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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds in Flight, by W. P. Pycraft
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Birds in Flight
-
-Author: W. P. Pycraft
-
-Illustrator: Roland Green
-
-Release Date: March 9, 2014 [EBook #45086]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRDS IN FLIGHT ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-BIRDS IN FLIGHT
-
-
-[Illustration: _Kingfisher and Young_]
-
-
-
-
-  BIRDS IN FLIGHT
-
-  BY
-  W. P. PYCRAFT
-
-  Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History).
-  Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.
-  Hon. Member of the American Ornithologists' Union.
-  Associate of the Linnean Society.
-  Member of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
-  Member of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
-
-  Author of "A History of Birds," "The Infancy of Animals," "The
-  Courtship of Animals," "The Sea-shore," Etc., Etc., Etc.
-
-  _Illustrated by_
-  ROLAND GREEN, F.Z.S.
-
-  LONDON
-  GAY & HANCOCK LIMITED
-  34 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2.
-  1922
-
-  _All Rights Reserved._
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
-
-  I. Concerning Wings                                                1
-
-  What a wing is--The quill feathers and their function--The
-  skeleton of the wing--The muscles of the wing--The
-  great air-chambers of the body--The Bat's wing--The
-  wing of flying Dragons--The wings of Dragon-flies
-  and beetles.
-
-
-  II. The First Bird                                                15
-
-  The ancestors of birds--The first known bird and its
-  many remarkable features--The gradual evolution of the
-  birds of to-day.
-
-
-  III. The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and
-  their relation to Flight                                          21
-
-  The evasiveness of flight--The size of the wing in relation
-  to that of the body--Noisy flight--"Muffled" flight--The
-  swoop of the sparrow-hawk--The "flighting" of
-  ducks--The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows--"Soaring"
-  flights of storks and vultures--The wonderful
-  "sailing" feats of the albatross--The "soaring" of the
-  skylark--The "plunging" flight of the gannet, tern, and
-  kingfisher.
-
-
-  IV. Modes of Flight                                               35
-
-  The movements of the wing in flight--Marey's
-  experiments--Stopping and turning
-  movements--Alighting--"Taking off"--Hovering--The use of the
-  tail in flight--The carriage of the neck in flight--And of the
-  legs--The  flight of petrels--The speed of flight--The height
-  at which birds fly--Flight with burdens--Experiments on the
-  sizes of the wing in relation to flight--Flight in "troops."
-
-
-  V. Courtship Flights                                              53
-
-  The wing-play of black-game and grouse--The "musical
-  ride" of the snipe--The "roding" of the woodcock--The
-  musical flights of redshank and curlew--The "tumbling"
-  of the lapwing--The raven's somersaults--The
-  courting flight of the wood pigeon--The mannikin's
-  "castanets"--Wings as lures--The strange pose of the
-  sun-bittern--The "wooing" of the chaffinch and the
-  grasshopper-warbler--Darwin and wing-displays--The
-  wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.
-
-
-  VI. How to tell Birds on the Wing                                 71
-
-  The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
-  them--The wagtails--The finches--The buntings--The
-  redstart-wheatear, Stonechat--The thrushes--The
-  warblers--The tit-mice--The nuthatch, and tree-creeper--The
-  spotted flycatcher--The red-backed shrike--Swallows,
-  martins, and swifts--The night-jar--Owls--Woodpeckers.
-
-
-  VII. How to tell Birds on the Wing                                97
-  (_continued_)
-
-  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.
-
-
-  VIII. The Wings of Nestling Birds                                117
-
-  The wing of the unhatched bird--Of the coots and water-hen--The
-  hoatzin's wings--The wing of Archaeopteryx--Moulting--The
-  nestling game-birds and ducks--Teaching
-  the young to fly.
-
-
-  IX. Flightless Birds                                             127
-
-  The steamer duck--The owl parrot--The flightless grebe
-  of Titicaca--The dodo and solitaire--The ostrich tribe--The
-  penguin's wings.
