been met with in recent years in the southern counties. The nest is
placed on the ground amongst heath, fern, furze, or growing crops,
and consists of a few twigs, straws, and bits of dead grass. Its eggs
number from four to six, of a faint bluish-white, and are on rare
occasions marked with a few light reddish-brown spots.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Hen Harrier. 2. Roseate Tern. 3. Great Black-backed Gull.
4. Lesser Black-backed Gull. 5. Great Crested Grebe. 6. Kittiwake.
7. Stone Curlew. 8. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. 9. White Wagtail.
]
THE HEN HARRIER.
Game-preserving has proved a disastrous business to this bird, and it
now only breeds in a few of its old strongholds, such as Cornwall,
Wales, the Highlands, Orkneys, and Hebrides, where I have met with it.
Its nest is composed of sticks, sprigs of heather, dry grass, and wool,
and is placed upon the ground in deep heather. The eggs number from
four to six, of a pale bluish-white colour, rarely marked with a few
reddish-brown spots.
THE MARSH HARRIER.
Sticks, reeds, and sedge are the materials used by this bird for
building its nest, which is situated on the ground, although instances
have been reported of it occurring in a tree. It is said to still breed
in Norfolk and the West of England. The eggs number three or four,
sometimes as many as six, it is said. They are greyish-white, slightly
tinged with light bluish-green, and occasionally marked with rusty
brown.
THE HOBBY.
This bird still breeds in very small numbers in the Midlands and in the
Eastern Counties. It selects the old nest of a Crow, Wood Pigeon, or
Magpie, and deposits its three or four eggs in it without any attempt
at nest-building. The eggs are yellowish-white in ground colour, but
this is almost entirely hidden by the thick marking of reddish-brown.
RICHARDSON'S SKUA.
The islands lying to the West and North of Scotland, also parts of the
far north of the mainland, are chosen by this Skua for its breeding
quarters. The nest is simply a slight hollow, sparingly lined with
a few bits of withered grass, and is situated on wild, unfrequented
moors and bog-land. The eggs number two, but upon occasion one only
is found, and sometimes as many as three. They vary from olive-green
to reddish-brown in ground colour, spotted and blotched with
blackish-brown and light grey. I have seen them harmonise so closely
with their surroundings that I had a great difficulty in finding them,
though I had marked the whereabouts of the nest within a few feet
through my binoculars.
THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.
Low rocky islands are the favourite breeding places of this Gull, and
they are now particularly numerous at the Farne Islands, where I have
seen the eggs lying about so thickly that the visitor had to exercise
great care to avoid treading upon them. Sometimes quite a large
quantity of seaweed is used in making the nest, at others a few bits of
grass and roots, and in some cases, where bare peat earth is available,
simply a hollow is scratched out. The eggs as a rule number three,
but sometimes only two are met with. I have seen it stated that the
bird occasionally lays four, but out of the hundreds of nests I have
examined I have never had the luck to see that number. In coloration
they vary from pale greyish-green to reddish-brown, blotched and
spotted with blackish- and greyish-brown. Sometimes the markings take
the form of streaks. The eggs, although as a rule darker than those of
the Herring Gull, are very difficult to distinguish, and I have found
no safe method short of watching the parent birds on the nest.
THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.
The flat-topped summits of rocks, stacks, and high maritime cliffs are
the usual situation for this Gull's nest; however, I have met with
it on comparatively low rocky islets in Highland sea-lochs. It does
not breed on the East Coast of England. Its nest is made of bits of
heather, dead grass, seaweed, and sometimes a few feathers, and varies
in size. The eggs number three, but sometimes only two are found,
greyish-brown or stone colour, tinged with olive and spotted with
blackish-brown and dark grey.
THE BLACK GROUSE.
This bird places its nest amongst deep heather, long grass, and
rushes, ferns, and brambles, in suitable moorland parts of England,
Wales, and Scotland. It is simply a hollow lined with a few bits of
fern, heath, or dead grass. The eggs number six to ten, or even more,
yellowish-white to buff, spotted with rich reddish-brown. I have
generally found it through putting the hen off her nest.
THE MARSH WARBLER.
A situation such as that afforded by a stunted bush overgrown with
weeds and close to water of some kind, chiefly in the southern
counties of England, is said to be chosen by the Marsh Warbler for its
nest. It employs grass-stems and leaves, moss and spiders' webs, in
the construction of its nest, with an inner lining of horsehair. The
eggs number from five to seven, and vary considerably in coloration.
