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[Illustration: Decorative glyph]
OUR SUMMER MIGRANTS.
[Illustration: Decorative glyph]
OUR SUMMER MIGRANTS.
AN ACCOUNT OF
THE MIGRATORY BIRDS
WHICH PASS THE SUMMER IN
THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
BY J. E. HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
AUTHOR OF A “HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS,” A NEW EDITION OF WHITE’S
“SELBORNE,” ETC., ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED FROM DESIGNS BY THOMAS BEWICK._
[Illustration: Decorative glyph]
LONDON:
BICKERS AND SON,
1, LEICESTER SQUARE.
1875.
CHISWICK PRESS:—PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKINS,
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.
PREFACE.
For those who reside in the country and have both leisure and
inclination to observe the movements and habits of birds, there is not a
more entertaining occupation than that of noting the earliest arrival of
the migratory species, the haunts which they select, and the wonderful
diversity which they exhibit in their actions, nidification, and song.
There is something almost mysterious in the way in which numbers of
these small and delicately formed birds are found scattered in one day
over a parish where on the previous day not one was to be seen; and the
manner of their arrival is scarcely more remarkable than the regularity
with which they annually make their appearance.
That most of them reach this country after long and protracted flights,
crossing the Mediterranean, the Bay of Biscay, and the English Channel
is an undoubted fact. They have been seen to arrive upon our shores, and
have been observed at sea during their passage, often at a considerable
distance from land.
But how few of those who notice them in this country know where they
come from, why they come, what they find here to live upon, how, when,
and where they go for the winter!
In the following chapters an attempt has been made to answer these
questions, and to give such information generally about our summer
migratory birds as will prove acceptable to many who may be glad to
possess it without knowing exactly where to look for it. Some of these
sketches were originally published in the Natural History columns of
“The Field” during the summer of 1871, and as a reprint has frequently
been asked for, I have now carefully revised them and made some
important additions and emendations, besides adding to the series a
dozen or more chapters which have never before appeared.
The illustrations, from designs by Thomas Bewick, will, it is conceived,
add considerably to the attractiveness of the volume, and will enable
the reader to dispense with particular descriptions of the species,
which it might be otherwise desirable to furnish. These may be found,
moreover, in other works devoted to British Ornithology.
James Edmund Harting.
July, 1875.
[Illustration: Decorative glyph]
CONTENTS.
Page
The Wheatear 1
The Whinchat 9
The Stonechat 13
The Wood Warbler 16
The Willow Warbler 24
The Chiff-chaff 28
The Nightingale 32
The Blackcap 44
The Orphean Warbler 51
The Garden Warbler 59
The Common Whitethroat 67
The Lesser Whitethroat 71
The Redstart 74
The Sedge Warbler 81
The Reed Warbler 83
The Grasshopper Warbler 86
Savi’s Warbler 88
The Aquatic Warbler 91
The Marsh Warbler 92
The Great Reed Warbler 101
The Rufous Warbler 103
The Pied Wagtail 106
The White Wagtail 110
The Grey Wagtail 112
The Yellow Wagtail 117
The Grey-headed Wagtail 121
The Meadow Pipit 124
The Rock Pipit 130
The Tree Pipit 135
The Water Pipit 138
Richard’s Pipit 142
The Tawny Pipit 146
The Pennsylvanian Pipit 149
The Red-throated Pipit 152
The Spotted Flycatcher 155
The Pied Flycatcher 160
The Swallow 170
The Martin 184
The Sand Martin 187
The Common Swift 191
The Alpine Swift 199
The Nightjar 204
The Cuckoo 219
The Wryneck 242
The Hoopoe 249
The Golden Oriole 262
The Red-backed Shrike 276
The Turtle-dove 282
The Landrail or Corncrake 288
General Observations 299
Conclusion 330
Index 335
[Illustration: WHEATEAR]
THE WHEATEAR.
(_Saxicola œnanthe._)
One of the earliest of our feathered visitors to arrive is the Wheatear,
which comes to us as a rule in the second week of March; and, although
individuals have been seen and procured occasionally at a much earlier
date, there is reason to believe that the spring migration does not set
in before this, and that the birds met with previously are such as have
wintered in this country; for it has been well ascertained that the
Wheatear, like the Stonechat, occasionally remains with us throughout
the year. It is a noticeable fact that those which stay the winter are
far less shy in their habits, and will suffer a much nearer approach.
The name Wheatear may have been derived either from the season of its
arrival, or from its being taken in great numbers for the table at wheat
harvest. Or, again, it may be a corruption of _whitear_, from the _white
ear_ which is very conspicuous in the spring plumage of this bird. Many
instances are on record of Wheatears having come on board vessels
several miles from land at the period of migration, and from the
observations of naturalists in various parts of the country it would
appear that these birds travel by night, or at early dawn. I do not
remember any recorded instance in which they have been seen to land upon
our shores in the daytime.
In Ireland, according to Mr. Thompson,[1] the Wheatear arrives much
later than in England, and does not stay the winter. With regard to
Scotland, Macgillivray states[2] that it is nowhere more plentiful than
in the outer Hebrides, and in the Orkney and Shetland Islands; and from
the fact of his having observed the species near Edinburgh on the 28th
of February, we may infer that a few, as in England, occasionally remain
throughout the year.
