) feathers in the tail, which is of medium length, but likewise in the important fact that the cock pairs with a single hen instead of having a whole party of females under his protection. The grouse is one of the few birds recognised by all ornithologists as quite peculiar to the British Islands. It is, however, in reality nothing more than a local race of the continental ryper or willow- grouse, which, from the nature of the climate of its habitat, has lost the habit of turning white in winter, and has also acquired certain peculiarities in coloration and in voice. In retaining the dark summer plumage at all seasons of the year, the grouse is indeed different from all other representatives of the genus Lagopus. This alone can, how- ever, scarcely be regarded as a ground for specific distinction, any 8 GAME-BIRDS more than can the fact that the mountain-hare in Ireland presents the same peculiarity when compared with its representative in Scotland. Nevertheless, it is perhaps preferable to employ the scientific name for this bird now t^enerally in use, rather than to follow the new fashion of calling it Lagopus albus scoticus. As regards plumage, the grouse is a variable bird, and peculiar in that the buff and black plumage of the cocks is assumed by a complete moult beginning in June — after the breeding-season ; this livery being worn till September, when it is partially replaced by the winter-dress of chestnut and black. The hens also undergo a partial moult in March, which is complete by May, constituting a speci- ally protective breed- ing - plumage ; and moult again in the autumn, when they assume the winter- dress. At all times grouse may be dis- tinguished from ptar- migan by the colour of the quill-feathers, which are blackish brown. The cock exhibits three colour- GKousE. phases : firstly, a red phase without white the low grounds of Ireland, the west of Scotland, Hebrides ; secondly, a rare black phase, in which the plumage presents an intermediate character between the first and third types ; and, thirdly, a white-spotted form occurring in the high grounds of the north of Scotland. In the hen five phases occur, namely, a red, a black, a white-spotted, a buff-spotted, and a buff- barred ; the red and black phases being rare, the buff-spotted the commonest, and the buff-barred type occurring in the south of Ireland. The hen is smaller than the cock, and has the red crescent of bare skin above the eye reduced. The chick in down is yellowish buff above, with a dark reddish-brown patch on the crown, and dark stripes down the back. Unlike the capercaillie and blackcock, the grou.se is essentially a spots, found in and. the Outer PTARMIGAN 9 denizen of the open moors, seldom perching and never roosting in trees. In this respect it differs somewhat from its cousin the willow-grouse. It is distributed all over the Scottish moorlands, from the sea-coast to the mountain-peaks, while it ranges southward along the Pennine chain through the moors of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and thence westwards into Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire, and so on into Wales, as far south as Glamorganshire, although practically unknown in Anglese)'. It is thus essentially a bird of the colder districts of the country, as is further demonstrated by the fact that while it flourishes in the Hebrides and Orkneys, as well as in most islands nearer to the coast of Scotland, it utterly fails to acclimatise itself when turned out on the heaths of Surrey and other southern English counties. In Ireland, where the plumage is generally of a somewhat lighter colour, especially on the under-parts, grouse are found on all the mountain-ranges, and also on the red bogs of the central plain, and they have been found breeding in every county. The species is unknown in the Shetlands. The grouse is a rather early breeder, and eggs may be found in warm districts in April. The eggs, which are indistinguishable from those of other members of the genus, are creamy white in ground- colour, more or less profusely spotted or blotched with rich reddish brown of varying intensity and brightness. A mere hollow among the heather and grass, lined with such vegetable matter as may be most easily obtained, constitutes the nest ; and in this the hen laj's from .seven to ten, or occasionally twelve to fifteen eggs, which require twenty-four days to incubate. Only one brood is hatched in a season, and the cock assists in tending the young birds, which are kept on the wildest parts of the moors. The early morning crow of the cock grouse is a well-known sound, as is the peculiar croak of his partner. The weight of a cock grouse is generally something near a pound and a half, and that of the hen about a quarter of a pound less, but two pounds is no uncommon weight for a fine cock. Grouse-shooting commences on August 12, and concludes on December 10. _^ . Despite the fact that it resembles the willow-grouse in Ptarmigan ^ . . ^ ,. ^ , turning white in wmter, the ptarmigan, or second (Lagopus mutus). ^ .^. ^ ^ . r ^u r \ A-a British representative 01 the genus Lagopus, diners much more markedly from the former than does the grouse. Male ptarmigan in the white winter-dress may always be distinguished at a glance from willow-grouse in the same state b\' the presence of a black patch in front of each eye, which is rudimentary or wanting in lO GAME-BIRDS the female. The genus Laj:;flpus, it ma}- be mentioned in this place, has a much wider ideographical range than Tetrao, being, in fact, circumpolar ; two of its representatives, namely, the willow-grouse {L. albus) and the rock-ptarmigan ( L. rupestris^ being common to the northern parts of both hemispheres. The ptarmigan differs from the grouse not onl\' in its inferior size — measuring not more than 14^ inches in length — but by its white quill-feathers, although in immature birds the shafts of these feathers are blackish brown. Like grouse, ptarmigan varj' in the tone of their colouring, and no less than three distinct plumages are assumed during the ^T' '^B^^ "^ \'ear. In summer the cock has the upper-parts and flanks dark brown mottled and barred with gre}'ish brown ; the tail- feathers black tipped with white, and the abdomen white ; while the hen is black varie- gated with rufous buff above and rufous buff barred with black below. In autumn the upper- parts, breast, and flanks are grey mottled with black, and the undcr- parts white ; in winter the whole plumage — c.\ce[)t the tail-feathers (barring the middle pair, and a black patch in front of the eye in the cock), which are black — turns white. The chick resembles that of the grouse, but is more chestnut in tone, with the patch on the crown paler in the centre. Ptarmigan inhabit the higher zones of the Alps and Pxrcnees as well as the more northern European mountain-ranges, extending east- wards into the Urals, and probably the Altai and some of the other Central Asian chains as far as Lake Baikal. In Iceland the genus is represented by a race of the rock-ptarmigan v.hich has been named L. rupestris isinndorinii. In the British Islands the ptarmigan is re- stricted to the mountains of Scotland and some of the neighbouring islands, its reported former occurrence in Cumberland and Wales being HO WARD STUDU I'TARMIGAN : COCK IN WTNTKK, PHEASANT II apparently incorrect, while there is no record of its ever having been a native of Ireland. It likewise appears to have been always unknown in the Orkneys and Shetlands ; but it exists in Mull, Islay, and Jura, although now very scarce in the two latter, and is also found, though by no means abundantly, in Skye, Lewis, and Harris. The moist breezes from the Atlantic seem unsuitable to the ptarmigan, which is therefore unknown in several of the islands and mountains on the western side of Scotland. These birds are but seldom seen on the very summits of mountains like Ben Nevis, prefer- ring a somewhat lower elevation, not much exceeding 4000 feet. Here their haunts are the stony plateaus and rocks above the limits of trees and heather. The usual breeding-time in Scotland is May, the eggs — of which there are usually from eight to ten in a clutch — being laid in a shallow excavation in the turf lined with feathers and grass. As a rule, the eggs are somewhat paler than those of the grouse, with the markings less dense. The British Museum possesses specimens from Ross-shire, Inverness, and the Grampians. Young ptarmigan, which can run as soon as they are hatched, are adepts at concealing them- selves ; their efforts being aided by the hen, who by various antics seeks to divert attention from her brood. The food of the adult birds, like that of grouse, consists of the leaves and young shoots of various shrubs, supplemented in autumn by berries. As a rule, ptarmigan collect into packs of considerable size at the commencement of winter, but in untoward seasons this packing may commence in August. So close do ptarmigan lie, that the peculiar croaking cry may often be the only clue to indicate that the tourist may be in their midst. The season for shooting ptarmigan is the same as that for grouse. p. Although undoubtedly an alien whose original home .p, . appears to have been Asia Minor and the neighbour- eolehieus) hood of the Caspian, the pheasant, by reason of its long sojourn (dating, it would seem, from at least the eleventh century) in our islands may now claim to be regarded as a naturalised British subject. Nevertheless, a very brief reference will suffice for the species, especially as it is a bird with which every one is familiar ; and it would obviously be of no real interest to refer to the extent of its range in the British Islands. Before proceeding to such brief notice of the species as seems sufficient for the purpose of the present volume, it should be mentioned that the pheasant brings us to the second family group of the game-birds, namely, the Phasianidai, of which it is the type. From the grouse family, or Tetraonida;, the 12 GAME-BIRDS Phasianidiii, which include the partridges and quails, are distinguished by the absence of feathering on the legs and feet, and of horny comb- like appendages on the latter, as well as by the frequent presence of one or two spurs on the former. In the typical pheasants, which form an exclusively Old World group, unknown in Africa, the tail considerably ex'ceeds the length of the wing, and the plumage of the cock is remark- able for its brilliancy. In the original pheasant intro- duced into Britain the neck was uniformly dark, but the breed has now been crossed with the ring-necked Chinese pheasant and also with the Japanese species. Indeed, the so-called old English pheasant, the true Phasianus co/chicics, is al most, if not quite, extinct in Great Britain, having been swamped by crossing with the ring- necked and Japanese species {P. torquatus and P. versi- color), introduced about the middle of the eighteenth century ; the result of this crossing having been to pro- duce finer birds than are to be met with among any of the original species. Birds more or less inclining to one or the other of the parent t\'pes are still to be met with in English coverts, and may be distinguished as follows : — P. colchicus type — in which there is no white ring round the neck and tiie long feathers arising from the lower part of the back — gener- ally described by sportsmen as rump-feathers — are glossed with purple- lake or oily green, according to the direction of the light in which they are viewed, while the chest and flanks are fiery orange ; the tail-feathers being marked with narrow black bars set wide apart : second 1>', the P. versicolor t}-pe, in which the white ring is absent, while the rump- feathers are a bluish slate-colour ; the interscapulars are dark green shot with purple, and ornamented with crescentic lines of buff and the I'llKAS.XNT. PARTRIDGE 13 under-parts uniformly dark green : thirdly, the P. torquatus type, with a white ring round the neck, the rump-feathers slate-colour, with a rust- coloured patch on each side, the interscapulars and flanks orange-buff colour, and the bars on the tail broad. Hens of the P. colchicus and P. torquatus types closely resemble one another, the interscapulars having a chestnut ground with black middles and violet and purple tips ; but in the hens of the P. vetsicolor type the feathers of the interscapulars have black middles and green tips. Young birds in first plumage resemble the hens. In the chick the crown of the head is traversed by a brownish-chestnut stripe, bordered on each side by a narrower line, which extends from above the eye to the nape. The middle stripe is continued down the neck and back, where it widens out, and is accompanied by another dark line on each side. The under-parts are pale buff. That the British pheasant has been profoundly modified by its semi-domesticated mode of life in the greater part of the kingdom is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that it is polygamous, whereas in all wild members of the group the cock pairs with a single hen. In this respect the British pheasant has undergone a development analogous to that which has occurred in the case of the domesticated duck. As regards food, pheasants are practically omnivorous, devouring almost anything from grain to wire-worms, of which latter they consume large quantities. They dwell and breed in thick covert, roosting in the boughs of trees ; the cocks, when retiring to rest, and again at dawn, uttering the well-known crow which too often betrays the whereabouts of these birds to the poacher. The nest, which is formed mainly of leaves, is placed on the ground ; and the eggs are usually olive-brown in colour, although they may vary from dark cream-colour through brown to greenish white or greenish blue. Although in this country the hen pheasant is a bad mother, she is always careful to cover up her eggs when leaving the nest. Incubation lasts about tw^enty-four days, and two or three hens may lay in the same nest. The average weight of cocks has been estimated at from 3 to 3^ lbs., and that of hens at 2^ lbs., but very much greater weights may be obtained by special feeding. Pheasant-shooting lasts from October i to February i ; and " bouquet " is the correct term to apply to a party of these bird.s. Partridffe ^^ ^^^ pheasant is essentially a bird of the thick (Perdix einerea). covert, and the cock has consequently been enabled to flaunt a gorgeous livery for the delectation of his partner without fear that its brilliance should betray him when at rest. 14 GAME-BIRDS so the partridge is as essentially a denizen of the fallow field or the open sandy heath, and such special ornamentation and decoration as the male has developed arc therefore of a subdued and chastened type, not in the least likely to attract the attention of enemies when the bird is squatting or running. In most or all works on British birds this species is designated the common partridge, but such a prefix, as in many analogous instances, is to a great extent superfluous and unnecessary, as the name partridge properly belongs solely to the bird under consideration. By the great Swedish naturalist Linn.tus the partridge was named Tetrao perdix\ but it was subsequently found inadvisable to use the name Tett-ao in such a wide sense, and the par- tridge was accordingly made the type of a genus by itself, with the title Perdix cincj-ea, the Lin- nctan name thus being raised to a higher grade. I-'or generations this usage was followed, but of late years it has been attempted to rule that what was once the species - name must al- ways remain the species- name, and the partridge has consequently been re-christened Perdix perdix, with the still more pedantic title oi Perdix perdix perdix for the typical Scandinavian birtl. Nowadays, of course, no one would think of using a species-name otherwise than in its original sense, but as our predecessors thought themselves justified in departing from this practice in certain cases, it is difficult to see how we are justified in saying they were acting ultra vires. Be this as it may, the readers to whom the present book will appeal will, we venture to think, for the most part i)refer the con- servative practice of calling the partridge Perdix cinerea rather than by the designation referred to above. A similar practice will be adopted in the case of all other British birds in which the Linniuan species-name has been elevated to generic rank. The partridge, then, is the type of a genus which differs from the pheasants, among other features, by the relative shortness of the tail, HOUNTCD IN THC ROWLAND I'AKTKIDGK. PARTRIDGE 15 the absence of spurs on the legs of the cocks, and the slight (if any) difference between the plumage of the two sexes. Several species of partridges are now recognised b)^ ornithologists, the range of the genus Perdix embracing Europe and a large part of Central and northern Asia. Usually there are eighteen tail-feathers, but in the Himalayan and Tibetan P. IiodgsonicB there are only sixteen. The partridge itself ranges over the greater part of Europe, and a considerable area in western and Central Asia, extending to the Altai, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, and northern Persia. Several local races of the partridge, such as the Scandinavian, Russian, and Caucasian, have been named ; and by some writers the Spanish partridge, the partridge of eastern Europe and southern Siberia, and the migratory Alpine partridge of western Europe, are regarded as distinct species. The four Asiatic partridges are very distinct. In the British Islands the partridge is practically universally distributed, although it does not appear to range naturally to the northward of the Inner Hebrides. It has, however, been introduced into the Orkneys and some of the islands nearer the Scottish coast. Although not abundant, it breeds in every Irish county. The cocks are distinguished by the fact that the lesser and median wing-coverts and scapulars have buff-coloured shaft-stripes, and their inner webs blotched with chestnut. In the hens these feathers are black with buff cross-bars, while the shafts are as in the cocks. Immature birds resemble the adults, but have the first primary quill pointed instead of rounded at the tip, while the scaling of the legs is yellowish horn-colour. The characteristic " horseshoe-mark " on the breast is well developed in the cocks and immature hens. Young birds, till after the first moult, resemble hens. The downy chick is greyish buff tinged with chestnut-colour : the crown of the head being dark chestnut, the sides of the face yellowish marked by a long, more or less imperfect, loop of black with the ends turned forwards, the back of the neck showing a dark stripe dividing to run along the back on each side of the middle line, and below this on each side a similar dark line enclosing a narrow buff-coloured stripe. From the ordinary type a transition exists towards a rufous or chestnut phase of the partridge, which is by no means uncommon, and when fully developed has the head a dull red, and most of the rest of the plumage dark chestnut. This chestnut phase has been regarded as a distinct species, under the name of mountain-partridge {P. iiw)itana), but it is certain that it is not even a race. A specimen was seen in Norfolk in 1907. Albino and cream-coloured specimens occur from time to time. The partridge is strictly monogamous, pairing in February, but i6 GAME-BIRDS seldom layinij till well on in April or ]\Iay, when the hen deposits usually from ten to fifteen, or even more, eggs, which require three weeks to hatch. In form the eggs vary from oval to pear -shaped, and in colour usually from olive-brown to brownish cream, although white and pale bluish green examples are far from uncommon ; in length they arc an inch and a half or rather less. As soon as the young are hatched the cock joins the party, which thenceforth forms a "covey," until broken up by the gunner or until its members disperse in pairs the following spring. The reluctance with which partridges take to wing, their heavy whirring flight, their speed in running, and their characteristic call are too well known to need further mention ; and it will suffice to refer to their partiality for fields of turnips and clover as places of concealment during the daytime, and for stubbles in autumn as feeding-resorts. When sleeping in the open, the members of a covey are believed to squat down in a circle with their heads directed outwards. From 15 to 16^ oz. is an ordinary weight for a partridge, although birds weighing as much as 17^ oz. are not very uncommon. In England and Scotland partridge-shooting lasts from September i till February i, and in Ireland from September 20 till January I O. In the old days, when grass was mown with the sc)'thc, it was no uncommon event for brooding partridges to be decapitated by the mowers. As the following incident, which occurred on July 19, 1905, shows, hen partridges sometimes sit so close as not to be flushed by the approach of a noisy mowing machine. On the date in question a farmer at Richmond, Yorkshire, was cutting grass with a mowing machine, when the knife took an egg from a partridge's nest on which the bird at the time was sitting. The farmer picked up the c^g, which was not broken, and went to put it back in the nest, when the bird flew off. On examining the nest, it was found that none of the eggs was injured. Like the pheasant, the red-legged partridge can only claim a iDlace among British birds as a PartridErG ^ i o naturalised alien ; its claim, moreover, is much ( Caccauis ruia) weaker than that of the larger bird, since its main introduction is much later, dating apparently from 1770, when a number of young ones were turned down in Suffolk by the then Marquis of Hertford and Lord Rendlesham. Some of these are stated to have been introduced into Windsor Park in the time of King Charles the Second, but their descendants appear to have died out. RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE 17 Strictly speaking, of course, neither the pheasant nor the present species has the sh'ghtest right to be included in the British fauna, but as it is customary to regard them as members of the same, it is not desirable that they should be omitted from this volume. The red-legged partridge is a member of a genus typified by the rock-partridge {C. saxatilis) of the Alps and other mountains of the south of Europe, but better known, perhaps, by the chukor {C. c/ntkar) so familiar to sportsmen inthe Himalaya. The range of the genus in- cludes a considerable propor- tion of central and southern Europe, western and the warmer parts of Central Asia, and north Africa. From the true partridges these birds differ by their peculiar type of plumage, showing a conspicuous gorget and barred flanks, the presence of only fourteen tail-feathers, and the arming of the legs with spurs or tubercles. The hens are distinguish- able externally from the cocks only by their slightly smaller size, duller colouring, and the absence of spur- like knobs on the legs ; but young birds in first plumage differ conspicuously from the adults, and resemble partridges of the same age especially on the wings and scapulars, being brown-spotted and streaked with buff and black, and with white shafts to the wing- coverts. Young red-legs may, however, be distinguished from young partridges by the broad stripe of huffish white above the eye. The barred flight-quills are retained till after the assumption of the adult dress, which frequently leads to the supposition that the birds so marked are hybrids between the red-legged and common partridges. The chick is buff, with the crown of the head liver-coloured, a pale buff stripe above the eye, and a brownish-chestnut stripe down the back. To record the range of this bird ' in the country of which it has become a colonist will be unnecessary ; and it will suffice to mention c KEU-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. IS GAr^IE-BIRDS that it is most abundant in East Anglia, Kent, and Sussex, and that it has not thriven when introduced into Scotland or Ireland. In habits the red-legged partridges differ markedly from Perdix\ the cocks showing a great propensity to take up a position on some elevated object, such as a rock or a fence, and there to utter the characteristic cry of " chukor." They are also more fond of covert, and prone to run rather than take wing when disturbed. Although the birds do not pair till the end of March or April, the nesting-season is rather earlier than in the case of the partridge. The badly-made nest is placed among herbage of some sort, cither in a dry ditch or among growing crops ; and the eggs, which take three days longer to incubate than those of the partridge, vary from a dozen to a dozen and a half in number. In ground-colour they are brownish yellow, with spots and blotches of purplish, reddish, or yellowish brown. As being stronger on the wing than the partridge, the present species is a less satisfactory bird to the sportsman. Pale-coloured or white examples are by no means uncommon ; and a bird of the latter type was presented in 1905 to the British Museum by Lord Rendlesham, on whose estate in Suffolk it was shot in company with a similar specimen, both being members of the same covey. The spread of the red-legged partridge in the east and south-east of England has been to a consider- (Coturnix , , ..,.,, , , able extent comcident with the almost complete communis). ,. . , ., . , t^ • • , t 1 1 disappearance of the quail from the British Islands, where, especially in Ireland, it was formerly a common summer-visitor ; while in mild seasons a certain number of individuals spent the winter with us, if indeed they were not permanent residents. This disappear- ance of the quail as a common British species is generally attributed to the wholesale netting of these birds on the spring-migration in the Mediterranean countries for the supply of the markets of Paris, Rome, London, and other large cities. The vast extent to which this netting is carried on may be inferred from the fact that a single vessel has brought no less than 40,000 quails to Marseilles on one trip. In Ireland the quail was most numerous previous to the year 1845, about which date it was not uncommon to find several of its nests in a single field. After 1880 the species was practically unknown in the country for some years, but in the earlier 'nineties it reappeared to a certain extent, after which it again waned. In 1904 and 1905 its characteristic call-note was once more heard in localities where the bird had not been recorded for years. The quail formerly ranged all over OUAIL 19 England, Wales, and Scotland, extending as far north as the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetland, and even at the present day it is recorded now and again from nmany parts of the country, especially in the south. In warmer countries the spring migration commences in March and April, but the birds do not reach Great Britain till May, returning south in September and October. For the range of the quail the reader must refer to other works, but it may be mentioned that at certain seasons these birds are to be met with in incredible numbers in India and Egypt, where they afford excellent sport. QUAIL. By Linnaeus the quail was named Tetrao coturnix, and by those who see no absurdity in tautology it is accordingly now termed Coturnix coturnix, rather than Coturnix coiiummis. It is the typical representative of a genus ranging over the warmer parts of the whole of the eastern hemisphere and including half-a-dozen species, all of which are of small size. The tail, which contains either ten or twelve feathers, is so short as to be concealed by the tail-coverts, the legs are without spurs, and the two sexes differ somewhat in plumage. The South African quail ((T. africaims) is so closely allied to the typical species that it may almost be regarded as a non-migratory local race of the same. In general colouring and appearance a quail is very like a partridge, from which of course it differs by its greatly inferior size, as it does not exceed 7 inches in length. Adult cocks may be recognised by 20 GAME-BIRDS the presence of a pair of semicircular dark brown bands extending from the ear-coverts downwards to meet in the middle line of the throat where they form a black patch at their junction ; these bands not being acquired, however, till the second year. Hens are superior in size to cocks, and lack the aforesaid throat-bands ; and birds of the year agree in colouring with hens : chicks are of the usual buff, with a tinge of chestnut on head and back, and a narrow dark stripe down the middle of the two latter. Quail are skulking birds, associating in parties known as " bevies," and much addicted to the covert afforded by standing crops or stubbles of grain, such as wheat, millet, and maize ; but they may also be found on the bare ground, where their colouring renders them incon- spicuous ; when they rise they fly with a low rapid flight. The note is described as diick-a-lick. Some difference of opinion prevails as to whether the quail is pol}'gamous or monogamous ; but in many instances, at any rate, the cocks have but one hen each, and it is probably only when females are specially numerous that a departure from this practice is made. The cocks fight to a great extent among themselves. Both grain and insects form the food of the species. The quail is a late breeder ; the eggs, of which there are usually from eight to a dozen, although occasionally as many as a score, not being laid as a rule before Ma\-, in a nest which is a mere hollow among the grass or young crops with a few leaves and stalks scattered above its floor. The eggs are of various shades of creamy white, yellowish buff, or buff and greenish yellow, marked with specks and spots or blotches of variable size of deep olive -brown, and reddish and blackish brown. The British Museum posses.ses clutches from Sheffield and the Cambridgeshire fens. Incubation lasts three weeks, and there is usually one brood in the season. In Ireland quail-shooting lasts from September 20 till January 10, elsewhere from August i till March i. A belief prevails in Greece that every bevy of quail is headed by a corncrake ; whether or no there is any truth in this, it is certain that the two species generally arrive on their breeding-grounds about the same time, and likewise depart more or less nearly together. In 1898 a Virginian quail {Orfj'x, or Colinus, virgiuiayitis) was shot at Bala, North Wales, while others were reported from the neighbour- hood. Whence they came is a mystery. PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE 21 Pallas's Sand- Grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus). The long- tailed and short -legged birds, with a speckled plumage of fawn and black, commonly known as sand-grouse form a small group in regard to the affinities of which some difference of opinion has obtained among ornithologists. From the close correspondence of their bones and muscles to those of the pigeons, they have been regarded as members of the same group as the latter. They differ, however, from pigeons, and thereby resemble the game- birds and pIo\-ers, in that their young are downy and active when first MOUNTED IN THE ROW WARD STUDIOS pallas's sand-grouse. hatched, and they agree with the latter in the great length of the blind appendages of the intestine. Then, again, in their flight and mode of drinking sand-grouse are unlike pigeons, from which they differ in that their eggs are coloured and three in number, as in many of the plover group. On the other hand, these birds resemble certain pigeons in having the oil-gland without a tuft. Taking all these circumstances, it is perhaps advisable to follow the usual fashion of regarding the Pteroclidae, as the sand-grouse are technicallycalled, as the representatives of a group of equal rank with the Gallins, or game-birds. For this group the name Pterocletes should be adopted, unless we follow the modern fashion of rendering the titles of all such groups unnecessarily 22 SAND-GROUSE cumbersome by adding to them the termination " formes," tlius making in this case Pterocliformes. In addition to the features already mentioned, it will suffice to observe that sand-grouse have the hind-toe rudimentary or absent, and short feathered legs, with the toes either feathered or bare. Sand- grotise, as is at once evident from the tone of their plumage, are desert birds, whose distributional area extends over the eastern hemisphere as far east as India and China, ranging as far north as Mongolia. Three generic types arc known, each with a small number of species, but Pallas's sand -grouse, which, with other representatives of the same genus, differs from all the rest in the complete absence of the hind- toe, is the only one which visits Europe, such visits taking place at irregular intervals. The present species, as already mentioned, is specially distinguished by the form of the feet, which have only three toes, united by webs extending as far as the base of the last joint. The cock has the upper- parts brownish yellow barred with black, a white bar of black-tipped feathers across the fore part of the breast, and a dark chocolate band across the abdomen. The greater wing-coverts are chestnut-red, and the two middle tail-feathers produced into long points. In the hen the throat is marked by a narrow black ring, the neck and upper- parts are spotted instead of banded, the chocolate band across the abdomen is wanting, and the tail is shorter. The young in first plumage resemble the hen. In all sand -grouse the down differs structurally from that of other birds, and gives to the chicks a characteristic appearance. While the ground-colour is pale buff, the markings take the form of patches of dark brown and black arranged in irregular wavy lines. The true home of Pallas's sand-grouse is the Kirghiz steppes and the desert tracts of other parts of Central Asia, inclusive of Mongolia and northern China. From these regions flights of sand-grouse make their way from time to time to western Europe. The two great immigrations in modern times were those of 1863 and 1888, which extended to Ireland, where a single pair was also killed in 1876. Some of these birds bred in England, but such as were not shot, or did not perish from other causes, seem to have eventuallj' made their way back to Central Asia. To describe the habits of a species which is only an occasional visitor to Britain is unnecessary ; and it will suffice to mention that the eggs are pale stone-colour, evenl\- speckled and blotched with yellowish brown. WOOD-PIGEON 23 The wood-pigeon, which is one of those birds as to whose titles, both popular and scientific, all are agreed, is our first representative of the group Columbae (or Columbiformes, as some would call them), nearly all the members of which may be included in the family Columbidse. As some of the features whereby pigeons differ from sand-grouse have been already mentioned, it will Wood-Pig-eon op Ring-Dove (Columba palumbus). MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS \VOOD-PIGKO\. be unnecessary to do more than refer to a few characters whereby the former may be distinguished from the game-birds. An obvious feature is that all four toes are situated in the same horizontal plane, while not less conspicuous is the soft character of the base of the beak, in which the apertures of the nostrils are open and protected by a flap of skin. In the dried skull the nostrils form long slits in place of regular ovals. Then, again, in such pigeons as possess that appendage, the oil-gland is naked instead of tufted ; while if we dissect one of these birds, we shall find the pair of blind appendages near the lower end of the intestine forming merely a pair of small bud-like projections 24 PIGEONS instead of being of considerable length. Very important differences from the game-birds are found in the helpless and naked condition of the new-born young, in the mode in which the parents feed the latter by regurgitation from their own crops, and the manner in which the adults drink. Finally, in place of the numerous and coloured eggs of the game-birds, pigeons lay onl}- a single pair of glistening white eggs of a perfectly elliptical shape on a rudely made platform of sticks. According to modern views, pigeons are nearly related to the plover group, from which, however, they differ markedly as regards their eggs. Pigeons, as a group, have a world-wide distribution ; this being shared by the typical genus Cobimba, to which belong three out of the four indigenous British representatives. In the case of such a small number of species, it would be superfluous to discuss the distinctive characteristics of the type genus. In addition to being apparently the largest British representa- tive of the group, the wood-pigeon, which measures 17 inches in length, is specially characterised by the white patch on each side of the neck, and the white outermost greater coverts of the secondary quills, which form a large patch on the extended wing. The hen is smaller and duller-coloured than her mate. Young birds arc duller- coloured than the adult, lacking both the metallic glow on the feathers and the white neck-patch. The scanty hair-like down of the nestling is yellow. The wood-pigeon inhabits the greater i)art of Europe, its breed- ing-range reaching to between latitude 65 and 66 , and eastwards into north-eastern Persia, beyond which it is replaced by a closely allied species {C. lasiotis), in which the patches on the neck are tawny or dark cream-coloured. In Great Britain the wood-pigeon is distributed generally throughout England and Wales, and for some years has been gradually i:)ushing northwards in Scotland into districts where it was previously unknown, this being probably due to the increase of forests, and the consequent sup[)ly of suitable shelter and food. It is now found in Argyllshire, and has reached several of the isles, such as Eigg, Mull, Islay, and Jura. In Ireland it is reported to be numerous and spreading, being now found in almost all districts save the most barren. Large flocks visit Ireland during the winter, and numbers of these birds also arrive from the north to pass that season in England. The enormous increase in the numbers of the species, especially in Scotland, is very remarkable, and likewise a serious matter for agriculturists, since these birds feed entirely on STOCK-DOVE 25 vegetable matter, and inflict very extensive damage on crops of almost every description. The habits of the wood-pigeon, as well as its soft " cooing," are so familiar to all who live in the country (to say nothing of Londoners, who may watch these birds in the public parks and gardens, where they become extraordinarily tame and confiding), that a very short notice will suffice. Although associating in winter in large flocks, when they are excessively wary and difficult to approach, these birds pair off in the breeding-season, when they keep entirely to themselves. The nesting-site may vary from the first fork in the trunk of some lofty beech, to a low hedge, or even a furze-bush ; and the first pair of eggs is laid in June, to be followed later in the season by at least another clutch. The cock-bird takes his share at incubation — mainly in the daytime — which lasts from sixteen to eighteen days. So loosely is the nest constructed that, when placed in a bush, the glistening white eggs may be seen from below. Wood-pigeons feed as a rule upon vegetable substances, inclusive, at the proper seasons, of grain and turnip-tops, with which latter their crops may at times be found absolutely crammed. From the crop of one of these birds no less than one thousand grains of corn have been taken, from a second eight hundred grains of barley, and from a third one hundred and fifty beans and peas. Much more rarely wood-pigeons have been known to feed on snails, a specimen having been killed in winter in 1905 with its crop full of land-snails, while many years previously one was found with thirteen shells of the same kind of snail, and a third was shot in Kildare which had swallowed nearly forty marsh amber-snails. A white wood-pigeon from Scotland was presented to the British Museum in 1906. Stoek-Dove ^^^ second British representative of the group is (Columba csnas). ^^^^ stock-dove, which forms the type of the genus Columba. It has very much the same geographical distribution as the wood-pigeon, although its northward breeding-range is somewhat less, extending in Scandinavia and Russia only to about latitude 60^ or 61 . On the other hand, its easterly range is con- siderably more extensive, reaching as far as Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Lob Nor in Central Asia. In England it is found in most places, and, like the wood-pigeon, has for some years past been steadily ex- tending its range in Scotland, although it does not apparently reach Argyllshire or the isles. In Ireland it seems to be a recent introduc- tion, the first record of its occurrence there being apparently in 1875, 26 PIGEONS when a pair were taken in County Down. At the present day it is stated to be resident and increasing in parts of Leinster and Ulster. Although in the absence of a white patch on each side of the neck the stock-dove presents some resemblance to the wood-pigeon in the first plumage, it may be readily distinguished by its inferior size (length 13.^ inches), the presence of two black patches, in place of white bars, on the wings, and the pearly grey of the under wing-coverts. The young in first plumage lack the black patches on the wings, or have them only partly developed. The adult weighs from 12^ to 14^ oz., against from about 16 to 24 oz. in the wood- pigeon. Accounts differ some- what with regard to the habits of the stock-dove, one writer ^ stating that it is much less gregarious than the wood - pigeon, being seldom found in flocks and more often met with singly, whereas a second - observes that it is at all seasons a .sociable bird, and in autumn collects in large flocks. The note is described as that of the The resorts NO WARD 8TU0I05 STOCK-DOVK. harsher than wood-pigeon. and nesting-places of the stock-dove vary considerably. At Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight, as well as at Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, and also in Dorsetshire, it builds on cliffs (wooded at Ventnor), and hence has been mistaken for the blue-rock. In other districts large trees, such as pollards or old ivy-clad elms, form its favourite resorts, while in the open districts of Suffolk and Norfolk deserted rabbit-burrows are chosen for the nursery. Other nesting-sites are dense furze-bushes, while rarely the deserted nest of a magpie or other large bird serves as a home for the ' Sh.-irpe, Handbook of British Birds, vol. iv. p. 246. ^ C. Dixon, Game-birds of British Isles, p. 7. BLUE-ROCK . 27 eggs and young. The food of this species is much the same as that of the wood-pigeon ; beech-mast, acorns, and blackberries being, in their respective seasons, favourite staples. The eggs of the stock-dove are somewhat smaller than those of the wood-pigeon (from 1.4 to 1.5 inches long, against 1.55 to 1.7 in the latter), and are frequently tinged faintly with cream-colour. Blue-Rock op Although generally designated in ornithological Roek-Dove works as the rock-dove, this bird is better known (Columba livia) ^n^o^g sportsmen as the blue-rock, and accordingly is so called in this work. From the stock-dove it may be distinguished at a glance by the presence of two conspicuous black bars across the wings, and also by a white patch near the base of the tail and the white under wing-coverts. The hen is smaller and duller in colour than the cock ; and the young in first plumage resemble the female parent, although lacking the bright metallic tints of the latter. In length the cock measures 13, and the hen 12^ inches. The geographical range of the blue-rock is extensive, embracing Europe and the countries bordering the ^Mediterranean on the south and east, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, north-western India, and perhaps some parts of Central Asia. Over a large portion of the latter area it is, however, replaced (although sometimes accompanied by) the nearly allied C. rupestris, which is the species commonly met with on the rocky cliffs near many of the villages between Kashmir and Leh, where it occurs in immense flocks, and affords excellent sport to the traveller, and likewise a welcome addition to his larder. It differs from the European blue-rock by the presence of a broad white band across the middle of the tail, as well as by its slightly paler colouring. A third species, or race (C mtervicdia), which lacks the white patch at the base of the tail distinctive of the European blue-rock, inhabits south Persia, India, and Ceylon, whence it extends eastwards to China and Japan. In north-western India many blue-rocks are intermediate between the true C. livia and C. intermedia. In Europe the blue-rock extends as far north as the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroes, and is also found locally in Scandinavia, breed- ing in all these resorts. While uncommon in the south-east and south of England, as well as in Devon and Cornwall, the blue-rock is more abundant in other parts of the west of England and in Wales, while it also breeds on the cliffs of Flamborough Head and Northumberland. In Scotland it is widely distributed, although apparently more common on the islands of Argyllshire than in the caves of the mainland ; in 28 PIGEONS some of the Scottish islands it occurs indeed in vast numbers. In Ireland it is resident in the cliffs on most of the rocky parts of the coast. The blue-rock, as its name implies, is essentially a resident on bold rocky cliffs, in the crannies and clefts of which it constructs its simple nest. Both high and low cliffs form indeed the home of this dove, but however lofty the rocks to which it resorts, the lower portions are generally chosen as nesting-sites, provided they afford sufficiently secret hiding-places. The birds nest and breed well within such caves or clefts ; but while the nest may sometimes be found within a foot or so from the entrance to the cleft or cranny, it is more often so deep down as to be more or less completely inaccess- ible. In the north of Scotland the blue-rock is stated to breed during eight months in the year, nesting commencing as early as March. If the site be suitable and ac- commodation abundant, the colonies are often of great size. In addition to the ordinary food of pigeons, this species is said to devour large quan- tities of snails. The soft cooing note may be heard from early spring till autumn. The white glossy eggs measure from 1.35 to 1.5 inches in length. The blue-rock is a bird of special interest, as being the ancestral stock from which are descended all the European breeds of domesti- cated pigeons; the Oriental breeds of the latter being similarly derived from the Indian blue-rock. Among the breeds most nearly allied to the ancestral stock is the homing, or so-called carrier, pigeon, whose marvellous power of finding its way back to the spot from which it has been carried is one of the most wonderful phenomena connected with the animal kingdom. Sight certainly cannot be the means by which this bird finds the homeward track ; and although it has been suggested that the sense of smell forms the guide, there are many ^LANO WARD STUDIOS K(x:K-novF;. TURTLE-DOVE 29 objections to this theory. It has been pointed out, for example, that young pigeons are frequently unable to discover the whereabouts of their own dovecot, despite the overpowering odour issuing therefrom. A more probable suggestion is that these birds are endowed with some sense of orientating their position quite unknown to ourselves. T irtlp Dovp ^^^ fourth and last representative of the pigeons (Tuptur communis), indigenous to the British Isles is the turtle-dove, the emblem of peace and affection ; a species styled in many modern ornithological works Turtur turtiir. The members of the comparatively large genus Turtur are distinguished from the typical pigeons by their smaller size, slender and graceful shape, the prevailing brown or " dove-coloured " tone of their plumage, which shows no iridescent metallic reflections, and the presence of a patch of dark feathers on the sides of the neck, or a more or less distinct black collar round the neck. In the British Museum Hand-List of Birds the genus is restricted to half-a-dozen representatives, but it is here used in a wider sense, comprising some thirty species, ranging over Europe and Asia. The true doves, as the members of this group may be collectively termed, have the same type of flight as pigeons, but are less gregarious, and feed on the ground, almost exclusively on grain and other seeds, while they generally resort to open, cultivated country. The nest, which is placed in a low tree or bush, consists of a thin platform of twigs and grass so loosely constructed as to permit the eggs to be seen from below. The turtle-dove, which is the type of the whole group, has the general tone of the plumage of the upper-parts fawn-brown with a purplish tinge, and a patch of white-tipped black feathers (representing the collar of certain other species) on each side of the neck ; other distinctive features being the rufous-coloured wing-coverts with black middles, and the white tips to the tail-feathers. The plumage of the male is somewhat brighter than that of his partner, but otherwise the two are similarly coloured. In the first plumage of the young the black neck-patches are absent ; and the black middles to the wing- coverts (which are tipped with white) are likewise wanting. The legs, moreover, are brown instead of red. Eleven inches is the total length. The turtle-dove is one of the host of birds which resort to the British Islands for breeding-purposes, arriving there in May, or some- times the end of April, and departing south in search of warmer climes in September. The south-eastern and midland districts appear to form its chief resorts in this country, as it is much less common in the RAIL TRIBE extreme south-west and comparatively rare in Wales, while it visits Ireland only in very limited numbers, occurring chiefly in May and June, but also to a less extent in Sei)tcmbcr, the district from Wexford to Kerry being the most noted for this bird. North of the H umber it also becomes rare, and to Scotland it is only a straggler, although specimens have been taken in the Hebrides and Orkneys. Beyond the British Islands the species ranges over a large part of Europe, and extends eastwards at least as far as Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and eastern Turkestan ; while its southern winter -range in- cludes Africa as far south as central Abyssinia. The habits of the turtle- dove conform generally to those mentioned above as character- istic of the group to which it belongs ; but this species appears to prefer less open country than that which some of its Asiatic relatives frequent, as it is gener- ally found in coverts and plan- tations, where it takes great pains to find a secure spot for its nest. The fact that a single speci- men was once taken in York- shire affords no valid claim to the inclusion of the rufous turtle- dove {Turtur orientalis) in the British list. Neither can the passenger-pigeon of America {Edopistes iiiigratorius) be thus honoured, despite the fact that at least five individuals have been taken on our shores, although it is doubtful if any one of them arrived there by its own unaided efforts. THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS TUKTLE-DOVE. Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus). With the shy, skulking, and seldom -seen water- rail, we come to the first and typical representative of the fourth " order," or suborder, of British birds, which is therefore popularly known as the rails, and scientifically as the F"ulicariai (from the technical name of the coot), or, sometimes, as the Ralliformes. It should be mentioned, however, that the rails are sometimes grouped with the herons and bustards, under the name of WATER-RAIL 31 Grails. To give in a popular manner the distinctive characteristics of the rails is a very difficult matter, as these are largely based on features not displayed externally. It must accordingly suffice to state that these are mostly of slim build and skulking habits, with sober-coloured plumage, regularly oval nostrils, a tufted oil-gland, after-shafts to the feathers, and active, down-clad young, able to run or swim as soon as hatched. The eggs are numerous, and generally marked with a superficial and a deep layer of spots, although they may be uniformly MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS WATEK-KAIL. white. As these characteristics do not suffice to distinguish the rails from the game-birds, it is necessary to mention that in the former group there is only a single notch on each side of the breast-bone, in place of the two similarly placed notches found in the latter. It may be added that in the present group the feet are four-toed, with the hind-toe raised slightly above the level of the others ; and the beak is generally short, although longer in the water-rail. The length of the beak is indeed the most distinctive feature of the water, or typical, rails, which form a large and almost cosmopolitan genus, and quite sufficient to distinguish them from all other members of the group. As regards the water-rail itself, this species ranges over a large 32 RAIL TRIBE part of Europe, and western and Central Asia, migratini^ to a certain extent in winter to north Africa and north-western India ; but a larije percentage winter in the summer-haunts, even as far north as the Shetlands, although this is rare. In Norway the species is permanently resident as far north as Bergen, as it also is in Iceland. Where conditions are favourable to its existence, the water-rail breeds throughout Great Britain, and the same may be said with regard to Ireland. In eastern Siberia, China, and Japan its place is taken b}' the Indian water-rail, which winters in India and Burma, and is readily distinguished by the presence of a broad brown stripe through each e}-e. The most distinctive feature of the water -rail, which measures 11^ inches in length, is the long red beak. As regards general colour, the upper-parts are olive-brown streaked with black ; the sides of the head, neck, and breast dark lead or bluish grey ; the flanks black barred with white ; and the abdomen pale buff. Although inferior in size, measuring 9^ inches, the hen is similar in plumage to her partner. In winter the wing-coverts show irregular white bars, while the under-parts have the feathers edged with brown. Young birds resemble adults in winter-dress, but have the throat and breast dirty white tinged with brown and narrow white bars on the wing-coverts. The chick is uniformly black. So shy and skulking is the water-rail that its presence in localities where it is fairly common is often unsuspected. The best chance of seeing the bird is by walking along the bank of a stream of which the opposite side is clothed with bushes, when careful watching will often be rewarded by a glimpse of a small brown object, which may easily be mistaken for a water-rat, running swiftly between the stems. Near Barnstable a pair regularly haunted a reedy ditch close to a railwaj", and might be seen in the evening crossing the track immediately after a train, or feeding among the reeds on the borders of the ditch, when they could be distinctly observed probing their long beaks deep into the mud in search of food. As a rule, water-rails are perhaps best seen when the herbage is low, and they arc driven by frost to the neighbourhood of running water. In addition to the covert on river banks, these birds resort to the grass and reeds on the margins of pools, lakes, and marshes, where they search for food, which comprises small insects, water-shrimps, water-snails, and worms, as well as a certain quantity of vegetable substances. During the breeding-season rails utter a kind of croaking cry, known in the Norfolk Broads, where these birds are very common, as " sharming." Like all the tribe, rails are extremely difficult to flush, as they trust to their protective CORN-CRAKE 33 colouring and their skulking habits, rather than to their wings, for safety. What proportion of British rails leave the country in winter does not seem to be ascertained. The nest is often built on a bunch of rushes, and raised to some height above the surface of the ground by layers of reeds and sedge, surmounted by a cup of broken fragments of dry rushes. The eggs, which are laid in April or May, and are usually from five to seven, but occasionally reach as many as nine or eleven in number, are generally oval in shape, and vary considerably in their degree of glossiness. The colour is delicate pinkish cream, spotted with reddish brown and pale purple, these markings being thickly crowded at the large end, but elsewhere sparse. A second clutch appears to be often laid in summer. ^ , The harsh rasping cry from which the corn-crake Corn-Crake , . '^ .