_THE PERCHING-BIRDS._
Such an enormous host are included under this head--nearly 6,000 out of the
total of 13,000 known birds--and so great are the difficulties connected
with their systematic arrangement, that it has been considered best to
begin the present chapter with the highest instead of the lowest types of
the group.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
JACKDAWS.
It is believed that the jackdaw is the bird referred to by Shakespeare as
the Russet-pated Chough (_Midsummer-Night's Dream_, iii. 2).]
The extensive group of Perching-birds is defined mainly from the characters
afforded by the structure of the voice-organ, and these are of much too
technical a nature to be discussed here. Suffice it to say that, on account
of these characters, the group is further divided into two sections, and
each section again divided into two.
THE CROWS, ORIOLES, FINCHES, AND THEIR ALLIES.
At the head of the tribe stands, by general though by no means universal
consent, the Crow Family, of which the recognised chief is the RAVEN, a
bird which has for thousands of years commanded a more than passing
interest amongst mankind. Renowned as the truant from the Ark, or as the
wonderful minister of the prophet Elijah, there are few even of the
youngest amongst us who do not know of its striking personality. The poet
and the dramatist have both made use of the raven, and it would seem that
it has even found a place in the mythology of the Red Indian. The smaller
relatives of this celebrated bird, the ROOK, the CARRION-CROW, and the
JACKDAW, and more distantly the JAY and the MAGPIE, are doubtless as
familiar to our readers as the raven.
Although probably unknown to many, the CHOUGH, with its glossy black
plumage and brilliant red bill and feet, is a British bird, and lives still
in certain parts of England, though fast verging on extinction.
Another very remarkable member of the family is the HUIA, and this on
account of the fact that the male and female differ markedly in respect of
the shape of the bill, this being in the female long and sickle-shaped, and
in the male short and cone-shaped. This bird frequents the wooded regions
of North Island, New Zealand, living upon grubs found in decaying wood, and
on berries. The female procures the grubs by probing the holes which they
have made in the sounder wood, the male by breaking away the decayed
portions of the tree; but occasionally it happens that, having cleared away
as much of the decayed material as possible, the latter is unable to reach
his prey, in which case he calls up the female, and yields his find to her,
to extricate with her longer bill. So great a difference in the form of the
bill in the sexes of the same species is elsewhere unknown among birds.
[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt_] [_Washington_
YOUNG AMERICAN BLUE JAY (NATURAL SIZE).
The blue jay is a most remarkable mimic.]
The Crows hold the important position of head of the Class birds, yet they
are far outshone in splendour by many of the groups already examined,
though, with the exception perhaps of the Humming-birds, these all pale
before the BIRDS OF PARADISE.
Varying in size from a crow to a thrush, the best known of the latter is
the GREAT BIRD OF PARADISE, which was discovered towards the end of the
sixteenth century, if not earlier. On their first discovery it was
popularly supposed that these birds lived in the air, turning always to the
sun, and never alighting on the earth till they died, for they had neither
feet nor wings. Hence the Malay traders called them "God's Birds," the
Portuguese "Birds of the Sun," and the Dutch "Paradise-birds." Seventeen or
eighteen inches long, these birds have the body, wings, and tail of a rich
coffee-brown, which deepens on the breast to a blackish violet or
purple-brown. The top of the head and neck are of a delicate straw-yellow,
the feathers being short and close-set, resembling velvet. The
throat-feathers have a scaly appearance, and are emerald-green in colour.
The flank-feathers on either side of the body form a dense mass of long,
delicate, waving plumes, sometimes 2 feet in length, of an intense orange
colour, and shining with a wonderful gloss. These feathers can be raised
and spread out at pleasure, so as to almost conceal the wearer in a
fountain-like rain of feathers. This wonderful plumage is worn by the male
only, the female being quite plainly dressed. In May, when they are in full
dress, the males assemble early in the morning to exhibit themselves,
forming what are known as "dancing-parties," which take place on the
topmost boughs of some giant tree. "From a dozen to twenty birds assemble
together," writes Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, "raise up their wings, stretch
out their necks, and elevate their exquisite plumes, keeping them in
continual vibration. Between-whiles they fly across from branch to branch
in great excitement, so that the whole tree is filled with waxing plumes in
every variety of attitude and motion." The native hunter marks these
playing-places, builds a shelter of palm-leaves in a convenient situation
among the branches, and ensconces himself under it before daylight, armed
with a bow and a number of arrows terminating in a round knob. When the
dance is in full swing, he shoots through the roof of his shelter with the
blunt arrows, stunning every bird he strikes, which, falling down at once,
are immediately picked up by a boy in waiting below. Often a considerable
number will be thus secured before the alarm is taken.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
A PAIR OF MAGPIES.