The number of Wheatears which used to be taken years ago upon the South
Downs in autumn was a matter of notoriety.
“Hereabouts,” says an old chronicle of East-Bourne, “is the chief place
for catching the delicious birds called Wheatears, which much resemble
the French Ortolans;” and Wheatears play an important part in the
history of this town. Squire William Wilson, of Hitching, Lord of the
Manor of East-Bourne, was in Oliver Cromwell’s time vehemently suspected
of loyalty to the Stuarts; and one Lieutenant Hopkins, with a troop of
dragoons, swooped down on Eastbourne to search the squire’s house, and,
if needful, arrest him as a Malignant. The squire was laid up with the
gout; but Mistress Wilson, his true wife, with the rarely-failing
shrewdness of her sex, placed before Lieutenant Hopkins and his troopers
a prodigious pie filled with Wheatears, “which rare repast,” the
chronicle goes on to say, “the soldiers did taste with so much
amazement, delight, and jollity,” that the squire upstairs had ample
time to burn all the papers which would compromise him, and when
Lieutenant Hopkins, full of Wheatear pie, came to search the house,
there was not so much treasonable matter found as could have brought a
mouse within peril of a _præmunire_. At the Restoration the Lord of the
Manor became Sir William Wilson of Eastbourne, a dignity well earned by
his devotion to the Royal cause; but the chronicle goes on to hint that
Charles II. was passionately fond of Wheatears, and that possibly the
liberality of the squire, in supplying his Majesty’s table with these
delicacies, may have had something to do with the creation of the
baronetcy.
The abundance of Wheatears at certain seasons on the Hampshire downs was
noticed by Gilbert White in a letter to the Hon. Daines Barrington in
Dec. 1773. Since this excellent naturalist penned his observations,
however, many changes in the haunts and habits of birds have been
remarked. For example, the Hawfinch, which he referred to as “rarely
seen in England, and only in winter,” is now found to be resident
throughout the year, and nesting even in the proximity of London and
other large cities. The Landrail, which he noted as “a bird so rare in
this district that we seldom see more than one or two in a season, and
those only in autumn,” is now so plentiful in the same neighbourhood
that I have shot as many as half a dozen in one day in September, within
a few miles of Selborne. The Common Bunting, which in 1768 was
considered to be a “rare bird” in the district referred to, may now be
heard there in full song—if song it can be called—throughout the month
of May. Whilst walking from Liss to Selborne, I have on two occasions
met with a bird which Gilbert White had not observed—the Cirl Bunting;
and, to return to the Wheatears, these birds, which were formerly so
plentiful in autumn that the shepherds trapped them by dozens, are now
far less numerous at the same season, and the practice of snaring them
has perceptibly declined.[3] It was remarkable that, although in the
height of the season—_i.e._, at wheat harvest—so many hundreds of dozens
were taken, yet they were never seen to flock, and it was a rare thing
to see more than three or four at a time; so that there must have been a
perpetual flitting and constant progressive succession.
The Wheatear is partial to commons and waste lands, old quarries, sand
hills, and downs by the sea, and it is in these situations that we may
now look for him without much fear of disappointment. Like all the
chats, the Wheatear is very terrestrial in its habits, seldom perching
on trees, although often to be seen on gate-posts and rails, where a
broader footing is afforded it. Its song is rather sprightly, and is
occasionally uttered on the wing. The contrast between the spring and
autumn plumage of this bird is very remarkable. If an old bird be
examined in September, it will be found that the white superciliary
streak has almost disappeared; the colour of the upper parts has become
reddish brown; the throat and breast pale ferruginous, lighter on the
flanks and belly; while the primaries and tail at its extremity are much
browner. On raising the feathers of the back, it will be found that the
base of each feather is grey; and in spring this colour supersedes the
brown of winter, which is worn off, and the upper parts assume a
beautiful bluish grey, while the under parts become pure white. In this
species, therefore, it is evident that the seasonal change of plumage is
effected by a change of colour in the same feather, and not by a moult.
The nest of the Wheatear is generally well concealed in the crevice of a
cliff or sandbank, or in an old rabbit burrow. Where these conveniences
are not accessible, the nest may be found at the foot of a bush,
screened from view by grass or foliage. The eggs, five or six in number,
are of a delicate pale blue, occasionally spotted at the larger end with
pale rust colour.
The geographical range of the Wheatear is very extensive for so small
and short-winged a bird. It is found in the Faroe Isles, Iceland, and
Greenland; in Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; throughout Europe to
the Mediterranean; in Egypt, Arabia, Asia Minor, and Armenia.
[Illustration: WHINCHAT]
THE WHINCHAT.
(_Saxicola rubetra._)
Seldom appearing before the end of the first week in April, the Whinchat
arrives much later than the Wheatear, and is much less diffused than
that species. By the end of September it has again left the country, and
I have never met with an instance of its remaining in England during the
winter months. On several occasions correspondents have forwarded to me
in winter a bird which they believed to be the Whinchat, but which
invariably proved to be a female, or male in winter plumage, of the
Stonechat—a species which is known to reside with us throughout the
year, yet receiving a large accession to its numbers in spring, and
undergoing corresponding decrease in autumn.
