H. G. Adams

“ It is a nimble active bird, constantly running about on the open plains and ploughed fields in search of food, which consists of insects of various kinds, green corn and leaves of vegetables, small berries, etc.; or in flying hither and thither in the air, now close to the ground as if about to settle, and then with a sudden upward wheel urging a strong and swift flight to some distant part of the field, or sea shore, which is a favourite resort in winter, where the birds collect in large flocks, uttering their wild shrill whistle, which harmonizes well with the sounds of the winds and waves. ”

“ Not handsome in form, certainly not elegant, nor well proportioned—with his short squat body and stump of a tail, thick neck, large head, and immense bill, little feet, that seem meant for a Sparrow, and eyes which, although bright and sharp enough, are much too small for the head. But he is a swift flier, for all that he looks so awkward; and see! quick as light he darts down upon that heedless fish that has come too near the surface, swallows it at a gulp, and is ready for another dart before you can look round you. ”

“ A bold familiar bird is the Raven, with jet black plumes, and a large powerful bill, fitted for tearing to pieces the flesh of animals on which it often feeds; and a deep hollow voice, that grates harshly upon the ear; and strong feet armed with sharp talons; and wings that spread out to a great extent, and with regular and well-timed beats, flap, flap, flap, winnow the air, and support the bird in its long flight over land and sea; while the broad tail, now elevated and now depressed, now turned this way and now that, gives to the heavy body the desired direction. ”

“ Beautifully marked and mottled is the dress of the plump little Partridge, as our readers know well,—delicately barred, and pencilled, and variegated, as if to shew what glorious effects may be produced with two or three colours only.
Partridges are tolerably plentiful in nearly all parts of Great Britain, where cultivation has smoothed the rugged features of the landscape; for, unlike the Grouse, which retreat as man advances further and further into the wilds of nature, these birds seldom go far from the farm and the home plantations. ”

“ Thus our examination of the egg has brought to view the three great necessities of all existence—protection, the shell and albumen; nutrition or food, the yolk; and the vital principle, to understand the nature of which has puzzled the greatest philosophers that the world ever saw. It is said in the Scriptures that God breathed into man the breath of life, but what this may be we can none of us tell; it is given to us and we live, it is taken away from us and we die; and so do all God's creatures, which by Him, and Him alone, live, and move, and have their being. ”

“ The Raven is known to live to a great age, often when in a domesticated state, seeing out two or three generations of a family; it is one of those birds which possess the power of imitating the human voice, and many anecdotes are told of its proficiency in this respect. It is a very sagacious bird, indeed so cunning that it has been thought by ignorant persons, to know more than it ought, and to be in league with witches and other "uncanny" people. Constantly do we find its cry alluded to by both ancient and modern poets, as ominous of death. ”

“ Then again, as we see the strong-winged bird sweep far away over the wide sea, we think of the time when the waters covered the face of the whole earth, and "Noah sent forth a Raven, which went to and fro until the waters were dried up." ”

“ The Black Grouse, conspicuous for its large size, glossy black plumage, forked tail, turning out like the flakes of an anchor, and noble bearing, is, with the exception of its near relative, the Capercaillie, or Cock of the Woods, now only to be found in some of the Scottish forests, the largest of our native game birds. It is found chiefly in Scotland, where it frequents those parts where there is a good growth of underwood or heather, or other thick vegetation, and also plenty of water, which appears to be necessary to its existence. ”

“ The Swift resorts much to ruinous castles, steeples, towers, and precipitous rocks, for the purpose of building; sometimes it nestles under the eaves of cottages and barns, or in holes in walls, and hollow trees, etc. The nest is rudely formed of sticks and straws stuck together with mud; the materials are picked up with great dexterity while the bird is on the wing, and, sometimes, it is said, the Sparrow or other small bird is robbed of its goods and chattels by the impudent stranger, which snatches them up, and is gone like a flash of lightning. ”

“ If you can fancy a bird in general conformation something between an Ostrich and a Goose, you will have a pretty fair notion of the Great Bustard—Otis tarda as naturalists call it, the first term meaning a Bustard, and the second slow or lazy; yet lazy as he may be, this long-legged stalker is by no means slow in his movements when once roused to action; he runs with great swiftness, and, when he does take wing, which he appears to do with difficulty, has a strong and sustained flight. ”

“ On the fourth day the chick is a more strange-looking object still, with great projecting eyes with rings round them, like spectacles, and what appears to be a very blunt sort of a snout or muzzle; the whole head, and there is not much else, reminds one of that of a serpent, it might be the Cobra di Capello, or the Spectacle Snake, seen through a diminishing glass. ”

“ There is something pleasing about the caw of the Rook, whether heard in the dreamy quietude of nature, or, as it often is, amid the bustle of the busy town; it is a sociable bird, friendly to man and his belongings. It is an English bird—a home bird, and reminds us of domestic scenes and pleasures. ”

“ The forehead and throat are chestnut, and there is a tinge of the same on the delicate white under parts of the body. Undoubtedly a handsome bird, and one of the most familiar of our feathered friends while it remains with us, which is until the autumn is fairly set in. You may know when the Swallows are about to leave, by their frequent consultations on the roofs, and by the more frequent utterance of their low, and not unmelodious warble, which is very different from the short, sharp cry, consisting of two notes, which they utter occasionally when hawking, as it is called, after insects. ”

“ This Golden species is a very remarkable bird, both in its habits and appearance; all the under parts of the body, the breast, throat, and sides of the head up to and above the eyes, are of a deep velvet black; then comes all round an edging of white, which deepens into grey tinged with yellow; and then again all over the back, pinions, tail, and top of the head, are black feathers, beautifully bordered, and barred with what appears to be gold embroidery. ”

