How to tell Birds on the Wing
(_continued_).
"The seamew's lonely laughter
Flits down the flowing wave;
The green scarts follow after
The surge where cross-tides rave."--_Fiona Macleod._
Falcons--golden eagle--harriers and sparrow-hawk--The heron--The
cormorant, shag, and gannet--The petrels--Guillemots, razor-bills,
and puffins--The ducks--The great crested grebe and dabchick--The
pigeons--The "plover tribe"--The gulls and terns--The game birds.
Our native birds of prey, the owls and
hawks, have been so harassed by game-keepers that many species are
now exterminated, while others are but rarely seen. Some, however, in
favoured localities still remain to us. At one time the owls and hawks
were believed to be nearly related: they were distinguished as the
"Nocturnal" and "Diurnal" birds of prey. We now know that they are not
in the remotest degree related. The owls, indeed, are closely related
to the nightjars. They have been already discussed here. The hawk tribe
must now have their turn.
The one most commonly seen to-day is the kestrel, which is really
a falcon, not a "hawk." No bird is so easily identified on the
wing. And this because of its habit of hovering in mid-air as though
suspended from the sky by some invisible thread, while it searches
the earth far below for stray mice. The kestrel's lordly relative,
the peregrine-falcon, is now-a-days only to be seen in a few favoured
spots, out in the wilds--on beetling cliffs washed by the restless
sea, or inland precipices. Those who have the good fortune to see it
at rest may know it by its large size, strongly barred under-parts,
dark blue-grey back and wings, and dark moustachial stripe. On the
wing it is a joy to watch, for its flight impresses one as something
irresistible: something from which there can be no escape, so swift is
it, and so terrible in its directness and strength. A few rapid beats
of its long pointed wings, then a long glide on motionless pinions,
and it is swallowed up in the distance. On the moors of Scotland it is
regarded with cordial dislike, because of the terror it spreads among
the grouse. Hence, unhappily, every man's hand is against it.
The little hobby is another of our falcons which is remorselessly shot
down by the game-keepers, who, all too commonly, lack both knowledge
and discretion. In appearance it closely resembles the peregrine, and
its flight is similar. It feeds chiefly on small birds, dragon-flies,
and beetles. You may hope to find it--generally in vain--in well-wooded
districts, from April to September, in the southern counties of
England. In the north of England and Scotland, if Fortune favours,
you may find the merlin; our smallest British falcon; the male
scarcely exceeds a blackbird in size. Moors and the heath-covered
brows of sea-cliffs are perhaps its favourite haunts. Its flight is
swift, buoyant, and low. Unlike the hobby, gliding movements are not
conspicuous. The male is of a slate-blue, and has a broad black band
across the tail. The female is larger than her mate, dark brown on
the back and wings, and white, streaked with brown, below. It feeds
almost entirely on small birds, but varies this diet with beetles and
dragon-flies.
Wherever there are deer-forests in Scotland, even to-day,--but nowhere
else in Great Britain--may you count on seeing the golden-eagle. And
it is a sight to gladden the eyes. Its great size, broad wings, and
wide-spread, upturned, primaries, are unmistakable, when seen on the
wing--and it is rarely that you will see it else.
Those who cannot contrive to visit the haunts of the golden-eagle may
find ample compensation in watching the flight of the common buzzard in
Wales, the Devonian peninsula, and the Lake District. Though time was
when it might be seen all over England, wherever woods abounded. Its
flight, when hunting, strikes one as somewhat slow and heavy. In fine
weather, however, as if for the mere delight of the exercise, it will
mount heaven-wards in great sweeping spirals, holding its broad wings
almost horizontally, and spread so that the primaries stand widely
apart for half their length, and in this joyous movement they will
remain aloft for hours on end.
But for the untiring efforts of the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds, none of our larger birds of prey--save, perhaps, the golden
eagle, which is carefully cherished in the deer-forests--would now be
left to us. The case of our harriers seemed hopeless. But, thanks to a
zealous protection, a remnant remains.
The harriers are in many ways extremely interesting birds. In
appearance, when closely examined, they present one remarkable feature.
