and since so many of them breed in colonies and
do not at present dispute the possession of every inch
of soil, this argument practically resolves itself into
that concerned with scarcity of food.
Finally it may be observed that the length of the
journeys taken by various species of birds differs
immensely ; many move to comparatively short dis-
tances, while such forms as the Turnstone and the
Sanderling, which breed in the far north, go so far
south in winter that they may practically be con-
sidered cosmopolitan.
Migration naturally leads to thoughts of geographical
distribution, and care must be taken not to confound
Introduction 13
the two questions. By distribution we mean, unless it
is otherwise stated, the limits within which a species
ranges in the breeding season, just as the bird's range
is, if unqualified, taken to mean its summer range.
Even in Britain distribution is often limited, as in the
case of the Snow Bunting of the Scottish highlands or
the Nightingale of England ; but the range of each
species will be found given in detail below, and need
not delay us here. Many birds throughout the world
are extremely local ; many are only found in deserts,
isolated islands, and so forth, while the Red Grouse may
be given as the example nearest to our doors, as it is
absolutely confined, as a native species, to the United
Kingdom. But Britain is a comparatively small area,
and it is necessary to survey the whole globe in distri-
butional questions. This is far beyond our scope, and
we need only state that, taking into consideration birds
alone, Dr P. L. Sclater suggested a division of the
world into six Regions, the Palsearctic, Ethiopian, Indian,
Australian, Nearctic, and Neotropical (see map), in each
of which he considered the forms taken as a whole
to be more closely connected with each other than with
those of another Region. The Palsearctic and Nearctic
(of the Old and the New Worlds) together form the
Holarctic ; New Zealand may be considered separately.
If our readers ever proceed from the study of British
Birds to that of foreign species, they will be greatly
struck by the prevalence of very peculiar forms in
certain countries, by the wonders of the Arctic and
Antarctic areas, by the marvels of desert and island
life, by curious extinct birds, by extraordinary habits
of courtship, sexual display, parasitism, and many other
subjects, but even within our islands they may spend
14
Introduction
a pleasant and useful lifetime in observing the species
they meet with, in protecting them and carefully noting
their habits, which will often be found to be much more
peculiar than is usually supposed to be the case. Their
cleverness is not uncommonly remarkable, and their
structure admirably adapted to the needs of their
The Zoo-Geographical Regions
existence, while the changes of plumage are of them-
selves a lifelong study and are none too well understood
even at the present day, especially with regard to the
young bird. No doubt all the species on our list cannot
be found in any one locality, but there is no district
where much good work may not be done.
CLASSIFICATION
Birds may roughly be classed as land birds and
water birds, but there are many that can hardly be
included properly in either category ; it is still less
possible to divide them by their dwelling-places, as
those of the woods, fields, shore, and so forth ; we
require some formal classification into " Families "
under the larger groups called " Orders," though it is
clear that no linear arrangement can be entirely
satisfactory, or will shew all the relations between the
members of the " class " Aves. We will therefore give
here the scheme used in the following pages, which is
almost the same as that in Howard Saunders' Mamial
of British Birds. The nomenclature is almost exactly
that of the new List of the British Ornithologists' Union.