-
-
-
-
-ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-Coloured Plates
-
-  Kingfisher and Young                        _Frontispiece_
-  Jays                                      _Facing Page_  6
-  Pheasants                                    "      "   22
-  Brown Owl                                    "      "   30
-  Wild Duck                                    "      "   38
-  Woodcock carrying Young                      "      "   54
-  Herons                                       "      "   64
-  Chaffinch and Young                          "      "   76
-  Gold-crested Wrens                           "      "   86
-  Great Spotted Woodpeckers                    "      "   92
-  Some Types of Wings and Tails                "      "  102
-  Grouse                                       "      "  118
-
-
-Black and White Plates
-
-  Swans, Heron, Geese                       _Facing Page_  4
-  Black-game                                   "      "   26
-  Ducks                                        "      "   42
-  Lapwings                                     "      "   58
-  Some Common Birds                         _Facing Page_ 72
-  Some Types of Birds in Flight                "      "   80
-  Birds of Prey                                "      "  106
-  Flightless Birds                             "      "  130
-
-
-Line Illustrations
-
-  Wings                                            _Page_ 13
-  Archaeopteryx and Pterodactyles                      "   19
-  Bat, Beetle, Dragon Fly, etc.                       "   33
-  Peregrine chasing Duck                              "   51
-  Sunbittern Displaying                               "   69
-  Drumming Snipe                                      "   95
-  Buzzard Soaring                                     "  115
-  Gulls                                               "  125
-  Vultures                                            "  133
-
-
-
-
-Preface.
-
-
-There are hosts of people who have a genuine
-love of our native birds without yearning to possess their skins, or
-desiring to acquire the reputation of being "Ornithologists." They
-would call them all by name if they could, but seek, alas! in vain, for
-some book wherein they will find some magic phrase which will enable
-them to identify every bird they meet by the wayside.
-
-Most of our native birds have learnt that "discretion is the better
-part of valour," when in the neighbourhood of Man. Hence one gets but
-too often no more than a fleeting glance at their retreating forms,
-which, from frequent encounters, have become familiar, yet they leave
-no more than a vague image in the memory. "What bird _was_ that? I have
-often seen it but have never succeeded in taking it unawares." This is
-a question, and its comment, often put to me.
-
-Those who are in this quandary, and they are many, are always hoping to
-find some book which will enable them to correctly name the retreating
-forms. That book will never be written. In the following pages an
-attempt is made to aid such enquirers, and at the same time the
-difficulties of the task are pointed out.
-
-It is hoped, however, that this attempt will find a welcome among
-those for whom it is made. If it helps them to understand something,
-at least, of the absorbing and fascinating problems which the study of
-flight in the animal kingdom presents, it will at least have served
-some useful purpose.
-
-The pursuit of the flying bird will inevitably stimulate a desire
-to know more about the bewildering changes of plumage presented at
-different seasons of the year, as well as by the striking differences
-which often distinguish the two sexes, and the immature birds. The
-endeavour to satisfy this desire will open up a new world. Those
-who would pass to this knowledge should possess themselves of the
-"Practical Handbook of British Birds." Though most severely practical,
-and designed for the serious student alone, even the beginner will find
-interest in the description of these several plumages, and much else
-beside that it is essential to know.
-
-Now that the study of flight is so much to the fore, some may turn to
-these pages in the hope of gaining useful information on the theme of
-mechanical flight. Some help they may find. But it was not for this
-that they were written. The flight of an aeroplane and the flight of a
-bird have little in common--at present; though something may be learned
-by the study of gliding flight and soaring, which of course have their
-place in this book. But anatomical details and mechanical formulae,
-necessary to the serious student of flight, would have been entirely
-out of place here, and they have been omitted.
-
-My task has been by no means easy. But it has been enormously helped
-by the extremely skilful and beautiful work of the artist, Mr. Roland
-Green. Where birds are concerned, few artists in the past, and very few
-in the present, have shown any ability to combine accuracy in drawing
-with ingenuity of composition and faithfulness in colouring. Mr. Green
-has shown this rare combination; his coloured plates and line-drawings
-speak for themselves.
-
-  W. P. PYCRAFT.
-
-  _London_,
-  _September, 1922_
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-Concerning Wings.
