[45]Lin. Trans., vol. xxi. p. 155.ORDER LIMICOLÆFAMILY GLAREOLIDÆTHE PRATINCOLEGLAREOLA PRATÍNCOLACrown, nape, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish brown; throat and front of the neck white, tinged with red, and bounded by a narrow black collar, which ascends to the base of the beak; lore black; breast whitish brown; lower wing-coverts chestnut; under parts white, tinged with brownish red; tail-coverts, and base of tail-feathers, white; the rest of the tail dusky, much forked; beak black, red at the base; irides reddish brown; orbits naked, bright red; feet reddish ash. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs pale stone colour, spotted with grey and dusky.The Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason,Perdrix de mer, or Sea Partridge, is a rare visitor to Great Britain, inhabiting for the most part the northern part of Africa, and the countries in the vicinity of the Don, the Volga, the Caspian, and the Black Sea. It has been observed also from time to time in several of the countries of Europe.In some of its habits it resembles the Plovers, as it frequents open plains and runs with great rapidity. In nidification, also, and in the shape, colour, and markings of its eggs it is associated with the same tribe; while in its mode of flight and habit of catching flies while on the wing, it approaches the Swallows. Hence it was named by Linnæus,Hirundo pratincola, and under this designation it is figured in Bewick. Its true place in the system is, however, undoubtedly, among the waders, several of which not only feed on insects, but are expert in catching them on the wing.FAMILY CHARADRIIDÆTHE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEWŒDICNÉMUS SCÓLOPAXUpper parts reddish ash with a white spot in the middle of each feather; space between the eye and beak, throat, belly, and thighs, white; neck and breast tinged with red, and marked with fine longitudinal brown streaks; a white longitudinal bar on the wing; first primary with a large white spot in the middle; second, with a small one on the inner web; lower tail-coverts reddish, the feathers, except those in the middle, tipped with black; beak black, yellowish at the base; hides, orbits, and feet, yellow. Length seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish brown clouded with greenish, blotched and spotted with dusky and olive.Though a citizen of the world, or at least of the eastern hemisphere, this bird is commonly known under the name of Norfolk Plover, from its being more abundant in that county than in any other. It is also called Thick-knee, from the robust conformation of this joint; and Stone Curlew, from its frequenting waste stony places and uttering a note which has been compared to the sound of the syllablescurluiorturlui. Like the Cuckoo, it is more frequently heard than seen, but that only by night. In some of its habits it resembles the Bustard, and is said even to associate, in Northern Africa, with the Lesser Bustard. Its favourite places of resort are extensive plains; it runs rapidly when disturbed, and when it does take wing, flies for a considerable distance near the ground before mounting into the air. It frequents our open heaths and chalk downs and breeds in Romney Marsh and in the uplands of Kent and Sussex.By day the Thick-knee confines itself to the ground, either crouching or hunting for food, which consists of worms, slugs, and beetles, under stones, which it is taught by its instinct to turn over. After sunset, it takes flight, and probably rises to a great height, as its plaintive whistle, which somewhat resembles the wail of a human being, is often heard overhead when the bird is invisible. It is singularly shy, and carefully avoids the presence of human beings, whether sportsmen or labourers. Yet it is not destitute of courage, as it has been seen to defend its nest with vigour against the approach of sheep or even of dogs. Nest, properly speaking, it has none, for it contents itself with scratching a hole in the ground and depositing two eggs. The males are supposed to assist in the office of incubation. The young inherit the faculty of running at an early age, being able to leave their birth-place with facility soon after they are hatched; but the development of their wings is a work of time, for their body has attained its full size long before they are able to rise from the ground. Before taking their departure southwards in autumn, they assemble in small parties, numbering from four to six or seven, when they are somewhat more easyof approach than in spring. In the chalky plains of La Marne in France they are very numerous; and here, by the aid of a light cart, fowlers in quest of them have little difficulty in shooting large numbers, the birds being less afraid of the approach of a horse than of a human being. But when obtained they are of little value, as their flesh is barely eatable.The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of April to stay till October. His flights are made by night.THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSERCURSORIUS GALLICUSPlumage reddish cream colour; wing-coverts bordered with ash-grey; throat whitish; behind the eyes a double black bar; lateral tail-feathers black towards the tip, with a white spot in the centre of the black; abdomen whitish. Length nine inches. Eggs unknown.Though the specific name Europæus would seem to imply that this bird is of frequent occurrence in Europe, this is not the case. Not more than three or four have been observed in Great Britain, at various intervals, from 1785 to 1827; and on the Continent it is an equally rare visitor to the plains of Provence and Languedoc.It is a native of Syria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, frequenting pools and other moist situations. It is singularly fearless of man, and when disturbed prefers to run, which it does very swiftly, rather than to take flight. Its winter residence is supposed to be the central lakes of Africa, from which it returns to the countries named above early in autumn, and disappears at the approach of winter. Nothing is known of its nidification. About the autumn of 1868 one was shot in Lanarkshire.THE GOLDEN PLOVERCHARÁDRIUS PLUVIALISWinter—upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks, neck, and breast mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white; quills dusky, white along the shafts towards the end; beak dusky, feet deep ash-colour; irides brown.Summer—upper plumage greyish black, spotted with bright yellow; forehead and space above the eyes white; sides of the neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat, neck, and lower parts deep black. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish green, blotched and spotted with black.The Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during the winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and the north of England during the rest of the year; yet so different are its habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons, that the young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing them in their transition stage, and has had no access to trustworthybooks, might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the bird as distinct species.In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which relieve the solitude of the desolate wastes. Though numerous in the same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and summer, and are remarkable for their fearlessness of man. So tame, indeed, are they that, in little-frequented places, when disturbed by the traveller they will run along the stony ground a few yards in front of him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare and run along as before. On such occasions they frequently utter their singular cry—the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott's poems—which, like the Nightingale's song, is considered simply plaintive or painfully woe-begone, according to the natural temperament or occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no nest; a natural depression in the ground, unprotected by bush, heather or rock, serves its purpose, and here the female lays four eggs, much pointed at one end, and arranges them in accordance with this.At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights, those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marshland. From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they take their departure in October, either to the European shores of the Mediterranean, or to the plains of Northern Africa. In these migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep, moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if actuated by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course. This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher, who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing from twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder, before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers, but may be noticed in the case of several of the sea-side waders, as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the groundbeyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting from the moors to the shore and back again, according to the weather. In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only known as passengers on their way to the south. From making their appearance in the rainy season they are there calledpluviers, whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill is marvellous.The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and Green Plover, is found at various seasons In most countries of Europe; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered to be different species.THE GREY PLOVERSQUATÁROLA HELVETICAWinter—forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted on the neck and flanks with grey and brown; upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with white and ash colour; long axillary feathers black or dusky; tail white, barred with brown and tipped with reddish; bill black; irides dusky; feet blackish grey.Summer—lore, neck, breast, belly, and flanks, black, bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and white. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with black.Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in a great measure of a different hue from that which characterizes them in summer; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudimentary fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S. Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full black plumage in May. The occurrence of the bird, however, in this condition, in England, is exceptional; while in the northern regions, both of the Old and New World, it must be unusual to see an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of summer.The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt,the continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the sea-shore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden Plovers; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well observes, they are disposed to be "sociable, not only towards their own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes, they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix with every other species, and thus produce a motley group." They fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or more, keeping in a line, more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but sweeping in wide semicircles. As they advance they alternately show their upper and under plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground. During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks, and Royston Crows; but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less shy.The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits; but Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other respects, states that "its general appearance is peculiar to itself; it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every now and then to pick up its food; it carries its body in a horizontal position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, consequently increasing the thick appearance of the head."The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow in the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on. When thus disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.THE DOTTERELEUDROMIAS MORINELLUSWinter—head dusky ash; over each eye a reddish white band, meeting at the nape; face whitish, dotted with black; back dusky ash, tinged with green, the feathers edged with rust-red; breast and flanks reddish ash; gorget white; beak black; hides brown; feet greenish ash.Summer—face and a band over the eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of the neck ash; feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers, edged with deep red; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black line; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red; middle of the belly black; abdomen reddish white. Young birds have a reddish tinge on the head, and the tail is tipped with red. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dusky brown.The Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, 'little fool', received both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity. 'It is a silly bird', says Willughby, writing in 1676; 'but as an article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by lamplight, in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing; if he a leg, the bird does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer, that it is unawares entangled in the net.' Such, at least, was the common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following passage from the poet DraytonMost worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus,As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en usWhich, as a man his arme or leg doth set,So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.In Pennant's time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June; and I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many years since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being much sought after for the table, they have become more rare; and the same thing has taken place in France.The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the mountainous parts of the north of England; but I may remark that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the Ringed Plover, to which bird also belong the eggs collected on the sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel's eggs.THE RINGED PLOVERÆGIALITIS HIATÍCULAForehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the neck, black; a band across the forehead and through the eyes, throat, a broad collar, and all the lower parts, white; upper plumage ash-brown; outer tail-feather white, the next nearly so, the other feathers grey at the base, passing into dusky and black, tipped with white, except the two middle ones, which have no white tips; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter tipped with black.Young—colours of the head dull; gorget incomplete, ash-brown; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the base of the lower mandible; feet yellowish. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey spots.On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed, not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the neck, and a black one below. If the wind be high, or rain be falling, the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings; for sea-birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than in fair. On a nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft, sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance, and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping, stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shellfish, or a sand-hopper, runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it may select, perhaps, the beach of shells and pebbles above high-water mark. Then it becomes at once invisible; or, if the observer be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion, but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let him walk up to the spot without once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival, find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small a biped, and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its name is the Ringed Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fishermen on the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name; others call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under the former of these names.The Ringed Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any other season; for the females are then employed in the important business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their mates to engage in picnics on the sands. The nest is a simple hollow in the sand, above high-water mark, or on the shingly beach; and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are ableto run as soon as they break the shell; but, having no power of flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses her wings; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder, and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury.The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin of a lake; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together repair to the sea-shore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while performing which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally, too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant, they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light.Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more frequently than on ordinary occasions, and, as its note is not difficult of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me, answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second time.THE KENTISH PLOVERÆGIALITIS CANTIANAForehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts, white; upper part of the forehead, a band from the base of the beak extending through the eye, and a large spot on each side of the breast, black; head and nape light brownish red; rest of the upper plumage ash-brown; two outer tail-feathers while, the third whitish, the rest brown; beak, irides, and feet, brown.Femalewants the black spot on the forehead, and the other parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length six and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled with black.The Kentish Plover differs from the preceding in its inferior size, in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in various parts of the country, breeding in Kent, Sussex and the Channel Islands, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediterranean. Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species.Plate_49Plate_50On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird is found in Egypt called the Tróchilus, which is noted for the friendly and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy monster, having no flexible tongue wherewith to cleanse its mouth, comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Tróchilus to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which, adhering to its teeth, interfere, with its comfort. This story was long believed to be a fable; but the French naturalist Geoffrey de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the father of history, and pronounces the Tróchilus of the ancients to be thePluvier à Collier interrompu, the subject of the present chapter. The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however, is not a Plover, but a Toddy.THE LAPWING, OR PEEWITVANELLUS VULGARISFeathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards; head, crest and breast, glossy black; throat, sides of the neck, belly and abdomen white; under tail-coverts yellowish red; upper plumage dark green with purple reflections; tail, when expanded, displaying a large semicircular graduated black patch on a white disk, outer feather on each side wholly white; bill dusky; feet reddish brown.Young—throat dull white, mottled with dusky and tinged with red; upper feathers tipped with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs olive-brown to stone buff, blotched and spotted with dusky black.The Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings, furnishes a character by which it may be recognized at a great distance; and its strange note, resembling the word 'peweet' uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England its eggs also are well known to most people; for 'Plovers' eggs', as they are called, are considered great delicacies.Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries, the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are partially migratory; hence they may appear at a certain season in some particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for manymonths. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration is so regular that the month of October has received the name of the 'Lapwing month'. In Britain their wanderings are both more uncertain and limited; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn, they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food.In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing them in a shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is always four, and they are placed in the order so common among the Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social, even in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given them the name of Lapwing in England and Vanneau in France (fromvan, a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached without difficulty; but as they are considered good eating, many of them fall before the fowler.OYSTER CATCHERHÆMÁTOPUS OSTRATEGUSThe plumage of this species is entirely black and white; head, neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black; rump, upper tail-coverts white; legs and toes pink; eyelids crimson. Length, sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered a harsh note in a high key which, though unmusical, harmonized well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I wasonce induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing-village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour. Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets, worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more frequently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud-banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also been observed many miles away from the coast; but this is a rare occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young are able to run soon after breaking the shell.In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; consequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to pass the night. One of these is what is called the "Eastern point" of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder. Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all advancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company being at the same height above the water. They are very wary at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single Oyster Catcher was brought to me.A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriateone is 'Mussel picker'; and it is thought that 'Catcher' comes from the Dutchaekster(magpie). The note is a shrillkeep,keep. It swims well, and sometimes it will take to the water of its own accord. Although the nest is commonly on shingle or among sand-hills, or a tussock of sea-pink on a narrow ledge of rock, Mr. Howard Saunders has seen eggs of this bird in the emptied nest of a Herring-gull and on the summit of a lofty 'stack.'THE TURNSTONESTRÉPSILAS INTÉRPRESCrown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks; upper part of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown, spotted with black; rest of the plumage variegated with black and white; bill and irides black; feet orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs greenish-grey, blotched and spotted with slate and brown.The Turnstone is a regular annual visitor to the shores of Great Britain, and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan; but it is rarely inland. It arrives on our coasts about the beginning of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. It is a bird of elegant form and beautiful parti-coloured plumage, active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an indefatigable hunter after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of these birds it resembles in its disposition to feed in company with birds of different species, and its impatience of the approach of man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any one can get near enough to these birds to watch their manœuvres while engaged in the occupation from which they have derived their name, though their industry is often apparent from the number of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where, owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity: "They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, andwith a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill, tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold.[46]In like manner I saw there four Turnstones examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty to forty yards; after which I drove them away, that our hunters might not kill them on their return."A writer in theZoologist[47]gives an equally interesting account of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches.For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the breeding season—it never breeds with us—we are indebted to Mr. Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says, 'We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and were about to land upon a flat rock, bare, except where here and there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper clinging to its surface, when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone, which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft-repeated note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in finding the nest in a situation in which I should never have expected to meet a bird of this sort breeding; it was placed against a ledge of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are visited.[46]From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a 'Tangle-picker'.—C. A. J.[47]Vol. ix. p. 3077.FAMILY SCOLOPACIDÆTHE AVOCETRECURVIROSTRA AVOCÉTTAGeneral plumage white; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and primaries, black; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet bluish ash. Length eighteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with dusky.This bird has become so rare, that having recently applied to two several collectors in Norfolk, once the headquarters of the Avocet, to know if they could procure me a specimen, I was told by one that they were not seen oftener than once in seven years—by the other, that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased for less than five pounds. In Ray's time it was not unfrequent on the eastern maritime coasts. Small flocks still arrive in May and now and again in the autumn, but collectors never allow them to breed. They used to rest on the flat shores of Kent and Sussex. Sir Thomas Browne says of it: 'Avoseta, called shoeing horn, a tall black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed upward; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed; a summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land.' Pennant, writing of the same bird, says: 'These birds are frequent in the winter on the shores of this kingdom; in Gloucestershire, at the Severn's mouth; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed, they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite extended, and made a shrill noise (twit) twice repeated, during the whole time. The country people for this reason call themYelpers, and sometimes distinguish them by the name ofPicarini. They feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of the sand; their search after food is frequently to be discovered on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which show their progress.[48]They lay three or four eggs, about the size of those of a Pigeon, white, tinged with green and marked with large black spots.' Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species, which appeared to have just been hatched; he took it up in his hands, while the old birds kept flying round him.The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World,and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer of the latter country says that 'by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud; this it searches with its curved bill, and when it has discovered any prey, a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches it with its beak'.[48]It is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird which strongly contrasts with the Avocet in the form of its bill, ploughs the sand from one side to another, while hunting for its food.THE GREY PHALAROPEPHALÁROPUS FULICARIUSWinter—plumage in front and beneath white; back of the head, ear-coverts, and a streak down the nape, dusky; back pearl-grey, the feathers dusky in the centre, a white transverse bar on the wings; tail-feathers brown, edged with ash; bill brown, yellowish red at the base; irides reddish yellow; feet greenish ash.Summer—head dusky; face and nape white; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown; front and lower plumage brick-red. Length eight inches and a half. Eggs greenish stone colour, blotched and spotted with dusky.The Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not of irregular occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions, from whence it migrates southward in winter. It is a bird of varied accomplishments, flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its structure being such that a naturalist would expect,à priori, that these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope quits the sea, its usual haunt, and repairs to the sea-shore, where it builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appearance in Great Britain is autumn; sometimes it comes then in numbers; but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions it has shown itself singularly fearless of man.THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPEPHALÁROPUS HYPERBOREUSHead deep ash-grey; throat white; neck bright rust-red; under plumage white, blotched on the flanks with ash; back black, the feathers bordered with rust-red; a white bar across the wing; two middle tail-feathers black, the rest ash, edged with white; bill black; irides brown; feet greenish ash. Length seven inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted with black.The Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circleof residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numerous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at sea on beds of floating sea-weed, and indifferently swimming about in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men, and unaffected by the report of a gun.
