Alfred Newton

“ By gardeners every Tit mouse is generally regarded as an enemy, for it is supposed to do infinite damage to the buds of fruit-trees and bushes; but the accusation is wholly false, for the buds destroyed are always found to be those to which a grub the bird's real object has got access, so that there can be little doubt that the Titmouse is a great benefactor to the horticulturist, and hardly ever more so than when the careless spectator of its deeds is supposing it to be bent on mischief. ”

“ Its usual haunts are the shallow margins of the larger lakes and rivers, where fishes are plentiful, since it requires for its sustenance a vast supply of them, pursuing them under water, and rising to the surface to swallow those that it has captured in its capacious pouch. The nest is formed among the reeds that border the waters it frequents, placed on the ground and lined with grass. ”

“ In a general way Buzzards are smaller than Eagles, though there are several exceptions to this statement, and have their plumage more mottled. Furthermore, most if not all of the Buzzards, about which anything of the kind is with certainty known, assume their adult dress at the first moult, while the Eagles take a longer time to reach maturity. The Buzzards are fine-looking birds, but are slow and heavy of flight, so that in the old days of falconry they were regarded with infinite scorn, and hence in common English to call a man " a buzzard " is to denounce him as stupid. ”

“ The extreme development of the type in the New World just noticed also furnishes another hint. While in some of the American Trogons (Pharomacriis, for instance) the plumage of the females is not very much less beautiful than that of the inales, there are others in which the hen birds retain what may be fairly deemed a more ancient livery, while the cocks flaunt in brilliant attire. Now the plumage of both sexes in all but one [4] of the Asiatic Trogons, Harpactes, resembles rather that of the young and of those females of the American species which are modestly clothed. ”

“ Its bright hue is hardly visible when the bird is at rest, and it then presents a dingy appearance of grey and black. It is a species of wide range, extending from Spain to China; and, though but seldom leaving its cliffs, it has wandered even so far as England. ”

“ Setting aside those which are but occasional visitors to the British Islands, six species of Terns may be regarded as indigenous, though of them one has ceased from ordinarily breeding in the United Kingdom, while a second has become so rare and regularly appears in so few places that mention of them must for prudence sake be avoided. This last is the beautiful Roseate Tern, Sterna dougalli; the other is the Black Tern, Hydrochelidon nigra, belonging to a genus in which the toes are only half-webbed, of small size and dark leaden grey plumage. ”

“ There is no need to describe here a bird so familiar and in these days so widely distributed. As a denizen of our poultry - yards (see Poultry vol. xix. p) there are at least two distinct breeds, though crosses between them are much commoner than purely-bred examples of either. That known as the Norfolk breed is the taller of the two, and is said to be the more hardy. Its plumage is almost entirely black, with very little lustre, but the feathers of the tail and some of those of the back have a brownish tip. The chicks also are black, with occasionally white patches on the head. ”

“ A second and somewhat larger species, Pelecanus crispus, also inhabits Europe, but in smaller numbers. This, when adult, is readily distinguishable from the ordinary bird by the absence of the blush from its plumage, and by the curled feathers that project from and overhang each side of the head, which with some differences of coloration of the bill, pouch, bare skin round the eyes, and irides give it a wholly distinct expression. ”

“ Its ravages on ripening fruits, especially strawberries and gooseberries, excite the enmity of the imprudent gardener who leaves his crops unprotected by nets, but he would do well to stay the hand of revenge, for no bird can or does destroy so many snails, as is testified to the curious observer on inspection of the stones that it selects against which to dash its captures, stones that are besmeared with the slime of the victims and bestrewn with the fragments of their shattered shells. ”

“ Akin to the genus Parus, but in many respects differing from it, is Acredula, containing that curious-looking bird the Long-tailed or Bottle-Titmouse, with its many local races or species, which must be here passed over without a word. The bird itself, having its tail longer than its body, is unlike any other found in the northern hemisphere, while its nest is a perfect marvel of construction, being in shape nearly oval with a small hole in one side. ”

“ The sexes are almost alike in coloration, and externally differ chiefly in size, the males being largest. The tail is nearly square or moderately rounded. In the genus Pteroglossus, the "Aracaris" (pronounced Arassari) , the sexes more or less differ in appearance, and the tail is graduated. The species are smaller in size, and nearly all are banded on the belly, which is generally yellow, with black and scarlet, while except in two the throat of the males at least is black. ”

“ Of bold disposition, and fearless of the sleety storms of spring, as of predatory birds, the cock will take his stand on a tall tree, "like an enchanter calling up the gale" (as Knapp happily wrote) , and thence with loud voice proclaim in wild and discontinuous notes the fervour of his love for his mate; nor does that love cease when the breeding-season is past, since this species is one of those that appear to pair for life, and even when, later in the year, it gathers in small flocks, husband and wife may be seen in close company. ”

“ The deeper tints are, however, peculiar to the nuptial plumage, or are only to be faintly traced at other times, so that in winter the adults and the young always have a much plainer appearance, ashy-grey and white being almost the only hues observable. From the fact that Turnstones may be met with at almost any season in various parts of the world, [3] and especially on islands as the Canaries, Azores, and many of those in the British seas, it has been inferred that these birds may breed in such places. ”

“ The remaining native species is the Lesser Tern, S. minuta, one of the smallest of the genus and readily to be distinguished by its permanently white forehead. All the species already mentioned, except the Black Tern, have much the same general coloration—the adults in summer plumage wearing a black cap and having the upper parts of the body and wings of a more or less pale grey, while they are mostly lighter beneath. They generally breed in association, often in the closest proximity—their nests, containing 3 eggs at most, being made on the shingle or among herbage. ”