When taken young, the magpie is easily tamed, and can be taught to imitate
human sounds.]
Without coloured figures, or very numerous photographs from living birds,
which we can hardly hope to get, it would be impossible, except at the risk
of being wearisome, to describe all the wonderful combinations of form and
colour which the feathers of the birds of paradise display. Breast-shields
of metallic sheen, fans and crests in wonderful variety, feathers of a
texture like velvet, or gorgeous colours, confuse one in their variety and
combination. Let it suffice to mention only the last discovered
species--the KING OF SAXONY'S BIRD OF PARADISE. "Velvety black above,"
writes Dr. Sharpe, "and yellowish below, there is nothing very striking in
the aspect of the bird itself, which is smaller than our song-thrush. But
the 'streamers' which it carries! Poised ... on either side of the head is
a long, shaft-like plume, from which depends, on the lower side only, a
series of little flags of blue enamel, each quite separate from the one
which precedes it, and not of a feathery structure in the least."
[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
CORNISH CHOUGH.
Very nearly extinct as a British bird.]
Close allies of the Birds of Paradise are the remarkable BOWER-BIRDS of
Australia. Conspicuously beautiful in coloration as are some members of
this tribe, they are celebrated not so much on this account as for an
extraordinary habit of constructing "bowers" or "playing-grounds"--a trait
which appears absolutely unique among birds. "These constructions,"
observes Mr. Gould, "consist in a collection of pieces of stick or grass,
formed into a bower; or one of them (that of the SPOTTED BOWER-BIRD) might
be called an avenue, being about 3 feet in length, and 7 or 8 inches broad
inside; a transverse section giving the figure of a horse-shoe, the round
part downwards. They are used by the birds as a playing-house, or 'run,' as
it is termed, and are used by the males to attract the females. The 'run'
of the SATIN-BIRD is much smaller, being less than 1 foot in length, and,
moreover, differs from that just described in being decorated with the
highly coloured feathers of the Parrot Tribe. The SPOTTED BOWER-BIRD, on
the other hand, collects around its 'run' a quantity of stones, shells,
bleached bones, etc.; they are also strewed down the centre within."
[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
KING BIRD OF PARADISE.
A native of New Guinea; remarkable for the curled tail-feathers.]
More wonderful still are the structures reared by the GARDENER-BIRD of New
Guinea, presenting, as Professor Newton remarks, "not only a modification
of bower-building, but an appreciation of beauty perhaps unparalleled in
the animal world.... This species ... builds at the foot of a small tree a
kind of hut or cabin ... some 2 feet in height, roofed with orchid-stems
that slope to the ground, regularly radiating from the central support,
which is covered with a conical mass of moss, and sheltering a gallery
around it. One side of this hut is left open, and in front of it is
arranged a bed of verdant moss, bedecked with blossoms and berries of the
brightest colours. As these ornaments wither they are removed to a heap
behind the hut, and replaced by others that are fresh. The hut is circular
and some 3 feet in diameter, and the mossy lawn in front of it nearly twice
that expanse. Each hut and garden are, it is believed, though not known,
the work of a single pair of birds, or perhaps of the male only; and it may
be observed that this species, as its trivial name implies, is wholly
inornate in plumage. Not less remarkable is the more recently described
'bower' of the GOLDEN BOWER-BIRD.... This structure is said ... to be piled
up almost horizontally around the base of a tree to the height of from 4 to
6 feet, and around it are a number of hut-like fabrics, having the look of
a dwarfed native camp." Allied species, though building no bowers, yet
clear a space of ground some 8 or 9 feet in diameter, on which to display
themselves, and ornament this with little heaps of gaily tinted leaves,
replacing them as they fade with fresh specimens.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
QUEENSLAND RIFLE-BIRD.
This unique Australian representative of the Birds of Paradise is about the
size of a pigeon. Its plumage is black with a purple sheen; the throat is
brilliant metallic emerald-green, like that of a humming-bird.]
We pass next to the birds of the Starling Family, of which the BRITISH
STARLING is the type. A bird so familiar needs no description here; but we
may draw attention to the many interesting phases of plumage this species
undergoes.
