Spotted Cuckoo, inhabiting chiefly the northern and western coasts of
Africa, and only now and then paying a short visit to these northern
climes; the Yellow-billed, or American Cuckoo, or Cowcow, as some call
it, which is a more frequent, although still a rare visitant, and the
Common Grey species, termed _Cuculus canorus_, that is, the Musical
Cuckoo, with whose curious cry--_cuck-oooo_, most of our readers must
be familiar. It may not be generally thought that there is much music
in this _monotonous_, that is, single-toned call, but we are assured by
a competent authority, that this is the only feathered performer who
sings in strict accordance with musical numbers, its notes being the
fifth and third of the diatonic scale. But be that as it may, the cry
of the Cuckoo is extremely pleasant to most ears, when first heard,
soon after the bird arrives in this country, which is sometimes about
the middle of April, "in April, come he will," says the old proverb; we
know that the fresh floral season of sunshine and country delights, has
fairly set in, and all through the summer, to the time of his
departure, in August or September, we love to listen to the far-away,
dreamy kind of call, for it seems like an invitation to 'follow,
follow,' some invisible leader, through greenwoods and flowery dingles,
and into scenes of quietude and peace; then, too, there is a kind of
mystery about it which excites the curiosity, for who ever sees the
utterer of these dreamy sounds. We are inclined to say with
Wordsworth,--
"Oh, Cuckoo, shall I call thee bird,
Or but a wandering voice."
And indeed the Cuckoo is a flying and feathered marvel altogether; we
should fill this book were we to repeat all the strange tales that have
been told about it, and by grave authorities too, from Aristotle of
ancient Greece, to Dr. Jenner, and the rest of modern England. Amid all
the disputations that have arisen upon the points of this bird's
natural history, we can only clearly gather that it is a summer
migrant, coming and going at the times just mentioned; that while with
us it is to be found in all wooded and sheltered parts of the island,
frequenting most parks and pasture-grounds, groves and thickets, it is
more likely to be seen at early morning and evening, than during the
broad daylight, and its cry has been heard at all hours of the night,
proving it to be somewhat nocturnal in its habits,--_nox_, you know is
the Latin for night, and from thence comes this word.
The Cuckoo lives almost entirely upon insects, devouring great numbers
of hairy caterpillars. It makes no nest of its own, but lays a single
egg in that of some other bird, or conveys it thither in its bill. Its
eggs are small for the size of the bird, in colour white, with a
greyish, or it may be a reddish tinge, with cinereous (that is, ashy)
or grey brown speckles. How many of these the bird lays no one can
tell, but it has the judgment, or compassion, or whatever it may be, to
give the Pipit, Hedge Sparrow, Wagtail, or other small bird so
favoured, the task of rearing but one of its young, which soon grows to
be quite a monster in the eyes of its foster parent, and sometimes,
says the old Greek, Aristotle, eats her up; but this is just a physical
impossibility, and a most vile slander. Whether the intruder, as Dr.
Jenner says, _shovels_ up with its broad back its fellow fledglings, to
whom the nest rightfully belongs, and pitches them over the edge to die
miserably of cold and starvation, while he gets the whole of the food
brought by the provident mother, we cannot say, but may hope, for the
credit of bird nature, that this too may be a mistake, if not a fable.
The Cuckoo is an elegantly-formed and agreeably-coloured bird, the
prevailing tints of its plumage being a greenish grey, fading off into
white, which is barred and mottled with silky brown; the large tail is
spotted and edged with white. The male resembles the female; the young
at first have bars of light red and olive brown about the upper parts.
KINGFISHER.
COMMON KING, OR KINGFISHER. GLAS Y DORIAN OF THE ANCIENT BRITISH.
FIGURE 15.