In the southern counties of England the Whinchat is sometimes very
numerous, and may be found in every meadow perched upon the tall grass
stems or dockweed. The abundance or scarcity of this species, however,
varies considerably according to season. In some years I have noticed
extraordinary numbers of this little bird, and in others have scarcely
been able to count two or three pairs in a parish. I have generally
found that a cold or wet spring has so affected their migration as to
cause them apparently to alter their plans, and induce them to spend the
summer but a short distance to the north or north-west of their winter
quarters.
It is a little remarkable that in Ireland the Whinchat is far less
common than the Stonechat, the reverse being the case in England. Mr.
Thompson says, in the work already quoted (p. 175), “In no part of
Ireland have I seen the Whinchat numerous, and compared with the
Stonechat it is very scarce.” In the south of Scotland, according to
Macgillivray, it seldom makes its appearance before the end of April,
that is, more than a fortnight after its arrival in England. It extends
to Sutherland, Caithness, and the outer Hebrides (_cf._ More, “Ibis,”
1865, p. 22), and has occasionally been met with in Orkney, but not in
Shetland. In winter it migrates to the south-east, and at that season is
not uncommon in Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia, travelling also through
Asia Minor, Arabia and Persia, as far eastward as the north-west
provinces of India. In a south-westerly direction this species, passing
through Spain and Portugal, proceeds down the west coast of Africa to
Senegal, Gambia, and Fantee.
The Whinchat differs a good deal in its habits from the Wheatear, and on
this account, as well as on account of certain differences of structure,
it has been placed with the Stonechat and other allied species in a
separate genus (_Pratincola_). It is doubtful, however, whether these
differences are sufficient to entitle them to anything more than a
specific separation.
The Whinchat perches much more than does the Wheatear, and may be seen
darting into the air for insects, after the manner of a Flycatcher. It
derives its name, of course, from the fact of its being found upon the
_whin_, or _furze_, a favourite perch also for its congener the
Stonechat. The derivation of the word _whin_ I have never been able to
ascertain.
Although the two species are frequently confounded, the Whinchat may be
always distinguished from the Stonechat by its superciliary white
streak, by the lighter-coloured throat and vent, and by the white bases
of the three outer tail feathers on each side. Both species make a very
similar nest, which is placed on the ground and well concealed, and lay
very similar eggs, of a bright blue faintly speckled at the large end
with rust colour.
[Illustration: STONECHAT]
THE STONECHAT.
(_Saxicola rubicola._)
As has been already stated, the Stonechat may be found in a few
scattered pairs throughout the country all the year round. At the
beginning of April, however, a considerable accession to its numbers is
observed to take place, owing to a migration from the south and
south-east. It takes up its residence on moors and heaths, and many a
lonely walk over such ground is enlivened by the sprightly actions and
sharp “_chook-chook_” of this little bird. The male in his wedding
dress, with jet black head, white collar, and ferruginous breast, is
extremely handsome; and the artist who is fond of depicting bird-life
would scarcely find a prettier subject than a male Stonechat in this
plumage upon a spray of furze in full bloom.
In Ireland the Stonechat is considered to be a resident species, and
this is attributed by Mr. Thompson to the mild winters of that island.
In Scotland, on the contrary, Sir Wm. Jardine has observed that the
Stonechat is not nearly so abundant as either the Whinchat or the
Wheatear, and frequents localities of a more wild and secluded
character. It ranges, however, to the extreme north of the mainland of
Scotland, and is included by Dr. Dewar in his list of birds which he
found nesting in the Hebrides. It is said not to breed in either Orkney
or Shetland.[4]
The geographical range of the Stonechat is rather more extensive than
that of the Whinchat, for besides being found throughout the greater
part of Europe to the Mediterranean, it goes by way of Senegal to South
Africa, and extends eastward through Asia Minor, Palestine, and Persia,
to India and Japan. In Europe, however, its distribution is somewhat
remarkable, inasmuch as it is confined chiefly to the central and
southern portions of the continent, and in Norway and Sweden is unknown.
The Whinchat, on the other hand, breeds in these countries, and has been
met with as far north as Archangel. In winter the male Stonechat loses
the black head, and the colours in both sexes are much less vivid than
in summer. Here again, as with the Wheatear, the change of plumage seems
to be effected by a change of colour in the same feathers, and not by a
moult.
_Apropos_ of this subject, the reader may be referred to an article
contributed by me to the Natural History columns of “The Field,” 16th
September, 1871, on variation of colour in birds.
[Illustration: WOOD WARBLER]
THE WOOD WARBLER.
(_Phylloscopus sibilatrix._)
Although often taken to comprehend every species of warbler, Professor
Newton has recently shown[5] that the genus _Sylvia_ of Latham should be
restricted to the group of fruit-eating warblers next to be described,
and that the generic term which has priority for the willow wren group
is _Phylloscopus_ of Boie.
