Xenophon, who describes a plain or steppe near the Euphrates full of
aromatic herbs, and abounding with Wild Asses, Ostriches, and Bustards
(_Otis_). The latter, he says, 'could be caught when any one came on
them suddenly, as they fly to a short distance like Partridges and
soon give in. Their flesh is delicious.' Pliny's description of the
Bustard is very brief. He says it approaches the Ostrich in size; that
it is called _Avis tarda_ in Spain, _Otis_ in Greece; its flesh is
very disagreeable, in consequence of the strong scent of its bones.'
Our countryman Willughby, who wrote in the middle of the seventeenth
century, gives a longer account. 'The Bustard has no hind claw, which
is especially worthy of notice; for by this mark and by its size it is
sufficiently distinguished from all birds of the tribe. It feeds on
corn and the seeds of herbs, wild cabbage, leaves of the dandelion,
etc. I have found in its crop abundance of the seeds of _cicuta_, with
but a few grains of barley even in harvest-time. It is found on the
plains near Newmarket and Royston, and elsewhere on heaths and plains.
Bustards are birds of slow flight, and raise themselves from the
ground with difficulty, on account of their size and weight; hence,
without doubt, the name _tardu_ was given to them by the Latins. By
the Scotch, on the authority of Hector Boethius, they are called
_Gustardæ_.'
M. Perrault, who wrote in 1676, gives an account of a tame Bustard
which was kept for a while in summer in a garden, and died of cold in
the winter. 'He killed mice and sparrows with his bill by pinching
their heads, and then swallowed them whole, even when of considerable
size. It was easy to observe a large mouse going down his throat,
making a moving tumour till it came to the turn of the neck; it then
moved backwards, and although out of sight, yet its progress was
traced by the feathers between the shoulders separating, and closing
again as soon as it passed into the gizzard. He was fond of worms, and
while the gardener was digging, stood by him and looked out for them.
He ate the buds of flowers, and particularly of roses; also the
substance of cucumbers, but not the outside. From these observations
the Bustard is evidently fitted more particularly to live on animal
food.'
The average number of Bustards annually supplied to Chevet, the great
game-dealer of the Palais Royal, Paris, about fifty years ago, was
six. Its principal place of resort in France was the wild country
between Arcis-sur-Aube and Châlons, in most other districts it was as
little known as with us.
Several authors of undoubted veracity state that the adult male
Bustard has a capacious pouch, situated along the fore part of the
neck, the entrance of which is under the tongue, capable of holding
several quarts of water--it is said not less than seven. Montagu, in
his _Ornithological Dictionary_, expresses his doubt whether the bird
could carry as much as seven quarts, or fourteen pounds, while flying;
he admits, however, that 'it is large, as may be seen in the Leverian
Museum'; and he adds, 'that it is only discoverable in adults, as it
is most likely intended for the purpose of furnishing the female and
young in the breeding with water.' Of this pouch a figure is given by
Yarrell, copied from Edwards' _Gleanings of Natural History_, and
there inserted on the authority of Dr. James Douglas, the discoverer.
Some doubts having arisen in Mr. Yarrell's mind as to the accuracy of
the statement, he took much pains to ascertain the truth by dissecting
several adult males, and found no peculiarity of structure--a result
which was also arrived at by Professor Owen, who dissected one with a
view of obtaining a preparation of the supposed pouch for the Museum
of the College of Surgeons. A paper by Mr. Yarrell,[45] read before
the Linnean Society since the publication of his admirable work on
Ornithology, contains many other interesting particulars respecting
this bird, to which the reader is referred.
Bustards have been seen in England at various intervals during the
last eighty or a hundred years, sometimes in small flights and
sometimes as solitary specimens, more frequently in Norfolk than in
any other county, but they have ceased to breed in this country. I
lately met a gentleman in Norfolk who well recollected the time when
Bustards were to be met with in that county. On the lands near
Flamborough Head there used to be droves of them. They were
occasionally seen in the middle of the large uninclosed plains with
which Norfolk formerly abounded, and in such situations he had himself
seen them. When disturbed they move off rapidly, employing both their
feet and wings, rising heavily, but at an angle so acute that they
advanced perhaps a hundred yards before they attained the height of a
man. When once on the wing, they flew swiftly. They formerly bred in
the parish of Deepdale, and he could himself recollect an instance
when an attempt was made to rear some in captivity from the eggs, but
failed. The Bustard is now only a very rare visitor to Great Britain.
