ORDER HERODIONESFAMILY ARDEIDÆTHE COMMON HERONÁRDEA CINÉREAA crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the head; similar feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the lower part of the neck; scapulars similar, silver grey; forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge of the wings, and thighs, pure white; back of the head, sides of the breast, and flanks, deep black; front of the neck streaked with grey; upper plumage bluish grey; beak deep yellow; irides yellow; orbits naked, livid; feet brown, red above; middle toe, claw included, much shorter than the tarsus. Inyoung birdsthe long feathers are absent; head and neck ash-coloured; upper plumage tinged with brown; lower, spotted with black. Length three feet two inches. Eggs uniform sea green.The Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four feet and a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other,weighs but three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not formed for rapid flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its body presents so large a surface to the air, that it can support itself aloft with but a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue, to soar almost into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture; and when pursued by its natural enemies, the Falcons, to whom it would fall an easy prey on account of the largeness of the mark which its body would present to their downward swoop if it could only skim the plains, it is enabled to vie with them in rising into the air, and thus often eludes them.The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, nevertheless, a fisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and resignation. Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone, with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed, but wide awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-side pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring aim; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed head foremost; an eel of some size requires different treatment, and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten to death on the shingle; a large fish is impaled with its dagger-like beak, and, if worth the labour, is carried off to a safe retreat, to be devoured at leisure. If observers are to be credited, and there is no reason why they should not, a full-grown Heron can thus dispose of a fish that exceeds its own weight. A frog is swallowed whole; a water rat has its skull split before it discovers its enemy, and speedily is undergoing the process of digestion. Shrimps, small crabs, newts, water beetles, all is fish that comes to its comprehensive net; but if, with all its watchfulness, the look-out be unsuccessful, it rises a few feet into the air, and slowly flaps itself away to some little distance, where perhaps, slightly altering its attitude, it stands on one leg, and, with its head thrown back, awaits better fortune. While thus stationed it is mute; but as it flies off it frequently utters its note, a harsh, grating scream, especially when other birds of the same species are in the neighbourhood. On these occasions it is keenly on the alert, descrying danger at a great distance, and is always the first to give notice of an approaching enemy, not only to all birds feeding near it on the shore, but to any Ducks which may chance to be paddling in the water.[30]During a great portion of the year the Heron is a wanderer. I have frequently seen it at least fifty miles distant from the nearest heronry; but when it has discovered a spot abounding in food, it repairs thither day after day for a long period.In the month of January, if mild, but as a rule in February, Herons show a disposition to congregate, and soon after repair to their old-established breeding-places, called Heronries. These are generally lofty trees, firs or deciduous trees in parks, or even in groves close by old family mansions. One at Kilmorey, by Loch Gilphead, has long been frequented, though within a hundred yards of the house. The nests, huge masses of sticks, a yard across, lined with a little grass, and other soft materials, are placed near each other, as many, sometimes, as a hundred in a colony,[31]or, more rarely, they are placed among ivy-clad rocks, ruins, or even on the ground. Each nest contains three to four eggs, on which the female sits about three weeks, constantly fed by her partner during the whole period of incubation. Two weeks later a second clutch of eggs is sometimes laid and hatched off whilst the first young are in the nest. The power of running would be of little use to a young bird hatched at an elevation of fifty feet from the ground; the young Herons are consequently helpless till they are sufficiently fledged to perch on the branches of the trees, where they are fed by their parents, who themselves perch with the facility of the Rook. Indeed, the favourite position of these birds, both old and young, is, during a considerable portion of the day, on the upper branches of a lofty tree, whither, also, they often repair with a booty too large to be swallowed at once.By a statute of Henry VIII the taking of Herons in any other way than by hawking, or the long bow, was prohibited on a penalty of half a mark; and the theft of a young bird from the nest was visited with a penalty of ten shillings.Not to be acquainted with the noble art of Falconry was deemed degrading: so that the saying, 'He does not know a Hawk from a Heronshaw', was a common expression of contempt, now corrupted into the proverb, 'He does not know a Hawk from a handsaw'.[30]A Heron in captivity has been known to perch on an old carriage-wheel, in the corner of a courtyard, and to lie in wait for Sparrows and Martins. One of the latter it was seen to pierce while flying, and immediately descending with outspread wings to run to its trough, and, having several times plunged in its prey, to swallow it at a gulp.[31]Pennant counted eighty in one tree.THE NIGHT HERONNYCTÍCORAX GRISEUS.Head, back, and scapulars, black, with blue and green reflections; on the back of the head three very long narrow white feathers; lower part of the back, wings, and tail, pearl-grey; forehead, streak over the eyes, and all the lower parts, white; beak black, yellow at the base; irides red; feet yellowish green.Young birdshave no crest; the upper plumage is dull brown streaked with yellow; wing-coverts and primaries marked with fish-shaped streaks, which are yellowish; under parts dull white, mottled with brown and ash; bill greenish; irides and feet brown. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs pale blue.The Night Heron is a bird of wide geographical range; but, on account of its nocturnal habits and the rarity of its occurrence in this country, it has been little observed. It is, however, not uncommon on migration. A specimen was brought to me at Helston, Cornwall, about the year 1836, which had been shot in the dusk of the evening, on Goonhilly Downs. Its long and delicate crest had been stupidly tied into a knot, and by the bruised condition of these feathers the specimen, if it still exists in any museum, may yet be identified.The Night Heron is said to be not uncommon on the shores of the Baltic, in the wide marshes of Bretagne and Lorraine, and on the banks of the Rhone. It passes the day concealed among the thick foliage of trees and shrubs, and feeds only by night. It builds its nest in trees, and lays four or five eggs.THE COMMON BITTERNBOTAURUS STELLÁRISMoustaches and crown black; upper plumage yellowish rust-red, spotted with dusky; the feathers of the neck elongated, marked with brown zigzag lines; primaries barred with rust-red and dusky grey; plumage beneath paler, marked with oblong dusky streaks; upper mandible brown, edged with yellow; lower, orbits, and feet, greenish yellow; irides bright yellow. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dingy green.Macgillivray, who was as well acquainted as most ornithologists with birds haunting moors and swamps, admits that he never heard one, and thinks that a brother naturalist, who describes what, no doubt, he heard, mistook for the booming of the Bittern the drumming of a Snipe. Lord Lilford tells us that a lady of his acquaintance told him that as a young wife, living near marshes, she often was kept awake by the booming of Bitterns.In Sir Thomas Browne's time, It was common In Norfolk, and was esteemed a better dish than the Heron.Willughby, who wrote about the same time, 1676, says: 'The Bittern, or Mire-drum, it is said, makes either three or five boomings at a time—always an uneven number. It begins to bellow early in February, and continues during the breeding season. The common people believe that it thrusts its beak into a reed, and by the help of this makes its booming. Others maintain that it imitates the lowing of an ox by thrusting its beak into water, mud, or earth. They conceal themselves among rushes and reeds, and not unfrequently in hedges, with the head and neck erect. In autumn, after sunset, they are in the habit of rising into the air with a spiral ascent, so high that they are lost sight of. Meanwhile they utter a singular note, but not at all resembling the characteristic 'booming'.It is called Botaurus, because it imitatesboatum tauri, the bellowing of a bull. Of 'Botaurus', the names 'Bitour' and Bittern are evident corruptions; and the following names, in different languages, are all descriptive of the same peculiar note: Butor, Rordump, Myredromble, Trombone, Rohrtrummel, Rohrdommel, and Rordrum.Of late years, so unusual has the occurrence become of Bitterns breeding in this country, owing to collectors, that the discovery of an egg in Norfolk has been thought worthy of being recorded in the transactions of the Linnean Society; and even the appearance of a bird at any season finds its way into the provincial newspapers or the magazines devoted to natural history: Stuffed specimens are, however, to be seen in most collections, where its form and plumage may be studied, though its habits can only be learnt, at least in England, from the accounts furnished by naturalists of a past generation. It comes now only to be shot.The Bittern is a bird of wide geographical range, as it resorts, more or less, to all countries of Europe and Asia. Specimens are said to differ much in size, some being as large as the Heron, others considerably less; but there is no reason to suppose that they are of different species, a similar variation having been observed in other birds, as in the Curlew, for example, of which I have had in my possession at once four or five specimens all of different dimensions.The Bittern builds its nest on the ground, and lays four brown eggs, which are tinged with ash or green. The old bird, if wounded, defends itself in the same way as the Heron.FAMILY CICONIIDÆTHE WHITE STORKCICÓNIA ALBAGeneral plumage white; scapulars and wings black; bill and feet red; orbits naked, black; irides brown.Young birdshave the wings tinged with brown and the beak reddish black. Length three feet six inches. Eggs white tinged with ochre.Sir Thomas Browne says, in hisAccount of Birds found in Norfolk: 'TheCiconia, or Stork, I have seen in the fens; and some have been shot in the marshes between this [Norwich] and Yarmouth.' His contemporary, Willughby, says:—'The Stork is rarely seen in England; never, in fact, but when driven hither by the wind