From its larger size, brighter colour, and finer song, the Wood Warbler
deserves to be first noticed; and the first step should be to
distinguish it from its congeners. Perhaps none of the small
insectivorous birds have been more confounded one with another than have
the members of this group, not only by observers of the living birds,
but by naturalists with skins of each before them. Taking the three
species which annually visit us—_i. e._, the Wood Warbler, the Willow
Warbler, and the Chiff-chaff—it will be found on comparison that they
differ in size as follows—
Length. Wing. Tarsus.
Wood Warbler 5·2 in. 3·0 in. 0·7 in.
Willow Warbler 5·0 ” 2·6 ” 0·7 ”
Chiff-chaff 4·7 ” 2·4 ” 0·6 ”
Not only is the Wood Warbler the largest of the three, but it has
comparatively the longest wings and the longest legs. The wings, when
closed, cover three-fourths of the tail. In the Willow Wren, under the
same circumstances, less than half the tail is hidden. The Chiff-chaff’s
wing is shorter again. In my edition of White’s “Selborne,” founded upon
that of Bennett, 1875, pp. 56, 57, will be found a long footnote on the
subject, with woodcuts illustrating the comparative form of the wing in
these three birds. Mr. Blake-Knox, in “The Zoologist” for 1866, p. 300,
has pointed to the second quill-feather, depicted in a sketch
accompanying his communication, as being an unfailing mark of
distinction.[6] When we reflect, however, upon the variation which is
found to exist in the length of feathers, owing to the age of the bird,
moult, or accident, too much stress ought not to be laid upon this as a
character. At the same time there is no doubt that, taken in connection
with other details, it will often assist the determination of a species.
After examining a large series of these birds, I have come to the
conclusion that, as regards the wings, the following formulæ may be
relied on: Wood Warbler, 2nd=4th; 3rd and 4th with outer webs sloped off
towards the extremity. Willow Warbler, 2nd=6th; 3rd, 4th, and 5th sloped
off. Chiff-chaff, 2nd=7th; 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th sloped off.
The Wood Warbler is much greener on the back and whiter on the under
parts than either of its congeners, and has a well-defined superciliary
streak of sulphur-yellow, which, in the Willow Wren, is much shorter and
paler. The legs of the Wood Warbler and Willow Wren are brownish
flesh-colour, while those of the Chiff-chaff are dark brown. After the
first moult, the young of all three species are much yellower in colour
than their parents. Hence the mistake which Vieillot made in describing
the young of _P. trochilus_ as a distinct species under the name of
_flaviventris_.
Although the majority of the _Sylviidæ_ are fruit-eaters, the species
now under consideration are almost entirely insectivorous;[7] they are
also more strictly arboreal in their habits, and as regards the
character of their nests, they differ remarkably from other members of
the _Sylviidæ_ in building domed nests on or near the ground, instead of
cup-shaped nests at a distance from it. The Yellow-billed Chiff-chaff—or
Icterine Warbler, as it should now be called[8]—however, forms an
exception to the rule, as will be seen later. As these little birds make
their appearance at a season when caterpillars and destructive larvæ
begin to be troublesome, the good they do in ridding the young leaves
and buds of these pests is incalculable. I have watched a Willow Wren
picking the green _aphis_ off a standard rose-tree, and have been as
much astonished at the quantity which it consumed as at the rapidity of
the consumption. The Wood Warbler is not nearly so sociable as either
the Willow Warbler or the Chiff-chaff. It keeps to the tops of trees in
woods and plantations, and seldom comes into gardens; hence it is not so
often seen. Although not rare, it is somewhat local, and in the British
Islands, it appears, is confined exclusively to England and the south of
Scotland. Mr. Thompson has included it with hesitation amongst the birds
of Ireland; for although the description given to him of certain birds
and eggs seemed to apply to this species, it was stated that the nest
which contained the eggs was lined with feathers. Now, the Willow Wren
invariably makes use of feathers for this purpose, but the Wood Warbler
does not. The nest of the latter is composed entirely of dry grass and
leaves, occasionally mixed with a little moss; and although I have
sometimes found horsehair inside, I do not remember to have seen or
heard of an instance in which any feathers were employed. The eggs, five
or six in number, are white, closely freckled over with reddish brown.
Mr. Blake-Knox, a well-known naturalist, resident in the county of
Dublin, says (“Zoologist,” 1866, p. 300), “I tried very hard this year
to add the Wood Wren to our Dublin avifauna, and though I killed some
dozens of snowy-white-bellied Willow Wrens, they were all the common
_Sylvia trochilus_. That the bird is Irish I am sure, for I have heard
it. Should an Irish ornithologist see this, will he try for it, if he
should live in a wooded district, such as the counties Wicklow and
Wexford? I am sure it is neglected for want of a certain distinction.”