One type is said to be greenish-white, spotted, blotched, and marbled
with olive-brown, and another greenish-blue, blotched and spotted with
olive-brown and grey underlying marks. It is a rare and local breeder
with us.
THE SNOW BUNTING.
The highest mountain-tops of Scotland and the Shetlands are patronised
by the Snow Bunting during the breeding season. It makes its nest of
withered grass, fine roots, and moss, and lines it with down, wool,
hair, or feathers, and situates it in crevices of rock or amongst
loose stones. The eggs number from four to eight, but five or six are
generally found, varying from dull white to very light greenish-blue
in ground colour, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown, and
occasionally streaked with blackish-brown. The markings are most
numerous at the larger end, and the underlying ones are of a light grey
and pale brown.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Hoopoe. 2. Red-necked Phalarope. 3. Crested Tit.
4. Common Tern. 5. Red-throated Diver. 6. Black-throated Diver.
7. Lesser Tern. 8. Montagu's Harrier. 9. Sedge Warbler.
]
THE SPOTTED CRAKE.
The eastern and southern counties of England are the favourite breeding
resorts of this somewhat uncommon bird. Its nest is large, and made
of reeds, sedges, rushes, and other materials growing in swamps, and
is placed on a tussock or amongst reeds, the base generally resting
in water. The eggs number eight to ten, and even twelve, and vary in
ground colour from white to buff, the intermediate stages including
olive and greenish-white. They are spotted with reddish-brown of
varying shades, and grey.
THE RED-THROATED DIVER.
I have seen this bird's nest in the Outer Hebrides, where it is fairly
common. It also breeds on the mainland of Scotland and in Ireland. The
nest is generally placed close to the edge of some mountain tarn or
loch, and is a mere depression trodden in the peat earth, sometimes
scantily lined with bits of dead bent or water-weeds. The eggs number
two, of a dark brownish-olive, frequently greenish, spotted with
blackish-brown, and underlying markings of a lighter character.
THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER.
The Black-throated Diver breeds in the Outer Hebrides and on the
mainland of Scotland. It places its nest, which is made of reeds and
aquatic weeds, lined with grass, on the shingle of mountain-loch
shores and small islands. The eggs number two, dark olive-brown, or
buffish-brown, spotted somewhat sparingly with blackish-brown and
umber-brown. The eggs need careful identification, else they are likely
to be confused with those of the Red-throated species.
INDEX
A
Auk, Little, 69
B
Bittern, 33
Blackbird, 29
Blackcap, 46
Black Redstart, 62
Blue Tit, 46
Brambling, 63
Bullfinch, 22
Bunting, Black-headed, 65
" Cirl, 60
" Common, 56
" Snow, 90
Buzzard, 60
C
Capercailzie, 35
Carrion Crow, 44
Chaffinch, 23
Chiffchaff, 51
Chough, 58
Cirl Bunting, 60
Cole Tit, 68
Coot, 55
Cormorant, 66
Crake, Spotted, 90
Creeper, 66
Crossbill, 32
Crow, Carrion, 44
" Hooded, 55
Cuckoo, 48
Curlew, Common, 55
" Stone, 75
D
Dartford Warbler, 61
Dipper, 52
Diver, Red-throated, 91
" Black-throated, 91
Dotterel, 69
Dove, Ring, 26
" Rock, 69
" Stock, 61
" Turtle, 66
Duck, Eider, 43
" Wild, 47
" Tufted, 75
" Pintail, 83
Dunlin, 36
E
Eagle, Golden, 43
" White-tailed, 42
Eider Duck, 43
F