And this is found in the curious arrangement of the feathers of the
face which radiate from the eye as a centre, as in the owls, to form
a "facial disc." They are all large birds, of slender build, and have
a habit of flying close to the ground with their long, slender legs
dangling, crossing and re-crossing the same area till they are sure
they have examined it thoroughly. Frogs, eggs, small birds, and voles
form their principal food. Every now and again they will rise and
circle round at a considerable height, seeking a new feeding ground.
The marsh-harrier is our largest harrier, and has rounded wings, and
slower wing-beats than the others, from which it is further readily
distinguished by its chocolate brown coloration, cream-coloured head,
and grey tail and secondaries, which contrast strongly with the black
primaries. The hen-harrier breeds only in the Orkneys and the Outer
Hebrides. It is distinguished by its grey coloration and pure white
rump-patch. Montagu's harrier is a somewhat smaller bird, and has black
bars on the secondaries. In flight it is more graceful and buoyant than
its relatives, and this is accomplished by three or four wing-beats,
alternating with a long glide on half-raised pinions. It, again, nests
annually in East Anglia, thanks to protection.
There remains but one other bird of prey to mention here, and this is
the sparrow-hawk. It may be easily recognized during flight by its
short, rounded wings and long tail. The female, which is much larger
than her mate, has the under parts distinctly barred. The breast of
the male is similarly marked, but the bars, being of a pale rufous, or
rust-colour, and much narrower, are less conspicuous. It has a very
rapid and gliding flight, just above the ground, or along hedgerows,
which it scours in its search for small birds.
There may be many who will fare forth to find the harrier on the wing.
If they succeed they will indeed be fortunate. But there is one bird
that most certainly will be seen in the "harrier-country," and that is
the heron. There can be no mistaking him. He may be found, a large,
grey bird, standing contemplative, knee-deep by the river's margin,
or in some ditch, awaiting the moment to strike at some unwary fish,
frog, or water-vole. The moment he discovers that he is being watched
he will be on the move. He rises heavily, almost awkwardly, with
flapping wings and outstretched neck: his legs dangling down. But no
sooner is he well on the way than he hauls in his neck till the head is
drawn close to the body, and straightens out his legs till they extend
behind him like a pair of streamers. Henceforth his flight is easy and
graceful enough. This is the bird which was so much prized in the old
days of "hawking." The invention of the gun ended this most fascinating
form of sport.
Let us turn now, for a little while, from moor and wood and fen, to
the sea-shore, and, for choice, to a rock-bound coast with towering
cliffs. Here you will find a number of species which will never be
found inland. They love the sea, whether it be shimmering in the sun of
a blazing June day, smooth as a millpond, or in a fury of thundering
billows, lashed by a roaring gale in bleak December. The bottle-green
shag is one of these. You cannot mistake him. Perched on a rock he
sits upright, and, in the spring, wears a crest upon his head. On
the water he floats with the body well down, and every few moments
disappears with a spring into the depths, for his never-ending meal
of fish and crabs. His flight, just above the water, is strong and
rapid. His cousin, the cormorant, is a conspicuously larger bird, with
a bronze-coloured plumage. In the breeding season his head has a hoary
appearance, due to the presence of numerous filamentous feathers, known
as "filoplumes"; while the throat is white, and there is a large white
patch on the thigh. He has a habit, after a full meal, of sitting on
some convenient perch with wings spread wide open and open-mouthed,
apparently as an aid to digestion. But he is by no means so wedded to
the sea as the shag. Rivers and inland waters will serve him as well as
the sea.
[Illustration:
1. Partridge.
2. Gannet.
3. Whitethroat.
4. Red-backed Shrike.
5. Magpie.
6. Goldfinch.
7. Great Crested Grebe.
8. Buzzard.
9. Puffin.
10. Grey Wagtail.
]
The gannet, though very nearly related to the cormorant, is a bird of
very different habits and appearance. When adult it is snow white in
plumage, with blue beak and feet, and can be mistaken for no other
bird. Its peculiar mode of fishing was described in Chapter II.
Finally, there are two most interesting features of these birds which
are worth remembering. To wit, the toes are all enclosed within one
web, and they have no nostrils, and but the merest apology for a tongue.