or some accident. I have received from Dr. Thomas Browne, the eminent naturalist, a figure drawn to the life, and a short description of one which was captured in Norfolk.' Yarrell records instances of a few others which have been killed, at distant intervals, in various parts of England; but the Stork is so rare a visitor with us, that I have no scruple in referring my readers, for a full account of the habits of so interesting a bird, to some more comprehensive work on the subject. The White Stork was, over 350 years ago, only an irregular visitor to Great Britain.THE BLACK STORKCICÓNIA NIGRAUpper plumage black, with green and purple reflections; under white; bill and orbits red; irides brown; feet deep red. Inyoung birdsthe bill, orbits, and feet, are olive green; and the upper plumage is tinged with rust-brown. Length nearly three feet. Eggs dull white, tinged with green, and sometimes sparingly spotted with brown.A still rarer visitor in Great Britain than the White Stork, from which it differs quite as much in habit as it does in colour; for whereas the one is eminently sociable with birds of its own kind, and devoted in its attachment to human dwellings, the other is a solitary bird, shy and wary, avoiding at all times the sight of men and their habitations. It is a rare bird in most countries of Europe, but is common in several parts of Asia and the whole of the known regions of Africa. It builds a large nest in a lofty tree, and lays from two to five eggs.FAMILY PLATALEIDÆTHE SPOONBILLPLATALÉA LEUCORODIAGeneral plumage white; a large patch of reddish yellow on the breast; a crest of long narrow white feathers pendent over the neck; lore, orbits, and naked space on the neck, pale yellow; bill black, tipped with yellow; irides red; feet black.Young birdswant the yellow patch on the breast and the occipital crest; portions of the wing black. Length thirty-one inches. Eggs white, spotted with light red.Spoonbills do not appear to have been common at any time; for though Sir Thomas Browne enumerates them among the birds of Norfolk and Suffolk, where they build in heronries, his contemporary, Willughby, knew them only as natives of Holland. This bird is not unfrequent in East Anglia, and it is met with now and again along the south coast, and has wandered up the Thames valley.The Spoonbill is a migratory bird, building its nest and rearing its young in the north of Europe and Asia, and retiring in autumn to the shores of the Mediterranean or to Africa. It is remarkable not only for the singular conformation of its bill, but for 'being one of the very few which have been found to possess no true muscles of the organ of voice; and no modulation of a single tone appears to be possessed by the bird.'[32]It builds its nest in high trees, or, when these are wanting, among reeds and rushes; and lays four eggs.[32]Yarrell'sBritish Birds.ORDER ANSERESFAMILY ANATIDÆTHE GREY LAG GOOSEANSER CINEREUSFolded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill strong, orange-yellow, the nail whitish; upper plumage ash-brown, many of the feathers bordered with greyish white; under plumage, in front, light ash-grey, barred on the flanks and belly with brown, behind pure white; irides deep brown; legs dull flesh-colour. Eggs ivory white. Length two feet ten inches.The Geese characterized by having a large, ovate body, a long neck, a short and stout beak, high at the base and bent down atthe tip, adapted for cropping vegetable food; the wings are large and powerful; the legs, placed under the centre of the body, afford some facility in walking, and the webbed feet are eminently fitted for paddling, but rarely employed in diving. They spend the greater portion of the year in high latitudes, where their arrival is celebrated with great rejoicings, as an indication of returning summer. They are eminently gregarious, flying generally in the form of a half-opened pair of compasses, with the angle in front, or in an irregular wavy line, and uttering a loud harsh cry, which may often be heard some time before the birds themselves are in sight.The present species, which is supposed by some to be the origin of the domestic Goose, was formerly of common occurrence in Great Britain, but is now much less frequent. It breeds in northern Scotland, coming south from autumn to spring. On their arrival in autumn, they resort to marshes and swamps, meadows, corn-fields, and turnip-fields, especially such as are remote from human dwellings. There they feed by day on such vegetable substances as fall in their way, but they are said to prefer the young shoots of corn to any other kind of food. So wary are they and difficult of approach, that a 'Wild Goose chase' is a proverbial expression for an unsuccessful enterprise. At night they retire to the broad flats near the sea, or to the mouths of rivers, where they roost on the ground. Yarrell is of opinion 'that the term "lag", as applied to this Goose, is either a modification of the English word "lake", the Latinlacus, or perhaps an abbreviation of the Italian "lago", from which latter country it is even probable that we may originally have obtained this our domesticated race.'THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSEANSER ALBIFRONSFolded wings reaching a little beyond the tail; bill orange-yellow, the nail white; a large space on the forehead pure white, surrounded by a dusky band; upper plumage ash-brown, varied with grey, dull white, and bluish black; under plumage in front brownish white, with patches and bars of black; behind white; irides dark brown; feet orange. Length two feet three inches. Eggs white, tinged with buff.A regular visitor to the British Isles, coming late in the autumn to stay till spring, usually seen in small flocks of from eight to twenty birds; it is entirely graminivorous, and, when undisturbed, usually rests at night in any grass-field where it may have been feeding in the afternoon.Its habits, during its stay in these latitudes, are similar to those ofthe other species, but it is said by Mr. Selby to 'vary from the Bean Goose in preferring low and marshy districts to the upland and drier haunts of that bird, and in these localities subsists on the aquatic grasses, being very seldom seen to frequent corn or stubble fields'. In Norfolk it has frequently been seen associated with the Bean Goose. It has never been observed to remain with us after April, when it betakes itself to the regions bordering on the Arctic circle. In Lapland it is very abundant, and in the fur countries of North America it was seen in spring by Dr. Richardson in large flocks travelling northwards. It breeds in the woody districts skirting Mackenzie's River, and in the islands of the Arctic Sea.The white forehead of this bird tends to confirm the opinion maintained by some authors that the common Domestic Goose owes its origin to this species.THE BEAN GOOSEANSER SÉGETUMFolded wings exceeding the tail in length; bill long, orange, the base and nail black; upper plumage ash-brown; the wings darker, edged with greyish white; under plumage in front dirty white, behind pure white; irides dark brown; legs orange; beak yellowish white. Length thirty-four inches. Eggs white.The several species constituting the group to which the Bean Goose belongs resemble each other very nearly in all respects. All are gregarious, fly high in the form of a V, or in an undulating line, uttering repeated cries, which no one who has heard a domesticated Goose can fail to recognize; they pass the night for the most part on broad flats near the sea, and at early dawn repair inland to their feeding-grounds. The Bean Goose is, on the authority of Yarrell, next to the Brent Goose, the commonest and most numerous as a species among our Wild Geese. In Scotland it is far more abundant than in England, being seen in large flocks from October to April, especially at the periods of migration to and from its summer quarters. But it does not altogether desert the British Isles during the intervening months. A few are said annually to remain, and breed in the lakes of Westmoreland, and in the Hebrides. In Sutherlandshire, also, many remain all the year—a fact thoroughly ascertained by Mr. Selby, who gives an interesting account of several young broods which he saw on the lochs, some of which he captured. They construct their nests among the tussocks of sedge or grass hillocks on the islands, and lay from three to four eggs, smaller than those of the Common Goose, but of a similar shape and colour.Plate_35Plate_36THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSEANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUSFolded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill shorter than the head, narrow and much contracted towards the tip, pink, with the nail and base black; head and neck reddish brown; rest of the upper plumage ash-grey, edged with greyish white; under plumage in front fawn-colour, behind white; irides dark brown; feet pink, tinged with vermilion. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dull yellowish white.It is said that most, if not all the various species of wild Geese have strong local attachments; that flocks composed of one particular kind are in the habit of visiting, year after year, the same spot, to the exclusion of other species, which may, nevertheless, be found frequenting places of like character at no great distance. Of the truth of the statement I met with signal confirmation in the severe winter of 1860-1. I then spent several days on the coast of Norfolk, for the purpose of watching the habits of Waders and sea-fowl. Without indulging in the chase of wild Geese, I heard and saw a great many flocks, of which some were unmistakably Brent Geese; others, of a larger size and a different colour, I was obliged to include under the comprehensive name of Grey Geese. The Brents, I found, regularly repaired to the salt marshes adjoining Thornham Harbour, which, I was told, was their usual place of resort. The others were known to alight only in the meadows near Holkham. Having heard that several had been shot at the latter place, I procured one, and on examination it proved to be the present species, up to that time entirely unknown to me. On consulting Yarrell, I found the following passage:—'In January of the present year, 1841, I was favoured with a letter from the Hon. and Rev. Thomas Keppel, of Warham Rectory, near Holkam, informing me that a Pink-footed Goose had been killed by his nephew, Lord Coke, at Holkam. This bird was shot out of a flock of about twenty, but nothing particular was observed in their flight or habits.' The bird brought to me had been shot, along with many others, out of similar flocks, in exactly the same place, at an interval of twenty years; and I have no doubt that the many other specimens which have been shot there between the above two dates, belonged to the same species, the characters which distinguish it from the common Bean Goose being not sufficiently striking to attract the notice of sea-side gunners. The habits of the species appear not to differ from those of its congener; it arrives and departs about the same time, and it frequents the marshes and uplands of Norfolk, and in winter the east coast of Scotland.THE BRENT GOOSEBERNICLA BRENTAHead, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black; on each side of the neck a patch of white with a few black feathers intermixed; upper plumage dingy; all the tail-coverts white; belly brownish grey, barred on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-two to twenty-three inches. Eggs greyish white.The Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on grass, clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland marshes, meadows, and arable land; but the Brent is a decidedly marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on marine plants, especially laver and zostéra. As soon as these are left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct that they have no time to lose, and hasten in 'skeins' or 'gaggles' making in their flight a trumpet-like noise which, heard at a distance, resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They prefer to take their stand on those parts of the ooze which are least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them off their feet. Then, away to sea again! or, if the weather be boisterous, they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are local in their attachments, returning annually to the same feeding-grounds. They do not associate from choice with other species, for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed, in quest of different food. sea-side fowlers are well acquainted with the peculiarity of their habits, and not only know where to look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can most easily be intercepted, going and returning. It is the custom of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natural or artificial; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground. Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly shows himself; the birds, panic-struck, huddle together before they alter their line of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst of them.They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market. They come to us in November and remain till late in February, when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest bird staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to breed, but that they repair to the Arctic regions, and make their nests of withered herbage in marshy ground.THE BERNICLE GOOSEBERNICLA LEUCOPSISForehead, sides of the head, and throat, pure white; a dark streak between the eyes and bill; head/neck, quills, and tail, black; rest of the upper plumage undulated transversely with ash-grey, black, and dull white; lower plumage white, tinged on the flanks with grey; irides dusky-brown; bill and feet black. Length two feet one inch. Eggs greenish white.This beautiful bird occurs chiefly on the west side of Great Britain in winter. 'It then more frequently retires to the sea than to the lakes during its periods of repose, or when driven from its feeding-grounds. A large flock then presents a beautiful spectacle, as the birds sit lightly on the water, and when advancing elevate their necks. Not less beautiful do they seem when on wing; now arranged in long lines, ever undulating; at one time extending in the direction of their flight; at another obliquely, or at right angles to it, sometimes in an angular figure, and again mingling together. Their voice is clear, and rather shrill, and comes agreeably on the ear when the cries of a large flock come from a considerable distance'. In England it is far less common, but occasionally resorts to marshes both on the eastern and western coast. The mythical fragment of ancient natural history, that the Bernicle is the product of a tree, is too trite to require repetition here.THE WHOOPER SWANCYGNUS MÚSICUSWhole plumage pure white, the head and nape sometimes slightly tinged with yellow; lower half of the bill quadrangular, yellow, upper black; lore and a great portion of the edge of the upper mandible yellow; irides brown; legs black; tail of twenty feathers.Young birdshave the plumage grey; lore flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet ten inches. Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish.The ancient fable that Swans sing most sweetly before their death did not survive the age which invented it. Pliny disbelieved it, and, though the assertion may have been resuscitated from time to time as a poetic fiction, it has found no place in works on natural history.The Swan is not musical; it rests its claims to our admiration on other grounds, unchallenged and indisputable; the unsullied white of its plumage is an apt emblem of purity, and the elegance of its movements in the water has become proverbial. The present species, which owes its name to its powerful voice, is said to be not quite so graceful as the tame Swan, but on land it is far more active. A bird which has been winged by a sportsman, and has fallen on the land, can only be overtaken by smart running.In Iceland, the summer resort of these birds, they are much sought after for the sake of their down. In the month of August, when the old birds, having cast their quill-feathers, are unable to fly, the natives assemble in bodies in the places where the Swans collect, and mounted on small but active horses chase them through the marshes, and ride many of them down; but the greater number are caught by the dogs, which always seize the birds by the neck, and so encumber them that they are then easily overtaken. But it is not the habit of Swans to remain much on land; the perfect ease with which they float and swim indicates that the water is their element, and a glance at their long necks tells at once that their nature is to feed in shallow water or on the margin of deep lakes, where with their strong bills they either tear up the stems and roots of aquatics from the bottom, or crop at their pleasure from the banks. To this kind of food they add such insects, molluscs and worms as come within their reach; and (when sailing in salt water) sea-weeds, and especially the long, ribbon-like leaves of zostéra. During summer they frequent the most secluded swamps and lakes in the wooded districts of the north, and build a very large nest in a spot unapproachable by human feet. A few go no farther north than the Orkneys and Shetlands, but their headquarters are Siberia, Iceland, Lapland, and Hudson's Bay.After they have recovered from their summer moult, they migrate southwards, and arrive in Scotland, sometimes in large flocks, early in October. Mr. St. John, in hisWild Sports of the Highlands, gives an interesting account of their habits while in this country. He went in pursuit of a flock which had selected for their winter feeding-place some fresh-water lochs about half a mile from the sea. They passed the day mostly on the salt water, and in the evening came inland to feed. He found them on one of the smaller lochs, some standing high and dry on the grassy islands trimming their feathers after their long voyage, and others feeding on the grass and weeds at the bottom of the loch, which in some parts was shallow enough to allow of their pulling up the plants which they fed on as they swam about, while numbers of wild Ducks of different kinds, particularly Wigeons, swarmed round them, and often snatched the pieces of grass from the Swans as soon as they had brought them to the surface, to the great annoyance of the noble birds, who endeavoured in vain to drive away these most active little depredators, who seemed determined to profit by their labours. 'I observed', he says, 'that frequently all their heads were under the water at once, excepting one—but invariablyonehad kept his head and neck perfectly erect, and carefully watched on every side to prevent their being taken by surprise; when he wanted to feed, he touched any passer-by, who immediately relieved him in his guard, and he in his turn called on some other Swan to take his place as sentinel.'Swans, like wild Geese, are in the habit of returning every year to the same district of country, and in passing to and from their feeding-ground keep closely to the same line of flight, a peculiarity of which fowlers take advantage by lying in ambuscade somewhere beneath their aërial road.When disturbed on the water they generally huddle together and utter a low cry of alarm before they take flight. Owing to their great weight they have not the power of rising suddenly into the air, but flap along the water, beating the surface with their great wings, some twenty or thirty yards. The flapping noise made while this process is going on, may be heard at a great distance.In severe winters, flocks of Whoopers, Whistling Swans, or Elks, as they are variously called, come farther south, and may be observed from time to time on different parts of the coast.BEWICK'S SWANCYGNUS BEWICKIWhole plumage pure white; bill black, orange-yellow at the base; irides dark; feet black; tail of eighteen feathers.Young birdsgreyish brown; immature specimens tinged on the head and belly with rust-red. Length three feet nine inches; breadth forty-six to fifty. Eggs dull white, tinged with brown.Bewick's Swan is distinguished from the Whooper, not only by the characters given above, but by strongly marked anatomical features, which were first pointed out by Mr. Yarrell, who, with the modesty and generosity for which he was noted, gave it its present name; 'Thus devoting it to the memory of one whose beautiful and animated delineations of subjects in natural history entitle him to this tribute.'In severe winters it is fairly frequent on the coasts of England, and even abundant in Scotland. In the case of distant flocks the only criterion is size; and as this species is one-third less than the Whooper, there is little probability of an experienced observer being mistaken in the identity.In their habits they closely resemble their congeners, but are less graceful in their movements on the water, and spend a larger portion of their time on land.THE COMMON SHELDRAKETADORNA CORNUTAHead, throat, and upper back black, with green reflections; lower parts of the neck and back, flanks, rump and tail (except the black tip) white; from the shoulders a broad band of bright chestnut, which meets on the breast, passing into a broad, blotched, black band, which passes down the abdomen nearly to the tail; under tail-coverts pale reddish yellow; scapulars black; wing-coverts white; secondaries chestnut; primaries black; speculum bronzed green and purple; bill, and protuberance at the base, red; irides brown; feet crimson-red. Thefemalewants the red protuberance on the bill, and the colours generally are somewhat less bright. Length twenty to twenty-two inches. Eggs white, tinged with green.The Sheldrake is the largest and among the handsomest of the British Ducks, and if easy of domestication would be no doubt a common ornament of our lakes and rivers. It is, however, in Great Britain at least, a marine bird; though from one of its French names,Canard des Alpes, it would seem also to frequent the large continental lakes. Numerous attempts have been made to familiarize it with inland fresh-water haunts to which some other species readily take, but they have rarely succeeded, while to induce it to breed at a distance from its sea-side home has proved yet more difficult.It differs from the majority of the Duck tribe in remaining on the coast of Britain throughout the year. In South Wales, for example, it is seen in winter and early spring, but about the breeding season it disappears for a few weeks. During this interval it is employed in incubation, but when its brood is hatched it is seen again, accompanied by a troop of ducklings, feeding in the creeks and