Its last fertile eggs were taken in Norfolk and Suffolk about the year
1838.
[45] _Lin. Trans._, vol. xxi. p. 155.
ORDER LIMICOLÆ
FAMILY GLAREOLIDÆ
THE PRATINCOLE
GLARÉOLA PRATÍNCOLA
Crown, nape, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts, greyish brown;
throat and front of the neck white, tinged with red, and
bounded by a narrow black collar, which ascends to the base of
the beak; lore black; breast whitish brown; lower wing-coverts
chestnut; under parts white, tinged with brownish red;
tail-coverts, and base of tail-feathers, white; the rest of the
tail dusky, much forked; beak black, red at the base; irides
reddish brown; orbits naked, bright red; feet reddish ash.
Length nine inches and a half. Eggs pale stone colour, spotted
with grey and dusky.
The Pratincole, called on the Continent, but without good reason,
_Perdrix de mer_, or Sea Partridge, is a rare visitor to Great
Britain, inhabiting for the most part the northern part of Africa, and
the countries in the vicinity of the Don, the Volga, the Caspian, and
the Black Sea. It has been observed also from time to time in several
of the countries of Europe.
In some of its habits it resembles the Plovers, as it frequents open
plains and runs with great rapidity. In nidification, also, and in the
shape, colour, and markings of its eggs it is associated with the same
tribe; while in its mode of flight and habit of catching flies while
on the wing, it approaches the Swallows. Hence it was named by
Linnæus, _Hirundo pratincola_, and under this designation it is
figured in Bewick. Its true place in the system is, however,
undoubtedly, among the waders, several of which not only feed on
insects, but are expert in catching them on the wing.
FAMILY CHARADRIIDÆ
THE THICK-KNEE OR STONE CURLEW
OEDICNÉMUS SCÓLOPAX
Upper parts reddish ash with a white spot in the middle of each
feather; space between the eye and beak, throat, belly, and
thighs, white; neck and breast tinged with red, and marked with
fine longitudinal brown streaks; a white longitudinal bar on
the wing; first primary with a large white spot in the middle;
second, with a small one on the inner web; lower tail-coverts
reddish, the feathers, except those in the middle, tipped with
black; beak black, yellowish at the base; hides, orbits, and
feet, yellow. Length seventeen inches. Eggs yellowish brown
clouded with greenish, blotched and spotted with dusky and
olive.
Though a citizen of the world, or at least of the eastern hemisphere,
this bird is commonly known under the name of Norfolk Plover, from its
being more abundant in that county than in any other. It is also
called Thick-knee, from the robust conformation of this joint; and
Stone Curlew, from its frequenting waste stony places and uttering a
note which has been compared to the sound of the syllables _curlui_ or
_turlui_. Like the Cuckoo, it is more frequently heard than seen, but
that only by night. In some of its habits it resembles the Bustard,
and is said even to associate, in Northern Africa, with the Lesser
Bustard. Its favourite places of resort are extensive plains; it runs
rapidly when disturbed, and when it does take wing, flies for a
considerable distance near the ground before mounting into the air. It
frequents our open heaths and chalk downs and breeds in Romney Marsh
and in the uplands of Kent and Sussex.
By day the Thick-knee confines itself to the ground, either crouching
or hunting for food, which consists of worms, slugs, and beetles,
under stones, which it is taught by its instinct to turn over. After
sunset, it takes flight, and probably rises to a great height, as its
plaintive whistle, which somewhat resembles the wail of a human being,
is often heard overhead when the bird is invisible. It is singularly
shy, and carefully avoids the presence of human beings, whether
sportsmen or labourers. Yet it is not destitute of courage, as it has
been seen to defend its nest with vigour against the approach of sheep
or even of dogs. Nest, properly speaking, it has none, for it contents
itself with scratching a hole in the ground and depositing two eggs.