“ It generally nestles in holes in the declivities near to its favourite hunting ground—the clear stream, fringed with reeds and bulrushes, which glides away over pebbles that shine like gold and silver, and weeds as green as emeralds, or red as rubies, amid which dart the minnows and other small fish, on which, together with aquatic insects, the gorgeously-painted fisher feeds. ”

“ Frequenting as it does the sea-shore, the Hooded Crow, which may be known by its distinctly marked plumage of dull grey, extending all over the back, breast, and belly, feeds much on shell-fish, which it bears up to a great height, and then lets fall on a large stone or piece of rock, so as to break the shell. We have here an instance of something very like reasoning power, in what we must call an unreasoning creature, nor are such instances at all unfrequent in natural history. ”

“ They are very lively birds, chattering and making a shrill noise while engaged in their favourite occupation of picking out seeds; they swing about on the branches of the trees often head downwards, and are very nimble and graceful in their movements, and so fearless of the approach of man, that they can frequently be taken with a hand-net, or knocked down with a stick. ”

“ Some creatures that eventually attain a large size are born, or hatched, as it is termed, comparatively small; thus the size of the egg is not always in proportion to that of the animal which lays it; the crocodile's egg, for instance, is but little larger than that of the common fowl; the young comes forth like a small lizard, about two or three inches long, takes to the water at once, and begins to catch insects on its own account; its mother may be twenty or thirty feet in length. Most creatures that produce eggs small in proportion to their size lay a great many ”

“ Of the Columbine birds, or Doves, we have in this country four distinct species, three of which are permanent residents, and one a summer migrant. There is also a member of the family, although classed in a different genus, of which a few specimens have been taken in this country, namely, the Passenger Pigeon of North America. All these are extremely beautiful birds, and general favourites on that account, as well as for their pleasing habits and manners, which have mainly contributed to make the name of the Dove synonymous with all that is gentle, and peaceable, and loveable. ”

“ The Hirundine Birds, or Swallows, form a very distinct group; they have slender bodies, and large, powerful wings, which enable them to fly with great velocity, skimming over the moist meadows, where their insect food most abounds, and wheeling and circling about trees and buildings in a swift and easy manner, which appears to be the very perfection of motion. ”

“ The Rooks are frugal nest-builders; they make the same structure do year after year. Early in March they begin to repair their old habitations, which, during the winter, we may see far up amid the naked branches, like so many bundles of dry sticks; the young pairs, we suppose, build new ones, unless they should find a nest left vacant by the removal, by death or otherwise, of parents or other relatives, for all the community must be closely allied. ”

“ The Cuckoo lives almost entirely upon insects, devouring great numbers of hairy caterpillars. It makes no nest of its own, but lays a single egg in that of some other bird, or conveys it thither in its bill. Its eggs are small for the size of the bird, in colour white, with a greyish, or it may be a reddish tinge, with cinereous (that is, ashy) or grey brown speckles. ”

“ It is most interesting to see the parent birds tempting them on from one resting point to another, and so teaching them to use their wings, feeding them in a most dexterous manner while on the wing; it is said that these careful parents, ere the young can provide for themselves, bring them food about once in every three minutes throughout the day. The male Swallow is a handsome bird; the wings, long forked tail, head, neck, and upper part of the breast, being brownish black, with a steely blue reflection, which is only seen in certain lights. ”

“ The Red Grouse is, perhaps, the most highly-prized of all game birds, and the wonder is that it continues so abundant, notwithstanding the annual slaughter which takes place in its breeding and feeding grounds, which are mostly the open moors and hill-sides, where there is plenty of heath and ling, and other low-growing plants of the like nature. ”

“ Rooks are said to be more abundant in England than in any other part of the world, although they are found in most temperate regions of Europe and Asia; they do not, like many of the Corvine, or Crow family, increase toward the north, but on the contrary, decrease in that direction: in the Scottish islands they are not to be met with. They are strictly gregarious birds, immense numbers of them building and rearing their young together. ”

“ This truly elegant bird occurs throughout the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, frequenting most the cultivated and wooded districts, where it does a good deal of mischief by feeding upon the wheat, peas, barley, and other agricultural produce; it also partakes freely of beech-mast and acorns; it is graminivorous, that is, feeding on grass; as well as granivorous—feeding on grain. Its favourite resting-place is amid the thick branches of tall trees, especially beech, ash, and pine, in which most frequently its nest will be found; just a few twigs, loosely put together in a circular form ”

“ Now, too, the bones of the chick have begun to form, and we clearly perceive the projection of the wings and the stump of the tail, while the pupil of the eye is quite clear and distinct. Larger and larger the creature grows, until it fills all the space, and has to be doubled up in a very curious manner, with the feet and the head brought together, and the bill close to the shell, ready to be used as the instrument of liberation. ”

“ You do not find it in the hedge or the coppice, where so many of the little birds, especially the summer migrants, build their nests, and spend their mid-days, when the reflections of the sun come bright on all sides of the foliage, in picking the soft caterpillars from the leaves, or capturing the insects that resort thither for the purpose of depositing fresh myriads ”

“ The young birds are generally hatched by the end of May, or early in June, by the end of the second week in which month they are usually fit to be taken from the nest; they are easily reared by hand, and become very tame, learning to talk, and play all sorts of curious tricks.
The caw of the Daw is more high and shrill than that of most Crows; it is found in nearly all parts of Great Britain, and is common in Holland, Germany, France, Italy, and most countries of Europe. One remarkable circumstance connected with its nidification is the immense quantity of material which it collects ”