showing no marked predilection for upland or lowland, heath or marsh.
It is very frequently seen near the sea-coast, to which in winter it
habitually resorts, finding there, no doubt, greater facilities for
obtaining food. Like others of its tribe, it possesses little
architectural skill, placing its nest in a hole in a cliff, in ruins,
or on lofty trees, often appropriating the deserted dwelling of some
more industrious builder than itself. On the Continent it resorts to
buildings in towns and cities, as, for instance, the Louvre in Paris,
and the towers of cathedrals. During summer it hawks principally in
the gardens and orchards near the town, and when harvest is gathered
in, repairs to the corn-fields to hunt for mice among the stubble.
When taken young from the nest, it is easily tamed, and becomes one of
the most amusing of pets. Even after being fully fledged and allowed
its liberty, it will remain in the neighbourhood of the place where it
was reared, coming regularly to be fed, and recognizing the presence
of its master by repeating its wild note, _klee_, _klee_, _klee_, and
flying to meet him. An anecdote is recorded in the _Zoologist_ of a
male Kestrel having, in the second year of his domestication, induced
a female bird to join him in his half-civilized life, and to assist
him in rearing a joint family. 'Billy' still continued to make himself
quite at home at the house where he was brought up, coming fearlessly
into the nursery and making friends with the children; but his mate
never threw off her wild nature so far as to do this, contenting
herself with waiting outside, and asserting her right to her fair
share of whatever food he brought out. Tame Kestrels have been
observed to have the habit of hiding their food when supplied with
more than they can consume at the time. I have often noticed, too, in
the case of tame Kestrels, that the Chaffinches and other small birds
which frequent gardens show no instinctive dread of them, as if they
were their natural enemies, but perch on the same tree with them,
fearless and unnoticed.
The Kestrel was formerly trained to hunt small birds, and in the court
of Louis XIII was taught to hawk for Bats.
ORDER STEGANOPODES
FAMILY PELECANIDÆ
Feet entirely webbed, or all four toes connected by webs.
THE COMMON CORMORANT
PHALACRÓCORAX CARBO
Tail of fourteen feathers. _Winter_--head, neck, and all the
under parts, black, with green reflections; close to the base
of the bill a broad white gorget; on the neck a few faint
whitish lines; feathers of the back and wings bronze-colour
bordered with black; primaries and tail black; beak dusky;
orbits greenish yellow; irides green; feet black.
_Summer_--feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest; on
the head and neck numerous long silky white feathers; on the
thighs a patch of pure white. _Young birds_ brown and grey, the
gorget greyish white. Length three feet. Eggs greenish white,
chalky.
Phalacrocorax, the modern systematic name of the genus Cormorant, is
given by Willughby as a synonym of the Coot, and with much propriety,
for translated into English it means 'Bald Crow'. Applied to the
Cormorant, it must be considered as descriptive of the semblance of
baldness produced by the white feathers of the head during the
breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby describes under the name of
_Corvus aquaticus_, or Water Raven. The English name,'Corvorant', is
clearly _Corvus vorans_, a voracious Raven; and 'Cormorant' perhaps a
corruption of _Corvus marinus_, Sea Raven.
Sea-side visitors are pretty sure of seeing more than one specimen of
this bird, if they care to look for them, for the Cormorant frequents
all parts of the coast as well as lakes and rivers, and does not leave
us at any period of the year. Often we may see two or three of these
birds flying along together at a slight distance above the surface of
the sea, distinguished by their black hue, long outstretched neck, and
rapid waving of the wings. They fly swiftly in a straight line, and
seem to be kept from dipping into the water by making ahead at full
speed. There is no buoyancy in their flight, no floating in the air,
or soaring; their sole motive for using their narrow but muscular
wings is clearly that they may repair to or from some favourite spot
with greater speed than they can attain by swimming or diving.
Occasionally, while engaged in a boating expedition, we may encounter
a party of three or four occupied in fishing. They are shy, and will
not allow a near approach, but even at a distance they may be
distinguished by their large size, sooty hue, long necks, and hooked
beaks. They sit low in the water, often dipping their heads below the
surface, and in this posture advancing, in order that their search for
food may not be impeded by the ripple of the water. A sheltered bay in
which shoals of small fish abound is a choice resort, and here they
make no long continuous stay in the swimming attitude, but suddenly
and frequently dive, remaining below a longer or shorter time,
according to the depth which they have to descend in order to secure
their prey, but when successful, occupying but a very brief space of
time in swallowing it. Not unfrequently they may be discerned from the
shore similarly occupied, floating or diving in the midst of the very
breakers. Sometimes, but rarely, one settles on a rail or stump of a
tree close to the water in a tidal river. The capture of fish is still
its object, and it is quite as expert in securing its prey from such a
station as when roving at large on the open sea.