Since this note was published, the Wood Wren has actually been obtained
in Ireland, a specimen having been shot in the county of Fermanagh by
Sir Victor Brooke, and preserved by him in June, 1870. Another was
obtained the same year at Glen Druid in the county of Dublin, as
reported by Mr. Blake-Knox. Both Sir William Jardine and Macgillivray
have referred to the Wood Warbler being found northward to the middle
districts of Scotland, a circumstance which appears to have been
overlooked by Mr. Yarrell, since he says (vol. i. p. 349, 3rd edit.), “I
am not aware of any record of its appearance in Scotland.” This
statement, however, has been rectified in the fourth edition of this
standard work by Professor Newton, who remarks: “In Scotland it is known
to breed regularly in the counties of Dumfries, Wigton, Lanark and
Berwick, the Lothians and Perthshire, and occasionally in those of
Roxburgh, Selkirk, Renfrew and Stirling.” Mr. A. G. More, in an article
“On the Distribution of Birds in Great Britain during the Nesting
Season,” published in the “Ibis” for 1865, observes (p. 26), that the
Wood Warbler “in Scotland ranges further north than the Chiff-chaff,
having been observed by the Duke of Argyle in Argyleshire and at
Balmoral.”
According to Mr. Robert Gray, of Glasgow, it has been observed in
Inverness and Aberdeenshire, and Mr. Edwards has found it in Banffshire.
Beyond the British Islands the Wood Warbler is found throughout Europe,
though rare in the north, and it extends eastward to Siberia and
southward to Algeria, Egypt and Abyssinia. It arrives in this country
generally about the middle of April, and leaves again in September.
[Illustration: WILLOW WARBLER]
THE WILLOW WARBLER.
(_Phylloscopus trochilus._)
The Willow Warbler is much more generally distributed than the
last-named bird; but it is possible that it is considered commoner from
the difference in the haunts of the two species—the Wood Warbler, as
already remarked, keeping further away from habitations. As a rule, the
Willow Wren arrives in this country about the end of the first week in
April—that is to say, before the Wood Warbler, but not so early as the
Chiff-chaff, which is the first of the genus to appear.
Yarrell speaks of these birds as “having acquired with us the general
name of Willow Warblers, or Willow Wrens, from their prevailing green
colour;” but Thompson, in his “Birds of Ireland” (i. p. 192), says,
“this name was doubtless bestowed upon the bird originally on account of
its partiality to willows, which I have frequently remarked, the twigs
and branches of the common osier (_Salix viminalis_) abounding with
_aphides_, being on such occasions its chief favourite.” There is yet
another suggestion—_i. e._, that the name may have been bestowed from
the circumstance that these little birds make their appearance just as
the willow is budding.
It is marvellous how these tiny creatures can sustain the protracted
flights which are necessary to transport them from their winter to their
summer quarters; and yet that they make these long journeys is well
ascertained. On the 23rd of April a Willow Wren came on board a vessel
eighty miles from Malta and fifty from Cape Passaro, the nearest land.
Two days later another alighted on the rigging sixty miles from
Calabria, and one hundred and thirty-five from Mount Etna. On the 26th
of April, eighty miles from Zante and one hundred and thirty from
Navarino, a Willow Wren and a Chiff-chaff were found dead on board,
presumably from exhaustion, as they were apparently uninjured. Many
other such instances are on record.
The present species may be regarded as the commonest of the three which
visit us, being generally dispersed in favourable localities over the
whole of Great Britain and Ireland. Although it has not been met with in
the Hebrides, the Willow Wren has occasionally been seen in Orkney, and
the late Dr. Saxby has recorded a single instance of its occurrence in
Shetland. Through every country in Europe it seems to be well known as a
periodical migrant.
The winter quarters of the Willow Wren are to a certain extent those of
its congeners, that is to say, Northern Africa and Palestine, where it
is very numerous in the cold season, but it has been found much further
southward. Mr. Ayres sent a specimen to Mr. Gurney from Natal; the late
Mr. Andersson met with it in Damaraland, S.W. Africa; and Mr. Layard
some years since procured specimens at the Cape. As is often the case
with allied species, the remarks as to habits and food which have been
applied to the Wood Warbler will apply almost equally well to the
present species. The distinction between the birds themselves has been
already pointed out. The nests of the Willow Wren and Chiff-chaff are
both lined with feathers, the eggs of the former being white spotted
with red; while those of the latter are white spotted with purple,
chiefly at the larger end.
Varieties in this group of birds are rarely met with, and it may
therefore be worth notice that in May, 1861, a primrose-coloured Willow
Wren was shot at Witley Park, in the parish of Witley, Surrey, and
forwarded for inspection to the editor of “The Field.”
[Illustration: CHIFF-CHAFF]
THE CHIFF-CHAFF.
(_Phylloscopus rufa._)
Although the smallest of the three species, the Chiff-chaff is
apparently the hardiest of them all, for it often braves the winds of
March, and makes its appearance in England long before the leaves have
given signs of approaching summer. As I have already pointed out the
means of distinguishing this little bird from its congeners, and have
referred to its nest and eggs, it will suffice to state that, like the
Willow Wren, it is a regular summer visitant to England, Scotland, and
Ireland; that it is the earliest of the summer warblers to visit us; and
that it remains with us until the first week of September, when it
migrates to the south-east to spend the winter in a warmer climate. It
appears to be common at that season in Italy, Sicily, the Maltese
Islands, and Asia Minor; and Mr. Blyth has found it as far to the
eastward as Calcutta.
Old English authors, who knew the Garden Warbler as the Greater
Pettychaps, gave the Chiff-chaff the name of the Lesser Pettychaps,
presumably from its general resemblance to it in miniature. These two
names, however, may now be considered as obsolete.