And now we come to the petrels. These are for the most part nocturnal
birds, spending the day in burrows. They would, therefore, find no
place in these pages but for the fact that one may occasionally be seen
at sea when one is fishing off the shore in a boat. The commonest is
that known as the Manx shearwater. Rather larger than a pigeon, it may
be distinguished by its flight, which is rapid; the wings presenting
periods of rapid quivering, alternating with long sailing with fixed,
widely spread, narrow pinions. At one moment one sees only the deep
black of the back, the next the pure white of the under parts as the
birds turn now this way, now that, holding the outstretched wings at
right angles to the surface during the turn, so that one wing barely
misses the waves, while the other points skywards.
Sometimes too, one may see the little "Mother Carey's Chicken." A tiny
sprite sooty-black in colour, and with a white rump patch, it often
flies so close to the water that it is able to patter along the surface
with its feet, as it flies.
The fulmar petrel is indeed a child of the sea, for, except in the
breeding season, it never comes to land. But at sea you may have
the good fortune to see it off the east coast of Great Britain, and
the north and west of Ireland--and in winter off the south and west
coasts of England. Though in coloration resembling a common gull, it
may always be distinguished, when on the wing, by its narrow wings,
curved like a bow--not sharply angled as those of a gull, and the
primaries are not black-tipped. Its flight is strong and powerful:
slow wing-beats alternating with long glides. On far St. Kilda, in the
breeding season, you may find them in great hosts. For some unexplained
reason they are increasing in numbers, and may now also be found
breeding in the Shetlands, Hebrides, and Orkneys.
Some who read these pages may, perchance, be stimulated by a desire to
enlarge their acquaintance with our sea-birds by spending a day at sea
in a small row-boat. For choice, one of the larger breeding-stations
should be visited. Horn Head, Donegal; St. Kilda, The Scilly Islands,
the Bempton cliffs, Yorkshire; The Farne Islands, Fowlsheugh,
Stonehaven; the Orkneys, the Shetlands, or the Hebrides, are all
renowned resorts. Here are thrilling sights indeed. Guillemots,
razor-bills, and puffins are congregated in swarms, which must be
seen to be believed. Few birds are more easy to tell at sight as they
scuttle past one on the way down to the water from the cliffs, or
returning laden with food for their young. The puffin is easily the
most conspicuous, since he flies with his little yellow legs stuck out
on each side of his apology for a tail. And for a further token there
is his great red and yellow beak. The guillemot has a sooty brown head
and neck--in his breeding dress--slate-grey back and white under parts,
and a pointed beak; while the razor-bill, similarly coloured, is to
be distinguished by the narrow white lines down his highly compressed
beak. By good fortune, the white-winged black guillemot may be found
among the host. His white wings contrasting with the black plumage of
the rest of the body, and his red legs, suffice to identify him.
On the Farne Islands, as well as on the Orkneys and Shetlands, you
may be sure of finding the Eider-duck, one of the most singular, and
most beautiful members of the duck family. It is singular because of
its coloration; the under parts of the body being of a velvet black,
while the upper parts are white, thus exactly reversing the normal
distribution of these "colours." The rosy hue which suffuses the
fore-part of the breast, and the bright green patch on the cheek,
make up an unforgettable scheme of coloration. The female is very
soberly clad, being of a dark brown, barred with black. A further, and
valuable, identification mark is furnished by her beak, which, like
that of her lord, seems unusually long, owing to the sloping forehead.
The flight is slow and close down to the water.
The sheld-duck is another strikingly coloured species that is commonly
seen on sandy shores and estuaries. There can be no mistaking it. On
the wing it has a conspicuously pied appearance, while the flight
seems slow and rather laboured. Seen at rest, and fairly near, a broad
chestnut band across the breast, and a black band down its middle will
be noticed, while the black head and neck are admirably contrasted
with a coral red beak. The legs are pale pink. In winter, on parts of
the east coast, they sometimes form flocks of several hundreds. The
heavy-bodied, black ducks, one often sees scurrying along, close to the
water, sometimes in immense flocks, are common scoters. The male is
entirely black, with an apricot yellow beak-patch, the female is a dark
brown, with grey cheeks.