All along our coast there is at various intervals a rock popularly
distinguished in the neighbourhood by the name of 'Shag rock'. Such a
rock is generally low, isolated, and situated at a safe distance from
land; or, if near the shore, is close to the base of a steep cliff.
Hither the Cormorants, when their hunger is appeased, repair for the
threefold purpose of resting, digesting their food, and drying their
wings. The process of digestion is soon completed, but the time
consumed in drying their thoroughly drenched wings depends on the
amount of sunshine and air moving. Of these, whatever they may be,
they know how to avail themselves to perfection. They station
themselves on the highest ridge of the rock, wide apart, and in a row,
so as not to screen one another, raise their bodies to their full
height, and spread their wings to their utmost extent. No laundress is
more cunning in the exercise of her vocation. Indeed, they can hardly
fail to recall the idea of so many pairs of black trousers hung out to
be aired.
Cormorants do not confine their fishing expeditions to the sea, but
frequently ascend tidal rivers, and follow the course of streams which
communicate with fish-ponds and lakes, where they commit great havoc;
for the quantity of fish which they devour at a meal is very great.
Pliny has observed that the Cormorant sometimes perches on trees; and
the truth of this remark has been confirmed by many subsequent
writers. They have been even known to build their nest in a tree, but
this is a rare occurrence.[29] They generally select exposed rocks,
where they collect a large quantity of sticks and rubbish, and lay
three or four eggs in a depression on the summit.
Most people are familiar with a representation of a fishery with the
help of Cormorants conducted by the Chinese; but it is not so
generally known that a similar method once was practised in England.
Willughby quoting Faber's _Annotations on the Animals of Recchus_,
says: 'It is the custom in England to train Cormorants to catch fish.
While conveying the birds to the fishing-ground the fishermen keep the
heads and eyes of the birds covered to prevent them from being
alarmed. When they have reached the rivers, they take off the hoods,
and having first tied a leather strap loosely round the lower part of
the neck, that the birds may be unable to swallow down what fishes
they catch, throw them into the water. They immediately set to work
and pursue the fish beneath them with marvellous rapidity. When they
have caught one they rise to the surface, and, having first pinched it
with their beaks, swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew
the chase until they have caught from five to six each. On being
called to return to their masters' fist, they obey with alacrity, and
bring up, one by one, the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther
than that they are slightly crushed. The fishing being brought to an
end, the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the
strap is untied, and a few of the captured fish, thrown to them as
their share of the booty, are dexterously caught before they touch the
ground.'
[29] A pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens in
Regent's Park in 1882.
[Illustration:
Shag [M] Brent Goose [F]
Bernacle Goose [F] Cormorant [M]
[_face p. 166._]]
[Illustration:
Gannet [F]
Whooper Swan
Bewick's Swan [M]]
THE SHAG
PHALACRÓCORAX GRÁCULUS
Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In _winter_, general
plumage deep greenish black; feathers of the back glossy with
black borders; orbits and pouch greenish yellow; bill dusky;
irides green; feet black. In _summer_, head crested. _Young
birds_ greenish brown above; light grey below. Length
twenty-eight inches. Eggs greenish blue, chalky.
Except in the smaller size and differences of plumage mentioned above,
there is little to distinguish the Shag from the Cormorant. Both, too,
are of common occurrence, and frequent the same localities; except
that the Shag is more disposed to be gregarious: it does not, however,
commonly resort to tidal rivers, and is still more rarely found on
inland lakes; its food and method of obtaining it are precisely
similar, so that a description of one bird will suit the other almost
equally well. The Shag is called sometimes the Green Cormorant, from
the tint of its plumage; but this name is not in common use. Another
of its names is the Crested Cormorant; but this is vague, inasmuch as
both species are crested in spring. In Scotland a common name for it
is Scart, applied also to the Great Cormorant.