marshy places. When thus discovered, the young broods are commonly hunted down by sea-side idlers for the sake of being sold to any one who cares to try the experiment of rearing them.On the coast of Norfolk it is more usual to search for the nests, in order to secure the eggs and place them under a tame Duck or domestic Hen. The male and female keep together, not only during incubation, but until the young are able to provide for themselves. It derives the name 'Burrow Duck', by which it is also known, from its custom of making its nest either in the burrow of a rabbit or in a hole hollowed out by itself. The nest is constructed of such herbage as abounds in the neighbourhood; it is lined with down plucked from the breast of the parent bird, and contains from ten to twelve eggs.Pennant (vol. ii, p. 257) says of these birds: "They inhabit the sea-coasts and breed in rabbit-holes. When a person attempts to take their young, the old birds show great address in diverting his attention from the brood; they will fly along the ground as ifwounded, till the former can get into a place of security, and then return and collect them together."From this instinctive cunning, Turner, with good reason, imagines them to be thechenalōpex, orTox-Goose, of the ancients; the natives of the Orkneys to this day call them theSly-Goose, from an attribute of that quadruped.Sheldrake are more numerous during the summer in North Britain than in the South, but in winter they are driven by the freezing of their feeding-grounds to more temperate climates. Here numbers of them meet the fate of wild fowl generally, and specimens are often to be seen exposed in the English markets, though their flesh is held in little estimation as food.Sheld means parti-coloured. 'Shelled' is still current in the eastern counties of England. Shelled duck is the more proper appellation. Howard Saunders calls it Sheld-duck always.THE WILD DUCKANAS BOSCASHead and neck dark green; at the base of the neck a white collar; upper parts marked with fine zigzag lines of ash-brown and grey; breast chestnut; lower parts greyish white, marked with fine zigzag ash-brown lines; speculum dark blue with purple and green reflections, bordered above and below with black and white; four middle feathers of the tail curled upwards; bill greenish yellow; irides red-brown; feet orange. Length twenty-four inches.Femalesmaller; plumage mottled with various shades of brown and grey; throat whitish; speculum as in themale; all the tail-feathers straight. Eggs greenish white.Its size, abundance, and value as an article of food, have given to the Wild Duck an importance which belongs to few other British birds; and the modes of capturing it are so varied and interesting that they are often to be met with described in works not exclusively devoted to natural history. For this reason I shall in great measure confine my notice of this bird to such particulars in its history as the reader may probably have an opportunity of verifying by his own observation in the course of his rambles among places which it habitually frequents.The term Wild Duck', properly applicable to the female bird only ('Mallard' being the distinctive name of the male), is generally employed to include both sexes. The difference in the plumage of the two is very great, as, indeed, is the case with all those varieties of the same bird which, under the name of 'Tame Ducks,' have altered the least from their natural wild type. Yet in the summer months, when both sexes moult,[33]the Mallard puts off the whole of his characteristic gay plumage, and appears in the sober browngarb of the Duck. It is only, in fact, from October to May that the Mallard can be distinguished from his partner by his markings. At this season, too, young birds, so far as they are fledged, are of the same tone of colouring. Domesticated birds are subject to the same change; but a reason for this singular metamorphosis no naturalist, as far as I am aware, has ventured to assign.Wild Ducks hold a prominent place among birds of the most extensive distribution, being 'indigenous to the greater part of the northern hemisphere'.[34]In consequence of this wide range they must of necessity frequent many districts highly favourable to their preservation; they are therefore numerous. Equally well adapted for travelling by sea and through the air, and capable of enduring great variations of heat and cold, their presence may be expected wherever a tract of country occurs calculated to supply them with food and opportunities for nidification. As long as England abounded in marshes, and her rivers ran through wastes rarely frequented by man, Wild Ducks were numerous in many counties where they are now but rarely seen. Many have retired before draining and civilization, yet they never totally desert us. In most districts where there are rivers lined with reeds, even not so very far removed from the sound of the steam-engine, one may, by cautiously and quietly guiding one's steps, fall in with a brood of active ducklings sifting the ooze, with the instinct of their kind, for minute insects; flapping along the water in chase of a fly, or paddling among the reeds on the look-out for anything good to eat. The matron of the party, with a proud consciousness of her dignity as sentinel and protector, preserves a more stately demeanour, but, with this slight difference, is similarly occupied. As you approach she is the first to descry you; with a homely 'quack', differing in no respect from the note of the domesticated bird, she sounds an alarm, and the whole family, mother and children, are quickly concealed among the reeds. It is possible, by long-continued persecution, to induce her to rise, but she does so reluctantly, and even then, unless you are such a barbarian as to shoot her, all is yet safe. The young will hide themselves securely until danger is past, and she, not far off, though unseen, is circling round her helpless brood. In an islet, probably, of the river; in a tuft of reeds surrounded by quagmire; among thick bushes near the bank; under the stump of an alder, or even high up among the branches, she formerly had her nest, composed of grass, and lined with down from her own breast; and at no great distance from this her offspring are yet lingering. The latter could swim immediately that they left the egg, but their bodies are large and heavy in proportion to the size of their wings, so that they will be unable to fly until nine or ten weeks old, when they will be thoroughlyfledged, and only distinguishable from their parent by their smaller size.From the rapidity with which young Ducks 'scutter' along the surface of the water, using both feet and wings, they are called by sportsmen, 'flappers'; and from the same habit, no doubt, the children's game of 'Ducks-and-drakes' was named. The word is one with which I have been familiar, like most other people, from my earliest years, yet I never thought of its etymology until I was passing, a few weeks since, in a steamer down Loch Tarbet. The boat disturbed a party of 'flappers' which were feeding near the shore, and as they half flew, half paddled away at a rapid rate, the sport and the name suggested themselves to my mind together. It is mostly absent from the northern districts of Scotland in winter.In marshy districts, both in England and Scotland, these birds remain all the year round; but their numbers are greatly augmented in winter by the arrival of large flocks from the north. These fly mostly by night, in long lines, and proceed to the fens and salt marshes, where they feed until daylight. They then put out to sea, and rest, floating on the water, until dusk; and it is while they are on their way to and from these feeding-grounds that the sea-side gunners do the greatest execution among them. They fly mostly in small parties, and utter no note; but if after dusk a shot be fired in the vicinity of a marsh or of a piece of reclaimed land intersected by ditches, it is followed by a concert of 'quacks' from all sides, which proves that however small the parties may have been, the number of Ducks collectively must be very great.In the neighbourhood of the salt marshes in the eastern counties, one may meet, in severe winter weather, just before dusk, little knots of men setting out on ducking expeditions. Each is furnished with a spade, a bag of straw, and a gun. Experience has taught these men that the line of flight usually taken by the birds is along a narrow creek or arm of the sea, which has on either side a high muddy bank. For such a point the gunners are making. The use of the spade is to dig a hole for concealment in the mud, and the straw is intended to furnish a dry seat. It must be a wearisome occupation to sit here hour after hour, with nothing to do but to hope that birds are coming; and when they come matters are not much mended; for if the shot be successful it will never do to leave the hiding-place in order to pick up the booty, or another chance may be missed. Three or four hours are thus spent, and on moonlight nights a longer time. The slain birds are then collected, a few hours are given to rest, and in the morning twilight the same scene is re-enacted.When it is desired to construct a decoy,[35]a quiet, shallow pondis selected, edged with reeds, and having an extent of from two to fifty acres or more. From the edge of this are dug, at various points, curved creeks, called 'pipes', broad at the mouth, and contracting till the banks meet. Over each of these pipes is thrown a net, supported on arches made of hoops; the first about ten feet high, the others diminishing in size, and the whole ending in a bag-net, or 'purse'. On each bank of the pipes are erected screens made of reeds, high enough to conceal a man. Previously to commencing operations the decoy-man has let loose on the pond a few tame Ducks, closely resembling wild birds in plumage, who are familiar with his person and have been trained to come at his call. Accompanied by a little dog, 'a piper', he stations himself behind a screen, near the mouth of a pipe which faces the wind, choosing this position because Ducks prefer to swim against the wind and to feed on a lee shore. When the pond is well stocked with birds he throws some corn on the water near the mouth of a pipe, and makes a low whistle. At the familiar sound the 'coy-ducks' hasten to the spot, and, if all be well, are followed by a portion of the wild birds. The piper is then let loose, and immediately runs to the water's edge. The Wild Ducks, either from curiosity, or some unknown motive, paddle towards him. The ruse succeeding so far, the piper is made to appear for a moment beyond the next screen, and so on until a party of Ducks have been lured so far up the pipe as to be out of sight of those remaining in the pond. The decoy-man, who has all the while been lying hid near the first screen, then shows himself to his intended victims, who, in their flight, hurry on to the 'purse', and are caught and dispatched at leisure. All this time the coy-ducks, if well trained, have remained at the mouth of the pipe, feeding, and unconsciously enticing new-comers into the snare.That this method of capturing wild-fowl is effective, may be inferred from the fact that decoys of a precisely similar kind have been worked ever since the time of Willughby (1676), who describes them at length. A Son of the Marshes gives a fuller account of Duck decoys inWild-Fowl and Sea-Fowl.