^ , , , ^ .,. . , „ ., takes Its name is a sound much less familiar in or Land-Rail , r 1 ,„ t M summer to those 01 the present generation who live in the country than it was to their parents, as these birds are much scarcer than formerly. By Linnaeus the corn-crake was included in the same genus as the water-rail, under the name of Ralliis crex, and by many ornithologists it is accordingly termed Crex crex, in place of Crex pratensis, which is a far more euphonious name. According to modern views, it is the only representative of its genus, which is sufficiently distinguished from the water -rail, on the one hand, by the shortness and stoutness of its beak, and from the moor- hen, on the other, by the absence of a fleshy shield at the root of the beak. The corn-crake is a migratory species, ranging from Europe through western and Central Asia as far eastwards as the Yenisei valley in Siberia, and visiting northern Africa in winter, while stragglers have been known to wander as far as America and Australia, and in summer to reach Greenland. In Great Britain it is to be found everywhere, although, as already said, much less abundantly than in former years, ranging, and apparently breeding, as far north as the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands. It is equally widespread in Ireland, where it occasionally remains during winter. It may be added that a pair were killed in Mull some years ago at the end of December. Measuring about 10^ inches in length, the corn-crake is pale brown in colour above, with dark middles to the feathers, v/hile the under-parts are dark buff, passing into white in the middle of the abdomen, and barred with reddish brown and white on the flanks. D 34 RAIL TRIBE In summer a streak above the eye, the car-coverts, and fore part of the neck are ashy grey, and the wing-coverts bright chestnut faintly barred with white. Adults in winter, and young birds in first plumage show no trace of ash-grey, while the young are further distinguished by having fewer bars on the flanks. Hens are distinguished by their smaller size, measuring only 9 inches in length. The chick is uniformly black, the black down of the breast being retained till the feathers of the upper-parts are nearly complete. The times of arrival and departure of the corn-crake coincide very closely with those of the quail, and, as mentioned under the head of that species, there is an idea prevalent in southern Europe that each migrating bevy of quail is headed by a corn-crake. Grassy meadows, especially near water, cornfields, and osier-plantations are the favourite haunts of the corn- crake, whose presence during the breeding- season is revealed by its cry, which is said to be of a ventri- loquial nature, sound- ing near or distant according to the will of the bird. The possession of this ventriloquial power has, however, been disputed by some, who urge that the difference in the location of the sound is real and not apparent, and due to the rapid movements of the bird itself. The cry, it seems, is uttered by the cock alone. When flushed, as sometimes happens in early partridge-shooting, corn-crake fly with a heavy laboured flight and drooping legs, soon to drop into the clover or other covert, from which they can seldom be induced to rise a second time. Like the water-rail, the corn-crake is an omnivorous bird, feeding on insects, worms, snails, slugs, and seeds. Restless and roving on arrival, the cock soon after arrival selects a mate, when the pair lead a more settled life. The nest, which some describe as a simple, and others as an elaborate structure, is built of plant-stems and placed on the ground amid standing grass, clover, or young corn. During the early part of June, as a rule, the hen lays in this receptacle COKN-CKAKI'. LITTLE CRAKE 35 from seven to ten broadly oval eggs, of a creamy white or pale buff colour, indistinctly marked with small pale purple blotches, and specks, spots, and streaks of reddish brown, most numerous at the large end. The eggs measure i^ inches or rather less in length; and the adult bird generally weighs about 6, although it may scale 8 or even 9 oz. A corn-crake brought in by a dog many years ago was observed to feign death, not only when in the dog's mouth, but when carried home in the owner's pocket ; and when a suitable opportunity occurred the bird suddenly woke up and made off at top speed. It does not appear that this remarkable instance of the death-feigning instinct has ever been confirmed by subsequent observation. One other incident is worth repeating. Years ago a corn-crake was de- capitated by the scythe, and her eggs were consigned to the care of a partridge sitting upon eighteen of her own eggs, who brought up and tended the whole of the double brood ! A white corn-crake is on record. ^ .,^, -, , Although the little crake, on account of the rather Little Crake , ^ , •,,,,•, ,_, ^ shorter secondary quills and a slight difference in (Porzana parva). . / ^ , ^, the colour of the two sexes, has been made the type of a genus by itself, under the name Zapornia parva, it seems best included among the spotted crakes, which form a group of small species characterised by the beak being relatively shorter and the middle toe longer than in the corn-crake, as well as by the brown back, grey or greyish breast, and the presence of a larger or smaller amount of white spotting. The spotted crakes, in this extended sense, include rather less than a score of species, with cosmopolitan distribution ; the range of the present species extending from south and central Europe to Central Asia, and in winter to northern Africa and Sind and Quetta. The absence of numerous white spots, and of white on the outer web of the first primary quill, serves to distinguish this species from the undermentioned Baillon's crake, with which it agrees in size. The upper-parts are olive-brown, variegated on the back and scapular region with broad black middles and short white streaks on the feathers, although the wing-coverts are uniformly coloured ; the sides of the face, throat, neck, and the under-parts generally are bluish grey with a few white bars on the flanks, and the under tail-coverts white barred with black. The hen differs from the cock mainly by the buff under- parts ; while young birds may be distinguished from hens by the white 36 RAIL TRIBE barring of the scapulars and white lower surface. The chick is black with green reflections. The little crake, which may be roughly compared to a diminutive corn-crake with a few white streaks on the back, is a rare visitor to England, appearing chiefly in the spring and autumn migrations, although it is possible that an occasional pair may stay to breed, and it is stated to have been taken in winter. As with so many of our rare migrants, Norfolk is the county where this species is most frequently seen, but it has been taken as far west as Devon, Somerset, iii^BS^SSSSUL MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD &TUDIO& LITTLE CRAKE. and Cornwall, and as far north as Yorkshire. A bird referred to this species was once taken in Scotland, and there is one record of its occurrence in Ireland. The eggs of the little crake are of an unusual type of colouring, having a buff or yellowish ground, almost completely concealed by markings of various shades of reddish brown. In habits the little crake is essentially a marsh-bird, which in countries where it is abundant may be seen running over the leaves of water-lilies, in search of water-insects and larvae. It can swim, and has a compara- tively strong flight. The weight of this species, like that of the next, is only 2 oz. BAILLON'S CRAKE 37 Baillon's Crake Although apparently at least as rare a visitor to /p Britain as the preceding species, Baillon's crake intermedia) {Porsana bailloni of the older books on British birds) is recorded to have bred several times in Norfolk and the Cambridgeshire fens, and its claim to a place in the British list is therefore, on this ground alone, if the eggs were rightly identified, indisputable. It has been taken once in North Wales, near Conway. The species ranges locally over a large portion of central and southern Europe in summer, and in winter travels south to Africa baillon's crake. [From a specimen in the British Mnseum.) and Madagascar, and probably the Persian Gulf. In eastern Europe it is, however, replaced by the closely allied Porzana puszila, which is a common bird in India and Burma during the cold season. The species is chiefly a spring and summer visitor to Britain, although examples are stated to have been taken in almost every month of the year. While one writer ^ states that it is found chiefly in the southern counties of England, although it has also been recorded from Derbyshire and Yorkshire, a second ^ observes that it is almost entirely confined to the eastern counties, and a third ^ remarks that it is less common in Norfolk than elsewhere. Whatever may be the truth with regard to this point, it appears that the species has been recorded once from 1 Sharpe, Handbook of British Birds, vol. iv. p. 233. - Harting, Handbook of British Birds, p. 223. ^ Saunders, YarrelFs British Birds, vol. iii. p. 155. 38 RAIL TRIBE the Isle of Man, and twice from both Scotland and Ireland, an alleged third occurrence in the last-named island having been based on a wrong identification. In Baillon's crake, which measures 7 inches in length, the outer web of the first primary quill is white. The beak is green with the base red ; the crown of the head, back of the neck, and upper-parts are chestnut-brown, varied on the back and scapular region with broad streaks of black and small flecks of white ; the cheeks, throat, and breast bluish grey, and the flanks black barred with white. The hen differs from the cock in having the under-parts paler, and the wing- coverts more spotted. In young birds the under-parts are dull white, and the chest is tinged with rufous and barred w^th dusky bars. The chick is glossy black, with a yellowish beak and greenish slate-coloured legs. The eggs, of which there are usually from six to eight in a clutch, are practically identical in colouring with those of the little crake, although of rather smaller size. An egg from Cambridgeshire referred to this species is in the collection of the British Museum. In general habits this species is very similar to the little crake, although it is more frequently found among reeds and rushes. Sootted Crake ^^ being the Rallus porzajia of Linnaeus, the spotted (Porzana crake, which is a larger bird than either of the maruetta) ^^^° ''^■'^^' weighing from 4^ to 5 oz., figures in those ornithological works where the repetition system of nomenclature is adopted as Porzana porzana. Although at the present day, owing to the draining of the fens, it appears to be far less common than formerly, the spotted crake was once a regular visitor to Britain, and bred not only in the Norfolk Broads and the Cambridgeshire fens, but likewise in the marshes bordering the lower part of the course of the Thames. Its summer-range includes Europe and western and Central Asia, while its winter-resorts are North Africa and India. In Britain there are records of its having nested as far north as Durham, Northumberland, and even Elgin and Dumbarton, while stragglers have been recorded from the Orkneys and Shctlands. To Ireland, where it has bred in Roscommon, and probably also in Kerry^, it is described as being a rare visitor, chiefly in the autumn months. As regards its colouring, the spotted crake, which measures 9 inches in length, has the feathers of the ui)pcr-parts olive-brown, with black middles to those of the back and shoulders, thus presenting SPOTTED CRAKE 39 a blotched appearance, varied on the back by white spots and streaks, and by irregular bars on the wing-coverts ; the crown of the head and sides of the neck are uniform dark brown ; a stripe over the eye is buff ; the sides of the head and throat are dull brownish grey ; the neck and adjacent parts are marked with white spots, which increase in size on the breast, and take the form of irregular bars on the flanks ; while the abdomen is white. The hen is distinguished by her inferior size and somewhat duller colouring. The difference between the summer and winter plumage of both sexes is slight. In young birds the spots are MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS Sl'OTTKU CKAKE. more numerous, and the dark middles of the feathers of the upper-parts less conspicuous. The chick is uniformly black. Although essentially a marsh-bird, this species keeps more to covert, such as beds of reeds or rushes or bushes, than is the case with the little crake, and is consequently but rarely seen, even in countries where it is far from uncommon. The eggs vary in ground-colour from pale to reddish buff, or even pale greenish white or stone-colour, and are marked with specks, spots, and small blotches of faint purple and maroon-brown. The occurrence many years ago of a single individual of the Carolina crake {Porzana Carolina) in Berkshire affords no justification for regarding that species as a British bird, and it would be well if the incident were consifjned to the oblivion it merits. 40 RAIL TRIBI<: Moor-Hen or Water-Hen (Gallinula chloropus). The moor-hcn, which is to be seen on the orna- mental waters of the London parks in considerable numbers, is to a great extent intermediate in habits between the water-rail and the coot, passing much of its time in the water, but not keeping so much on open sheets as the latter. It is the typical representative of a practi- cally cosmopolitan genus, containing some seven or eight species, all characterised by having a red leathery saddle at the base of the beak, which contrasts strongly^ with the dull-coloured plumage. A second distinctive feature of the group is that the long toes are bordered by a narrow fringe of skin or membrane on each side. Except for the brilliant beak and legs, the tone of colouring of the moor - hen is generally .sombre, the upper-parts being olive brown, and the lower surface slaty grey. There is, however, a conspicuous white bar on the wing, and the under tail-coverts are white, while the feathers of the flanks are white- edged and tinged with brown. As regards the bare parts, the legs are greenish yellow, with a red garter above the first joint ; the beak is yellow at the tip and red at the base ; while the saddle on the fore- head, although green in immature birds, becomes bright red in the adults. In young birds the lower surface of the body is white, the back greyish, and the beak and legs dull green. The chick is black. In conformity with the wide range of the group to which it belongs, the moor-hen has a very extensive geographical distribution, greater perhaps than almost any other non-migratory British bird. It is found, indeed, over the greater part of Europe, Asia, including the whole of India, Ceylon and Burma, and Africa, together with the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius. Although, as already said, it is a resident MOUNTED IN THE RO M()(»R-111..N. MOOR-HEN 41 rather than a migratory species throughout its distributional area, yet in severe weather, alike in Europe and Asia, a partial migration to the southward takes place among those birds inhabiting the northern zone of its range. Despite its extensive range, the moor-hen does not indeed reach very far north, its limit in Scandinavia being about the 63rd of latitude, and in Russia the south of the St. Petersburg district ; this limitation being doubtless due to the necessity of obtaining access to open water during the winter. As the species is distributed, in suitable localities, throughout the British Isles, no details on this point are necessary. In the case of such a thoroughly familiar bird a very brief reference to the matter of habits will likewise suffice. It may be specially mentioned, however, that the name moor-hen, as we now know it, is a misnomer for a bird which is essentially a denizen of rivers, lakes, marshes, and ponds, and that the title water-hen would be preferable were it not equally applicable to the coot. The misnomer, as in so many analogous instances, is, however, due to a corruption, the proper signification of the term being meer-hen. The jerky swimming of the moor-hen is well known, as is also its heavy, lumbering flight with the legs pendent ; when running on land the tail is raised, and the white tail-coverts are exposed, perhaps to serve as a guiding signal for the members of a family. In this connection it may be mentioned that the red and yellow beak and legs of this bird probably harmonise with the red and yellow flowers of the rushes and other water-plants among which it dwells. As in the case of other members of the family, the diet of the moor-hen comprises a mixture of vegetable and animal substances, among which seeds of all kinds, together with water-insects, snails, and worms form important items ; but the charge of devouring fishes seems disproved. The diving powers of the moor-hen are well known, and the writer has seen one of these birds, when wounded, thrust itself into a bunch of water-weeds near the bank, a foot or so below the surface, where it would have apparently remained till drowned, had it not been pulled out. The nest is a bulky structure of reeds, flags, and other water- plants, which may be built either on land or among reeds in the water. Apparently several nests are often built about the same time by a single pair of birds, and many instances are on record where moor- hens, when their nests have been flooded, have safely removed their eggs to a place of safety. The first clutch of eggs is generally laid in April, and others are deposited later on, the usual number in a clutch varying from seven to nine. In ground-colour the eggs vary 42 RAIL TRIBE from stone-buff to reddish clay ; and upon this they are spotted with reddish brown, tending sometimes to blackish, the spots being always small, and in some cases reduced to mere specks. In length they vary between rather more than an inch and a half, and just over two inches. In describing a late brood of j'oung moor-hens hatched near Sheffield an observer states that the nest was built on a bunch of holly branches fastened in the middle of the pond ; and that the members of the earlier broods would come and visit their younger brethren. No objection to this was taken by the parents, and on one occasion the two parents, a full-grown chick, and the nestlings were seen together on and in the nest, while two immature birds were swimming round. A peculiar phase of the moor-hen in which the feathers were so slender as to recall hairs has been recorded. More common, although decidedly rare, are pied and other semi-albinos, but pure albinos seem to be unknown. Of such pied moor-hens two examples are exhibited in the British Museum, in one of which the arrangement of the black and white is very symmetrical, and forms a strikingly handsome com- bination. In a third example, killed near Ringwood, in Hampshire, the head, neck, and breast were of the normal dark hue, but from the shoulders to the tail there was more black than white, with the under- parts and some of the wing-quills wholly white, one of the wings dis- playing the remarkable peculiarity of having the quills alternately dark and white. Here it may be well to notice that stray specimens of the beautiful purple water-hens {Porphyrio) have been occasionally taken in British inland waters, but there is little doubt that in all such instances the birds had escaped from confinement, and even if this was not so, their names could have no possible right to cumber the British list. In the great majority of works on British birds this ,„ ,. species is entered as the "common coot," but as a (Fuliea atra), ' ^ ^ ,, , , ,. . , , matter of fact, at all events when deahng with the fauna (A our own islands, it requires no such prefix, as to it alone the name "coot" properly applies. It is the foreign species of Fuliea, of which there are about a dozen, ranging over the warmer parts of the whole world, that require distinctive prefixes. While they have a somewhat similar leathery saddle at the base of the beak, the coots differ from the moor-hens in that their long toes are fringed on each side by a broad flap of skin or membrane, which is divided into convex lobes, corresponding in number with the joints, and likewise by COOT 43 the presence of a similar fringe on the hind border of the lower part of the leg. The dark grey or blackish hue of the plumage is also a distinctive feature of these thoroughly aquatic representatives of the rail tribe. Unlike the moor-hen, the coot is unknown to the south of the Mediterranean, but it inhabits the greater part of Europe, nesting in Scandinavia as far north as latitude 70 , and occasionally wandering to Iceland, or even Greenland ; in Asia it extends as far east as China, the Philippines, and Celebes, being common in all parts of India and Burma where there are pieces of water large enough and sufficiently well furnished with plants to suit its habits, although it appears to be unknown in Ceylon. In some parts of India it is resident, but in others appears only in the cold season. A bird so easily recognised scarcely requires description. It may be mentioned, however, that 1 5 inches is the usual length, and that while the saddle on the forehead is white, the beak is pale flesh-colour, and the legs are dark green with a yellow garter above the first joint. Crimson eyes form a brilliant contrast with the dark slaty grey of the plum- age of the upper- parts, relieved ^^^^j. by a white wing-bar ; the feathers of the lower surface being full black. Hens are distinguishable from cocks by their inferior dimensions ; young birds differ from their parents by their brown backs and paler breasts, and the smaller size of the saddle ; while the black chick has bright red nodules of bare skin studding the head. Frequenting large sheets of water more or less surrounded by and covered with aquatic vegetation, and avoiding the small ponds in which a pair of moor-hens will frequently take up their quarters, the coot is to be found throughout all parts of the British Islands where such conditions are to be met with. Poole Harbour, in Dorsetshire, is a 44 CRANK GROUP favourite resort for these birds, which Hock there in winter when driven by intense cold from the more northern parts of the country ; the species, like so many other British birds, being a partial or local migrant. In the north of Scotland coots cannot be described as common, although on some of the lochs farther south they are occasionally seen in considerable numbers. In Ireland, although more local than moor-hens, coots breed in every county, in some cases in great numbers. In general habits these birds much more resemble ducks than the other members of the rail tribe, swimming in open waters for hours at a time. In some of the large Indian lakes, or " jhils," coots may indeed be numbered by thousands, and absolutely blacken the water. Unfortunately the flesh is so rank and fishy as to be unpalatable to most persons, so that the bird is usually unmolested by sportsmen, which may be one reason for its extraordinary abundance. In spite of their numbers coots do not, however, keep in large flocks, after the manner of ducks. When once on the wing, they fly strongly and well ; and at all times, but more especially in the breeding-season, keep up a kind of cackling cry. The food of the.se birds is similar to that of the moor-hen and the aquatic crakes. When unable to find water on which to pass the night, coots are said to roost in trees. The nest is a huge mass of green rushes and water-weed, placed among weeds, at times in quite shallow water, but on other occasions freely floating. The eggs, of which the first clutch is usually laid in May, generally range from seven to ten, or even twelve, in number, and vary in ground-colour from cream to pinkish buff, with a number of minute round specks and small spots of pale purple and blackish brown. In length they vary from i^ to 2:|; inches. White and pied specimens of the coot have been several times recorded. With the stately crane, which, although formerly t/TanG , . ,^ .... . resident and a breeder m hast Anglia, is now only (Grus communis). .... , a very occasional visitor to our shores, we come to the first representative of a group of birds in regard to the systematic position of which very different views are entertained. By .some the rails, cranes, and bustards are placed in a single group, under the name of Grall.'e. By others the cranes and certain other birds are regarded as forming a group widely sundered from the rails (the sea- birds being indeed placed between them), and also separated from the bustards, which are placed with the plover. Others, again, group the cranes and bustards together, with the name Alcctorides ; and this CRANE 45 course is followed here, except that the name Grallze is adopted in place of the alternative term. It should be added that the cranes and the bustards differ from one another almost or quite as much as each does from the rails, and consequently that it is practically impossible to give a definition, based on easily apparent characters, which will differentiate the GralL-e as a whole from the Fulicaria;. Taking the cranes and their immedi- ate allies (two American families with which we have no concern here) first, we find that they differ from the rails by the nostrils having the form of long narrow slits, and by the absence ot any notch in the lower border of the breastbone. On the other hand, they resemble the former group in their tufted oil- gland and active, down- clad young. The cranes them- selves, constituting the family Gruidae, are tall and stately birds, gener- ally grey or white in colour, with long beaks, necks, and legs, the nos- trils opening in a long deep depression, twelve tail-feathers, small after- crane. shafts to the feathers, long bare patches on the sides of the neck, and active, down-clad young. Most of the species may be included in the genus Grus, of which the crane, Griis comviunis, otherwise Grus cinerca, or Gnis grus is the typical representative. The crane, of which a very brief notice will suffice, is a migratory species, breeding in northern Europe (inclusive of Lapland) and x'\sia, and wintering in southern Europe, northern Africa, south-western Asia, northern India, and China. Its visits to the British Islands are HE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS 46 CRANE GROUP now few and far between, but ancient records indicate that it was formerly common, and that it bred in the fens of the eastern counties till about the close of the sixteenth century, and probably also in Ireland, although in the records of the latter country there may be some confusion between this bird and the heron. The occurrence of its bones in prehistoric refuse-heaps at Ballycotton, Cork, affords, however, presumptive evidence that the crane was at one time a regular inhabitant of Ireland. As the ornithologist of the present day has no likelihood of seeing this bird wild in Britain, detailed description of its plumage would be superfluous. It may be mentioned, however, that the general colour is ashy grey, although the sides of the head and neck are wfiite ; and that the inner secondary quills of the wings are elongated into long slender plumes, which attain their full development only in the cock ; while the crown of the head of the adult carries a red, warty patch. The chick is buff, darker above than below. Two or three isolated records of the occurrence of the demoiselle crane {AutJiropoides virgo), and the African crowned crane {Balearica pavonina) in Britain, are not imjirobably based on specimens escaped from captivity, and, in any case, are not worthy of further mention. The avis tarda, or bustard, is another splendid bird which has disappeared from the resident British fauna, although at a much later date than the crane ; and such efforts as have been made to re-establish it in its ancient haunts have hitherto proved unsuccessful, nor is it likely, from the open nature of these haunts, that similar attempts in the future will be attended with better results. Bustards form apparently a group with complex affinities, connecting the rails and the cranes on the one hand with the plovers on the other, although their relationshij) with the cranes seems, on the whole, to be the closest. They resemble, for instance, the rails in having oval nostrils, but differ from both these and the cranes in the absence of the oil-gland and the hind-toe, and also in the presence of two notches in the lower border of the breast-bone, in which respect they agree with some of the plovers. They further differ from the cranes in having no bare patches on the sides of the neck, and in possessing from sixteen to twenty tail-feathers. Possibly the remarkable nuptial display of the cock -bustard may be nearly connected with the nuptial dances of the cranes. The young are hatched covered with down, and capable erf ruiming immediately after leaving the egg. In laying but two or three eggs at a time, both BUSTARD 47 cranes and bustards differ markedly from the rails, and come much nearer the plovers. As indicated by their name, bustards are birds of heavy build and slow flight, with a comparatively short beak and moderately long neck and legs ; the latter placed, in the standing posture, nearly at right angles to the axis of the body, with their lower part naked for some distance above the first joint. The two indigenous British repre- sentatives of the group may be included in the typical genus Otis, in which there is no ruff on the sides of the neck, the sexes differ in size or in breeding- plumage, or in both characters together, and there is no dis- tinct crest in the females and males out of the breeding- season. Although by no means the tallest, the bustard is the bulkiest of British birds, fully adult cocks weighing as much as 30 lbs. and measuring about 42 inches in length. The cock has a tuft of long bristly feathers springing from the bqstakd. sides of the head, and in the breeding-season develops a long pouch on the throat, which can be blown up with air through a small aperture opening under the tongue. The general colour of the plumage of the upper-parts is ochery yellow barred with black ; while the wings, with the exception of the brownish primary quills, are white ; and the breast shows a conspicuous gorget of rich chestnut and grey, the rest of the under-parts being white. The hens, which are much smaller than their lord and master (for the bustard is a polygamous bird), have no head-bristles, and likewise lack the chestnut gorget. Young birds are like the hens ; and the chicks in down are tawny mottled with dark chestnut, the mottlings being 48 CRANE GROUP evidently derived from obsolete stripes. A cock bustard, in full breeding-dress, with his head drawn in and his plumage ruffled up so as to display the white under-feathers, as is his practice when showing off before the hens, is a truly magnificent, if somewhat ridiculous, sight. The distributional range of the bustard includes southern and central Europe and North Africa, together with Central Asia, as far east as China. The species was never a native of Ireland, although a wanderer was recorded in County Tipperary in 1903, and it has always been only an occasional straggler to most parts of Scotland, although resident in the lowlands of Berwickshire and other border districts. In England its headquarters were the Yorkshire and Lincoln.shire wolds, the open heathy districts of East Anglia, and the downs of Dorsetshire, Wiltshire, northern Hertfordshire, and southern Cambridge- shire, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Sussex. For the history of the extermination of the species in Great Britain the reader must refer to other works, and it will suffice to state that while these birds dis- appeared from Berwickshire about the year 1526, they lingered on Salisbury Plain till the early years of the last century, on the wolds of eastern Yorkshire till about 1832, and in Norfolk and Sussex for some little time after 1838, about which date the last fertile eggs were taken. When they disappeared from the downs of the other counties mentioned above there is no record. Bustards have twice been recorded in North Wales. Nowadays, bustards arc met with only as occasional visitors, which for the most part resort to the eastern and southern counties, where they generally meet with the reception usually accorded to feathered strangers. As may be inferred from what is written above, the bustard is a polygamous bird haunting open countries, and spending its time on the ground, or, rarel)', on the wing. While in summer the adult cocks consort with their own party of hens, in winter the scattered families collect in large droves, as do immature birds at all seasons. At the commencement of the breeding-season, which takes place in April or May, according to lati- tude, the cocks fight among themselves for the possession of the hens. Merc it may be mentioned that some doubt has been expressed as to whether the species is really polygamous ; HEAD AND NKCK OF LOCK mSTAKD. LITTLE BUSTARD 49 but the fact that hens are certainly more numerous than the cocks renders it practically certain that this is very generally the case, although there may be exceptions. The food of the bustard is chiefly of a vegetable nature, green corn being, in its season, a special favourite ; but this diet is varied with worms, beetles, lizards, etc. The nest, which may be placed either on the open down or heath, or among growing corn, is little more than a slight hollow scratched or trampled in the ground. In this are laid the two, or occasionally three, eggs, which measure about 3 inches in length by 2 in breadth, and vary in colour from olive-green to olive-brown or buff with spots and blotches of reddish brown and grey. In their coarse structure and numerous pores they resemble crane's eggs. The only British-laid bustard's egg in the British Museum is one from Wiltshire, formerly in the possession of the celebrated ornithologist, Colonel Montagu. Little Bustard (Otis tetrax). The little bustard, which is the second and only other representative of the type genus of the family, is sometimes referred to as a genus by itself, under the name of Tetrax campestris, or Tetrax tetrax, owing to the circumstance that the cock has no bristle-like feathers on the sides of the head, but, on the other hand, the nape of the neck is ornamented with a crest of long feathers in the breeding- season. It is a much smaller bird than the last, measuring only 1 7 inches in length. In breeding-plumage the cock has the lower part of the neck black, with two broad white collars, of which the upper one forms a V-shaped loop. This and its small size are amply sufficient to distinguish the species, which is, however, further characterised by the plumage of the upper-parts being pale chestnut -brown, variegated with fine irregular black lines, with the wing- coverts and bases of the primary quills white, and the inner quills mingled black and white. In winter, on the other hand, the bird assumes a much LITTLE r;USTAKIJ>. 50 PLOVER GROUP less striking dress, the black patch and white collars of the neck being replaced by sandy brown, streaked with black. The plumage of the hen is of the same sombre type, while that of the young birds shows more dark bars on the flanks. The chick in down is pale fawn, with blackish-brown markings above, and dull white beneath. Some fifty instances of the occurrence of this bird in the British Islands are recorded, of which six are to be credited to Ireland ; but it has never been known to breed there, winter being the season when most of these instances occurred. The little bustard is a migratory species inhabiting the south of Europe, the north of Africa, and Central Asia, visiting north-western India in winter, and occasionally straggling as far north as Scandinavia and St. Petersburg. The occurrence between the years 1847 and 1898 of five recorded visits of the hubara bustard {Hubara viacqiieeni) to the British Islands affords no sufficient grounds for including that species in the British list. With the stone-curlew or thick-knee, which in some Stone-Curlew , , ^, , . , . , , „ modern works appears as Lbaicnenms cvaicneinus, and OP Thiek-Knee . ,, rrr^- _ , m older ones as Ctatcnevius crepttaus, we come to ((Edienemus , . , . ^ .^ . the great group of plovers, snipes, etc., constitutmg the Limicolae, or Charadriiformes, as they are some- times called. The group, like the last, is one exceedingly difficult to define, since it is closely connected, on the one side by means of the stone-curlews with the bustards, while on another it is affiliated through the plovers with the sand-grouse, and so with the pigeons, and in a third direction it is related very closely with the gulls, which are themselves probably distant relations of the pigeons. All the members of the plover tribe are birds of more or less completely terrestrial habits, with the beak very variable, but generally slender, and having the nostrils situated in a groove or hollow on each side. With the exception of the stone-curlews and one of the coursers, where they are oval, as in the bustards, the nostrils are slit-like; and with few exceptions, the leg is naked for some distance above the first joint. Except in the stone-curlew, the feathered tract on the fore part of the back is forked ; the feathers are furnished with after-shafts of varying size ; there are eleven primary quills to the wings, as in the Grallae ; there is a tufted oil-gland, which distinguishes them from the bustards ; and the intestine is furnished with a pair of blind appendages. As a rule, there is one notch on each side of the lower border of the breast- bone, although there may be two ; and by this character the group is STONE-CURLEW 51 distinguished from the cranes. The young are down-covered, and able to run as soon as they leave the egg-shell. Important characters are afforded by the eggs, which are never more than four in number, are always laid on the ground, and, with two exceptions, are double-spotted, like those of the rails and gulls. Among the plovers and sandpipers the eggs are pear-shaped like those of gulls, while in other species they are oval, as in the rails, in which group the number in all cases is, however, in excess of four. It is interesting to note that in a large proportion of the British members of the group possessing a distinct winter and summer plumage (apart from those like the golden plover, which have developed a ARD STUDIOS STOXE-CURLEW. special black dress) the seasonal change of colour is precisely analogous to that occurring among mammals, such as the roebuck and the Virginian deer, namely, from chestnut or rufous brown in summer to grey or olive in winter. To take only a few of the most strongly marked instances, the dotterel loses in winter the bright chestnut of its lower-parts in the breeding-plumage ; while the chestnut summer-markings of the turn- stone are also lost in winter. Still better instances are afforded by the two British species of godwit in which the summer-livery of red is replaced in winter by one of greyish brown ; a somewhat similar change also taking place in the red -breasted godwit. Again, the sanderling exchanges its mottled chestnut and black dress of summer for one of grey and white in winter. In the stint the chestnut flanks of 52 PLOVER GROUP summer arc replaced by greyish brown in winter ; while in Temminck's stint the chestnut edgings to the feathers of the summer-plumage are lost in the cold season. Similarly, the knot in summer is chestnut both above and below, while it is ashy grey in winter, and much the same is the case with the curlew-sandpiper. As another instance we may take the dunlin, in which the feathers of the upper-parts in summer are black relieved by chestnut margins, these being replaced in winter by ashy brown. The redshank shows similar changes in a less marked degree, the general tone being pale brown in summer, and ashy in winter. Why certain wading-birds, such as snipe and woodcock, display no marked seasonal colour-change is a question difficult to answer. It may, however, be noticed that in these birds, as well as in the curlew and whimbrcl, the colouring of the plumage is evidently very specialised for protective purposes. Now, it is noteworthy that representatives of the curlew, snipe, and woodcock breed within the British Islands, so that the change between the summer and winter haunts is comparatively slight or nil. On the other hand, many of the waders with a strongly marked seasonal change of plumage, such as the knot, the sanderling, the turnstone, the curlew-sandpiper, and the bar-tailed godwit, breed in the high north, and wander far south in winter, so that the difference between their winter and summer surroundings is enormous. It is, therefore, at least a plausible supposition that their seasonal colour- changes are connected with their migrations, and that they are, in fact, analogous to the changes of this nature which occur in many mammals of the temperate regions, but are unrepresented among tropical species, whose physical surroundings are more or less similar throughout the year. In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that in America certain tanagers and bobolinks, which had been prevented from breeding, were kept during autumn in a darkened chamber with a somewhat increased supply of food. The consequence was that the brilliant breeding-plumage was retained throughout the winter. Early in the following spring the birds were returned to normal conditions, and speedily moulted. The new plumage was, however, the nuptial dress, and not the dull winter liver}', which was skipped. The sequence of plumage-change is not, therefore, invariable, but evidently in some degree dependent on external factors in the environment. The stone-curlew, or Norfolk jjlover, as it is commonly called, is the typical representative of the famil)' QidicncmidjTj, all the members of which have a strong superficial likeness to bustards, with which they STONE-CURLEW 53 agree in the oval form of the nostrils, and the presence of only three toes to each foot. In this bird, which averages about 16 inches in length, the sexes are indistinguishable, so far as plumage is concerned, the general colour of the feathers of the upper-parts being pale brown streaked with black. The lesser wing-coverts are, however, marked by a broad white bar, while the primary quills of the wings are black, relieved by a pair of white spots. Another characteristic feature is to be found in the white-tipped black terminal portions of the outer webs of the greater coverts of the secondary quills of the wings, thus forming a conspicuous black bar edged with white. Buff streaked with black is the colouring of the neck and breast. Immature birds differ by their duller tone of colouring and dark-barred tail. In the down-clad chick the general colour is greyish buff, with a narrow black line running down each side of the neck and the ridge of the back, a black band along each flank, and a dark stripe and horseshoe-like mark on the forehead. A native of the breezy upland heaths, downs, and bare stony plains (which latter form in many parts of the world its favourite resorts), the stone-curlew is a resident or migratory species, whose geographical range extends from central and southern Europe and the north of Africa, through south-western and Central Asia to India, Ceylon, and Burma, where it is only a winter-visitor. As is implied by its local name of Norfolk plover. East Anglia is one of the British strongholds of the species, which is, however, widely, although locally, distributed over the greater part of England, breeding not only in the eastern, but likewise in the southern and midland counties, where the downs near Tring are a favourite resort. North of Yorkshire the stone-curlew becomes very rare, and to Scotland it is only an occasional straggler, as it likewise is to Wales, and also to Ireland, where only some half-dozen instances of its occurrence, and then in winter, are on record. In Wales a specimen was killed in Merioneth in 1903. Although a certain number of these birds remain to pass the winter-months in the mild climate of Devon and Cornwall, the great bulk of the species leave the British shores for the south in October to return with the spring in April. As a genus, stone-curlews are represented by half-a-score of species or races, whose geographical range, in addition to that of the typical species, includes the whole of Africa, together with Central, and a considerable part of tropical. South America. The complete absence of the group from North America is a somewhat remarkable circumstance in geographical distribution. 54 PLOVER GROUP Three specially noteworthy features may be mentioned in connec- tion with the stone-curlew, namely, the perfect manner in which its plumage harmonises with the colouring of a bare ston)- plain, the large size of its full, round, yellow eye, and the remarkable manner in which the bird endeavours to make itself as inconspicuous as possible by lying down with its body and outstretched head and neck pressed quite close to the ground, when it may be easily mistaken for an irregularly shaped stone, on which the eyes form small dark blotches. In this mode of concealing itself the stone-curlew exhibits another mark of affinity with the bustards. The large eyes of this bird clearly pro- claim that it is to a considerable extent nocturnal, or crepuscular ; and this is rendered certain by the fact that the long wailing cry from which it derives its name of stone-curlew is heard more frequently in the evening and at night (especially when there is moonlight) than in the daytime. Its food appears to be entirely of an animal nature, and comprises beetles and other insects, worms, snails, etc. The eggs, which in England appear to be always two in number, although in India there may be three, are laid on the bare ground among loose pebbles or stones, which they so closely resemble as to be exceedingly difficult to detect. In length they measure from just below 2 inches to nearly 2^ inches ; and their colour is dark or light stone with irregular spots or blotches of brown or blackish, with faint grey inferior markings. Stone-curlews afford good sport with the hawk, in escaping from which they have been known to take refuge in rabbit- holes. The flesh is said to be excellent for the table. , With the cream-coloured courser and the species Cream-coloured ,. i- 1 i- 1 next on our list we come to two birds which are Courser , . . ,-,-.••, t . 1 1 1 ,„ . ,,. , such rare visitors to the British Isles that they have (Cupsorius gallicus). . , , , • 1 no native names and are consequently designated by what may be called artificial titles. Together with certain other birds altogether unrepresented in Britain they constitute a family, the Glareolidai, which connects in some degree the stone-curlews with the plovers, and is entirely confined to the eastern hemisphere. Affinity with the stone-curlews is indicated, for instance, by the fact that in the Egyptian plover {Pluvianus ccgyptiacjis) the aperture of the nostrils is oval in the dried skull, whereas in the other forms it is of the slit-like plover-type ; while the coursers display a similar kinship in the loss of the hind-toe. Collectively the group is characterised externally by the oval nostrils being impervious, more or less protected by flaps of membrane, and situated in a depression instead of a groove ; while CREAM-COLOURED COURSER 55 the lower part of the legs is protected both in front and behind by transverse shields, and the middle toe has a comb-like structure. Although the eggs much resemble these of the plovers in colouring, being buff or stone -colour with spots and blotches of brown or blackish, in their oval shape they are like those of the stone-curlews and bustards. The cream-coloured courser is sufficiently distinguished by having only three toes to each foot, its comparatively long legs, and short squared tail. As indicated by its name, the general colour of the upper-parts is sandy buff, with a tinge of pinkish ; the flight-feathers being black, with sandy-coloured edges and white fringes to the tips of MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS CREAM-COLOURED COURSER. the secondaries, while the tail-feathers are tipped with white, below which is a band of black. Pale bluish grey is the prevailing tint of the back of the head and the nape of the neck ; but above each eye runs a conspicuous white band, joining its fellow on the nape, and behind the eye bounded below on each side by black stripes which meet to form a triangular patch on the back of the neck below the white. Both sexes are alike in plumage ; and immature birds differ from the adults merely by the presence on the feathers of the upper- parts ot curved dark grey bars, an indication, by the way, that the sandy-coloured plumage of the adult is a comparatively recent feature acquired to adapt the species to its desert habitat. The primitive type of colouring is still more fully displayed by the chick, which is covered with pale buff down mottled with a darker shade of the same colour. The length of the bird is 10 inches. 56 PLOVER GROUP The cream-coloured courser is the typical representative of a genus containing four other species, the collective range of the whole five embracing the desert districts of southern Europe, western Asia, India, and Africa and the Canary Islands ; the typical species ranging from the Mediterranean countries and the Canary and Cape Verd Islands to Afghanistan and the north-west of India. To the British Islands the species is only a rare straggler, twenty-six individuals being the number known to have been taken or seen in England and Wales up to 1901, while of its occurrence in Scotland there is but one instance, and it has never been known to visit Ireland. As regards the habits of such an extremely rare straggler to the British Islands, it will suffice to say that the species is generally seen singly or in small parties on open, sandy, or stony ground, where it is constantly on the move, running quickly about in search of insect-food, very much after the manner of a stone-curlew. For want, on account of its rarity, of a proper Pratincole ^ > 1 1 English name of its own, the typical representa- . tive of the Glareolidae is commonly called the pratincole, an ugly and uncouth title made by anglicising its Latin designation, the alternative and better name of swallow-plover not being in general use. The pratincoles, in the wider sense of the generic term, comprise a group of about a dozen species, ranging over the warmer parts of the eastern hemisphere inclusive of Australia, and in some cases visiting their extreme southern haunts only in winter. Many of the species appear to be only partially migratory ; the one under consideration being, for instance, a wanderer in some localities and stationary in others. As already mentioned, these birds are broadly distinguished from the coursers by the presence of the hind-toe, which is raised somewhat above the level of the others, while they are further distinguished by their short legs and long wings. In the more typical representatives of the group, like the one under consideration, the tail is also long and deeply forked, thus giving to these birds a remarkable resemblance to swallows. So swallow-like in general appearance is indeed the typical pratincole that it was actually regarded by Linnaeus as a member of the same group as the swallows, and consequently named Hirundo pi-aiincola. The true pratincole, whose normal geographical range extends from southern Europe to Central Asia and India, and in winter includes Africa, is somewhat larger than a swallow, measuring i cl- inches in length, and is so unlike other members of the plover-tribe PRATINCOLE 57 (except of course its immediate allies) that there would be every excuse for an amateur not recognising it as such. The plumage of the two sexes is alike ; the upper-parts being clove-brown in colour, with the tips of the secondary quills, the tail-coverts, and the base of the tail white, the throat buff margined with black (giving rise to the name collared pratincole), the breast buff, and the remainder of the undcr- parts white. In immature birds, on the other hand, the back is mottled and starred with grey, and the breast striped with dark brown ; this being doubtless the ancestral plumage of the group. In the down- clad chicks the general colour is clove-brown, with darker mottlings above, and white beneath. Only twenty specimens of the pratincole are recorded as having visited the British Islands during the nineteenth century, two of which were from Scotland and its islands, while one alone falls to the share of Ireland. Another example was, how- ever, taken in Kent in 1903. All these birds frequent the shores of rivers and lakes, where, in common with so many mem- pratincole. bers of the plover tribe, the old birds resort to the ruse of being maimed in order to divert attention from their eggs or young. In addition to this, they exhibit in a marked degree the death -feigning instinct, frequently lying flat on the ground with the wings extended in an apparently helpless condition. As these birds have never been known to breed in Britain, it will be unnecessary to allude to their eggs. In the year 1903 four specimens of the black-winged pratincole {Glareola melanopterd) were taken in England, two in Kent, and two in Sussex, these being the first recorded examples of that species from Great Britain. Such a visitation affords, of course, no valid grounds for the inclusion of the black-winged pratincole in the proper British list. In South ^Africa this species preys largely on locusts, and is in 58 PLOVER GROUP consequence locall)- known as " the small locust bird." These birds appear in vast swarms during the South African spring ; that is to say, after the first welcome showers of rain in September or October. During the heat of the day they may be detected running through the grass, or resting quietly in low-lying situations ; but in the late after- noon or early morning they become more active, the flocks taking wing as if by word of command, and flying round and round high in the air, .so as to look almost like dust-clouds. They keep moving forwards till a swarm of locusts is sighted, when the individual birds break away from the main flock like the dispersal of a storm-cloud. When the swarm is reached the birds attack from behind, flying and darting through the locust swarm, with the result that a continuous shower of the legs and wings of the insects falls to the ground. The beak of this pratincole seems, indeed, to be specially adapted for preying on locusts, as it exactly covers the body of the flying insects, and with one snap shears off the wings and legs as effectually as if two pairs of scissors were u.sed. Not only do these birds attack the adult locusts, but they also prey on the immature insects, locally known as voetgangers. When they are attacked by a flock of these birds the voetgangers stop their regular march, and try to escape destruction by taking cover among the herbage. All birds attack flying locusts from the rear, as the rush of the insects would render a frontal attack dangerous ; and so great is the attraction of these insects for the birds that when they appear the most tempting baits are neglected. Turnstone ^Vith the pied and partially rufous bird appropriately (Streosilas named, from its habit of turning over pebbles in interores) search of its food, the turnstone, we come to the first representative of the group of wading-birds, or Charadriida:, which is taken to include not only the plovers and their immediate relatives, but likewise the snipe, avocet.s, etc. All these birds are characterised by the nasal apertures in the dried skull being slit-like, and the nostrils pervious, as well as by the presence of only fifteen vertebra; in the neck. In the latter respect they resemble the Glareolidae, and differ from the CEdicnemidie (in which there are sixteen); from the Glareolida,' they differ by the lack of the comb-like structure of the middle toe. The hind-toe is either short or absent. The eggs are highly characteristic, being very generally, although by no means invariably, four in number, and shaped like a peg-top, with one end rounded, and the other conical, so that they lie compactly with the pointed ends together in the slight hollow in the ground, sometimes TURNSTONE 59 sparsely lined with grass, which constitutes the nest. The group includes several subfamilies, of which the first comprises the plovers and lapwings, together with the somewhat aberrant turnstone ; the latter differing from the rest in the character of the beak, which has evidently been specially modified in accordance with the habits of the bird. Collectively, the Charadriin<-E, as the subfamily group is called, are characterised by the length of the beak not exceeding that of the head, with the groove for the nostrils not extending along more than half the beak itself, and by the scales on the hind surface of the lower part of the leg, and frequently also on the front surface, forming a net- work pattern. While the turnstone is a frequenter of the seashore. TURNSTONE. the plovers and lapwings are birds of the open meadows and grassy and sandy tracts, rather than dwellers near marshes. The turnstone, which in some works is termed Arenaria interpres, differs, as already mentioned, from the plovers by the form of the beak, which is conical and pointed, with the upper surface straight and flat, and the narrow nostrils lying in a groove which extends for half its length. The first primary quill of the long and pointed wing exceeds all the others in length ; the short lower part of the leg has transverse shields in front, the hind-toe is well developed, and there is no webbing of the front-toes. Of the two species of turnstone, the one is American, while the second, or that here under consideration, is practically cosmo- politan, and breeds in the high latitudes of the frozen north, visiting such countries as India and Ceylon in winter. 