C. A. Johns

“ With his glossy coat and yellow beak the Blackbird is a handsomer bird than the Thrush; his food is much the same: he builds his nest in similar places; he is a great glutton when gooseberries are ripe, and his rich mellow song is highly inspiriting. But he is suspicious and wary; however hard pressed he may be by hunger, you will rarely see him hunting for food in the open field. He prefers the solitude and privacy of 'the bush'. In a furze-brake, a coppice, a wooded water-course, or a thick hedge-row, he chooses his feeding ground, and allows no sort of partnership. ”

“ I am acquainted with no small bird whose habits are more marked, or more easily observed. Not even does the Skylark build its nest more invariably on the ground, and 'soaring sings, and singing soars', than does the Stonechat build its nest in a furze-bush, and perch on the topmost twigs of shrubs. In the breeding season, too, it seems not to wander far from its home: we know therefore where a pair are to be found at any time; and they allow us to approach so close to them, that we can readily distinguish them by the tints of their plumage. ”

“ Up to its knees in water, motionless as a stone, with the neck slightly stretched out, and the eye steadily fixed, but wide awake to the motion of anything that has life, the Heron may be seen in the ford of a river, the margin of a lake, in a sea-side pool, or on the bank of an estuary, a faultless subject for the photographer. Suddenly the head is shot forward with unerring aim; a small fish is captured, crushed to death, and swallowed head foremost; an eel of some size requires different treatment, and is worth the trouble of bringing to land, that it may be beaten to death on the shingle ”

“ The wanderer by the river's side on a bright sunny day, at any season, may have his attention suddenly arrested by the sight of a bird shooting past him, either up or down the stream, at so slight an elevation above the water, that he can look down on its back. Its flight is rapid, and the colour of the plumage so brilliant, that he can compare it to nothing less dazzlingly bright than the richest feathers of the peacock, or a newly dug specimen of copper ore. ”

“ It might be mistaken for a hawk, so rapidly does it cleave its way through the air; but birds of prey are too wary to betray their movements by the sound of their wings; they, too, rather launch into the air, than start with a violent clapping of their pinions. A Jay might make a similar noise; but when alarmed it always utters its harsh scream, and, if it comes in sight, may at once be distinguished by the striking contrast of its white and black feathers. ”

“ Its gait is graceful, its feet small and light, its head well raised; and its plumage, though devoid of striking contrasts, is exquisitely pencilled, each feather on the back and breast being veined like the gauzy wings of a fly. The most conspicuous part of the plumage of the male bird, the horseshoe on its breast, is invisible as it walks or crouches, and the general tone approaches that of the soil. ”

“ Eggs very light blue, with scattered spots of ash-colour and dark brown.
This lively and active bird, inferior in size as well as dignity to the Rook, yet in many respects resembles it so closely that it might be fabled to have made the Rook its model, and to have exercised its imitative powers in the effort to become the object of its admiration. A vain effort, however; for nature has given to it a slender form, a shriller voice, a partially grey mantle, and an instinct which compels it to be secretive even in the placing of its nest. ”

“ The discharge of a gun causes the whole of the colony to take wing; and as they rise into the air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by the mazy intercrossings of white wings, the ear bewildered by the discord of confused screamings. A visit paid at sunrise, when flocks of various kinds are wheeling about in all directions, will more than reward the early riser for his activity, for Scotland scarcely offers a more interesting sight. ”

“ Any one who has wandered by the mountain rivers of Scotland, North Wales, or Derbyshire, can have scarcely failed to notice a bird, somewhat less than a Blackbird, black above, with white throat and breast, dart with rapid and direct flight from a low rock on the river's bank, and alight on a wet mossy stone rising but a few inches above the water, where the stream runs swiftest and the spray sparkles brightest. ”