Whilst on the subject of Willow Warblers, we may refer to the fact that
a single example of another species, _P. hypolais_ (_vel icterina_, the
oldest name for it), which is common enough on the other side of the
German Ocean, is recorded to have been taken in England, and another in
Ireland. The bird is known as the Yellow-billed Chiff-chaff, Melodious
Willow Warbler, and Icterine Warbler.[9] So long ago as June, 1848, the
English specimen referred to was killed at Eythorne, near Dover, and the
fact was communicated by Dr. Plomley to Mr. Yarrell, who published it in
his “History of British Birds.” A second British example of this species
was shot at Dunsinea, county Dublin, in June, 1856, and is now in the
Royal Dublin Society’s Museum.[10] In size it equals the Wood Warbler,
and resembles it somewhat in colour, but it has a shorter wing (2·75 in.
instead of 3 in.); the whole of the under parts are sulphur-yellow, and
the legs and toes are slate colour. These characters may serve to
distinguish it at once should it again be met with by ornithologists in
England. Should its song be heard, all doubts would at once be set at
rest, for as a warbler it is far superior to any of the three species
just mentioned. I have had many opportunities of seeing and hearing this
little bird in Holland, and can testify to the power and variety of its
song. Frequently I contrived to get within a few feet of it, and could
almost see the notes as they poured out of its tiny throat. The eggs
when fresh are the most lovely imaginable, being of a bright pink with
dark purple spots, scattered chiefly at the larger end. The nest, as I
have already hinted, is cup-shaped, and placed at a little height from
the ground; the bird in this respect departing from the usual habit of
the Willow Warblers.
These notes being intended rather as suggestions for those who desire to
know a little about our summer birds, than as a condensed history of the
species, I may observe, in concluding this chapter, that those who are
anxious to glean further particulars about the Willow Warblers and their
allies, will do well to consult an excellent article on the subject by
Professor Schlegel, published (in French) in 1851 in the “Proceedings of
the Royal Zoological Society of Amsterdam.”
[Illustration: NIGHTINGALE]
THE NIGHTINGALE.
(_Philomela luscinia._)
In common with one or two allied species, the Nightingale differs so
materially in structure and habits from the garden or fruit-eating
warblers (_Sylvia_), with which it has been generally associated, that
most naturalists nowadays are agreed in regarding it as the type of a
separate genus (_Philomela_). For want of a better English name, and as
indicating their haunt, the members of this genus may be called “thicket
warblers.” As regards structure, they differ from the Garden Warblers in
having the bill less compressed towards the tip, and wider near the
gape; the legs much longer and not scutellated, the toes more adapted
for walking than perching. In habits they are more retired, concealing
themselves in thickets and copses, living a good deal on the ground,
where they find the principal portion of their food, and building a
loosely-constructed nest on or near the ground, instead of a more
compact structure at a distance from it.
The sole representative of this genus in England is the far-famed
Nightingale; and of all the summer migrants to this country, no species
probably has attracted more attention, or given rise to more speculation
and discussion amongst naturalists. The most remarkable fact in
connection with its annual sojourn in England is its very partial
distribution. When we find this bird in summer as far to the westward as
Spain and Portugal, and as far to the northward as Sweden, we may well
be surprised at its absence from Wales, Ireland, and Scotland; and yet
it is the fact that the boundary line, over which it seldom if ever
flies, excludes it from Cornwall, West Devon; part of Somerset,
Gloucester, and Hereford; the whole of Wales (_à fortiori_ from
Ireland), part of Shropshire, the whole of Cheshire, Westmoreland,
Cumberland, Durham, and Northumberland. I am well aware that the
Nightingale has been stated to have been heard and seen in Wales,
Cumberland, and even in Mid-Lothian (see “Zoologist,” p. 241); but, even
if they could be relied on in every case, which is doubtful, these
instances can only be regarded as exceptional. In those counties only to
the east of the line indicated can the bird be considered a regular
summer visitant. Mr. Blyth has expressed the opinion[11] that the
Nightingale migrates almost due north and south, deviating but a very
little indeed either to the right or left. “There are none in Brittany,”
he says, “nor in the Channel Islands, and the most westward of them
probably cross the Channel at Cape la Hogue, arriving on the coast of
Dorsetshire, and thence apparently proceeding northwards, rather than
dispersing towards the west; so that they are only known as accidental
stragglers a little beyond the third degree of western longitude.” They
arrive generally about the end of the second week in April, and it is a
well-ascertained fact that the males invariably precede the females by
several days. In 1867 three London birdcatchers, between April 13 and
May 2, took 225 Nightingales, and the whole of these, with five or six
exceptions only, were cock birds. The previous year these same
bird-catchers had supplied the dealer by whom they were employed with
280 Nightingales, of which not more than sixty were hens. From these
statistics we may infer that in no locality would Nightingales be more
plentiful if unmolested than in the neighbourhood of London; but if one
dealer only is instrumental in capturing between 200 and 300 in the
season, it is easy to account for the scarcity of the species. On the
arrival of the hen birds the cocks soon pair, and assist in building,
during which time, and during the time the hens are sitting, they are in
full song. When the young are hatched the males leave off singing, and
busy themselves in bringing food to the nest.