[Illustration:
1. Peregrine Falcon.
2. Kestrel.
3. Merlin.
4. Golden Eagle.
5. Montagu's Harrier.
6. Goshawk.
7. Osprey.
8. Sparrow Hawk.
]
Though the duck-tribe is represented by a considerable number of
species, the number likely to be seen by the casual wanderer is very
few; for these birds mostly keep well under cover during the day. In
addition to the three species just described there are at least two
others which are not infrequently seen, out in the open, during the
day. One of these is the goosander, which, on the lochs and rivers of
Scotland, is common; and it is also frequently encountered in similar
situations in the northern counties of England. You may know him by his
bottle-green head, which bears a crest, black back, and white wings.
His breast is suffused with a wonderful pale salmon colour--which fades
away within a few hours of death, leaving the breast white. The beak is
long, pointed, and coral red. Moreover, its edges are armed with horny
teeth. For he is a fish-eater, capturing his prey by diving. On the
wing he is very fast, but he rises from the water but slowly. His mate
has a reddish-brown head and neck, and a grey back. The second species
referred to is the mallard, though it is only very occasionally, and
by accident, met with during the day. Its appearance has been so well
represented in the coloured Plate that there is no need for description.
When on the margins of lakes, large ponds, or slow-moving streams, keep
a look-out for two very remarkable divers--the great-crested grebe and
the dabchick. Both float low in the water, and may be identified at
once from the fact that they have no tail. The great-crested grebe has
a conspicuous dark chestnut-red frill round his neck, which can be set
out like an Elizabethan ruff, at will, though this is rarely done save
in the courting season. The dabchick is a small bird--rather smaller
than a pigeon--and has no erectile ornaments. The "grebe-flight"
is shown in the coloured drawings, and it has further been already
described. They will vanish beneath the water with startling
suddenness, and remain below for a surprising length of time; emerging
at last far from the spot at which the dive was taken.
One of the commonest birds of the country-side is the ring-dove,
or woodpigeon. He is the largest of our pigeons, and may further
be distinguished by the white half-ring round his neck. His flight
scarcely needs to be described, for it differs in no essentials from
the pigeons of our dove-cotes. His courtship flight has already been
described here. The stock-dove is not quite so conspicuous, but may be
readily distinguished from the fact that the neck has no white patch,
while the out-spread wings are marked by an imperfect bar of black. It
is a bird, by the way, which shows a strange diversity of taste in the
selection of the site for its nursery--a rabbit-burrow, a hole in a
tree, an old squirrels drey, or the cross-beams in an old church tower!
The rock-dove haunts deep caverns worn out of the cliffs, both inland
and on the coast. But one can never be certain that one is watching
_really_ wild birds. Certain it is that most of the "rock-doves" one
sees are domesticated birds run wild. This is the ancestor of our
dove-cote birds, from some of which, those with a white rump and two
black wing-bars, they cannot be distinguished. It is on account of this
ancestry that our domesticated pigeons never alight in trees. They are
inherently cliff dwellers. The turtle dove is a summer visitor to
the British Islands. The cinnamon brown of its back, bluish ash-grey
head, wing-coverts and rump, the patch of black on its neck, and the
fan-shaped tail, tipped with white, readily distinguish it from the
other three species just described.
Where the summer holidays are spent by the sea--in places where
there are no bands, piers, "promenades," and other abominations of
"civilization"--one may spend delicious hours watching some of our
"wading-birds." On such parts of the coast as have a rocky shore one
may be sure of finding the handsome oystercatcher, a black-and-white
bird, with a long red beak, and flesh-coloured legs. His loud,
shrill "_wheep-wheep_" seems to harmonize perfectly with his wild
surroundings. His striking coloration, shrill note, and swift powerful
flight, make confusion with any other bird impossible. One is also
sure to find the ringed-plover. A little bird with a pale brown back,
a white forehead with a bar of black above it, black face, and a black
band at the base of the white neck. The beak is short, and the legs
yellow. The wings, in flight, are long and pointed, and marked with
a white bar. The outer tail-feathers, spread during flight, are also
white. It runs rapidly about, swiftly picking up sand-hoppers and
other small creatures, and always travels in small flocks. Commonly
associated with the ringed-plover one finds the dunlin, grey above,
white below, and with a long, black beak. The peculiarities of its
flight, and its strikingly different summer dress have already been
described here. Sometimes you will meet with the common sandpiper; a
small bird, about the size of a thrush, who runs on rather long legs,
and constantly flicks his tail up and down. His coloration is of a
bronzy-brown, above, more or less conspicuously marked with darker
bars, and white below. In flight he shows long, pointed wings, and a
tail broadly tipped with white and barred with black. More often you
will find him on the banks of streams. His cousin, the redshank, a much
larger bird, has already been described here in regard to his spring
love-making. Later in the year he may be distinguished, when on the
wing, by the large white rump-patch, white secondaries, white tail,
barred with black, long pointed wings, and long, red legs.