“ Not less singular than its note is its plumage, which, though unmarked by gaudiness of colouring, is very beautiful, being richly embroidered as it were with brown and black on a reddish grey ground. In habits, it bears no marked resemblance to the Woodpeckers; it is not much given to climbing and never taps the trunks of trees; yet it does seek its food on decayed trees, and employs its long horny tongue in securing insects. It darts its tongue with inconceivable rapidity into an ant-hill and brings it out as rapidly, with the insects and their eggs adhering to its viscid point. ”

“ The bird is so common that it would be difficult to walk a mile in a woodland district without passing near one or more, and having little to say, it seems never weary of repeating its tale, 'Chiff, chaff, cheff, chiff, chaff': the syllables have a harsh sound pronounced by human lips, but when chanted in the silvery notes of a little bird, in the season of primroses and wild hyacinths, and accompanied by the warble of the Hay-bird, the full song of the Thrush, and the whistle of the Blackbird, they contribute not a little to the harmony of the woods. ”

“ Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the Eagle are all ardour; and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the Fish Hawk once more emerge struggling with his prey, and mounting in the air with screams of exultation. ”

“ The male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, and if disturbed, instead of making off with his zigzag winter's flight, utters his well-remembered note and ascends at a rapid rate into the air, now ascending with a rapid vibration of wing, wheeling, falling like a parachute, mounting again, and once more descending with fluttering wings, uttering repeatedly a note different from his cry of alarm, intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which has been compared to the bleat of a goat. ”

“ They frequent open plains, hillsides, and inclosed fields, hunting a few feet above the surface of the ground, and beating for game as skilfully as a well-trained spaniel. The moment that the Harrier sees a probable victim he rises to a height of twenty feet, hovers for a moment, and then comes down with unerring aim on his prey, striking dead with a single blow, Partridge or Pheasant, Grouse or Blackcock, and showing strength not to be expected from his light figure, and slender, though sharp talons. ”

“ As spring advances, it adds caterpillars to its bill of fare, and as the summer fruits ripen, it attacks them all in succession; strawberries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, cherries, and, on the Continent, grapes suit its palate right well; and, when these are gone, pears and apples, whether attached to the tree or lying on the ground, bear, too often for the gardener, the marks of its beak on their ripest side. ”

“ Taken young from the nest, he is soon on familiar terms with his owner, recognizes him by a flapping of wings and a hiss whenever he approaches, clearing his premises of mice, and showing no signs of pining at the restriction placed on his liberty. Give him a bird, and he will soon show that, though contented with mice, he quite appreciates more refined fare. Grasping the body with his talons, he deliberately plucks off all the large feathers with his beak, tears off the head, and swallows it at one gulp, and then proceeds to devour the rest piece-meal. ”

“ When pressed by hunger, or desirous of changing their diet, they condescend to attack and capture birds so small as a Lark, and it is remarkable that however puny may be the prey, the Falcon preserves its instinctive habit of dealing a deadly blow at once, as if afraid that under all circumstances the natural impulse of its quarry were to stand on the defensive. Even in ordinary flight the movement of its wings is exceedingly quick, but when it stoops on its prey its rapidity of descent is marvellous, accompanied too, as it is, by a sound that may be heard at a distance of two hundred yards. ”

“ During all this period it relieves the monotony of its diet by an occasional repast on animal food; as, indeed, in winter it alternates its food whenever opportunity occurs, by regaling itself on wild berries. Yet, despite the mischief which it perpetrates in our gardens by devouring and spoiling much of the choicest fruit—for your thrush is an epicure, and tastes none but the ripest and best—the service which it renders as a devourer of insects more than compensates for all. So the gardener, if a wise man, will prefer the scare-crow to the gun, the protecting net to that which captures. ”

“ Their actions are very graceful while feeding, hanging in every imaginable attitude, peering into the cones, which, if they contain seeds, are instantly severed from the branch; clutched with one foot, they are instantly emptied of their contents, when down they come. So rapidly did they fall, that I could compare it to nothing better than being beneath an oak-tree in autumn, when the acorns are falling in showers about one's head, but that the cones were rather heavier. ”