The song generally ceases before the end of the first week in June.
Occasionally, however, I have heard a Nightingale sing on throughout
June, but accounted for this by supposing that the nest had been robbed,
and that the cock was singing while the hen hatched a second brood.
Naturalists who live in London need not travel more than five miles from
Charing Cross to hear the Nightingale in full song. Nay, a friend who is
well acquainted with the note, has heard the bird frequently in Victoria
Park, which is only two miles distant from the Bank of England, and on
several occasions attentive observers have recognized the unmistakable
notes of the Nightingale in the Botanical Gardens, Regent’s Park, and in
Kensington Gardens.
It is curious how wide-spread is the belief that the Nightingale warbles
only at eve. The reason, no doubt, is that amidst the general chorus by
day its song is less noticed or attended to. But that it sings
constantly by day is a fact, of which we have satisfied ourselves
repeatedly. Moreover, it is by no means the only bird to sing at night.
The Sedge Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Woodlark, Skylark, and Thrush,
may often be heard long after sunset; while the Cuckoo is frequently to
be heard at midnight, and the Landrail constantly.
It would appear that of the large number of persons who profess a love
for song birds very few, comparatively, have the ear to distinguish a
song unless they can see the author of it. Hence it frequently happens
that they listen to a Thrush or Blackcap in the early spring, and
immediately inform their friends that they have heard the Nightingale
weeks before it has reached this country.
Many poets have perpetuated the odd belief that the mournful notes of
the Nightingale are caused by the bird’s leaning against a thorn to
sing! Shakespeare, for example, in his “Passionate Pilgrim,” says:
“Everything did banish moan,
Save the nightingale alone.
She, poor bird, as all forlorn,
Lean’d her breast up-till a thorn;
And there sung the dolefull’st ditty,
That to hear it was great pity.”
These lines, by the way, although generally attributed to Shakespeare,
and included in most editions of his poems, were written, it is said, by
Richard Barnefield in 1598, and published by him in a work entitled
“Poems in divers humors.”[12] Shakespeare’s Lucrece, however, invoking
Philomel, says:
“And whiles against a thorn thou bear’st thy part
To keep thy sharp woes waking.”
Fletcher speaks of
“The bird forlorn,
That singeth with her breast against a thorn.”
And Pomfret, writing towards the close of the seventeenth century, says:
“The first music of the grove we owe
To mourning Philomel’s harmonious woe;
And while her grief in charming notes express’d,
A thorny bramble pricks her tender breast.”
The origin of such an odd notion it is not easy to ascertain, but I
suspect Sir Thomas Browne was not far from the truth when he pointed to
the fact that the Nightingale frequents thorny copses, and builds her
nest amongst brambles on the ground. He inquires “whether it be any more
than that she placeth some prickles on the outside of her nest, or
roosteth in thorny, prickly places, where serpents may least approach
her?”[13]
In an article upon this subject published in the “Zoologist” for 1862
(p. 8029), the Rev. A. C. Smith has narrated the discovery on two
occasions of a strong thorn projecting upwards in the centre of the
Nightingale’s nest. It cannot be doubted, however, that this was the
result of accident rather than design; and Mr. Hewitson, in his “Eggs of
British Birds,” has adduced two similar instances in the case of the
Hedge Sparrow.
The nest of the Nightingale is a very loosely-made structure, composed
for the greater part of dead leaves, and placed upon a hedge bank,
generally at the root of some stout shrub or thorn. The eggs, usually
five in number, are, like the bird itself, of a plain olive-brown
colour. The young Nightingales are spotted like young Robins, having the
feathers of the upper portions of the plumage tipped with buff colour.
In some respects the Nightingale assimilates very much in habits to the
Robin; and advantage has been taken of this in localities where the
Nightingale is unknown to introduce its eggs into the nests of Robins,
with a view to having the young reared in the neighbourhood, and so
induced to return to it. But although, as regards hatching and rearing,
the plan has been successful, the birds have never returned to the place
of their birth. For some inexplicable reason, a limit appears to be set
to the migration of the Nightingale, which has no parallel in the case
of other migrants.
As autumn approaches it moves southwards towards the Mediterranean, and
spends the winter months in North Africa, Egypt, and Asia Minor. We
cannot help thinking that the Nightingale and many other birds which
visit us in summer and nest with us, must also nest in what we term
their winter quarters; otherwise it would be impossible, considering the
immense numbers which are captured on their first arrival, not only in
England, but throughout central and southern Europe, to account for the
apparently undiminished forces which reappear in the succeeding spring.
The late Mr. Blyth, however, was of a different opinion. Criticizing the
above remarks, he wrote:—
“The only birds known to me that breed in their winter quarters are two
species of Sand-martin (_Cotyle riparia_ and _C. sinensis_). In India I
have been familiar enough with birds in their winter quarters, and have
no hesitation in asserting that migratory species (with the remarkable
exceptions named) do not even pair until they have returned to their
summer haunts. Were they to do so, I could not but have repeatedly
noticed the fact, and must needs have seen very many of their nests and
young.”