The males are supposed to assist in the office of incubation. The
young inherit the faculty of running at an early age, being able to
leave their birth-place with facility soon after they are hatched; but
the development of their wings is a work of time, for their body has
attained its full size long before they are able to rise from the
ground. Before taking their departure southwards in autumn, they
assemble in small parties, numbering from four to six or seven, when
they are somewhat more easy of approach than in spring. In the chalky
plains of La Marne in France they are very numerous; and here, by the
aid of a light cart, fowlers in quest of them have little difficulty
in shooting large numbers, the birds being less afraid of the approach
of a horse than of a human being. But when obtained they are of little
value, as their flesh is barely eatable.
The Thick-knee is migratory, visiting us in the beginning of April to
stay till October. His flights are made by night.
THE CREAM-COLOURED COURSER
CURSORIUS GALLICUS
Plumage reddish cream colour; wing-coverts bordered with
ash-grey; throat whitish; behind the eyes a double black bar;
lateral tail-feathers black towards the tip, with a white spot
in the centre of the black; abdomen whitish. Length nine
inches. Eggs unknown.
Though the specific name Europæus would seem to imply that this bird
is of frequent occurrence in Europe, this is not the case. Not more
than three or four have been observed in Great Britain, at various
intervals, from 1785 to 1827; and on the Continent it is an equally
rare visitor to the plains of Provence and Languedoc.
It is a native of Syria, Egypt, and Abyssinia, frequenting pools and
other moist situations. It is singularly fearless of man, and when
disturbed prefers to run, which it does very swiftly, rather than to
take flight. Its winter residence is supposed to be the central lakes
of Africa, from which it returns to the countries named above early in
autumn, and disappears at the approach of winter. Nothing is known of
its nidification. About the autumn of 1868 one was shot in
Lanarkshire.
THE GOLDEN PLOVER
CHARÁDRIUS PLUVIALIS
_Winter_--upper plumage dusky, spotted with yellow, cheeks,
neck, and breast mottled with ash-brown and buff; throat and
abdomen white; quills dusky, white along the shafts towards the
end; beak dusky, feet deep ash-colour; irides brown.
_Summer_--upper plumage greyish black, spotted with bright
yellow; forehead and space above the eyes white; sides of the
neck white, mottled with black and yellow; lore, throat, neck,
and lower parts deep black. Length nine inches. Eggs yellowish
green, blotched and spotted with black.
The Golden Plover is a common bird in the south of England during the
winter months, and in the mountainous parts of Scotland and the north
of England during the rest of the year; yet so different are its
habits and plumage at the extremes of these two seasons, that the
young naturalist who has had no opportunities of observing them in
their transition stage, and has had no access to trustworthy books,
might be forgiven for setting down the two forms of the bird as
distinct species.
In the hilly districts of the north of Europe, Golden Plovers are
numerous, sometimes being, with Ptarmigans, the only birds which
relieve the solitude of the desolate wastes. Though numerous in the
same localities, they are not gregarious during spring and summer, and
are remarkable for their fearlessness of man. So tame, indeed, are
they that, in little-frequented places, when disturbed by the
traveller they will run along the stony ground a few yards in front of
him, then fly a few yards, then stand and stare and run along as
before. On such occasions they frequently utter their singular
cry--the note so often referred to in Sir Walter Scott's poems--which,
like the Nightingale's song, is considered simply plaintive or
painfully woe-begone, according to the natural temperament or
occasional mood of the hearer. This bird builds no nest; a natural
depression in the ground, unprotected by bush, heather or rock, serves
its purpose, and here the female lays four eggs, much pointed at one
end, and arranges them in accordance with this.