The first plumage is a uniform greyish brown. Later black feathers, with
large white spots at the tips, make their appearance among the brown. These
spotted feathers eventually replace the brown, and the bird enters upon a
second quite distinct phase--a black, spotted with white. Gradually this
gives place to a plumage entirely unspotted, the feathers on the breast
being spear-shaped. In the adult dress a wondrous variety of metallic
reflections is acquired--green, purple, and violet.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
RED BIRD OF PARADISE.
Found only on the small island of Waigiou, off the north-west coast of New
Guinea.]
Associating in the autumn and winter in large flocks, starlings move from
place to place in search of food. Sometimes the number of birds in these
combined flocks rises to an enormous figure. One of the largest of these
gatherings recorded in England existed on the property of the late Mr.
Miles near Bristol. "This locality is an evergreen plantation ... covering
some acres, to which these birds repair of an evening ... by millions, from
the low grounds about the Severn, where their noise and stench are
something altogether unusual. By packing in such myriads upon evergreens,
they have stripped them of their leaves, except just at the tops, and have
driven the pheasants, for whom the plantation was intended, quite away from
the ground. In the daytime, when the birds are not there, the stench is
still excessive. Mr. Miles was about to cut the whole plantation down, to
get rid of them, two years ago, but I begged him not to do so, on account
of the curiosity of the scene, and he has since been well pleased that he
abstained."
A similar but still larger congregation has been described; in this, about
the year 1845, from 150,000 to 200,000 starlings were computed to rest
every night, between the end of October and the end of March, in certain
trees in the gardens of the Zoological Society in Dublin. The roof of St.
Patrick's Cathedral, in the heart of Dublin, has from time to time been
resorted to, as many as 2,000 seeking shelter there. "Possessing very
considerable powers of wing," observes Yarrell, "these are turned to
account in an extraordinary manner by the birds composing the flock. They
wheel, close, open out, rise and descend, as if each were obeying a
commander, and all this is done with the utmost marvellous precision while
the flock is proceeding at a rapid pace through the air. At times it may
extend in a long and nearly straight thread; suddenly an undulation is
visible along the line, and in a moment it takes the form of a thin and
smoke-like cloud; another moment, and it is a dense and almost perfect
globe; then possibly, having preserved this appearance for a perceptibly
longer time, it becomes pear-shaped, and in another instant has assumed a
spiral figure; an instant after it has spread out like a sheet, and its
members are streaming softly along the ground, perhaps to alight, or
perhaps once more to mount aloft and circle as before." There are few more
magnificent sights in the world than a flock of starlings when performing
evolutions of this kind.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
YOUNG STARLINGS.
Starlings, if taken when young, are easily tamed and make excellent pets.]
Differing much, not only in general appearance, but also in coloration,
from the common starling is the ROSE-COLOURED STARLING, so called from the
beautiful rose-pink colour of the back and breast, set off by the rest of
the plumage, which is black, glossed with violet, blue, and green
reflections. This handsome bird occasionally visits Britain. Feeding
largely upon locusts, these birds are much affected in their movements by
the peregrinations of these pests; and this accounts for the sporadic
appearance of the rose-coloured starling in huge flocks in places where it
is generally seldom seen.
Dull in appearance, ungraceful in flight, and with a harsh, unmusical note,
the starling known as the OX-PECKER would seem at first sight to have
little to recommend it; yet it is one of the benefactors of the larger
African mammals, clearing them of flies and other insect-pests. Buffaloes,
rhinoceroses, elephants, are alike grateful for its services, as it climbs
about their huge bodies, picking off the liliputian enemies by which they
are beset. But little appears to be known of the breeding-habits of these
birds.
In strong contrast to the dull-looking Ox-birds are the beautiful GLOSSY
STARLINGS and GRACKLES. The AFRICAN GLOSSY STARLINGS, indeed, represent the
most beautiful of all the members of the Starling Tribe. In one of the
handsomest and best-known species--the LONG-TAILED GLOSSY
STARLING--metallic green and purple-violet are the predominating tones in
the plumage, glossed with copper reflections, and relieved by black or
darker bars of green and purple. In another species--the GREEN GLOSSY
STARLING of Eastern Africa--the shimmer of the plumage is so wonderful that
the exact shades of colour are difficult to describe, in that they change
completely, according to the light in which the bird is held.
The GRACKLES, or HILL-MYNAS, are Indian birds, with glossy black plumage,
relieved by bare flaps of yellow skin projecting backwards from the head
immediately behind the eye. These birds make excellent pets, learning both
to whistle and talk.