AVES CARINAT.E
ORDER I. PASSBRBS
Family TTJBDID^ Family ORIOLID.E
Subfamily Turdince Family LANHDJE
Subfamily SylviincK Family AMPEUD^J
Subfamily Accentorince Family MUSCICAPIDJE
Family CENCLIDJE Family HIRUNDINID^J
Family PANURIDJE Family FRINGIIXID^J
Family PARID^E Subfamily Fringillince
Family REGULID^J Subfamily Emberizince
Family SITTID^ Family STURNIDJE
Family TROGLODYTID^J Family CORVIDJS
Family CERTBUDJE Family ALAUDID^E
Family MOTACILLIDJE
16 Classification
ORDER II. PICARIJE
Family CYPSELID^EJ Family ALCEDINID^
Family CAPRIMULGIDJE Family
Family PICID^I Family
Subfamily lynginaz Family
Subfamily Picince
ORDER III. STRIGES
Family STRIGID^:
ORDER IV. ACCIPITRES
Family VULTURIDJE Family FALCONID^J
ORDER V. STEGANOPODES
Family PELECANID^J
ORDER VI. HERODIONES
Family ARDEIDJE Family IBIDIDJE
Family CicoNnD^s Family PLATALEID^E
ORDER VII. ODONTOGLOSSJE
Family PHCENICOPTEBIDJB
ORDER VIII. ANSERES
Family
Subfamily Anserince
Subfamily Cygnince
Subfamily Anatince
Subfamily Fuligulince
Subfamily Mergince
ORDER IX. COLUMBJE
Family COLUMBID^:
ORDER X. PTEROCLETES
Family PTEROCLID^J
Classification 17
ORDER XI. GALLINJE
Family TETRAONID^J Family PHASIANID^J
ORDER XII. GRALLJE
Suborder Fulicarise Suborder Otides
Family RALLID^J Family OTIDID^I
Suborder Grues
Family GRUID^J
ORDER XIII. LIMICOUE
Family (EDICNEMIDJE Family CHARADRHD^
Family GLAREOLID^
ORDER XIV. GAVIJE
Family LARID^J Family STEROORARnD^j
Subfamily Sternince
Subfamily Larince
ORDER XV. ALCJE
Family ALCID^J
Subfamily Alcince
Subfamily Fraterculince
ORDER XVI. PYGOPODES
Family COLYMBID^J Family PODICIPEDID^J
ORDER XVII. TUBINARES
Family PROCELLARIID^E Family DIOMEDEID.E
Family PUFFINID^J
18 Order I
ORDER I. PASSERBS
This Order includes all the true singing birds, in
which the vocal organs are most highly developed ;
moreover in every respect they certainly represent the
highest stage of development in the Class. The members
are of all sizes and colours, and for the most part haunt
trees or bushes, so that they have been somewhat
arbitrarily called perching birds, though perching is not
a habit peculiar to them. The toes are all on the same
level and never webbed ; the young are born naked and
helpless ; but these characteristics will not alone deter-
mine the Order, which contains about half of the birds
that are at present known.
It may be well to mention three important points
before going further, to prevent future confusion.
First, the descriptions of the Orders must be taken to
refer to British forms alone ; second, the range of a
bird is used in the sense of its breeding range ; third,
what is commonly termed a bird's leg is mainly its foot,
the real leg being often hidden by the plumage. The
word foot is hereafter used in its correct sense.
Family TURDID-2E, or Thrushes, Warblers,
and their Allies
SUBFAMILY Turdinse, OR THRUSHES, CHATS, REDSTARTS,
BLUETHROATS, ROBINS, AND NIGHTINGALES
This Subfamily is very closely allied to that of the
Warblers (Sylviince), but differs in the more or less spotted
condition of the young, above and below, until their
autumn moult ; of this the Robin is a good instance.
Passer es 19
Three typical Thrushes are residents or partial
migrants in Britain. Of these the Mistle, i.e. Mistletoe-
thrush (T urdus viscivorus), is the largest, and is especially
noticeable in early spring, when its loud churring notes,
coupled with a harsher song than that of the Common
Thrush, may be heard in the roughest weather. Hence
it is known as the Stormcock, while it is often called a
Feltyfare in mistake for the Fieldfare. In plumage it
is greyer than the common thrush, with white instead of
orange -buff under- wing ; in flight it is swifter ; hi food
it shews a greater liking for fruit and berries, including
those of the mistletoe. The young have much white on
the wing-coverts. The Mistle-thrush is a bird of the
hedgerow and copse, not of thick woods, and has spread
to the northern islands of Scotland and to Ireland
during the last century or so, with the increase of
plantations. The nest, a solid structure of grass and
moss, lined with finer materials, is seldom placed near
the ground, but occupies some conspicuous fork of a
branch ; the four or five greenish or reddish white eggs
are finely marked with rusty red and lilac. This species
is an early breeder, but is certainly to a large extent
migratory ; it is a shy bird, though bold at the nest.
It occurs throughout most of the Palsearctic region,
but not within the Arctic circle.
The Common or Song-thrush (T. musicus clarkii) is
too familiar to need description either as regards its
plumage or its varied song. Its foreign range is not very
dissimilar to that of the last species, but the continental
form is distinguishable from the British hi coloration,
and we are thus able to gain a rough idea of the number
of individuals that arrive from abroad hi autumn or
leave us for the winter, though some are undoubtedly
22
20 Order I
resident. With us it ranges even to Shetland, and
occurs fairly high on the hills, the well-known mud-
lined nest being occasionally placed on the ground, but
generally in trees and shrubs. It lays from four to six
blue eggs with black or brownish spots. Except during
the moult the song may be heard at any season, while
the bird has its first brood exceptionally early in the
year. The food consists of berries and insects, worms,
slugs, and snails, especially the last, which are usually
smashed on some favourite stone.