“ Unerring in aim, and secure of its holdfast, it allows its victims no chance of escape, one miserable scream, and their fate is sealed. And even if the prey detects its coming enemy, and seeks safety in flight, its only hope is to slip into the thick bushes and trust to concealment: resort to the open field is all but certain death. Nor is it fastidious in its choice of food—leverets, young rabbits, mice, partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, larks, pipits, and many others are equal favourites. ”

“ Rising as it were by a sudden impulse from its nest or lowly retreat, it bursts forth, while as yet but a few feet from the ground, into exuberant song, and with its head turned towards the breeze, now ascending perpendicularly, and now veering to the right or left, but not describing circles, it pours forth an unbroken chain of melody, until it has reached an elevation computed to be, at the most, about a thousand feet. To an observer on earth, it has dwindled to the size of a mere speck ”

“ The true story of the Wren is simple enough. It is a minute bird of unpretending plumage, distinguished easily by its erect tail and its habit of hiding in bushes and hedges, not clinging like the Creeper to the perpendicular or horizontal bough of a tree, but hopping from twig to twig, and occasionally taking a short direct flight to another place of concealment, but rarely exposing itself by doing more than this. When hunting for its food, which is considered to be almost exclusively insects, it searches diligently holes and crannies of all kinds, and in all substances. ”

“ It will pounce on the leveret and bear it screaming from the side of its mother. It watches sheep which have strayed from the fold, and mangles the newly-born or weakly lambs, carrying them piece-meal to the young ones at home. If mowers are at work, the wary birds alight on some lofty tree, taking care to keep at a safe distance, and when a nest has been laid bare by the scythe, their incredibly sharp eye discerns the prize which, whether it consist of eggs or callow young, is borne off in triumph. ”

“ Travelling through the waste lands of England, one may sometimes go on for miles and see no winged creatures but an occasional Wheatear, which, with dipping flight, made conspicuous by the snow-white spot at the base of its tail, shoots ahead of us some thirty or forty yards, alights on a stone, and, after a few uneasy upward and downward movements of its tail, starts off again to repeat the same manœuvre, until we begin to wonder what tempts it to stray away so far from home. ”

“ Like the Dorr-Hawk, the Black Tern feeds on beetles and other insects, which it catches on the wing, but adds to its dietary small fresh-water fish, which it catches by dipping for them. While in pursuit of its winged prey, it does not confine itself to the water, but skims over the marsh and adjoining meadows, sometimes even alighting for an instant to pick up a worm. Black Terns are sociable birds among themselves, but do not consort with other species. They lay their eggs in the most inaccessible swamps, on masses of decayed reeds and flags, but little elevated above the level of the water. ”

“ If we ever had occasion to adopt a bird as a national emblem, the choice might for one reason fall on the Red Grouse. It is a native of the British Isles, and is found in no other country. On the moors of Scotland, the hilly parts of the north of England, the mountains of Wales, and the wastes of Ireland, it is as wild and free as the Gull on the sea-cliff. It frequents extensive heaths where man could not protect it if he would, and finds no stint of food where few living things can exist but insects and some of the larger rapacious animals which make it their special prey. ”

“ The Kestrel being the most abundant and by far the most conspicuous in its habits of all the British birds of prey, is probably, in most instances, the bird which has been observed whenever the appearance of 'a Hawk' has been mentioned. Though rapid in flight whenever it chooses to put forth its full powers, it is more remarkable for the habit which has acquired for it the name of 'Windhover'; and there can scarcely be any one, however unobservant, who makes even but an occasional expedition into the country, but has stopped and gazed with delight on its skilful evolutions. ”

“ As soon as these are left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct that they have no time to lose, and hasten in 'skeins' or 'gaggles' making in their flight a trumpet-like noise which, heard at a distance, resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They prefer to take their stand on those parts of the ooze which are least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them off their feet. ”