To my suggestion that from Mr. Layard’s observation of young birds
there, the Common Swallow, _H. rustica_, probably breeds at the Cape
during the season that it is absent from the British Islands, Mr. Blyth
replied:—
“According to my experience of _Hirundo rustica_ (and I have had the
best opportunities for observation), it decidedly does not breed in its
winter quarters. Some birds of this species, which pass their
non-breeding season within the tropics, may migrate south instead of
north, and breed in the summer of the southern hemisphere instead of
that of the northern hemisphere; but there is no reason to suppose that
they are the same individuals. Were it so, the Cape colony would indeed
be flooded with _Hirundo rustica_. Besides, these birds renew their
plumage (as the Cuckoo likewise does) when in their winter quarters;
whereas the Sand-martins (_Cotyle_), as I am all but sure from
recollection, resemble the great majority of our summer migrants in
moulting before they take their departure equatorward. That our British
Sand-martin (_C. riparia_) breeds in Egypt during the winter months is
noticed in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society” for 1863 (p.
288), and that its ordinary representative in India and the countries
eastward (_C. sinensis_) does the same I can vouch from personal
observation, having myself taken both eggs and young about the turn of
the year from their burrows in the banks of the Hugli; while Mr. Swinhoe
noticed their breeding when in their winter haunts, in the “Ibis’ for
1863, p. 257, and 1866, p. 134.”
[Illustration: BLACKCAP]
THE BLACKCAP.
(_Sylvia atricapilla._)
Five species may be conveniently grouped under the generic term
_Sylvia_, or Fruit-eating Warblers, and these, with one exception, visit
Great Britain regularly in the spring. Two of them, the Blackcap and
Garden Warbler, enjoy little more immunity from traps and birdlime than
does the Nightingale. Their fine song marks them at once as the prey of
the professional bird-catcher, and during the month of April immense
numbers are taken daily. The Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat are also
sought after as cage-birds, but not to the same extent, for their song
is neither so musical nor so varied.
In no part of the country are these four species more plentiful than in
the south-eastern counties of England; and the neighbourhood of the
metropolis seems to have some special attraction for them. Far from
shunning “the busy haunts of men,” they appear to be nowhere more at
home than in our gardens and orchards. The reason is obvious as soon as
we become acquainted with their habits, and the nature of their food. We
then discover that their motives are not so disinterested as we might
suppose, since the real attraction is _fruit_. Upon this the parent
birds live to a great extent; and after bringing up their young upon
various kinds of insects which infest fruit trees—in which they
unquestionably do us good service—they introduce their progeny at length
to the more palatable pulp upon which they themselves have been faring
so sumptuously. No wonder, then, that the large market-gardens of Kent,
Surrey, and Middlesex should entice such numbers of these little birds
to remain in their vicinity throughout the summer.
The Blackcap (_Sylvia atricapilla_) is the earliest of the genus to make
his appearance, and seems to be hardier also than any of his congeners.
Many instances are on record of Blackcaps having remained in this
country throughout the winter, and this has been noticed as particularly
the case in Ireland. It is rather singular that Mr. Yarrell, in
referring to the sister isle, says that the Blackcap “has been taken,
once at least, in the north of Ireland,” as if he were of opinion that
its occurrence there were doubtful, or at least extremely rare. Mr.
Thompson, in his excellent “Natural History of Ireland” (vol. i. p.
183), notices the Blackcap as a regular summer visitant there; but he
adds that it must be considered very local. In Scotland it is considered
rare, being confined chiefly to the south; but since the observations
were published from which these remarks are drawn, considerable changes
seem to have taken place in the local distribution of many species of
birds. This is notably the case with the Blackcap and Garden Warbler,
both of which have followed cultivation, and now are found commonly in
localities where twenty years ago they were either unknown or stated to
be extremely rare.
The Blackcap, like the Nightingale, appears to migrate almost due north
and south, and ranges from Lapland to the Cape. It is resident in
Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries, and is also found throughout the
year in Northern Africa and Southern Italy. In the fine collection of
African birds (_Passeres_ and _Picariæ_) belonging to Mr. R. B. Sharpe,
I have seen a specimen of the Blackcap from Senegal. In Spain and
Portugal it is found only on the migration in spring and autumn. Mr.
Godman, in his interesting work on the “Natural History of the Azores,”
has described a curious variety of the Blackcap which is found in these
islands, “having the black marking on the head extending to the
shoulders and round under the throat,” and he was informed that
individuals were sometimes found with “the whole of the under parts of
the body black.” This variety appears to have been met with also in
Madeira, from whence it was described by Heineken (“Zool. Journ.,” v. p.
75). A figure of it will be found in Jardine and Selby’s “Illustrations
of Ornithology,” pl. 94.
However much observers may be deceived by song, there is no mistaking
either sex of the Blackcap as soon as the bird comes in view. The black
crown of the male and the brown crown of the female suffice to
distinguish the species amongst every other of our summer migrants.
There is something very peculiar, too, about the half-hopping,
half-creeping motions of all the Fruit-eating Warblers, which
distinguishes them at once from other small birds frequenting the same
haunts.
The males invariably arrive some days before the females; but both sexes
seem to leave the country much about the same time—that is, early in
September.