WILD NATURE--BIRDS
What a place Norway must be for birds'-nesting! There, if one went at
the right time, and did not mind roughing it, one might find eggs which
one could never come across in England, although laid by birds which
are called British. But the Norwegians protect a great many of their
birds by law in the same way as we do, and if this had only been done
a hundred years ago the Great Auk would not have disappeared for ever.
Most of our British birds are found in Norway at some time of the year,
and many of our rarer birds are almost common in Norway--golden eagles,
snowy owls, ravens, ring-ouzels, and crested tits, for instance. As
with us, there are resident birds and migratory birds. Nearly all the
kinds of birds which come from the South in the summer months to nest
in the British Isles also go farther North and nest in Norway. You will
find swallows, martins, cuckoos, warblers, and others of our summer
birds all nesting over there, and you will find some varieties of
southern birds which do not come to England, but go straight up from
Eastern or Central Europe to breed in the cool of the North. Amongst
these may be mentioned the blue-throated warbler, ortolan bunting,
Lapland bunting, shore lark, red-throated pipit, tree warbler, and
many others.
Then there are birds which are common enough in England in the winter,
but which mostly go away to Norwegian breeding-grounds, such as geese,
ducks, woodcock, and snipe; while bramblings, fieldfares, and redwings
are birds of the North, and never nest in Great Britain. Besides
these, there are a certain number of birds which have no claim to be
termed British, and which are found in Norway all the year round--the
nut-cracker, several kinds of woodpecker, the ryper (the game-bird of
the country), and others. And, on the other hand, some of our common
resident birds migrate from Norway in the winter.
The house-sparrow is as much at home in Norway as he is in every other
land, but in winter he sticks close to the habitations, and were it
not for the fact that the people are bird-lovers, sparrows would have
a poor chance of picking up a living at this time of the year. Towards
the end of autumn it is a general custom to erect near the house a
sheaf of corn on a pole, so that the small birds may have something
to eat when the hard weather comes. And the ceremony of putting up
the pole is made the occasion for a feast for the children. They are
thus not likely to forget the birds, and even in the towns one sees
these bundles of corn hanging outside the windows.
It is, perhaps, a little disappointing to find that robins in Norway
are not associated with Christmas, but the fact remains that they are
not brave enough to risk starvation, and though a few of them are said
to stay in the country, the bulk of them leave in September. But the
wren takes the place of the robin as far as tameness and impertinence
are concerned, as in winter he attaches himself to the peasant's
cottage and makes himself quite at home, being known either as
"Peter-of-the-Afternoon" or as "Tommy-round-the House." Magpies
also are great favourites with the country people at this season,
as they become quite tame, and hop in and out of the cottages. They
are regularly fed, and no one would dream of molesting them.
The Norwegians have several quaint old legends connected with some
of their birds. This is the story of the gold-crest, known in Norway
as the "bird king":
"Once upon a time the golden eagle determined to be publicly
acknowledged as king of the birds, and he called a meeting of every
kind of bird in the world. As many of the birds would come from
tropical countries, he appointed a day in the warmest month; and the
place he chose was a vast tract called Grönfjeld, where every species
of bird would feel at home, since it bordered on the sea, yet was
well provided with trees, shrubs, flowers, rocks, sand, and heather,
as well as with lakes and rivers full of fish. So on the morning of
the great congress the birds began to arrive in a steady stream, and
by noon every description of bird was represented--even the ostrich
(though how he contrived to cross the seas the story does not say). The
eagle welcomed them, and when the last hummingbird had settled down he
addressed the meeting, saying that there was no doubt that he had a
right to demand to be proclaimed their king. The spread of his wings
was prodigious, he could fearlessly look at the sun, and to whatever
height he soared he could detect the slightest movement of a fly on
the earth. But the birds objected to him on account of his predatory
habits, and then each in turn stated his own case as a claimant for
the kingship--the ostrich could run the fastest, the bird of paradise
and the peacock could look the prettiest, the parrot could talk the
best, the canary could sing the sweetest, and every one of them,
for some reason or other, was in his own opinion superior to his
fellows. After several days of fruitless discussion it was finally
decided that whichever bird could soar the highest should be, once
and for all, proclaimed king."