The Kingfishers belong to the order called _Jaculatrices_, or Darters,
and to the family _AlcedinÊ_; so they are _Alcedine_ birds. These terms
are not very easy of explanation. _Alcedo hispida_ is the name of the
Common Kingfisher. The second term may mean either rough, or hairy, or
wet, all of which are quite applicable to this bird, which must be
familiar to many of our readers; for although by no means common in any
part of Britain, and very rare in the north, it is yet to be found, all
the year through, in most parts of the country where there are streams
of water, and river banks, and moist meadows suited to its habits,
which are solitary. It generally nestles in holes in the declivities
near to its favourite hunting ground--the clear stream, fringed with
reeds and bulrushes, which glides away over pebbles that shine like
gold and silver, and weeds as green as emeralds, or red as rubies, amid
which dart the minnows and other small fish, on which, together with
aquatic insects, the gorgeously-painted fisher feeds. You may see him
in some quiet out-of-the-way place, beneath the shade of the grey
alders, sitting motionless as a statue upon a branch of an old thorn,
that projects over the stream. It may be that a ray of sunshine finds
its way between the shivering branches, and out flash the glorious
tints of its plumage--red, and green, and blue, and all changeable
colours. Truly he is the monarch of fishing birds, and rightly named
_King_fisher! Not handsome in form, certainly not elegant, nor well
proportioned--with his short squat body and stump of a tail, thick
neck, large head, and immense bill, little feet, that seem meant for a
Sparrow, and eyes which, although bright and sharp enough, are much too
small for the head. But he is a swift flier, for all that he looks so
awkward; and see! quick as light he darts down upon that heedless fish
that has come too near the surface, swallows it at a gulp, and is ready
for another dart before you can look round you.
The eggs of our Common Kingfisher are what is termed broadly ovate in
shape, that is, they are nearly round, not tapering out much, as some
eggs do; they are simply white and semi (that is half) transparent. The
number is generally six or seven. They are laid some time in May, in a
hole, often that of the water-rat, sometimes on the bare earth, but
more frequently on a layer of small fish bones; now and then on a
little dried grass. The note of the bird is sharp, shrill, and piping,
like that of the Sandpipers, but is not often uttered.
SWALLOW.
RED-FRONTED, COMMON, OR CHIMNEY SWALLOW.
FIGURE 16.
The _Hirundine_ Birds, or Swallows, form a very distinct group; they
have slender bodies, and large, powerful wings, which enable them to
fly with great velocity, skimming over the moist meadows, where their
insect food most abounds, and wheeling and circling about trees and
buildings in a swift and easy manner, which appears to be the very
perfection of motion. They are all migratory birds, coming to us from
Africa and the south of Europe to breed, and returning to those warm
climates to pass the winter.
The Common Swallow, called by naturalists _Hirundo rustica_, the first
word signifying a Swallow, and the second, of, or belonging to the
country, generally arrives in Britain in the latter half of the month
of April, or the beginning of May, some time in which month the nest is
commenced; it is of a broad cup-like shape, and is formed of moist
earth, collected bit by bit from the side of a pond or stream, and
moulded together with straw and grass: there is a lining of feathers,
or some other soft materials. The situations chosen are sheltered spots
beneath eaves or projecting roofs of any kind, shafts of mines, holes
in the sides of pits and quarries, old wells and out-buildings, bell
turrets, the under sides of spouts and bridge arches; most usually the
spot selected is near human habitations. Who is not awakened in the
bright summer mornings by the twittering of the young birds near his
bed-room window? These birds have frequently been known to build in
empty unused rooms, to which access could be gained through a broken
pane of glass; they are said to nestle near chimneys for the sake of
the warmth, being apparently not at all annoyed by the smoke which
issues thence.
The eggs of the Swallow are usually from four to six in number; they
are white, thickly speckled over with ash-coloured, dark red, or brown
spots. Morris says that two broods are frequently hatched in the year,
the first of which flies in June, and the second in August. It is most
interesting to see the parent birds tempting them on from one resting
point to another, and so teaching them to use their wings, feeding them
in a most dexterous manner while on the wing; it is said that these
careful parents, ere the young can provide for themselves, bring them
food about once in every three minutes throughout the day. The male
Swallow is a handsome bird; the wings, long forked tail, head, neck,
and upper part of the breast, being brownish black, with a steely blue
reflection, which is only seen in certain lights. The forehead and
throat are chestnut, and there is a tinge of the same on the delicate
white under parts of the body. Undoubtedly a handsome bird, and one of
the most familiar of our feathered friends while it remains with us,
which is until the autumn is fairly set in. You may know when the
Swallows are about to leave, by their frequent consultations on the
roofs, and by the more frequent utterance of their low, and not
unmelodious warble, which is very different from the short, sharp cry,
consisting of two notes, which they utter occasionally when hawking, as
it is called, after insects.