[45]Lin. Trans., vol. xxi. p. 155.
ORDER LIMICOLÆ
FAMILY GLAREOLIDÆ
THE PRATINCOLEGLAREOLA PRATÍNCOLA
Crown, nape, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish brown; throat and front of the neck white, tinged with red, and bounded by a narrow black collar, which ascends to the base of the beak; lore black; breast whitish brown; lower wing-coverts chestnut; under parts white, tinged with brownish red; tail-coverts, and base of tail-feathers, white; the rest of the tail dusky, much forked; beak black, red at the base; irides reddish brown; orbits naked, bright red; feet reddish ash. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs pale stone colour, spotted with grey and dusky.
The Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason,Perdrix de mer, or Sea Partridge, is a rare visitor to Great Britain, inhabiting for the most part the northern part of Africa, and the countries in the vicinity of the Don, the Volga, the Caspian, and the Black Sea. It has been observed also from time to time in several of the countries of Europe.
In some of its habits it resembles the Plovers, as it frequents open plains and runs with great rapidity. In nidification, also, and in the shape, colour, and markings of its eggs it is associated with the same tribe; while in its mode of flight and habit of catching flies while on the wing, it approaches the Swallows. Hence it was named by Linnæus,Hirundo pratincola, and under this designation it is figured in Bewick. Its true place in the system is, however, undoubtedly, among the waders, several of which not only feed on insects, but are expert in catching them on the wing.
FAMILY CHARADRIIDÆ
THE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEWŒDICNÉMUS SCÓLOPAX
Upper parts reddish ash with a white spot in the middle of each feather; space between the eye and beak, throat, belly, and thighs, white; neck and breast tinged with red, and marked with fine longitudinal brown streaks; a white longitudinal bar on the wing; first primary with a large white spot in the middle; second, with a small one on the inner web; lower tail-coverts reddish, the feathers, except those in the middle, tipped with black; beak black, yellowish at the base; hides, orbits, and feet, yellow. Length seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish brown clouded with greenish, blotched and spotted with dusky and olive.
Though a citizen of the world, or at least of the eastern hemisphere, this bird is commonly known under the name of Norfolk Plover, from its being more abundant in that county than in any other. It is also called Thick-knee, from the robust conformation of this joint; and Stone Curlew, from its frequenting waste stony places and uttering a note which has been compared to the sound of the syllablescurluiorturlui. Like the Cuckoo, it is more frequently heard than seen, but that only by night. In some of its habits it resembles the Bustard, and is said even to associate, in Northern Africa, with the Lesser Bustard. Its favourite places of resort are extensive plains; it runs rapidly when disturbed, and when it does take wing, flies for a considerable distance near the ground before mounting into the air. It frequents our open heaths and chalk downs and breeds in Romney Marsh and in the uplands of Kent and Sussex.
By day the Thick-knee confines itself to the ground, either crouching or hunting for food, which consists of worms, slugs, and beetles, under stones, which it is taught by its instinct to turn over. After sunset, it takes flight, and probably rises to a great height, as its plaintive whistle, which somewhat resembles the wail of a human being, is often heard overhead when the bird is invisible. It is singularly shy, and carefully avoids the presence of human beings, whether sportsmen or labourers. Yet it is not destitute of courage, as it has been seen to defend its nest with vigour against the approach of sheep or even of dogs. Nest, properly speaking, it has none, for it contents itself with scratching a hole in the ground and depositing two eggs. The males are supposed to assist in the office of incubation. The young inherit the faculty of running at an early age, being able to leave their birth-place with facility soon after they are hatched; but the development of their wings is a work of time, for their body has attained its full size long before they are able to rise from the ground. Before taking their departure southwards in autumn, they assemble in small parties, numbering from four to six or seven, when they are somewhat more easyof approach than in spring. In the chalky plains of La Marne in France they are very numerous; and here, by the aid of a light cart, fowlers in quest of them have little difficulty in shooting large numbers, the birds being less afraid of the approach of a horse than of a human being. But when obtained they are of little value, as their flesh is barely eatable.
The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of April to stay till October. His flights are made by night.
THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSERCURSORIUS GALLICUS
Plumage reddish cream colour; wing-coverts bordered with ash-grey; throat whitish; behind the eyes a double black bar; lateral tail-feathers black towards the tip, with a white spot in the centre of the black; abdomen whitish. Length nine inches. Eggs unknown.
Though the specific name Europæus would seem to imply that this bird is of frequent occurrence in Europe, this is not the case. Not more than three or four have been observed in Great Britain, at various intervals, from 1785 to 1827; and on the Continent it is an equally rare visitor to the plains of Provence and Languedoc.
It is a native of Syria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, frequenting pools and other moist situations. It is singularly fearless of man, and when disturbed prefers to run, which it does very swiftly, rather than to take flight. Its winter residence is supposed to be the central lakes of Africa, from which it returns to the countries named above early in autumn, and disappears at the approach of winter. Nothing is known of its nidification. About the autumn of 1868 one was shot in Lanarkshire.
THE GOLDEN PLOVERCHARÁDRIUS PLUVIALIS
Winter—upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks, neck, and breast mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and abdomen white; quills dusky, white along the shafts towards the end; beak dusky, feet deep ash-colour; irides brown.Summer—upper plumage greyish black, spotted with bright yellow; forehead and space above the eyes white; sides of the neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat, neck, and lower parts deep black. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish green, blotched and spotted with black.
The Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during the winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and the north of England during the rest of the year; yet so different are its habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons, that the young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing them in their transition stage, and has had no access to trustworthybooks, might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the bird as distinct species.