ORDER HERODIONES
FAMILY ARDEIDÆ
THE COMMON HERONÁRDEA CINÉREA
A crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the head; similar feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the lower part of the neck; scapulars similar, silver grey; forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge of the wings, and thighs, pure white; back of the head, sides of the breast, and flanks, deep black; front of the neck streaked with grey; upper plumage bluish grey; beak deep yellow; irides yellow; orbits naked, livid; feet brown, red above; middle toe, claw included, much shorter than the tarsus. Inyoung birdsthe long feathers are absent; head and neck ash-coloured; upper plumage tinged with brown; lower, spotted with black. Length three feet two inches. Eggs uniform sea green.
The Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four feet and a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other,weighs but three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not formed for rapid flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its body presents so large a surface to the air, that it can support itself aloft with but a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue, to soar almost into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture; and when pursued by its natural enemies, the Falcons, to whom it would fall an easy prey on account of the largeness of the mark which its body would present to their downward swoop if it could only skim the plains, it is enabled to vie with them in rising into the air, and thus often eludes them.
The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, nevertheless, a fisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and resignation. Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone, with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed, but wide awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-side pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring aim; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed head foremost; an eel of some size requires different treatment, and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten to death on the shingle; a large fish is impaled with its dagger-like beak, and, if worth the labour, is carried off to a safe retreat, to be devoured at leisure. If observers are to be credited, and there is no reason why they should not, a full-grown Heron can thus dispose of a fish that exceeds its own weight. A frog is swallowed whole; a water rat has its skull split before it discovers its enemy, and speedily is undergoing the process of digestion. Shrimps, small crabs, newts, water beetles, all is fish that comes to its comprehensive net; but if, with all its watchfulness, the look-out be unsuccessful, it rises a few feet into the air, and slowly flaps itself away to some little distance, where perhaps, slightly altering its attitude, it stands on one leg, and, with its head thrown back, awaits better fortune. While thus stationed it is mute; but as it flies off it frequently utters its note, a harsh, grating scream, especially when other birds of the same species are in the neighbourhood. On these occasions it is keenly on the alert, descrying danger at a great distance, and is always the first to give notice of an approaching enemy, not only to all birds feeding near it on the shore, but to any Ducks which may chance to be paddling in the water.[30]
During a great portion of the year the Heron is a wanderer. I have frequently seen it at least fifty miles distant from the nearest heronry; but when it has discovered a spot abounding in food, it repairs thither day after day for a long period.
In the month of January, if mild, but as a rule in February, Herons show a disposition to congregate, and soon after repair to their old-established breeding-places, called Heronries. These are generally lofty trees, firs or deciduous trees in parks, or even in groves close by old family mansions. One at Kilmorey, by Loch Gilphead, has long been frequented, though within a hundred yards of the house. The nests, huge masses of sticks, a yard across, lined with a little grass, and other soft materials, are placed near each other, as many, sometimes, as a hundred in a colony,[31]or, more rarely, they are placed among ivy-clad rocks, ruins, or even on the ground. Each nest contains three to four eggs, on which the female sits about three weeks, constantly fed by her partner during the whole period of incubation. Two weeks later a second clutch of eggs is sometimes laid and hatched off whilst the first young are in the nest. The power of running would be of little use to a young bird hatched at an elevation of fifty feet from the ground; the young Herons are consequently helpless till they are sufficiently fledged to perch on the branches of the trees, where they are fed by their parents, who themselves perch with the facility of the Rook. Indeed, the favourite position of these birds, both old and young, is, during a considerable portion of the day, on the upper branches of a lofty tree, whither, also, they often repair with a booty too large to be swallowed at once.
By a statute of Henry VIII the taking of Herons in any other way than by hawking, or the long bow, was prohibited on a penalty of half a mark; and the theft of a young bird from the nest was visited with a penalty of ten shillings.
Not to be acquainted with the noble art of Falconry was deemed degrading: so that the saying, 'He does not know a Hawk from a Heronshaw', was a common expression of contempt, now corrupted into the proverb, 'He does not know a Hawk from a handsaw'.
[30]A Heron in captivity has been known to perch on an old carriage-wheel, in the corner of a courtyard, and to lie in wait for Sparrows and Martins. One of the latter it was seen to pierce while flying, and immediately descending with outspread wings to run to its trough, and, having several times plunged in its prey, to swallow it at a gulp.
[31]Pennant counted eighty in one tree.
THE NIGHT HERONNYCTÍCORAX GRISEUS.
Head, back, and scapulars, black, with blue and green reflections; on the back of the head three very long narrow white feathers; lower part of the back, wings, and tail, pearl-grey; forehead, streak over the eyes, and all the lower parts, white; beak black, yellow at the base; irides red; feet yellowish green.Young birdshave no crest; the upper plumage is dull brown streaked with yellow; wing-coverts and primaries marked with fish-shaped streaks, which are yellowish; under parts dull white, mottled with brown and ash; bill greenish; irides and feet brown. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs pale blue.
The Night Heron is a bird of wide geographical range; but, on account of its nocturnal habits and the rarity of its occurrence in this country, it has been little observed. It is, however, not uncommon on migration. A specimen was brought to me at Helston, Cornwall, about the year 1836, which had been shot in the dusk of the evening, on Goonhilly Downs. Its long and delicate crest had been stupidly tied into a knot, and by the bruised condition of these feathers the specimen, if it still exists in any museum, may yet be identified.
The Night Heron is said to be not uncommon on the shores of the Baltic, in the wide marshes of Bretagne and Lorraine, and on the banks of the Rhone. It passes the day concealed among the thick foliage of trees and shrubs, and feeds only by night. It builds its nest in trees, and lays four or five eggs.
THE COMMON BITTERNBOTAURUS STELLÁRIS
Moustaches and crown black; upper plumage yellowish rust-red, spotted with dusky; the feathers of the neck elongated, marked with brown zigzag lines; primaries barred with rust-red and dusky grey; plumage beneath paler, marked with oblong dusky streaks; upper mandible brown, edged with yellow; lower, orbits, and feet, greenish yellow; irides bright yellow. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dingy green.
Macgillivray, who was as well acquainted as most ornithologists with birds haunting moors and swamps, admits that he never heard one, and thinks that a brother naturalist, who describes what, no doubt, he heard, mistook for the booming of the Bittern the drumming of a Snipe. Lord Lilford tells us that a lady of his acquaintance told him that as a young wife, living near marshes, she often was kept awake by the booming of Bitterns.
In Sir Thomas Browne's time, It was common In Norfolk, and was esteemed a better dish than the Heron.
Willughby, who wrote about the same time, 1676, says: 'The Bittern, or Mire-drum, it is said, makes either three or five boomings at a time—always an uneven number. It begins to bellow early in February, and continues during the breeding season. The common people believe that it thrusts its beak into a reed, and by the help of this makes its booming. Others maintain that it imitates the lowing of an ox by thrusting its beak into water, mud, or earth. They conceal themselves among rushes and reeds, and not unfrequently in hedges, with the head and neck erect. In autumn, after sunset, they are in the habit of rising into the air with a spiral ascent, so high that they are lost sight of. Meanwhile they utter a singular note, but not at all resembling the characteristic 'booming'.
It is called Botaurus, because it imitatesboatum tauri, the bellowing of a bull. Of 'Botaurus', the names 'Bitour' and Bittern are evident corruptions; and the following names, in different languages, are all descriptive of the same peculiar note: Butor, Rordump, Myredromble, Trombone, Rohrtrummel, Rohrdommel, and Rordrum.
Of late years, so unusual has the occurrence become of Bitterns breeding in this country, owing to collectors, that the discovery of an egg in Norfolk has been thought worthy of being recorded in the transactions of the Linnean Society; and even the appearance of a bird at any season finds its way into the provincial newspapers or the magazines devoted to natural history: Stuffed specimens are, however, to be seen in most collections, where its form and plumage may be studied, though its habits can only be learnt, at least in England, from the accounts furnished by naturalists of a past generation. It comes now only to be shot.
The Bittern is a bird of wide geographical range, as it resorts, more or less, to all countries of Europe and Asia. Specimens are said to differ much in size, some being as large as the Heron, others considerably less; but there is no reason to suppose that they are of different species, a similar variation having been observed in other birds, as in the Curlew, for example, of which I have had in my possession at once four or five specimens all of different dimensions.
The Bittern builds its nest on the ground, and lays four brown eggs, which are tinged with ash or green. The old bird, if wounded, defends itself in the same way as the Heron.
FAMILY CICONIIDÆ
THE WHITE STORKCICÓNIA ALBA
General plumage white; scapulars and wings black; bill and feet red; orbits naked, black; irides brown.Young birdshave the wings tinged with brown and the beak reddish black. Length three feet six inches. Eggs white tinged with ochre.
Sir Thomas Browne says, in hisAccount of Birds found in Norfolk: 'TheCiconia, or Stork, I have seen in the fens; and some have been shot in the marshes between this [Norwich] and Yarmouth.' His contemporary, Willughby, says:—'The Stork is rarely seen in England; never, in fact, but when driven hither by the wind or some accident. I have received from Dr. Thomas Browne, the eminent naturalist, a figure drawn to the life, and a short description of one which was captured in Norfolk.' Yarrell records instances of a few others which have been killed, at distant intervals, in various parts of England; but the Stork is so rare a visitor with us, that I have no scruple in referring my readers, for a full account of the habits of so interesting a bird, to some more comprehensive work on the subject. The White Stork was, over 350 years ago, only an irregular visitor to Great Britain.