6o PLOVER GROUP In its full summer- dress the cock lurnstone, which measures 9^ inches in length, may be recognised at a glance by the pied black and white of the head, neck, and upper part of the breast, the mingled black, bright chestnut, and white of the back and wing-coverts, the white of the lower portion of the back and under-parts, the black upper tail-coverts and beak, the white-shafted black quills, and the brilliant orange legs. At the same season the hen is a trifle duller in colour, and shows less chestnut ; but in winter both sexes have the upper- parts nearly uniform dusk}' brown, without any chestnut mottlings, and likewise lack the white markings on the head and neck. Immature birds in first plumage resemble the adults in winter- dress, with the exception that the feathers of the upper-parts display buff markings. The chick is dark grey, spotted with black above, and with various markings on the head ; the under-parts varying from greyish to white. Except during migration, the turnstone is only to be met with on the seashore, where it may often be seen without difficulty engaged in its characteristic occupation of ascertaining what is to be found beneath stones and shells ; its food consisting of the shrimps, sand- hoppers, molluscs, and such-like creatures as seek security in situations of this nature. For operations of this description the swollen beak of the plovers would manifestly be unsuited ; and the solid conical beak of the turnstone may accordingly be regarded as an adaptive modification, which by no means affects its intimate relationship to that group. So great is the power of the neck that one of these birds has been known to turn a slab of stone several inches square ; while their ingenuity is such that, when unable to turn over a large fish, they have undermined it in order to get at the concealed supply of food. Conspicuous as is the plumage of these birds when mounted in a museum, on a mottled shingle like that of the Chesil Beach, in Dorsetshire, turnstones are almost impossible to detect when crouching down among the pebbles ; and it is not till they rise with their shrill whistling cry that their presence is revealed to the casual observer. Most of the turnstones which visit Great Britain do so on migration, the northern flight taking place in May, while the return journey may occur at any time from the end of July to the end of September. A certain number of these birds remain, however, for the winter on the south coast. Moreover, from the fact of pairs being occasionally met with in various parts of the country in summer, there is good reason to believe that they may sometimes breed with us. The best evidence for such breeding occurs in the case of the Fame Islands, off the Northumberland coast, where they are stated to have once nested PLOVER 6i frequently, and to do so occasionally at the present day. Indeed, eggs have actually been purchased from the Fame fishermen, which there is every reason to believe were those of turnstones. There is no evidence that the species breeds in Ireland. Eggs of the turnstonc from Grinnell- land, Finmark, Sweden, and Denmark are in the collection of the British Museum. In length they measure from i^ to i J inches ; and in ground-colour vary from pale greenish grey to olive-buff, with spots, blotches, and smears of various shades of brown, olive-brown, and underlying purplish grey ; these markings being larger and more crowded at the big end, where they form a kind of cap. Plover Since the bird to which the names of golden, yellow, (Charadpius °^ green plover are commonly applied, appears to pluvialis) ^^ ^^^ plover, par excellence, and consequently the only one to which that name properly belongs, it manifestly requires no explanatory prefix, except as an aid in distinguishing it from, other species. The name plover, or pluvialis, equivalent to " rain-bird," refers, it is believed, to an old superstition that this bird is more easily captured in wet than in fine weather. In common with the following members of the Charadriins, it possesses the characteristic plover-beak, which is distinctly swollen at the end, with the superior surface convex. As a genus, the plovers are specially distinguished by the yellow-spotted plumage of the upper-parts, and the absence of the hind-toe ; and likewise by the assumption on the part of both sexes of a special breeding-plumage, in which the under- parts are uniformly black. Another point in which they differ markedly from the turnstone is the length of the lower part of the leg, which displays a network type of scaling all round. Only two representatives of this genus of plover are known, both of which have an almost cosmopolitan distribution, breeding in the northern part of their range, and wandering to southern lands in winter. The southward range is, however, much more restricted in the case of the present species than in that of its smaller ally ; the latter reaching Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America, while the former does not wander beyond India and northern Africa. In Europe the plover may be regarded as in some degree a partial migrant, passing all the year in the more central parts of its haunts, such as the British Islands, Germany, etc., but deserting the Mediterranean countries in summer for the far north, where it breeds in latitudes as high as Greenland, Jan Mayen, and Novaia Zemlia. Whether the Mediterranean birds pass directly to the extreme north, or whether, 62 PLOVER GROUP as is more probable, there is a gradual " shift-up " of the members of the species, does not appear to be ascertained. The plover is only an occasional straggler into India during winter, where its place is taken by the lesser plover {Cliaradrhis dominiais), which may be seen in flocks in the Bengal snipc-jhils. In the British Islands plover nest in small numbers on the high grounds of Devon and Somerset, more numerously on those of Wales, Derbyshire, and thence along the Pennine chain into Scotland, and so on to the Hebrides, Shetlands, and Orkneys ; PUnKK (wi.ntkk). while they also breed on the mountains of Ireland, as well as locally in lowland bogs. The plover measures i i inches in length. In the summer breeding- plumage the upper-parts of the cock are mottled with golden yellow, black, and white ; white also occurring on the forehead, whence it extends backwards over each eye along the side of the neck and the upper border of the flank ; the whole of the under side, with the exception of the under tail-coverts (which are white, as are the axillarics) being black. In winter, on the other hand, the yellow predominates above, and the under surface is wholly white. The hen in summer usually has somewhat less black on the lower surface. Immature birds in the first pluinage differ from the adults in winter-dress PLOVER 63 merely in being )-ello\ver on the back and in showing more mottling on the flanks. The chicks in down have a parti-coloured coat of orange-yellow mottled with blackish brown. The weight of a fat plover ranges from 8 to 10 oz. In its white under-surface the winter-dress of the plover displays the ordinary protective type of coloration so common among both mammals and birds ; the lightening of the belly being intended to counteract the dark shade thrown by the body in full sunlight. The effect of the summer-dress is, of course, just the reverse of this ; and it would be interesting to ascertain in what, if any, special manner this livery is protective. Plover feed upon worms and insects, or on small shell-iish when frequenting the shore, and in winter associate in flocks, which may be small or of con- siderable size. Their flight is strong and rapid, and the flock alights with a sudden downward rush, which when once seen cannot be mistaken. The cry is a kind of two-syllabled whistle ; and the flesh is highly esteemed as an article of food. The eggs, which measure from a little less to a little more than 2 inches in length, are relatively large, show a distinct gloss, and have a ground-colour varying from pale greenish grey to rich buff, upon which are spots and blotches of dark brown, reddish brown, and black, with inconspicuous under- lying markings of pale purple. In England these eggs are laid about the middle of May in a tuft of grass, or in a hollow in the ground slightly lined with bents or fibres, and frequently situated among heather. The cock, in some cases at least, takes a share in hatching the eggs. It should be added that it is not this species but the lapwing which affords the main supply of plovers' eggs for the market. Although, as already mentioned, they may be found breeding in marshes, these birds generally keep to the uplands in summer. STUDIOS PLOVER IX SUMMEK-DKESS. 64 PLOVER GROUP whence they descend in winter to the marshes, estuaries, and the coast generally, after the broods have collected in flocks. A few stragglers of the lesser, or lesser golden plover {Charadrius (io}ni)iicus), distinguished by its grey axillar\' plumes, have been taken in the British Islands, one being recorded from Norfolk in 1874, a second probably from the same county in 1882, a third from Orkney in 1887, a fourth from Perthshire in 1888, and a fifth from Ireland (Mayo) in 1894. The typical representative of this species is North American, and if the Asiatic race is distinguishable, it should be known as C. doitiiniais fulvtis. Larger, and in Britain less abundant, than the pre- Grey Plover . - r- . ceding species, the grey plover displays the same double moult, with the assumption of a black plumage on the under-parts in summer, but is broadly dis- tinguished by the retention of the hind-toe, as it also is by the less important character of having the axillary feathers black in place of white. Although these two features, coupled with the absence of a crest to the head, arc amply sufficient to distinguish the species, the following particulars may be added. Spots and bars of mingled black and white constitute the colouring of the plumage of the upper-parts of the cock when in full breeding-livery ; in marked contrast to which is the jetty black which extends from the sides of the face to the hinder part of the belly, where it is rci)laced by white. In autumn this plumage is changed for one in which the back is grejxr and the whole of the under-parts white. In both plumages the hen differs from her lord solely by a slightly less brilliancy of tint : while the birds of the year differ from their parents in the winter-dress in having the upper-parts spangled with golden buff — a feature which may cause them to be mistaken for golden plover, and also one which indicates that this is the original t}'pe of colouring of the group. In the chick the orange ground of the golden plover is replaced by yellow, upon which arc spots of black ; this type of colouring being said to harmonise completely with the yellow-green moss fringing the small bogs in proximity to which the nests are usually placed. The length of this bird is i 2 inches, and its weight probably exceeds in a small degree that of the jilover. The grey plover, which is the sole rcpresentatixe of its genus, is practically a cosmopolitan bird, breeding in the far north all round the Pole, and in winter wandering south into Africa, India, Australia, and South America. For such a wide-ranging species the name GREY PLOVER 65 helvetica (given on account of the circumstance that the specimens first described came from Switzerland) is singularly inappropriate ; and in the opinion of the present writer this is one of those cases where a name should be changed on account of its unsuitableness. If such a course were permissible, the grey plover would be known by the title of Squatarola cinerea, which would be in every way suitable. In the British Islands the grey plover is most familiar as a migrant, and is more common on the return journey in autumn than in spring ; nevertheless, a certain number of individuals remain to pass the winter with us, while from May to July specimens in the black summer- plumage — probably non-breeding birds — are occasionally seen. August and Septem- ber are the months in which the arrival of the young birds from the frozen north is to be expected ; the parents not making their appearance till the two following months, by which date most of them have assumed the white-bellied winter- plumage. The species is nowhere so com- mon in the British Islands as the true plover ; and in Ireland, as in the west generally, is even less abundant than in other parts of the British Islands. Except during the breeding-season and on migration, the grey plover is mainly to be met with on the seashore and neigh- bouring stretches of mud ; it is likewise more wary in disposition, and from the greater difficulty of imitating its cry is less frequently deluded within gunshot by the wiles of the fowler. The species breeds nowhere within the British Islands, and the suggestion that it nests on the high fells of Norway appears to lack confirmation. Eggs are still rare in collections, the only examples possessed by the British Museum in 1902 being thirteen taken from the tundra in the neighbourhood of the Petchora River between June 22 and July 12. Nest there is prac- tically none, the four eggs being laid in a round and deep hollow, lined F GKEY PLOVER. 66 PLOVHR GROUP with a few twigs and fragments of rcindccr-moss, on the open tundra. As to the eggs themselves, these are perhaps best described as inter- mediate between those of the plover and those of the lapwing, the blotching being similar, but the ground-colour, which is browner in some examples and more olive in others, being less buff than typical specimens of the former and not so purely olive as those of the latter. In length they range from 1.9 to 2.2 inches. As with plovers gen- erally, a single annual clutch is laid. With the excep- tion of its shyer dis- position and more littoral habits, the grey plover is very similar in its mode of life to the golden species. Although sometimes collecting in flocks of considerable size, it seems to be more generally seen in small parties on the seashore, the members of which occupy themselves in searching for the small animals left by the ebbing tide. GKKY I'LOVKK (CUCK IN SLMMKK-DKK.SS. Lapwing" or Peewit (Vanellus vulgaris). Fortunately for lovers of bird -life the lapwing or peewit, which derives one of its names from its flight, and the other from its well-known cry, is such a wary bird, and its eggs so marvellously resemble their surroundings, that despite the enormous numbers in which the latter are taken for the table, it still holds its own in large flocks on all the open grounds, whether dry or marshy, throughout the British Islands. Indeed, although the numbers of these birds appear to have diminished considerably in many parts of England, the species is reported to be on the increase in certain districts in Scotland. As the TriHi^a vanellus of Linn.uus, the species is known in advanced nomenclature as Vanellus vanellus, while it is often termed Vanellus eristatus, a name far preferable to V. vuli^ar/s, but unfortunately of later date. From all British representatives of the plover group, the lapwing. LAPWING 67 which is the sole representative of its genus, is broadly distinguished by the graceful crest adorning the head ; a similar feature occurs, it is true, in certain foreign plovers, but these are distinguished by the presence either of wattles on the sides of the head or of spurs on the wings. The lapwing, which is a four-toed bird, further differs from the more typical plovers by its broad and rounded wings, in which the secondary quills are nearly as long as the primaries, and to which the slow flapping flight, so different from the wild rush of the golden or the grey plover, is due. On these grounds the lapwing might well have been %^ rM:^ ^^^■■M ^^i^.-Ai>A^f^^ /.LAND WARD STUDIOS LAinVING. placed in our system before the golden plover, were it not advisable to place the typical representative of a family group near the beginning of the series. In summer the range of the lapwing extends from Europe through western and Central Asia to northern China, and thence across Bering Strait into Alaska, while in winter a certain number of individuals migrate from the more northern haunts of the species to the south of Europe, northern Africa, the north-western districts of India, and the south of China. The breeding-range of the species is unusually extensive in regard to latitude, reaching in Europe from Spain nearly to the Arctic Circle, and in Asia as far as latitude 65 . The species is, indeed, to be regarded as a partial migrant, deserting only its extreme northern haunts in summer, and visiting some of the most southern 68 PLOVER GROUP portions of its range only in winter. Not that it is to be supposed that the most northern birds reach to the extreme southern limits of the habitat, but rather that a general northern movement takes place in summer, and a corresponding southern movement in winter. In the case of such a thoroughly familiar species description is almost superfluous, but for the sake of uniformity the following particulars are given. In the first place, the total length of the bird measures almost exactly a foot. In regard to colouring, dark green with purple and bronze reflections is the prevailing tint of the upper-parts in both sexes, which are superficially alike, although distinguishable by a difference in the proportionate lengths of the primary quills of the wings. In the cock, for example, the second, third, and fourth of these quills are practically of a size, and larger than the rest, while the first and sixth arc also nearly of a size ; in the hen, on the other hand, the second and third quills, which are nearly equal in length, are the longest, and the first is equal in length to the fourth. Nor is this all, for whereas in the outspread wing of the cock the fan-shaped primaries project beyond the margin of the secondaries, in the hen no such superiority of size is shown. In summer the crest of the cock is longer than that of his partner ; and at this season both sexes display a black throat, which in winter changes to white, continuous with that of the under-parts at all seasons. The colouring is thus of the ordinary protective type. The dress of birds of the year resembles that of the adults, with the exception that the crest is shorter, and the feathers of the back and adjacent parts have greyish-buff edgings. The chick is greyish buff above, spotted on the head and streaked on the back with black ; and white below, except for a dark band extending nearly across the breast. White, buff, and grey " sports " have been observed in the adult. Peewits are more or less gregarious at all seasons of the year, although much more so in winter than in summer. Some idea of the enormous numbers in which these birds congregate may be gathered from the fact that in a single field near Glasgow an observer counted something like 8000 head. The food of the lapwing chiefly consists of worms, insects, grubs, and slugs ; except in the case of such flocks as resort in winter to the .seaside, when this diet is exchanged for one of small marine and littoral creatures. The evolutions of a flock of lapwings on the wing, when the birds as they wheel from time to time present their silvery breasts to the spectator, is a beautiful sight. The devices to which lapwings resort in order to divert the attention of intruders from their eggs or young, and likewise the difficulty of RINGED PLOVER. 69 discovering their eggs, are too well known to need more than passing mention. Although there is often a slight lining of grass or heather, the eggs are usually laid in a mere hollow in the ground, it may be in one of several scratched by the cock, or, perchance, in some large animal's footprints ; and it is only in extremely rare instances that their number is either one above or one below the normal four, in both cases the symmetrical packing of the clutch being destroyed. Usually the eggs, which are laid in April and May, are devoid of gloss ; they vary in colour from pale olive to olive-buff, with blackish-brown and black spots and blotches of variable size, and underlying markings of pale purple. Although the lapwing owes its commercial importance entirely to its eggs, which in early spring command a very high price in the London market, where they are later on sold in enormous numbers, the flesh of the bird itself is of good quality in winter, but by no means equal to that of the plover. Three instances have been recorded of the occurrence in the British Isles of the sociable lapwing {C/iethista [or Chcstusia] gregaria) of eastern Europe and Central Asia. The first case, of which the authenticity is doubtful, is stated to have occurred in Lancashire in i860; the second took place in Ireland, where an immature bird was taken in Meath in 1899; the third specimen was shot in Romney Marsh, Kent, in 1907. This lapwing belongs to a small genus, the members of which lack a crest, and have drab, in place of metallic green, plumage. Rinffed Plover ^^^ genus typically represented by the ringed (iEgialitis plover is also taken in this work to include the hiatieula). sand-plovers and dotterels, since, as has been well observed, although the two latter groups appear to be distinguished by having a summer breeding-dress different from the winter-plumage, there is so complete a transition, through the Kentish plover, in which the change is slight, from species with a double plumage of this description to others in which the dress is similar at all seasons. The genus, in this sense, may be defined as including small birds resembling the golden plover in the absence of the hind-toe, but differing by the plumage being uniformly brown above in place of spotted, and never wholly black below. A consider- able number of species, with a collectively cosmopolitan distribution, and miost of which wander far to the south in the winter, is included in the genus in this extended sense. They are all shore-haunting birds, as indeed is indicated by their scientific name. 70 PLOVER GROUP The ringed plover, of which the scientific name has been altered in recent British Museum publications to Ai. Jiiaticola, is mainly a migratory species, ranging throughout Europe and western and Central Asia as far as Lake Baikal, in summer wandering even as far north as Jan Mayen, Spitzbergen, and Greenland, and even occurring on the western coast of America near Cumberland Bay, while in winter it travels mainly to Africa, although a few individuals stray into north-western India. In the British Islands it is to be met with on the coasts, where it breeds on pebbly beaches, as it also does on the shores of some lakes, while it may be seen on open ground inland during migration. Such individuals of the species as remain per- manently in Great Britain and Ireland are, as a rule, larger than the typical continental form, examples of which not un frequently however, visit our southern coasts. In Ireland, where it breeds both on the coasts and around lakes, its numbers are considerably augmented in winter by immigrants from the north. The species is one of those which do not assume a special breeding- plumage, and in which the two sexes are alike ; the entire length of the bird being 7^ inches. As regards the plumage, the most distinctive feature is that the shafts of all the primaries are white near the tips. I^'or the rest it will suffice to state that the general colour of the upper- parts is light brown, the forehead being white bordered above by black, the space in front of the eye and the ear-coverts black, the neck collared with white, below which is a black gorget, followed by the white of the under-parts. White tips distinguish the greater wing -coverts, while the dark brown primaries have, as already mentioned, the shafts near the tips marked with white flecks, with a bar across the wing when extended. Birds of the year lack the black on the head and upper part of the breast. The young chick is white, mottled above with grey and buff, and showing a dark stripe KINCKI) IM.OVKK. RINGED PLOVER 71 along the middle of the crown, a dark transverse bar across the back of the head, and a white nape to the neck. Even among birds so solicitous and resourceful in regard to the safety of their eggs and young as are the members of the plover tribe in general, the ringed plover occupies an exceptional position, showing more anxiety and concern than do any of the others ; and it is by this very anxiety that its presence is frequently revealed. Although during the breeding-season they can be approached with less difficulty than at other times, these birds are also much more shy than most LITTLE KINGKD, AND KINGKD PLOVEK. of their relatives, and feeding on mud-flats in company with dunlins, as is their frequent custom, they take wing long before the latter display the slightest concern at the approach of intruders. The nest is generally a mere hollow scratched in the sand, unless indeed the bird avails itself of some ready-made hole ; the sandy hollow being in many cases at least surrounded by pebbles to which the eggs present a very strong resemblance. Indeed, it has been stated that the colouring of the eggs varies according to the ground upon which they are laid, but this apparently stands in need of confirmation. In the eggs themselves, which vary in length from i^ to just over i^ inches, and are moderately glossy, the ground- /-' PLOVER GROUP colour ranges from cream to pale buff, with sometimes a tinge of green, upon which spots and small blotches of dark brown or black, with more or less conspicuous underly- ing markings of pale purple, are evenly distributed. Of the little ringed plover, ^gi- alitis dubia (or Ai. curonic(i) a few ex- amples have un- doubtedly been taken in England, chiefly I )n or near the south- ern coast ; but many of the instances re- corded are due to the small continental form of the ringed plover having been mistaken for the allied species. The little ringed plover, which may always be distinguished from Al. Jiiaticula by the circumstance that the shaft of the first primary- quill is alone white, is clearly therefore not entitled to rank as a member of the real British bird-fauna. MiTi.i: gui.ui:n i'i.ovki Kentish Plover ^^^^ bird commonly known as the Kentish plover (i'Egialitis ^^^^ described in the year i8oi, on the evidence of alexandrina). specimens killed a iaw years earlier in Kent, under the name of Charadrius cantianus (subsequently altered to Aigialitis cantiaud), on the supposition that it was a new species. Later it was found to be inseparable from the Cliaradrius aiexandrinus, and is accordingly now known as Aigialitis alcxaudrina. Its summer-range extends from Europe through western and Central Asia to China and Japan, while in winter it visits Africa and India (where it occasionally remains to breed), and also Australia. To the British Islands it is chiefly a summer-visitor, arriving in the south- eastern counties of England, which form its chief British resort in May, and departing in September with its young. In addition to its favourite shingle-beaches of Kent and Sussex, where it is now far less common than formerly, it has been met with occasionally in KENTISH PLOVER 73 Devon and Cornwall, while specimens (probably late immigrants from the Continent) have been taken in East Anglia in autumn, and it has also been observed in Yorkshire, to the north of which it appears to be unknown. It is not recorded from North Wales ; and in Ireland it is known only as an extremely rare visitor to the cast coast during the autumn-migration. Denmark and the south of Sweden seem to mark its northern breeding-range in Europe ; and it has also been known to breed as far south as Algeria, Egypt, Smyrna, the Persian Gulf, Ceylon, and Formosa, from all of which localities the British Museum possesses specimens of the eggs. From the ringed plover and its lesser relative, the Kentish plover, which measures about 6k inches in length, is distinguished by the occurrence in the cock of a partial change in the colour of the plumage at the com- mencement of the breed- ing season, as well as by the black legs and feet, and the replacement of the broad black gorget by an incom- plete one, forming a patch (black in the cock, and brown in the hen) on each side of the neck. In summer the general colour of the upper- parts in the cock is pale brown, relieved by bright rufous (darkening on the nape) on the crown of the head, between which and the white of the forehead is a black bar, while, in addition to the aforesaid patch on each side of the breast, there is a black spot in front of the eye, and a similar patch on the ear-coverts, the throat and under-parts being white, as are the shaft of the first primary quill and parts of those of the rest. In winter the cock loses the bright rufous tint and the black marking's on the head more or less com- pletely, while the breast-patch fades to brown ; the bird in this dress being very similar to the hen at all seasons. Birds of the year resemble the adult hens except that the feathers of the upper-parts are pale -edged. The chick is somewhat darker and more closely mottled than that of the ringed plover, and lacks the longitudinal head-stripe. In general habits the Kentish plover resembles the ringed plover. ■..^ " HE ROWLAND ' KKNTISH I'LOVKU 74 PLOVER GROUP being usually confined to the coast, although sometimes wandering inland, probably on migration. During spring and summer the birds keep in pairs ; and the eggs are reputed to be more difficult to distinguish from the stones among which they lie than arc those of an}- other species. From the great majority of the plover tribe the present species differs in that its eggs are usually three in number, although there may be the normal four. Usually they are laid in a hollow in fine sand, which ma\' be deep enough to permit them to stand almost U[)right ; but thej- have been found on a heap of seaweed cast up by the tide. They measure rather more than an inch in length, are free from gloss, and vary in ground-colour from pale to dark buff; the markings, which arc evcnl)- distributed, taking the form of specks, spots, and scrawls of dark brown or black, with the usual pale purple underlying marbling. Of the American kill-deer plover, yEgialids vocifera (referred by some writers to a separate genus under the name of Oxyechus vociferus) four examples were recorded as British up to the year 1904, namely, one from Hampshire in 1859, a second from Peterhead in 1867, a third from the Scilly Isles in 1885, ^"<^^ ^ fourth from Scotland in 1904. An even rarer straggler is the Caspian sand -plover, or eastern dotterel, Aigialitis asiatica (also known as Eudrouiias asiaticus and Ochthodroviiis asialicus), of which an example, now in the Norwich Museum, was taken at Yarmouth, Norfolk, in May 1890. It differs from the true ringed plovers by the absence of a white collar, and is further distinguished by its slender beak, the dark shaft of the third primary quill, and the white axillary plumes. THE ROWLAND W*RO STUDIOS CASPIAN SAND-IM.OVKK. DOTTEREL 75 Dotterel (^^o-ialitis ^^^^^ ^^^^ dotterel (a name apparently having the morinella) same signification as dotard) we reach a species in which both sexes assume in summer a full breed- ing-plumage ; and on this ground it has been referred to a genus by itself with the title of Eiidromias iiiorinelhis. As stated above, such a separation seems, however, to be quite unnecessary, seeing that species like the Kentish plover, in which the change is only partial and con- fined to the male sex, connect it in this respect with the ringed plover, in which there is none. The dotterel has a wide range in Europe and northern Asia, where it extends in the breeding-season to the tundras of eastern Siberia, nesting also in northern Russia, and Xovaia Zemlia, as well as on the high fells of Scan- dinavia, certain of the mountain ranges of central Europe and the hills of Cum- berland, and thus northwards through Scotland, although at the present day in much diminished numbers. In winter it visits the Medi- dotterel terranean countries, inclusive of north-eastern Africa, as well as Persia, although unknown in India. Its breeding-range in Great Britain appears to be limited towards the south by the Cumberland hills ; in the western counties of England it is rare, as it is in Wales, where, however, it is possible the species may breed on some of the mountain-tops. To Ireland it is a very rare visitor, chiefly during the autumn-migration. To the British Islands the dotterel is a somewhat late visitor, usually arriving towards the end of April or early in May, and departing early in autumn, although a specimen has been killed late in November. Although young birds may be shot on the coast during the autumn- migration, this species, unlike the ring -plover, is an inland bird, frequenting high elevations. Measuring 9 inches in length, and undergoing a complete double MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS 76 PLOVER GROUP moult, which is common to both sexes, the male dotterel in summer may be at once recognised by the rich chestnut of the breast and flanks, passing posteriorly into a broad border of black, and bounded anteriorly by a narrow crescentic band of white ; there is a broad white stripe above each eye, meeting postcriorh- on the nape, and the abdomen is also white ; the feathers of the crown of the head are dark brown with buff margins ; those of the neck and back ash-brown inclining to buff on the fore part of the neck, and, together with the greater wing-coverts, scapulars, and inner secondaries, margined with pale chestnut ; and the quills dusky. The hens arc slightly larger than the cocks, measuring 9 inches in length and rather more brightly coloured. In winter the white crescentic band across the breast and the chestnut and black patch arc lost, the whole of the under-})arts being white, tinged with buff on the breast. Young birds in their first plumage are more or less intermediate in colouring between the summer and winter plumages of the adults, the upper-parts being darker than in the adults in winter, and having the buff margins to the feathers more conspicuous, while the under-parts, though white, are more deeply tinged with buff on the breast, and bear traces of black on the abdomen. The chick is huffish white, mottled with chestnut and black ; the head being lighter, with the forehead and eyebrow white, the middle line of the head and a couple of bars behind the eye black, and a band of creamy white round the back. Dotterel on arrival at their breeding - grounds — which may be either the heathy uplands of the north of England or the mossy Siberian tundra — display considerable fearlessness and confidence, allowing themselves to be approached within a comparatively short distance ; and it is from this confiding disposition, which is, however, soon exchanged for one of mistrust, that they are believed to derive their name. From the fact that of the countless thousands of these birds which leave northern Africa in spring for the far north scarcely a single individual alights anywhere in the intervening country, there arc strong grounds for believing that this prodigious journey is accom- plished in a single night. Dotterel frequently assemble in their southern haunts in enormous flocks during winter, when they exhibit the same confiding nature as on their arrival at the breeding-grounds. Worms, insects, grubs, together with buds and young shoots, constitute the food of this species. The near affinity of the dotterel to the Kentish plover is proclaimed by the circumstance that its eggs, which are laid in a hollow among moss or heather and measure from i^ to 1 1 inches in length, are invariably three in number. Having a faint SEA-PIE ^7 surface gloss, they show a ground-colour varying from olive-grey to olive-buff, with bold spots and blotches of rich brown or black, mainly massed at the larger end, and exceedingly faint underlying markings of pale inky purple. The fact that more than sixty wire-worms, together with a couple of beetles, have been taken from the stomach of a single dotterel, sufficiently proves what valuable service a flock of these beautiful birds must render to the agriculturist. A " trip " is the fowler's term for a flock of dotterel. Sea-Pie or Although the large and strikingly coloured shore- Oystep-Catehep ^''"'^ known either as the sea - pie or oyster- (Hffimatopus catcher, together with the other members of the ostpalegus). same genus, is frequently regarded as the sole representative of a special subfamily group of the Charadriidae, it seems preferable to make that group — the Haematopodinae — include the stilt and the avocet, together with the so-called ibis-bill of India, although it cannot be definitely asserted that all these four birds are very intimately related. All the four genera have the beak long, and the scaling on the lower part of the leg of the network-type, while none of them has a distinctive breeding-plumage. Moreover, with the exception of the ibis-bill, the plumage is pied black and white ; and the eggs of the three European genera are singularly alike, those of the Indian genus being apparently still unknown. The sea-pie belongs to a genus, containing about a dozen species, with a cosmopolitan distribution, characterised by the straight, compressed, stout beak, which is longer than the lower section of the leg, and the absence of the hind -toe. The range of the European species includes the sea-coasts (to which this bird is chiefly confined) of the greater part of Europe and Asia, it being very doubtful whether the Chinese and Japanese sea-pie can be regarded as anything more than a local race. In winter it visits the shores of the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean, extending in Africa as far south as Mozambique. Its breeding-range reaches as far north as the North Cape and the lower courses of the great Siberian rivers, and likewise includes the shores of the Caspian and Black Seas. In Great Britain the oyster-catcher is to be found all round the coasts, breeding chiefly in the north of England and Scotland, but also in the Scilly Islands and a few other southern localities, as well as in Anglesey and Carnarvon. In Ireland, where it is likewise abundant and resident throughout the year, it is reported to breed chiefly on the surrounding islands, more especially those of the northern and western coasts. 7S PLOVER GROUP As this bird derives one of its English names from its colouring, and the other from its habits, so it takes its first scientific name from the blood -red colour of its legs, and the second from its reputed fondness for oysters. The pied plumage and brilliant colouring of the beak and legs are, indeed, amply sufficient to distinguish the sea- pie, of which the male measures i6 and the female 17 inches in length, from all other birds, so that the following particulars arc almost superfluous. In the plumage of both se.xes the upper-parts are mostly black, with the lower portion of the back, the tips of the middle wing- MOUNTEO IN THE RO* HD STUDIOS SKA-l'IK OK OVSTKK-CArCllKK. coverts, and the whole of the greater coverts, and the basal two-thirds of the tail-feathers white, as are all the under-parts, from the lower portion of the neck backwards ; the beak being vermilion with a yellowish tip, the legs jjink, and the iris of the c)'c crimson. What may be the precise adaptive purpose, if any, of this striking type of colouring has not yet been ascertained. In young birds in tiicir first plumage the feathers of the back and wings have brown margins ; and the chick is sand)' grey, mottled with black above, and wholly white below, the back displaying on each side a pair of dark stripes which coalesce posteriori}-. The loud clear whistling cry often indicates the near presence of an oyster-catcher when the bird itself is hidden from view ; rocks between SEA-PIE 79 tide-marks, where concealment is easy, being some of the favourite haunts of the species. Fields or meadows near the sea, as well as mud-flats and the lower parts of river-valleys are likewise the resort of the sea-pie, which may be seen singly, in pairs, or in small or (more rarely) large parties. During the breeding-season the members of a pair keep to themselves, the cocks doing sentry-duty during the three weeks of incubation. The inland lochs of Scotland are some of the breeding-places. Although there can be no doubt that the powerful compressed beak of the sea-pie is admirably adapted to prise open the valves of mussels, to detach limpets from their hold on rocks, or to extract the luscious whelk from its shell, there may be some hesitation in admitting that it is sufficiently strong to wrench open a full-grown oyster ; and some confirmation of this is afforded by stories of oyster- catchers having been found with their beaks held fast in the vice-like grip of these bivalves. As a matter of fact, the name oyster-catcher -was originally applied to an American species, and it is certain that the English species does not eat oysters. In addition to molluscs, various kinds of shrimps, crabs, etc., contribute largely to the diet of the sea-pie. The nest, as a rule, is a small hollow scraped in the sand between the shingle and broken shells which strew the beach above high-water level ; and it appears that several such holes are frequently excavated before one is found suitable to the taste of the prospective parents. In this hollow, after it has been lined with small pebbles or fragments of cockle and other shells, the female deposits in April or May her three eggs, which measure from a little more than 2 to rather over 2^ inches in length. They have a ground-colour varying from clay-brown to stone and pale greenish olive, and are marked with blotches, lines, or scribblings of chocolate-brown, with underlying spots of purplish grey. Occasion- ally, as in a nest at Blakeney, Norfolk, in 1907, four eggs are laid, and it is stated that in such instances one in the clutch differs from the other three. The extreme wariness of the oyster-catcher renders it a difficult bird to shoot ; while the remarkable resemblance presented by eggs and young alike to their surroundings are further safeguards for the preservation of the species. The great majority of the mussels attacked by the oyster-catcher are opened on the dorsal border of the shell, where the valves are gaping, by the bird thrusting its beak into the aperture, and then using it as a lever, at the same time severing the adductor muscles. If one of the valves be fractured in the process, the lever action becomes unnecessary. About nine per cent are opened on the ventral border, where the aperture for the byssus or " beard " renders the molluscs 8o PLOVER GROUP vulnerable even when the valves are tightly closed. Mussels present- ing this aspect of the shell are carefully sought out by the birds. Finalh', about thirteen per cent of the mussels are attacked at the posterior end of the shell. g^jj^. The stilt, or black-winged stilt, as it is often called, (HimantoDus '^ *^^ Charadriiis Jiiniantopus of Linnaeus, and hence candidus) ''^ many modern ornithological works is designated Hiviantopus hiviantopus, in preference to the title by which it has been so long and so generally known. Were it but of larger size and furnished with a neck in proportion to its enormously elongated legs, it might well have been called the giraffe among birds ; but the stilt, as a matter of fact, has no need of an unduly long neck, its habit being to wade in shallow water up to its knees, when the beetles and other water-insects, which form its food, are brought within easy reach of its long beak. From the sea -pie, with which it agrees in the absence of the hind-toe, the stilt may be distinguished at a glance by the great length of the leg from which it takes its name, and the narrow slender beak, much inferior in length to the 5,,.,,., lower segment of the leg. Other characteristics are to be found in the long and pointed form of the wings, in which the first primary quill is the longest, the short and evenly truncated tail, and the partial webbing of the toes, the web between the outer and middle toes being longer than the one connecting the other two. The bird is one of some half-dozen others forming a genus of which the collective distribu- tion includes the temperate and tropical regions of the whole globe. Unlike so many of the plover tribe, it does not travel north to breed, Denmark, indeed, apparently marking its ordinary northern limits ; but nests throughout the Mediterranean countries, many parts of India, and STILT 8i thence eastwards as far as the Hoangho valley in China. It also breeds in South Africa — of course at the opposite time of the year to that in which it nests in Europe. Many of the European birds migrate in winter to North Africa ; and those which in summer reach the British Islands and the north of Europe generally are mere stragglers, as the species has never been known to breed in such latitudes. In the cock the head, neck, the lower portion of the back, the axillary feathers, and the under surface of the body are white, and the mid-region of the back, together with the wings, is black with green reflections, while the under wing-coverts are wholly black. Brown replaces the black in the female ; and the birds of the year differ from the latter merely by the sandy margins to the dark feathers, and the brown top of the head and nape of the neck. Although the beak is black, the legs are pink. As the species is such a mere straggler to Britain, any mention of the young, eggs, or nests would be superfluous. Just over forty instances of the occurrence of the stilt in the British Isles were recorded during the nineteenth century, most of these being single birds, although there were several pairs and at least one flock. The localities range from, the Orkneys and Shetlands to the southern and south-western counties and Ireland. Norfolk and Suffolk, as might be expected, claim a considerable share, namely, eleven of the records ; and it is interesting to note that in the winter of 1832 one of these birds was seen at Frensham Pond, Hampshire, the locality where a flock of six came under the notice of Gilbert White, of Selborne, in the year 1779. Stilts, which frequently associate in large flocks, frequent the open parts of the shallows of pools and lakes, avoiding covert, and being so easily approached that they are easily noticed. Their loud cries, as well as their conspicuous plumage, likewise attract attention, both when wading knee-deep in water, or flying overhead with outstretched legs. Unlike the stilt, the graceful avocet was formerh- a AvOGGt regular summer-visitor to England, where it bred in the ^ marshy grounds of Sussex, Kent, Norfolk, and Lin- avoeetta) . . '' colnshire. Not a single English-laid &^^g is, however, contained in the collection of the British Museum ; and it is believed that the species has not nested in England since the year 1824. With the stilt the avocet is connected by an Australian species, which, while agreeing with the former in the structure of the feet, approximates to the latter in having a slight upward inclination of the tip of the beak. G 82 PLOVER GROUP On this ground it has been made, perhaps unnecessarily, the t\-pe of a distinct genus, with the designation CladorhyncJius leiicoceplialiis. The distinctive features of the avocet are to be found in the strong upward curvature of the slender beak, the presence of a small hind-toe, and the deep, although scalloped webbing of the front-toes. Four species of avocet, two of which are American, and a third Australasian, are recog- nised. The range of the European avocet includes (or rather perhaps included) the greater jjart of central and southern Europe, and western and Central Asia as far east as Mongolia, together with the whole of Africa, while in winter the species visits India and Cej-lon. Over the greater part of this extensive range the avocet formerly bred in suitable localities, that is to saj', in the neighbourhood of swamps and marshes, but the progress of cultivation and draining, together with the persecu- tion from which such a lovely bird cannot hope to escape, has driven it from many of its original haunts. At no i)criod of its histor\' does it AVOCET 83 appear to have been more than an occasional straggler to the west of England, Ireland, and Scotland, where it generally made its appearance during the spring and autumn migrations, and it is now reduced to this condition in the southern and eastern counties of England. Of late years, owing to efficient bird-protection, things have, however, been look- ing a little better for the avocet in Norfolk, and in May 1 904 a pair of these birds, in company with a party of spoonbills, made their appear- ance at Breydon Water, where they remained for several days, allowing themselves on one occasion to be approached within fifty yards. As regards the colouring of the avocet, it will suffice to state that both sexes are alike in this respect, and that while the upper-parts are pied black-and-white, and the middle tail-feathers wholly white in summer, in winter the latter become distinctly greyish brown, while the white of the upper-parts may apparently also be tinged with grey, and the black of the head and back of the neck becomes confined to the crown, and nape. Possibly at the latter season the black of the plumage may assume a brownish tinge in the adult, although there is some uncertainty as to whether such a colour is only met with in birds of the year, in which such a tone is invariably present. The grey downy coat of the chick is marked with bars of dusky above, and also shows a dark stripe on each side of the back, which lower down unites to form a single line ; the under-parts being yellowish white. It should be added that the beak is black at all ages, while the legs are pale blue in the adult and greenish in the young. As regards the length of the bird no two writers seem to agree, one putting this at 16, and a second at 18 inches, while a third gives 16^ inches for the cock and 1 7 for the hen ! Avocets, which can swim well, are usually found in small flocks on the borders of marshes, rivers, salt-lagoons, etc., where they feed on crustaceans, worms, and molluscs, to obtain which they search the mud and sand with a semicircular sweeping action not unlike mowing. A slight hollow in mud or sand, sometimes sparsely lined with grass or leaves, serves as a nest for the four eggs, which usually measure rather more than 2 inches in length, and have a clay-brown ground-colour marked with spots, or sometimes scratches and scribbly lines of black, the spots in some instances running together to form blotches. In 1907 a pair of these birds bred in the London Zoological Gardens. 84 PLOVER GROUP „ , The curlew, which derives both its scientific names Curlew , .^ . ^ .1 /" 1 ' ' .u {Numemns. from the Greek neo vicnc, the new moon, (Numenius ^ , ^ . . , . ,, - .... ^ . and anjiiata, Latm for bow-shaped) Irom its sickle- arquata). , , , , . , ^ • r .i shaped beak, is the first representative oi the Totaninae, or third subfamily of the plover-tribe; this subfamily being taken to include the phalaropes, and characterised by the comparatively central position of the eyes on the sides of the head, and the possession of a distinct summer and winter plumage. With the exception of the phalaropes, the toes are unprovided with lateral flaps of skin, and in MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS the great majority of the group the three front ones arc connected at the base by short webs. 'I^he curlew itself belongs to a genus with some eight or nine species, ranging over the whole of the northern hemisphere, many of which visit the opposite half of the globe in winter. The long, slender, downwardly-curved beak, with the blunt tip of its upper half overhanging the lower, and the nostrils lodged in a very elongated groove, the long and pointed wings, of which the first quill is the longest, the short and rounded tail, and the moderately long, four-toed legs, in which all but the lower front portion of the lower section (where the scales form transverse plates) is covered with net-like scales, are some of the chief characteristics of the genus. CURLEW 85 The range of the curlew includes the whole of northern Europe and Asia as far east as Lake Baikal, and in winter Africa and Madagascar, India, Ceylon, Burma, the south of China, and the Malay- Peninsula. In Great Britain this handsome bird breeds on the high moorlands of the south of England from Cornwall to Hampshire and Wiltshire, in Derbyshire and the north of England, in Wales, and throughout Scotland and the Isles. In the bogs and moors of Ireland it nests in abundance ; and in autumn and winter, as in Great Britain, a number of immature birds, some of which remain to breed, visit the coasts. In addition to its large size (total length 21 inches in the cock, and rather more in the hen), the curlew is characterised by the plumage of the upper-parts in summer being pale brown with the middle of the feathers darker ; the white lower portion of the back and tail-coverts, the latter being streaked with dark brown and the tail barred with the same ; the neck and breast of the same pale brown streaked with dusky as the back, and the hinder portion of the under-parts white. The winter-dress differs only in being paler. Young birds are more buff-coloured than the adults, from which they may be distinguished by the lighter colour of the triangular patches and bars on the inner secondaries. The chick is pale grey tinged with buff and mottled with dark brown above, and white below. During winter, curlews are chiefly found on the coasts, where they associate in flocks, but in spring resort to open inland districts and pair-off for the breeding-season, although a certain number of non- breeding birds remain in their winter haunts. Probably many North British curlews wing their way to still more northern lands to nest, their places being taken by migrants from the south. The eggs are laid in April, or, more usually. May, and there seems to be only one clutch in a year. Curlews have a quick flapping flight, with their long legs carried straight out behind, and utter a peculiarly plaintive and long-drawn cry of two syllables, in addition to which they have a distinctive alarm-note. While near the sea, the food of these birds comprises, of course, various littoral creatures, but in summer consists chiefly of worms, insects, and grubs, varied when on the moors by berries. Despite its peculiar shape, the long beak appears to be used in probing the mud for food. A mere hollow in the ground, lined with a few leaves or bents, or occasionally a tussock of grass, serves the curlew for nest, and the relatively large eggs, which frequently depart from the pegtop-shape so characteristic of the plover-tribe in general, range in ground-colour from olive, stone-grey, or light olive- 86 PLOVER GROUP brown to greenish olive, with spots and blotches of various shades of brown, generally evenly distributed, but sometimes aggregated at the larger end, and underlying markings of faint purple. White curlews arc not uncommon, but dark-coloured, or mclanistic, specimens are very rare. The excellence of its flesh causes the curlew to be much sought after for the table, but its wariness calls into requisition all the wiles of the fowler. Whauj) is a local name. Whimbrel (Numenius phoeopus). It is somewhat curious that birds so closeK- re- sembling one another as the curlew and the whimbrel should have entirely distinct English names, as it might have been thought that the title of lesser curlew would have sufficed to distinguish the present species from its larger relative. The whimbrel, of which the cock measures I 5 inches in total length, is chiefly a passing visitor to the British Islands, appear- ing on the coasts during its northern journey in April and May, and returning in August and Septem- ber, although the birds of the )-ear show them- selves on their way south a month earlier. As in the case of the curlew, a certain num- ber of non - breeding birds pass the summer with us ; but as a breeding-species its British resorts are the Orkneys, Shetlands, and North Rona in the Outer Hebrides. In the Faroes it apparently takes the place of the curlew as a nesting-bird ; and from these islands and Iceland its breeding-range extends eastwards through Scandinavia and the north of Russia to the Petchora valley on the western side of the Urals, while in nvinter it visits the south of Europe, Africa, and the Indo-Malay countries. In Ireland, somewhat curiously, it is much more abundant during the spring-migration than on the return journey. Apart from its inferior size, the whimbrel may be distinguished WHIMIIKKI,. BLACK-TAILED GODWIT 87 from the curlew by the pale brown streak along the middle of the crown of the head ; in other respects it is distinguishable chiefly by the generally darker tone of the plumage. The winter-dress differs from the breeding-plumage only in that the spots and bars of the under surface are less distinct. Immature birds differ from the adults more than in the curlew, being much more mottled above, and ha\-ing the feathers spotted with reddish buff, while the lower part of the back is mottled with spots of dusky brown. The chick closely resembles that of the curlew. The general habits of the whimbrel are so similar to those of the curlew that they need not be noticed in detail, although it may be mentioned that the breeding-haunts of this bird are on moors nearer the sea. Titerel is the name applied to the whimbrel on the south coast, from its peculiar quivering cry. As its flesh is compared to that of the curlew, the bird is even more sought after than the latter, which it equals in shyness. The resources and ingenuity of the fowler are, however, more than a match for the wariest bird that ever flew, and there is a record of twenty-one whimbrel having been killed in Pagham by a single discharge from a double-shotted gun. The nest and eggs, which are ready for brooding by the end of May, are very similar to those of the curlew ; the eggs themselves being smaller than those of the latter, with a long diameter of from 2.05 to 2.45 inches. The weight of a whimbrel is about i lb., against from i lb. 1 2 oz. to 2 lbs. 8 oz. in the curlew. Both species have the same powerful and dashing flight, which is so forcible that a curlew has been known to smash the plate-glass of a lighthouse lantern. Of the Eskimo curlew {Nuinenius borealis), which is a native of Greenland and America, only seven examples were recorded from the United Kingdom during the whole of the nineteenth century, so that this species has not a vestige of a claim to rank as a British bird. Black-tailed '^^^ black-tailed godwit, the Liiiwsa tvgocephala of Godwit (Limosa "^^"7 ornithological works, the Scolopax liuiosa of belffiea). Linnaeus, and hence the Limosa limosa of the modern school of nomenclature, is one of two British representatives of a genus with five species and a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. From the curlews and whimbrels the godwits differ by the straight beak, which has, however, a slightly upward inclination at the tip, where it is not expanded, and of which the length exceeds that of the tail. The black-tailed species, which formerly bred in the Lincolnshire fens, the Isle of Ely, and Norfolk, 88 PLOVER GROUP is a migratory bird, nesting in the colder regions of Europe and Asia as far north as the Arctic circle, and wintering in the Mediterranean countries, India, Burma, and Australia. The breeding-range of the species is unusually wide as regards latitude, extending from the marshes of Holland and Belgium to the Siberian tundras. The draining of the Lincolnshire fens put a stop to its breeding in that part of England as early as 1829, but a single nest is recorded from Norfolk so late as 1857.