"Every bird who could fly at all tried his best, and the golden
eagle, confident of success, waited till last. Eventually he spread
his wings, and as he did so an impudent little gold-crest hopped
(unbeknown to his great rival) on to his back. Up went the eagle,
and soon outdistanced every other bird. Then, when he had almost
reached the sun, he shouted out, 'Well, here I am, the highest of
all!' 'Not so,' answered the gold-crest, as, leaving the eagle's back,
he fluttered upwards, until suddenly he knocked his head against
the sun and set fire to his crest. Stunned by the shock, the little
upstart fell headlong to the ground, but, soon recovering himself, he
immediately flew up on to the royal rock and showed the golden crown
which he had assumed. Unanimously he was proclaimed _fuglekongen_
(king of the birds), and by this name," concludes the legend, "he
has ever since been known, his sunburnt crest remaining as a proof
of his cunning and daring."
In those parts of Norway where the gold-crest is rarely seen the
same story, omitting the part about the sun and the burnt crest,
is told of the common wren, who is said to have broken off his tail
in his great fall. And to this is applied a moral, viz.: Proud and
ambitious people sometimes meet with an unexpected downfall.
Besides the three British woodpeckers, there are four other kinds
resident in Norway, and of these the great black woodpecker is the
largest. The woodmen consider it to be a bird which brings bad luck,
and avoid it as much as possible. They call it "Gertrude's Bird"
because of the following legend: "Our Saviour once called on an old
woman who lived all alone in a little cottage in an extensive forest
in Norway. Her name was Gertrude, and she was a hard, avaricious
old creature, who had not a kind word for anybody, and although she
was not badly off in a worldly point of view, she was too stingy and
selfish to assist any poor wayfarer who by chance passed her cottage
door. One day our Lord happened to come that way, and, being hungry
and thirsty, he asked of Gertrude a morsel of bread to eat and a
cup of cold water to drink. But no, the wicked old woman refused,
and turned our Saviour from the door with revilings and curses. Our
Lord stretched forth His hand towards the aged crone, and, as a
punishment, she was immediately transformed into a black woodpecker;
and ever since that day the wicked old creature has wandered about
the world in the shape of a bird, seeking her daily bread from wood
to wood and from tree to tree." The red head of the bird is supposed
to represent the red nightcap worn by Gertrude.
Legends of this description were doubtless introduced in the early days
of Christianity in order to impress the new religion on the people,
and several have been preserved. Thus the turtle-dove is revered
as a bird which spoke kind words to our Lord on the cross; and,
similarly, the swallow is said to have perched upon the cross and to
have commiserated with Him; while the legend of the crossbill relates
how its beak became twisted in endeavouring to withdraw the nails,
and how to this day it bears upon its plumage the red blood-stains
from the cross.
Yet one more Christian legend--about the lapwing, or peewit: "The
lapwing was at one time a hand-maiden of the Virgin Mary, and stole
her mistress's scissors, for which she was transformed into a bird,
and condemned to wear a forked tail resembling scissors. Moreover, the
lapwing was doomed for ever and ever to fly from tussock to tussock,
uttering the plaintive cry of 'Tyvit! tyvit!'--_i.e.,_ 'Thief! thief!'"
In the old Viking times, before Christianity had found its way so far
North, the bird which influenced the people most was the raven. He
was credited with much knowledge, as well as with the power to bring
good or bad luck. One of the titles of Odin was "Raven-god," and he
had as messengers two faithful ravens, "who could speak all manner
of tongues, and flew on his behests to the uttermost parts of the
earth." In those days the figure of a raven was usually emblazoned
on shield and standard, and it was thought that as the battle raged
victory or defeat could be foreseen by the attitude assumed by the
embroidered bird on the standard. And it is well known that William
the Conqueror (who came of Viking stock) flew a banner with raven
device at the Battle of Hastings.
But the greatest use of all to which the sable bird was put was to
guide the roving pirates on their expeditions. Before a start was
made a raven was let loose, and the direction of his flight gave the
Viking ships their course. In this manner, according to the old Norse
legends, did Floki discover Iceland; and many other extraordinary
things happened under the auspices of the raven.