briefly as follows: Woodcocks come to us from the south in autumn, the
earliest being annually observed about the twentieth of October. On
their first arrival, they are generally found to be in bad condition;
so weak, in fact, that I recollect many instances of flights having
reached the coasts of Cornwall, only able to gain the land. Their
condition at these times is one of extreme exhaustion; and they become
the prey, not only of the sportsman, but are knocked down with a
stick, or caught alive. In the course of a very few days they are
enabled to recruit their strength, when they make their way inland.
They have been known even to settle on the deck of a ship at sea, in
order to rest; or actually to alight for a few moments in the smooth
water of the ship's wake. Their usual places of resort by day are
woods and coppices in hilly districts, whither they repair for shelter
and concealment. Disliking cold, they select, in preference, the side
of a valley which is least exposed to the wind; and though they never
perch on a branch, they prefer the concealment afforded by trees to
that of any other covert. There, crouching under a holly, or among
briers and thorns, they spend the day in inactivity, guarded from
molestation by their stillness, and by the rich brown tint of their
plumage, which can hardly be distinguished from dead leaves. Their
large prominent bead-like eyes are alone likely to betray them; and
this, it is said, is sometimes the case. So conscious do they seem
that their great security lies in concealment, that they will remain
motionless until a dog is almost on them or until the beater reaches
the very bush under which they are crouching. When at length roused,
they start up with a whirr, winding and twisting through the
overhanging boughs, and make for the nearest open place ahead; now,
however, flying in almost a straight line, till discovering another
convenient lurking-place, they descend suddenly, to be 'marked' for
another shot. About twilight, the Woodcock awakens out of its
lethargy, and repairs to its feeding-ground. Observation having shown
that on these occasions it does not trouble itself to mount above the
trees before it starts, but makes for the nearest clear place in the
wood through which it gains the open country, fowlers were formerly in
the habit of erecting in glades in the woods, two high poles, from
which was suspended a fine net. This was so placed as to hang across
the course which the birds were likely to take, and when a cock flew
against it, the net was suddenly made to drop by the concealed fowler,
and the bird caught, entangled in the meshes. Not many years ago,
these nets were commonly employed in the woods, near the coast of the
north of Devon, and they are said still to be in use on the Continent.
The passages through which the birds flew were known by the name of
'cockroads', and 'cockshoots'.
The localities which Woodcocks most frequent are places which abound
in earthworms, their favourite food. These they obtain either by
turning over lumps of decaying vegetable matter and picking up the
scattered worms, or by thrusting their bills into the soft earth,
where (guided by scent it is supposed) they speedily find any worm
lying hid, and having drawn it out, swallow it whole, with much
dexterity. When the earth is frozen hard, they shift their ground,
repairing to the neighbourhood of the sea, or of springs; and now,
probably, they are less select in their diet, feeding on any living
animal matter that may fall in their way. In March they change their
quarters again, preparatory to quitting the country; hence it often
happens that considerable numbers are seen at this season in places
where none had been observed during the previous winter. They now have
a call-note, though before they have been quite mute; it is said by
some to resemble the syllables _pitt-pitt-coor_, by others to be very
like the croak of a frog. The French have invented the verb _croûler_,
to express it, and distinguish Woodcock shooting by the name _croûle_.
Some sportsmen wisely recommend that no Woodcock should be shot after
the middle of February; for it has been ascertained that increasing
numbers of these remain for the purpose of breeding in this country;
and it is conjectured, with reason, that if they were left undisturbed
in their spring haunts, they would remain in yet larger numbers. As it
is, there are few counties in England in which their nest has not been
discovered; and there are some few localities in which it is one of
the pleasant sights of the evening, at all seasons of the year, to
watch the Woodcocks repairing from the woods to their accustomed
feeding-ground.
The nest is built of dry leaves, principally of fern, and placed among
dead grass, in dry, warm situations, and contains four eggs, which,
unlike those of the Snipes, are nearly equally rounded at each end.
There have been recorded numerous instances in which a Woodcock has
been seen carrying its young through the air to water, holding the
nestling between her thighs pressed close to her body.