THE BLACK STORKCICÓNIA NIGRA
Upper plumage black, with green and purple reflections; under white; bill and orbits red; irides brown; feet deep red. Inyoung birdsthe bill, orbits, and feet, are olive green; and the upper plumage is tinged with rust-brown. Length nearly three feet. Eggs dull white, tinged with green, and sometimes sparingly spotted with brown.
A still rarer visitor in Great Britain than the White Stork, from which it differs quite as much in habit as it does in colour; for whereas the one is eminently sociable with birds of its own kind, and devoted in its attachment to human dwellings, the other is a solitary bird, shy and wary, avoiding at all times the sight of men and their habitations. It is a rare bird in most countries of Europe, but is common in several parts of Asia and the whole of the known regions of Africa. It builds a large nest in a lofty tree, and lays from two to five eggs.
FAMILY PLATALEIDÆ
THE SPOONBILLPLATALÉA LEUCORODIA
General plumage white; a large patch of reddish yellow on the breast; a crest of long narrow white feathers pendent over the neck; lore, orbits, and naked space on the neck, pale yellow; bill black, tipped with yellow; irides red; feet black.Young birdswant the yellow patch on the breast and the occipital crest; portions of the wing black. Length thirty-one inches. Eggs white, spotted with light red.
Spoonbills do not appear to have been common at any time; for though Sir Thomas Browne enumerates them among the birds of Norfolk and Suffolk, where they build in heronries, his contemporary, Willughby, knew them only as natives of Holland. This bird is not unfrequent in East Anglia, and it is met with now and again along the south coast, and has wandered up the Thames valley.
The Spoonbill is a migratory bird, building its nest and rearing its young in the north of Europe and Asia, and retiring in autumn to the shores of the Mediterranean or to Africa. It is remarkable not only for the singular conformation of its bill, but for 'being one of the very few which have been found to possess no true muscles of the organ of voice; and no modulation of a single tone appears to be possessed by the bird.'[32]
It builds its nest in high trees, or, when these are wanting, among reeds and rushes; and lays four eggs.
[32]Yarrell'sBritish Birds.
ORDER ANSERES
FAMILY ANATIDÆ
THE GREY LAG GOOSEANSER CINEREUS
Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill strong, orange-yellow, the nail whitish; upper plumage ash-brown, many of the feathers bordered with greyish white; under plumage, in front, light ash-grey, barred on the flanks and belly with brown, behind pure white; irides deep brown; legs dull flesh-colour. Eggs ivory white. Length two feet ten inches.
The Geese characterized by having a large, ovate body, a long neck, a short and stout beak, high at the base and bent down atthe tip, adapted for cropping vegetable food; the wings are large and powerful; the legs, placed under the centre of the body, afford some facility in walking, and the webbed feet are eminently fitted for paddling, but rarely employed in diving. They spend the greater portion of the year in high latitudes, where their arrival is celebrated with great rejoicings, as an indication of returning summer. They are eminently gregarious, flying generally in the form of a half-opened pair of compasses, with the angle in front, or in an irregular wavy line, and uttering a loud harsh cry, which may often be heard some time before the birds themselves are in sight.
The present species, which is supposed by some to be the origin of the domestic Goose, was formerly of common occurrence in Great Britain, but is now much less frequent. It breeds in northern Scotland, coming south from autumn to spring. On their arrival in autumn, they resort to marshes and swamps, meadows, corn-fields, and turnip-fields, especially such as are remote from human dwellings. There they feed by day on such vegetable substances as fall in their way, but they are said to prefer the young shoots of corn to any other kind of food. So wary are they and difficult of approach, that a 'Wild Goose chase' is a proverbial expression for an unsuccessful enterprise. At night they retire to the broad flats near the sea, or to the mouths of rivers, where they roost on the ground. Yarrell is of opinion 'that the term "lag", as applied to this Goose, is either a modification of the English word "lake", the Latinlacus, or perhaps an abbreviation of the Italian "lago", from which latter country it is even probable that we may originally have obtained this our domesticated race.'
THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSEANSER ALBIFRONS
Folded wings reaching a little beyond the tail; bill orange-yellow, the nail white; a large space on the forehead pure white, surrounded by a dusky band; upper plumage ash-brown, varied with grey, dull white, and bluish black; under plumage in front brownish white, with patches and bars of black; behind white; irides dark brown; feet orange. Length two feet three inches. Eggs white, tinged with buff.
A regular visitor to the British Isles, coming late in the autumn to stay till spring, usually seen in small flocks of from eight to twenty birds; it is entirely graminivorous, and, when undisturbed, usually rests at night in any grass-field where it may have been feeding in the afternoon.
Its habits, during its stay in these latitudes, are similar to those ofthe other species, but it is said by Mr. Selby to 'vary from the Bean Goose in preferring low and marshy districts to the upland and drier haunts of that bird, and in these localities subsists on the aquatic grasses, being very seldom seen to frequent corn or stubble fields'. In Norfolk it has frequently been seen associated with the Bean Goose. It has never been observed to remain with us after April, when it betakes itself to the regions bordering on the Arctic circle. In Lapland it is very abundant, and in the fur countries of North America it was seen in spring by Dr. Richardson in large flocks travelling northwards. It breeds in the woody districts skirting Mackenzie's River, and in the islands of the Arctic Sea.
The white forehead of this bird tends to confirm the opinion maintained by some authors that the common Domestic Goose owes its origin to this species.
THE BEAN GOOSEANSER SÉGETUM
Folded wings exceeding the tail in length; bill long, orange, the base and nail black; upper plumage ash-brown; the wings darker, edged with greyish white; under plumage in front dirty white, behind pure white; irides dark brown; legs orange; beak yellowish white. Length thirty-four inches. Eggs white.
The several species constituting the group to which the Bean Goose belongs resemble each other very nearly in all respects. All are gregarious, fly high in the form of a V, or in an undulating line, uttering repeated cries, which no one who has heard a domesticated Goose can fail to recognize; they pass the night for the most part on broad flats near the sea, and at early dawn repair inland to their feeding-grounds. The Bean Goose is, on the authority of Yarrell, next to the Brent Goose, the commonest and most numerous as a species among our Wild Geese. In Scotland it is far more abundant than in England, being seen in large flocks from October to April, especially at the periods of migration to and from its summer quarters. But it does not altogether desert the British Isles during the intervening months. A few are said annually to remain, and breed in the lakes of Westmoreland, and in the Hebrides. In Sutherlandshire, also, many remain all the year—a fact thoroughly ascertained by Mr. Selby, who gives an interesting account of several young broods which he saw on the lochs, some of which he captured. They construct their nests among the tussocks of sedge or grass hillocks on the islands, and lay from three to four eggs, smaller than those of the Common Goose, but of a similar shape and colour.
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THE PINK-FOOTED GOOSEANSER BRACHYRHYNCHUS
Folded wings not reaching to the extremity of the tail; bill shorter than the head, narrow and much contracted towards the tip, pink, with the nail and base black; head and neck reddish brown; rest of the upper plumage ash-grey, edged with greyish white; under plumage in front fawn-colour, behind white; irides dark brown; feet pink, tinged with vermilion. Length two feet four inches. Eggs dull yellowish white.
It is said that most, if not all the various species of wild Geese have strong local attachments; that flocks composed of one particular kind are in the habit of visiting, year after year, the same spot, to the exclusion of other species, which may, nevertheless, be found frequenting places of like character at no great distance. Of the truth of the statement I met with signal confirmation in the severe winter of 1860-1. I then spent several days on the coast of Norfolk, for the purpose of watching the habits of Waders and sea-fowl. Without indulging in the chase of wild Geese, I heard and saw a great many flocks, of which some were unmistakably Brent Geese; others, of a larger size and a different colour, I was obliged to include under the comprehensive name of Grey Geese. The Brents, I found, regularly repaired to the salt marshes adjoining Thornham Harbour, which, I was told, was their usual place of resort. The others were known to alight only in the meadows near Holkham. Having heard that several had been shot at the latter place, I procured one, and on examination it proved to be the present species, up to that time entirely unknown to me. On consulting Yarrell, I found the following passage:—'In January of the present year, 1841, I was favoured with a letter from the Hon. and Rev. Thomas Keppel, of Warham Rectory, near Holkam, informing me that a Pink-footed Goose had been killed by his nephew, Lord Coke, at Holkam. This bird was shot out of a flock of about twenty, but nothing particular was observed in their flight or habits.' The bird brought to me had been shot, along with many others, out of similar flocks, in exactly the same place, at an interval of twenty years; and I have no doubt that the many other specimens which have been shot there between the above two dates, belonged to the same species, the characters which distinguish it from the common Bean Goose being not sufficiently striking to attract the notice of sea-side gunners. The habits of the species appear not to differ from those of its congener; it arrives and departs about the same time, and it frequents the marshes and uplands of Norfolk, and in winter the east coast of Scotland.