[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
COMMON STARLING.
Starlings appear to be on the increase in Scotland, whilst larks are said
to be on the decrease, owing to the destruction of their eggs by the
former.]
We come now to the beautiful ORIOLES--birds belonging to the temperate and
tropical parts of the Old World. The males, as a rule, are clad in a
vestment of brilliant yellow and black, but in some species the under-parts
are relieved by rich crimson. One species--the GOLDEN ORIOLE--has on
several occasions visited the British Islands, and even in one or two
instances has nested there. But, as with all brightly plumaged birds in
England, no sooner is their presence discovered than they are doomed to
fall to the gun of some local collector.
The HANG-NESTS, COW-BIRDS, and RICE-BIRDS are American birds, bearing in
many respects a resemblance to the Starlings, chiefly, perhaps, in the form
of the beak. Generally black in plumage, in many bright colour is
conspicuous.
HANG-NESTS range from North and Central America to Southern Brazil. As a
rule they are brilliantly coloured, the livery being bright orange and
yellow, set off by black and white. The majority of the numerous species
build remarkable nests, looking like long stockings, which they hang from
the under side of the bough of a tree; they are composed of coarse grass
deftly woven together.
The COW-BIRDS are mostly South American, though the United States possess
two or three species. Some, like the Cuckoos, are parasitic, dropping their
eggs into the nests of other birds, to be hatched by the owners: the young
cow-bird, however, dwells in harmony with his foster-brothers and -sisters,
instead of ejecting them from the nest, like the young cuckoo. The name
Cow-bird is bestowed upon these birds on account of the persistent way in
which they haunt herds of cattle for the sake of the flies which congregate
about those animals.
The RICE-BIRDS are represented by some rather showy forms, and others of
wonderful powers of song. The typical RICE-BIRD, or BOB-O-LINK, is an
especial favourite as a songster. Thoreau writes of this song: "It is as if
he [the bird] touched his harp with a wave of liquid melody, and when he
lifted it out the notes fell like bubbles from the strings.... Away he
launched, and the meadow is all bespattered with melody." Where rice is
extensively cultivated, however, this bird is by no means so
enthusiastically welcomed, causing immense destruction to the standing
crops--flocks numbering, it has been said, some millions alighting in the
fields and leaving too little grain to be worth the trouble of gathering.
We pass now to a group of exceedingly interesting birds, some of which are
remarkable on account of the beauty of their plumage, others from their
wonderful nesting-habits. The group includes many familiar as cage-birds,
such as the LONG-TAILED WIDOW-BIRDS, the RED-BEAKED WAXBILLS, AMADAVATS,
JAVA SPARROW, GRASS-FINCHES, MUNIAS, and so on, all of which are embraced
under the general title of WEAVER-BIRDS, a name bestowed on account of
their peculiar nests.
[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt_] [_Washington._
MEADOW-LARK (NATURAL SIZE).
Known also as the Meadow-starling. This bird, a native of the Eastern
United States, has occurred three times in the British Islands, but it is
doubtful whether these specimens were wild.]
Abundant in Africa, and well represented in South-eastern Asia and
Australia, these birds bear a strong family resemblance to the Finches,
from which they differ in having ten primary quills in the wings.
One of the most peculiar is the South African LONG-TAILED WHYDAH- or
WIDOW-BIRD. Strikingly coloured, this bird is rendered still more
attractive by the extremely elongated tail-feathers, which are many times
longer than the body, so long, indeed, as to impede its flight, which is so
laboured that children commonly amuse themselves by running the bird down.
Kaffir children stretch lines coated with bird-lime near the ground across
fields of millet and Kaffir corn, and thereby capture many whose tails have
become entangled among the threads.
In brilliancy of coloration the Whydah-birds--for there are several
species--are pressed hard by the BISHOP-BIRDS, the handsomest of which is
the red species. Sociable in habits, this bird throughout the year consorts
in immense flocks, which in the summer consist chiefly of males.
Of the more remarkable nest-builders, the most conspicuous are the BAYA
SPARROWS, or TODDY-BIRDS, of India and Ceylon, and the SOCIABLE WEAVERS.