During its flight, the Woodcock invariably holds its beak pointed in a
direction towards the ground. Young birds taken from the nest are
easily reared; and afford much amusement by the skill they display in
extracting worms from sods with which they are supplied. The Woodcock
is found in all countries of the eastern hemisphere where trees grow;
but it is only met as a straggler on the Atlantic coast of the United
States.
THE GREAT SNIPE
GALLINÁGO MAJOR
Crown black, divided longitudinally by a yellowish white band;
a streak of the same colour over each eye; from the beak to the
eye a streak of dark brown; upper plumage mottled with black
and chestnut-brown, some of the feathers edged with
straw-colour; greater wing-coverts tipped with white; under
parts whitish, spotted and barred with black; tail of sixteen
feathers; bill brown, flesh-coloured at the base. Length eleven
and a half inches. Eggs brownish olive, spotted with reddish
brown.
The Great Snipe, Solitary Snipe or Double Snipe, is intermediate in
size between the Woodcock and Common Snipe. Though not among the
rarest of our visitants, it is far from common. It is, however, an
annual visitor, and is seen most frequently in the eastern counties in
the autumn. Its principal resorts are low damp meadows and grassy
places near marshes, but it does not frequent swamps like its
congeners. This difference in its haunts implies a different diet, and
this bird, it is stated, feeds principally on the larvæ or grubs of
Tipulæ (known by the common name of Father Daddy-Long-legs), which are
in summer such voracious feeders on the roots of grass. It breeds in
the northern countries of Europe, and in some parts of Sweden is so
abundant that as many as fifty have been shot in a day. When disturbed
on its feeding-ground, it rises without uttering any note, and usually
drops in again, at no great distance, after the manner of the Jack
Snipe. It may be distinguished by its larger size, and by carrying its
tail spread like a fan. In the northern countries where it breeds it
is found most commonly in the meadows after hay-harvest, and as it is
much prized for the delicacy of its flesh it is a favourite object of
sport. It is remarkable for being always in exceedingly good
condition, a remark which applies to specimens procured in this
country as well as those shot in Sweden. The nest, which has rarely
been seen, is placed in a tuft of grass, and contains four eggs. The
_Zoologist_ once mentioned the fact of four solitary Snipes being
killed in the county of Durham in August, and two of these were young
birds, scarcely fledged.
[Illustration:
Great Snipe
Jack Snipe [M]
Common Snipe
Woodcock [M]
[_face p. 256_.]]
[Illustration:
Knot [M]
Wood Sandpiper.
Sanderling [M]
Whimbrel [M]]
THE COMMON SNIPE
GALLINÁGO CÆLESTIS
Upper plumage very like the last; chin and throat reddish
white; lower parts white, without spots; flanks barred
transversely with white and dusky; tail of fourteen feathers.
Length eleven and a half inches. Eggs light greenish yellow,
spotted with brown and ash.
The Common Snipe is a bird of very general distribution, being found
in all parts of the eastern hemisphere, from Ireland to Japan, and
from Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope. It is common also in many parts
of America, especially Carolina, and is frequent in many of the
American islands. In Britain, Snipes are most numerous in the winter,
their numbers being then increased by arrivals from high latitudes,
from which they are driven by the impossibility of boring for food in
ground hardened by frost or buried beneath snow. In September and
October large flocks of these birds arrive in the marshy districts of
England, stopping sometimes for a short time only, and then proceeding
onwards; but being like many other birds, gregarious at no other time
than when making their migrations, when they have arrived at a
district where they intend to take up their residence, they scatter
themselves over marsh land, remaining in each other's neighbourhood
perhaps, but showing no tendency to flock together. Their food
consists of the creeping things which live in mud, and to this, it is
said by some, they add small seeds and fine vegetable fibre; but it is
questionable whether this kind of food is not swallowed by accident,
mixed up with more nourishing diet. The end of their beak is furnished
with a soft pulpy membrane, which in all probability is highly
sensitive, and enables the bird to discover by the touch the worms
which, being buried in mud, are concealed from its sight. Snipes when
disturbed always fly against the wind, so when suddenly scared from
their feeding-ground, and compelled to rise without any previous
intention on their part, they seem at first uncertain which course to
take, but twist and turn without making much progress in any
direction; but in a few seconds, having decided on their movements,
they dart away with great rapidity, uttering at the same time a sharp
cry of two notes, which is difficult to describe, but once heard can
scarcely be mistaken. When a bird on such an occasion is fired at, it
often happens that a number of others, who have been similarly
occupied, rise at the report, and after having performed a few mazy