THE GANNET
SULA BASSANA
Crown buff-yellow; general plumage milk-white; quills black;
bill bluish grey at the base, white at the tip; orbits pale
blue; membrane prolonged from the gape and that under the
throat dusky blue; irides yellow; feet striped with green, the
membranes dusky; claws white. _Birds of the first year_,
general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the _second
year_, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular
white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull
greenish white.
It would not be difficult to compile, from various sources, a
description of the Gannet and its habits which would fill more pages
than my readers, perhaps, would care to peruse. To avoid this
contingency, I will limit myself to a statement of my own personal
acquaintance with the bird and its ways, and a transcript of notes
kindly furnished me by a friend who visited the Bass Rock, one of its
favourite haunts in the breeding season.
_Extract from my own Journal._--'August 27th. I lay for a long time
to-day on the thick herbage which crowns the splendid cliffs, "the
Gobbins", near the entrance of Belfast Lough, watching through a
telescope the proceedings of some Gannets, or Solan Geese. This bird,
which is allied to the Pelicans rather than the Geese, is of a large
size, much bigger than a Gull, from which, also, it may be
distinguished at a distance by its greater length of neck, the intense
whiteness of its plumage, and the black tip of its wide-spreading
wings. But apart from all these distinguishing characters, its mode of
fishing is, by itself, sufficient to mark it. In flight it is
eminently wandering; it circles round and round, or describes a figure
of eight, at a varying elevation above the water, in quest of
herrings, pilchards, or other fish whose habit is to swim near the
surface. When it has discovered a prey, it suddenly arrests its
flight, partially closes its wings, and descends head foremost with a
force sufficient to make a _jet d'eau_ visible two or three miles off,
and to carry itself many feet downwards. When successful, it brings
its prize to the surface, and devours it without troubling itself
about mastication. If unsuccessful, it rises immediately, and resumes
its hunting. It is sometimes seen swimming, perhaps to rest itself,
for I did not observe that it ever dived on these occasions. My
companion told me that the fishermen on the coast of Ireland say that,
if chased by a boat when seen swimming, it becomes so terrified as to
be unable to rise. The real reason may be that it is gorged with food.
He was once in a boat on the Lough, when, a Gannet being seen a long
way ahead, it was determined to give chase, and ascertain whether the
statement was correct. As the boat drew near, the Gannet endeavoured
to escape by swimming; but made no attempt either to dive or to use
its wings. After a pretty long chase, the bowman secured it in spite
of a very severe bite which it inflicted on his hand, and carried it
home in triumph. It did not appear to have received any injury, and
when released, in the evening of the same day, swam out to sea with
great composure. A fisherman in Islay told me that in some parts of
Scotland a singular method of catching Gannets is adopted. A herring
is fastened to a board and sunk a few feet deep in the sea. The sharp
eye of the Gannet detects the fish, and the bird, first raising itself
to an elevation which experience or instinct has taught it to be
sufficient to carry it down to the requisite depth, pounces on the
fish, and in the effort penetrates the board to which the fish is
attached. Being thus held fast by the beak, and unable to extricate
itself, it is drowned. Gannets are frequently caught in the
herring-nets, at various depths below the surface. Diving after the
fish, they become entangled in the nets, and are thus captured in a
trap not intended for them. They perform good service to fishermen, by
indicating at a great distance the exact position of the shoals of
fish.'
Gannets breed in great numbers on several parts of our rocky coast;
from the extreme north to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. The two
most important stations are St. Kilda and the Bass Rock, in the Firth
of Forth. On this rock stand the ruins of the once formidable
stronghold of the Douglas family, the Castle of Tantallan. In
circumference the island is about a mile; on the northern side it
rises to an elevation of eight hundred feet, whilst towards the south
it shelves almost down to the sea. The isolated position of this rock,
and the difficulty of landing on it, have rendered it a fit retreat
for sea-fowl of various kinds; and as the proprietor 'preserves' them,
they flourish without sensible diminution. The discharge of a gun
causes the whole of the colony to take wing; and as they rise into the
air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by the mazy intercrossings of
white wings, the ear bewildered by the discord of confused screamings.
A visit paid at sunrise, when flocks of various kinds are wheeling
about in all directions, will more than reward the early riser for his
activity, for Scotland scarcely offers a more interesting sight. Of
all the numerous birds which frequent the rock, the Solan Goose is the
most abundant and most profitable, as almost the only revenue of the
island accrues from the sale of these birds to the country people of
the mainland, and at the Edinburgh market, where they have fetched,
for the last century and a half, the unvarying price of two shillings
and fourpence a head. The size of the Gannet is somewhat larger than
that of the domestic Goose.