The former suspend their nests by a solidly wrought rope of fibre from the
under side of a branch, the rope expanding into a globular chamber, and
then again contracting into a long, narrow, vertical tube, through which
the birds make their exit and entrance. The latter--the SOCIABLE
WEAVER-BIRD of Africa--builds a still more wonderful structure. As a thing
apart it has no existence, a number of birds, varying from 100 to 300,
joining their nests together, so as to form a closely interwoven structure,
resembling, when finished, a gigantic mushroom. The structure is built
among the branches of large trees, so that the tree looks as though it had
grown up through a native hut, carrying the roof with it. Cartloads of
grass are required to rear this structure, which is nearly solid. Seen from
below, it presents a flat surface riddled with holes; these are the
entrances to the nests.
Closely resembling the typical Finches in general appearance, and often
gorgeous in coloration, is the group known as the TANAGERS, of which more
than 400 distinct species are known to science. Exclusively American, the
majority of the species are found in Central and South America, though a
few move northwards into the United States in summer. The most beautiful
are the SCARLET, CRIMSON-HEADED, and WHITE-CAPPED TANAGERS. The last-named
is generally allowed to be the loveliest of the group. The entire plumage
of both sexes is a beautiful cornflower-blue, surmounted by a cap of
silvery-white feathers, a crimson spot on the forehead looking like a drop
of blood. The identical coloration of the sexes is worth noting, as among
the tanagers generally the female is dull-coloured.
Among the Finches there is a considerable variety of coloration, though but
little in bodily form; they are all attractive birds, and have the
additional advantage that many are British. Distributed over both the
northern and temperate regions of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, they
are unknown in Australia. The group, which comprises a very large number of
species, may be divided into three sections--GROSBEAKS, TRUE FINCHES, and
BUNTINGS.
The GROSBEAKS, as their name implies, are characterised by the great
stoutness of the beak, and some, as the EVENING-GROSBEAKS of America, are
remarkable for their beauty.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. F. Piggott_] [_Leighton Buzzard._
HAWFINCH.
A resident in the eastern and midland counties of England.]
Well-known British members of this section are the HAWFINCHES and
GREENFINCHES. Common in many parts of England, though rare in Scotland and
Ireland, the HAWFINCH contrives to make itself much disliked by the
gardener, owing to its fondness for peas, though it fully compensates for
the damage done in this direction by the numbers of noxious insects it
destroys. The nest is a very beautiful structure; outside it is composed of
twigs intermixed with lichens, inside of dry grasses lined with fine roots
and hair. The site chosen varies, a favourite place being an old apple- or
pear-tree in an orchard; but the woods and fir plantations are not seldom
resorted to. The GREENFINCH is an equally common British bird. Of a more
confiding disposition than the hawfinch, it makes an excellent cage-bird,
becoming with judicious treatment exceedingly tame. It is a useful bird,
travelling during the autumn and winter in large flocks, and feeding on the
seeds of wild mustard and other weeds. Its nest differs conspicuously from
that of the hawfinch, being a somewhat untidy structure, composed of
fibrous roots, moss, and wool, lined with finer roots, horsehair, and
feathers.
[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
YOUNG CHAFFINCHES.
The chaffinch is one of the commonest of the British finches.]
[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
HOUSE-SPARROWS.
The sparrow is to be reckoned among the few really harmful British birds.]
Among the TRUE FINCHES, distinguished from the Grosbeaks by their less
powerful bills, are several other well-known British birds. Of these, none
are better known than the CHAFFINCH. Gay in appearance and sprightly in
habit, this is a general favourite everywhere, and much in demand as a
cage-bird. His short though delightful song possesses a peculiar charm,
coming as it does with the earliest signs of returning spring. The
fascination of this song has never been better expressed than in Browning's
lines:--
O to be in England
Now that April's there;
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs of the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree hole are in tiny leaf,
While the Chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England now!
The nest, which is an exceptionally beautiful structure, takes about a
fortnight to build. Closely woven, it appears to consist mainly of wool,
into which moss and lichens of various colours are deftly woven. The
outside is cunningly decorated with bits of lichen and the inner bark of
trees, such as the birch, the whole being secured by a thin veil of
spiders' webs. The lichen and bark serve to render the nest inconspicuous
by blending it with the general appearance of the bush or small tree in a
forked bough of which it is placed. Inside the wool is more closely felted
even than on the outside, and this is covered with fine hairs, amongst
which a few feathers are intermixed. The work of building seems to be done
by the female only, though the male helps by bringing the materials.
[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
BULLFINCH.
Black varieties are occasionally taken in a wild state. Caged specimens fed
on hemp-seed frequently turn black.]