At the approach of autumn, no matter where their summer may have been
passed, Plovers migrate southwards in large flights, those from
Scotland to the southern counties of England, where they frequent wide
moist pastures, heaths, and reclaimed marshland. From the northern
parts of the continent of Europe they take their departure in October,
either to the European shores of the Mediterranean, or to the plains
of Northern Africa. In these migrations they are not unfrequently
joined by Starlings. They travel in close array, forming large flocks
much wider than deep, moving their sharp wings rapidly, and making a
whizzing sound which may be heard a long way off. Now and then, as if
actuated by a single impulse, they sweep towards the ground, suddenly
alter the direction of their flight, then wheel upwards with the
regularity of a machine, and either alight or pursue their onward
course. This habit of skimming along the ground and announcing their
approach beforehand, is turned to good purpose by the bird-catcher,
who imitates their note, attracts the whole flight to sweep down into
his neighbourhood, and captures them in his net, a hundred at a time,
or, when they are within range, has no difficulty in killing from
twelve to twenty at a shot. Not unfrequently, too, when some members
of a flock have been killed or wounded, the remainder, before they
remove out of danger, wheel round and sweep just over the heads of
their ill-fated companions, as if for the purpose of inquiring the
reason why they have deserted the party, or of alluring them to join
it once more. This habit is not peculiar to Plovers, but may be
noticed in the case of several of the sea-side waders, as Dunlins and
Sanderlings. In severe winter weather they desert the meadows, in
which the worms have descended into the ground beyond the reach of
frost, and so of their bills, and resort to the muddy or sandy
sea-shore. In the Hebrides it is said that they do not migrate at all,
but simply content themselves with shifting from the moors to the
shore and back again, according to the weather. In the northern parts
of France, on the other hand, they are only known as passengers on
their way to the south. From making their appearance in the rainy
season they are there called _pluviers_, whence our name Plover,
which, however, is supposed by some to have been given to them for
their indicating by their movements coming changes in the weather, in
which respect indeed their skill is marvellous.
The Golden Plover, sometimes called also Yellow Plover, and Green
Plover, is found at various seasons In most countries of Europe; but
the Golden Plovers of Asia and America are considered to be different
species.
THE GREY PLOVER
SQUATÁROLA HELVETICA
_Winter_--forehead, throat, and under plumage, white, spotted
on the neck and flanks with grey and brown; upper plumage dusky
brown, mottled with white and ash colour; long axillary
feathers black or dusky; tail white, barred with brown and
tipped with reddish; bill black; irides dusky; feet blackish
grey. _Summer_--lore, neck, breast, belly, and flanks, black,
bounded by white; upper plumage and tail black and white.
Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs olive, spotted with
black.
Many of the Waders agree in wearing, during winter, plumage in a great
measure of a different hue from that which characterizes them in
summer; and, as a general rule, the winter tint is lighter than that
of summer. This change is, in fact, but an extension of the law which
clothes several of the quadrupeds with a dusky or a snowy fur in
accordance with the season. The Grey Plover, as seen in England, well
deserves its name, for, as it frequents our shores in the winter
alone, it is only known to us as a bird grey above and white below.
But in summer the under plumage is decidedly black, and in this
respect it bears a close resemblance to the Golden Plover, with which,
in spite of the presence of a rudimentary fourth toe, it is closely
allied. My friend, the Rev. W. S. Hore, informs me that he has seen
them in Norfolk wearing the full black plumage in May. The occurrence
of the bird, however, in this condition, in England, is exceptional;
while in the northern regions, both of the Old and New World, it must
be unusual to see an adult bird in any other than the sable plumage of
summer.
The Grey Plover is a bird of extensive geographical range, being known
in Japan, India, New Guinea, the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt, the
continent of Europe, and North America. In this country, as I have
observed, it occurs from autumn to spring, frequenting the sea-shore,
and picking up worms and other animal productions cast up by the sea.
Grey Plovers are less abundant than Golden Plovers; yet, in severe
seasons they assemble in numerous small flocks on the shores of the
eastern counties, and, as Meyer well observes, they are disposed to be
"sociable, not only towards their own species, but to every other
coast bird. When a party either go towards the shore, or leave it for
the meadows and flat wastes, they unanimously keep together; but when
alighting, they mix with every other species, and thus produce a
motley group." They fly in flocks, varying from five to twenty or
more, keeping in a line, more or less curved, or in two lines forming
an angle. Their flight is strong and rapid, rarely direct, but
sweeping in wide semicircles. As they advance they alternately show
their upper and under plumage, but more frequently the latter; for
they generally keep at a height of sixty or a hundred yards from the
ground, in this respect differing from Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, etc.