'The only parts of the island where they can be approached are on the
south and west sides. They sit lazily and stupidly on and about their
nests, which are composed of a mass of weeds and grass, and will
suffer themselves to be stroked, patted, or knocked on the head, as
the case may be, with a most philosophical gravity. They are
frequently shot; but as they then generally fall into the sea, a boat
has to be on the alert, or they are soon washed away. The plan of
lowering a man by means of a rope held by the others, is also adopted;
but this is most dangerous. The Frigate Pelican [The Skua?] often
chases a successful Gannet till the terrified bird disgorges its prey,
which the pursuer seizes before it reaches the water.'
'A Solan Goose to most people would not afford a delicious meal, being
a rank, coarse, fishy dish; but many of the poorer classes eat them
with a relish--nay, as a delicacy--and during the winter would fare
ill had they not these birds for food.'
The Gannet lays but one egg; and the young bird is nourished on
semi-liquid food disgorged by the parent. On its first exclusion from
the egg its skin is naked, and of a bluish black hue, but is soon
covered with a white down. Through this the true feathers appear,
which are black, the adult plumage being pure white.
For an interesting account of the capture of these birds at St. Kilda,
the reader is referred to Professor James Wilson's _Voyage round the
Coast of Scotland_. From a calculation once made of the number of
Gannets consumed by each family in a year, on this island, it appeared
that the total secured, not taking into account a large number which
could not be reached for various reasons, was 22,600: and this number
was considered to be below the average, the season being a bad one.
ORDER HERODIONES
FAMILY ARDEIDÆ
THE COMMON HERON
ÁRDEA CINÉREA
A crest of elongated bluish black feathers at the back of the
head; similar feathers of a lustrous white hanging from the
lower part of the neck; scapulars similar, silver grey;
forehead, neck, middle of the belly, edge of the wings, and
thighs, pure white; back of the head, sides of the breast, and
flanks, deep black; front of the neck streaked with grey; upper
plumage bluish grey; beak deep yellow; irides yellow; orbits
naked, livid; feet brown, red above; middle toe, claw included,
much shorter than the tarsus. In _young birds_ the long
feathers are absent; head and neck ash-coloured; upper plumage
tinged with brown; lower, spotted with black. Length three feet
two inches. Eggs uniform sea green.
The Heron, though a large bird, measuring three feet in length from
the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, and four feet and
a half in breadth from the tip of one wing to the other, weighs but
three pounds and a half. Consequently, though not formed for rapid
flight, or endued with great activity of wing, its body presents so
large a surface to the air, that it can support itself aloft with but
a slight exertion. It is thus enabled, without fatigue, to soar almost
into the regions assigned to the Eagle and Vulture; and when pursued
by its natural enemies, the Falcons, to whom it would fall an easy
prey on account of the largeness of the mark which its body would
present to their downward swoop if it could only skim the plains, it
is enabled to vie with them in rising into the air, and thus often
eludes them.
The Heron, though it neither swims nor dives, is, nevertheless, a
fisher, and a successful one, but a fisher in rivers and shallow
waters only, to human anglers a very pattern of patience and
resignation. Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone, with the
neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed, but wide
awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron may be seen
in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-side pool, or on
the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the photographer.
Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring aim; a small fish is
captured, crushed to death, and swallowed head foremost; an eel of
some size requires different treatment, and is worth the trouble of
bringing to land, that it may be beaten to death on the shingle; a
large fish is impaled with its dagger-like beak, and, if worth the
labour, is carried off to a safe retreat, to be devoured at leisure.
If observers are to be credited, and there is no reason why they
should not, a full-grown Heron can thus dispose of a fish that exceeds
its own weight. A frog is swallowed whole; a water rat has its skull
split before it discovers its enemy, and speedily is undergoing the
process of digestion. Shrimps, small crabs, newts, water beetles, all
is fish that comes to its comprehensive net; but if, with all its
watchfulness, the look-out be unsuccessful, it rises a few feet into
the air, and slowly flaps itself away to some little distance, where
perhaps, slightly altering its attitude, it stands on one leg, and,
with its head thrown back, awaits better fortune. While thus stationed
it is mute; but as it flies off it frequently utters its note, a
harsh, grating scream, especially when other birds of the same species
are in the neighbourhood. On these occasions it is keenly on the
alert, descrying danger at a great distance, and is always the first
to give notice of an approaching enemy, not only to all birds feeding
near it on the shore, but to any Ducks which may chance to be paddling
in the water.[30]
During a great portion of the year the Heron is a wanderer. I have
frequently seen it at least fifty miles distant from the nearest
heronry; but when it has discovered a spot abounding in food, it
repairs thither day after day for a long period.