^ The distinctive feature of the black-tailed godwit is, as indicated I STUDIOS ni.ACK-TAII.KI) GUDU IT. by its name, that the terminal half of the tail is mostl)- black and devoid of barring, while the basal half is white. As in the second species, the general tone of the summer-dress is red and that of the winter-plumage greyish brown, a feature in which these birds resemble many mammals, such as the roe-buck, red deer, and white-tailed deer. Compared with the bar-tailed species, described next, the black- tailed godwit in summer is duller in colour, the upper-parts being pale chestnut, deepening on the back and wings to dusky brown ' This is the dale given in Stevenson's Birds of Norfolk, and in Harting's Handbook of British Birds, where the cessation of breeding in Lincf)lnshire is given as 1813; in Saunders's Yarrell the former date is given as 1S47. BLACK-TAILED GODWIT 89 mottled with black and barred with buff; the under-parts are white, barred on the breast with pale chestnut and dark brown ; and the lower part of the back and base of the tail white, the terminal portion of the latter being black. The winter-dress is similar to that of the next species. In young birds the base of the neck is tinged with red, and the upper part of the breast with ashy brown, passing backwards into grey. The chick is yellowish buff above, with black stripes on the head, neck, and back, and yellowish beneath. In Great Britain the black-tailed godwit is a less common bird than the next species, and is generally found singly or in small parties, although in India during the cold season it is often met with in flocks of from fifty to a hundred head. It reaches the British coasts on its northward journey in April, and returns from August to October, occasionally also putting in an appearance during the winter-months. Only rarely is it seen inland ; and, with the exception of the marshes of the Solway Firth, it is a scarce bird in Scotland, on the east coast of which it is most frequently seen during the autumnal southern journey. A specimen was, however, shot on June 7, 1907, in the inner Hebrides, another at Barra on September 8, a third on Beauly Firth at the end of November, and a fourth at St. Andrews on December 5 of the same year. To Ireland this godwit is also only an occasional visitor, chiefly in August and the following months. During the breeding- season it has a peculiar habit of wheeling in circles at a great height above its nest on the approach of intruders, uttering its loud and characteristic shrieking cry. On the coast it feeds on various small littoral and marine animals, but when on its inland breeding- grounds subsists chiefly on insects, grubs, worms, snails, etc., although it may also eat vegetable substances, since in India it is known to be partial to millet and rice during winter. Advantage is taken of this habit in Calcutta to feed these birds on grain for the table, and they are commonly sold in the bazaar as woodcock. The nest is a mere depression, without lining, in the moss on the bogs these birds chiefly frequent for breeding purposes ; and the four eggs may be deposited at any time between the latter part of April and the middle of May. In colour the eggs, which measure from just over 2 to nearly 2^ inches in length, range from olive-green to olive-buff, with spots, blotches, and cloudings of pale yellowish and amber brown, usually evenly distributed, and very faint under-markings of grey. From 12 to 14 oz. is the weight of a black-tailed godwit, against from 10 to 12 oz. in the next species. 90 PLOVER GROUP Bar-tailed Godwit -"Although so much more common on migration in (Limosa ^^^^ British Islands than the black-tailed species, lapponica) ^^^^ bar-tailed godwit never bred either there or in the Netherlands, being, in fact, a bird whose nesting- range is exclusively northern, ranging eastward from the swamps and marshes of Finland and Lapland across the Siberian tundra to the Yenisei valley. In winter it visits Africa north of the equator and south-western Asia, where its extreme easterly limits seem to be the neighbourhood of Karachi, in Sind. In England the species is more common during the autumn-migration than on the spring journe}-. H.\K-T.\II.i:iJ GODWIT SIMMKK but is local in its distribution, never apparently being verj- abundant in the eastern and southern counties of England, although it has been recorded in Northumberland in thousands during winter, while a fowler in Morayshire is said to have accounted for no less than i i 5 head at a single shot, thus completely eclipsing the record of 2 1 whimbrel referred to above. On the west coast of Scotland this godwit is reported to be rare, appearing occasionally only on lona and Mull. To Ireland, and more especially on the east and west coasts, it is, however, a regular visitor, and a few remain for the summer. It is much more truly a coast-bird than the last species (which favours mud-flats and estuaries rather than beaches) ; and, like the latter, is in the habit of associating with other waders, especi- ally knot and dunlin. From whimbrel it ma\' be distinguished at a RED-BREASTED GODWIT 9^ distance by its two -syllabled cry, uttered in couplets. In other respects, and especially in the form of its nest, this godwit closely resembles the black-tailed species, from which it is distinguished not only by the more or less complete barring of the tail-feathers and tail- coverts, but likewise by the shorter legs. The eggs, which are slightly smaller on the average than those of the last species, are olive or olive- brown in ground-colour, with sparse spots of light brown, which may be aggregated at the larger end, and underlying spots of purplish grey. In the summer-dress of the male bar- tailed godwit the head, neck, and under-parts are rich chestnut-red, with the feathers from the BAK-TAILKD GODWIT. crown to the breast marked by dark streaks, while the back and wing- coverts are beautifully variegated with white, black, and brown ; the lower part of the back is white streaked with black ; and the upper tail-coverts and tail are white barred with black. In winter the upper- parts are uniform grey and the under-parts white. Young birds resemble the adults in their summer-dress, but have a tawny tinge, most decidedly marked on the sides of the body, and rufous buff mottlings on the upper-parts. The young in down are unknown. Red-breasted ^^ ^ mere straggler to the British coasts, a very brief notice will suffice of the red-breasted godwit. Godwit (Maerorhamphus °^ red-breasted snipe, which together with its eastern griseus). relative, the snipe-billed godwit {M. scmipalmatus), represents a genus of godwit-like birds with long snipe-like beaks, broadening out and deeply pitted at the tip. As in 92 PLOVER GROUP the godwits, the summcr-drcss is rufous and the winter grey, so that these birds are much better called godwits than snipe, as is the practice of some ornithologists. There is considerable individual variation in the length of the beak of the present species, which is a native in summer of Arctic America, where it breeds, and in winter visits Texas and Central America. Twenty-three instances, some less authentic and satisfactory than others, of the occurrence of this species in the British Isles were recorded during the last centur\-, two of the cases including more than a single bird. The\- refer to England, Scotland, and Ireland ; the only records for the latter island being, however, a couple of specimens obtained on different occasions in the year 1893. In length this bird does not exceed I I inches ; and the beak is pitted at the extremity as in snipes. In summer-plumage the upper-parts are black spotted with pale chestnut, except the lower part of the back, which is white, spotted and barred near the tail with black ; the tail-feathers are dark brown barred with white : the .secondaries are margined and mottled with white, and have white shafts, and the under surface is pale chest- nut sparsely spotted with black on the upper part of the breast, and barred on the flanks. Except for a somewhat longer beak, the hen scarcely differs from the cock. In winter the upper-parts are greyish brown, with black shaft -streaks to the feathers of the back ; the wing-coverts are fringed with white ; and the chestnut of the under- parts is replaced by white streaks on the chest and barred on the flanks with dusky. Young birds resemble the adults in summer- plumage ; but have the brown of the upper-parts paler, and the chest- nut more marked. HE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS KKD-BREASTi;i) GODWIT. SANDPIPER 93 Sandpiper, or Summer Snipe (Totanus hypoleucus). Although referred by some ornithologists to a genus apart, under the name of Tringoides hypoleucus, that familiar bird, the sandpiper or summer snipe, is much better included in the same generic group as the redshank and greenshank ; the members of that group differing from the foregoing representatives of the Totaninse by the length of the beak not exceeding that of the tail, and being generally about equal to that of the lower segment of the leg (occasionally slightly longer and more frequentl}- somewhat shorter), as well as by the two sexes being alike in plumage. Although the characters of the legs and feet are somewhat variable, the lower segment of the former has both front and hind sur- faces covered with transverse shield-like scales, and the hind- toe is always present, but the web between the middle and outer toes may be rudi- mentary. The summer snipe, or common sandpiper, is a member of a group of small species with the beak nearly straight, and the legs short and either olive or green in colour ; this particular species being distinguished by the absence of an)- white on the rump. The range of this very common bird includes the greater part of the eastern hemisphere, the breeding-area comprising the temperate regions, and the winter habitat including southern Africa and Asia and Australia. To the British Isles the species is a summer-visitor, breeding in the south-western counties of England, Wales, the north of England, Scotland, and throughout Ireland. During the autumn- migration, when its numbers are recruited by the birds of the year, it is one of the most abundant of the British waders, occurring com- paratively seldom on the coasts, but abundantly around inland lakes or even ponds, and on the banks of rivers and estuaries, although many of the islands off the Irish coast form some of its favourite nesting-haunts. Its breeding-range extends as far north as the SANDPIPER. 94 PLOVER GROUP Arctic Circle. By the }'ouiig sportsman the sandpiper is often mis- taken for a snipe ; and, except when collected in family parties, is by no means easy of approach, being constantly on the move and keep- ing itself well beyond range. Its rapid movements, accompanied by incessant oscillations of the short tail, as it runs over mud-flats or along the borders of lakes, ponds, and rivers, are, indeed, so familiar as to require no description ; while its crj- of ivJiit — Ti'/z/V — n'hity uttered every time of rising in short jerky flight, is likewise well known to all who have visited the haunts of the species. It is perhaps less well known that the sandpiper is an excellent swimmer, although it seldom practises this mode of locomotion. Its food consists principally of worms, insects, and such like. The nest is merely a rude structure of moss and leaves placed as a rule on the sloping banks of inland fresh waters, either in a hollow or a hole, and generally beneath the protect- ing shelter of a tussock of grass or rushes, although a cornfield near water may be the site. The four eggs, which are generally laid in May and vary in length from rather more than an inch and a quarter to just over an inch and a half, range from cream to pinkish buff in colour, with chocolate-brown spots and blotches, generally evenly dis- tributed, and underlying markings of purplish gre\'. In summer-dress, the sandpiper, which measures 7^ inches in length, has the upper-parts brownish grey glossed with bronze reflections, and barred with delicate wav)- lines of black changing to bars on the scapulars and inner secondaries ; the wing-coverts are barred with black and tinged with grey, ex- cept the greater ones, which are broadly tipped with white and ^ barred with black, as are the three inner pairs of tail-feathers ; and the under- parts are white. The dark markings disappear in winter. Young birds in their first plumage have the upper- parts freckled with cross-bars of reddish buff and brown. The downy chick is pale grey mottled above with black and with the under-parts white. Closely allied to the present species is the spotted sandpiper, or American suinmer-snipe, Toiajtus [or Tringoidcs'] vuicularius, but as only half-a-d(j/.en genuine instances of its occurrence in our islands MC ROWLAND WARD STuDlOS SPOTTKD SANDI'IPKK. GREEN SANDPIPER 95 were recorded during the past century, it has no claim to be regarded as a British bird. Of these six instances, four occurred in England, and one each in Scotland and Ireland. Green Sandpiper ^" account of the shortness of the lower segment (Totanus °^ ^^^^ ^^S ^^^^ ^^^^ rudimentary condition of the web oehropus) between the middle and outer toes, the green sand- piper (together with the undermentioned American species) is sometimes referred to a separate genus, under the name of Hdodromus odiropus. So short, indeed, is the lower portion of the leg that it is inferior in length to the beak ; and other characteristic features are to be found in the dingy green legs and the brown of the lower part of the back. This bird is distributed all over Europe, Asia, and Africa, breeding in the more northern districts (in Europe from north Germany and central Russia nearly to the '^^l. Arctic Circle), and winter- ing in Africa and southern Asia, inclusive of the Malay Archipelago. To the British Islands the species is chiefly a spring and autumn visitor on passage, although speci- mens are not uncommon in GKEEX SANDPIPER. winter, and in Norfolk it has been observed in every month in the year. Whether it has ever actually bred within our limits appears to be a moot point, since the evidence is not absolutely decisive. One ornithologist definitely states, for instance, that it is not known to have bred in Great Britain ; while a second expresses his belief in the assertions as to its having bred several times in Yorkshire and once in Perthshire. The report of the keeper who furnished the Yorkshire birds as to their breeding in crows' nests is, so far as it goes, a strong confirmation of the truth of the report. To Ireland it is reported to be a rare visitor, from August to February inclusive. Special characteristics of the species are to be found in the narrow angular white bars on the black axillary feathers and the black barring 96 PLOVER GROUP of the otherwise white tail. In summer the plumage is olive-brown above, glossed with bronzy green, and spotted with white ; above the eye runs a white streak ; the throat, and the sides and part of the breast are white with dusky streaks ; the upper tail-coverts and under- parts are wholly white, and the legs and feet dull slate. In winter the spotting of the upper-parts is less decided. The total length of the bird is 9^ inches. With the exception that there is less of the bronzy green reflections, immature birds arc like the adults in winter. The chick is greyish buff above, with a streak in front of the eye, three stripes on the crown of the head, meeting on the nape, and three stripes on the back, black ; while the under-parts are greyish white. By far the most noteworthy feature connected with this sandpiper is its habit of breeding in the deserted nests of other birds, in an old squirrel's drey, or even on the rubbish which may have accumulated in the fork of a large tree. In no case does it build a nest of its own ; and the situation of the nesting-site is always at some distance, it may be as much as thirty feet, above the ground, even if a fallen tree-trunk afford the required elevation. No explanation of this strange departure from the normal habits of its kindred on the part of this sandpiper seems at present to have been offered by ornithologists. Although it has a softer and more musical cry, this bird is stated to approximate to the redshank rather than to the summer-snipe in general habits. The eggs, however, closel}' resemble these of the species last named, although they are rather larger and somewhat less glossy. Of the North American solitary sandpiper, Totanus [or Hclodromus\ solitarius^ three specimens only were reported from the British Islands up to the close of the nineteenth century, namely, one from Lanarkshire some time previous to 1870, a second from the Scilly Islands in 1882, and a third from near Penzance, in 1884. In general appearance this bird resembles the undermentioned wood-sandpiper, but in addition to its slightl)' superior size, lacks the MOUNTCO >N THE ROWLAND WARD STU0IO5 SOl.ITAkY SANDPII'KK. WOOD-SANDPIPER 97 white rump of the latter, and the black bars on the tail extend across both webs of the feathers. SANDPIPERS FEATHERS. ,,. , „ , . The wood-sandpiper, referred by some ornithologists Wood-Sandpipep , . ,. . , , ^ . _,, ^ ., _, , . . to a genus by itself, with the name of Rhyacophihis (iotanus giareoia), , , . v.- ^ -^-^ .--u ^ c \ • glareoia, is a bird with the same type oi colouring as the green sandpiper, but of rather smaller size, with a relatively shorter beak and longer leg, the tail being also comparatively long. In point of size it is somewhat larger than the common sandpiper (9 against 7^ inches in total length), from which it is readily distinguished by the white rump. The breeding-range of this sandpiper extends in Europe from Holland and perhaps Bohemia in the south to the interior of Scandinavia and Lapland in the north, and thence eastwards through Russia and Central and northern Asia to Kamchatka, while its winter visiting-area embraces Africa, India, Burma, and the Malay Peninsula. In some parts of its European haunts it has been stated to arrive in April and retire in September, and young birds have been seen nearly full-feathered in the first half of June ; but in the marshes of Hungary it has been observed in flocks at the latter part of May, and it is stated not to reach its Arctic breeding-grounds till June. To the eastern and southern coasts of England it is a fairly regular visitor on the autumn-migration, as well as to inland waters, but on the western side of the country it is seldom seen, and in Ireland had only been obtained on four occasions, in August and September, up to the close of last century. In the spring-migration the species is much less common ; but there is evidence that in former days it occasionally remained to breed, a nest being recorded from Norfolk in 1846, a H 98 PLOVER GROUP second in Northumberland in 1S53, and a third in Elginshire in the same year. As a rule, it is a ver\- rare visitor to Scotland and the Isles, but a specimen was reported from the Orkne}-s in 1901. Although the wood-sandpiper presents a strong superficial resem- blance to the preceding species, it may alwaj-s be distinguished by the markings of the axillary feathers, which are white indistinctly barred with brown, and the narrow black bars on the tail ; it is also smaller, not exceeding 8^ inches, while the green sandpiper is not less than 9 inches in length. In summer the under-parts are dark brown with spots of white, which form, notch - shaped markings to the edges of the feathers; the scapulars and inner wing - coverts are edged with white, and the head and neck streaked with the same ; and the under-parts are white, except the breast and under tail -coverts, which are streaked with brown, and the flanks, which arc barred with the same. The development of uni- formit}' in colour is the onl\- change which takes place in the winter-dress, this being brought about by the loss of the white spots and dark streaks. In first plumage young birds have the upper surface closely spotted with buff and white. The down of the chick is chestnut-buff above, mottled with black, and bufifish white below, passing into white on the abdomen. The name of wood-sandpiper has been given to this species on account of its habit of perching on bushes, trees, or stakes — at least in Europe, for this peculiarity docs not appear to have been noticed in India, where this bird, together with the green sandpiper, is familiar to sports- men under the name "snippet." In that country these birds, either singly or in small flocks, are more commonly met with on the borders Rt> 5TU0IOS WOOD-SANDI'IPKk. REDSHANK 99 of marshes, or " jhils," than elsewhere. The nest, which is said to be exceedingly difficult to discover, and is generally stumbled upon accidentally, is usually on open and dry ground near a marsh, where there is shelter of heath, grass, or low bush. The eggs are remarkabh- handsome, having a ground-colour varying from very pale green to pale or even bright buff, with spots and blotches (the latter generalh- aggregated at the larger end) of reddish and chocolate-brown, and under- lying markings of faint lilac. About i^ inches is the average length. Redshank With that well-known British wader, the redshank, (Totanus ealidris) ^^^ come to the typical representative of the genus Totaims, which is a larger bird than any of the members of the group hitherto mentioned (the length of the wing exceeding instead of being less than 6 inches), and is further dis- tinguished by the orange-red colour of the legs from which it derives its name, and also by having the outer secondary quills of the wing and a patch on the rump wholly white. Redshanks breed throughout the greater part of Europe (namel}', from the Mediterr- anean countries to the Faroes, Iceland, and to about lat. jo' in Scandinavia), and from Asia Minor through the heart of the Asiatic continent to the south-east of Siberia ; while in winter they visit Africa and southern Asia, in- clusive of India, Ceylon, Burma, and the Malay Archipelago. A frequenter during the breeding -season of marshy districts, such as the Norfolk Broads and the tideway of rivers, this bird used to nest in suitable spots throughout the greater portion of the British Islands, but drainage and cultivation have now greatly restricted its breeding- places. Both in Wales and the Outer Hebrides, it is, however, reported to be a rare species, although it breeds in most of the Irish counties. "'•' 1 iiiiii-'iiiiP 1 - ■ ■• v" ^ ^ B^ '^%J| Hpfe ""'V ^Sk W/^^^KL HHLi> -i ~^| ^^~^ _ ^^^^^ ^ ^^^v^^^^H ^^■fe^ >^ \ 7^^^^^ ' - X "- , ■ ■ . . -^ Jl BRi^m^K^ .< \'i£i,t'Smki< HE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS REDSHANK. loo PLOVER GROUP ThrouLjhout the British Isles the numbers of the redshank are largely reinforced in autumn by the arrival of flocks of migrants from the north, some of which remain on the coasts during the winter. It is ever\-\vhere a war\' bird, which may be recognised at a considerable distance by its loud call-note and the white on the wings. As regards the colouring of its plumage, the redshank in summer is pale brown above, closely streaked and barred with umber ; the secondary quills, the lower part of the back, and the upper tail-coverts (which are barred with black), together with the lower portion of the breast and the rest of the under-parts, are white ; while the flanks arc barred and the sides of the head, neck, and fore part of the breast streaked with grc\-ish brown. The hen, though somewhat larger (measuring i i inches in length), resembles the cock, but is neither so mottled above nor so spotted below. The winter-plumage is more uniform, the upper-parts being ash-coloured and the under-parts white streaked and spotted with grey on the neck and breast. In young birds the feathers of the back and wing-coverts have rufous edges. The chick is dirty white with a dark stripe on each side of the middle of the back, and two similar stripes on each side, and a dark stripe between the eye and the beak, continued backwards down the neck. The redshank is a frequenter of tidal rivers and estuaries in Great Britain, where, as already mentioned, it may be seen either singly or in flocks ; and it is a special peculiarity of the species that in such situations a number of its nests may often be found within a very limited area. During the breeding-season, when these birds will not unfrcquently perch on a bare tree or post, the cock is in the habit of taking flights in the air, where he gives vent to his characteristic notes. The hollow in a tussock of rank grass, which may or may not be sparsely lined with grass or moss, serves for the resting-place of the four relatively large eggs, which are laid from April to June, according to the latitude of the breeding-place. Redshanks rarely breed far inland; but nests were recorded from Warwickshire in 1 906 and 1907. When leaving her nest the hen often bends down the surround- ing grass so as to hide the eggs. As a rule, the ground-colour of the eggs themselves ranges from cream to pale or ochery buff, upon which are spots and blotches of chocolate-brown, frequently aggregated into a kind of cap at the larger end, with underlying markings of pale purple. In a clutch taken in Norfolk, and now in the British Museum, the colour is, however, pale blue, finely speckled with reddish chestnut. A white redshank is on record. The length of the bird is i i inches, and its weight about 6 oz. SPOTTED REDSHANK lOI Spotted Redshank ^^^^ spotted, or, as it is sometimes called, the dusky (Totanus fuseus) redshank, is a somewhat larger bird than the last, measuring a foot in length, and weighing from 7 to 8 oz. It is, in fact, the largest British representative of the genus, and may be recognised at a glance by the brown and white barring of the secondary wing-quills and the white on the lower part of the back and rump. In the breeding-season this bird betakes itself to the extreme habitable regions of the far north, nesting well within the Arctic Circle alike in Scandinavia and Eastern Siberia ; while in autumn it returns south to winter in the eenial climate of the MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND RD STUDIOS SPOTTED REDSHANK. countries bordering the Mediterranean, together with India, Burma, and southern China. In England, where it is a comparatively rare visitor, less uncommon during the autumn than in the spring migration, it is more frequently seen in the southern and eastern counties than elsewhere, being but seldom recorded from Wales and the rest of the west coast ; while it is equally rare both in Ireland and Scotland. A pair in breeding-plumage were killed in Kent in May 1905. In addition to the features already noticed, the spotted redshank in summer-dress is characterised by the plumage of the upper-parts being sooty black with inconspicuous white spots and white margins to the wing-coverts ; the inner secondary quills have bronze- brown markings, producing a mottled appearance at the edges ; the tail is blackish barred with white ; and, with the exception of the lower I02 PLOVER GROUP LtbSEK YELLOWSHANK. tail-coverts, which are barred with black, the under-parts are white. In winter grey replaces the black of the upper-parts, which are then more marked with white than in the red- shank, while the under-parts are white. Young birds are brown and more dis- tinctly spotted than the adults in winter. In general habits the spotted redshank is stated to be ver)' similar to the ordinary species, with which it frequentl)' associates, and for which it may be easily mistaken, unless it reveals itself by its peculiar and characteristic cry, so utterly unlike that of all other British waders. A full green is the general ground-colour of the eggs, upon which are spots and blotches of chocolate, with the usual deep-seated purple mark- ings. Before proceeding to the next undoubted British representative of the group a very brief reference must be made to the marsh sand- piper, or lesser greenshank {Tot amis siagnatilis), a south European and Asiatic species, of which a single ex- ample is stated to have been shot on Tring Reservoirs in I ^Z"/ . It is a comparatively small green-legged species, of the approximate size of the green sandpiper, from which it may be distinguished b\' the lower part of the back being white and the lower segment of the leg longer than the beak. HC ROWLAND GREATER YELLOWSIIANK. GREENSHANK 103 Here, too, may be parenthetically mentioned the lesser yellowshank {Totanus flavipes) 'AX\di the greater yellowshank (7". nielanolenciis), whose claims to be regarded as British birds are of the very slenderest, only one well-authenticated instance of the occurrence of each in the British Isles, namely, one of the former in Nottinghamshire during the winter of 1 854-1 8 5 5, and one of the latter in Cornwall in 1871, having been recorded during the nineteenth century. The genuineness of a third record, from the neighbourhood of Tadcaster in 1858, is doubtful. Both species are American. Greenshank With the greenshank, the Totanus canescens of some (Totanus elottis) zoologists and the Glottis nebidarius of others, we revert to the list of well-established British species. It is on account of the slight upper curvature of the beak that this species (in which the length of the wing exceeds 6 inches) has been referred to a genus by itself {Glottis), but such a course seems un- necessary. Another distinctive feature of the species is the extremely rudimentary condition of the web between the middle and inner toes ; while the yellowish-green colour of the legs from which the bird derives its name is an obvious distinction from the redshank. The greenshank, which is the best of all the sandpipers as a table-bird, ranges throughout the eastern hemisphere, breeding in the north of Europe and Asia, and passing the winter in southern Asia, China, and Australia, being a common bird at that season in localities suited to its habits all over India, Ceylon, and Burma. In England this bird is mainly a migrant, less common in the spring than during the autumn journey, and seldom remaining for the winter. Although naturally more abundant in the marshy districts of East x'\nglia than elsewhere, it has been met with in almost every part of the country. To Ireland it is a regular winter- visitor in small numbers, which may be met with on all suitable parts of the coast, but it has never been known to breed. In the more northern counties of Scotland this bird is, however, a regular breeder, apparently in increasing numbers, and it likewise nests in Skye, the Hebrides, and some of the other islands. Its breeding-range in Europe extends as far north as Lapland. Weighing from 8 to 10 oz., and attaining a total length of a foot, the greenshank displays but little difference between the sexes and between the summer and winter plumages. In the breeding-dress the head, neck, and fore part of the breast and flanks are white flecked with dusky ; the lower part of the back, tail-coverts, and the hinder part of the breast and abdomen are white ; the tail is white marked I04 PLOVER GROUP with imperfect black bars ; the back and wing-coverts arc blackish with pale grey margins ; and the secondary quills are brown margined with white, except the long inner ones which are barred with black. In winter the colour is greyish above, and less spotted below. Immature birds resemble the adults in winter-dress, but have tawny margins to the edges of the feathers, and the chest and flanks finely mottled with black. The chick is buff above, streaked along the back with black, with a dark streak before and in front of the e\-e, and a black triangular patch on the crown, the undcr-parts being white. II 1 - v-^ '^^^^i^^jiiii ^M H t ^^^1 «BB H 1 3 --■--■ ^^B . ! \ "31 W ' w : ' ^^\:: : ^ - ^ 77:ciP; iUKKNSllANK. Greenshanks, whose presence maj- be recognised b)- the three- syllabled call uttered as a rule when they rise, haunt the margins of bays, estuaries, dykes, etc., and more rarely marshes and rivers. In England they are apparently seen in most cases singly, although in Ireland during winter they associate, as in India, in flocks, which keep much to thcmsehes. They are some of the earliest of the waders to return from the north, both adult and immature birds sometimes making their appearance in Ireland before the end of June, although they are usually somewhat later. From its large size, the usual food of the sandpipers is supplemented in the case of the grcenshank by Noung minnow.s, small frogs, and tadpoles. Always wary, alike in the breeding- season and at other times, these birds are excellent swimmers ; and a specimen pursued by a peregrine falcon has been seen to make good RUFF 105 its escape by diving several times, and then concealing itself among water-plants, uttering, during the pursuit, most piercing cries of terror. Hilly ground near water forms the favourite nesting-site of the species ; the nest itself being a sparsely lined hollow amid a tussock of grass or among the heather or other herbage. In Scotland the eggs are generally laid in the latter part of May, but in Lapland not till well on in June ; this, by the way, being rather difficult to reconcile with the statement as to the occasional return of greenshanks from the north to Ireland in the latter month. In ground-colour the somewhat glossy eggs vary from cream to pale buff, often tinged with green ; the rich brown or faintly rufous markings taking the form of spots, streaks, and blotches, of which the latter tend to form a cap at the larger end, in addition to the underlying markings of faint purple. From a fraction less to a fraction in excess of 2 inches is their usual length. The American lesser yellowshank and the greater yellowshank are referred to on p. 103. Pylj- Following the course pursued in the case of the (Pavoneella blackcock, the name of the male bird is taken in puffnax) ^^^ instance of the species now claiming attention as the specific designation, although many ornithologists prefer to use the combined names — ruff and reeve — of the two sexes. The practical disappearance of the ruff as a breeding-species is a loss to the British bird-fauna almost, if not quite, as great as that of the bustard ; for these birds are remarkable and interesting from three distinct points of view : firstly, the strange difference between the two sexes during the breeding-season; secondly, the extraordinary individual variation of the males, or ruffs properly so called, of which scarcely any two are alike ; and, thirdly, the pugnacious habits of the cocks at the commencement of the breeding-season. It was from these fighting propensities that the ruff was long known in ornithological works as Macheles pugiiax, a name which, on account of priorit}', has had to give way to the perhaps better title of Pavoneella piignax — better on account of the fact that it alludes to the wonderful breeding-plumage of the cocks (by the somewhat fanciful title of " peacock-like "), as well as in retaining reference to their characteristic love of combat. Although drainage and the spread of cultivation were apparently the chief causes which led to the disappearance of the ruff as a regular breeding-species from its British haunts, the wholesale capture of these birds for the table in former days seems also to have been an important factor in io6 PLOVER GROUP their extinction. Although the fen-lands of Somersetshire, Cambridge- shire, and Huntingdonshire, as well as certain districts in Yorkshire and Northumberland, were originally included within the breeding-area of the ruff, it is only in those of "\'orkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk that the nesting of these birds continued till comparatively recent times, and of these haunts, the north fen near Spalding, and the cast and west fens between Boston and Spilsby, were the last great strongholds of the species. Ruffs, after a long ^^ "f "^^^ ^ absence, are reported to have ft ^^^^^^^^^ iff bred in Yorkshire in 1901, 'a^^^^^F ^^ 1902, and 1903, In Lincoln- shire ruffs were still breeding in some numbers so late as the year 1869, and they con- tinued to do so in Hickling Broad, Norfolk, in the follow- ing year. From the former area they have apparently long since ceased to exist as a breeding - species, but in Norfolk two nests were found in 1889, and a third in 1907, in which year a second reeve probably also nested in the county. Unfortunately no British-laid eggs are preserved in the British Museum. Although disestablished as a regular breeding-species, the ruff is a fairly common visitor to the English fen-lands in autumn, and is also seen more sparingly on the spring migration in April, while a few stray birds now and then a\ail themselves of British hospitalit}' for the winter. Thcj' arc, however, nearly all aliens in place of British-born subjects. On the western side of England, as well as in Scotland, the species is everywhere much more uncommon, as it is also in Ireland, where it is chiefly seen in autumn. From what has been written above, it will be evident that ruffs in the breeding-]>lumage are now but seldom seen in England ; and native specimens in this condition, though ffjrmerly commf)n enough, arc rare in collections at the present day, and consequently of considerable value. Ruffs breed in the MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS KL'FF IN SI'KING. RUFF 107 northern temperate zone throughout Europe and Asia, migrating in winter to Africa and southern Asia, where they are, however, rare to the south and eastward of the northern districts of India. Iceland apparently marks the extreme northern range of the species, but it does not breed there, although it nests in Lapland and Scandinavia, and to the southward in Holland and the north of France. The species is the only representative of the genus Pavoncella, which would not be worthy of separation from Totamis were it not for the circumstance that the cock, or ruff, is a considerably larger bird than the reeve, or hen, and assumes by the commencement of the breeding-season in May an individually variable plumage accompanied by the development of the striking ruff of elongated feathers around the neck from which it takes its name. Another peculiarity is the polygamous habit of the ruff; a feature in which it differs altogether from other waders and resembles the game-birds, as it does in its fighting propensities. In the breeding-season the feathers at the base of the beak are replaced by bare, pimply skin, while the long tufts which are then developed from the sides of the head of the male vary in colour from rufous, chestnut, and buff, to black and white ; the black being generally shot with purple or green reflections. The frill or ruff surrounding the neck — which can be raised or depressed at pleasure — cannot be exactly described, owing to the innumerable variations which it presents. Two main types are, however, recognisable, in one of which it is of a uniform tint — white, black, chestnut, or buff, and in the other barred. In the latter, which presents the same ground-colour as in the uniform types, it may be barred or spotted with rufous, chestnut, buff, black, or grey. The colouring of the back and breast is also variable, although conforming generally to that of the cock ; when the "ruff" is grey barred with black, this pattern predominates for instance on the back, while when the former is rufous, white, or black, the same is the case on the back and breast, although black feathers with paler edges are commonly intermixed with the plumage peculiar to each individual. The breast- feathers at this time are generally more or less black, but with these more or fewer white or buff-coloured ones are mixed : the abdomen, however, is invariably white and the legs are yellow. In winter the feathers of the back are brown with darker middles and paler edges, the head and sides of the face streaked with brown on a huffish white ground, and the breast white. The hens in summer have the back-feathers black with pale huffish white margins, the wings brown, the crowm streaked with black, and the breast black io8 PLOVER GROUP more or less closch- mottled with white. The winter-plumage re- sembles that of the cock, but the hen is distinguished by her smaller size. Young birds in first plumage resemble females in summer-dress, but have no dark feathers on the breast. The chick is rufous buff on the upper-parts, with a light central streak bordered by a dark streak on each side of the crown, dark lines on each side of the back, and the under- parts buff. As already men- tioned, the fens and the Broads of Norfolk were the chief resorts of the ruff when it was a com- mon British bird ; and in the winter in India it is generally met with near tanks and marshes or on wet grass -land, although also occurring locally near creeks and estuaries. The fighting and " s h o w i n g - o ff " habits of the ruffs in the breeding - season have been so often de- scribed that repetition is unnecessary. At the laying-.season, which commences in the first or second week in May, both ruffs and reeves put aside their habitual shyness, and are then easily taken by the fowler. The ruff loses his breeding-collar b\' the latter part of June, and so far as activity in flight is concerned, is much benefited by the change, as this mass of feathers sadly impedes his flying powers. Dry elevations, technically known as hills, in the midst of the marshes or fens, are chosen b}- the ruffs for their nuptial display. In addition to the usual food of waders, the.se birds, at least in India, will readily eat grain. A tussock of grass serves as a site for the nest of the reeve, which is deep and cleverly concealed ; and it is noteworthy that the hens of the same " harem " always nest apart from one another. The chicks are stated THE R0W1>ND WARD STUDIOS KUFF IN WINTEK. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER 109 to be at first somewhat less active than those of other waders. The eggs, although larger, are very like those of a snipe ; the ground-colour varying from pale grey to olive-green, and the markings taking the form of spots and blotches of dark brown or umber, which are aggre- gated as a kind of cap at the larger end ; the deep-seated markings consisting of purplish-brown smears and cloudings. The ruff measures 12^ inches in length and weighs 6 oz,, while the reeve is 2 inches shorter and 2 oz. lighter. Eggs measure from just over i^, inches to slightly more than i| inches. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tringites subruficollis). Eight recorded occurrences in England during a whole century scarcely entitle Bartram's sandpiper {Bartraviia longtcaiida, Act it urns longicaudus, or A. bartraviias), of America, to be reckoned as a British bird, and it is accordingly only mentioned here incidentally, without a separate inset for its name. It represents a genus by itself, characterised, among other features, by the relatively short beak and long tail. The same remark applies still more forcibly to the case of the American half-webbed (or semi-palm- ated) sandpiper {Ereimetes pHsillus), of which an ex- ample was killed in Kent in September i 907. This bird is much like a stint, but has short v/ebs at the ba.ses of the toes. On the other hand, it is somewhat difficult, although perhaps illogical, to refuse recogni- tion to a third American species, namely, the buff- breasted sandpiper, of which seventeen examples were recorded in the British Islands during the nineteenth century. This bird, which will be found entered in some ornithological works as Triiigites rufescens, is likewise the sole representative of its genus, and differs from all the preceding members of the subfamily Totaninae by the shortness of its beak and the complete absence of webbing between the toes. It must suffice to mention that this bird, which measures 8 inches BUFF-Kkl.ASI KI; SANDPIPER. ( From a specimen in the British Museum. ) I lO PLOVER GROUP in length, may be easily recognised by the black marbling, or speckling on the inner webs of the primary quills of the wings. Of the recorded British examples up to the close of last century, four are Irish and the rest English — a very fair representative division, if we take size of territory as a basis ! The " little bird frequenting sand}- coasts " is the ob- vious meaning of the name of this well-known little wader, which, together with the species last mentioned and the stints, is frcqucntl>' referred to the snipe group, or Scalopacinre, Sanderling- (Calidris arenaria) SAMJKkl.INGS. on account of the absence of webbing to the toes. All agree, however, with the sandpijicrs in having a distinct summer and winter plumage, and likewise in the fact that the eyes arc not placed unduly far back in the head, and as these characters arc obviously far more important and deep-seated than is the presence or absence of an incomplete web to the toes, these birds are here included in the Totaninai. The sander- ling is evidently nothing more than a stint which has lost the hind- toe, but this is a character entitling it to be placed in a genus apart, of which it is the sole representative. The sanderling is almost a cosmopolitan bird, nesting in the high north all round the Pole, and in winter wandering as far south as Africa, India, Burma, Australia, and South America. The exact limits of the breeding-range are not at present ascertained, but the species is known to nest in Grinnell-land SANDERLING in (lat. 82' 33'), Greenland, the I^arren Grounds of North America, Alaska, the Taimur Peninsula, the delta of the Yenisei, Novaia Zemlia, and Iceland, and it probably does so near the mouth of the Petchora, on the western side of the Urals. Measuring about 7^ inches in total length, the sanderling is specially characterised by the circumstance that while the summer- plumage is mottled chestnut and black, the winter-dress is uniformly grey. In summer the ground-colour of the upper-parts is brownish black, with pale chestnut edges and bars to the feathers, giving a mottled appearance ; the neck, throat and upper part of the breast are also of a pale chestnut, relieved by spots and streaks of brownish black, while the rest of the under-parts is white ; across the wing extends a bar formed by white tips to the greater coverts, and white bars to the secondaries, some of the inner webs of which arc pure white, while the outer wing-coverts are brown. In winter the upper-parts are light ash}' grey relieved by fine dusky streaks, specially marked on the wing- coverts and upper tail-coverts ; while the whole of the under-parts is white. Young birds in first plumage are intermediate between the summer and winter plumages of the adult, the upper-parts being black spotted and barred with buff and white, while the lower surface is tinged with buff, fading by exposure to white. On account of breeding so far north, sanderling are compelled to travel south very early, and they reach the British coasts on their southern journey during the latter part of July or early in August, the advance parties consisting of both adult and immature birds. From April to June is the period of the northern journe}', by which time the birds have assumed their summer breeding-plumage ; but the species is less commonly seen at this season in Great Britain than it is in autumn. On sandy shores it may be met with all round Ireland, alike in spring and autumn ; and it is believed that, as in Great Britain, a few individuals ma}' occasionally remain for the winter. On the sandy flats from which it takes its name the sanderling ma}' be seen, either singly or in flocks, in association with sandpipers and dun- lins ; and in winter may easily be mistaken for the latter species, although distinguishable by its generally lighter tone of colouring, more especi- ally the pure white breast and shorter beak. The extreme edge of the tide forms the favourite hunting-ground of this bird, where it is con- stantly running in and out of the water in search of the shrimps, worms, and shell-fish which form its food. On the breeding-grounds its food consists, on the other hand, largely of insects, together with the buds 112 PLOVER GROUP of plants. It may be added that the monosyllabic crj' of the sanderling is utterly different in character from the shrieking call of the dunlin. As regards the nest and eggs, our information is very imperfect, the British Museum up to the year 1902 possessing only two specimens of the latter. The nest is apparently placed on dry ground, and ma\' be lined cither with willow-catkins or with leaves and grass. The two eggs in the British Museum have an olive-buff ground with markings of pale olive-brown, these markings in the one consisting of small, evenly distributed spots and specks, and in the other of larger spots and blotches more thickly concentrated at the larger end than else- where. The two specimens, which came from different localities, agree, however, in the character of the underlying purple markings. The longer diameters of each are respectivel}' 1.33 and 1.37 inches. Although the genus Triitga is tj'pically represented ,_ , . ^ , b\' the knot (to which and an allied species it is re- (Tringa mmuta). - . , , • , , • x , , • r , stncted by some ornithologists), tlic relations of the different species included within it in its wider sense are best displayed by commencing with the stint and its immediate relatives. In this extended sense the genus Tringa may be briefly defined as including a number of small waders characterised by having four toes, of which the three front ones are not connected at the base by webs ; soft flexible slender beaks, of variable length, either straight or slightly bent down- wards, with grooves in each half, and the small nostril situated near the base, nearly square tails in which the middle feathers may be pointed and slightly prolonged beyond the rest, and the lower segment of the legs rather short and covered with shield-like scales. In the long and pointed wings the first quill exceeds the others in length, but the inner .secondary quills nearly equal the primaries in this respect. The stint, which, under the name of Limonitcs niiniita, will be found in some ornithological works classed as the typical representative of a separate genus, is a small species characterised by the beak and lower segment of the legs being nearly equal in length, and likewise by the approximate equality in this respect between the lower segment of the leg and the middle toe. In the tail the feathers are of equal length; the wing measures less than 5 inches in length, the shafts of all the primary quills are partially white, and the leg is leaden grey in colour ; the total length of the bird is 6 inches. Referring in more detail to the colouring of the species, it may be mentioned that in general colouring the stint is very similar to the STINT 1 1 dunlin (see page 123), from which it may be distinguished by its inferior size. The secondary quills in the stint are, however, brown in place of partially white ; and in the summer-dress the white breast has no black patch, but is tinged with chestnut on the sides. In winter the upper-parts are greyish brown, and the white under-parts •tinged with grey, in place of buff in the dunlin. Young birds in first plumage resemble the adults in summer, but have the wing-coverts margined with chestnut, except in the case of the greater coverts, while the scapulars are mostly bordered with white (in place of chestnut), and the breast is un- spotted. The chick is somewhat more richly coloured than that of the dunlin, and has the legs darker. The present species is usually designated the little stint, but since it is apparently the bird to which the name stint is alone properly applicable, while there is a smaller representative of the group which occasionally visits the British Isles, it. seems prefer- able to discard the prefix except in cases where its use is essential in order to distinguish the species from its immediate relatives. The breeding-range of the stint extends from the open Arctic stint. lands of the Kola Peninsula, on the east side of Lapland, across northern Russia and the adjacent islands in the Arctic Ocean to the tundra of northern Siberia at least as far eastward as the neighbourhood of the Taimur Peninsula ; while in winter the bird migrates to Africa and southern Asia as far east as India and Ceylon, where it is abundant in suitable localities. To the British Islands, where it is much more abundant in the south-eastern districts of England than in the north and west (in the latter of which it is practically unknownj, the stint is a spring and autumn visitor, making its appearance, in common with so many other waders, much more frequently in the latter than in the former season. In Scotland it is rare, while to Ireland it is an autumn-visitor in small numbers, 114 PLOVER GROUP making its appearance chiefly in Dublin and Belfast Bays. In India, where it usually arrives in August or September and departs in May, it is chiefly found in flocks on the margins of tanks, marshes, and estuaries, or on the coast. The stint (or the dunlin) may be cited as an excellent instance of the force of example, for this bird so closely resembles the dunlin, with which it constantly associates, both