The Blackbird (T. merula) is so called from the cock,
which is black with orange bill, while everyone knows
that the hen and young are dull brown with the bill
dusky. When feeding on the ground this species has
not quite the " hop and run " action of the thrush, but
its food is the same and its flight similar. It is, how-
ever, a bird of lower levels, constantly flushed from
hedgerows or bushes, and less often sitting on tree-tops
to sing. The song is comparatively flute-like and
mellow. The nest of dry grass and mud, with grass
lining, contains about five green eggs with small rufous
markings, and is placed at no great height from the
ground or even on it. Common throughout Britain and
a partial migrant, the Blackbird is not found outside
Europe, except in Asia Minor, Palestine, and north-west
Africa, with the Atlantic islands.
In the hilly moorlands from Cornwall and Wales to
northern England and Scotland it is represented by the
Ring-ousel or Hill-blackbird (T. torquatus), character-
ized by the white chest, less conspicuous in the female
and still less in the young, and also by the yellowish
bill with black tip. This migratory species arrives
about April and leaves us by October, with the exception
Passeres
21
of belated individuals, while it only breeds in northern
Europe, the central and southern European form being
distinguishable. Its ringing note or whistle is a
characteristic sound of our higher hill-slopes, but the
performer is less often seen than heard, for it is a
shy bird except at the nest. This is like that of the
Blackbird, but is placed among rocks, in heather, or
Ring-ousel
on banks of streamlets ; the eggs are brighter both in
the ground-colour and the larger spots. Berries form
a considerable part of the food, especially on passage,
which the birds compass easily.
We now come to two migratory species, common
with us in winter, the Redwing and the Fieldfare, which
somewhat resemble a small Song-thrush and Mistle-
thrush respectively. The Redwing (T. iliacus) may,
22 Order I
however, be distinguished by the red, in place of orange-
buff, below the wing and the broad whitish stripe above
the eye; the Fieldfare (T. pilaris) by the distinctly
grey head and rump and the yellower breast. They
both breed in northern Europe and in Asia eastward to
the Lena river, but the former alone nests in Iceland
and the Faeroes, while the latter ranges further south
to central Germany and Austria-Hungary, and often
forms colonies. The nests and eggs are much like those
of the Blackbird. These Thrushes come in large flocks
in October or earlier, and leave about April ; the
Fieldfares keeping more together and being easily
recognisable by their harsh chattering cries as they fly
about the fields and hedgerows, whereas the Redwings
separate and have a more melodious call. They are
shy birds of swift flight, often shot for the table in
winter, and not uncommonly killed by severe cold, the
Redwing being the first to succumb to the effect of the
weather.
Very different in appearance from the true Thrushes
are the Chats, Redstarts and Bluethroats, the Redbreast
and the Nightingale ; nevertheless they are the con-
necting links with the Warblers, which are usually on
anatomical and other grounds included in the Family
TurdldcB as a Subfamily Sylviince. The habits vary,
but the food seems always, if we leave the Robin out
of consideration, to consist of insects and their larvae,
spiders, worms, and small mollusks. The Chats are
conspicuous and lively birds, with jerky flight, pleasant
little songs, and sharp clinking call-notes that explain
their name, the largest being the Wheatear, i.e. white-
rump ((Enanthe cenanthe), which is locally abundant on
moorlands, downs, and sandy warrens. It is one of our
Passeres 23
earliest spring migrants, arriving in mid-March, and
making pretty straight for its breeding quarters, while
it leaves the country by October. But it is not till
April or May that it builds its nest of grass lined with
fur, hair, or feathers, which, is placed in a rabbit-burrow
or similar excavation in most cases, though it may be
Wheatear
in holes in walls or peat-stacks on the moors, while a little
building material at the entrance generally betrays
the site. The five or six eggs are very pale blue, rarely
with a few purplish specks. The Wheatear, from its
similar note, is often confounded with the Stonechat,
but may readily be distinguished by its grey back,
black cheeks, wings, and tail, white rump and breast.
24 Order I
The female is browner and buff below. The range
extends over the whole Palaearctic region from Jan
Mayen and Mongolia southwards and even to the
Azores, but a larger race inhabits north-east America
and Greenland and visits Britain on migration.
The Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) is found in rough
grassy places of various descriptions, with a preference
for moors and newly planted copses ; it is mottled with
brown and buff above and is fawn-coloured below,
having over the eye a distinct white streak which is
buff in the female and some white on the wing and tail.
The nest, usually placed near the base of a small shrub
or large herbaceous plant, is a mossy structure with a
lining of fine grass, and contains about six green-blue
eggs, generally with rufous spotting. The hen-bird sits
very closely, while when disturbed both parents flit
before the intruder, perching on the shrubs, and re-
peatedly uttering their alarm note of " u-tick." Breed-
ing takes place about mid-May, but the bird arrives
a month earlier and stays till October. Abroad it
ranges through Europe to west Siberia, though it keeps
to the hill country in the south.
The Stonechat (S. rubicola) should really be called
the Whinchat or Furzechat, as it is most common
among furze, where it may be seen throughout the year,
though as a species it is partly migratory. The cock,
a brown bird with black head, a ruddy breast, a white
patch on the wing and a partial white collar, is very
conspicuous as it flits in a fussy way from one perch
to another, uttering its clicking notes as a warning to
the hen, which is almost brown. The nest is placed
among heather, rough grass, or very low gorse, and is
made of moss, grass and so forth, with a finer lining ;
Passeres
25
the five or six eggs are greenish with rtifous spots,
usually placed in a ring. They may be found from
early April to August, so doubtless two broods are
reared in a season. The nest is well concealed and the
hen sits closely. Our bird is confined to Europe and
north Africa, but has several near relatives.
Redstart
The Redstart or Fire-tail (Phoenicurus phoenicurus}
is well known throughout England and Scotland from
April to September, but is rare in Ireland and hardly
reaches our northern isles. It is by no means shy and
often very bold at the nest, while a bird of active ways
with grey back, white forehead, black face and throat,
chestnut breast, and orange-red rump and tail, which
26 Order I
it is always flirting, is not easily overlooked, even in
the wooded country which it chiefly haunts. Its sweet
low warble is perhaps most commonly heard in the
valleys of our northern hills; the nest of moss, grass,
and roots, lined with hair and feathers, is generally built
in a hole in a rotten tree or wall, and contains some six
pale blue eggs. The bird has a wide foreign range from
northern Norway to Lake Baikal, and southward
throughout Europe to the Atlas mountains in north
Africa, but complications arise from the existence of
several closely allied forms. The hen has a plain head
and brownish back.
The Black Redstart (P. titys), as its name implies, is
black with a red tail, the upper surface being somewhat
greyer with a white wing-patch and the two central tail
feathers brown, as they are in the Common Redstart.
To travellers in Germany it is a well-known bird, for it
builds its nest round houses and sheds, while it is specially
interesting to us as having been suspected of breeding
in England and being a frequent autumn visitor. The
female resembles that of the last species but is greyer ;
the male has a richer song ; the eggs are white. The
range extends from the Baltic and the Urals to
Rumania, Palestine, and north Africa.
The Red-spotted Bluethroat (Cyanosylvia suecica) is
an irregular autumn and rare spring migrant, which
deserves special notice as linking the Redstarts to the
Robin and the Nightingale, and so to the Warblers. It
has the general habits and nest of the Robin, while the
song is little inferior to that of the Nightingale, and the
eggs are similar. The male is brown, with white eye-
stripe, rufous rump, and blue throat ; the throat has
a red central spot and is bounded by black, followed by
Passeres
27
a rufous patch above the white belly : the female has
little blue on the throat and a brown chest-band. This
species only breeds in the north of Europe and Asia, but
there is a form with a white instead of a red spot which
carries on the range to France and west Russia.
Our familiar Robin or Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula
melophilus) needs no description; its plumage, habits,
Robin
and song are equally well known. It may be mentioned,
however, that it is not known to breed in the Faeroes or
Shetlands, though it ranges from north Europe and
west Asia to Africa and the Atlantic islands, while the
continental race is clearly distinguishable and visits
us in winter and the African form has also been separ-
ated. Holes in banks, walls and trees are utilized for
the nest of leaves and- moss lined with hair, while the
28
Order I
bird has a great fancy for an old can or box, as
occasionally happens with the Wheatear and Stone-
chat. The first brood may be hatched early in April ;
the eggs are white with rufous spots.