THE BRENT GOOSEBERNICLA BRENTA
Head, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black; on each side of the neck a patch of white with a few black feathers intermixed; upper plumage dingy; all the tail-coverts white; belly brownish grey, barred on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-two to twenty-three inches. Eggs greyish white.
The Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on grass, clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland marshes, meadows, and arable land; but the Brent is a decidedly marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on marine plants, especially laver and zostéra. As soon as these are left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct that they have no time to lose, and hasten in 'skeins' or 'gaggles' making in their flight a trumpet-like noise which, heard at a distance, resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They prefer to take their stand on those parts of the ooze which are least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them off their feet. Then, away to sea again! or, if the weather be boisterous, they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are local in their attachments, returning annually to the same feeding-grounds. They do not associate from choice with other species, for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed, in quest of different food. sea-side fowlers are well acquainted with the peculiarity of their habits, and not only know where to look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can most easily be intercepted, going and returning. It is the custom of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natural or artificial; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground. Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly shows himself; the birds, panic-struck, huddle together before they alter their line of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst of them.
They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market. They come to us in November and remain till late in February, when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest bird staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to breed, but that they repair to the Arctic regions, and make their nests of withered herbage in marshy ground.
THE BERNICLE GOOSEBERNICLA LEUCOPSIS
Forehead, sides of the head, and throat, pure white; a dark streak between the eyes and bill; head/neck, quills, and tail, black; rest of the upper plumage undulated transversely with ash-grey, black, and dull white; lower plumage white, tinged on the flanks with grey; irides dusky-brown; bill and feet black. Length two feet one inch. Eggs greenish white.
This beautiful bird occurs chiefly on the west side of Great Britain in winter. 'It then more frequently retires to the sea than to the lakes during its periods of repose, or when driven from its feeding-grounds. A large flock then presents a beautiful spectacle, as the birds sit lightly on the water, and when advancing elevate their necks. Not less beautiful do they seem when on wing; now arranged in long lines, ever undulating; at one time extending in the direction of their flight; at another obliquely, or at right angles to it, sometimes in an angular figure, and again mingling together. Their voice is clear, and rather shrill, and comes agreeably on the ear when the cries of a large flock come from a considerable distance'. In England it is far less common, but occasionally resorts to marshes both on the eastern and western coast. The mythical fragment of ancient natural history, that the Bernicle is the product of a tree, is too trite to require repetition here.
THE WHOOPER SWANCYGNUS MÚSICUS
Whole plumage pure white, the head and nape sometimes slightly tinged with yellow; lower half of the bill quadrangular, yellow, upper black; lore and a great portion of the edge of the upper mandible yellow; irides brown; legs black; tail of twenty feathers.Young birdshave the plumage grey; lore flesh-colour. Length five feet; breadth seven feet ten inches. Eggs dull white, tinged with greenish.
The ancient fable that Swans sing most sweetly before their death did not survive the age which invented it. Pliny disbelieved it, and, though the assertion may have been resuscitated from time to time as a poetic fiction, it has found no place in works on natural history.
The Swan is not musical; it rests its claims to our admiration on other grounds, unchallenged and indisputable; the unsullied white of its plumage is an apt emblem of purity, and the elegance of its movements in the water has become proverbial. The present species, which owes its name to its powerful voice, is said to be not quite so graceful as the tame Swan, but on land it is far more active. A bird which has been winged by a sportsman, and has fallen on the land, can only be overtaken by smart running.In Iceland, the summer resort of these birds, they are much sought after for the sake of their down. In the month of August, when the old birds, having cast their quill-feathers, are unable to fly, the natives assemble in bodies in the places where the Swans collect, and mounted on small but active horses chase them through the marshes, and ride many of them down; but the greater number are caught by the dogs, which always seize the birds by the neck, and so encumber them that they are then easily overtaken. But it is not the habit of Swans to remain much on land; the perfect ease with which they float and swim indicates that the water is their element, and a glance at their long necks tells at once that their nature is to feed in shallow water or on the margin of deep lakes, where with their strong bills they either tear up the stems and roots of aquatics from the bottom, or crop at their pleasure from the banks. To this kind of food they add such insects, molluscs and worms as come within their reach; and (when sailing in salt water) sea-weeds, and especially the long, ribbon-like leaves of zostéra. During summer they frequent the most secluded swamps and lakes in the wooded districts of the north, and build a very large nest in a spot unapproachable by human feet. A few go no farther north than the Orkneys and Shetlands, but their headquarters are Siberia, Iceland, Lapland, and Hudson's Bay.
After they have recovered from their summer moult, they migrate southwards, and arrive in Scotland, sometimes in large flocks, early in October. Mr. St. John, in hisWild Sports of the Highlands, gives an interesting account of their habits while in this country. He went in pursuit of a flock which had selected for their winter feeding-place some fresh-water lochs about half a mile from the sea. They passed the day mostly on the salt water, and in the evening came inland to feed. He found them on one of the smaller lochs, some standing high and dry on the grassy islands trimming their feathers after their long voyage, and others feeding on the grass and weeds at the bottom of the loch, which in some parts was shallow enough to allow of their pulling up the plants which they fed on as they swam about, while numbers of wild Ducks of different kinds, particularly Wigeons, swarmed round them, and often snatched the pieces of grass from the Swans as soon as they had brought them to the surface, to the great annoyance of the noble birds, who endeavoured in vain to drive away these most active little depredators, who seemed determined to profit by their labours. 'I observed', he says, 'that frequently all their heads were under the water at once, excepting one—but invariablyonehad kept his head and neck perfectly erect, and carefully watched on every side to prevent their being taken by surprise; when he wanted to feed, he touched any passer-by, who immediately relieved him in his guard, and he in his turn called on some other Swan to take his place as sentinel.'
Swans, like wild Geese, are in the habit of returning every year to the same district of country, and in passing to and from their feeding-ground keep closely to the same line of flight, a peculiarity of which fowlers take advantage by lying in ambuscade somewhere beneath their aërial road.
When disturbed on the water they generally huddle together and utter a low cry of alarm before they take flight. Owing to their great weight they have not the power of rising suddenly into the air, but flap along the water, beating the surface with their great wings, some twenty or thirty yards. The flapping noise made while this process is going on, may be heard at a great distance.
In severe winters, flocks of Whoopers, Whistling Swans, or Elks, as they are variously called, come farther south, and may be observed from time to time on different parts of the coast.
BEWICK'S SWANCYGNUS BEWICKI
Whole plumage pure white; bill black, orange-yellow at the base; irides dark; feet black; tail of eighteen feathers.Young birdsgreyish brown; immature specimens tinged on the head and belly with rust-red. Length three feet nine inches; breadth forty-six to fifty. Eggs dull white, tinged with brown.
Bewick's Swan is distinguished from the Whooper, not only by the characters given above, but by strongly marked anatomical features, which were first pointed out by Mr. Yarrell, who, with the modesty and generosity for which he was noted, gave it its present name; 'Thus devoting it to the memory of one whose beautiful and animated delineations of subjects in natural history entitle him to this tribute.'
In severe winters it is fairly frequent on the coasts of England, and even abundant in Scotland. In the case of distant flocks the only criterion is size; and as this species is one-third less than the Whooper, there is little probability of an experienced observer being mistaken in the identity.
In their habits they closely resemble their congeners, but are less graceful in their movements on the water, and spend a larger portion of their time on land.
THE COMMON SHELDRAKETADORNA CORNUTA
Head, throat, and upper back black, with green reflections; lower parts of the neck and back, flanks, rump and tail (except the black tip) white; from the shoulders a broad band of bright chestnut, which meets on the breast, passing into a broad, blotched, black band, which passes down the abdomen nearly to the tail; under tail-coverts pale reddish yellow; scapulars black; wing-coverts white; secondaries chestnut; primaries black; speculum bronzed green and purple; bill, and protuberance at the base, red; irides brown; feet crimson-red. Thefemalewants the red protuberance on the bill, and the colours generally are somewhat less bright. Length twenty to twenty-two inches. Eggs white, tinged with green.
The Sheldrake is the largest and among the handsomest of the British Ducks, and if easy of domestication would be no doubt a common ornament of our lakes and rivers. It is, however, in Great Britain at least, a marine bird; though from one of its French names,Canard des Alpes, it would seem also to frequent the large continental lakes. Numerous attempts have been made to familiarize it with inland fresh-water haunts to which some other species readily take, but they have rarely succeeded, while to induce it to breed at a distance from its sea-side home has proved yet more difficult.
It differs from the majority of the Duck tribe in remaining on the coast of Britain throughout the year. In South Wales, for example, it is seen in winter and early spring, but about the breeding season it disappears for a few weeks. During this interval it is employed in incubation, but when its brood is hatched it is seen again, accompanied by a troop of ducklings, feeding in the creeks and marshy places. When thus discovered, the young broods are commonly hunted down by sea-side idlers for the sake of being sold to any one who cares to try the experiment of rearing them.