in general appearance and habits, that were it not for the markedly inferior size of the present bird, it would be difficult to distinguish between the two species in their native haunts. Indeed, so identical are the habits of the two birds that as reference is made later on to those of the dunlin, it would be superfluous to make any observations with regard to the mode of life of the species now under consideration. Consequently, it will suffice to mention that the nest is a mere hollow in the turf of the tundra, sparsely lined with willow-leaves or other vegetable substances, and situated within easy distance of tidal water ; and that the four eggs, which in length measure only just over an inch, have a ground-colour varying from pale greenish grey to pale brown or buff, upon which are spots and blotches, or in some instances large smears forming a cap at the larger end, of faintly rufous brown, together with inconspicuous underlying markings of pale grey. It may be added that the incubating bird displays great solicitude and performs strange antics when the nest is approached, sometimes coming almost within arm's length of the intruder on the vast solitudes in which these little waders are wont to nest. It may be added, in conclusion, that when in the field the stint in non-breeding plumage may be recognised by the presence of a buff chevron on the back with the point directed towards the tail ; the whole mark being of a lighter tint than the rest of the plumage. In the breeding-dress the mark is less conspicuous, as it also is in skins prepared for study purposes. Temminck's Stint -^'"^^ ^^^^ American stint, Tringa minutcUa {Limonites (Trine-a niiftutclla of some ornithologists), which is a con- temmincki) sidcrably smaller bird than the last, had only been recorded three times from the British Isles (once in Cornwall in 1853, and twice in Devon, 1869 and 1882), up to the end of the last centur}', it clearly has no claim to be regarded as any more than an extremely rare straggler, and needs no detailed notice. On the other hand, Temminck's stint, known to some writers as Limonites temviincki, although much rarer than the little stint, is TEMMINCK'S STINT 1 1 by no means a very uncommon visitor to the east coast of England, and has also occurred in the southern and some inland counties and very rarely in the west. In Ireland there is but one, perhaps some- what doubtful, record ; and there appears also to be some degree of doubt attaching to two alleged instances of the occurrence of the species in the north of Scotland. The bird is of the approximate size of the American stint, that is to say, just over 5 inches in total length, and is thus the smallest member, not only of this group of waders, but likewise of the more t}-pical sandpipers which have any claim to be regarded as British. In addition to its inferior size, it is readily distinguished by the fact that the shaft of the first primary TK.MMIN'CK S STINT. quill alone is white, those of the others being brown, and by the white outer tail-feathers. Although somewhat variable, the summer-plumage has the feathers of the upper-parts generally greyish brown edged with pale rufous chestnut, the middle tail-feathers dark brown, but the three outer ones white ; the white tips to the greater coverts form a bar across the open wing, and the under-parts are like those of the stint. In winter the upper-parts are brownish grey, with dark middles and pale margins to the feathers. Buff margins to- the feathers of the upper-parts, and a buff tinge to the white under-parts, with brown streaks on the breast, distinguish young birds in first plumage from the adult winter-dress. The chick is golden buff, with spots of black above and a dark stripe down the back, and a buff tinge on the white lower surface. Like the stint, this species nests in the Arctic districts of Europe and Asia ; the breeding-range in this instance extending ii6 PLOVER GROUP from the island of Tromso, on the west coast of Finmark, in northern Scandinavia, to the valley of the Yenisei, and perhaps farther, in the east. Similarly, the winter -range includes the south of Europe, a considerable portion of Africa, and southern Asia ; the eastern extent being, however, somewhat greater, as this bird is found, although rarely, in Burma, but the southern limits rather less, the species being unknown in South Africa and scarce in the south of India and Ceylon. In England, where it is usually represented by single immature birds, Temminck's stint apparently agrees in general habits with the true stint, but in its Arctic summer-home is said to be less completely a shore-bird, and may not unfrcqucntly be seen inland perched on a post or branch, or warbling during fhght a song which, although louder and more shrill, has been compared to that of the grasshopper warbler. In addition to this song, the bird has a characteristic call- note of its own. In Tromso it is not uncommon to find several nests within an area of a few yards of one another ; these being slight depres- sions in the soil, lined sparsely with dry grass, and usually situated within a short distance of water. As in the case of the true stint, the incubating bird displays great boldness and tameness when the nest is approached. Since it is the cock which is said to perform the duties of incubation in the case of this species, it ma\- be argued from analogy that the same holds good in the case of the true stint, although the sitting bird has in one instance at least been described as the female. In the case of the under-mentioned purple sandpiper the male is known to take a large share in bringing up the young, although the female may do a part of the incubating. The eggs of Temminck's stint, owing to the less inaccessible and better-known regions in which the species nests, were familiar to ornithologists long before those of the true stint were discovered. They differ from the latter in being, as a rule, somewhat paler coloured, with the markings less distinctly defined. ., , „ , In nearly all books on birds the species we venture Sharp-tailed Sand- ^ ^ to designate the sharii-tailcd sandpiper will be found piper ,_ , , . V described under the title of the " pectoral sandpiper,"' fTring-a maculata). . , . , ^ ^ „ . ,. a truly atrocious name (derived froin Trtnga pcctoralts, one of the synonj'ms of the species; to apply to a harmless and unoffending bird. On the other hand, the name here emplo)-ed refers to a well-marked and distinctive characteristic of the species, namely, the lance-like and pointed form of the tail-feathers, more especially those other than the outer pair. In the relative shortness of the beak, SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER 117 which is shorter than, or a mere fraction longer than, the lower segment, or shank, of the leg, this bird and three allied species come very close to the stints, from which, however, they differ by the length of the shank exceeding that of the middle toe. On this account they are referred by some naturalists to a distinct genus, the title of this species then being Heteropygia maculata. In having the shaft of only the first primary quill white, the sharp-tailed sandpiper resembles Temminck's stint ; it is specially characterised by the brown legs, dark upper tail- coverts, and the presence of a dark band across the neck and chest, as well as by the slight excess in the length of the beak over that of the lower segment of the leg. In one book the length is given as ranging from 8^ to 9 inches, in a second as 9, and in a third as 8 inches. In summer-plumage the general tone of the upper-parts is bright clay - colour, or brownish buff, broadly streaked with dusky ; the fore part of the neck and breast being greyish tinged with pale buff and streaked with dark grey, and the throat and remainder of the lower surface white. In winter the colouring of the plumage of the upper surface is more nearly uniform, the dusky markings being less distinct, and the buff-coloured areas paler. The general colouring of the plumage of immature birds is similar to that of the adults in summer-dress, but brighter, the buff being richer and the scapulars tipped with white, while the streaks on the breast are narrower. The sharp -tailed sandpiper is an American species, of which stragglers are blown from time to time across the Atlantic to the British Isles, and it is solely owing to the number of such casual visitors that the species is here assigned a definite place in the British list. Twenty-nine instances, some represented by two or more individuals, of the occurrence of the species in the British Isles, were indeed recorded between the years 1830 and 1878 ; and it is not a HE ROWLAND WARD SHAKP-TAILED SANDPIPER. ii8 PLOVER GROUP little remarkable that while East Anglia claims nine of these, only one falls to the share of Ireland, where the visitations of this species would naturally be expected to be more numerous than elsewhere. Of the eastern sharp-tailed sandpiper, Tringa aauninata (or Heteropygia acujiiifiata), of Eastern Asia, two specimens from Norfolk represent the British record for the nineteenth century. It may be distini^uished from the American species by the relatively shorter beak, and the presence of white on some portions of the shafts of all the primary quills. The length is 8 inches. Nine occurrences (two re- presented by more than a single specimen of the bird) of Bonaparte's sandpiper, Tringa fuscicollis (or Heteropygia fuscicollis), were recorded during the same period in the British Islands, most of these being from the southern and south-western coasts of England, although one is Irish. The species is a native of North America, breeding throughout a wide range in the Arctic regions, and wintering in the West Indies and Central and South America. In appearance the bird is very like a small dunlin, from which, in addition to the general characters referred to above, it may be distinguished by the white patch formed by the upper tail-coverts. Of yet another North American member of this group, namely, Baird's sandpiper (Triuga bairdi, or Heteropygia bairdi), a single example was taken in Sussex in the autumn of 1900, while a second specimen is recorded from Norfolk in 1903. This bird ranges from America across Bering Sea to the Chukchi Peninsula. „ Why the little wader which forms the typical (and, ,„ . . ^ according to the "splitters," together with its eastern (Tring-a canutus). , , , > » relative, the only) representative of the genus 7 ringa, should have been specially singled out to perpetuate the name of the one Danish sovereign who has occupied the British throne it is not easy to conjecture, seeing that there are several other sandpipers equally in the habit of running along the margin of the tide. The knot and the allied eastern species resemble the dunlin (described later) in that the beak, which has a distinct ridge on the upper surface and expands slightly towards the tip, is considerably longer than the shank or lower segment of the leg (thereby differing from the sharp-tailed sandpiper and its relatives) ; but are broadly distingui.shcd by the squared tail, of which the middle feathers are not elongated. The European species is considerably smaller than the eastern knot {T. crassirostris), mcdiSUYxng 10 inches in total length, with a wing of 6^ inches. The breeding-range of the knot includes the Arctic regions of both hemispheres, extending in the Old Workl at least as far east KNOT 119 as the New Siberian Islands. In winter the species visits the West Indies and parts of South America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, but is replaced in India and China by the eastern knot. To the British Islands this bird is a spring and autumn visitor, which, like so many other waders, makes its appearance much more abundantly in the latter than in the former season, its numbers being, of course, increased by the young ; it is also considerably less wild in autumn than in spring. In Ireland, where it is sometimes seen in large flocks, the knot is much more abundant on the east and north coasts than on those of the west and south. Its relatively large size, coupled with the short black beak and legs, and the white axillary feathers barred or freckled with black, serve to distinguish the knot at all seasons of the year. In the summer-dress the under- parts, except for the white middle of the abdomen and white under tail-coverts barred with brown, are chestnut ; this chestnut also prevailing on the upper-parts, where it forms the margins to black feathers ; the lower part of the back and the upper tail-coverts are white with a tinge of chestnut. In winter the under-parts are white flecked with grey, and the upper-parts ashy grey. Young birds in first plumage show a colouring more or less intermediate between the summer and winter dresses of their parents, the upper surface of the body being mottled with black and white, and the under surface tinged with buff and spotted with dusky brown. The down of the chick is white thickly mottled above with dark grey and black, while the head shows one dark streak run- ning from the beak to the eye, and a second along the side of the face below the eye. In common with the sanderling and certain other species which resort to the most remote Arctic regions where the summer is of the briefest, the knot lingers late on the British shores, where it may often be seen till May, before starting for its breeding-grounds, and returns early. Tidal harbours form the chief English resorts of this bird, where, as stated in an earlier paragraph, it often consorts with dunlins, the two species feeding together on the flats of sand or mud, and resting KNuT isL.MMKk;. I20 PLOVER GROUP in company on the ridges or hummocks of shingle and spits of hard sand. The characteristically musical note of the knot has been compared to the repetition of the syllables iui-tui, tui-tni. The food of this species is generally similar to that of other waders with similar habits, but univalve molluscs of the genera Turbo and Rissoa ' are stated to form a favourite portion of the diet. The eggs of the knot were not definitely identified till the year 1905, although there is little doubt some few examples had been obtained previously. In the year referred to there were exhibited in London a dozen knots' eggs and a few nestlings, which had been obtained on the Taimur Peninsula and the New Siberian Islands, together with the parent birds. Earlier in the same year a nest and eggs obtained in Iceland in 1898 were described as those of the knot ; and there are two reported instances of the species having laid in captivity in England. Purnle '^\'\. 273. DUNLIN I 2 tinge on the under surface, which is spotted with black on the breast. AlthouL,di the dunlin of Eastern Siberia and America, on account of its somewhat larger size, has been regarded as a distinct species, it seems preferable to consider such small differences as of racial rather than specific value, and the present bird may accordingly be considered as one of the comparatively few members of the group having a circumpolar breeding-range, which in Europe extends as far south as Scandinavia and the British Islands. The winter-range in the Old World includes the Mediterranean countries and a large part of southern Asia. In the British Islands the species may be said to breed in such localities as are suited to its habits where the tempera- ture is not too high. It is found, for instance, nesting on the open moorlands of Cornwall and Devon, then again in those of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and more sparingly in Lincolnshire, and thus onwards through the other northern counties of England and Scotland, where it is locally very abundant, and the Isles. In the sister island it nests in limited numbers in parts of Leinster, Connaught, and Ulster, and on the coasts from autumn to spring is the most abundant of all the wading-birds. From the last statement it will be evident that the numbers of the dunlins resident in the British Islands are largely reinforced in winter by migrants from the north ; and it may indeed well be that many of the resident British birds take a southern trip for the winter. Except during the early part of the breeding-season, the dunlin, as already mentioned, is essentially a bird of the shore, where it may often be seen on the mud-flats, accompanied or not, as the case may be, by knots and other waders, in flocks of immense size. The feeding- time of these flocks is the ebb-tide, when the flats of mud and sand are laid bare, and it is then that these birds may be seen carefully hunting in and round every little pool for food, which comprises at this time of year shrimps, small crabs, shell-fish, marine worms, etc., although when the birds are on the moors for breeding the nutriment is, of course, entirely different in character. When the tide is in flood dunlin resort to the beach, from which they will now and then, especially if disturbed, take a short flight seawards, although most of the time is passed in dressing their feathers and sleeping in the characteristic wader-pose, that is to say, on one leg, with the beak snugly tucked beneath the wing. Although a number of immature birds may remain together all the summer, the flocks of dunlin break up into pairs before the departure to the breeding-grounds. Well concealed in I 26 PLOVER GROUP some hollow amid low heather, moss, or li^rass, the dunlin's nest is care- fully lined with root-fibres and dr)' grass. The ei;gs, which, as already stated, closely resemble these of the purple sandpiper, although of larger size, measure from i^- inches to nearly i .', inches in length, and are ver)' variable in colour- ing. Generally speaking, it may be said that the ground-colour ranges from light greenish or olive grey to full cream or even pale chocolate, and that the superficial markings, which are mostly aggregated at the larger end, take the form of spots or blotches varying in tone from reddish brown to blackish, al- though the underlying greyish markings are constant. The situation of the nest is never far from water, either salt or fresh. Dunlin have not a very high repute as birds for the table. Pied phases are by no means uncom- mon, and at least one albino is on record. In the pairing-sea.son dunlin, while on the wing, utter a whistling cry quite unlike the ordinary call-note. MOUNTED IN THE HOWLANO WARD STUDIOS DUNLIN (WINTKK). Broad billed Sandpiper (Tringa platyrhyneha). The dunlin occupies a somewhat intermediate posi- tion between the curlew-sandpiper on the one hand, and the broad-billed sandpiper, or broad-billed stint, as it is sometimes called, on the other ; and it is this connection which justifies the inclusion of the latter in the genus Tringa, of which it is the last British representa- tive. It should be mentioned, however, that many ornithologists who regard the genus Tringa as including most of the species here placed within its limits .separate the broad-billed sandpiper as the representa- tive of a genus apart, under the name of Liniicola p/a/yr/iyncha. The present species, which is such a rare straggler to the Briti.sh Islands that the writer has felt some hesitation in placing its name in an in.set, is a much more snipe-like bird than any of the preceding species, although it resembles other sandpipers in the position of the eye and in having a double change of plumage. As its name implies, it is .specially characterised by the expansion of the stout beak, which is as broad as high, and tapers to an awl-like point, with a slight downward RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 1 27 curve towards the tip, and also by the circumstance that the middle tail-feathers scarcely exceed the others in length. In the summer- plumage the general colour of the upper-parts is dark brown inclining to black, mingled with rufous and white, the latter forming broad margins to the inner secondary feathers ; while the greater portion of the under- surfacc is white tinged with rufous and spotted with dark brown, although the hind part, or abdo- men, is pure white. In its general greyish tone the winter- dress is very like that of the dunlin, but shows less white on the secondaries ; and this simi- larity of the plumage of the two birds at this season affords a strong argument for including them in the same genus. The plumage of immature birds resembles that of the adults in summer. Six and a half inches is the total length of the adult. Northern Europe and Asia are the breeding-resorts of this species, which in winter visits the Mediterranean countries and southern Asia. During the nineteenth century only eleven instances of the occurrence of this bird in the British Isles were recorded, most of these beine in the southern and eastern counties of England, although one is from Ireland. Yorkshire is the most northern limit recorded ; and of the eleven records, four occurred during the spring, and the rest during the autumn-migration. In the case of such a rare straggler, it would be superfluous to make any reference to habits and nesting. -tE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS HKOAD-BILLKD SANDPIPKK. Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus). For want of an English name the soft-plumaged birds constituting the genus PJialaropus (meaning " coot-footed ") are commonly designated by an Anglicised form of their scientific title. A much better designation would, however, be lobe-footed sandpipers, since they are in reality nothing more than sandpipers specially modified for a much more aquatic mode of life than is usual in this group of birds, although they have been called plovers. Still it is very difficult, and perhaps inadvisable, to attempt to change well- established names, and phalaropes they will therefore probably remain. By many ornithologists these birds are regarded as representing a sub- family, the Phalaropinai, by themselves ; but according to the system 128 PLOVER GROUP here followed ' thc\- arc classed as a section of the Totanina; specially distinguished b\' the presence of a looped, or scalloped, web along each side of the three front toes, and also by their habit of swimming in the open sea, sometimes even out of sight of land. Three species are known, each of which has been made the type of genus by itself, although this seems a somewhat unnecessary refinement in classification. Two are circumpolar species, while the third, except for stragglers, is American. In all three species the cocks perform the duties of in- cubation, and, as is usual in such cases, arc inferior in point of size and MOUNTED IN THE ROWU»KO WARD STUDIOS KED-NIXKED I'HALAKOi'i; (ILMALE). the development of the summer breeding-plumage to their emancipated partners. The red-necked phalarope, which is the type of the group, is a bird measuring about 7^ inches in length, with a slender sub- cylindrical beak, of which the tip is narrower than the shank of the leg, which latter is longer than the middle toe and claw. In her summer-plumage the hen is dark bluish or leaden grey above with a streak of buff on each side of the fore part of the back, a patch of rufous on each side of the neck, and white tips to the greater wing- coverts, forming a conspicuous bar across the wing ; while the flanks are slaty, and the rest of the under-parts white. The cock displays ' IJIanford, Fauna of British India — Birds, vol. iv. p. 280. RED-NECKED PHALAROPE 129 somewhat less brilliant tints than his partner, and here the rufous patches are divided in part b\' a slaty area ; in winter both sexes lack the buff and rufous areas ; and immature birds are generally sinfiilar to the cocks in autumn, but have yellowish margins to the feathers of the upper-parts. The chick in down is bright golden yellow, with longitudinal stripes of black. The main breeding-area of this species includes the northern parts of both hemispheres, but extends southwards as far as Ireland in the Old World ; Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and the Yenisei valley may be mentioned as well-known breeding-resorts. In winter these birds visit the shores of southern seas. Within the British Isles up to the year 1903 the species was onl\- definitely known to nest in the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Outer Hebrides, but in that year was recorded as breeding in Ireland,' where, strange to say, it had been previously known only as a rare straggler. This discovery took place in the west of Ireland in the spring of 1902, where several nests were seen, and a chick sent to the Dublin Museum for the purpose of making sure that the species was correctly identified. According to the testimony of the keeper on the estate in question, these birds have been in the habit of breeding in the bogs there for many years, although the fact was previously unknown to ornithologists. The tameness of the parent birds, and their vigorous and pathetic efforts to defend their offspring, were very noticeable. Except in the aforesaid localities, where they are far from common, the red-necked phalarope visits the British Islands only as a migrant, and is more abundant in autumn than in winter. At the latter season these birds may be seen in the warmer seas of both hemispheres swimming in flocks, often at a considerable distance from land, and are then very hard to approach within range. On the other hand, when the pairs are frequenting the small tarns on the moors to which they resort in the breeding-season, their tameness is no less remarkable than is their wariness at other times of the year. As is usual with birds in which the cock does the work of incubation, the courting falls to the share of the hen, who is an adept at showing her nuptial plumage to the best advantage in order to attract her, may be unwilling, partner. In the Orkneys the nesting-season does not commence till June is well advanced. The nest in the Orkneys is described as being situated in tufts of grass near water, and of the approximate size of that of a titlark, but much deeper. The four eggs, 1 Williams, Irish Naturalist, vol. xii. p. 41 ( 1903) : see also H. S. Gladstone, British Birds (the serial), vol. i. p. 174 (1907). K I ^o PLOVER GROUP which nica.surc between i inch ar.cl i^j^ inches in length, vary in ground-colour from olixe-buff to huffish brown of different shades, and arc somewhat thickly marked with spots and blotches of blackish and chocolate-brown, with faint underlying shadings of pale purple ; in man}' cases the brown markings are larger and more numerous at the larger end of the egg. Gpev Phalarooe ^^^^^ 5^''cy phalarope, the Eryviophilus fulicariiis of (PhalaroDus some ornithologists, is a rather larger bird than the fulicarius) ''^^^' ^•'O'^'' ^^liich it is readily distinguished by the flat beak, which is broader than high, and also broader than the shank of the leg, which latter is not longer than the middle toe and claw. The toes are also half-webbed with larger lobes, GREY PHALAKOPK. while the back of the shank of the leg is serrated. There is likewise a greater difference between the summer and winter plumages, the former being distinctly red and the latter grey ; a feature in which the present species agrees with many mammals, such as the roebuck and the white-tailed deer, thus serving to confirm the view that a change from red in summer to grey in winter is a law of animal coloration, although occurring, of course, only in certain instances. The breeding -range of this species is circumpolar, but more exclusively Arctic than that of its red-necked cousin, apparently not WOODCOCK 131 reaching in the Old World south of Iceland. To the British Islands the bird is, therefore, known solely as a migrant, and that a very- irregular one, being generally a rare visitor, but occasionally making its appearance in considerable numbers. Like most birds breeding in the far north, the grey phalarope (the red phalarope, as it is called, from its summer-dress, in America) wanders far to the south in winter, having been recorded from New Zealand in the eastern, and from Chili in the western hemisphere. In England the species is least uncommon on the southern and eastern coasts, and is seldom seen north of Norfolk, although it reappears in Scotland and the Orkneys. To Ireland it is an occasional autumn and winter visitor. In the breeding-dress the grey phalarope, and more especially the hen, may be described as sandy buff streaked with black on the upper-parts, the crown, nape, and region of the eye wholly black, the lower part of the back slaty, the rump and upper tail-coverts chestnut marked with black, the wing-coverts slaty blue and white (the latter forming a bar across the wing), and the sides of the neck and under- parts chestnut. The paler-coloured cocks have the head more like the back, and much white on the throat and breast. The winter- plumage of both sexes is light pearl-grey above, with a black patch on the nape of the neck, and white on the under surface. Immature birds, which are those generally seen in Great Britain, resemble the adults, but have merely buff margins to the black feathers of the upper-parts and a broad black horseshoe-mark on the crown. The chick is golden yellow striped with black, but shows a buff stripe above the eye, and a black-bordered chocolate crown. In general habits this species appears to be very similar to the last, but in America is said to associate in larger flocks. Its food in winter consists of small marine crustaceans, and in summer of aquatic insects. The eggs differ from those of the red-necked species merely by their superior size. The alleged occurrence of a specimen of the long-billed Wilson's phalarope, PJialaropus (or Steganopus) tricolor, of America, in Leicester- shire, appears to be based on a mistake. Woodcock ^Vith that unrivalled bird (both as regards sport (Seolopax ^^^'^ ^^^ table) the woodcock, we come to the first rustieola). representative of the snipe group, or subfamily Scolopacin^, as here understood ; for, as already mentioned, certain writers include in this group some of the birds here classed with the Totanin?e. In the present sense of the term, the 13- plovp:r group Scolopacinae arc broadly distinguished from the latter group b>' the backward position of the eye, and the absence of a distinct summer breeding-plumage. The eye is always large, and placed only just in advance of the aperture of the ear or even below it ; the beak is long, slender, and richly furnished with nerves ; while the length of the short shank, or lower segment of the leg, never exceeds that of the middle toe and claw. Like the stints, the three front-toes are free. In habits these birds, as a rule, are largcl}' nocturnal, or rather they become active with the falling shades of evening. With the exception HE BOWLAHO WOODCOCK. of the painted snipe, which is unknown in the Briti.sh Islands, the two se.xes are alike. The woodcock is distinguished from the snipes by the fact that the feathering of the leg reaches down to the joint between the shank and the second segment of the leg, and also by the absence of pale longitudinal stripes on the feathers and the transverse barring of the back of the head and nape of the neck. The aperture of the ear appears to open in advance of the e\'e. The wings are also more rounded, with the first quill the longest, and the short tail has twelve feathers. Two species of woodcock inhabit the Old World, one of which is confined to Java ami Xcw Guinea, while the other ranges over Europe, northern Asia, and the Himalaya, migrating in winter to the south of Europe, northern WOODCOCK 133 Africa, and southern Asia, inclusive of India and Burma. Althoui^li in Scandinavia this species ranges to the Arctic Circle, elsewhere in Europe it does not extend beyond lat. 65 , while in Asia it seems to be limited by lat. 60'. As a breeder it is thus in no sense a bird of the extreme north ; and, what is more remarkable, while it does not nest in the Orkneys and Shetlands, it breeds commonly in such southern islands as Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries. In wooded localities it breeds sparingly throughout the British Isles, but apparently more frequently at the present time than in former days. An im- portant fact in the history of the species is that during the great spring-migration, when large flights of these birds pass over Great Britain and Ireland, nesting has already commenced in many localities. This suggests that some of the British-breeding birds, which occupy a point near the middle of the north and south range of the species, do not migrate, although it is practically certain that others are migratory. Of the migrants, even larger flights are met with in autumn than in spring, the autumnal "rush" taking place in October and November. In America the woodcock is represented by a species regarded by some ornithologists as forming a genus by itself, under the name of PJiilohela minor. Alike as regards size, weight, and colour, the woodcock is an extremely variable bird. As a rule, the hen appears to be rather larger than the cock ; but the average length may be put down at 14^ inches, and the weight at 12 oz., although much heavier birds are on record. As regards colour-variation, pale phases and pied individuals are by no means uncommon, while pure white examples are occasionally obtained. In normal birds, which have the winter- plumage somewhat darker than the summer-dress, the general colouring of the upper-parts is reddish brown, variegated with dark umber-brown or black ; the back of the head and adjacent part of the neck show three nearly equal-sized patches of rich dark brown, separated by the aforesaid yellowish-brown transverse bars ; and the whole under surface is pale wood-brown, finely barred with darker brown. Immature birds, which are darker than the adults, may be recognised by the presence of tawny markings on the outer webs of the primary quills, which give the appearance of notches ; the outer web of the first primary being always uniformly coloured in the adult, and variegated in the young. The down of the chick is rufous, with a broad patch of chestnut on the crown of the head, a band of the same colour bordered by buff down the middle of the back, three narrower bands on the sides, and the under-parts paler than the back. 134 PLOVER GROUP The woodcock is essentially a shy and skulking bird in the da\-- time, and is often flushed onl)- with difficult}- ; when once on the wing its flight is, however, strong and rapid, and the manner in which one of these birds will make its way at best pace, to the cry of " cock ! cock ! " from the beaters, between the closely set stems of a thick covert, is little short of marvellous. On the other hand, woodcock which have just arrived from a long journey, either by land or sea, are frequently almost exhausted, and fly with a slow flapping flight, utterly unlike their normal dashing course ; and the present writer well recollects flushing a pair of these birds in the Himala)'a, when in such a condition, without having the slightest suspicion that they were woodcock, and, consequenth', never firing at them. On migration woodcock fly at a great height, from which the\- drop suddenh' on their selected halting- place ; and, in consequence of this, they escape capture in the flight -nets set in many parts of the countr}' during the season of migration. Although skulking in covert for most of the da}', male woodcock are accustomed, and more especially during the breeding-season, when the\- become quite bold, to dart up and down the glades of the forest soon after dawn, and again at dusk, uttering from time to time a peculiar kind of whistle. For concealment among fallen leaves, and more especially those of the beech, the markings and colouring of the woodcock are most perfectly adapted ; and he must, indeed, be sharp -sighted who can detect one of these birds when skulking on the ground, or sitting on its nest, unless, indeed, it be betrayed by the glint of the full black eye. As a rule, the woodcock is a solitary bird ; its feeding-time is at night, when, it sallies forth from covert to visit the marshes outside, or the bogs within the forest itself, there to search for worms, grubs, and insects, by probing for them in the soft mud with its long and sensitive beak. Indeed, an experienced field-naturalist or sportsman will often ascertain the presence of "cock" in a district b}* the holes made by their beaks in the mud of the swamps or other moist situations. In connection with woodcock-shooting, which commences on August i and terminates, except in Essex, on March i, it may be mentioned that many sporting dogs will not retrieve these birds. That woodcock will at times carry their young, apparently by pressing them with the beak and feet against the breast, seems undoubted, but some hesitation ma}' be permitted before definitely accepting the statement that they habitually transport the chicks to and from the feeding-grounds. So rapid is the flight of woodcock that one of these birds has been known to smash a pane of plate-glass, while a second impaled itself on the vane of a church SNIPE 135 weathercock. Occasional!)' these birds will perch on trees, and one instance, at least, is known of a woodcock alighting on the sea, from which it rose without apparent difficulty. The nest, which is well lined with dead leaves and grass, is placed in the usual hollow ; and the eggs are generally laid in April, although they have been found at the beginning of March. In shape the eggs do not, by any means, always preserve the peg- top form characteristic of those of the family in general, but may be oval. The}' are well glossed, head of woodcock, showing e.-^r. with a ground - colour varying from cream or greyish white to pale buff, and spots, blotches, and cloudings of yellowish and umber-brown, and conspicuous deep-seated markings of purple more than usually prominent. From just over i:^ to a fraction short of 2 inches are the limits of their length. „ . In conformit^• with the practice adopted in similar Snipe . ,' . , • r .1 ,„ ,,. , . X nistances, the typical representative 01 the genus (Galhnag-o eoelestis). . , ^^, . V , • , ^, • ^, ijalbnago is here designated simply the snipe, the prefix common, or fan-tailed, being reserved for use only when required to distinguish between this and other species. Whether the division of the snipes from the woodcock {Scolopax) as a separate genus is altogether advisable may perhaps be open to question, but as this is very generally done, the same course is here followed. From the woodcock snipe are distinguished by the legs being bare of feathers for some distance above the upper end of the shank ; and likewise by the circumstance that the markings on the head, as on the scapular region of the body, take the form of pale longitudinal stripes instead of trans- verse bars in the former and blotchings in the latter region. Another difference is that the secondary quills of the wings are as long as the primaries. The number of tail-feathers varies from twelve to twenty- eight. The genus is represented by some twenty species, with a collectively world-wide range. The snipe is the Scolopax gallinago of Linnaeus, and hence the Gallinago gallinago of many modern ornithologists. In the case of such a well-known bird any detailed description would be unnecessary, and it will accordingly suffice to state that the present species usually has fourteen tail-feathers, measures 10^ inches in length, and generally 136 PLOVER GROUP weighs between 4 and 4^ oz., although specimens of 5 oz. arc occasionally met with, while two or three still heavier examples are recorded. A dark phase has been regarded as a distinct species, under the name of Sabine's snipe ; and in the extreme development of this type the normal buff stripes on the edges of the scapulars are wanting, as is also the stripe above the eye. Of the fifty-five known examples of these melanlstic snipe, thirty-one were killed in Ireland and twenty- two in England, while of the remaining pair one came from Scotland and the other from the Continent. W'c thus have an interesting case of the restriction to a moist region of an occasional black phase ; melanism, or blackness, in animals normally light-coloured being most developed in humid districts. Two examples of white snipe arc known ; and the British Museum possesses a very beautiful pied specimen remarkable for the symmetrical arrangement of the dark and light areas. Immature birds differ from the adults by their more rufous tone of colour, and the narrower pale stripes on the scapular region. The breeding -range of the snipe includes the greater part of Europe, extending southwards, it is reported, to the marshes of northern Italy, while in Asia it reaches at least as far cast as Turk- estan and the eastern portion of Mongolia ; northwards, latitude 70° appears to be about the limit. Throughout the more temperate SNIPE 137 portions of this extensive area a considerable number of snipe are resident, but those breeding farther north migrate southwards in autumn, journeying to the Mediterranean countries and southern Asia, inclusive of China and Formosa. In India snipe are met with in immense numbers during the cold weather, arriving in the northern parts of the peninsula in the latter part of September and October, and departing again, as a rule, in March. There is, however, strong evidence that a few occasionally remain to breed in the plains. November appears to be the month in which migratory snipe from the north make their appearance in the southern half of England ; those seen earlier in the year on the moors being native-bred. Throughout the British Islands these birds nest locally ; in the more northern parts frequently at a considerable elevation. During an unusually cold winter the present writer once flushed a snipe in broad da}'light among turnips in his own garden ; but these birds are, as a rule, more or less nocturnal, and frequent marshy ground, where they associate in " whisps," and feed mainly on worms, obtained by thrusting their long sensitive beaks into the yielding soil. In addition, their food comprises the larvae of water-insects, freshwater crustaceans, and marsh-snails. Although they move about in the early morning and again at evening, the\' spend the greater part of the day skulking among the decaying stalks and other vegetation of their haunts, often reposing on floating masses of this nature, but not on the water itself. They will often lie close till almost trodden upon, but it must be a sharp eye indeed that can detect a reposing snipe, even though it be only a few feet distant. When flushed they fly rapidly and strongly, uttering a peculiar kind of hissing whistle ; on the hot plains of Bengal the flight is usually straight ; but in colder countries, especially when a stiff breeze is blowing, the first portion consists of a series of darts in directions at considerable angles to one another. In India the members of a whisp, after being fired at, will frequently circle round the marsh before settling so as to allow another shot. The "drumming" or "bleating" of snipe is a peculiar sound pro- duced most frequently in the breeding-season, as they descend rapidly in the air. One theory is that the noise is made by the puffs of air produced by the wings striking against the tail-feathers, a second that it is the result of the vibration of the outer tail-feathers alone, and a third that it is due to the vibration of the primary quills of the wings. According to a recent author it is due to the tail-feathers. As the result of experiment, it was found that if the feathers were attached to a cork in a special manner, the peculiar bleating sound could be 138 PLOVER GROUP produced, and, furthermore, that only two feathers are the active agents in producing the sound. Observation proved that these two feathers were held in a particular manner in front of the others during the bird's flight in the breeding-season. Feathers of both male and female were found to produce the sound — a fact borne out b)' numerous observers in the field. These feathers have a peculiar structure, differing materially from the others in the tail. Microscopicall}-, the\' differ in the number of booklets being in excess of those in the other feathers. Sound is also pro- duced b\- the tail- feathers of certain foreign species, but this is not the case with those of the jack and the great snipe. A cup-like hollow, sparsely lined with grass, in moss, turf, or rushes serves to contain the four eggs, which are usually large in proportion to the bird, measuring slightly more than i^ inches in length. In ground- colour they range from a gre\'ish green to stone and brownish buff, upon which are spots and blotches of various shades of brown, occasionally w ith a reddish tinge, and underl}-ing markings of pale grey or purple ; the markings being larger at the other end, where they form a kind of cap. SNiri-. S 1 "AIL. „ ^. . From the typical representative of the group the ir. ,,• . \ great snipe, as imi)lied by its name, is distinguished (Galhnago major), f" . ** by Its superior size, the total length being i i inches, and the weight averaging from 7^ to 8 oz,, but occasionally reaching as much as 10, or even slight!}- over. In addition to this, it differs by having sixteen in place of fourteen tail-feathers, relative!}' shorter legs, more lieavily barred under-parts, white tips to the wing- coverts, and white outer tail-feathers. In immature birds, however, t!ie latter have dark bars on a white ground, whereas in the common snipe the ground is mottled and of a rufous tinge. In v.'inter the buff edges of the feathers of the upper-parts are broader than in summer. The chick is rather paler-coloured than that of the common snipe. JACK-SNIPE 139 The northern limit of the range of this snipe in Scandinavia is the same as that of the typical species, namely 70' latitude. From Scandinavia the breeding-range extends southwards to Holland and the north of Germany, and eastwards to the valley of the Yenisei, where the northern limit is between 66 and 6'j'' latitude. To the British Islands the great snipe is a casual visitor in autumn, mostly in the shape of immature birds, which are less easy to distinguish from SOLITARY SNIPE (MALE). the ordinary species than are adults. The eastern and southern counties of England are the districts where this snipe is least uncommon ; in Scotland it is very rare, and from Ireland onh' a dozen examples were recorded up to the close of last century. There is nothing calling for special notice in regard to the habits of this snipe. Although the evidence does not seem altogether free from doubt, it is not improbable that two or three examples of the North American Wilson's snipe {Gallinago ivilsoni) which also has si.xteen tail-feathers, may have been taken in the British Isles. From the circumstance that the lower border of its breast-bone, or sternum, has four in place of the usual two indentations, the jack-snipe is sometimes separated from the other species under the name Liuinocryptes galliiiago, but this appears somewhat unnecessar}'. In Jaek-Snipe (Gallinago gallinulaj. I40 PLOVER GROUP addition to this peculiarity, the jack-snipe differs from its kin by the lack of a pale longitudinal band on the crown of the head, and the reduction of the tail-feathers, which are uniformly coloured, soft, and pointed, to twelve. It is smaller than the common snipe, measur- ing only 7^ inches in length, and weighing not more than 2^ oz. The hen is slightly duller in colour than the cock, but does not apparently exhibit that inferiority in size characteristic of the great snipe. In winter the under-parts display a grey tinge ; immature birds lack the green and jnn-ple reflections of the adults. The jack-snipe breeds in the far north of the eastern hemisphere, mainly within the Arctic Circle, and passes the winter in temperate and .southern Europe, northern Africa, and southern Asia, where it is abundant in northern India, although scarce in Ceylon and Burma. To the British Isles, where it remains from the end of September or early in October till March or April, it is known .solely as a visitor ; in the bogs of Ireland it is decidedly less numerous than the ordinary snipe. As a rule, it is a solitary bird, with an affection for i:)articular spots, and lies very close, rising when flushed with a peculiar fluttering flight, quite silently, and soon settling again. In India, at any rate, it affects places with thicker covert in the form of grass or reeds than the ordinary snipe, and likewi.se prefers damp to wet situations in COMMON GULL 141 which to settle. Although all snipe la\- relatively large eggs, the relative proportion between eggs and bird is most marked in the present species, a clutch of four of the former being reported to weigh an ounce and a half, or not more than three-quarters of an ounce less than the parent bird. In this connection it may be mentioned that birds whose young are hatched in an advanced and active condition lay proportionately larger eggs than those whose young are callow and helpless. A snipe, for instance, is about the size of a blackbird, but its eggs are very much larger than those of the latter. The nest and eggs of the present species were first obtained in Lapland. B}- epicures the flesh of the jack-snipe is considered superior in flavour to that of other species. Common Gull ^^^^ ordinary gull, or sea-mew, is the typical repre- (Larus canus). ^^"^^^^^'^ "o^ o"^^ of the gulls in general, but like- wise of a group of birds comprising the gulls, terns, or skuas, but excluding the petrels, whose superficial resemblance to the three former is due to adaptation to the same mode of life, and is in no way indicative of genetic affinit}-. This group, the Gavia; (or Lariformes, as it is called b\' some writers), is so closely allied to the waders, or Limicola;, that many authorities consider that the two should be regarded merely as a section of a single group, since both agree in almost all essential structural features. A convincing proof of the near relationship of the gulls and terns to the waders is afforded indeed by the similarity between their eggs, which is so close that many of the so-called plovers' eggs of the dealers are really terns' eggs. It is true, on the other hand, that the gulls, as the entire group may often be conveniently termed, differ from the waders by the more or less complete webbing of their toes ; but this is purely an adaptive feature, due to the more aquatic habits of the former, although, as a matter of fact, the avocet exhibits an almost complete transition in this respect between ordinary waders and certain representatives of the terns. The colour of the adult plumage of the two groups is again markedly different, that of the gulls and terns being characterised by the prevalence of pearly grey and white, relieved in many instances by dark brown or black on the head or back, or both together. This, however, is obviously a special adaptive modification to the marine habits of the group, just in the same manner as the mottled greys, browns, and blacks of the waders are specially suited to the environ- ment of that group. In this connection it may be noted that the uniformly mottled grey plumage of immature gulls and terns is far 142 GULL GROUP less widely sundered from the \vader-t)-pc than is the dress of the adults. The terns, it may be observed, connect the group with the waders, althou<^h it is more convenient to commence the series with the gulls, or typical members. In addition to the general prevalence of grey and white, with in many cases more or less black or brown, in the plumage, at least in summer, gulls, terns, and skuas are characterised externally by the generally medium length of the beak, the fully webbed feet, the small size ''or even occasional absence) of the hind -toe, which is never included in the webbing of the other toes, and is raised slightly above their level. The wings arc long, with eleven primary quills, of which, however, the terminal one is so small as to be inconspicuous and easily overlooked ; the tail in- variably has twelve feathers ; the feathers are provided with after- shafts, the oil-gland on the rump is tufted, and the feather-bearing tract on the neck is defined by bare lateral areas, and forms a fork as it passes posteriorly on to the back. Among anatomical features, it may be noted that the apertures in the skull for the nostrils (which are themselves pervious) take the form of long slits ; and that the lower part of the intestine is furnished with a pair of blind append- ages, which are, however, small and functionless in the gulls and terns. The eggs, which are few in number, and laid either on the bare ground amid stones or in a scanty structure of grass or seaweed doing duty for a nest, but occasionally in the deserted nests of other birds in trees, are double-spotted like those of the waders ; and the down-clad young are active and capable of running as soon as hatched, although they are fed by their parents for the first few days after their appearance in the world. As every one knows, gulls, terns, and skuas are essentially birds of the sea, carnivorous, or perhaps rather omnivorous in their diet, and spending most of their time on the water or in the air, although during the daytime frequenting dry COMMON OfLL. COMMON GULL 143 sandbanks for repose. Nevertheless, they frequently resort to newly ploughed land in the neighbourhood of the shore, while in bad weather, and more especially in winter, flocks of them may be seen far inland, either hunting over lakes or rivers, or following the plough in search of worms and grubs. While on the wing they continually utter the wild plaintive cries from which they derive their name of sea- mews. Although terns catch live fish, gulls feed chiefly on dead fish and garbage when at sea, while skuas are predatory birds subsisting on flesh. The family LaridiK, which includes both gulls and terns, as distinct from the skuas, is characterised by the absence of a bare waxy band (the " cere ") at the base of the beak, the moderately curved and comparatively blunt claws, the rudimentary condition of the pair of blind appendages (" c^eca ") to the intestine, and the presence of two notches on each side of the lower or hind border of the breast-bone or sternum. From the terns, the gulls, which constitute the sub- family Larinse, are distinguished by having the upper half of the stout, moderately long, compressed, and curved beak longer than the lower, over the tip of which it is usually bent down. The oblong nostrils are situated some distance in advance of the base of the beak ; the shank, or lower segment of the leg, has transverse shield-like scales on its front surface ; the hind-toe is small (wanting in one genus) ; and the wings, which when closed extend beyond the tail, have the first primary quill the longest. Many of the species are migratory. The gulls, included in the typical genus Larus, of which there are something like forty species, with a collectively almost cosmopolitan distribution, in addition to the above-mentioned characteristics of the subfamily, have squared tails. The common gull is the smallest of the British species of Lams which have no black on either the head or the back ; the males measuring only about 18 inches in length, with a wing-length of under 14 inches. It is an Old World species, ranging from western Europe, inclusive of Iceland (where, however, it is rare), eastwards along the northern coast of Europe and Asia to Kamchatka, Japan, and China ; its breeding-range extending about as far south as 53 X. lat., that is to say, the latitude of Ireland, and as far north in Europe as the North Cape (within the Arctic Circle), and in the Petchora and Yenisei valleys at least to lat. 66'. In winter it forsakes its extreme northern limits to visit the shores of the Mediterranean, the Nile valley, Persian Gulf, and elsewhere ; and it is at this season that it is most abundant on the southern coasts of England, which in summer are deserted by 144 GULL GROUP all the immature birds for colder latitudes. It is this species which in winter ma\' be so often seen far inland in England on freshh' turned arable lands. Its breeding-haunts in the British Islands appear to be restricted to Ireland and Scotland and the Isles, inclusive of the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands. Sanday Island, off Inverness-shire, is a favourite resort ; and both in Scotland and Ireland the species nests on inland lakes as well as on the coast. Eighteen and a half inches is the approximate length of the male bird, the hen being about an inch less. In summer the head, neck, tail, and tail-coverts, together with the lower surface of the body, are white ; the back and wings pearl-grey, the outer primaries black, with a laro-e white spot near the tip of the first and second, and occasionall\' the third quill ; the beak is greenish yellow at the base, and yellow at the tip ; and the eye golden brown, with a red rim to the c)'elid. Young birds are brown with white or buff bars and margins to the feathers, the lower-parts and under surface of the wings white mottled with brown, and the primarx' quills and a broad band across the tail dark brown. After the first moult a small white spot appears on the first primary, which increases in size after the next moults, and is accompanied by a similar spot on the second, and sometimes the third quill ; at this age the beak is yellowish brown with a black tij). The chick is greyish buff speckled with black. The habits of all the more typical gulls are so similar, and at the same time so well known, that but few remarks in addition to the general observations already recorded are called for in the case of any of the species. The common gull appears, however, to be specially fond of nesting on the shores of freshwater lakes, or on islands contained therein ; and the nest, which is a rude structure of grass or seaweed, is generally placed in the open, although occasionally on a led"-e of a gently sloping cliff. The statement that nests ha\e been found on precipitous cliffs appears to be erroneous ; but a boulder or headland of rock projecting into a lake is a favourite site. Not unfrequently the nests are in colonies. The young are hatched in June. In some districts this gull is reported occasionally to save itself the trouble of constructing a nest for itself, and to make use of the deserted nursery of a crow or other large bird, even when placed hif^h up in a tree — a situation in which the usurper will make itself thoroughly at home, as it perches on boughs without difficulty or di.scomfort. The eggs, of which there are three in a clutch, measure from 2.15 to 2.65 inches in length, and have a ground-colour varying from cream or olive-buff to olive-brown, with dark brown or blackish HERRING-GULL 145 spots and blotches, usually ev'enly distributed, and underlying markings of grey or pale purple. Rarely an egg with a blue ground occurs. The herring-gull, which may be roughly described as a larger edition of the common gull (having a total length in the male of over 22, and a wing- length exceeding 16 inches), is much less intolerant of summer heat than the latter, and may accordingly be found breeding on the southern coasts of England, where (with the kittiwake) it takes Hepping-Gull (Larus argentatus). MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDlOb HERRIXG-GULLS (ADULT .