Occasionally one or two of the flock utter a loud whistle, which seems
to be a signal for all to keep close order. Just as Starlings
habitually alight wherever they see Rooks or Gulls feeding, so the
Grey Plovers join themselves on to any society of birds which has
detected a good hunting-ground. During a single walk along the sands I
have observed them mixed up with Dunlins, Knots, Gulls, Redshanks,
and Royston Crows; but in no instance was I able to approach near
enough to note their habit of feeding. They were always up and away
before any other birds saw danger impending. In autumn they are less
shy.
The people on the coast describe the Grey Plover as the shyest of all
the Waders, and could give me no information as to its habits; but
Meyer, whose description of this bird is very accurate in other
respects, states that "its general appearance is peculiar to itself;
it walks about on the ground slowly and with grace, and stops every
now and then to pick up its food; it carries its body in a horizontal
position on straight legs, and its head very close to its body,
consequently increasing the thick appearance of the head."
The Grey Plover breeds in high latitudes, making a slight hollow in
the ground, and employing a few blades of grass. It lays four eggs, on
which it sits so closely that it will almost be trodden on. When thus
disturbed its ways remind one of the Ringed Plover.
THE DOTTEREL
EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS
_Winter_--head dusky ash; over each eye a reddish white band,
meeting at the nape; face whitish, dotted with black; back
dusky ash, tinged with green, the feathers edged with rust-red;
breast and flanks reddish ash; gorget white; beak black; hides
brown; feet greenish ash. _Summer_--face and a band over the
eyes white; head dusky; nape and sides of the neck ash;
feathers of the back, wing-coverts, and wing-feathers, edged
with deep red; gorget white, bordered above by a narrow black
line; lower part of the breast and flanks bright rust-red;
middle of the belly black; abdomen reddish white. Young birds
have a reddish tinge on the head, and the tail is tipped with
red. Length nine inches and a half. Eggs yellowish olive,
blotched and spotted with dusky brown.
The Dotterel, Little Dotard, or Morinellus, 'little fool', received
both the one and the other of its names from its alleged stupidity.
'It is a silly bird', says Willughby, writing in 1676; 'but as an
article of food a great delicacy. It is caught in the night by
lamplight, in accordance with the movements of the fowler. For if he
stretch out his arm, the bird extends a wing; if he a leg, the bird
does the same. In short, whatever the fowler does, the Dotterel does
the same. And so intent is it on the movements of its pursuer, that it
is unawares entangled in the net.' Such, at least, was the common
belief; and Pennant alludes to it, quoting the following passage from
the poet Drayton
Most worthy man, with thee 'tis ever thus,
As men take Dottrels, so hast thou ta'en us
Which, as a man his arme or leg doth set,
So this fond bird will likewise counterfeit.
In Pennant's time, Dotterels were not uncommon in Cambridgeshire,
Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks of eight or
ten only, from the latter end of April to the middle of June; and I
have been informed by a gentleman in Norfolk that, not many years
since, they annually resorted also in small flocks to the plains of
that county. Of late years, owing most probably to their being much
sought after for the table, they have become more rare; and the same
thing has taken place in France.
The Dotterel has been observed in many of the English counties both in
spring and autumn, and has been known to breed in the mountainous
parts of the north of England; but I may remark that the name is
frequently given in Norfolk and elsewhere to the Ringed Plover, to
which bird also belong the eggs collected on the sea-coast, and sold
as Dotterel's eggs.
THE RINGED PLOVER
ÆGIALITIS HIATÍCULA
Forehead, lore, sides of the face, gorget reaching round the
neck, black; a band across the forehead and through the eyes,
throat, a broad collar, and all the lower parts, white; upper
plumage ash-brown; outer tail-feather white, the next nearly
so, the other feathers grey at the base, passing into dusky and
black, tipped with white, except the two middle ones, which
have no white tips; orbits, feet and beak orange, the latter
tipped with black. _Young_--colours of the head dull; gorget
incomplete, ash-brown; bill dusky, tinged with orange at the
base of the lower mandible; feet yellowish. Length seven and a
half inches. Eggs olive-yellow, with numerous black and grey
spots.