In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which relieve the solitude of the desolate wastes. Though numerous in the same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and summer, and are remarkable for their fearlessness of man. So tame, indeed, are they that, in little-frequented places, when disturbed by the traveller they will run along the stony ground a few yards in front of him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare and run along as before. On such occasions they frequently utter their singular cry—the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott's poems—which, like the Nightingale's song, is considered simply plaintive or painfully woe-begone, according to the natural temperament or occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no nest; a natural depression in the ground, unprotected by bush, heather or rock, serves its purpose, and here the female lays four eggs, much pointed at one end, and arranges them in accordance with this.
At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may have been passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights, those from Scotland to the southern counties of England, where they frequent wide moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marshland. From the northern parts of the continent of Europe they take their departure in October, either to the European shores of the Mediterranean, or to the plains of Northern Africa. In these migrations they are not unfrequently joined by Starlings. They travel in close array, forming large flocks much wider than deep, moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a whizzing sound which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if actuated by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly alter the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the regularity of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward course. This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher, who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down into his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred at a time, or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing from twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when some members of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder, before they remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over the heads of their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of inquiring the reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring them to join it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers, but may be noticed in the case of several of the sea-side waders, as Dunlins and Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert the meadows, in which the worms have descended into the groundbeyond the reach of frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the muddy or sandy sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do not migrate at all, but simply content themselves with shifting from the moors to the shore and back again, according to the weather. In the northern parts of France, on the other hand, they are only known as passengers on their way to the south. From making their appearance in the rainy season they are there calledpluviers, whence our name Plover, which, however, is supposed by some to have been given to them for their indicating by their movements coming changes in the weather, in which respect indeed their skill is marvellous.
The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and Green Plover, is found at various seasons In most countries of Europe; but the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered to be different species.
THE GREY PLOVERSQUATÁROLA HELVETICA
Winter—forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted on the neck and flanks with grey and brown; upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with white and ash colour; long axillary feathers black or dusky; tail white, barred with brown and tipped with reddish; bill black; irides dusky; feet blackish grey.Summer—lore, neck, breast, belly, and flanks, black, bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and white. Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with black.
Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in a great measure of a different hue from that which characterizes them in summer; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter than that of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of the law which clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a snowy fur in accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as seen in England, well deserves its name, for, as it frequents our shores in the winter alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey above and white below. But in summer the under plumage is decidedly black, and in this respect it bears a close resemblance to the Golden Plover, with which, in spite of the presence of a rudimentary fourth toe, it is closely allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S. Hore, informs me that he has seen them in Norfolk wearing the full black plumage in May. The occurrence of the bird, however, in this condition, in England, is exceptional; while in the northern regions, both of the Old and New World, it must be unusual to see an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of summer.
The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being known in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt,the continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as I have observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the sea-shore, and picking up worms and other animal productions cast up by the sea. Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden Plovers; yet, in severe seasons they assemble in numerous small flocks on the shores of the eastern counties, and, as Meyer well observes, they are disposed to be "sociable, not only towards their own species, but to every other coast bird. When a party either go towards the shore, or leave it for the meadows and flat wastes, they unanimously keep together; but when alighting, they mix with every other species, and thus produce a motley group." They fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or more, keeping in a line, more or less curved, or in two lines forming an angle. Their flight is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but sweeping in wide semicircles. As they advance they alternately show their upper and under plumage, but more frequently the latter; for they generally keep at a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the ground, in this respect differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc. Occasionally one or two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems to be a signal for all to keep close order. Just as Starlings habitually alight wherever they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the Grey Plovers join themselves on to any society of birds which has detected a good hunting-ground. During a single walk along the sands I have observed them mixed up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks, and Royston Crows; but in no instance was I able to approach near enough to note their habit of feeding. They were always up and away before any other birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less shy.
The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest of all the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits; but Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other respects, states that "its general appearance is peculiar to itself; it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every now and then to pick up its food; it carries its body in a horizontal position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body, consequently increasing the thick appearance of the head."
The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow in the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four eggs, on which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on. When thus disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.
THE DOTTERELEUDROMIAS MORINELLUS
Winter—head dusky ash; over each eye a reddish white band, meeting at the nape; face whitish, dotted with black; back dusky ash, tinged with green, the feathers edged with rust-red; breast and flanks reddish ash; gorget white; beak black; hides brown; feet greenish ash.Summer—face and a band over the eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of the neck ash; feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers, edged with deep red; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black line; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red; middle of the belly black; abdomen reddish white. Young birds have a reddish tinge on the head, and the tail is tipped with red. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dusky brown.
The Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, 'little fool', received both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity. 'It is a silly bird', says Willughby, writing in 1676; 'but as an article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by lamplight, in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing; if he a leg, the bird does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel does the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer, that it is unawares entangled in the net.' Such, at least, was the common belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following passage from the poet Drayton
Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus,As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en usWhich, as a man his arme or leg doth set,So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.
Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus,
As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en us
Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set,
So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.
In Pennant's time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June; and I have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many years since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains of that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being much sought after for the table, they have become more rare; and the same thing has taken place in France.
The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties both in spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the mountainous parts of the north of England; but I may remark that the name is frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the Ringed Plover, to which bird also belong the eggs collected on the sea-coast, and sold as Dotterel's eggs.
THE RINGED PLOVERÆGIALITIS HIATÍCULA
Forehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the neck, black; a band across the forehead and through the eyes, throat, a broad collar, and all the lower parts, white; upper plumage ash-brown; outer tail-feather white, the next nearly so, the other feathers grey at the base, passing into dusky and black, tipped with white, except the two middle ones, which have no white tips; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter tipped with black.Young—colours of the head dull; gorget incomplete, ash-brown; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the base of the lower mandible; feet yellowish. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey spots.