In the month of January, if mild, but as a rule in February, Herons
show a disposition to congregate, and soon after repair to their
old-established breeding-places, called Heronries. These are generally
lofty trees, firs or deciduous trees in parks, or even in groves close
by old family mansions. One at Kilmorey, by Loch Gilphead, has long
been frequented, though within a hundred yards of the house. The
nests, huge masses of sticks, a yard across, lined with a little
grass, and other soft materials, are placed near each other, as many,
sometimes, as a hundred in a colony,[31] or, more rarely, they are
placed among ivy-clad rocks, ruins, or even on the ground. Each nest
contains three to four eggs, on which the female sits about three
weeks, constantly fed by her partner during the whole period of
incubation. Two weeks later a second clutch of eggs is sometimes laid
and hatched off whilst the first young are in the nest. The power of
running would be of little use to a young bird hatched at an elevation
of fifty feet from the ground; the young Herons are consequently
helpless till they are sufficiently fledged to perch on the branches
of the trees, where they are fed by their parents, who themselves
perch with the facility of the Rook. Indeed, the favourite position of
these birds, both old and young, is, during a considerable portion of
the day, on the upper branches of a lofty tree, whither, also, they
often repair with a booty too large to be swallowed at once.
By a statute of Henry VIII the taking of Herons in any other way than
by hawking, or the long bow, was prohibited on a penalty of half a
mark; and the theft of a young bird from the nest was visited with a
penalty of ten shillings.
Not to be acquainted with the noble art of Falconry was deemed
degrading: so that the saying, 'He does not know a Hawk from a
Heronshaw', was a common expression of contempt, now corrupted into
the proverb, 'He does not know a Hawk from a handsaw'.
[30] A Heron in captivity has been known to perch on an old
carriage-wheel, in the corner of a courtyard, and to lie
in wait for Sparrows and Martins. One of the latter it was
seen to pierce while flying, and immediately descending with
outspread wings to run to its trough, and, having several
times plunged in its prey, to swallow it at a gulp.
[31] Pennant counted eighty in one tree.
THE NIGHT HERON
NYCTÍCORAX GRISEUS.
Head, back, and scapulars, black, with blue and green
reflections; on the back of the head three very long narrow
white feathers; lower part of the back, wings, and tail,
pearl-grey; forehead, streak over the eyes, and all the lower
parts, white; beak black, yellow at the base; irides red; feet
yellowish green. _Young birds_ have no crest; the upper plumage
is dull brown streaked with yellow; wing-coverts and primaries
marked with fish-shaped streaks, which are yellowish; under
parts dull white, mottled with brown and ash; bill greenish;
irides and feet brown. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs pale
blue.
The Night Heron is a bird of wide geographical range; but, on account
of its nocturnal habits and the rarity of its occurrence in this
country, it has been little observed. It is, however, not uncommon on
migration. A specimen was brought to me at Helston, Cornwall, about
the year 1836, which had been shot in the dusk of the evening, on
Goonhilly Downs. Its long and delicate crest had been stupidly tied
into a knot, and by the bruised condition of these feathers the
specimen, if it still exists in any museum, may yet be identified.
The Night Heron is said to be not uncommon on the shores of the
Baltic, in the wide marshes of Bretagne and Lorraine, and on the banks
of the Rhone. It passes the day concealed among the thick foliage of
trees and shrubs, and feeds only by night. It builds its nest in
trees, and lays four or five eggs.
THE COMMON BITTERN
BOTAURUS STELLÁRIS
Moustaches and crown black; upper plumage yellowish rust-red,
spotted with dusky; the feathers of the neck elongated, marked
with brown zigzag lines; primaries barred with rust-red and
dusky grey; plumage beneath paler, marked with oblong dusky
streaks; upper mandible brown, edged with yellow; lower,
orbits, and feet, greenish yellow; irides bright yellow. Length
two feet four inches. Eggs dingy green.