Previous to their departure they may be frequently observed wheeling in
rapid circles in the air, as if trying their wings, and drilling for
their long, and no doubt orderly flight. We might quote plenty of
poetry on this bird, for its beauty, grace of motion, and familiarity
with man, have made it ever a general favourite, but for want of
sufficient space we shall not be able to make use of any. In some
allusion is made to a notion once entertained even by scientific
naturalists, that the Swallows did not actually leave this country in
the cold season, but _hybernated_, as it is called, from the Latin
_hyems_--winter; that is, wintered here, passing the time in a state of
torpor, or sleep, somewhere out of sight, as the dormouse and some
other animals do. But it is now certainly known that this is a false
impression; a few young or sickly birds, unable to endure so long a
journey, may be, and no doubt are, left behind; these constitute but an
exception to the rule of annual migration.
MARTIN.
WHITE-RUMPED, WINDOW, HOUSE, OR MARTIN SWALLOW. MARTINET. HOUSE OR
WINDOW MARTIN. MARTLETT.
FIGURE 17.
This is the _Hirundo urbica_ of naturalists, the latter term coming
from the Latin _urbs_--a city. Its plumage is of a more decided purple
tint than the Common Swallow, from which it is also distinguished by
the absence of chestnut brown on the forehead, throat, and under parts,
which in this species are pure white. In its habits the Martin closely
resembles its congeners, than which it is, perhaps, even more a house
and city bird; hence its specific name. It reaches our island generally
a few days later than the Swallow, and departs at about the same time.
The eggs of this bird are four or five in number, of a longish oval
shape, smooth, and perfectly white. The nest, which is composed of mud,
so cemented and tempered that it will adhere even to glass, is lined
with hay or feathers. Gilbert White, in his "Natural History of
Selborne,"--a delightful book which all young naturalists should read,
says that there are generally young birds in the nest up to Michaelmas,
there being two broods, and sometimes even three, in the year; the
first brood are generally ready to fly by the latter end of May, and
the second early in August: the period of incubation is thirteen days.
SWIFT.
COMMON, OR BLACK SWIFT. BLACK, OR SCREECH MARTIN. SWIFT-SWALLOW.
DEVELING. SCREECH. SCREAMER. SQUEALER. CRAN. MARTIN DU, OF THE ANCIENT
BRITISH.
FIGURE 18.
Like the rest of our Swallows, this is a migratory bird, and it remains
with us a shorter time than most of the others, generally arriving in
May, and departing in August. Its scientific name is _Hirundo apus_,
meaning a Swallow without a foot, derived no doubt from the small size
of the feet, and the little use it seems to make of them, being almost
constantly in the air, where its evolutions are peculiarly rapid and
graceful, even for one of its family. The rapidity with which it skims
and dashes along, wheeling and turning in the most sudden manner, is
truly marvellous; so great is the force of its forward impetus, that it
has been known to kill itself by dashing against a wall; it has been
estimated that Wild Ducks fly ninety miles an hour, and Swallows rather
more, but the Swift above two hundred miles an hour; this may possibly
be an exaggeration, but if we make a large allowance, say one half, the
rate of progress is something astounding.
The note of the Swift is a harsh scream, hence several of the common
names by which it is known; it is generally uttered while pursuing its
insect prey on the wing, and may be considered as an exclamation of
triumph or delight, as much as to say,--"Ha, ha, I have caught you!"
The Swift resorts much to ruinous castles, steeples, towers, and
precipitous rocks, for the purpose of building; sometimes it nestles
under the eaves of cottages and barns, or in holes in walls, and hollow
trees, etc. The nest is rudely formed of sticks and straws stuck
together with mud; the materials are picked up with great dexterity
while the bird is on the wing, and, sometimes, it is said, the Sparrow
or other small bird is robbed of its goods and chattels by the impudent
stranger, which snatches them up, and is gone like a flash of
lightning.
The eggs are white, of a longish oval shape, and seldom more than two
or three in number.
This bird, like the rest of the Swallows, is pretty widely diffused
over the country during the time it remains here; it has a near
relative called the White-bellied or Alpine Swift, which is common in
the south of Europe, but which seldom comes so far north as this. There
are also belonging to this family of _gliders_, as they are sometimes
called, the Purple and Sand Martins, which are placed among British
Birds; the former is common in America, but rare with us, the latter,
the smallest of the family, are not unfrequently found in Britain.
The whole plumage of the Common Swift, with the exception of a greyish
white patch under the chin, is blackish brown, with a bronzy green
tinge, which greatly relieves its otherwise dull appearance.
NIGHTJAR.