On almost any part of the sea-coast of Britain, where there is a wide expanse of sand left at low water, a bird may often be noticed, not much larger than a Lark, grey above and white below, a patch of black on the forehead and under the eye, a white ring round the neck, and a black one below. If the wind be high, or rain be falling, the observer will be able to get near enough to see these markings; for sea-birds generally are less acute observers in foul weather than in fair. On a nearer approach, the bird will fly up, uttering a soft, sweet, plaintive whistle of two notes, and, having performed a rapid, semicircular flight, will probably alight at no great distance, and repeat its note. If it has settled on the plain sand or on the water's edge, or near a tidal pool, it runs rapidly, without hopping, stoops its head, picks up a worm, a portion of shellfish, or a sand-hopper, runs, stops, pecks, and runs again, but does not allow any one to come so near as before. The next time that it alights, it may select, perhaps, the beach of shells and pebbles above high-water mark. Then it becomes at once invisible; or, if the observer be very keen-sighted, he may be able to detect it while it is in motion, but then only. Most probably, let him mark ever so accurately with his eye the exact spot on which he saw it alight, and let him walk up to the spot without once averting his eye, he will, on his arrival, find it gone. It has run ahead with a speed marvellous in so small a biped, and is pecking among the stones a hundred yards off. Its name is the Ringed Plover, or Ringed Dotterel. Fishermen on the coast call it a Stone-runner, a most appropriate name; others call it a Sea Lark. In ornithological works it is described under the former of these names.
The Ringed Plover frequents the shores of Great Britain all the year round. It is a social bird, but less so in spring than at any other season; for the females are then employed in the important business of incubation, and the males are too attentive to their mates to engage in picnics on the sands. The nest is a simple hollow in the sand, above high-water mark, or on the shingly beach; and here the female lays four large, pointed eggs, which are arranged in the nest with all the small ends together. The young are ableto run as soon as they break the shell; but, having no power of flight for a long time, avoid impending danger by scattering and hiding among the stones. The old bird, on such occasions, uses her wings; but not to desert her charge. She flies up to the intruder, and, like other members of the same family, endeavours to entice him away by counterfeiting lameness or some injury.
The Ringed Plover sometimes goes inland to rear her young, and lays her eggs in a sandy warren, on the bank of a river or the margin of a lake; but when the young are able to fly, old and young together repair to the sea-shore, collecting in flocks, and for the most part continuing to congregate until the following spring. Their flight is rapid and sweeping, consisting of a succession of curves, while performing which they show sometimes their upper grey plumage, and at other times the under, which is of a dazzling white. Occasionally, too, as they wheel from one tack to another, every bird is lost sight of, owing to the perfect unanimity with which, at the same instant, they alter their course, and to the incapacity of the human eye to follow the rapid change from a dark hue to a light.
Not unfrequently one falls in with a solitary individual which has been left behind by its companions, or has strayed from the flock. Such a bird, when disturbed, utters its whistle more frequently than on ordinary occasions, and, as its note is not difficult of imitation, I have often enticed a stray bird to fly close up to me, answering all the while. But it has rarely happened that I have succeeded in practising the deception on the same bird a second time.
THE KENTISH PLOVERÆGIALITIS CANTIANA
Forehead, a band over each eye, chin, cheeks, and under parts, white; upper part of the forehead, a band from the base of the beak extending through the eye, and a large spot on each side of the breast, black; head and nape light brownish red; rest of the upper plumage ash-brown; two outer tail-feathers while, the third whitish, the rest brown; beak, irides, and feet, brown.Femalewants the black spot on the forehead, and the other parts black in the male are replaced by ash-brown. Length six and a half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, spotted and speckled with black.
The Kentish Plover differs from the preceding in its inferior size, in having a narrower stripe of black on the cheeks, and in wanting the black ring round the neck. It is found from time to time in various parts of the country, breeding in Kent, Sussex and the Channel Islands, but is most abundant on the shores of the Mediterranean. Its habits resemble closely those of the allied species.
Plate_49
Plate_50
On the authority of the Greek historian Herodotus, a little bird is found in Egypt called the Tróchilus, which is noted for the friendly and courageous office it performs for the Crocodile. This unwieldy monster, having no flexible tongue wherewith to cleanse its mouth, comes on shore after its meals, opens its jaws, and allows the Tróchilus to enter and pick off the leeches and fragments of food, which, adhering to its teeth, interfere, with its comfort. This story was long believed to be a fable; but the French naturalist Geoffrey de Saint Hilaire has, in modern times, confirmed the veracity of the father of history, and pronounces the Tróchilus of the ancients to be thePluvier à Collier interrompu, the subject of the present chapter. The Cayman of South America is also said to be indebted for a similar service to the kindly offices of a little bird, which, however, is not a Plover, but a Toddy.
THE LAPWING, OR PEEWITVANELLUS VULGARIS
Feathers on the back of the head elongated and curved upwards; head, crest and breast, glossy black; throat, sides of the neck, belly and abdomen white; under tail-coverts yellowish red; upper plumage dark green with purple reflections; tail, when expanded, displaying a large semicircular graduated black patch on a white disk, outer feather on each side wholly white; bill dusky; feet reddish brown.Young—throat dull white, mottled with dusky and tinged with red; upper feathers tipped with dull yellow. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs olive-brown to stone buff, blotched and spotted with dusky black.
The Peewit, or Green Plover, as it is sometimes called, is among the best known birds indigenous to the British Isles. This notoriety it owes to several causes. The lengthened feathers on the back of its head, forming a crest, at once distinguish it from every other British Wader. Its peculiar flight, consisting of a series of wide slow flappings with its singularly rounded wings, furnishes a character by which it may be recognized at a great distance; and its strange note, resembling the word 'peweet' uttered in a high screaming tone, cannot be mistaken for the note of any other bird. In London and other large towns of England its eggs also are well known to most people; for 'Plovers' eggs', as they are called, are considered great delicacies.