The Nightingale (Luscinia megarhyncha) is no doubt
our most wonderful songster, though it is approached
by the -Thrush and nearly equalled by the Blackcap and
Nightingale
the Garden Warbler. Its song, however, gives way to
a harsh churr when the young are hatched, as in the
case of so many Warblers. Arriving in April it soon
becomes common in eastern England, though less
abundant westward, and barely known in Devon,
Hereford and Cheshire. Exceptionally it has been
found breeding in Glamorgan and north Yorkshire, as
well as on one occasion in Northumberland. Though
Passeres 29
the Nightingale remains with us till September, it is
little seen after the breeding season, and even then
chiefly as a reddish brown bird which pops out in front
of the observer and flies along to a neighbouring hedge
er bush. The curious nest is made outside of dry
leaves, usually of the oak, and is placed in vegetation
on the ground, or close to it ; the five or six eggs are
olive coloured or greenish with olive-brown markings.
The range extends from central Europe to Asia Minor
and north Africa.
SUBFAMILY Sylviinae, OR WARBLERS
In treating of the Warblers, the first point to notice
is that all students of bird-life must learn their notes in
the field. We cannot pretend to reproduce them here,
and the syllables given to represent them in books are
rarely understood alike by any two persons. This is,
moreover, true of most bird-voices ; we may truthfully
talk of a croak, a click, a hoot, a warble, and so forth,
or speak of such as harsh or sweet, but attempts to
imitate them on paper are sure to mislead. Warblers
live on slugs, worms, spiders, insects aquatic or other-
wise and their larvae, according to the species, and
some on fruits also ; insects are often captured on the
wing, while the smaller members of the group flit
characteristically among the leaves of trees, hunting
for their prey.
With this prelude we may proceed to the Common
Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), the familiar species of
our more open woods and roadsides, easily recognised by
its early arrival, its habit of springing up a few feet in
the air to utter its monotonous notes before settling again
on the hedgerow, its white throat and its ruddy brown
30 Order I
colour above. The more shy Lesser Whitethroat (S.
curruca) has a white instead of a buff breast and a very
much finer song of a somewhat similar character ; it is
always a more local bird, not nesting in Ireland, very
seldom north of the Border and sparsely in Wales, while
the commoner species is universal south of Sutherland
and Caithness. Similarly, outside of Britain, the range
of both covers Europe south of lat. 65 N. and south-
west Asia, though in some parts the smaller bird is the
more abundant. Moreover it extends to Siberia, while
its congener breeds in Algeria and Tunisia ; but all
depends on the number of forms we recognise, as
several are closely allied. The flimsy nest of grass-
stems and cleavers is placed in low bushes, brambles
and hedges; but the Common Whitethroat is fond of
nettles and coarse herbage to conceal its nursery, while
that of the Lesser is more often in young hawthorns,
blackthorns, and similar situations, and seems absurdly
small in comparison. Its five or six eggs, moreover,
have a clearer white ground than those of its congener,
with olive and brown rather than green markings, and
resemble those of the larger Garden Warbler.
The Blackcap Warbler (S. atricapilla) and the Garden
Warbler (S. simplex) are in song worthy rivals of the
Nightingale, which some may even consider inferior,
though it certainly has more variety of phrases. But,
while the songs of the two species may be easily mistaken,
the male Blackcap with its black crown, grey nape and
under parts can never be taken for the olive-brown
Garden Warbler with its whitish lower surface. The
female, which has a red-brown instead of a black head,
is particularly hard to identify in a dark thicket ; yet
this is often necessary, as the nests are similar and the
Passer es 31
whitish eggs with yellowish brown spots may correspond
exactly. It is generally possible to make a correct
guess at the nest, which in the Garden Warbler is less
flimsy and better lined with hair, but the very green
variety of its eggs and the rare red variety of those of
the Blackcap can alone be guaranteed without a sight
of the parent. All the Warblers so far mentioned arrive
about April and leave us in September, but the Common
Whitethroat is the earliest and the Garden Warbler the
latest. The Blackcap and Garden Warblers both range
in Britain up to mid-Scotland, and the former a little
further north ; they vary in abundance locally, but
agree in being scarce in Ireland. They breed over
Europe, except the more Arctic portions, and in north-
west Africa, but the eastern limits in Asia seem to lie
hi western Siberia, and only the Blackcap nests in the
Atlantic islands.
The Dartford Warbler (Melizophilus undatus) is a
jolly little dark grey bird with chestnut breast, which
is usually seen flitting restlessly about the gorse bushes
or tall heather ; it is now scarcer with us than formerly,
and is confined to East Anglia, Shropshire, and the