On the coast of Norfolk it is more usual to search for the nests, in order to secure the eggs and place them under a tame Duck or domestic Hen. The male and female keep together, not only during incubation, but until the young are able to provide for themselves. It derives the name 'Burrow Duck', by which it is also known, from its custom of making its nest either in the burrow of a rabbit or in a hole hollowed out by itself. The nest is constructed of such herbage as abounds in the neighbourhood; it is lined with down plucked from the breast of the parent bird, and contains from ten to twelve eggs.
Pennant (vol. ii, p. 257) says of these birds: "They inhabit the sea-coasts and breed in rabbit-holes. When a person attempts to take their young, the old birds show great address in diverting his attention from the brood; they will fly along the ground as ifwounded, till the former can get into a place of security, and then return and collect them together."
From this instinctive cunning, Turner, with good reason, imagines them to be thechenalōpex, orTox-Goose, of the ancients; the natives of the Orkneys to this day call them theSly-Goose, from an attribute of that quadruped.
Sheldrake are more numerous during the summer in North Britain than in the South, but in winter they are driven by the freezing of their feeding-grounds to more temperate climates. Here numbers of them meet the fate of wild fowl generally, and specimens are often to be seen exposed in the English markets, though their flesh is held in little estimation as food.
Sheld means parti-coloured. 'Shelled' is still current in the eastern counties of England. Shelled duck is the more proper appellation. Howard Saunders calls it Sheld-duck always.
THE WILD DUCKANAS BOSCAS
Head and neck dark green; at the base of the neck a white collar; upper parts marked with fine zigzag lines of ash-brown and grey; breast chestnut; lower parts greyish white, marked with fine zigzag ash-brown lines; speculum dark blue with purple and green reflections, bordered above and below with black and white; four middle feathers of the tail curled upwards; bill greenish yellow; irides red-brown; feet orange. Length twenty-four inches.Femalesmaller; plumage mottled with various shades of brown and grey; throat whitish; speculum as in themale; all the tail-feathers straight. Eggs greenish white.
Its size, abundance, and value as an article of food, have given to the Wild Duck an importance which belongs to few other British birds; and the modes of capturing it are so varied and interesting that they are often to be met with described in works not exclusively devoted to natural history. For this reason I shall in great measure confine my notice of this bird to such particulars in its history as the reader may probably have an opportunity of verifying by his own observation in the course of his rambles among places which it habitually frequents.
The term Wild Duck', properly applicable to the female bird only ('Mallard' being the distinctive name of the male), is generally employed to include both sexes. The difference in the plumage of the two is very great, as, indeed, is the case with all those varieties of the same bird which, under the name of 'Tame Ducks,' have altered the least from their natural wild type. Yet in the summer months, when both sexes moult,[33]the Mallard puts off the whole of his characteristic gay plumage, and appears in the sober browngarb of the Duck. It is only, in fact, from October to May that the Mallard can be distinguished from his partner by his markings. At this season, too, young birds, so far as they are fledged, are of the same tone of colouring. Domesticated birds are subject to the same change; but a reason for this singular metamorphosis no naturalist, as far as I am aware, has ventured to assign.
Wild Ducks hold a prominent place among birds of the most extensive distribution, being 'indigenous to the greater part of the northern hemisphere'.[34]In consequence of this wide range they must of necessity frequent many districts highly favourable to their preservation; they are therefore numerous. Equally well adapted for travelling by sea and through the air, and capable of enduring great variations of heat and cold, their presence may be expected wherever a tract of country occurs calculated to supply them with food and opportunities for nidification. As long as England abounded in marshes, and her rivers ran through wastes rarely frequented by man, Wild Ducks were numerous in many counties where they are now but rarely seen. Many have retired before draining and civilization, yet they never totally desert us. In most districts where there are rivers lined with reeds, even not so very far removed from the sound of the steam-engine, one may, by cautiously and quietly guiding one's steps, fall in with a brood of active ducklings sifting the ooze, with the instinct of their kind, for minute insects; flapping along the water in chase of a fly, or paddling among the reeds on the look-out for anything good to eat. The matron of the party, with a proud consciousness of her dignity as sentinel and protector, preserves a more stately demeanour, but, with this slight difference, is similarly occupied. As you approach she is the first to descry you; with a homely 'quack', differing in no respect from the note of the domesticated bird, she sounds an alarm, and the whole family, mother and children, are quickly concealed among the reeds. It is possible, by long-continued persecution, to induce her to rise, but she does so reluctantly, and even then, unless you are such a barbarian as to shoot her, all is yet safe. The young will hide themselves securely until danger is past, and she, not far off, though unseen, is circling round her helpless brood. In an islet, probably, of the river; in a tuft of reeds surrounded by quagmire; among thick bushes near the bank; under the stump of an alder, or even high up among the branches, she formerly had her nest, composed of grass, and lined with down from her own breast; and at no great distance from this her offspring are yet lingering. The latter could swim immediately that they left the egg, but their bodies are large and heavy in proportion to the size of their wings, so that they will be unable to fly until nine or ten weeks old, when they will be thoroughlyfledged, and only distinguishable from their parent by their smaller size.
From the rapidity with which young Ducks 'scutter' along the surface of the water, using both feet and wings, they are called by sportsmen, 'flappers'; and from the same habit, no doubt, the children's game of 'Ducks-and-drakes' was named. The word is one with which I have been familiar, like most other people, from my earliest years, yet I never thought of its etymology until I was passing, a few weeks since, in a steamer down Loch Tarbet. The boat disturbed a party of 'flappers' which were feeding near the shore, and as they half flew, half paddled away at a rapid rate, the sport and the name suggested themselves to my mind together. It is mostly absent from the northern districts of Scotland in winter.
In marshy districts, both in England and Scotland, these birds remain all the year round; but their numbers are greatly augmented in winter by the arrival of large flocks from the north. These fly mostly by night, in long lines, and proceed to the fens and salt marshes, where they feed until daylight. They then put out to sea, and rest, floating on the water, until dusk; and it is while they are on their way to and from these feeding-grounds that the sea-side gunners do the greatest execution among them. They fly mostly in small parties, and utter no note; but if after dusk a shot be fired in the vicinity of a marsh or of a piece of reclaimed land intersected by ditches, it is followed by a concert of 'quacks' from all sides, which proves that however small the parties may have been, the number of Ducks collectively must be very great.
In the neighbourhood of the salt marshes in the eastern counties, one may meet, in severe winter weather, just before dusk, little knots of men setting out on ducking expeditions. Each is furnished with a spade, a bag of straw, and a gun. Experience has taught these men that the line of flight usually taken by the birds is along a narrow creek or arm of the sea, which has on either side a high muddy bank. For such a point the gunners are making. The use of the spade is to dig a hole for concealment in the mud, and the straw is intended to furnish a dry seat. It must be a wearisome occupation to sit here hour after hour, with nothing to do but to hope that birds are coming; and when they come matters are not much mended; for if the shot be successful it will never do to leave the hiding-place in order to pick up the booty, or another chance may be missed. Three or four hours are thus spent, and on moonlight nights a longer time. The slain birds are then collected, a few hours are given to rest, and in the morning twilight the same scene is re-enacted.
When it is desired to construct a decoy,[35]a quiet, shallow pondis selected, edged with reeds, and having an extent of from two to fifty acres or more. From the edge of this are dug, at various points, curved creeks, called 'pipes', broad at the mouth, and contracting till the banks meet. Over each of these pipes is thrown a net, supported on arches made of hoops; the first about ten feet high, the others diminishing in size, and the whole ending in a bag-net, or 'purse'. On each bank of the pipes are erected screens made of reeds, high enough to conceal a man. Previously to commencing operations the decoy-man has let loose on the pond a few tame Ducks, closely resembling wild birds in plumage, who are familiar with his person and have been trained to come at his call. Accompanied by a little dog, 'a piper', he stations himself behind a screen, near the mouth of a pipe which faces the wind, choosing this position because Ducks prefer to swim against the wind and to feed on a lee shore. When the pond is well stocked with birds he throws some corn on the water near the mouth of a pipe, and makes a low whistle. At the familiar sound the 'coy-ducks' hasten to the spot, and, if all be well, are followed by a portion of the wild birds. The piper is then let loose, and immediately runs to the water's edge. The Wild Ducks, either from curiosity, or some unknown motive, paddle towards him. The ruse succeeding so far, the piper is made to appear for a moment beyond the next screen, and so on until a party of Ducks have been lured so far up the pipe as to be out of sight of those remaining in the pond. The decoy-man, who has all the while been lying hid near the first screen, then shows himself to his intended victims, who, in their flight, hurry on to the 'purse', and are caught and dispatched at leisure. All this time the coy-ducks, if well trained, have remained at the mouth of the pipe, feeding, and unconsciously enticing new-comers into the snare.
That this method of capturing wild-fowl is effective, may be inferred from the fact that decoys of a precisely similar kind have been worked ever since the time of Willughby (1676), who describes them at length. A Son of the Marshes gives a fuller account of Duck decoys inWild-Fowl and Sea-Fowl.