The wary curlew, already referred to, is really a moorland bird,
but spends the autumn and winter by the shore, or on the mud-flats
of estuaries. His peculiar cry, a shrill "_cour-lie_," readily
distinguishes him. Added to this is his large size, brown coloration,
and long, curved beak. On the wing, the rump and upper tail-coverts are
conspicuously white.
The "waders," sometimes collectively referred to as the "plover-tribe,"
are represented in the British Islands by a very long list of species,
of which only the commonest are mentioned here. Many, however, are
mere casual visitors. Near allies of this "tribe" are the gulls and
terns. The peculiarly graceful, elastic flight of these birds surely
needs no description. Even town-dwellers know them well. For during
the winter months they follow the rivers far inland. Even in grimy
London they may be seen in hundreds during the winter months. The
black-headed gull is by far the commonest of these winter visitors. But
at the same time, to the uninitiated, the name "black-headed" must seem
singularly inappropriate; for its head is emphatically _white_. At no
time, indeed, is it ever _black_. But keep careful watch of the hosts
which throng the river from January, onward, till they depart for their
breeding quarters, and you will see them gradually developing a dark
patch on each side of the head. And this slowly spreads till the whole
head is of a dark sooty brown. Immature birds may be picked out by the
presence of brown feathers in the wings, and a black bar across the tip
of the tail. Here and there among them, one may see much larger birds
of a brownish grey colour, and with black beaks and pale coloured legs,
in place of the cherry-red of the beak and legs of the "black-headed"
species. These are the immature stages of the greater, and lesser
black-backed gulls; or of the herring gull. When fully adult the two
first-named have the back and wings of a dark slate colour, the rest of
the plumage dazzling white. The beak is pale yellow, with a red spot on
the angle of the lower jaw. During flight the wings are also black, but
the primaries have white tips. The herring gull has a pale pearl-grey
back.
With a strange perversity the black-headed gull is commonly called, by
the novice, the "kittiwake." This is a totally different bird, rather
like a herring-gull in miniature, but with a green beak and short,
black legs. Moreover, it is rarely seen inland. It breeds in vast
colonies on the ledges of precipitous cliffs along the Scottish coast
and the west of Ireland. There are colonies, too, on Lundy, the Scilly
Isles, and the Farnes.
One other gull must be mentioned here, though it is not common, save in
the northern parts of Scotland. But it is a regular winter migrant down
the east coast of England during the winter. This is Richardson's skua.
You may tell it at once by its dark brown coloration, and long, pointed
tail. It gets its living mostly by robbing other gulls, chasing them
till they disgorge their latest meal, which is seized in mid-air as it
falls sea-ward!
Finally, a word or two about the "game-birds." These are all birds
easily distinguished by reason of their short, rounded, deeply convex
wings, which, driven with incredible speed, produce a "whirring"
sound--very pleasant to the ears of the sportsman. The flight is never
continued very far. The English partridge may be distinguished by the
horse-shoe mark on the breast: the French partridge by the beautiful
pearl-grey colour of the flanks, relieved by short bars of black, and
chestnut-red, and red legs and beak. It is also known, indeed, as
the "red-legged" partridge. The pheasant is a far larger bird, with a
long, pointed tail. The grouse is confined to moors. His heavy build
and red coloration distinguish him at once. The black-cock is a still
larger bird; the male with a wonderful metallic, steel-blue plumage,
and lyrate tail. His mate--the "grey-hen"--is chestnut brown, barred
with black. The capercailzie is the largest of all, almost rivalling
a turkey. His size alone suffices to distinguish him. Moreover, only
a very few can enjoy the pleasure of gazing at him, for he confines
himself to the coniferous woods of Scotland.
[Illustration: Buzzard Soaring.]