GOATSUCKER. EUROPEAN OR NOCTURNAL GOATSUCKER. DOR, OR NIGHT-HAWK. FERN,
CHURN, OR JAR-OWL. NIGHT-JAR, OR NIGHT-CHAR. WHEELBIRD. PUCKERIDGE.
RHODWR AND ADERYN V DROELL, OF THE ANCIENT BRITISH.
FIGURE 19.
To the above long list of names, we might add two or three others by
which different naturalists distinguish this remarkable bird, but the
most common of its scientific designations will be sufficient; this is
_Caprimulgus Europúus_, the first name being derived from the Latin
_caper_--a goat, and _mulgio_--to milk; it having been at one time
supposed that the poor innocent bird was in the habit of sucking the
teats of the goats to obtain the milk; and there are, we believe, some
ignorant persons in out-of-the-way country-places, who still give
credence to this absurd notion, and even fancy that the udders of the
cows, as they lie asleep, are drained by the feathered depredator, as
they consider the Churn Owl to be. From this supposed habit of the
bird, and the whirring or jarring noise which it makes when flying, are
derived most of the names given above.
The Goatsucker flies chiefly by night, and is oftener heard than seen;
_whirr, whirr, whirr_ it goes, like a spinning-wheel, and the sound is
interrupted every now and then by a shrill whistle or scream, or a
softer cry, _dec, dec_, which it generally utters when getting on the
wing. White, of Selborne, says, that when a person approaches the haunt
of the Fern Owls in an evening, they continue flying round the head of
the intruder, and by striking their wings together across their backs,
in the manner that the pigeons called Smiters are known to do, make a
smart snap. He thinks it likely that this is done by way of menace, to
scare those who are approaching their young. This author also observes,
that the powers of flight of this bird are truly wonderful, exceeding,
if possible, in graceful ease and celerity, even those of the Swallow,
than which it is a much larger bird.
Its plumage is remarkably soft and downy, like that of the Owl, and is
prettily marked and mottled, the colours being brown, yellow, and grey
of various shades. The eye is large and hawk-like, the bill small, the
mouth capable of great distension, and fringed with small feathers,
which have a very curious appearance.
The Goatsucker is pretty common throughout the whole of England, but
more so in the south than the north; it is a migratory bird, arriving
towards the middle or end of May and departing in September. It chiefly
inhabits woods, moors, heaths, and commons, especially where fern and
brushwood abound. Its food consists chiefly of moths, beetles, and such
insects as are most frequently met with on the wing in the morning and
evening twilight.
The nest consists of a few dead leaves huddled together in some hollow
in the ground, among the heath, long grass, or fern; it is frequently
found at the foot of a furze or other bush. The eggs, two or three in
number, are of a perfect oval shape, beautifully clouded and streaked
with grey and light brown on a white ground; they are laid in the
beginning of July, in about the middle of which month the young are
generally hatched.
RING DOVE.
RINGED DOVE, OR CUSHAT. QUEEST, OR CUSHIE. WOOD PIGEON.
FIGURE 20.
Of the _Columbine_ birds, or Doves, we have in this country four
distinct species, three of which are permanent residents, and one a
summer migrant. There is also a member of the family, although classed
in a different genus, of which a few specimens have been taken in this
country, namely, the Passenger Pigeon of North America. All these are
extremely beautiful birds, and general favourites on that account, as
well as for their pleasing habits and manners, which have mainly
contributed to make the name of the Dove synonymous with all that is
gentle, and peaceable, and loveable. It was a Dove, we may remember,
which first gave to Noah assurance that the waters had subsided from
the earth, by returning to the ark with an olive leaf in its beak,
since which, both bird and plant have ever been emblematical of peace;
and it is under the mystic semblance of a Dove, that we find the Holy
Spirit personated in Scripture.
The particular species above named is termed by most naturalists
_Columba palumbus_, the first term meaning a Dove or Pigeon, and the
second a "Wood Pigeon," which, in this country, is its most common
appellation, although it is also frequently called the Ring Dove, or
Cushat. This truly elegant bird occurs throughout the whole of Great
Britain and Ireland, frequenting most the cultivated and wooded
districts, where it does a good deal of mischief by feeding upon the
wheat, peas, barley, and other agricultural produce; it also partakes
freely of beech-mast and acorns; it is _graminivorous_, that is,
feeding on grass; as well as _granivorous_--feeding on grain. Its
favourite resting-place is amid the thick branches of tall trees,
especially beech, ash, and pine, in which most frequently its nest will
be found; just a few twigs, loosely put together in a circular form; it
is generally from sixteen to twenty feet from the ground.