-WD IMMATURE). the place of its smaller cousin in summer. Its range includes both sides of the Atlantic, extending in the Old World as far east as the White Sea, and as far south in winter as the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas ; while in the western hemisphere the species may be found in summer as far north as Labrador and Greenland, and in winter as far south as the West Indies and Central America, where it probabl)' crosses the continent to meet a closely allied Pacific bird. In both hemispheres its southern breeding-range is approximately limited by the 40th degree of north latitude, as it is found nesting in the Azores, although on the European continent it does not apparently breed south of the northern coast of France. On the British coasts it may be found breeding everywhere in suitable situations, from the southern coasts to the Orkneys and Shetlands, as well as in Ireland, where it is the most common and most generalh' distributed gull during the nesting-season. L 146 GULL GROUP A notable feature in regard to this species is that it takes four years to arrive at full maturity, so that the number of birds in the speckled immature plumage is very great. In this gull, which does not exceed 24^ inches in length, the back and wing-coverts are pale pearl-gre)' ; the rims of the eye- lids light yellow ; the legs and feet flesh-coloured ; the head, neck, and under-parts white ; the exposed portions of the primary quills, when the wing is closed, black, and the tips white (instead of black in the first and second, as in the common gull) ; while the secondaries and scapulars are likewise white-tipped. In birds of the year the upper- parts are mottled with buff and brown, the tail is whitish with dark brown bars, and the quills arc sooty brown. In the second year the upper -parts assume a greyish tinge and are barred with brown, the head is nearly white with brown streaks, and the primaries show faint white tips ; in the third year the back- feathers are pale grey streaked with brown, and there is more white on the outer primaries ; b}' the fifth \-car the full adult dress is acquired. The chick is grej-ish buff, streaked and spotted above with black. The most noticeable feature in connection with the breeding-habits of this species is that it almost always nests in the neighbourhood of the shore, generally on tall cliffs ; in Ireland, indeed, no inland nesting- place is known, and it is only occasionally that gulls of this species make their appearance even temporarily at any distance away from the shore. The nests arc often congregated in colonies. The species derives its English name from its partiality for fish, and its habit of following in large flocks the shoals of herrings as they approach the shore ; the gulls as they fly screaming round and round, sometimes forming a cloud above the moving mass of fish, from which toll is from time to time taken. Not that it is to be supposed that this species subsists exclusivcl}' on fish ; on the contrar}', it is an inveterate robber of other birds' eggs, and has been known to make a clean sweep of the contents of a cormorant's breeding-place. These gulls are also in the habit of attacking rabbits and smaller birds, and have been known to frighten even a peregrine falcon and make it relinquish its prey. Shell -fish are also stated to form a part of the diet of these gulls, as is demonstrated by the heajjs of comminuted shells disgorged on the spots they frequent. Unlike kittiwakes, herring-gulls do not crowd their nests together ; and prefer sloping surfaces between two steep portions of a cliff, to the ledges on the scarped face of the cliff itself, which are so specially favoured by the GREATER WHITE-WINGED GULL 147 former species. On the Fame Islands these gulls sometimes nest in association with lesser black-backs. i\lthough in some cases slight, the nest ma\- consist of a large loosely knit mass of grass and sea- weed. The eggs, usually three, but sometimes two in number, are not unlike those of the common gull in colouring, but are subject to much greater variation, and thus resemble those of the lesser black-back, from which they may be distinguished by their superior size, the length ranging between 2^ and 3 inches. On South Saltee, in Ireland, is a well-known colony of herring- gulls and lesser black-backs, which extends straight across a hill of a couple of hundred feet in height from one side of the island to the other. The nests occur in greatest number on the slopes, where they occupy all available nooks and crannies, but some occur on the bare hill-top, and one has been observed in a footpath. The herring-gulls occupy more prominent and exposed situations than those selected by the lesser black-backs ; while on the extreme rocky summits are a few nests of the greater black-backed species. Thrift is used in the construction of the nest. Greater white- wing-ed Gull (Larus hyperboreus). This species is generally referred to in ornitho- logical works as the glaucous gull, from a translation of its alter- native scientific title, Larus glmicus. Such a title is, however, neither descriptive nor good popular English, and a better name is that of crreater white - winV11I,^\-VJ MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS gull, since the white greater white-winged gull. head and tail and white quill-feathers, together with its large bodily size and the absence of black on the back, form the most distinctive characteristic of this fine species. The white-winged gull is a circumpolar species, breed- ing in the Arctic zones of both hemispheres, wandering southwards 148 GULL GROUP in winter as far as the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas in the Old World, and to Florida and California in the New World. It is during the winter migration alone that the species is seen in the British Islands, where it is largely represented by immature birds, which are more common in Scotland than on the southern coasts of England. To Ireland it is described as an uncertain winter- visitor, occurring only occasionally, and then in very small numbers ; but in very cold winters it sometimes makes its appearance, as in Scotland, in flocks. Owing apparently to its predaccous habits, this gull is known locally on the Continent as the " burgomaster." It feeds alike on young birds, fish, crabs, etc., and garbage of all kinds. Although in Norway it breeds on precipitous cliffs, at the Petchora embouchure, north-eastern Russia, it has been found nesting on low sandy islands but little above high-water mark. In the latter locality, as well as on Kolguev Island, near the mouth of the White Sea, the nests have been described as little more than heaps of sand — often accumulated round drift-timber, mingled with masses of seaweed and zoophytes, the piles being sometimes as much as a couple of feet in height. In slight depressions in the summits of these mounds are laid the three eggs, which measure about 3 inches in length, and in colouring are very like those of the lesser black-back, although in some instances more sparsely marked. The white-winged gull may be distinguished from the herring-gull by the very pale grey colour of the back and wings, and the white primaries ; it closely resembles the following species, but differs in its much larger size, as it measures 30 inches in length. The legs are bright pink, the ring round the eyelid is vermilion, the eye yellow, and the beak yellow, with an orange patch at the angle of the lower jaw. In winter the head and neck are streaked with ash-grey. Young birds have the beak pale brown at the base and dark horn at the top ; the head, neck, back, and wing-coverts mottled with pale ash-brown and white, the scapulars barred with pale brown and tipped with greyish white, the quills pale yellowish grey, the tail yellowish brown, and the under- parts dull white mottled with pale brown. In the next yc'ar the mottlings become paler, fading before the final autumnal moult at the end of the fourth year to creamy white. The chick resembles that of the herring-gull but is paler. The greater white-winged is to a great extent a feeder on carrion, and when engaged on the body of some dead animal or of a fish cast up by the tide, exhibits great shyness, so that it can only be ICELAND GULL 149 approached with difficulty. In this respect it differs markedly from the Iceland gull, which under such circumstances displays symptoms of alarm. The white-winged species when on the wing can be readily distinguished from the Iceland gull by its larger size and more laboured flight, which approximates in character to that of the great black- backed gull. When at rest the tips of the primary quills extend to the extremity of the tail or but slightly beyond, whereas in the Iceland gull the former project two inches or more beyond the latter. Iceland Gull '^'^^ Iceland or lesser white-winged gull is a still (Larus leueo- i^ioi'e Arctic species than the last (from which it pterus) ^^^y ^^ distinguished by its inferior size and relatively larger wings), found on both sides of the northern Atlantic, and visiting the British Isles, more especially ICELAND GULL. their northern districts, in winter in larger or smaller numbers accord- ing to the nature of the season. Its breeding- haunts include Cambridge Bay and probably other parts of Arctic America, Green- land, and Jan Mayen Island. In most ornithological works it is stated to visit Iceland only in winter, and this is probably true as a rule, but the British Museum possesses a couple of eggs from that island. Its usual winter-haunts include Iceland, the Faroes, Scandi- navia, the shores of the Baltic, and thus down the western coasts of Europe as far south, in exceptionally severe winters, as the southern side of the Bay of Biscay. To Scotland and the Isles it is, as already I50 GULL GROUP mentioned, a much less uncommon visitor than it is to the southern coasts of England ; and its visits to Ireland are only occasional, and then in very small numbers. It is noteworthy that although most of the records arc in winter, specimens of these gulls have been taken in Ireland in every month of the year except July. On the American side of the Atlantic the winter-range extends to the latitude of Boston. In the North Pacific the group is represented by Larus glaucescens, allied to L. hyperboreus, and two smaller species or races. As already mentioned, this species differs from the greater white- winged gull chiefly in point of size, males not exceeding 22 inches in length, with a wing which from base to tip does not measure more than i6\i inches, a length exceeded in the smallest individuals of the last- named bird. The legs and the rim of the eyelid are flesh-coloured, and the beak is yellow with a red patch at the angle of the lower jaw. The young resemble those of the greater white-winged gull but are some- what darker ; and similar stages are passed through during the assumption of the adult plumage, which is completed by the end of the fourth year. In Scotland these gulls are exceedingly wary and shy ; the)' com- mence their winter-visit to Iceland about the middle of September, and depart northwards in the latter part of April or May. In habits the species appears to be more energetic and active than the greater white-winged gull. The eggs, which are laid at the commencement of June on the bare sand in slight hollows or on cliff-ledges, vary in ground-colour from greenish grey to pale buff, and are generally evenly blotched and spotted with chocolate and blackish brown ; the underlying markings being pale purple. From 2^ to 2^ inches forms the limit of variation in length. Great Black- ^^ ^'^^ white-winged group of gulls is represented Backed Gull '" ^^^ British Isles by a larger and a smaller species, (Larus marinus) ^^ there are two representatives differing to much the same extent in point of size of the group characterised by the black back of the adult. There is this important difference between the two groups, namely, that while, as we have seen, both the white-winged species nest only in the far north, the two repre- sentatives of the black-backs breed within the area under consideration. Doubtless, this difference has some connection with the marked difference in the colouring of the two groups, that of the two white-winged kinds being obviously an adaptation to Arctic conditions. Like the greater white-winged species, the great black-back is a native of both coasts of GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL 151 the Atlantic ; its breeding-range in the western hemisphere extending from Greenland and Labrador and the Great Lakes to Baffin Bay, and in the opposite hemisphere from Iceland in the west to the Petchora valley in the east, and southwards to about the 50th degree of north latitude. In winter the species ranges on the one side as far south as Florida, and rarely the Bermudas ; and on the other to the Canaries and the coasts of the Mediterranean, as far east, although rarely, as Egypt, while it also visits inland waters. Although only a few isolated nesting - sites are known on the southern and western coasts of MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND ' I STUDIOS GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. England, as we pass north the great black -back is found breeding abundantly in the British Islands, more especially in Scotland. In Ireland it breeds in small numbers all round the coasts, but is more common on the west side than elsewhere. An interesting question has been raised as to which species of black-back nests on the grassy slopes crowning the Bass Rock. The ornithologists who visited the Bass Rock in the first half of the last century appear to have referred all the members of the small colony of those gulls which annually breed there to great black- backs, but all those which have been observed of late years have proved to be lesser black-backs. The breeding of the latter species on the Bass was, in fact, proved some forty years ago. The question thus raised is 152 GULL GROUP whether the older naturalists were wrong in their identification, or whether the species forming the colony has changed. Apparently the great black-back has at present no known breeding-station on the east coast of Scotland south of the Moray Firth. There is, however, an egg of the larger species in the collection of the British Museum stated to have been obtained from the locality in question ; but it has been suggested ' that the specimen never came from the Bass. Three eggs collected so long ago as 1846, and reputed to be from the Firth of Forth, are undoubtedly great black-backs' eggs, and at the date they were obtained no dealer could have any object in giving them an incorrect locality. On the other hand, a pair of lesser black-backed gulls and their eggs were taken on the Bass Rock in 1867 ; and at the time they were taken, the collector, in referring to the alleged occurrence of the great black-back on the Bass, stated that he had never noticed this species nesting there, and that all the gulls of this group he had observed were of the smaller kind. When a well-known ornithologist visited the Bass Rock in ]\Iay 1863, the gulls on the Rock were the lesser black-backed species, this being decided from the colour of the legs, which in this species are yellow, in the great black- backed gull flesh-colour. Attaining, like the greater white-winged gull, a length of some 30 inches, the present species may be distinguished from the former by the black or dark slate-colour of the back and wings. The scapular and secondaries are tipped with white, like the primaries ; and, as in the herring-gull, there is a long wedge of grey running down the inner webs of the primaries, the rest of the plumage being white ; while the rim round the eye is red, the beak yellow with a red patch on the angle of the lower jaw, the eye yellow, and the legs and feet flesh- colour. Young birds resemble immature herring-gulls, but have the markings more sharply defined. The adult plumage is probably not attained until the fifth year. The chick is ashy grey above, mottled with blackish brown, but the nestlings show traces of an earlier striped phase ; the breast is tinged with buff, and the abdomen white. A large bird of powerful flight, with a peculiar loud croaking or laughing cry of its own, the great black-back is a perfect terror to all creatures weaker than itself, pecking out the eyes of injured or strayed lambs with its cruel beak, and destroying ducklings and disabled water- fowl, and consuming every egg it can find. On this account it is cordially detested by game- preservers as well as b)' the owners of " eider-duckcries " in Iceland and elsewhere. As an instance of its * See W. Evans, Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edinhitri^h, vol. xvi. p. 2 (1 905). LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 153 voracity, reference may be made to the well-known story — whether true or false — of the stomach of one of these birds having been found to contain part of a fish, to which were attached a couple of hooks, over 30 feet of line, and a 7-lb. stone ! Carrion and garbage of all kinds are also greedily devoured by this black-cloaked robber. As a rule, great black-backs in Scotland and the Isles are found either solitary or in pairs occupying exposed positions on the coasts or the summits of islets in inland lakes. There are, however, islands where fifty or more pairs have been seen nesting in company, sometimes in association with their smaller cousins and herring-gulls. The breeding- places appear to be generally chosen at some little distance from the coast, but may be either on the mainland or on islands of larger or smaller size. The nest is a loosely made structure of considerable size and depth, placed in a hollow of the ground, and, according to one account, formed of dry grass, wool, and heather, but, according to a second, lined with grass, seaweed, and a few twigs. The eggs, which are laid early in May and are generally three in number, vary from about 2f to 3q; inches in length, and range from pale creamy buff to light stone with a tinge of olive, upon which are small spots of yellowish or blackish brown with underlying purple markings. Usually the markings are evenly distributed, but they may tend to form a cap at the large end, and occasionally they are larger than ordinary. A uniformly blue egg is known, and there is a second with a blue ground and a few brown markings. Lesser Black- Practically a miniature of its larger cousin, the lesser Backed Gull black-backed gull is distinguished by its inferior size (Larus fuseus) ^"^ certain features in regard to the colouring of the primary quills and the legs of the adult referred to below. Unlike the great black-back, this species is, however, confined to the eastern side of the Atlantic (being unknown even in Iceland), where its breeding-range extends eastwards from the Faroes and Scandinavia to the Dwina Valley, and southwards to the Mediterranean. Apparently it does not nest on the coasts of the Arctic Ocean ; and in winter its southern range includes the Canaries, a large part of northern Africa, the Red Sea (where it is reported to be resident), and the eastern end of the Persian Gulf It nests locally in the British Islands from Cornwall and Lundy Island northwards to the Shetlands, but is most numerous in the northern parts of this area. Wherever it nests, it does so in large numbers, sometimes indeed in almost incredible hosts ; Lundy Island, the Fame Islands, and the Faroes being very favourite 154 GULL GROUP stations. Its breeding on the Bass Rock is referred to under the head of the preceding species. Smooth grassy slopes, Hke those on the Bass Rock and the Fame Islands, crowning cliffs, rather than ledges on the cliffs themselves, form the nesting-sites favoured by the lesser black-back ; while herring-gulls and kittiwakes build near by on the scarped rocks. These gulls are ahvaj's social, and may be seen at times inland following in the wake of the plough. Their cries are very similar to those of the herring-gull ; and fish forms the staple food of this species, which will, however, often resort to the neighbourhood of ships for the offal thrown overboard. The nest is an ill -built MOUNTED IN THE ROALANO WARD STUDIOS LESSKR BL.\CK-B.\CKED GULL. structure of dry grass, seaweed, etc., and at the proper season ma}- contain either three or four eggs, the latter being rather an unusual number in this group of birds. It is related that a nest in the Natural History Branch of the British Museum, containing four eggs, was made in a sheep-track, and that, in passing to and fro, the sheep were considerate enough to jump over the back of the sitting bird. As regards the eggs themselves, it will suffice to mention that they measure less than 3 inches in length, but arc otherwise ver\' similar to those of the great black-back, although rather darker coloured. Although in length this species does not exceed 22 inches, in colouring it clo.sely resembles the great black -back, from which it differs mainly in the paler back and wings, as well as by the bright yellow of the legs and feet. In winter the head and neck are streaked BLACK-HEADED GULL 5D with grey. Young birds resemble herring-gulls of the same age, but are darker above, with black primaries, horn-coloured beaks, brown eyes, and dark brown legs. The chick in down cannot be distinguished from the herring-gull at the same period of its existence. With the black-headed gull we come to a group of species characterised by the brown or black head of the adult in summ^er-dress, the group being repre- sented in Great Britain only by this and a second indigenous species, although stragglers of others have been recorded. The black-headed, or, as it is often more appropriateh' called, the Blaek-headed Gull (Larus ridi- bundus). MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDtOb BLACK-HEADED GULL (SUMMER). laughing gull (since the head is usually chocolate-coloured), is a species breeding in temperate rather than Arctic climates, its breeding-range extending from the Faroes in the west across southern Scandinavia and Russia southwards of Archangel to the Mediterranean in the south, and thence eastwards across temperate Asia to Kamchatka. In winter these gulls visit Africa, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, Upper India, and so on to the Philippines. It is one of the commonest of the British gulls, and nests in suitable localities throughout the British Islands, inclusive of the Shetlands. Marsh}^ localities, frequently a considerable distance from the sea, form its breeding-haunts, and in these it nests in large colonies which may include thousands of indi- viduals. The inland British " gulleries," now much less numerous than formerly, such as those of Scoulton in Norfolk, Poole in Dorsetshire, 156 GULL GROUP and Thorne Waste in Yorkshire, are tenanted by this species ; and there are similar colonies in Scotland, as well as in bogs or on islands in lakes in many parts of Ireland. Measuring i6 inches in length, and having, like the next species, a distinct summer and winter plumage, this gull may at all times be distinguished by the absence of white tips to the primaries, and the presence of white streaks on the inner webs of these feathers, which are for the most part black. A sooty brown head, and a crescentic line of white over the eye form the distinctive marks of the summer-dress ; the back and wing-coverts being French grey, and the rest of the plumage white, tinged on the breast with rose-pink. In winter the sooty colour of the head disappears, but a dusky patch remains before and behind the eye. The beak and legs are lake-red, and the eye is hazel. Young birds are brown above, generally with some of the grey feathers of the adult intermixed, and have a black bar across the end of the tail, retained till after the rest of the adult dress is assumed, while the under surface of the wing is greyish white, instead of mottled with brown as in the common gull, the beak dull yellow, and the legs reddish yellow. The full adult dress is assumed at the end of the second year. The enormous numbers in which these gulls congregate in their inland breeding-places may be inferred from the fact that less than half a century ago as many as 16,000 eggs have been collected in a single season at the Scoulton gullery ; in those days they were sold to be eaten in the same manner as plovers' eggs, or for culinary purposes, and this practice may be continued still, although a somewhat strong flavour diminishes their value as articles of diet. The sight of the gulls rising in their thousands from their breeding-haunts is stated to be exceedingly beautiful, and the noise of their wings coupled with the discordant cries of the birds, almost deafening. And the gulls are thorough masters of the situation, driving away any poaching heron, or even the lordly swan himself, from the vicinity of their nurseries. At Scoulton the birds begin to assemble in the latter half of February, and early in March are nearly all present ; the middle of April, if the season be mild, sees the beginning of the laying, but as often as not this does not take place till !^Iay. Although when on the coast in winter these birds probably subsist on the usual gull-diet, when on their breeding-grounds they feed largely on worms and snails, and are thus of use to the agriculturist, but they will apparently also eat grain. Here it may be noticed that on Beginish Island, in the Blasquet group, a few black-headed gulls have forsaken their usual habit, and taken to BLACK-HEADED GULL 157 nesting close to the sea. Although nests have been observed in low trees, they are placed as a rule on the ground near water, and have in some localities been found actually floating on the water itself, being in such instances structures of great bulk. The nests may contain two, three, or four eggs each ; but three appears to be the normal number, and when there are four they are probably the product of two birds. The eggs themselves, which range in length from just short of 2 inches to nearly 2^, vary much in colour, occasionally even in the same clutch. Thus while the ground-colour may be greenish grey, olive - buff, or olive - brown, the markings of various shades of brown and blackish are singu- larly inconstant in form and size, al- though the under- lying markings are always pale violet. Uniformly blue eggs are not unknown ; and there is a con- siderable amount of variability in regard to the shape of the eggs. The name of laughing gull, it may be added, is derived from the hoarse, cackling cry of the species, which when rapidly repeated has been likened to a rude laugh. Of the North American Bonaparte's gull {Larus pkiladeiphm, or L. bo7iapartei), another small dark-headed species distinguished by its black beak and leaden-black head, nine examples were recorded from the British Islands up to the end of the nineteenth century. Of these three were taken in Ireland and three in Cornwall, while one came from Scotland. Of another allied species, the ^Mediterranean black-headed gull {Larus melmiocepJialus), distinguished by the coal-black head and coral- red beak of the adult, two examples were taken at Falmouth in 185 i, a third was killed on the Thames in 1866, and a fourth near Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1887. This, however, does not complete the list of species of black-headed MOUNTED \U THE ROWLAND V.ARD STUDIOS BLACK-HEADED GULL (WLNTER) 1^8 GULL GROUP gulls of which stragglers have wandered to Great Britain, as a specimen of the great black-headed gull {Lams iditJiydetus) was shot at Exmouth in 1859. This species, which breeds on the lower part of the Volga and round the great lakes of Central Asia, differs from all the above b)' its superior size, measuring 26 inches in length. Little Gull (Larus minutus). The little gull, or, as it might well be called, the lesser black-headed gull, is the second indigenous British representative of the black-headed group, and the last species included in the typical genus Lams, of which it is the smallest known member. By its diminutive size and the deep black head of the adult in summer it is readily distin- guished from the laughing gull. The little gull is an eastern species, ranging from the lakes and marshes of Amurland and the Sea of Okhotsk westward across temperate Asia and the greater part of Europe to visit the British Islands in variable numbers, mostly during autumn and winter, and in the latter season journeying as far south as the Mediterranean. Naturally, with such a distribution, the bulk of the wanderers to the British Islands arrive in the southern and eastern counties of England : in Ireland the species is very rare, while in the north of Scotland it seems to be unknown, although it has been recorded from the Faroes. Both in summer and winter these pretty little gulls associate in large colonies ; they feed partly on fishes and partly on crustaceans and worms, but are also said to hawk dragon-flies on the marshes after the manner of nightjars. Very generally they build in company with the common tern, from the eggs of which their own appear to be indistinguishable ; both sexes taking their turn at incubating. The nest is built of marsh-plants, and is often almost floating ; and there are usually three eggs, although occasionally four. In addition to being the smallest of its tribe, not exceeding i i inches in length, this species is readily recognised, when adult, by the MOUNTED IN THE ROA LITTLK GfLI- UINTKK SABINE'S GULL 159 absence of black markings on the primary quills and the black of the under surface of the wing. In summer the head and upper part of the neck are deep black, the back and wing-coverts pearl-grey, the primaries grey broadly tipped with white, and the rest of the plumage white, tinged on the under-parts with pink. In winter the head is white streaked with ash on the nape and ear-coverts. At all seasons the beak is deep lake-red, and the legs and feet are vermilion. Young birds are mottled with dark brown above, with a band of the same colour across the end of the tail ; but the primary quills are sooty, with a white margin on the free edge of the inner web, the under surface of the wing is white, the beak is black, and the legs are yellowish red. The chick is warm buff in colour, streaked and spotted with dark brown. Sabine's Gull (Xema sabinei). Although manifestly only a wanderer from the Arctic regions, where it is found all round the Pole, the gull named after Sir Edward Sabine (by whom it was discovered during Sir J. Ross's voyage to Baffin Bay in the first quarter of the last century) so frequently reaches the British Islands that it is difficult to refuse it a definite place among their fauna. In fact, during the nineteenth century no less than fifty ex- amples of the species were recorded from our area, although nearly all were imma- ture birds. The locali- ties where they were obtained are dotted over the whole king- dom, although most of them are in the neighbourhood of the coast, and the majority in England. Autumn and winter, namely, from August to December, are the seasons in which these birds most commonly make their appearance on our coasts. A specimen was taken in Hampshire in 1904. From the typical gulls, Sabine's gull and an allied species inhabit- ing the Galapagos Islands off the western coast of South America, are SABINE'S GULL (SUMMEK) i6o GULL GROUP broadly distinguished by the distinctl}- forked tail ; while the wing is relatively long and the hind-toe very small. Greenland and Alaska are well-known nesting-haunts of the present species, where its food consists largely of such insect-larvre and crustaceans as are to be met with in the brackish water-pools of the marshes, supplemented by sticklebacks. Towards the end of August these small gulls forsake the marshes for the coasts, where the\- may be seen feeding between tide-marks. In summer the head and neck are lead-grey in colour, deepening on the neck into black, so as to form a collar ; the back and wing- coverts are light slate-grey ; the quills black broadly tipped with white ; the greater wing-coverts and secondaries also white-tipped ; the rest of the plumage white ; the beak black tipped with yellow, the rims of the eyelids vermilion, the eyes brown, and the legs black. The difference between the summer and winter plumage consists in the loss of the black on the head and neck, where, however, dark streaks persist on the nape, coalescing to form a greyish-black area. Young birds are ash-grey above barred with brown and white, and have a patch of brown on each side of the breast, and a black bar across the tip of the tail. Thirteen inches is the length of the adult. Only two eggs are laid, these being dark olive-brown in colour with somewhat indistinct reddish-brown spots, and still more obscure underlying markings of grey. The nest, of which several are often found in proximity, is little more than a slight depression in the ground. An even more exclusively Arctic species is Ross's gull {Rhodostethia rosea), also known as the rosy gull, from the colour of the under-parts, and as the wedge-tailed gull, from the shape of the tail-feathers. A single example, now in the Leeds Museum, is stated to have been taken in Yorkshire in 1846 or 1847 ; but, in view of the non-migratory habits of the species, the record seems very doubtful. This gull nests in the Kolyma Delta, north-east Siberia. „ „ The claims of the ivory-gull, which is another cir- Ivory-Gull , , • • 1 .1 i . .• cumpolar Arctic species and the only representative of its eenus, to a place in the list of British birds, eburnea). , '^ -.i .u r o i • . n are about on a par with those ot babine s gull, something over forty examples having been recorded from the British Isles during the past century. More than a dozen of these records are from Scotland and the Isles, but specimens have been taken in Corn- wall and Sussex, and Ireland claims eight. The ivor}--gull is a small IVORY-GULL i&i species, characterised b\' its squared tail, the connection of the hind-toe with the innermost of the three front ones by means of a notched web, the large and curved claws, the extension of the feathering of the legs nearly down to the joint between the shank and the second segment, and the pure white plumage of the adult. Even young birds are mainly white, though with a considerable amount of grey on the sides of the head and throat ; and as the chick is also described as mainly white, it is evident that this gull has been specially modified in colour- ing for a life spent among the Polar ice. When in the air, the bird is described as more resembling a tern than a gtuII. The nest is made MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS IVOKY-GULL (MALE). of green moss, or of fragments of driftwood, seaweed, etc., and placed on a cliff at a considerable height above the sea ; and the one or two eggs are remarkable for their pale tint, being either light stone- colour or buff, marked with blotches of brown, and underlying purple patches. The pure white colour from which the ivory-gull takes its name is really amply sufficient to distinguish the species ; it may be added, however, that the beak is greyish green tipped with yellow, the margin of the eyelid brick-red, the coloured part of the eye brown, and the leg black. Young birds differ by the presence of black spots on the back, black tips to the primary quills, and a black band across the end of the tail. On the other hand, the chick is wholl\- white, like the adult. Full-ijrown birds measure i8 inches. M l62 GULL GROUP Kittiwake '"^^ indicated by its scientific name, the gull (Rissa commonly known as the kittiwake, which is an tridaetvla) indigenous British species, and our last repre- sentative of the gulls, is sharply distinguished from all its kindred by the absence of the hind-toe. Occasionally, however, that digit is represented by a small rudiment ; and as this rudiment is said to be more commonly seen in kittiwakes from the North Pacific, such birds have been regarded as indicating a separate species, but this view is now generally rejected. On the other hand, a kittiwake with vermilion feet and grey under wing-coverts, inhabiting Bering Sea and its neighbourhood, is undoubtedly entitled to specific separation, and is known as R/ssa brcvirostris. In addition to the lack of the hind-toe, these species present two other characteristics in common, namely, the shortness of the shank or lower segment of the leg, which is inferior in length to the middle -toe and its claw, and the tendency towards forking in the tail. In some ornithological works, it should be mentioned, the kittiwake is styled Rissa rissa, instead of by the title here given. The kittiwake, which is a circumpolar species, presents a remark- able difference as regards its distribution from species like Ross's and the ivory gull, whose breeding-range is confined to the frozen north. The kittiwake, on the other hand, although it has been met with beyond Spitsbergen so far as man has penetrated, while in Smith Sound it is known to range some distance beyond the 8ist degree of KITTIWAKE i6 latitude, yet breeds as far to the south as the north-western coast of France, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Kurile Islands, and in winter ranges in Europe to the Caspian, the Mediterranean, and the Canaries, and on the opposite side of the world to about 3 5 north latitude. Throughout the British Islands the kittiwake is a familiar and resident bird on the coast, although for breeding-purposes it resorts to rocky islands or precipitous cliffs, on the almost inaccessible ledges of which the female lays her two or three eggs, cradled in a nest of somewhat more elaborate construction than is usual among the gull -family. Favourite nesting-haunts of the kittiwake are Lundy Island, Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, the Fame Islands off the Northumberland coast, and still farther north the celebrated Bass Rock, and numerous localities in the Shetlands and the Orkneys ; while there are likewise many well-known colonies of these birds along the Irish coast, some on the mainland itself, and others on the adjacent islets. In many of these places the birds are to be seen in thousands during the breeding-season ; but these large assemblies appear to be exceeded in Lapland and other northern lands, where the colonies are of almost incredible extent. Thirty years or so ago, when bird-protection was either non-existent or much less rigorous than at the present day, and when gulls' wings were in vogue for ladies' hats, a terrible slaughter, accompanied by much unnecessary cruelty, of kittiwakes used to take place on Lundy Island during the first fortnight of August ; the skins being taken to Clovelly on the mainland, where they were prepared for market. It has been computed that in some seasons not much fewer than ten thousand birds, inclusive of starved nestlings, were killed in one way or another during this brief period. Happily, such doings are now things of the past. In addition to various kinds of surface - swimming marine invertebrates, kittiwakes feed very largely on the fry of fishes ; and the great increase which has taken place in the numbers of these birds, as the result of protection, cannot therefore be regarded with an altogether favourable eye by the professional fisherman. By the middle of August the breeding-season is over in the more northern haunts of these birds, which then desert the cliffs to seek a more genial climate farther south. The nest is frequently built on a foundation of turf, kneaded into a dough-like mass by the feet of the birds, and upon this is a superstructure of seaweed, lined with dry grass, and perhaps a small quantity of feathers. The eggs, which are occasionally four in number, although generally, as already stated, two or three, vary in i64 GULL GROUP length between something over 2 and a little less than 2^ inches. They are less glossy than those of the more typical gulls, and remarkable for their extraordinary variability in colouring. Generally speaking, it may be said that the colouring ranges from clay-brown with dark brown spots and underlying spots of grey to bluish grey or creamy buff with the markings either exceedingly faint or conspicuous and prominent. Kittiwakes were formerly held in some estimation as articles of food by the poorer classes, and the present writer can recall in his undergraduate days gulls of this and other species being sold in Cambridge market after a heavy storm as pigeons ! The absence of the hind -toe is the distinctive feature of the kittiwake ; but it may be added that the back and wing-coverts arc slate-grey ; the scapulars and secondaries tipped with white ; the primaries black, with white tips to the fourth and fifth ; and the rest of the plumage white. In winter the nape and neck are tinged with '"■rey. Young birds resemble the adults in winter-dress, but have black lesser wing-coverts and a black band across the end of the tail ; while the beak is black and the legs and feet arc brown, in place of being, in the adult, respectively greenish yellow and black. The chick is dark grey above tinged with buff. Blaek Tern Leaving the gulls with the kittiwake, we come to (Hydroehelidon ^^^^ ^""^^ representative of the terns, or subfamily . Sterninaj, in the form of the black tern, the .sole indigenous British representative of a genus contain- ing four species, of which two others are stragglers to Britain. From gulls terns are collectively distinguished by the upper and lower halves of the beak being approximate!}' equal in length, with straight slender tips, instead of the former being longer than the latter, and generally bending down in front of it at the tip. The nostrils are slit-like ; the tail is more or less distinctly forked, and in many cases extends bej'ond the closed wings, which are always long ; and, as a rule, the legs and feet are short. Although some gulls make an approximation in the foregoing respects to terns, the latter are more lightly built birds than the former, with a different t\-pc of flight, from which, in conjunction with their long wings and forked tails, they derive their popular title of sea-swallows. They are, moreover, much less given to swimming than gulls ; and when they alight, with the exception of the " noddies," they generally do so on land. Unlike many gulls, they subsist chiefly on living prey, and more especially fishes, ujjon which they swoop from above ; but .some of the species feed mainl\- on BLACK TERN 165 crustaceans and other swimminL^ invertebrates, while others, again, prey chiefly upon insects. In the general colouring of their plumage most terns are very similar to gulls ; many of them having black on the head. The black area is, however, smaller, but in many cases persists throughout the year, only becoming somewhat paler in winter. In certain species the black extends over the greater part of the plumage of the adult in summer. The black tern and its relatives, as the name implies, are characterised by this general darkening of the breeding-plumage of the adult ; but more especially by the relative shortness of the tail, which is scarcely forked and much inferior in length to the wings, and also by the deep notch- ing of the webs con- necting the front toes. The black tern, which formerly nested in the fen-districts of England, ranges over the greater part of Europe to the south- ward of latitude 30^, extending as far east- wards as Turkestan, while in winter it travels to Africa, where it is found a long distance down both the west and the east coast. In the western hemisphere it is re- placed by the American black tern {H. siirinaviensis), which is a darker bird with black feet ; from the other two representatives of the genus, of which, as noticed below, stragglers occasionally reach our islands, it is readily distinguished by the grey colour of the under wing-coverts of the adult in summer-plumage. In addition to this special feature, the black tern in summer-dress may be recognised at a glance by the dull lead-grey tone of the plumage, relieved only by the white of the lower flank-feathers and under tail-coverts, and the pale grey under wing-coverts ; the beak being black and the legs purplish brown. In winter the forehead, face, neck, and under- parts are white, as in the white-winged whiskered species at the same season. In length the black tern does not exceed about 9^ inches. Immature birds resemble the adults in winter, but have the feathers of ) WARD STUDIOS BLACK TERX (SUMMER). i66 GULL GROUP the upper-parts mottled with brown. In the chick the general ground- colour is huffish with a black stripe down each side of the bod)', a black line above the eye, and black mottlings on the back and head. Romney ^larsh in Kent, Crowland Wash and other parts of the fen-district of Lincolnshire, and the Broads and other swampy districts of Norfolk, were the favourite British breeding-haunts of the blue dove, as the species was localh- called. In the first half of the last century the nests of this handsome bird might have been found by hundreds in some of the districts mentioned, and more especially amid the alder swamps of Norfolk ; but after the year 1853, by which time it had already become scarce, it had practically ceased to breed in the last- named county, although a nest is recorded from there so late as the year 1S58. Nowada\'s, it is seen in the British Islands only as a spring and autumn visitor, mainly represented by immature birds passing up and down the coasts, although a few adults in full summer- dress may occasionally be seen on the Berkshire reaches of the Thames. The young birds from the north usually begin their southward passage in August and may be seen till October on our coasts, where they make their reappearance on their northward flight in April. The marshes of Scandinavia, Russia, Hungary, Holland, etc., are now some of the chief breeding-places of these terns ; and in such situations the birds may be seen rising in hundreds during the height of the nesting-season at the end of May. Small fishes, leeches, worms, freshwater-shrimps, and insects constitute the chief diet of this tern. In a substantial nest of water- weeds and other herbage, which may be built either on patches of firm ground in the marsh, or merely supported on the floating rubbish in the water itself, the female tern lays three eggs. As a rule, these var)- in ground-colour from clay-brown to greenish grey, stone, or buff, upon which are black blotches, with a marked tendency to coalesce, and indistinct underlying spots of grey. More rarely, however, the surface markings take the form of scribbl}' lines or dots ; and in other cases the colour of the blotches may be chestnut or chocolate. The length is from just over i^j; inches to just short of i-^ inches. Ten records in a century (that is to say, from 1836 to 1894), of which one is referable to Ireland and one to Scotland, scarcel}- entitle the white-whiskered tern {^Hydrochelidon Jiyhridii) to a definite place among British birds. The species is a native of southern Europe, whence it extends eastwards across temperate Asia to China, and southwards to Africa and India (where it breeds), and thence across the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago to Australia. It is a small species, measuring i 1 inches in length, specially distinguished by the WHITE-WIXGED TERN 167 grey upper tail-coverts and white under wing-coverts and face. In habits it appears to be identical with the black tern. 1171--.. • J rr Although the strikingly coloured species known as White-winged Tern , , f . , , /u J u ,-j the white-winged black tern, or, more concisely, the (Hydroehehdon ,. . ,^ , / . . white-winged tern, is no more entitled to rank as a native indigenous member of the British fauna than is the whiskered tern, its record of twenty-seven authenticated occur- rences durincf the nineteenth centur\- within our area renders it difficult ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS WHITE-WI.NGED TEK.N (SUMMER) to be passed over without being accorded a definite place and notice. This tern in summer ranges over temperate Europe and Asia south of about latitude 55', and in winter wanders to Africa, India and Ceylon (rarely), Burma, and Australia. In summer it is rendered easily distinguishable, the general hue of the plumage being black both above and below, against which the white tail and wings stand out in strong contrast. The lesser wing- coverts are white passing into pearl-grey towards the quill-feathers, which are of the same tint, but deepening into lead-colour on the secondaries ; the beak is livid red, and the legs are orange. The differ- ence between the summer and winter plumages is more marked than in most terns, in winter the under-parts, head, and neck turning white and the back pale grey. Young birds in first plumage are like the adults in i68 GULL GROUP winter, but have the upper-parts mottled with brown. The white tail and upper tail-coverts serve to distinguish the adults at all seasons, but in \'oung birds only a few of the upper tail-coverts are white. In its habits, both during the breeding-season and at other times of year, this species appears to be practically identical with the black tern, and as it is a mere straggler on migration to the British Isles, no special notice on this point is required. Of the above-mentioned twenty-seven recorded occurrences in our area, three are from Ireland, and the remainder from England, among which latter Norfolk claims no less than thirteen. The total length of the bird is but 9^ inches. CasDian Tern ^" marked contrast to the preceding in point of size ( Hydroppog-ne '"^ ^^^^ Caspian tern, which is in fact the largest casDia) representative of the whole group, measuring no less than 20 inches in length. By some writers it is included in the t)-pical genus, under the name of Sterna caspia, but its stout and long beak and legs and very short tail, only about HC ROWLAND WARD 6 (ASIMAN TKKN (Sl .MMKK I. one-third the length of the wing, amply justify its transference to a separate genus, of which it is the sole representative. Although stated to be particularly common in Sind, the Caspian GULL-BILLED TERN 169 tern, despite its wide geographical range, which includes North America south of the Arctic Circle, Europe up to latitude 6o\ Africa, temperate and tropical Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, is by no means an abundant species ; and only just over twenty examples were recorded in the British Islands during the last century. Of these latter, as might have been expected, the great majority occurred on the eastern and southern coasts of England ; not one being recorded from either Ireland or Scotland. The species, either singly or in pairs, frequents alike the sea-coast or inland pieces of water, both salt and fresh, where it may be easily recognised, when in search of prey, by its habit of fl>'ing with the beak held downwards, as well as by its loud and harsh cry. Fish and shrimps constitute its staple food. Well-known breeding-places exist in the Caspian and Black Seas, on the coasts of the Persian Gulf, and in Ceylon ; the one or two eggs, which have a greyish - white ground - colour, being deposited in hollows in the sand. In addition to its large size and blood-red beak, which form its most distinctive characteristics, the Caspian tern in its summer-dress may be recognised by the black head and neck, with green reflections, and the delicate pearl-grey tints of the rest of the upper-parts. In winter, on the other hand, the crown of the head and neck change to white with black streaks. In immature birds the fore part and crown of the head, together with the under-parts of the body, are pure white, the back and neighbouring region is mottled with ashy brown, and the beak and legs are dull brown in place of the coral-red and deep black by which they are respectively characterised in the adult. Gull-billed Tern '^^^'^ scientific name of the gull-billed tern is un- ( Sterna anffliea) fortunately calculated to lead to the conclusion that it is an indigenous British species, whereas it is in reality only an occasional straggler to our islands, where something just over a score represents the whole reported tale of its occurrences during the nineteenth century. It was from one of these stragglers, killed in Sussex about 181 3, that the species was recognised as distinct, and accordingly named anglica. By some writers the gull- billed tern is regarded as the representative of a distinct genus, under the name of Geoclielidon ans[lica, on account of being in some degree intermediate between the black tern and its kindred (collectively known as the marsh-terns) on the one hand, and the typical or sea- terns on the other. The webbing of the toes is, for example, some- what less full than in the latter, and the tail relatively short, with its I70 GULL GROUP lateral feathers slii^htly rounded, although more pointed than in the marsh-terns ; while the beak is unusually stout and blunt, and the shank, or lower secernent, of the leg relatively longer than in ordinar\- terns, exceeding in fact in this respect the middle toe and its claw. Still, looking at matters in a broad manner, and not weighing details in too fine a balance, it seems inadvisable to attach any special importance to such insignificant differences, and the species is accordingly included in the typical genus, of which the distinctive peculiarities are recorded under the heading of the common tern. The summer-range of the pres- ent species includes most of Europe south of about lati- tude 5 5^thc north of Africa, the Atlantic coast of temperate North America, tem- perate and tropical Asia inclusive of the Malay Archipelago, and Australia : to India and Ceylon, where it is common at that season on the borders of large tanks and marshes, it is, however, chiefly a winter-visitor, and in Burma it is mainly restricted to estuaries and the coast. Its nearest breeding-places to the British Islands are in the south of Denmark, and the stragglers to Great Britain now consequently more often make their appearance in the eastern and south-eastern counties of England — Norfolk, as usual in similar cases, having the pre-eminence in this respect. Leeds appears to be the most northern locality for the species in Great Britain, at least up to the close of the nineteenth century ; and there was no record up to that date of its occurrence in Ireland. Nothing speciall}' noteworthy occurs in the habits of this tern, which feeds both upon insects and on fish and other water-dwelling creatures. The eggs are three in number, and of the usual tcrn-typc, measuring about 2 inches in their longer diameter. In addition to the characters noticed above, the gull-billed tern is characterised in the summer-dress by the black crown of the head and nape of the neck, the pearl-grey back, and the white under surface ; the beak and legs being black at all seasons. In winter, streaks of THC ROWLAND WARD STUOIOS GULL-BILLED TEKN (MALt: IN SUMMKR). COMMON TERN 171 ashy grey on a white ground replace the black of the head and nape ; these streaks continuing, however, to form a patch around the ear. Immature birds have the plumage mottled and striped with brown and tinged with buff above, and the beak and legs horn-coloured. With the common tern, formerly known as Sterna Jiintndo a name properly belonging apparently in part to an Arctic species), we come to the typical representative of the genus Sterna, and therefore of the entire sub- family. In common with the allied species (exclusive of the gull-billed Common Tern (Sterna fluviatilis). MOUNTED IN THE F.OA RO STUDIOS COMMON TERN (SUMMER) tern, whose slight differences from the ordinar\' type have been already noted), this tern has the outer tail-feathers elongated and pointed, the tail deeply forked, with its outer feathers also elongated and generally more than half the length of the wing, the shank of the leg short and inferior in length to the middle toe and claw, and the beak generally slender (although heavy in the Indian river-tern, Sterna seena). Something like forty species are included in the genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution. Unlike the marsh-terns, these birds are chiefly maritime in their haunts, and are in consequence collectively designated sea-terns. The present species, in the adult condition, is specially characterised by the orange-red beak, coral-red legs, and the pale lavender-grey tint of the lower surface of the body ; the crown of the head and nape in 1/2 GILL GROUP summer being of the normal black, while the upper-parts in general are dark pearly grey, becoming paler on the hind region of the back. In winter the forehead and crown are streaked with white and the under surface of the bod>' assumes a paler tint. In their first plumage the young birds are mottled above with buff and show a dark band on the lesser wing-coverts, while the crown and nape are streaked with blackish brown. The buff down of the nestling is marked with black stripes on the back, and elsewhere with black spots above, although devoid of such markings below. The range of the common tern is very extensive, including, in suitable localities, practically the whole of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere in summer ; and in winter comprising the greater part of Africa, together with India, Ceylon, and the Malay Peninsula, although the birds visiting the last three countries are comparatively few, and, at least in the south, for the most part im- mature. In Kashmir and other parts of Central Asia the species is, however, abundant. Throughout the greater part of the British Islands the common tern is the most numerous representative of its kind, although in the north of Scotland it tends to become scarce and to give place to its Arctic cousin, while in the more northern islands it appears to be practically, if not completely, unrepresented. Towards the north of its British range it seems to prefer estuaries or lakes to the sea-coast ; and in Ireland is also found breeding on inland waters as well as on the islets around the coast. As already mentioned, the common tern maj' be found alike on rivers, lakes, and the sea-coast, and is essentially a fish-eating species, which breeds in May or June according to locality. Sandy or shingly beaches are its favourite nesting-sites, the three eggs being frequently deposited only just above high-water mark. A well-known " tcrnery " exists near Wells, in Norfolk, situated on a low-l)-ing tract of consider- able size shut off from the open sea by a range of low sand-dunes. Here, according to a recent account,' both the common and the little tern breed in company, placing their nests in some parts quite close together. Very noticeable is the marvellous correspondence in colour of the eggs to their surroundings ; those deposited among rufous-tinted shingle being described as showing a russet colour, while in those laid among blue-grey patches of pebbles the predominating tints were greyish. On the greener portion of the area, on the other hand, a more or less marked greenish tint was noticeable in the ground-colour of the eggs. If these observations are trustworthy, the variability in ' .