-
-    "Divinity within them breeding wings
-      wherewith to scorn the earth."--_Milton._
-
- What a wing is--The quill feathers and their function--The skeleton
- of the wing--The muscles of the wing--The great air-chambers of
- the body--The Bat's wing--The wing of flying Dragons--The wings of
- Dragon-flies and beetles.
-
-
-The flight of birds has always aroused man's
-envy and stirred his imagination. David longed for the wings of a dove:
-the writer of the Book of Proverbs tells us that "the way of an eagle"
-surpasses his understanding. Icarus, spurred on by dire necessity,
-actually, we are told, contrived to fly--but his maiden effort ended in
-disaster! To-day we have, in a sense, succeeded where he failed. But
-only because we have given up the idea of flight by personal effort,
-and make our aerial journeys in a flying machine.
-
-That we owe much of our success to a study of the flight of birds is
-common knowledge, but the machine which has evolved as a consequence
-of this study pursues its way through the air after a very different
-fashion from that of the birds, for its vast body is thrust, or drawn,
-through the air by means of a propeller, driven at incredible speed,
-its immobile wings sustaining the weight. The wings of the bird, on the
-other hand, not only lift the body from the earth, but they sustain it
-in the air by their marvellously complex movements. And this is true,
-in varying degrees of bird, and bat, and butterfly: of dragon-fly and
-beetle.
-
-Even they who must perforce dwell in crowded cities see daily the
-miracle of flight performed. For even here sparrows and pigeons, at
-least, are everywhere, and it is just because this is so, just because
-they have become so "common-place," that their very presence escapes
-notice. Yet the wonder of their movements in the air might become a
-never-ending source of delight if only we went about our business with
-open eyes and minds alert.
-
-Watch the wary sparrow spring from the ground and dart across the road,
-or up to the nearest house-top. How is it done with such incredible
-speed and accuracy?
-
-To understand even the broad principles of flight, it is necessary to
-realize, at the very beginning, that the wing, in the case of the bird,
-or the bat, is a specially modified fore-leg. So also is the human arm
-and hand. But its transformation has not been so drastic as that of the
-bird, or the bat. Wherein the hand has been, as it were, completely
-re-modelled to fulfil the peculiar and complex functions demanded of
-it.
-
-How should one describe the wing of a bird, as one sees it in flight?
-
-The Dictionary, obscure and inaccurate as Dictionaries usually are,
-defines a wing as "the organ of a bird, or other animal, or insect,
-by which it flies--any side-piece." Might not the impression one
-gathers of a wing, during flight, be defined as of a lateral extension
-of the body, presenting a relatively large surface, but having no
-appreciable thickness? That surface, examined in a dead bird, is seen
-to be formed, for the most part, of a series of parallel, tapering,
-elastic rods, fringed with an innumerable series of smaller, similar,
-but much shorter rods, closely packed, and linked together by some
-invisible means to form an elastic web? These we call the "quill,"
-or "flight-feathers." The rest of the wing, and the body itself, is
-clothed with precisely similar structures, differing only in their
-smaller size. We call them "feathers" commonly, without realizing that
-they are the "Hall-mark" of the bird, for no other creature has ever
-been similarly clothed.
-
-These quill-feathers play such a tremendously important part in flight
-that their arrangement, and relation to the underlying skeleton must
-be carefully examined by all who would understand the flight of birds.
-To begin with, then, note that they are so arranged as to overlap one
-another, the free edges of the quills facing the outer edge of the
-wing. Only by this arrangement would flight be possible, for on the
-upstroke of the wing through the air the quills act like the shutters
-of the sails of a windmill, allowing the wind to pass between them and
-so relieving pressure on the uplifting wing-stroke. On the down-stroke,
-the opposite effect is produced. The full force of the stroke is
-conserved, because, owing to the overlap, the several feathers are now
-pressed closely together to form an impervious sheet.
-
-How are they fixed to the skeleton? To see this all the smaller
-feathers and the muscles, or "flesh" of the wing must be removed.