The eggs are two in number, of a pure white colour, and of a roundish
form. Three broods are sometimes produced in a season, the first of
which is generally abroad by the beginning of May, and the second about
the end of July. The period of incubation is sixteen or seventeen days.
All must be familiar with the soft _coo coo_ of this shy bird; heard in
the summer woodlands, it falls on the ear with a particularly soothing
effect. In the winter it congregates in large flocks, the number of the
permanent residents being then much increased by fresh arrivals from
the continent; and very beautiful they look, flying about amid the
snow, in their greyish blue plumage, ornamented with black and white,
green and purple, and suffused on the breast with a reddish flush, as
though the light of the setting sun were shining on them.
STOCK DOVE.
BLUE-BACKED OR WOOD DOVE.
FIGURE 21.
_Columba Ênas_ is the scientific name of this species. The first term,
as you are aware, means simply a Dove, the etymology of the second is
not so clear, most likely it comes from _oinos_--relating to wine, and
alludes to the ruddy or vinous tinge of the breast. This is a somewhat
stouter bird in the body than the last, and it wants the white patches
which so vary and enliven the plumage of the Ring Dove, than which it
is less elegant, although perhaps its plumage is more rich and
splendid, with that shifting play of golden green and violet which all
the Doves, and some other of the feathered tribes present. But for
this, the plumage of our Stock Dove, (so called, it is said, because it
is the original stock from which our common domestic Pigeons are
derived,) would be considered plain and dull; it is chiefly greyish
blue, deepening at parts into purple, and flushed here and there with
deep red; the legs of this, as of most Doves and Pigeons, are light
red, and the bill light brown or yellowish.
"The Stock Dove builds in the old oak wood,"
says Mary Howitt, in her beautiful song of the Pheasant, and so no
doubt it often does; but more frequently, perhaps, in the fir
plantation, or among the beeches, or any other trees that present a
suitable nesting-place; a hole in the trunk is frequently chosen, it
may be only four or five, or as many as forty or fifty feet from the
ground. Sometimes the flat and shallow nest, just a few sticks loosely
put together, is placed on the ground itself, in a deserted
rabbit-burrow, or some other hollow place; beneath furze bushes it is
occasionally found, and even in hedges and fruit trees near to woods
and coppices.
Nidification commences about the end of March or beginning of April;
incubation lasts about seventeen days, and in a month from the time of
hatching the young are ready to fly. There are two or three broods in
the year. The eggs are white, somewhat smaller than those of the Ring
Dove, and more pointed at the smaller end. The parent birds sit very
close, and will even allow themselves to be taken off by the hand; they
evince great attachment for their young, as well for each other, and
although several pairs may build within a very limited space, they do
not appear to quarrel; indeed gentleness and tenderness is the main
characteristic of all their motions, as well as of their soft notes,
the old familiar _coo, coo, coo_. In winter they consort with the Ring
Doves, but are not perhaps so numerous in this country as these birds.
They migrate from place to place, and feed on hemp, rape, and other
seeds, young shoots of plants, berries, beech-mast, acorns, and grain.
ROCK DOVE.
WHITE-BACKED DOVE. WILD, OR ROCK PIGEON.
FIGURE 22.
Scientific name _Columba livia_; the latter name probably from
_livida_--livid, blue, or lead-coloured. It is held by some that this
species, and not the Stock Dove, has the best claim to be considered
the original of the Common Pigeon; others have confounded the species,
although there appears to be a very clear mark of distinction in the
white patch over the tail, which is never absent, the broad black band
across the grey wings, and the more deep and distinct marking of the
plumage altogether. Besides, the habits of this bird differ
considerably from those of either of the other species.
It is, as its name implies, a haunter of rocks, in the crevices and
caverns of which it generally builds its rude nest of twigs, and grass,
and stalks of plants. It is a social bird, building in companies; the
first eggs, two in number, and white, are generally laid about the
middle of April, and the last towards the latter end of August; the
young are fledged in about three weeks, and after that, a few days'
training by their parents, enables them to fly and obtain their own
livelihood. They feed like their congeners, and are great grain-eaters,
only at times varying this kind of food with a few snails. Like all the
Doves they are swift flyers.
TURTLE DOVE.
RING-NECKED TURTLE.
FIGURE 23.