\. li. l'aUer?.on, Zoo/oi^ist, ser. 4. vol iv. p. 25S (1905). ARCTIC TERN 173 the colour of the eggs of the wading-bird.s, gulls, and terns has a sufficient explanation ; although this explanation apparently implies the existence among the birds of the power of modifying the colour of their eggs to suit their surroundings ; unless, indeed, some terns are always in the habit of laying on reddish and others on greyish ground, a supposition which scarcely seems credible. Although occasionally a few bents are added by way of Hning, a mere hollow in the sand or shingle serves the purpose of a nest. The eggs measure between something over i^ inches and i^ inches iri length. The markings are in the form of black dots and spots, sometimes coalescing into blotches, which ma\' be aggregated at the larger end. Arctic Tern ^^^^ Arctic tern ^sometimes known as Stej-na arctica) (Sterna maerura). ^PP^^^s to be the true Sterna hiriindo of the great Swedish naturalist Linnaeus, the father of modern zoological nomenclature, and, if so, ought to be designated by that name, and likewise regarded as the type of the genus. It is very closely allied to the common species, which it entirely replaces in the Arctic regions, as it does, so far as nest- ing is concerned, in the Shetlands ; while in the Orkneys, Hebrides, and on the east coast of Scotland it is the pre- dominating species, but gradually gives way to the common tern in the more southerly parts of the kingdom. Apparently its most souther!}' breeding-places in Great Britain are now the Fame Islands, off the Northumberland coast, where it nests abundantly, and the mouth of the Humber, where it does so more sparingly ; but there are reports of its having formerly bred in Cornwall. In Ireland, where this tern is more numerous in summer than any other member of the group, it nests not only on the coasts, but also on the freshwater lakes of Connaught. That such an Arctic species should be merely a summer-visitor to Ireland, is certainly very curious, but such, according to the best authority, is stated to be the case. Skins collected during the Scottish Antarctic Expedition MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARO STUDIOS ARCTIC TERN (MALK IN SLMMER). 174 Gl'LL GROUP immediately north of the j^rcat ice-barrier include those of the Arctic tern, which is thus demonstrated to have, so far as is at present known, the most extensive range in latitude of any known vertebrate. Nesting in the highest north, where its range extends to latitude 82 , this tern, when the duties connected with the breeding-season are over and the short northern summer shows signs of coming to a close, wings its way to the opposite pole, there to spend the southern summer feasting on the organisms which abound in the sea immediately north of the Antarctic ice-barrier, latitude 74 i' S. being the extreme range at present recorded in this direction. Towards the close of the summer these terns, which occur literally in thousands, are joined by flocks of petrels and sooty albatrosses which have bred in lower Antarctic latitudes, but are attracted by the same abundant food-supply at the base of the ice-barrier. There may also be a certain number of non- breeding petrels and albatrosses which pass the whole summer in compan}' with the Arctic terns. That the latter does not breed in the southern ocean may be considered certain, nor is any other kind of tern known to inhabit the Antarctic continent. In Europe the breeding-range extends as far south as latitude 50 , and in North America to latitude 4.<|.'. The blood -red beak, coral -red legs, and pearl -grey under- parts distinguish the Arctic from the common tern in summer-plumage ; and at all seasons the dark band along the inner side of the shafts of the primar\' quills is much narrower and more indistinct in the former than in the latter. There is, more- over, a greater difference be- tween the summer and winter plumages than is the case in the common tern, since, in addition to the partial loss of the black cap by the in- termingling of white feathers on the forehead and crown, the pearly grey under- parts fade into white. Young birds in first plumage have the upper-parts mottled with buff, and a buff tinge on the neck and flanks, the nape above being blackish, and the forehead and crown white. The down\' chick is hardly distinguishable from that of the common tern, although the throat is somewhat darker-coloured. Vi>lN(; AKCTK Tl.KN- ROSEATE TERN 175 In general, as well as in nesting-habits, and likewise in the characters of its nest and eggs, the Arctic tern apparently presents no noteworthy differences from the common species, although it is said to display remarkable boldness in defending its nest against the raids of predatory gulls and skuas and other undesirable intruders on its domains. Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli). Legislation for the protection of wild birds is credited with the rehabilitation of the roseate tern as a breeding-species in Great Britain, notably on the Fame Islands and the Welsh coast. In former years it bred not only in these localities, but also in the Scilly Islands and on Foulney KOSK.\TE TEKN (SC.MMER). and Walney Islands on the west coast, and likewise in a few spots on the coast of Ireland. Ruthless egg-collecting and other modes of persecution are stated, however, to have led to its complete extermination as a British breeding- species, till protection once more permitted it to re-establish itself in the above-mentioned localities. It is essentially a sea-tern, and its range includes the coasts of both sides of the temperate and portions of the tropical Atlantic, latitude 57 apparently marking its approximate northern limits. Although to some of its southern resorts it is only 176 GULL GROUP a winter-visitor, it is known to breed in Ceylon, the Andamans, and the north of Australia, which apparcntl)- forms the boundar}- of its eastern range. To the Mediterranean it is onh^ an occasional straggler. One of the smallest of the white -breastcti terns, this species, although very similar in colouring to the Arctic and common terns, is specially characterised in the adult state b}- the relatively long and slender beak, which is black with an orange patch at the base, the orange-red legs, and the complcteK' white inner webs of the primary wing-quills. In summer-dress the feathers of the breast assume the beautiful rosy tint from which the species derives its name ; and at the same season the crown of the head is black, and the back and wings are pearly gre}'. With the exception that the forehead becomes flecked with white, and that the rosy tint fades from the breast, the winter- dress is similar to that of summer. In young birds the feathers of the back are barred with black, and the lesser wing-coverts wholly black, although the primaries have already acquired the characteristic white inner webs. Unfortunately, the rosy tint of the breast of the adults in summer-plumage disappears after death completel)' in specimens exposed to the light. As a rule, the roseate tern laj's only a pair of eggs in the usual apology for a nest ; and this affords an easy way of distinguishing them from those of the common species. Occasionally, however, three, and even four, eggs are found in a clutch, although the latter number is probably due to a couple of females making use of the same nest. Compared with those of the common tern, the eggs of the present species are characterised by being slightly more elongated in shape, as well as by the smaller and more sparsely distributed surface-markings, and the more distinct underlying grey spots. Sandwich Tern ^ ^^^ Sandwich tern is the second representativ^e of (Sterna cantiaea). th^ g^""^ ^^'^^'^^^ ^^'^^ ^'^^ recognised as a distinct species on the evidence of English specimens, and is, in truth, much better entitled to be named from this circumstance than is the gull-billed tern, since it still breeds in several localities in the British Islands, and in former times had other nesting-sites in the kingdom. In addition to being the largest of the indigenous British representatives of the group, measuring i6 inches in length, the Sandwich tern, when adult, may be recognised by the black feet, the yellow-tipped black beak, and the slight elongation of the feathers on the nape of the neck. In summer the crown of the head and nape are SANDWICH TERN 177 of the usual black, the rest of the upper-parts, with the exception of the lower portion of the back and the tail, which are white, being black, while the white lower surface displays a faint blush of salmon-pink, which fades almost immediately after death. In winter the head and neck become white with black streaks, although a black patch persists in front of the eye. Young birds are distinguishable by the more or less marked barring of the upper-parts with black and the horn-coloured beak ; while the chick is greyish tinged with buff, and mottled with black above and white below. The range of the Sandwich tern includes both coasts of the Atlantic, MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS SANDWICH TERN (SUMMEKI. the breeding-area on the western side extending from New England to northern Florida, and occasionally Honduras, and on the eastern side from the Orkneys to Spain, and thence into the Mediterranean, and so on to the Black and Caspian Seas. In winter the species wanders on the western side as far as Central America, where it crosses the Darien Isthmus to enter the Pacific ; and in the Old World to South Africa, the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and the shores of north- western India in the neighbourhood of Karachi. Although a common summer-visitor to the British Islands, the species has long since deserted its old breeding-haunts in the Scilly Islands, but still nests abundantly on the Fame Islands, as well as in several other localities on the coasts of England and Scotland and likewise in the Orkneys. In England it breeds in the greatest numbers at Ravenglass, on the coast of N 178 GULL GROUP Cumberland, where it ussociatcs with tlie common tern and the black- headed gull. An account of this " i^ullery " will be found in the Zoologist for May 1908. In Ireland its chief haunts are on the west coast in the neii,^hbourhood of Killala Bay, Mayo, where it breeds in considerable numbers on a low flat mud-bank near the lake, scarcely raised above the water-level. Here nesting takes place in May ; the nests themselves being mere depressions in the ground, thinly lined with stalks of grass. The terns also nest on a bare spot on a neighbouring island, and as many as one SOOTV TI'.KN. hundred and fifty nests have been counted in a single season in the district. Before incubation has commenced the birds are in the habit of flying above the breeding-place at such a height in the air as to be almost out of sight, screaming and chasing one another in their wild flight. In the Fame Islands they nest on a sloping .sand-bank leading to the high ground, and in such numbers that, on an average, every square yard of sand may contain a nest : owing to the more northern position of these islands incubation docs not take place till well on in June. In Mayo the ordinary number of eggs in a nest is said to be three, whereas in the Fame Islands there is more generally only a pair ; a difference attributable, perhaps, likewise, to the dificrence in latitude of the two localities. The eggs, which are very hand.somely marked, LITTLE TERN 179 and measure trom a little less to rather more than 2 inches in length, vary to a remarkable extent both in form and colouring. The ground- colour, for instance, ranges from white through cream and pale buff to brownish buff; while the bold markings of dark or even blackish brown present every conceivable variation in the wa)- of spots and blotches, the underlying markings being deep purple. Of the sooty tern {Sterna fuliginosa), a dark-coloured species ranging from the West Indies across Central America to Polynesia and Australia, a very brief notice will suffice, as, at most, only five authenticated instances of its occurrence in the British Islands were recorded up to the close of the nineteenth century. Of these five instances the first occurred near Burton-on-Trent in 1852, the second near Scarborough in 1863, the third in Berkshire in 1869, the fourth near Bath in 1885, and the fifth (when a dead bird was picked up) in Norfolk in 1900.^ Of the lesser sooty tern {Stenia miastlieta)^ which has a somewhat wider range in the tropics than the last, a single example is believed to have been taken on one of the lightships at the mouth of the Thames in 1875. . . _ Reversing the old proverb of " last but not least," we ,„^ • ^ V have reserved for the end of the group the smallest (Sterna minuta). . -n • • 1 . indigenous British representative, commonly known as the little or lesser tern. This bird, which has no distinct summer and winter plumage, is sufficiently characterised by its diminutive propor- tions, its total length not exceeding 19^ inches. In general colouring it resembles the common tern in summer-dress, but differs, among other features, by the white forehead, lemon-yellow beak tipped with black, and pale orange legs. In young birds the top of the head and nape of the neck are streaked with blackish brown mingled with buff, and the back and wings mottled with umber and buff; while the nestling is pale buff more or less distinctly striped with black above, and still paler beneath, except on the throat, which is full buff. The little tern is an Old World species, ranging, in suitable localities, over the greater part of Europe south of latitude 60' and thence eastwards through western and central Asia to India, and in winter visiting Africa (where it some- times breeds) and even occasionally straggling to Burma and Java. In southern India and the countries to the east its place is taken by the nearly allied white-shafted ternlet {St. sinensis) and the black- shafted ternlct {St. saundej'si). To the British Isles the little tern is a common summer-visitor, arriving early in May and departing in • See W. E. Clarke, 'I'rans. iVorfolk Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. viii. p. 752 (1903). I So GULL GROUP September or early October, and buildini^ in colonies all round the coasts, although less commonly so than in former years in many parts of the north of England and Scotland. In 1907 a nest was taken in North Uist ; and the species also breeds in other parts of the Outer Hebrides. In Ireland its chief breeding-resorts are situated on the coasts of Leinster, Ulster, and Connaught. Although throughout the British Isles the breeding-haunts of this species are restricted to the coasts, where beaches and sand-banks are selected, in India the little tern, like the other ternlets, breeds chiefly on tidal estuaries, the banks of large rivers, and salt-water lagoons, where it feeds chiefly on fish. In general habits these terns are very similar MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STi I. ITT I. K TKKN. to their larger relatives, although their smaller dimensions give them the appearance of being sti.U more active birds. Generally the eggs — two, or less commonly, three in number — are laid in a mere hollow in the bare sand, but in some cases the margin is said to be surrounded with a ring of broken cockle or other shells. The eggs range from i^ to nearly i^ inches in length, and are as variable in colouring as those of the Sandwich tern, but are more regular in shape, being nearly oval. From pale cream to drab or buff is the usual range of the ground- colour, upon which arc bold markings in the shape of variable spots and blotches of different shades of dark brown, with well-developed underlying purplish marks. Three instances (one of two birds) of the occurrence of the noddy (Afious stolidus) in the British Islands have been recorded, but it does not seem that any one of them is altogether free from a certain element GREAT SKUA i8i of doubt ; still, as the bird is widely distributed in tropical and sub- tropical seas, there is no reason why a straggler should not occasionally be blown to the British shores. Great Skua ^^^ Stercorariidai, or second family of the Gaviae, is (Stereorarius represented only by the large prcdaceous gull-like eatarrhaetes). ^'^^^^^' '"^"o^^'"' apparently from their cry of skiii-skui, as skuas. From the Larids they are distinguished by the presence of a bare horny structure — the cere — at the base of the beak, aitd the powerful, strongly curved, sharp claws ; while internally they differ by the much greater length of the pair of blind appendages (cajca) to the lower part of the intestine. In conformity with their habits, the beak of these birds, al- though of a gull-like type, is broader at the base, more arched, and has the tip of its upper half overhang- ing the lower. As in the gulls and terns, the three front -toes are connected to- gether by webs, and the hind-toe is small ; while the front surface of the shank of the leg is protected by large transverse shield-like scales. In the long and pointed wings, so admir- ably adapted for a strong swooping flight, the first quill is the longest ; and in the long and rounded tail, which forms an effective rudder, the two middle feathers project beyond the rest to a greater or less degree. Although in several of the species the colouring is very tern-like, in others the whole plumage is sooty. In addition to the internal character already noted, skuas differ from gulls and terns in having only one (in place of two) notch on each side of the lower, or hind, border of the breast-bone, or sternum. Skuas are veritable pirates of the gull-tribe, and live by robbing GKKAT SKUA. i82 GULL GROUP their own relations, as well as petrels, of their iiard-carned prey. Woe betide the unfortunate herring-gull or kittiwake returning to its nest with a fish for its hungry offspring when a great skua hovers in sight, as disgorge its boot)- it must at the bidding of the bold and un- scrupulous robber, who will often seize the discarded fish before it reaches the water ! Pirated prey of this dcscrijition does not, however, by any means constitute the whole food of the skuas, as these robbers will devour eggs of other bird?^, and even young or feeble birds them- selves, as well as such small mammals as they arc able to overcome. All the members of the group — only seven in number — breed in high latitudes ; the majority in the northern hemisphere, but three at the opposite side of the globe. As a rule, they la>' two large olive-coloured eggs spotted with browm. In some ornithological works all the skuas will be found described under the generic title of Lcstris instead of the name here employed. In others the great skua (together with the three above-mentioned Antarctic species) is generically separated from the more typical members of the group as Mt'galestris axtarrJiades ; this separation being chiefly based on the relative shortness of the tail, in which the two middle feathers project but slightly beyond their fellows, in addition to which these birds are of larger bodily size than the more typical members of the group. Such a distinction is, however, but trivial, and since it does not coincide with the geographical distribution of the two sub-groups, it is not adopted in the present work. From the other northern representatives of the group the great skua is sufficiently distinguished by its superior size (length 24 to 25 inches) and the above-mentioned features of the tail. The breeding-range of this fine but mischievous species is now greatly restricted — in the British Isles probably to a considerable extent owing to the incon- siderate and short-sighted rapacity of egg-collectors. Apparently the only known existing breeding-sites are in Ireland, the Faroes, and the islands of Unst and Foula in the Shetland group (where they are specially protected), and perhaps on the opposite side of the Atlantic on certain small islands in the neighbourhood of Hudson Bay. There are accounts of these birds having formerly bred both in the Outer Hebrides and the Orkneys, where they are now very rare, but the.sc have been generally discredited, despite the fact that the l^ritish Museum possesses a clutch of three eggs from the latter islands. In autumn ihe great skua journeys .southward to the Mediterranean, and it is during this .season or in winter that it makes its rare appearances in the British Islands el.sewhere than its few last remaining breeding-places. TEMMINCK'S SKUA 183 The c^eneral colour of the great skua is dark umbcr-brovvn mottled with rufous above, and simply rufous brown beneath ; the primary- quills having white bases which form a conspicuous patch on the extended wing ; the beak and feet are black, and the eye is hazel. A slight superiority in size alone distinguishes the hens. Young birds are very like the adults, but have black spots on the upper- parts. The chick is uniformly huffish grey. It may be mentioned in this place that according to recent researches the proper name of the present species is Stercorarius parasiticus, while the bird referred to below under the latter name should be known as St. longicaudus ; but it seems a pity to disturb designations which have been so long in use. The habits of the great skua are those of the group in general, as recorded above. On their nesting-grounds these birds display great boldness, assuming indeed the aggressive of themselves, and thus revealing the position of their nests to the intruder. They go about in pairs, and as the nest of one pair is situated at some distance from that of the next, the visitor is subjected to a continued succession of fierce and unprovoked attacks, which may prove dangerous. So bold and fierce indeed is this bird that it will drive away the lordly sea-eagle, while no raven dare show its beak anywhere near the breeding-grounds. On this account the skua is much esteemed by the Shetlanders. Unlike its smaller relatives, the great skua on some occasions takes to killing and eating kittiwakes and herring-gulls instead of being content with merely despoiling them of their prey. As an instance of their boldness and the impetuosity of their attack, it may be mentioned that in at least one case a great skua in the Faroes has been known to impale itself on a knife held vertically above the head of an islander upon whom it had swooped. The eggs, of which there is generally a pair, but occasionally only one, measure between 2^ and 3 inches in length, and are laid during May or June in a hollow of the moorland moss, sometimes sparingly lined with grass. Dark chocolate or olive- brown is the ground-colour of the eggs, upon which are faintly shown inconspicuous reddish-brown, or, more rarely, blackish spots. Temminek's Skua ^'°^ ^^ ^'^^^ representative of the smaller or long- (Stereorarius tailed skuas the writer has ventured to propose the pomatorhinus) "^me of Temminek's skua (after its first describer), to replace the absurd title of pomarhine or pomato- rhine skua by which it is commonly known. Although much smaller than the great skua, measuring only 2 1 inches in length, this species i84 GULL GROUP is rather larger than the next, from which it differs by the circum- stance that the elongated middle tail-feathers have rounded instead of pointed tips. This bird is a great wanderer, its breeding-range being apparently contained within the Arctic Circle, while in winter specimens have been taken so far south as Australia, Peru, and south- western Africa. In the British Islands this skua is chiefly .seen during the autumn-migration — occasionally in considerable numbers; and some individuals remain during the winter, although few new arrivals Il.M.Ml.NCK b SKI A. make their appearance during the return spring-migration. To Ireland it is described as a scarce autumn -visitor, while a few individuals have been seen in May and the following months. In the Faroe Islands it is le.ss uncommon, and has been .seen in spring as well as autumn. In disposition Temminck's skua is described as presenting a marked contrast to its large short-tailed relative, and even to the other members of its own group, being a cowardly and clum.sy bird, which allows itself to be harried and driven away by its smaller cousins. When attacked by Richardson's skua, these birds, which may easily be recogni.sed at a distance by the peculiar twist of the long middle tail- feathers, either seek to escape by diving, or at close quarters raise their wings to ward off the swoop of their foe. The nest and eggs are RICHARDSON'S SKUA 185 practically similar to those of the great skua, except that the latter are much smaller and usually lighter in colour. In this species the two middle tail-feathers, which project about 4 inches in advance of the others, are so twisted as to cause the vane to be vertical in place of horizontal. The upper-parts are umber- brown inclining to sooty black on the crown ; the neck is white with a few straw-coloured pointed feathers ; the breast is wholly white ; but the flanks and abdomen are brown. Young birds are sooty brown with rufous bars and mottlings ; and differ from those of the two next species in that the shafts and much of the inner webs of the primaries are white. In the adult the legs and feet are reddish black, but in young birds they are mingled yellow and black. A dark phase of the species is not uncommon. Richardson's Skua Richardson's, or, as it is often called, the Arctic skua, (Stereorarius ^^^^ named Larus crepidatus by Sir Joseph Banks, erepidatus) ^^'^^ accompanied Cook on his voyages to the South Seas as naturalist, and who was probably quite unaware that it was to be found breeding in the northern part of the British Islands. At a later date it was named Lcstris ricJiardsoni by the ornithologist Swainson, but this title only survives as the popular designation of the species. An inch inferior in length to Temminck's skua, the present species, as already mentioned, may be i86 GULL GROUP readily distinguished from that bird by the pointed tips of the middle tail-feathers. The species is remarkable as being what naturalists call dimorphic, that is to say, it presents two distinct phases of colour, one of which is uniformly sooty, while the other has light under-parts. In addition to the shape of the elongated middle tail-feathers, Richardson's skua may be recognised at all seasons by the white shafts of all the primary quills. The general colour of the dark phase is uniformly sooty ; but in the light phase there is a band of smoky grey on the fore part of the breast ; the throat and a collar round the neck are white with a buff tinge ; and the rest of the under- AKCTIC SKUAS, I'AI.K AM) DAKK IMIASKS. parts white. in immature birds of the light phase the under-parts are yellowish brown barred with umber ; but the chick is uniformly pale chocolate. Seventeen inches is the length of the adult, exclusive of the 3 inches occupied by the middle tail-feathers. The two phases interbreed, so that birds of an intermediate type are not unfrequcntly seen. The breeding-range of this species includes the Arctic and sub- Arctic circumpolar regions, descending in the eastern hemisphere about to latitude 55 , and embracing the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Hebrides, and parts of Sutherland and Caithness on the Scottish mainland, which form apparently the most southern localities for nesting. In winter these birds may be met with over a very large portion of the globe, inclusive of New Zealand, the Cape of Good Hope, and southern RICHARDSON'S SKUA 187 Brazil, while they also occasionally visit the western coast of India in the neighbourhood of Sind. Unlike the great skua, the present species, which with its allies is locally known by the name of jaeger, does not attack the intruder on its breeding-grounds, but warily endeavours to entice liim away from the neighbourhood of its nest by its movements. In most respects the habits of this bird are similar to those of other representatives of the group ; but it ma\' be noted that during summer it prefers marshes and bogs to the sea-coast. Although in ordinary cases these skuas follow the usual practice of their tribe in robbing other sea-birds of their prey, in the Yukon Territory they have been observed, on their first arrival in May, to feed on shrew-mice and lemmings. In England the Arctic skua is most generally seen on the east coast in autumn, occurring from August to October, and being much more abundant in some years than in others. In the south, and more especially in the south-west of England, this species is much more uncommon, and its rarity becomes still more marked when the west coast is reached. In Ireland this is the most common representative of the group, but its visits are irregular and uncertain, although in some years large numbers of these birds are seen : autumn is the usual time for its appearance, although specimens occasionally come in May and June. Usually the nest is a de- pression in the moss of the bogs, but an instance is on record of one being lined with grass. The eggs, which are two in number and measure from just over 2^ to a little more than 2^ inches in length, present a variation in colour comparable to that ex- isting in the case of the plumage of the adult bird ; there being a dark and a light phase. In the former case the ground-colour is chocolate, with deep brown or blackish spots uniformly distributed over the greater part of the surface, and the underlying grey markings very inconspicuous. On the other hand, the ground-colour in the light phase is clay-brown, with the dark spots HE ROWLAND YOUNG ARCTIC SKUA. i88 GULL GROUP congregated at the larger end, and the deep-seated markings much more in evidence. Lonff-tailed Skua '"^^'ho^g^'' there are traditions that the long-tailed, or (Stereorarius Buffon's, skua once bred in the north of Scotland, it parasiticus) ^ ''' P^bable that there has been a confusion in this respect between Richardson's skua and the present species, and consequently that the latter has never been anything more than an irregular visitor to the British Isles. As its ordinary name implies, this skua — the long-tailed jaeger of some districts, and the MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAHO WARD STUDIOS I.()N(;-T.\II.KI) SKLA. res-bog-nick (robber) of the Cossacks in Siberia — is distinguished from all the other members of the group by the excessive elongation of the slender middle pair of tail-feathers. As a rule, the colour of the plumage shows a tinge of grey, paler than in the light phase of the Arctic skua. Like the last, this skua breeds all round the Pole, generally within the limits of the Arctic Circle, except in a few localities farther south where high ground affords it a sufficiently cold climate. Its winter-range in the Old World does not extend south of Gibraltar. In addition to the great length of the middle tail-feathers, which may project more than 9 inches beyond the others, this species is characterised by its small size (13^ inches, exclusive of the aforesaid feathers), and by the fact that only the first and second primary quills of the wing have white shafts. The general colour of ' In regard to an alternative name, see above, p. 183. AUK OR RAZORBILL 189 the upper-parts in the adult is brownish buff, tendinjj; to i^rey, with the cheeks and neck yellowish buff, the breast white, the abdomen greyish brown, the beak dark horn-colour, the legs grey, and the toes black. In young birds there is little or no yellow on the sides of the neck, the under-parts are greyish white with brown bars and more or less distinct streaks on the flanks, and the upper-parts are uniformly sooty brown. The visits of this species to the British Islands depend to a great extent apparently on the nature of the season, and the abundance or scarcity of fish, with gulls and terns to prey upon them in proportionate numbers. Like the Arctic skua, the present bird is much more commonly seen on the east coast of England in autumn than on either the south or the west sides of our island ; and to Ireland, where it is least uncommon on the coasts of Connaught and Ulster, it is described as a rare and uncertain visitor, appearing chiefly in autumn, although occasionally seen in May and June. It may be found, on migration, all along the Scottish coasts, and visits Skye and most or all of the other northern islands, while it breeds on the high grounds of Lapland ; another well-known breeding-place being the open moorland of Alaska, where the two eggs are deposited in a cup-like hole in the moss, after the general fashion of the members of this group. In size these eggs are somewhat inferior to those of Richardson's skua, their length varying only between 2 and 2^ inches ; they also display a more decided tendency to an olive tone of colour, and are likewise somewhat paler. As a rule, the ground-colour is light clay, but at least two examples are known in which this is replaced by pale bluish green. Auk or Razorbill Lespite the peculiarity of their bodily form, which (Alea torda) recalls in some degree that of the penguins of the southern seas, the group of birds typified by the auk, or razorbill, and collectively known as auks, appears to be nearly related to the gulls and terns, although they constitute a distinct ordinal group — the Alcae — of which there is but a single family, Alcidai. Formerly indeed they were classed with the grebes and divers, but this is now known to be an unnatural association, the superficial resemblance existing between the members of the two groups being, as in so many similar instances, merely an adaptation to the same kind of existence. With the gulls and terns the auks agree in the webbing of their toes, which is, however, only another adaptive character, as well as in certain far more important features, such as the structure of the bony palate of the skull, which is of the open as 190 AUK GROUP distinct from the closed type, the sHt-likc apertures of the nostrils in the skull, and the forked shape assumed by the fcather-bcarini.N(;-i'i.LM.\(;i-: these birds arc so specially modified and differ so remarkably from the normal type. Auks are also characterised by the fact that they deposit their eggs, which are pear-like in form, on a bare ledge of rock, in a cranny, or in a hole burrowed by the bird itself, without the slightest attempt at a nest ; and that, as a rule, only a single egg, and this of relatively large size, is laid by each female, while never more than two eggs are incubated together. All the members of the group are sea-birds, and are confined to the northern hemisphere, where they breed in the sub-Arctic and Arctic zones, and in winter visit more southern latitudes, although never reaching any part of the Intlian region or crossing the equator. Two moults in the year are character- istic of the group ; and it is a remarkable fact that among the puffin.s, AUK OR RAZORBILL 191 in which the beak is ornamented by brilliant colours, the entire horny sheath is annually shed, just as are the horns of the prongbuck among mammals. Brilliant-hued crests and tufts of feathers on the sides of the head are also characteristic of some of the puffins. The young remain on the nesting-ledges for some time after hatching. The characters of the single family Alcida; may be taken to be the same as those of the group generally. In the typical section of the family, which includes the razorbill and its immediate allies, the feathers on the face extend at least as far forwards as the hind margin of the nostril ; the nostril itself being either completely exposed or overhung, and to some extent hidden, by thick velvety feathers, which sometimes reach its front edge. The razorbill and the great auk, which alone constitute the genus Alca, show the last-mentioned feature in regard to the feathering of the region in the neighbourhood of the nostrils ; and are further character- ised by the presence of distinct transverse groovings or flutings on the sides of the much-compressed and deep beak, of which the upper half is strongly curved downwards towards the tip. The razorbill, which is one of the most abundant of British sea- birds, inhabits both coasts of the North Atlantic, breeding in Iceland and the Faroes, on the coast of Norway as far north as latitude 69', and thence probably as far east as the island of Jan Mayen, while to the southward the coast of Brittany apparently forms the limit of its breeding-range. On the American side of the Atlantic the breeding- area is stated to extend in Greenland as far north as latitude 70'', and includes the coasts of Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Greenland. In winter razorbills wander as far south on the eastern side of the Atlantic as the Mediterranean and even the Canary Islands, and on the western side to the shores of New England. In the British Isles these birds breed from the Shetlands in the north, to Cornwall in the south, almost wherever cliffs suitable to their habits occur ; the Bass Rock, and Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, as well as the Fame Islands, being well-known resorts ; the Channel Islands also coming within their breeding-area. In Ireland, where it is comparatively rare in winter, the razorbill is found breeding wherever there are crags of any size, as the species does not confine itself to the precipitous cliffs favoured by its cousin the guillemot. Favourite Irish resorts are the cliffs of Moher in Clare, the Blasket and Skellig rocks off Kerry, the Bull Rock off the coast of Cork, and the cliffs of Waterford, where this bird is found to the exclusion of the guillemot. The peculiarly shaped beak, grooved and striped with white, 192 AUK GROUP to<^cthcr with the white stripe runniiiL; from the beak to the eye, afford unmistakable signs by which to recognise the adult razorbill. Immature birds lack, however, the grooves and stripes on the beak, although showing a more or less well defined eye-stripe. In summer, the head and neck of the adult are sooty brown, the back and wings black glossed with green, while the undcr-parts and a bar across the wings (formed by the tips of the secondary quills) are white. In winter the upper-parts are browner, and the sides of the head and fore portion of the neck white like the under-parts. Young birds are like the adults in winter. The long woolly down of the nestling is sandy brown above and white below. The razorbill is a social bird, consorting with its fellows in large flocks at all seasons of the year ; and it appears that in many parts of the country, at any rate, its apparently diminished numbers in autumn are mainly due to the fact that a large proportion of the birds betake themselves to the open sea. In the south of Ireland, and probably also on the Cornish coast, some of the razorbills begin to visit their breeding-places as early as the end of February, and by the end of the middle third of the following month have taken up their stations ; by the i6th of May laying has commenced, but is not in full swing till the latter part of that month, from which date fresh eggs and callow young may be found side by side till the latter part of June. In the north of Ireland the breeding-sites are not fully garrisoned till April, and in Scotland this does not take place till yet later. By the end of July the birds in Ireland begin to leave their breeding- places, and by the early part of August all have taken to the water. Although, despite the comparative shortness of its wings, the razorbill, after it is once fairly under way, flies well, its real home is the water, on which it frequently sleeps, and in which it dives with remarkable speed and endurance, leaving a line of air-bubbles to mark its course. The object of this diving is twofold, being either to capture fish as they swim, or to pick out shrimps, crabs, or shell-fish from their hiding-places among rocks or seaweed at the bottom. When swimming, these birds will often chase one another in a sportive manner ; but, unlike puffins, they never seem to fly about their haunts for the sake of amusement, always plunging headlong into the water immediately on leaving the rocks. On the other hand, they frequently fly long distances to their feeding-grounds, when small parties wend their way in single file, just skimming the surface of the waves. The fry of the herring and the coal -fish is stated to constitute a large portion of the food of the razorbill. GREAT AUK 193 The single egg of the razorbill is generally placed in a less exposed position than that of the guillemot, a hollow or fissure in the rock being frequently selected as the place of deposition, and the egg being in some instances situated a considerable distance from the face of the cliff. In shape the eggs differ somewhat from those of the guillemot, and they do not exhibit the extraordinary variation in colour and marking noticeable in the latter, although the ground-colour may range from blue to red. Both sexes take their turn at the work of incubation. The young, when sufficiently advanced to leave the nesting-ledges, do not do so of their own accord, but in some cases are forcibly hustled down towards the water by the parent birds, not unfrequently falling some distance down steep cliffs in their descent. When fairly in the water the young bird often does not seem at first to know what to do ; and, after frequent attempts to make it swim by other means, one of the old birds dives beneath its offspring and carries it on its back out to sea, when, by the diving of the parent, the youngster is left to shift for itself. In other cases, however, the young birds do not give all this trouble, but strike out of their own accord directly they are tumbled into the sea. Where the cliffs are still steeper the old birds carry their young on their backs straight into the sea. On land the razorbill walks very awkwardly and clumsily, and never attempts to travel far by this mode of progression. THE ROWLAND WARD &T YOUNG RAZORBILL. Great Auk Like the razorbill, an inhabitant of both shores of (Alea impennis) ^^^ Northern Atlantic, the great auk, or garefowl — the true and original penguin of the older naturalists — always had a much more restricted and more exclusively northern distribution than its smaller relative. And in consequence of this local and confined distribution, coupled with the use of the flesh for food and bait, and in later years the eager hunt for eggs and skins as specimens for collectors, this splendid bird appears to have been completely exterminated before the close of the first half of the nineteenth century. In many modern ornithological works the great O 194 AUK GROUP auk will be found described under the name oi Plautus inipennis ; since, however, the species, as its popular name implies, is nothing more than a large auk or razorbill, in which the wings arc so reduced as to be useless for flight, and since this is a purely adaptive character, there are no sufficient reasons for sundering it from the typical genus Alca. Since the present work is devoted to existing rather than extinct British birds, of which, by the way, the present species is the only one that has completely disappeared from the world within modern times, a very brief notice of the great auk will suffice. Formerly this bird bred in St. Kilda, where, however, it had become very scarce so early as the middle of the eighteenth century; but a specimen was obtained from that group of islands in 182 1 or 1822, and a second about 1840 ; while a pair, of which the male is in the British Museum, were killed in the Orkneys in 1812, and one was taken near Water- ford harbour in 1834, being the only instance of the occurrence of the species in Ireland. Bones of the great auk have, however, been obtained in Antrim and Waterford, as well as in caves at Teesdale, in Durham, and in the superficial deposits of Caithness and Argyll- shire. But Iceland, and more especially the now submerged " Geirfuglasker," or garefowl-rock, was the great stronghold of the species in the eastern hemisphere ; and the last survivors of the species were killed there in 1844. Bones have been also discovered in the peat of Denmark, and in Funk Island, off the Newfoundland coast, the last resort of the species on the western side of the Atlantic, and they have also been recorded from as far south as Florida. The lack of the power of flight in the great auk was made up by its extraordinary powers of diving and swimming ; but, like many other flightless species, the bird was extraordinarily tame and confiding ; GKKAT ALK. GUILLEMOT 195 traits which formed another factor conducing to its extermination. It fed mainly or entirely on fish ; and, like its kindred, laid its single egg on a bare ledge of rock. These eggs, of which just over seventy arc known to be preserved, are very similar to those of the razorbill, exhibiting much the same variations in colour and markings, but are, of course, much larger. Both skins and eggs of the great auk are now much SKELETON OF GREAT AUK. sought after whenever they come into the market, and command extraordinarily high prices. A mounted skin, formerly in the collection of a well-known ornithologist at Scarborough, was, for instance, sold recently for ;^400, while a single egg has realised as much as 300 guineas. Although the guillemot, locally known as the willock or tinkershere, probably once shared with the razor- bill the title of auk, it is preferable to restrict that name as a specific designation t9 the latter bird. From the true auks Guillemot (Uria tpoile). 196 AUK GROUP {Alca) the various species of guillemot are collectively distinguished by the more slender form of the beak, which is devoid of transverse grooves or flutings ; a further characteristic of the group being the absence of wattle-like structures on the sides of the face. The nostril, moreover, is closely beset by dense feathering, extending about to the middle of its upper border. The distribution of the true guillemot is very similar to that of the razorbill, embracing both shores of the North Atlantic ; but the species is represented on the Pacific side of America by a bird which it seems best to regard as a local race {C troile californicd), although raised by some writers to the rank of a distinct species. On the east side of the Atlantic the guillemot breeds as far north as the Varanger Fiord (just on the Arctic Circle) and Bear Island, as well as in Iceland and the Faroes ; while east- wards the breeding-range extends into the Baltic, and southwards reaches, in isolated localities, along the French and Portu- guese coasts as far as some small islands off the mouth of the Tagus. The winter-range extends to the Straits of Gibraltar, through which a few birds pass into the Medi- terranean basin. On the American side the breeding-range is more limited, extending apparently only as far north as latitude 64^^^ or there- abouts, and southwards to New England. In the British Islands the guillemot, which is by far the more abundant bird of the two, selects the same breeding-haunts as the razorbill, although frequenting the ledges of some cliffs too precipitous to suit the taste of the latter. In THe ROWLAND WARD BTUDIO& GCILLKMOT (SL'MMKK). GUILLEMOT 197 England one of the great guillemot-haunts is Flamborough Head, York- shire ; while in Ireland the precipitous limestone cliffs of Moher, in Clare, form the spot where these birds congregate in the greatest numbers in the breeding-season, the Cow Rock, off the Kerry coast, being another famous resort, where these birds collect in thousands. With a length of from 1 7 to i 8 inches (the female being rather smaller than her partner), the guille- mot in summer has the upper- parts, inclusive of the head and neck, sooty brown, in- clining to grey on the back, and the under-parts and a band across the open wing, formed by the tips of the secondary quills, white ; but in winter the sides of the head and front of the neck become like the lower sur- face. Young birds resemble the adults in winter, but have smaller beaks and yellowish instead of olive webs to the toes. In the nestling the colour above is chocolate, with white mottlings on the head, the cheeks and throat being white streaked and freckled with black, while the flanks are dusky brown, and a white patch occurs on each side of the lower part of the back. The habits of the guillemot are so essentially the same as those of its cousin the razorbill, that what has been written in the case of the one will apply almost word for word to that of the other. Like the razorbill, the guillemot spends the greater part of the year on the sea, resorting to the cliffs only for the breeding-season ; when assembled in their thousands, as on the above-mentioned resorts, or on the Fame Islands or Bempton Cliffs, these birds present one of the most wonder- ful and interesting examples of the profusion of bird-life that can be seen anywhere in the world. The eagerness and impetuosity with which a guillemot pursues its prey under water is exemplified by the fact that, according to a writer in the Field newspaper for 1905, one GUILLEMOT (WINTER) 19^^ AUK GROUP of these birds was actually hooked and captured on an artificial minnow which was being used in pollack-fishing on the Cornish coast. Like most of its relatives, the female guillemot lays only a single egg ; but the eggs collectively are remarkable for the extraordinary amount of variation the}' display both as regards colouring and mark- ings, although it may be presumed that each bird always lays eggs of the same type. As the present work is not written to meet the re- quirements of the collector, and more especially since a fine series is exhibited to the public in the Natural Histor}' Branch of the British Museum at South Ken- sington, it will be unnecessary to enumerate all the variations pre- sented by eggs of this species. And it will accordingly suffice to mention that while the ground-colour may vary from white and greenish blue to greenish, and again from cream and creamy buff to rufous buff and even red, the markings may be of almost any conceiv- able form of spots, blotches, and scribblings, ranging in colour from chestnut to black, and at other times may be almost com- pletely wanting. Blown eggs of the guillemot may generally be distinguished from those of the razorbill, when viewed through the blowing-hole against the light, by appearing of a greenish yellow, in place of a greenish tint. The length of the egg varies from 3 to 3^ inches. The so-called bridled, or better, spectacled guillemot, distinguished from the typical form by the presence of a white ring surrounding the eye, and a line extending backwards in the direction of the ear, is frequently described as a distinct species, under the name C/rui ringi'ia. It seems best regarded, however, as a peculiar colour-phase of the ordinary species, with which it invariably consorts in an indiscriminate manner. With regard to Brimnich's, or, as it might well be called, the Arctic guillemot {Una bruennichi), there is great doubt whether more Oi il.l.l-..M(ji. BLACK GUILLEMOT 199 than a very few individuals were seen or taken on the British coasts up to the close of the last century, and it is accordingly not allowed a ciefinite place in the British list. It is true that in some works a considerable number of alleged occurrences of this bird is recorded, but in 1889 an eminent authority declared that, at most, only two of the instances chronicled up to that date could be regarded as free from doubt. Several of these earlier records refer to alleged Irish specimens, but in the most recent work on the birds of Ireland the species is excluded from the list. Between 1889 and 1900 four authenticated instances of the occurrence of BrLin- nich's guillemot have, however, been chronicled. Of these, three were obtained in Yorkshire (one in 1894 and two in the following year), and the fourth in Cambridgeshire in 1895. The thicker beak and the dark colouring — especially the sharp contrast between the black head and the chocolate neck — are the leading distinctive character- istics of this guillemot, which breeds apparently in high latitudes all round the Pole, and occurs rarely in the north of Iceland. In winter it visits Scandinavia, and, as already mentioned, occasionally straggles to the east coast of England. brunnich's guillemot (summer). „, , /^ Ml * With the black guillemot, easily distinguished from Black Guillemot , , r, ,• t-i /„ . ,, . the other members of the group by its relatively shorter beak and the coal-black summer-plumage, relieved by a white " blaze " on the wing, we come to an undoubted British species, which is, however, mainly confined to the more northern districts of our islands. On account of the shorter beak, coupled with the greater difference of the summer from the winter plumage, and the fact that the female lays a pair of eggs in place of the usual one, this guillemot is sometimes made the type of a genus, under the name of Ceplius grylle^ but we may be content to follow in this respect the practice of most of the older British ornithologists. The species is a native of the North Atlantic, breeding on both the eastern and western coasts of Scandinavia as well as those of the White Sea, and also 200 AUK GROUP in the Faroes, while it is likewise common in Iceland, and, on the opposite side of the Atlantic, in Greenland and the neiL,^hbourhood of Baffin Bay. In winter it visits the North Sea and the En^^lish Channel, and in America travels as far south as Massachusetts. From Spitzbergen to Kamchatka and Alaska it is replaced by Mandt's guillemot {U. mandti) which has a larger amount of white in the summer-plumage. In Great Britain the black guillemot breeds in the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands, and locally on the west coast of Scot- land, as well as sparingly on the Isle of Man. In Ireland it breeds locally where the coasts are rocky, more especially on the north and west sides of the island ; but is apparently only found in pairs. It is reported to have formerly bred on the Welsh coast, and at Flam- borough Head, where it is still occasionally seen in summer-dress. The black guillemot is a con- siderably smaller bird than the common species, measuring only 12 or 13 in place of i 7 or 18 inches in length. In addition to this inferior bodily size, the generally sooty black hue of the plumage, and the conspicuous white patch on the wing, the black guillemot in summer displays an oily green gloss on the feathers, excepting, of course, those of the wing-patch, and is further characterised by the black beak and the vermilion of the sides of the mouth and legs. In winter-dress, which is apparently never assumed by very old birds, most of the upper-parts become barred with white, while the hind portion of the back and the undcr-parts turn wholly white. Young birds are smoky black above, but have most of the wing-coverts tipped with brownish black, the throat and fore part of the neck mottled with grey, and the flanks fringed with brown. The nestling is uniformly sooty black, becoming paler beneath. I THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS BLACK GUILLKMOT (WINTKK), LITTLE AUK, OR ROTCHE 201 With one exception, the habits of the black guillemot, in localities where it is common, are practically identical with those of the ordinary- guillemot and the razorbill. The one exception is the fact, already mentioned, that it lays two eggs, which are usually deposited in crevices of the rocks instead of on bare ledges. Such crevices may be either high up on a cliff or at its foot ; and instances are not unknown of these birds breeding — we cannot say nesting — far away from the coast. The eggs, which measure from rather more than 2 to just over 2^ inches in length, are less variable in colouring than those of the guillemot; the ground- colour being usually white or greenish white, with evenly distributed black spots and distinct under- lying purplish-grey spots; but both the superficial and the deep-seated markings may run together into blotches, while the ground-colour is sometimes of a lilac shade with brown or grey markings. Little Auk or '^^^ pretty little sea-bird commonly known as the Rotehe' y^^^le auk, but better designated by its alternative of (AUe nigricans) rotehe, in order to distinguish it from the typical auks, has suffered severely from the vagaries of scientific nomenclature, and the present writer will not improbably be charged with adding to its misfortunes in this respect. Originally named A/ca alle by Linnaeus, the species will be found described in the older works on British ornithology as Merguhcs alle, and it is a pity that it could not have been suffered to retain this very appropriate designation. Unfortunately, however, it was discovered that before the generic name Mergulus was published a foreign naturalist had raised Linnaeus's specific name to generic rank, and according to the views of the advanced zoologists of the present day the species con- sequently assumes the alliterative title of Alle alle. As the adoption BLACK GUILLEMOT (ADULT AND YOUNG IN SUMMER). 