evolutions, dart off in the way described. At other times they lie so
close that between the sportsman and the bird which he has just killed
there may be others concealed, either unconscious of danger, or
trusting for security to their powers of lying hid. This tendency to
lie close, or the reverse, depends much on the weather, though why it
should be so seems not to have been decided. But the movements of
Snipes generally are governed by laws of which we know little or
nothing. At one season they will be numerous in a certain marsh; the
next year perhaps not one will visit the spot; to-day, they will swarm
in a given locality; a night's frost will drive them all away, and a
change of wind a few days after will bring them all back again. If
very severe weather sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this the
reason is obvious; the frozen state of the marsh puts a stop to their
feeding. They then retire to milder districts, to springs which are
never frozen, to warm nooks near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps
the majority perform a second migration southwards; for, as a rule,
they are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and spring--that
is, while on their way to and from some distant winter-quarters. After
March they become far less frequent, yet there are few extensive
marshes, especially in Scotland and the north of England, where some
do not remain to breed. At this season a striking change in their
habits makes itself perceptible. A nest is built of withered grass,
sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of heath or reeds, and here the
female sits closely on four eggs. The male, meanwhile, is feeding in
some neighbouring swamp, and if disturbed, instead of making off with
his zigzag winter's flight, utters his well-remembered note and
ascends at a rapid rate into the air, now ascending with a rapid
vibration of wing, wheeling, falling like a parachute, mounting again,
and once more descending with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a
note different from his cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind
of noise, which has been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last
sound is produced by the action of the wings, assisted by the
tail-feathers, in his descents. One of its French names is _Chèvre
volant_, flying goat, and the Scottish name 'Heather-bleater', was
also given to it as descriptive of its peculiar summer note. The
female sits closely on her eggs, and if disturbed while in charge of
her yet unfledged brood, endeavours to distract the attention of an
intruder from them to herself by the artifice already described as
being employed by others of the Waders.
'Sabine's Snipe', which was at one time thought to be a distinct
species, is now admitted to be a melanism, a dark variety of the
Common Snipe, recent examination of specimens having proved that its
tail contains fourteen feathers and not twelve only, as was supposed.
It is seldom found outside Great Britain.
THE JACK SNIPE
GALLINÁGO GALLÍINULA
Crown divided longitudinally by a black band edged with reddish
brown; beneath this on either side a parallel yellowish band
reaching from the bill to the nape; back beautifully mottled
with buff, reddish brown, and black, the latter lustrous with
green and purple; neck and breast spotted; belly and abdomen
pure white; tail of twelve feathers, dusky edged with reddish
grey; bill dusky, lighter towards the base. Length eight and a
half inches. Eggs yellowish olive, spotted with brown.
As the Great Snipe has been called the Double Snipe, on account of its
being superior in size to the common species, so the subject of the
present chapter is known as the Half Snipe, from being contrasted with
the same bird, and being considerably smaller. The present species is
far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet still it is often seen,
more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by non-sporting observers,
for it frequents not only downright marshes, but the little streams
which meander through meadows, the sides of grassy ponds, and the
drains by the side of canals, where the ordinary pedestrian, if
accompanied by a dog, will be very likely to put one up. Its food and
general habits are much the same as those of the Common Snipe; but it
rises and flies off without any note. Its flight is singularly crooked
until it has made up its mind which direction it intends to take;
indeed it seems to decide eventually on the one which was at first
most unlikely to be its path, and after having made a short round
composed of a series of disjointed, curves, it either returns close to
the spot from which it was started, or suddenly drops, as by a sudden
impulse, into a ditch a few gunshots off. I have seen one drop thus
within twenty yards of the spot where I stood, and though I threw
upwards of a dozen stones into the place where I saw it go down, it
took no notice of them. It was only by walking down the side of the
ditch, beating the rushes with a stick, that I induced it to rise
again. It then flew off in the same way as before, and dropped into
the little stream from which I had first started it.