Peewits are found in abundance in most parts of Europe and Asia from Ireland to Japan. They are essentially Plovers in all their habits, except, perhaps, that they do not run so rapidly as some others of the tribe. They inhabit the high grounds in open countries, the borders of lakes and marshes and low unenclosed wastes, and may not unfrequently be seen in the large meadows, which in some districts extend from the banks of rivers. They are partially migratory; hence they may appear at a certain season in some particular spot, and be entirely lost sight of for manymonths. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration is so regular that the month of October has received the name of the 'Lapwing month'. In Britain their wanderings are both more uncertain and limited; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn, they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food.
In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing them in a shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is always four, and they are placed in the order so common among the Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social, even in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given them the name of Lapwing in England and Vanneau in France (fromvan, a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached without difficulty; but as they are considered good eating, many of them fall before the fowler.
OYSTER CATCHERHÆMÁTOPUS OSTRATEGUS
The plumage of this species is entirely black and white; head, neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black; rump, upper tail-coverts white; legs and toes pink; eyelids crimson. Length, sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered a harsh note in a high key which, though unmusical, harmonized well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I wasonce induced, on the recommendation of a friend, to have one served up for dinner as an agreeable variation from the bacon and herrings which mainly constitute the dietary of a Scottish fishing-village inn. But I did not repeat the experiment, preferring fish pure and simple to fish served up through the medium of a fowl. The nature of its food sufficiently accounts for its strong flavour. Oyster Catchers frequent rocky promontories or the broad banks of mud, sand, and ooze, which stretch out from low portions of the coast. Here they feed on mussels and other bivalves, limpets, worms, crustacea, and small fish; mixing freely with other birds while on the ground, but keeping to themselves while performing their flights. In their mode of using their wings they remind the spectator of Ducks rather than of Plovers, and they advance in a line, sometimes in single file, one after another, but more frequently wing by wing. When they alight, too, it is not with a circular sweep, but with a sailing movement. When the mud-banks are covered by the tide they move to a short distance inland, and pick up slugs and insects in the meadows, or betake themselves to salt marshes and rocky headlands. They have also been observed many miles away from the coast; but this is a rare occurrence. Their nest is generally a slight depression among the shingle above high-water mark; but on rocky shores they make an attempt at a nest, collecting a few blades of grass and scraps of sea-weed. They lay three or four eggs, and the young are able to run soon after breaking the shell.
In high latitudes Oyster Catchers are migratory, leaving their breeding grounds in autumn, and returning in the spring; consequently, those coasts from which they never depart afford an asylum in winter to vast numbers of strangers, in addition to their native population. On the coast of Norfolk, for example, they are to be seen in small parties all through the summer; but in winter, especially if it be a severe one, they may be reckoned by thousands. They here seem to have favourite spots on which to pass the night. One of these is what is called the "Eastern point" of Brancaster Marsh, a place of perfect security, for it is difficult of access under any circumstances, and cannot be approached at all with any chance of concealment on the part of the intruder. Towards this point I have seen line after line winging their way, all about the same hour, just before sunset, all following the line of the coast, but taking care to keep well out at sea, and all advancing with perfect regularity, every individual in a company being at the same height above the water. They are very wary at this season, insomuch that though I must have seen many thousands, and examined upwards of twenty species of sea-shore birds, which had been shot in the neighbourhood, not a single Oyster Catcher was brought to me.
A common name for this bird is Sea-pie, another appropriateone is 'Mussel picker'; and it is thought that 'Catcher' comes from the Dutchaekster(magpie). The note is a shrillkeep,keep. It swims well, and sometimes it will take to the water of its own accord. Although the nest is commonly on shingle or among sand-hills, or a tussock of sea-pink on a narrow ledge of rock, Mr. Howard Saunders has seen eggs of this bird in the emptied nest of a Herring-gull and on the summit of a lofty 'stack.'
THE TURNSTONESTRÉPSILAS INTÉRPRES
Crown reddish white, with longitudinal black streaks; upper part of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, rusty brown, spotted with black; rest of the plumage variegated with black and white; bill and irides black; feet orange-yellow. Length nine inches. Eggs greenish-grey, blotched and spotted with slate and brown.
The Turnstone is a regular annual visitor to the shores of Great Britain, and indeed of almost every other country, having been observed as far north as Greenland, and as far south as the Straits of Magellan; but it is rarely inland. It arrives on our coasts about the beginning of August, not in large flocks like the Plovers, but in small parties, each of which, it is conjectured, constitutes a family. It is a bird of elegant form and beautiful parti-coloured plumage, active in its habits, a nimble runner, and an indefatigable hunter after food. In size it is intermediate between the Grey Plover and Sanderling, being about as big as a Thrush. The former of these birds it resembles in its disposition to feed in company with birds of different species, and its impatience of the approach of man. For this latter reason it does not often happen that any one can get near enough to these birds to watch their manœuvres while engaged in the occupation from which they have derived their name, though their industry is often apparent from the number of pebbles and shells found dislodged from their socket on the sands where a family has been feeding. Audubon, who had the good fortune to fall in with a party on a retired sea-coast, where, owing to the rare appearance of human beings, they were less fearful than is their wont, describes their operations with his usual felicity: "They were not more than fifteen or twenty yards distant, and I was delighted to see the ingenuity with which they turned over the oyster-shells, clods of mud, and other small bodies left exposed by the retiring tide. Whenever the object was not too large, the bird bent its legs to half their length, placed its bill beneath it, andwith a sudden quick jerk of the head pushed it off, when it quickly picked up the food which was thus exposed to view, and walked deliberately to the next shell to perform the same operation. In several instances, when the clusters of oyster-shells or clods of mud were too heavy to be removed in the ordinary way, they would not only use the bill and head, but also the breast, pushing the object with all their strength, and reminding me of the labour which I have undergone in turning over a large turtle. Among the sea-weeds that had been cast on shore, they used only the bill, tossing the garbage from side to side with a dexterity extremely pleasant to behold.[46]In like manner I saw there four Turnstones examine almost every part of the shore along a space of from thirty to forty yards; after which I drove them away, that our hunters might not kill them on their return."