202 AUK GROUP of such a designation is foreign to the plan of the present work, it has been necessary to revive an alternative specific name ; the original Linna^an specific name being, of course, preserved in the higher grade of a generic title. Although essentially a bird of the open Arctic ocean, the rotche is a winter-visitor to the British Isles and the shores of the North Sea and North Atlantic in general, occasionally wandering as far south as the Azores and Canaries, and on the American side reaching the coast of New England. The visitations of the rotche to Great Britain are, however, subject to great fluctuations in point of numbers ; and in unusually cold seasons great numbers of these birds often arrive on our shores, the last of these great visitations hav- ing occurred in the winter of 1894-95. The strange thing about these visitations — in the case of a species accustomed to the vicissitudes of an Arctic climate — is, however, that in unusually bad weather numbers of these birds are often driven far inland, when, as in the winter above cited, many are picked up dead. The present writer when a boy not unfrequently saw such a storm-beaten straggler which was captured many years ago on the mill-head in the village of Wheathampstead, near St. Albans, and was long in the collection of the late Mr. Thrale, a farmer-collector living at No-man's-land, a couple of miles distant from the village. With the sale of that collection the history of the specimen ends. To Ireland the species is a rare and irregular winter-visitor, being apparently in most cases driven there b}' stress of weather. Franz Josef Land, Novaia Zemlia, Spitzbcrgen, the north of Iceland, and Greenland nearly as far north as latitude 79", are well-known and favourite breeding-places of the rotche. It is time, however, to mention some of the leading distinctive ^^H^^^^^^^^l . " * ■. ' ^ B|^^^^^ -VV^fc- ■'-..;."' ■ ''-iT^TJ^^^^K LITTLK AUKS, OK ROTCHF.S. LITTLE AUK, OR ROTCHE 203 features of this bird, which is some degree intermediate between the- true auks and the guillemots, although clearly referable to neither of the two genera. In addition to its diminutive size, the species is dis- tinguished by the absence of any groovings on the beak, which is relatively short, swollen, and somewhat sharply bent down towards the tip, without any notch in its upper half. More important, perhaps, is the circumstance that the oval nostrils are fully exposed and quite clear from the feathering at the base of the beak. xAs its ordinary name implies, this bird is the smallest representa- tive of the auk family, measuring only 8^ inches in total length. In summer the crown of the head and upper-parts generally are black tinged with grey, but the sides of the head and neck are sooty black ; these sombre tints being relieved by white tips to the secondary wing- quills, white margins to the scapular feathers, and wholly white under- parts. In winter the white of the under surface extends on to the fore part of the neck, the throat, and the sides of the head ; but during spring and autumn the throat and chin are mottled with black, as one type of plumage is exchanged for the other. The young in first plumage differ from the adults in summer merely by their inferior size and the lack of gloss on the plumage of the back and wings ; but the nestling is uniformly smoke-grey above and somewhat paler below. As already mentioned, the rotche is essentially a bird of the open sea, which, except for breeding-purposes, seldom makes its appearance on land unless forcibly driven there by inclement weather. In the Arctic regions it is to be met with in summer, especially in the neigh- bourhood of Spitzbergen, literally by myriads, its flocks darkening the water. With such a high northern range it is not a little remarkable that the bird is unknown in the Arctic Pacific. Where the great bulk of these auks go when their summer-home in the Arctic Ocean is held fast in the grip of winter appears to be still unknown ; the same remark being applicable, however, to the case of many other northern sea-birds. The chief food of this species appears to consist of small crustaceans belonging to the group known as Entomostraca ; and during the breeding-season a kind of pouch-like enlargement of the cheeks is developed in the old birds in order to enable them to carry food of this nature to their young. Like all the auk-tribe, the rotche is an expert diver, and is able to swim under water with the aid of its rather short wings. These birds have a watchful enemy in the shape of the Arctic fox, and in order that the eggs may npt be carried off by this marauder, they are laid in deep holes or burrows under stones ; each female, according to the rule among the auk-tribe, depositing 204 AUK GROUP only one egg. Man)- of these nesting-holes are in cliffs iiundrcds of feet above sea-level. Oval in shape and, although smooth, without gloss, the eggs of the rotche are in general of a uniform greenish-blue colour, although occasionally speckled with j-ellowish and more rarely marked with streaks and small blotches at the large end ; this uniform colouring being probably due to the fact of their being laid in con- cealment. In length they measure from i£ inches to a fraction over 2 inches. Puffin or Sea- Two animals, one a mammal and the other a bird. Parrot ( Fratereula ^^P^^^^^^y when mounted in museums, look as aretica) though they were " fakes," and had been provided with beaks which do not properly belong to them. The first of these is the curious duckbill, or platypus, of Australia, and the second the puffin, or sea-parrot, of the North Atlantic and adjacent portions of the Arctic Ocean. Puffins are represented by five species, of which three are confined to the North Pacific ; it is true indeed, that by some authorities the puffin found in Spitzbcrgen, Novaia Zemlia, and Greenland, is regarded as a distinct species, on account of its somewhat superior size and relatively larger beak, but it seems best to class it as a variety of the ordinary puffin, possibly entitled to rank as a separate race {F. aretica glacialis). All puffins — both Atlantic and Pacific — may be recognised at a glance by the peculiar shape and colouring of their deeply grooved and abnormally large beaks, part of the horny sheath of which, as already mentioned, is annually shed and renewed. In summer wattles are developed at the root of the beak ; and the nostrils are at all seasons fully exposed and surrounded only by the horn of the beak, being quite clear of the feathering of the head. The Atlantic puffin in summer has the crown of the head, the upper-parts generally, and a collar round the neck black ; the sides of the head and a band across the nape are grey, and a streak of greyish dun runs down each side of the neck ; elsewhere the plumage is white. In striking contrast to this simple body-livery are the orange of the legs and feet, the orange-red of the terminal half of the beak, the carmine ring round the eye, the orange wattle-like structure at the gape of the mouth, and the blue horny tubercle above and below the eye ; the basal portion of the beak being slaty grey bounded on each side with yellow. In winter the tubercles above and below the eye and the basal portion of the beak-sheath are dis- carded ; but there is no change in the colour of the plumage. Young PUFFIN, OR SEA-PARROT 20i birds have a smaller and smoother beak than their parents, and the face dark grey ; while the long down of the nestling is sooty black with a patch of white on the abdomen. Puffins breed from Spitzbergen, Lapland (where they are ex- traordinarily numerous), and Iceland, along the whole of the British coasts, in suitable localities, and thence to the north coast of France and western Portugal ; while in winter they journey as far as the Mediterranean in Europe and the New England coast on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Puffin Island on the Anglesea side of Beaumaris Bay, and a similarly named island on the Kerry coast, take their titles from these birds; while other well-known breeding-resorts in the British Islands are the Scilly and Lundy Islands, the Isle of Wight, parts of the Cornish coast, Flamborough Head, and a number of cliffs on the coasts of Ireland. Lundy Island, it may be added, takes its title from the Saxon name of these birds. To the British Islands puffins are in great part merely summer-visitors, appearing in April and departing in August, but on many parts of the east coast of Scotland they are said to be resident. Turf-clad islands or the grassy slopes of cliffs are their favourite breeding-resorts ; and on these they stand in rows like toy-soldiers, and burrow deep into the soil for their breeding-places, some of the nesting-birds constantly poking their heads out of these burrows in an intensely comical manner, while still more comical is the waddling gait of the species. In the fourth 2o6 PETREL GROUP edition of Varrell's BritisJi Birds it is stated that in puffins the whole foot — or rather the foot, and what is commonly called, as in this work, the shank — is applied to the ground when walking, but this appears to be incorrect. When they cannot find rabbit- holes to save them the trouble, puffins commonly begin to excavate their breeding-burrows during the latter part of May in England ; the work being mainly accomplished by the cock, although incubation is performed by the hen, who is fed with fish during that period by her attentive partner. At the end of the burrow, which may be as much as a yard in length and is frequently curved, is deposited the single white or bluish-white egg. Although almost uniformly coloured examples are known, the eggs, which measure from 2.15 to 2.7 inches in length, are usually spotted and blotched with pale purple and grey, but may also .show spots and scribblings of yellowish brown. Although such inelegant walkers, puffins are excellent divers and strong fliers, making long excursions from and to their breeding- places out to sea in search of the young fishes which, with crustaceans and insects, constitute their food. At certain seasons the chief food- supply appears to be formed by young herrings, but on some occasions by young sand-eels or launces, of which forty-one have been taken from the crop of a single bird.' Young puffins remain in their breeding- holes for about three weeks after hatching, when they are enticed out by their parents, and, with the latter, soon after desert the land for the open sea. This account may be closed by the mention of the curious fact that on September 20, 1905, three puffins were taken in Kerry by rod and line, two by fly-fishing, and the third while trolling for bass. Storm Petrel ^'^^ petrels and their allies, constituting the order (Procellaria Tubinares, present a remarkable contrast in regard J . X to geographical distribution to the auks, for in place of being confined to the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere, they are mainly characteristic of the southern hemisphere, and have but a comparatively small number of repre- sentatives on our side of the equator. From the general appearance of many of them, due to adaptation to a similar mode of life, the petrels (as the entire group may be collectively termed) were at one time associated with the gulls and terns ; and they agree with the latter and all the ordinal groups hitherto treated of in the structure ' Lcsl ihc present writer shoulil l)e accused of error, it ni.iy he pointed out tliat in the work where this statement occurs, the fish is incorrectly said to be the lancelet, which, l>y the way, is not a fish at all. STORM-PETREL 207 of the bony palate of the skull, which is of the open type. They differ, however, in that the apertures of the nostrils in the skull are of the oval instead of the slit -like type ; while they are broadly distinguished from all other birds by the circumstance that the nostrils terminate externally in tubes, which may be either separate or united. The latter feature is, of course, alone sufficient to enable any one to recognise a petrel at a glance ; but it may be well to refer to a few other characteristics of the group. In common with some of the members of the cormorant group, all the petrels have the horny sheath of the beak divided by deep furrows into several distinct pieces, and the tip of the beak is sharply bent downwards. The above- mentioned separate pieces of the horny sheath of the beak have been severally identified with the shield-like scales on the heads of lizards ; and if this identification be well founded, it would seem that a beak of the petrel-type is the original form from which has been derived that of ordinary birds, covered by an undivided horn- sheath. This, however, is by the way ; and to revert to the char- acteristics of the present group, it may be noted that the three front-toes are webbed, and that the hind one is never large and may be altogether wanting. In the generally long wings there are eleven primary quills ; the oil-gland is tufted ; and the feather-bearing tract in the spinal region is well defined on the sides of the neck by featherless areas, and forms a fork on the lower part of the back. All petrels, except during the breeding-season, are essentially birds of the open sea, and display a remarkable range of variation in bodily size ; the species to be immediately considered being scarcely lar^-er than a sw^allow, w^hile the lordly albatross exceeds in wing-span every other living bird except the condor. In the case of most species only a single egg is laid by the female ; this being generally deposited in a burrow dug by the bird itself As a rule, the eggs are white, but they may have a zone of reddish dots at the larger end. Both sexes are alike in plumage, there is only a single moult, and the young are help- less and clad in down till full-grown. Small fishes, crustaceans, and THE ROWLAND STORM-PETKEL (MALE). 2o8 PETREL GROUP oceanic molluscs form the natural diet of the petrels ; but many ot the species, like gulls, pick up the refuse thrown from ships. The half-digested food forms an ill-smelling oily fluid, which is disgorged in o-reater or less profusion by most of the species when wounded or otherwise captured. " Mother Carey's chicken," as the storm-petrel is commonly termed by sailors, is the typical representative of the whole group, and thus the petrel par excellence. It might naturally be supposed that the name petrel bears some reference to rocks, and etymologically it does so ; but it actually means the " bird of St. Peter," and appears to have been applied to the present species from the fact that when the bird is skimming the surface of the waves in its usual fashion, its feet from time to time strike the surface of the water, thus suggesting the idea of walking on the waves. Although they have been divided into two such groups, all the British petrels may be conveniently included in the single family Procellariidai. The storm-petrel and its more immediate relatives form a "-roup of genera in which the species are of small size ; all bein^'- collectively characterised by the union of the two nasal tubes, and by the second primary quill exceeding the others in length. The storm-petrel and the fork-tailed petrel are further characterised by the relative shortness of the shank of the leg, which is covered in front with a number of six-sided shield-like scales, the presence of at least thirteen secondary wing-quills, and by the outer toe being shorter than the middle one. Together with one nearly allied Pacific species, the storm-petrel differs from the other British representatives of the group by the absence of any forking in the tail. In length the storm-petrel, which inhabits the Atlantic Ocean as far south as the coast of West Africa and also the western portion of the Mediterranean, measures only 6^ inches. Its sooty black plumage, beak, and legs, relieved only by the white upper tail-coverts, the white ed<^'-es to the greater wing-coverts, and a white patch below at the base of the tail, coupled with its storm-loving habits, have doubtless earned for the species its sailors' .sobriquet of "devil-bird." Immature birds differ merely by the smaller amount of white below the tail and the buff edgings to the greater wing-coverts ; while the down of the nestling is sooty black both above and below. The wild Atlantic coast of Ireland is one of the favourite haunts of the petrel, and to the natives of the storm-swept Blasket Islands, forming the extreme western point of Kerry, these birds were at one time of considerable importance. A rush drawn through the oily FORK-TAILED PETREL 209 body of a petrel formed, indeed, the only liL;ht of these primitive people ; while the yountj birds, when roasted, constitute, it is said, a by no means despicable dish. In summer the petrels breed largely on the Blaskets, making their nests, which consist of only a few blades of dry grass, in holes among the rocks scattered over the turf- clad slopes, or in crevices of stone-walls. The single egg, which measures just over an inch in length, and is dull or dirty white in colour, sparsely dotted with reddish-brown specks sometimes forming a zone near the larger end, is laid in May ; but this appears to be followed in the late summer or earl}' autumn by a second, as fresh eggs have been taken on the Blaskets in September. The Skelligs, which are near the Blaskets, and Tory Island, off the Donegal coast, are other favourite breeding-places of the petrel in Ireland ; while to the northward the Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroes afford well-known nesting grounds. A few petrels also breed on the Welsh coast and on the Scilly Islands. Fork-tailed Petrel ^^^^^ ^^^^ common around the coasts of our islands (Oeeanodroma ^^ ^^^ fork-tailed, or Leach's, petrel, a member of a leueorrhoa). genus, with about a dozen species, widel\- distributed on the warmer seas, and characterised by the deep forking of the tail and the relative shortness of the shank, or lower segment of the leg, which is never longer than the middle- toe and claw. The present species is a native of the tem- perate zone of the North Atlantic and Pacific, and is in general only a winter-visitor to the shores of the British Islands, where it is not uncommonly- driven far inland during storm}- weather, a specimen having been taken in Somerset so re- cently as 1903. It nests, how- ever, on the island of St. Kilda and in the Outer Hebrides, and a few pairs have from time to tiine been detected breedin"- on the Blasket Islands, off the Kerrv coast, as well as in Mayo, where an egg was taken in 1899. Otherwise this petrel is chiefl}- known as an accidental visitor to Ireland. KOKK-TAII.KU PKTkKI.. lO PETRI- L GROUP In addition to the dccpl>- forked tail from which it takes one of its names, Leach's petrel, which has the general sooty plumage of mo^ of its relatives and measures 8 inches in length, is specially characterised by the black legs, the smoky grey middle and greater wing-coverts passing into white on the edges of the greater coverts and innermost secondary quills, the short white tips to the scapulars, the white upper tail-coverts, and the presence of a white patch on each side of the under side of the tail. Immature birds cannot be distin- guished from the adults in colour. The long down of the chick differs .MAUKIK.V rKTKKL. from that of the nestling storm-petrel by being uniformlj' greyish brown in place of black. In St. Kilda these petrels breed on the flat ground at the summit of the cliffs in the neighbourhood of the capital town, each bird laj-ing its single egg at the bottom of a burrow of considerable depth ; several of such burrows being often found in proximity, and some of them having two entrances. During their sojourn on land these petrels, like many others of the tribe, are largely nocturnal, keeping within their holes during the day-time. Both birds take their turn at incubation ; but it is somewhat remarkable that onh' a single bird is reported to be found in each hole, thus leaving unexplained what becomes of the individuals off dut\'. The egg is slightly larger than that of the storm-petrel, and usually shows a ring of pale lilac specks at the large end. WILSON'S PETREL 211 A single example of the Madeira petrel iOccanodroina cryptoleucura), which is a darker bird than the last, with broader black tips to the upper tail-coverts and the outer tail-feathers white at the bases, was picked up dead in Kent in 1895. Wilson's Petrel (Oeeanites oeeanieus). All the casual visitors to the British Islands hitherto noticed breed in the northern hemisphere, and reach our islands from east, north, or west. Wilson's petrel, on the other hand, nests in the Antarctic and the Australasian islands, whence it wanders to the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, occasionally reaching the British Islands by the latter route in autumn. This petrel, together with an allied species from the American side of the South Pacific, represents a genus distinguished from the two last by the claws being somewhat depressed in- stead of distinctly compressed, by the relatively greater length of the shank or lower segment of the leg, which is covered in front with a single greave-like shield in place of a number of small hexagonal shields, the absence of the hind-toe, which is represented only by a vestige of the claw, the presence of only ten secondary quills, and the approximate equality in the length of the outer and middle toes. In addition to these features, Wilson's petrel, which measures 7 inches in length, is easily recog- nised by the }-ellow patch at the base of the webs of the toes, and the squared tail. The plumage is for the most part of the usual sooty black, but the upper tail-coverts and a patch beneath each side of the tail are white, as in Leach's and the storm petrel, and the bases of the tail-feathers, more especially the outer ones, are also white. Apart from a number seen off the Land's End in 1839, Wilson's petrel seems to have occurred about fifteen times in the British Isles up to the end of 1900, so far as our records extend back. Most of these occurrences have taken place in England, there being only one instance of the species having been taken in Scotland, and that in Jura in 1 89 1. One example is said to have been killed on the Irish coast WILSON S I'ETKEL. 21 PETREL GROUP in 1840, and two specimens were taken in Ireland in 1891. one in Fermanagh and the other in Antrim. This petrel, which was formerl\' known as Procellaria ici/sotii, has much the same habits as the other members of the i^roup ; and it will suffice to state that in Kerguelen Island, in the South Atlantic, it lays its sin"-le e^g on the bare ground, either in some natural depression among the stones, or in a slight hollow scratched out by the birds themselves. Of the white-bellied, or frigate, petrel {Piidi^ocirovia marina , which represents a genus by itself characterised by the broad and flattened claws and the grey and white plumage, one specimen was picked up dead on Walney Island, Lancashire, in 1890, while a second was recorded from Colon.say, off the west coast of Scotland, in 1897. With the large gre\' gull-like bird known as the fulmar we come to the second group of British petrels, . . all of which arc of larger bodily size than the storm- petrel and its relatives, and form a group distinguished from the latter by the fact that the nasal tubes may have distinct double apertures and are generally divided internally, while the second primary quill is not longer than the first, and may be shorter. The number of tail-feathers is variable ; but there are certain features in the skeleton by which the members of this section of the family (re"-arded by some writers as a family by itself, under the name of Puffinida;) may be distinguished from the last. Of the fulmars there are four species, of which three are confined to the Pacific, while the present one is a native of the North Atlantic. Together with certain other allied southern genera, these birds are characterised by the presence of more or less distinct transverse ridges on the sides of the palate ; while they are specially distinguished by the powerful beak and feet, the enclosure of the nostrils in a short single tube by which they arc somewhat concealed, and the presence of fourteen tail-feathers. Always bearing in mind that it is broadly distinguished from the gulls by its tubular nostrils, the fulmar cannot possibly be confounded with any other British bird. Like some of the skuas, it exhibits two distinct colour-phases, in the more common of which the back and part of the wings are light grey, the quills dusky black, the head, neck, and under-parts white, and the legs and feet bluish-brown colour, while that portion of the beak which overhangs the nostrils is nearly black and the remainder yellow. On the other hand, in the less common dark phase the general colour of the plumage is uniformly dusky grey FULMAR 2 I above and somewhat paler beneath. The nestling is clothed in long white down. In the adult male the total length is i8^ inches, and in the adult female an inch less. The only breeding-places of the fulmar in the British Isles are Cape Wrath, on the northern coast of Sutherland (a locality only made known in 1901), the island of Foula in the Shetlands, and several of the Inner Hebrides, whence the species wanders in summer to the Outer Hebrides, more especially St. Kilda and Borrera. In modern times Foula dates as a breeding-place only from the year 1878. On the American side of the North Atlantic, Baffin MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS FULM.VK (light PH.\SE). Bay and Greenland are well-known resorts of the species, whence its range extends eastwards to Iceland, Spitzbergen, Xovaia Zemlia, and Franz Josef Land. The fulmar is a bird of great importance and value to the in- habitants of the Westman Islands, to the south of Iceland, where it is considered that in a good season something like 30,000 head are taken. The bodies of the birds, when cleaned, smoked, and dried, are used for food ; while the fat is employed for two purposes, being either boiled down into oil, or salted and flavoured with spices, when it takes the place of butter in the household economy. About ten good fulmars are required to yield a litre of oil ; this oil being largely used for lighting purposes. 214 PETREL GROUP On the east coast of Scotland the fuhnar is by no means an un- common bird, but as we pass south it becomes more and more rare, although seen all along the English coast from Northumberland to Essex at times, while it has occurred occasionally along the southern coast as far west as Devon and Cornwall. To Ireland it is a rare and accidental visitor, generally driven on shore b\' violent storms. The fulmar, except during the breeding-season, is a bird of the open sea, where its great powers of flight enable it to keep pace with a fast steamer without apparent effort. Garbage thrown from vessels forms a large portion of its food, and to obtain nutriment of this nature fulmars ac- company whaling vessels for long distances. In swooping at scraps of offal these birds are said to frequently alight feet- first on the water, in place of plunging in gull- fashion. Fishes, especi- ally herrings, are also largch* eaten ; and the eagerness of these birds in rushing after the herr- ing-nets is frequently so great as to lead to their capture. On the broken grass)' slopes at the summits of the St. Kilda cliffs fulmars breed in vast numbers ; and the silence of these birds in their nesting-haunts presents a remarkable contrast to the incessant clamour of the kittiwakes breeding on the ledges of the cliffs below. The single white egg is usually deposited in a hollow scratched by the parent birds in the turf and often lined with herbage, tluring the latter half of May, and b}' July the \oung are reported to be able to fly. More rarel)' it may be placed on a bare rocky ledge, where it is prevented from rolling down by being laid in a slight hollow. On the turf-clad heights of St. Kilda .so numerous arc the sitting fulmars in the middle of the breeding-sca.son that the whole surface of the ground is flecked with white patches. The egg has a rough chalky-white texture, and measures between 2^ and a fraction over 3 inches in its longer diameter. To the natives of St. Kilda the bird and its eggs are as FULM.\K (D.\KK I'lI.XSK). GREAT SHEARWATER 215 valuable as they are to the Westman islanders, and, in former days at any rate, constituted a large portion of their food-supply. Here it may be mentioned that an individual of the widely dis- tributed southern bird known as the Cape petrel or " Cape pigeon " {Dnption capensis) was reported to have been killed near Dublin in 1 88 1. Since, however, no mention of this species is made in the latest work on Irish birds, it is to be presumed that there is some error in the statement, or that the bird was not a wild one. Great Shearwater ^^ '' "" '^'''"^^' ^"' ^'^-''^^ ^^'^^ ^^'^ scientific name (Pufflnus gravis), ^"ffi'"^^ ^"^'^^ applied by Lmn.xnis to one of the shear- waters instead of to the true puffin, more especially as this term has been raised to the rank of a genus by later naturalists, in consequence of which all the shearwaters now figure as Puffinus, HE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS GREAT SHKAKVVATliK. while the true puffins, as we have seen, are designated Fi-atcrcnla. But this is not all, for when the shearwaters are made the type of a family they take the name of Puffinid;t, or puffin-tribe, to the exclusion of the typical puffin. Absurdity in nomenclature can scarcely go much further. The anomaly arose, however, from the circumstance that the Manx shearwater, the type of the whole group, was called " puffin " by the English naturalist Willughby, who lived before the time of Linnaeus ; and according to modern rules of nomenclature appears to be unavoidable. 2i6 I'l: IREL GROUP All the shearwaters, in common with certain allied genera, may be easily distinguished from the fulmar by the absence of transverse ridges on the sides of the palate ; while the shearwaters themselves, of which there are some twenty species with a world-wide distribution, are specially distinguished by the nostrils terminating in two distinct apertures, directed forwards and upwards, with a wide division between them, while the shank of the leg is laterally compressed, with a sharp front edge, and there are only twelve tail-feathers. As implied by its popular name, and likewise the scientific title Puffinus tiiajor by w hich it is designated in the older works on British birds, the greater shearwater is the largest representative of the group with which we have to deal, measuring no less than 19 inches in length. In colour the plumage is dark brown above and while below, with the exception of the sides of the breast, the flanks, the abdomen, and the under tail-coverts, which are brown, the white tips to the outer upper tail-coverts, and the paler edges to the feathers of the back and the wing-coverts ; while the beak is dark brown, and the legs are pinkish white. Immature birds do not differ from the adults in colouring, and the chick appears to be still unknown. In all the petrel group, it ma\' be mentioned, the nestling possesses tubular nostrils of the same t)-pe as its parents. The great shearwater is a bird to which climate apparently makes no difference, since its range extends in the Atlantic from Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroes in the north, as well as in parts of the Btdtic, right across the tropics (where it is found in Florida) to the seas of the Cape of Good Hope, Kerguelen Island, the Falkland Islands, and Tierra del F'uego. It docs not, however, occupy the whole of this extensive area, as in the Azores and Canaries (as well as in the Mediterranean) it is replaced by Kuhl's shearwater {P. ktiJili), which is also the species commonK* met with on the western coasts of P'rance, Spain, and Portugal. It is not a little remarkable that the brceiling- area of the great shearwater is still (19051 unknown, although it is considered probable that it is somewhere in the southern seas. An example of Kuhl's shearwater was picked up dead on the beach at I'evensey, Sussex, in February 1906. To the coasts of the Scilly Islands, Cornwall, and De\on, the great shearwater is an annual visitor in autumn, but as we proceed eastwards along the coast it becomes gradually scarcer and more uncertain in its appearance, while in East Anglia and the northern counties of England it is always very rare. On the other hand, still farther north, as at Rockhall and .St. Kilda, it has been seen locally in some numbers. MANX shp:arwater 2 I 7 To Ireland it is an uncertain visitor, making its appearance chiefly along the west coast in autumn, where it has occasionally been taken by fishermen on their lines, while in two instances dead or dying individuals have been washed ashore. As this species is essentially a bird of the open ocean, the landsman has but little opportunity of observing its habits. According to a well-known account, these shearwaters, when in pursuit of fish, are in the habit of flying rapidly just above the surface of the water, when from time to time they disappear without the slightest check in their headlong course beneath the waves, from which they again emerge after a few yards ; this movement being repeated time after time. Manx Shearwater Since the Manx shearwater is the species to which (Pufflnus Linnaeus gave the name oi Procdlaria piijfinns, those anfflorum) ornithologists who refuse to accept the elevation to generic rank as sufficient recognition of a species- name, and at the same time do not object to alliterative nomenclature, designate this bird Pitffinns puifiniis, in preference to the title by which it has so long been known. In addition to its inferior size (total length i 5 inches), this species may be distin- guished from the great shear- water b)- the sooty black upper-parts, the white under surface, broken by mottlings of greyish brown on the sides of the neck and the upper part of the breast, and by a patch of brown on each side of the abdomen, the flesh- coloured legs and feet, and the blackish - brown beak. Young birds in their first plumage are of an even deeper tinge of sooty brown than the adults, and have the throat and breast mottled with brownish grey, the flanks and abdomen brown, the legs brownish, and the webs of the toes pale yellow. With the exception of a white stripe along the breast and abdomen, the down of the chick is greyish black. The Manx shearwater takes its title from its former abundance in MANX SHKAUWATKK. 2i8 PETRI-: L GROUP the small islet known as the Calf of Man, where, however, it has been completely exterminated by rats. Unlike its larijer relative, it breeds on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic, both on the American and the European side ; some of its favourite resorts in the latter being Iceland, the Faroes, Norwa\', the Orkneys, Shctlands, Hebrides, and thence locally along the west coast of Great Britain as far south as the Scilly Islands, as also on many parts of Ireland where there are either bold cliffs on the mainland or islets off the shore. In winter the species ranges as far south as the Canaries, Azores, and Madeira, where it also breeds, in one hemispliere, and Brazil in the other. Of the small British islands, other than those north of Scotland, to which this species specially resorts for breeding, mention ma}- be made of Annet in the Scilly group, Caldy in Carmarthen Bay, Skomer and Skokhum, farther up the Pembrokeshire coast, and Rum in Scotland. On the cast side of Great Britain no breeding -places arc known, although the bird, which is the commonest of tlie British shearwaters, may be met with at the proper season from Essex to the north of Scotland. In the Shetlands and Orkneys fwhere they are known as lyric-birds) these shearwaters make their appearance for the breeding -season towards the latter part of April or early in Max- ; and immediately on arrival set vigorously to work to drive tunnels in the sand\' soil, or to put those of last year into suitable repair, for the reception of the eggs and the accommodation of the female during the period of incubation. The burrow, which is oficn of considerable length, appears to be entirely excavated with the beak, while the soil is thrown out in a heap at the entrance by means of the legs : if this heap be disturbed to any extent the bird is almost sure to desert its nest. Small cuttle- fishes and seaweed and other vegetable substances have been taken from the stomachs of these birds ; but it is probable that fish constitutes a portion of their diet. During the breeding - season these birds generally pass the whole daj- in their burrows, so that any one who is ignorant of their habits might imagine that they are absent from districts where they abound. When they do come out, in the evening, they are active enough ; and their prolonged wailing cries may often be heard throughout the night. While one observer testifies that when taken from their burrow^ they emit the oil}' fluid from the mouth characteristic of petrels in general, another writer states that none of the shearwaters possess this disagreeable habit. The name of shearwater, it ma\- be mentioned, is believed to be MANX SHEARWATER 19 deriv^ed from the bold swoop with which these birds pkinc,fc breast- forwards into the sea, quite unHke the manner in which a gull or a tern enters the water. The single white egg may be deposited either on the bare soil of the bottom of the burrow, or, and this more generally, on a small carpet of dried grass or other herbage. It is believed that a second egg is laid after the first nestling has taken its departure from the burrow. When the egg is taken, the parent generally remains sulking in her burrow for several days before taking her final departure. The egg is pure white, and measures from 2.3 to 2.65 inches in length. Instead of departing from the burrow as soon as fully fledged, the nestling often remains there for days longer, and is fed so assiduously by its hard-worked parents that it becomes literally a mass of fat, in which condition it is regarded as a great delicacy b}' the hardy fishermen of Orkney and Shetland, although it is probable that such a rich and oily dish would not appeal to more southern palates. Occasionally the egg is deposited in the crevice of a rock instead of in a burrow. Of the Levantine shearwater i^Pjiffinus yelkonanus), a Mediter- ranean species of rather larger size, and somewhat paler and browner in colour above, with dusky brown flanks and (usually) under tail-coverts, a speci- men was taken at Torbay in 1875 and a second at Plymouth about the same year, while several were secured at Scar- borough in 1899 and 1900. Probably, in- deed, the species is far less uncommon on the British coasts than is generally supposed, as when on the wing it cannot apparently be distinguished from the Manx shearwater, of which it is the IMediterranean representative. Of another shearwater, formerly regarded as the dusky shearwater (P. obsciirus), but now identified with the little dusky shearwater (/*. assiniilis), two specimens were recorded from the British Islands HE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS LITTLE DL'SKV SHEAKWATEK. 220 PHTRHL GROUP up to the close of last century, one taken in Valentia Harbour, Kerry, in May 1853, and the other picked up dead near Bungay, Suffolk, in April 1858. A third example was taken alive in Kent in November 1905. This species is a native of the Australian seas, whence it wanders in summer over the Atlantic Ocean as far as Madeira, and occasionally straggles still farther northwards. Neither the young in first plumage nor the chick in down appears to be known. Sootv Shearwater ^^"'-^^ mistaken for the immature condition of the (Pufflnus 2-riseus) !^'"^<^t shearwater, or as a dark phase of the adult of the same, the sooty shearwater is now known to be a distinct species, mainly differing from the former b\' a slight inferiority of size '18 in place of 19 inches in lengthj, by the dark SOOTV SIII"..\inV.\ IKK. brown under surface of the bod>', and by the legs being blackish on their outer and lilac-grey on their inner sides. Breeding in the southern hemisphere, especially in New Zealand and the Chatham and Auckland Islands, this shearwater is only a summer-visitor to the North Atlantic and Pacific, at which time, of course, its haunts in the Antarctic are held in the grip of winter. This southern breeding-habitat, it may be mentioned, affords strong confirmatory evidence of the theory that the great shearwater also nests in the southern hemisphere. The dusky shearwater has been obtained as far north in the western hemisphere as the Kurile Islands, SOOTY SHEARWATER 22 I and in the eastern hemisphere as the Faroes. Up to the year 1900 some twenty individuals had been recorded from the British Isles, these occurrences including the south coasts of England as well as Scotland and Ireland ; and other instances were noted in Stromness and the Firth of Forth in 1903. It is jM-obable, however, that this bird is frequently mistaken for the immature condition of the great shearwater, and that it may be an annual, or, at all events, a not unfrcquent visitor to our shores. In its southern breeding- home the sooty shearwater displays, appar- ently, habits very similar to those of the Manx shearwater in the north ; its burrows in the Chatham Islands, Avhich are exca- vated in peaty soil, run, ho\\'ever, horizon- tally for a distance of a yard or so, when they turn suddenly to one side, to terminate in the nest-chamber, which in each case is lined with a slight layer of twigs and grass for the reception of the single white egg^. On certain islands off the southern coast of New Zealand, these birds share their burrows with the tuatera lizard. Here, when the young are nearly ready to fly, the nests are annually raided by the Maories, by whom roast shearwater- chick- is esteemed a special delicac}*. From Stewart Island, where these birds are specially numerous, large numbers of the young are potted and despatched north- ward for consumption by the inland tribes. A very brief notice must suffice of four other representatives of the petrels, of which a stray example or so has wandered to the British Isles. The first of these is the capped petrel UJistrcIata h(2sitata), apparently a native of the coasts of Haiti and Martinique, in the West Indies, and a member of a genus, with some thirty species, differing from the shearwaters by the rounded front of the shank of the leg. A single example of this species was taken at Swaffham, Norfolk, in the spring of 1850. Of the second species, known as the collared, or white-throated grey petrel i^CEstrclata brevipes, or torquata), a specimen was taken in Cardigan Bay in the winter of 1889. It is a small bird, measuring only 11^ inches in SOOTY SHKAKVVATER. ^-^ 222 GREBES AND DIVERS length, and is a native of the western Pacific, especially in the neigh- bourhood of Fiji and the New Hebrides. Of Schlegcl's petrel (ffi". ncglecta), a South I'acific species, a specimen was picked up dead at Tarporley, Cheshire, in April 1908. The fourth species, a still smaller bird, is Bulwer's petrel {Btdweria Indiveri), one of two repre- sentatives of a genus dis- tinguished from the other members of the present group by the long wedge- shaped tail and the sooty black plumage. Bulwer's petrel is common to the Xorth Atlantic and Xorth Pacific, and is a well-known bird in Madeira and the Canaries. A dead spcci- -- ' men was picked up near MOUNTED IN THE ROWLAND W«RD STUDiOS ^ ^ uuLWERs piiTKKL. Tanficld, Yorkshire, in the spring of 1837, a second at Beachy Head, Sussex, in 1903, and a third in the same count\- in the following }'ear ; these three specimens being the only instances re- corded up to the present time (1908) of this species in the British Isles. Great Crested ^^ 'th that handsome bird, the great crested grebe, Grebe (Podicioes "*^ come to the largest representative of a group eristatus) of water-birds t\-pificd by the familiar dabchick, and forming not onl}' a distinct family — the Podicipedidai — but likewise a separate order, the Pj'gopodes. B)- the older orni- thologists the latter group was taken to include likewise the auks and the divers. The auks, as we have already seen, are entitled to form a distinct order by themselves ; but it seems on the whole advisable to retain the divers (which are regarded by some Authorities as forming a third order by theinselvesj in the Pygopodes. The grebes and divers, as the group (of which the serial position is by no means certain) may be called, will, according to this arrangement, be collect- ively characterised by the following features : — In all cases the legs are situated very far back on the body, and the front edge of the shank is sharpened, in adaptation to aquatic habits, while the beak is alwaj's straight and pointed ; but the feet may be either furnished with lobe-like expansions of skin or completely GREAT CRESTED GREBE webbed. The bony palate of the skull and likewise the apertures of the nostrils in the same are of similar type to those in the petrels ; that is to say, the former is of the open, while the latter are of the oval type. The nostrils themselves are pervious. The plumage is characterised b>- the shortness and denseness of the feathers, which are furnished with after-shafts ; and a marked difference from the two preceding groups is to be found in the circumstance that the whole of the neck bears feathers, instead of naked areas occurring on each side. As in the petrels, the oil-gland is tufted ; but the blind appendages of the intes- tine (caicaj are well de- veloped, instead of being rudimentar}' or absent. A peculiar anatomical feature of the group is the great prolongation of the front portion of the upper extremity of the second segment of the leg, which forms a tri- angular spine projecting in front of the lower end of the thigh bone and affording great leverage for the muscles used in swimming and diving, this being specially neces- sary from the fact that when diving these birds impel themselves by the hind-limbs alone, never making use of their wings when under water after the manner of petrels and auks. The hind border of the breast- bone has only a single notch on each side. The grebes generally lay from three to five eggs in a clutch, which are uniformly coloured and coated with a chalky layer ; but the divers lay only two, which are double-spotted. The down-clad young are able to swim as soon as hatched. As regards distribution, the grebes have an almost world- wide range, but the divers, or loons, are restricted to the colder portions of the northern hemisphere. All the members of the grebe-family, or Podicipedidae, are easily GREAT CRESTED GREBE (FEMALE IN SUMMER). 224 GREBES AND DIVERS recof^niscd b\' the structure of the foot, in which the tliree front-toes arc furnished with broad lateral lobes of membrane : unlike those of the coots and phalaropes, these lobes are, however, united at the bases and are not contracted at the joints of the toes. The outermost of the three front-toes is the longest, and the hind-toe, which has small lateral folds, is raised above the level of the others ; the claws are flattened, so as to resemble nails. Another ver}' characteristic feature of the i^roup is to be found in the rudimentar\- condition or absence of the tail ; and there are twelve primary quills in the wing. In the skeleton it may be noticed that the lower jaw is not pro- duced backwards behind its articulation with the skull. As regards o-eneral habits, it may be mentioned that all these birds are essentially aquatic and, in summer at least, frequent frcshwaters, although in winter they may resort to the coast. Their nests are floating masses of herbage generally placed among reeds ; and their eggs are pale blue in colour, overlain by a white chalky coat, which becomes more or less completely worn off during the process of incubation. Unlike most birds, grebes do not swallow stones for the purpose of grinding their food as it passes through the gizzard ; on the other hand, the)- have the remarkable habit of eating their own feathers, which when swallowed are supposed to perform the function discharged in other birds by the gizzard-stones. Although by some authorities the British representatives of the group are distributed under five distinct generic heads, we may follow the older course of including the whole of them in the original genus Podicipcs, of which, as already stated, the little grebe, or dabchick, is the type. In this extended sense the genus Podicipcs will be character- ised by the compressed and sharply pointed beak, with the oblong nostrils placed near its base ; the short wings ; the rudimentary tail, compo.sed of short downy feathers ; and the highly compressed shank of the leg, which is covered with large shield-like horny plates in front and .serrated behind. As all who have seen a dabchick (and who has not ?) are aware, the grebes are expert divers and excellent swimmers, and always endeavour to escape pursuit by resorting to the former method of progression, coming up to the surface after .some distance, and then disappearing again, and repeating the manoeuvre until they reach the .shelter of reeds or other water-plants. On land, to which they resort but seldom, they are, however, poor performers, walking badly with an ungainly movement. The shortness of their wings causes them to rise from the water with a certain amount of difficult)- ; but once under way they fly, for the most part, with considerable strength GREAT CRESTED GREBE 225 and swiftness, many of them bcinL,^ migrator}^ in their habits. In all cases the chicks are marked by light and dark longitudinal stripes, as in the game-birds and ostriches. The genus contains a large number of species, with a collectively world-wide range. The great grebe, as this species may be called for shortness, together with its red-necked cousin, is specially characterised by the proportion- ately long beak, which exceeds the length of the inner toe and its claw. On this account it has been made the type of a genus, under the name of LopJicetJiyia cristata. In addition to being the largest member of the group — with a length of about 2 i inches in the male — the species is characterised in summer by the presence of a pair of large erectile ear-like tufts at the back of the head, and of a fringe-like gorget surrounding the greater part of the neck. In colour, the crown of the head, the ear-like tufts, the back of the neck, and the upper-parts generally are dark blackish brown ; the frill is chestnut at the base, shading into the former colour near the tip ; the marginal wing-coverts and the inner sides of the secondary quills are white ; the flanks dusky, with a brightening tinge of chestnut ; the sides of the face, the throat, the front portion of the neck, and the breast of the well-known shimmer- ing satin-like white ; the beak is red at the base passing into dun- colour ; and the eye is crimson. In winter the head-tufts and frill are discarded.^ Young birds resemble the adults in winter-dress, with the exception that the eye is straw-coloured. The chick while in down is striped with black and white above, but is wholly white below, while the crown of the head is ornamented with a brilliant vermilion heart- shaped patch of bare skin. It would be interesting to know the purpose of the latter feature. Apparently this bird is the true grebe, the name, which in the twelfth century was spelt grib, being derived, it is believed, from the same root as the Cornish crib and the Welsh criban, meaning a comb or a crest, and referring, of course, to the ear-tufts of the present species. The range of the great crested grebe is very extensive, including the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. To northern India it is chiefly a winter- visitor, although it has been occasionally found nesting there, as also in Kashmir. The normal breeding-range includes the greater part of Europe as far north as Denmark and the south of Sweden, and thence eastwards across Siberia to China and Japan, while to the southward it embraces Australia and New Zealand. The African form, which has been separated as a distinct species, 1 In the last edition of Yarrelfs British Birds, vol. iv. p. 123, it is stated that these appendages are persistent. 226 (iRi: BES AND DIVERS cannot well be rei^ardcd as more than a local race. Wherever in the British Isles lar^e inland reedy pools or lakes occur, there may the great grebe be expected to be found if the locality be sufficiently quiet and free from molestation. Indeed, the bird is much less uncommon in the south of England than was at one time supposed to be the case, and has even bred for several years in succession in Richmond Park, while in the Duke of Bedford's park at Woburn it constantly nests within sight of the house. The Norfolk