From this habit of lying so close as to rise under the very feet of
the passenger, as well as from its silence, it is called in France _la
Sourde_, 'deaf'. In the same country it is known also as 'St. Martin's
Snipe', from the time of its arrival in that country, November 11;
with us it is an earlier visitor, coming about the second week in
September.
A few instances are recorded of the Jack Snipe having been seen in
this country at a season which would lead to the inference that it
occasionally breeds here; but no instance of its doing so has been
ascertained as a fact.
THE SANDERLING
CALIDRIS ARENARIA
_Winter_--upper plumage and sides of the neck whitish ash;
cheeks and all the under plumage, pure white; bend and edge of
the wing and quills blackish grey; tail deep grey, edged with
white; bill, irides, and feet, black. _Summer_--cheeks and
crown black, mottled with rust-red and white; neck and breast
reddish ash with black and white spots; back and scapulars deep
rust-red, spotted with black, all the feathers edged and tipped
with white; wing-coverts dusky, with reddish lines, and tipped
with white; two middle tail-feathers dusky, with reddish edges.
_Young in autumn_--cheeks, head, nape, and back variously
mottled with black, brown, grey, rust-red and dull white.
Length eight inches. Eggs olive, spotted and speckled with
black.
The early flocks of Sanderlings often consist of old as well as young
birds, which is not the common rule with Waders. They are plentiful on
our sandy shores, and they sometimes visit inland waters. By April the
return passage begins. The note is a shrill _wick!_ They arrive on our
shores early in autumn, keeping together in small flocks, or joining
the company of Dunlins, or Ringed Plovers. In spring they withdraw to
high latitudes, where they breed; they are not, however, long absent.
Yarrell mentions his having obtained specimens as late as April and
June, and I have myself obtained them as early as the end of July,
having shot at Hunstanton, on the coast of Norfolk, several young
birds of the year, on the twenty-third of that month; and on another
occasion I obtained a specimen on the sands of Abergele, in North
Wales, in August. This leaves so very short a time for incubation and
the fledging of the young, that it is probable that a few birds, at
least, remain to breed in this country, or do not retire very far
north. Little is known of their habits during the season of
incubation, but they are said to make their nests in the marshes, of
grass, and to lay four eggs.
Like many other shore birds, they have an extensive geographical
range, and are found in all latitudes, both in the eastern and western
hemispheres.
THE CURLEW SANDPIPER
TRINGA SUBARQUATA
Bill curved downwards, much longer than the head.
_Winter_--upper tail-coverts and all the under parts white;
upper plumage ash-brown, mottled with darker brown and
whitish; breast the same colours, but much lighter; bill
black; iris brown; feet dusky. _Summer_--crown black, mottled
with reddish; under plumage chestnut-red, speckled with brown
and white; much of the upper plumage black, mottled with red
and ash. Length seven and a half inches. Eggs yellowish, with
brown spots.
This bird, called also the Pigmy Curlew, is of about the same size as
the far commoner Dunlin, from which it is distinguished not only by
the difference in the colour of its plumage, but by the greater length
of its beak, which is curved downwards. Pigmy Curlews are observed
from time to time in this country at the periods of autumn and spring,
and it is said that a few remain with us to breed, but their nest and
eggs have never been detected. In their habits they resemble the
Dunlins, from which they may readily be distinguished, even when
flying, by their white upper tail-coverts. They are of wide
geographical range, but nowhere abundant, and visit us on passage in
spring and autumn.
THE KNOT
TRINGA CANÚTUS
Beak straight, a little longer than the head, much dilated
towards the tip; tail even at the extremity; a small part of
the tibia naked. _Winter_--throat and abdomen white; breast and
flanks white, barred with ash-brown; upper plumage ash-grey,
mottled with brown; wing-coverts tipped with white; rump and
upper tail-coverts white, with black crescents; bill and legs
greenish black. _Summer_--streak over the eye, nape, and all
the under plumage, rusty-red, the nape streaked with black;
back streaked and spotted with black, red, and grey. The upper
plumage of _young birds_ is mottled with reddish brown, grey,
black, and dull white; legs dull green. Length ten inches. Eggs
unknown.