“ The Trogons are birds of moderate size: the smallest is hardly bigger than a Thrush and the largest less bulky than a Crow. In most of them the bill is very wide at the gape, which is invariably beset by recurved bristles. They seize most of their food, whether caterpillars or fruits, on the wing, though their alar power is not exceptionally great, their flight being described as short, rapid, and spasmodic. ”

“ Always conspicuous from its bright grass-green coat and crimson-velvet gorget, it is still a very tame bird; yet this seems rather the tameness of indifference than of confidence; it will allow a person to approach very near, and, if disturbed, alight on another twig a few yards distant . . . . commonly it is seen sitting patiently on a twig, with the head drawn in, the beak pointing upwards, the loose plumage puffed out, when it appears much larger than it is.
Tody (Todus viridis) . ”

“ The first plumage of the young closely resembles that of the parents; but, so far as is known, it has always a yellower tinge, very apparent on the parts, if there be such, which in the adult are white. Few birds are more restless in disposition, and if "irritability" be the test of high organization, as a much bepraised systematist asserts, the Paridx should stand very near the top of the list. ”

“ The young during the first twelvemonth are of a greyish-brown, but this dress is slowly superseded by the growth of white feathers, until when mature almost the whole plumage, except the black primaries, is white, deeply suffused by a rich blush of rose or salmon-colour, passing into yellow on the crest and lower part of the neck in front. ”

“ The tail is capable of free vertical motion, and controlled by strong muscles, so that, at least in the true Toucans, when the bird is preparing to sleep, it is re verted and lies almost flat on the back, on which also the huge bill reposes, pointing in the opposite direction.
As may be inferred from the foregoing, the Toucans are a Neotropical form, and by far the greater number inhabit the northern part of South America, especially Guiana and the valley of the Amazons. Some three species occur in Mexico, and several in Central America. ”

“ Tody (Todus viridis) . (After Gosse.)
It certainly has an air of stupidity when thus seen. But this abstraction is more apparent than real; if we watch it, we shall see that the odd-looking grey eyes are glancing hither and thither, and that ever and anon the bird sallies out upon a short feeble flight, snaps at something in the air, and returns to his twig to swallow it." Mr Gosse goes on to describe the engaging habits of one that he for a short time kept in captivity, which, when turned into a room, immediately began catching all the insects it could, at the rate of about one a minute. ”

“ Their feet are weak and of a unique structure, the second toe, which in most birds is the inner anterior one, being reverted, and thus the Trogons stand alone, since in all other birds that have two toes before and two behind it is the outer toe that is turned backward. The plumage is very remarkable and characteristic. There is not a species which has not beauty beyond most birds, and the glory of the group culminates in the Quezal (q.v.) ”

“ On the continent of Europe the autumnal influx of the birds bred in the North is regarded with much interest, as has been already stated (Birds, vol. iii. p) , for they are easily ensnared and justly esteemed for the table, while their numbers make their appearance in certain districts a matter of great importance. The second species to which the name applies is distinguished as the Mistletoe-Thrush, or, by corrupt abbreviation, the Missel-Thrush. ”

“ In the British Islands we have two species, one resident (the B. vidgaris already mentioned) , and now almost confined to a few wooded districts; the other the Rough-legged Buzzard (Archibuteo lagopw) , an irregular winter-visitant, sometimes arriving in large bands from the north of Europe, and readily distinguishable from the former by being feathered down to the toes. ”

“ But it is almost as unquestionable that the name was origin ally applied to the bird which we know as the Guinea-Fowl (q.v.) , and there is no doubt that some authors in the 16th and 17th centuries curiously confounded these two species. As both birds became more common and better known, the distinction was gradually perceived, and the name " Turkey " clave to that from the New World possibly because of its repeated call-note to be syllabled turk, turk, turk, whereby it may be almost said to have named itself (cf. Notes and Queries, ser. 6, iii. pp. 23, 369) . ”

“ These birds fly to a great distance from land and seem to be attracted by ships, frequently hovering round or even settling on the mast-head.
The Yellow-billed Tropic-bird, P. flavirostris or candidus, appears to have habitually the most northerly, as well, perhaps, as the widest range, visiting Bermuda yearly to breed there, but also occurring numerously in the southern Atlantic, the Indian, and a great part of the Pacific Ocean. In some islands of all these three it breeds, sometimes on trees, which the other species are not known to do. ”

“ The eggs are very remarkable objects, curiously unlike those of other birds; and, as before stated (BiEDS, vol. iii. p. 775) , their shell [3] looks as if it were of highly-burnished metal or glazed porcelain, presenting also various colours, which seem to be constant in the particular species, from pale primrose to sage-green or light indigo, or from chocolatebrown to" pinkish orange. All who have eaten it declare the flesh of the Tinamou to have a most delicate taste, as it has a most inviting appearance, the pectoral muscles being semi-opaque. Of their habits not much has been told. ”

“ Through persecution it has been exterminated in all its southern haunts, and is become much scarcer in those to which it still resorts. It was, however, never so abundant as its smaller congeners, the so-called Common and the Arctic Tern,—two species that are so nearly alike as to be beyond discrimination on the wing by an ordinary observer, and even in the hand require a somewhat close examination. ”

“ At the same time the most distinctive features of the whole group, which are easily taken in at a glance, but are difficult to express briefly in words, are equally possessed by both branches of the Family, showing that they were in all likelihood for the possibility that the peculiarities may have been evolved apart is not to be over looked reached before the geographical sundering of these branches (whereby they are now placed on opposite sides of the globe) was effected. ”