Falcon, Gyr, 57
" Peregrine, 54
Fieldfare, 57
Fly-catcher, Pied, 36
" Spotted, 62
G
Gadwall, 75
Gannet, 67
Garden Warbler, 53
Garganey, 76
Golden-crested Wren, 27
Golden Eagle, 43
" Plover, 37
Goldfinch, 21
Goose, Grey Lag, 73
Goosander, 77
Goshawk, 73
Grasshopper Warbler, 43
Grebe, Little, 35
" Great Crested, 77
Greenfinch, 28
Greenshank, 80
Green Woodpecker, 30
Grey Wagtail, 64
Grouse, Red, 25
" Black, 89
Guillemot, Common, 68
" Black, 77
Gull, Black-headed, 50
" Common, 30
" Herring, 44
" Great Black-backed, 89
" Lesser Black-backed, 88
Gyr Falcon, 57
H
Harrier, Montagu's, 86
" Hen, 87
" Marsh, 87
Hawfinch, 61
Hawk, Kestrel, 25
" Merlin, 33
" Sparrow, 45
Hedge-Sparrow, 52
Heron, 49
Hobby, 87
Hooded Crow, 55
Hoopoe, 84
House Sparrow, 25
J
Jackdaw, 25
Jack Snipe, 57
Jay, 24
K
Kestrel, 25
Kingfisher, 30
Kite, 39
Kittiwake, 78
L
Landrail, 38
Lapwing, 31
Lark, Shore, 67
" Sky, 37
" Wood, 32
Lesser Whitethroat, 41
Linnet, 23
M
Magpie, 22
Marsh Tit, 69
Martin, House, 51
" Sand, 39
Meadow Pipit, 35
Merlin, 33
Merganser, Red-breasted, 79
Missel Thrush, 53
Moorhen, 31
N
Nightingale, 31
Nightjar, 33
Nuthatch, 29
O
Oriole, Golden, 85
Osprey, 85
Ouzel, Ring, 59
" Water, 52
Owl, Barn, 31
" Long-eared, 40
" Short-eared, 78
" Tawny, 43
Oyster-catcher, 68
P
Partridge, 46
" Red-legged, 70
Peregrine Falcon, 54
Petrel, Stormy, 34
" Fulmar, 76
" Leach's Fork-tailed, 84
Phalarope, Grey, 42
" Red-necked, 84
Pheasant, 48
Pied Fly-catcher, 36
" Wagtail, 48
Pintail Duck, 83
Pipit, Meadow, 35
" Rock, 65
" Tree, 36
Plover, Golden, 37
" Green, 31
" Kentish, 60
" Ringed, 82
Pochard, 62
Ptarmigan, 54
Puffin, 58
Q
Quail, 67
R
Rail, Land-, 38
" Water, 56
Raven, 23
Razor-bill, 71
Red-backed Shrike, 58
Red-legged Partridge, 70
Redpoll, 26
Red-shank, 39
Redstart, 28
" Black, 62
Redwing, 40
Ringdove, 26
Ring Ouzel, 59
Robin, 26
Rock Dove, 69
" Pipit, 65
Rook, 24
Ruff, 41
S
Sanderling, 70
Sand Martin, 39
Sandpiper, Common, 41
Scoter, 64
Seagull, Common, 30
Shag, 74
Shearwater, Manx, 83
Shieldrake, 40
Shore Lark, 67
Shoveller, 42
Shrike, Red-backed, 58
Siskin, 27
Skua, Common, 38
" Richardson's, 88
Skylark, 37
Smew, 65
Snipe, Common, 50
" Jack, 57
Sparrowhawk, 45
Sparrow, Hedge, 52
" House, 25
" Tree, 63
Spoonbill, 54
Spotted Fly-catcher, 62
Starling, 22
Stint, Little, 39
Stock Dove, 61
Stone-chat, 34
Storm Petrel, 34
Swallow, 44
Swan, Mute, 74
Swift, 50
T
Teal, 29
Tern, Sandwich, 71
Tern, Arctic, 72
" Common, 72
" Lesser, 72
" Roseate, 82
Thrush, Common, 28
" Missel, 53
Tit, Blue, 46
" Bearded, 82
" Cole, 68
" Great, 29
" Long-tailed, 70
" March, 69
" Crested, 74
Tree Pipit, 36
" Sparrow, 63
Turtle Dove, 66
Twite, 87
W
Wagtail, Grey, 64
" Pied, 48
" Yellow, 73
Warbler, Dartford, 61
" White, 85
" Blue-headed, 86
" Garden, 53
" Grasshopper, 43
" Marsh, 89
" Reed, 80
" Sedge, 79
Water Ouzel, 52
" Rail, 56
Wheat-ear, 34
Whimbrel, 80
Whinchat, 64
White-tailed Eagle, 42
Whitethroat, 27
" Lesser, 41
Wigeon, 38
Wild Duck, 47
Woodcock, 49
Woodlark, 32
Woodpecker, Green, 30
" Great Spotted, 65
" Lesser Spotted, 78
Wood Warbler, 81
Wren, Common, 24
" Golden-crested, 27
" Willow, 79
Wryneck, 27
Y
Yellow-hammer, 56
Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.C.
10.113
* * * * *
Transcriber Notes
Obvious spelling and punctuation errors repaired. All split paragraphs
were rejoined. Hyphenation was standardized using the most common form.