Of the GOLDFINCH, LINNETS, and BULLFINCH, by far the most popular and
beautiful is the GOLDFINCH, which is, and probably will long remain, one of
the most prized of cage-birds. Gifted "with the fatal gift of beauty," this
bird is much persecuted by bird-catchers; and indeed, partly owing to the
depredations of these men, and partly to improved methods of agriculture,
which have diminished its feeding-area, this handsome bird is growing more
and more rare every year.
Next to the goldfinch perhaps the LINNET is most sought after as a
cage-bird. Large numbers are taken during the autumn, when the birds
congregate in large flocks before departure on migration. Those captured in
the spring are said to be very impatient of confinement, and only a small
percentage seem to survive.
The linnet is one of the most variable of birds in the matter of plumage,
and for a long while the opinion was generally held, especially by
bird-catchers, that several distinct species--the RED, BROWN, and GREY
LINNETS--existed. It is now known that these are all phases of plumage
common to one species. In the male in full summer dress the forehead and
centre of the crown are blood-red, whilst the breast is of a glossy
rose-red; but these bright colours do not seem to be acquired so
universally as is the case with other birds which don a special
breeding-dress, nor are they ever developed in captivity. Occasionally what
are called LEMON-BREASTED varieties of the linnet occur in which the
rose-colour of the breast is replaced by yellow.
The BULLFINCH, though one of the common British birds, is by no means so
abundant as the two foregoing species; for whilst the other two travel in
small flocks, the bullfinch is a solitary bird. Few birds perhaps have
earned a more evil name than the bullfinch, which is accused by the
gardener of inflicting enormous damage on the flower-buds of fruit-trees in
winter and spring. "On the other hand," writes Mr. Hudson, "he is greatly
esteemed as a cage-bird, and the bird-catchers are ever on the watch for
it. But the effect in both cases is pretty much the same, since the hatred
that slays and the love that makes captive are equally disastrous to the
species." That it is diminishing in many districts there can be no doubt,
and perhaps its final extermination is only a matter of time. Though by no
means a remarkable songster in a wild state, in captivity it is capable of
learning to whistle strains and airs of human composition with some skill,
good performers fetching high prices.
The SPARROW and the wild CANARY of Madeira--from the latter of which our
cage-pets have been derived--are also members of the Finch Tribe, but are
too well known to need fuller mention.
[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
GREENFINCH.
Commonly known as the Green Linnet.]
Closely allied to the Finches are the BUNTINGS, which are really only
slightly modified finches. Several species are British birds, one of the
commonest being the CORN-BUNTING, a bird which bears a wonderful
resemblance to a skylark, from which, however, it may be distinguished by
its large beak and small claw on the hind toe.
The YELLOWAMMER, or YELLOWHAMMER, is another familiar roadside form in
England, which scarcely needs description.
The most celebrated of all the buntings is the ORTOLAN, or GREEN-HEADED
BUNTING, a bird resembling its congener the yellowhammer, but lacking its
bright coloration. It has acquired fame from the delicate flavour of its
flesh, and to supply the demand for this delicacy immense numbers are
netted annually by the bird-catchers of the Continent. Wintering in North
Africa, these birds leave Europe in September in large flocks, and it is
during this migration and the return journey in the spring that their ranks
are so mercilessly thinned. Common over the greater part of Europe, it is
somewhat surprising that the ortolan does not occur more frequently in the
British Islands, where it is only an occasional spring and autumn visitor.
The SNOW-BUNTING, or SNOWFLAKE, is a regular winter visitant to the British
Islands, some pairs indeed remaining to breed in the Highlands of Scotland
every year, whilst its presence serves to enliven some of the dreariest
spots of high northern latitudes. The male in breeding-dress is a handsome
bird, having the upper-parts black and the under white; its mate is
somewhat duller, the black parts being obscured by greyish white, fulvous,
and blackish brown, whilst the white parts are less pure in tone. The full
dress of the male is rarely seen in the British Islands, save in specimens
procured from Scotland; for in winter, when the snow-bunting is chiefly
captured, the plumage is altogether more rufous.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. F. Piggott_] [_Leighton Buzzard._
LINNET.
One of the most popular cage-birds. The so-called Red-brown and Grey
Linnets are but phases of plumage of the same species. The bird in the
right-hand corner is a greenfinch.]
Unlike the buntings so far described, the REED-BUNTING is to be found only
in marshy places, but in suitable localities it may be found in the British
Islands all the year round, being as common a species as the corn-bunting,
and therefore not calling for special description here.
The eggs of the buntings are remarkable for the curious scribble-like
markings which cover them, and serve readily to distinguish them from those
of any other British bird.
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