A writer in theZoologist[47]gives an equally interesting account of the successful efforts of two Turnstones to turn over the dead body of a cod-fish, nearly three and a half feet long, which had been imbedded in the sand to about the depth of two inches.
For an account of the habits of the Turnstone during the breeding season—it never breeds with us—we are indebted to Mr. Hewitson, who fell in with it on the coast of Norway. He says, 'We had visited numerous islands with little encouragement, and were about to land upon a flat rock, bare, except where here and there grew tufts of grass or stunted juniper clinging to its surface, when our attention was attracted by the singular cry of a Turnstone, which in its eager watch had seen our approach, and perched itself upon an eminence of the rock, assuring us, by its querulous oft-repeated note and anxious motions, that its nest was there. We remained in the boat a short time, until we had watched it behind a tuft of grass, near which, after a minute search, we succeeded in finding the nest in a situation in which I should never have expected to meet a bird of this sort breeding; it was placed against a ledge of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the dropping leaves of the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in number, were snugly concealed, and admirably sheltered from the many storms by which these bleak and exposed rocks are visited.
[46]From this habit, the Turnstone is in Norfolk called a 'Tangle-picker'.—C. A. J.
[47]Vol. ix. p. 3077.
FAMILY SCOLOPACIDÆ
THE AVOCETRECURVIROSTRA AVOCÉTTA
General plumage white; crown, nape, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and primaries, black; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet bluish ash. Length eighteen inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched and spotted with dusky.
This bird has become so rare, that having recently applied to two several collectors in Norfolk, once the headquarters of the Avocet, to know if they could procure me a specimen, I was told by one that they were not seen oftener than once in seven years—by the other, that it was very rare, and if attainable at all could not be purchased for less than five pounds. In Ray's time it was not unfrequent on the eastern maritime coasts. Small flocks still arrive in May and now and again in the autumn, but collectors never allow them to breed. They used to rest on the flat shores of Kent and Sussex. Sir Thomas Browne says of it: 'Avoseta, called shoeing horn, a tall black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly reclining or bowed upward; so that it is not easy to conceive how it can feed; a summer marsh bird, and not unfrequent in marsh land.' Pennant, writing of the same bird, says: 'These birds are frequent in the winter on the shores of this kingdom; in Gloucestershire, at the Severn's mouth; and sometimes on the lakes of Shropshire. We have seen them in considerable numbers in the breeding season near Fossdike Wash, in Lincolnshire. Like the Lapwing, when disturbed, they flew over our heads, carrying their necks and long legs quite extended, and made a shrill noise (twit) twice repeated, during the whole time. The country people for this reason call themYelpers, and sometimes distinguish them by the name ofPicarini. They feed on worms and insects, which they suck with their bills out of the sand; their search after food is frequently to be discovered on our shores by alternate semicircular marks in the sand, which show their progress.[48]They lay three or four eggs, about the size of those of a Pigeon, white, tinged with green and marked with large black spots.' Even so recent an authority as Yarrell remembers having found in the marshes near Rye a young one of this species, which appeared to have just been hatched; he took it up in his hands, while the old birds kept flying round him.
The Avocet is met with throughout a great part of the Old World,and is said to be not unfrequent in Holland and France. A writer of the latter country says that 'by aid of its webbed feet it is enabled to traverse, without sinking, the softest and wettest mud; this it searches with its curved bill, and when it has discovered any prey, a worm for instance, it throws it adroitly into the air, and catches it with its beak'.
[48]It is not a little singular that the Spoonbill, a bird which strongly contrasts with the Avocet in the form of its bill, ploughs the sand from one side to another, while hunting for its food.
THE GREY PHALAROPEPHALÁROPUS FULICARIUS
Winter—plumage in front and beneath white; back of the head, ear-coverts, and a streak down the nape, dusky; back pearl-grey, the feathers dusky in the centre, a white transverse bar on the wings; tail-feathers brown, edged with ash; bill brown, yellowish red at the base; irides reddish yellow; feet greenish ash.Summer—head dusky; face and nape white; feathers of the back dusky, bordered with orange-brown; front and lower plumage brick-red. Length eight inches and a half. Eggs greenish stone colour, blotched and spotted with dusky.
The Grey Phalarope, without being one of our rarest birds, is not of irregular occurrence. Its proper home is in the Arctic regions, from whence it migrates southward in winter. It is a bird of varied accomplishments, flying rapidly like the Snipes, running after the fashion of the Sandpipers, and swimming with the facility of the Ducks. In all these respects it does not belie its appearance, its structure being such that a naturalist would expect,à priori, that these were its habits. During the breeding season, the Phalarope quits the sea, its usual haunt, and repairs to the sea-shore, where it builds a neat nest, in a hollow of the ground, with grass and other weeds, and lays four eggs. The usual time of its appearance in Great Britain is autumn; sometimes it comes then in numbers; but specimens have been obtained in winter. On all these occasions it has shown itself singularly fearless of man.
THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPEPHALÁROPUS HYPERBOREUS
Head deep ash-grey; throat white; neck bright rust-red; under plumage white, blotched on the flanks with ash; back black, the feathers bordered with rust-red; a white bar across the wing; two middle tail-feathers black, the rest ash, edged with white; bill black; irides brown; feet greenish ash. Length seven inches. Eggs dark olive, closely spotted with black.
The Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, is, like the preceding species, an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, but extends its circleof residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numerous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at sea on beds of floating sea-weed, and indifferently swimming about in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men, and unaffected by the report of a gun.