The Knot, Willughby informs us, is so called from having been a
favourite dish of King Canutus, or Knute. It is a migratory bird,
visiting the coasts of Great Britain early in autumn, and remaining
here till spring, when it retires northwards to breed. During the
intervening months it keeps exclusively to the sandy or muddy
sea-shore, assembling in small flocks, and mixing freely with Dunlins,
Sanderlings, and Purple Sandpipers. Some authors state that it feeds
principally early and late in the day, and during moonlight nights;
but I have seen it on the coast of Norfolk in winter feeding at all
hours of the day in company with the birds mentioned above, and
differing little from them in the mode of obtaining its food. But I
remarked on several occasions that, when a flock was disturbed, the
Knots often remained behind, being less fearful of the presence of
man; in consequence of which tardiness in rising they more than once
fell to our guns after their companions had flown off. On their first
arrival, they are said to be so indifferent to the vicinity of human
beings that it is not difficult to knock them down with stones. Their
provincial name in Norfolk is the Green-legged Shank, the latter name,
Shank, being applied for shortness to the Redshank. Dr. Richardson
states that 'Knots were observed breeding on Melville Peninsula by
Captain Lyon, who tells us that they lay four eggs on a tuft of
withered grass, without being at the pains of forming any nest.'
Flocks of young make their appearance early in August, the adults
arriving a little later.
[Illustration:
Dunlin [F] [M]
Little Stint.
Temminck's Stint [M]
Cream-coloured Courser.
[_face p. 262._]]
[Illustration:
Green Sandpiper [F]
Purple Sandpiper [M]
Common Sandpiper [F]
Curlew Sandpiper.]
THE DUNLIN
TRINGA ALPINA
Bill a little longer than the head, slightly bent down at the
tip; two middle tail-feathers the longest, dusky and pointed; a
small part of the tibia naked. _Winter_--throat and a streak
between the bill and eye white; upper plumage ash-brown
streaked with dusky; upper tail-coverts dusky; lateral
tail-feathers ash, edged with white; breast greyish white,
mottled with brown; bill black; feet dusky. _Summer_--most of
the upper plumage black, edged with rust-red; belly and abdomen
black. _Young birds_ have the upper plumage variously mottled
with ash-brown, dusky, and reddish yellow; the bill is shorter
and straight. Length eight inches. Eggs greenish white,
blotched and spotted with brown.
The name _variabilis_, changeable, has been applied to this species of
Sandpiper on account of the great difference between its summer and
winter plumage. It was formerly, indeed, supposed that the two states
of the bird were distinct species; of which the former was called
Dunlin, the latter Purre. It is now known that the two are identical,
the bird being commonly found to assume in spring and autumn colours
intermediate between the two.
Except during the three summer months, May, June, and July, the Dunlin
is common on all the shores of Great Britain, where there are
extensive reaches of sand or mud. I have obtained specimens on the
coast of Norfolk as early as the twenty-fifth of July; but, generally,
it is not until the following month that they become numerous. From
this time until late in the winter they are reinforced by constant
additions; and in very severe weather the flocks are increased to such
an extent that, if it were possible to number them, they would be
probably found to contain very many thousands. Such a season was the
memorable winter of 1860-61, when, during the coldest part of it, I
made an excursion to the coast of Norfolk for the purpose of observing
the habits of the sea-side Grallatores and Natatores which, in winter,
resort to that coast. Numerous as were the species and individuals of
these birds which then flocked to the beach and salt-marshes, I have
no doubt, in my own mind, that they were all outnumbered by Dunlins
alone. Of nearly every flock that I saw feeding on the wet sand or
mud, fully half were Dunlins; many flocks were composed of these birds
alone; while of those which were constantly flying by, without
alighting, the proportion of Dunlins to all other birds was, at
least, three to one. Added to which, while the parties of other birds
were susceptible of being approximately counted, the individuals which
composed a flock of Dunlins were often innumerable.