-It will then be found that the flight-feathers are divisible into
-two series. One, widely spaced, runs along the upper surface of the
-fore-arm: the other, closely packed, along what answers to the back
-of the hand. In effect this is but a single rod of bone, but it is
-composed of three elements, answering to three of the digits of the
-human hand--the thumb and the first and second fingers. But they are
-scarcely recognizable as such, for the thumb is reduced to a mere
-stump, while the two fingers have become welded together. The third
-finger, indeed, has become reduced to the palm-bone, and a short stump
-answering to the first finger joint. To this frame-work, which can be
-folded up into the shape of a Z when the bird is at rest, the quills
-are fixed by their base by means of slender, but very strong elastic
-tendons. In birds which have a long upper arm bone, like the Albatross,
-Gull, or Heron, there is a third series of long, almost "quill-like"
-feathers running from the elbow to the body, thus closing up what would
-otherwise be a gap between the wing surface and the body, rendering
-flight impossible.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Swans.
-
-  Heron.
-
-  Geese.
-]
-
-The most important muscles of the wing are those which have to provide
-the power for the down-stroke of the wing. And these are the "pectoral"
-or "breast-muscles"--which form such dainty meat in a roast fowl.
-Owing to their great bulk the breast-bone itself would be insufficient
-to afford them attachment. This is furnished by the development of a
-deep, median keel, so that the breast-bone of a bird, such as a pigeon,
-bears a fanciful resemblance, when seen in profile, to the hull of a
-ship--unusually shallow--with a very deep keel. The front end of the
-breast-bone supports two slender rods of bone, and these in their turn
-support the long, sword-like blade-bone, and the "merry-thought."
-
-The general appearance of this frame-work for the support of the wing
-and its muscles can be seen in the adjoining illustrations. But it
-must be remembered that in their relative sizes and disposition these
-various parts present a very considerable range of differences. That
-these differences are correllated with different forms of flight goes
-without saying, but, be it noted, no one, as yet, has attempted to
-discover in what way they are related. Some of the readers of this book
-may, perhaps, be tempted to try and solve the problems which these
-differences present. To begin with, a collection of breast bones of
-different species of birds with their attached shoulder-girdles should
-be made, and these should be studied together with careful observations
-of the flight of the living bird. So far only a few comparisons of this
-kind have been made.
-
-It must not be supposed that the whole secret of flight in birds
-is concentrated in the skeleton of the breast-bone and its
-shoulder-girdle, and the muscles attached thereto. But those who would
-investigate the modifications of the rest of the body which have taken
-place in harmony with the requirements of flight, must turn to more
-learned treatises. There is, however, one point which demands notice
-here. And this is the popular belief that birds have the power of
-materially reducing their weight when on the wing by drawing air into
-their lungs, and storing it in large air-chambers enclosed within the
-body. These chambers are indeed concerned with the needs of flight. But
-the precise part they play is yet to be discovered. They certainly have
-no effect of rendering the body lighter. So far as our knowledge goes
-it would seem that they act as regulators of the temperature and as
-reservoirs of breathing air, during the strenuous efforts of flight.
-
-[Illustration: _Jays_]
-
-It is a mistake to suppose that it is unnecessary to consider other
-kinds of flight when studying that of birds. Even those who are not
-interested in the abstruse problems of the mechanism of bird's flight,
-will find that comparisons made between birds, bats, butterflies and
-beetles when on the wing, are immensely interesting, and help to bring
-out the peculiarities of each.
-
-During the twilight hours of a still summer evening one may compare,
-with advantage, the rushing swoop of the screaming swift, borne with
-lightning speed upon long, ribbon-like pinions, with the curiously
-erratic flight of the woolly bat with beaded eyes, who has ventured
-abroad for his evening meal. One cannot but feel astonishment at the
-marvellous dexterity with which he twists and turns, now shooting up
-into the sky, now darting downward. What bird can beat him, or even
-match him, in the art of doubling back on his tracks? And one can put
-his skill at lightning turns to the test if one attempts to catch him
-in a butterfly net. Often indeed have I attempted this feat, but never
-yet with success.
-
-In the glare of noon-day this aerial athlete may perhaps be found in a
-deep slumber, hanging head downwards behind the shutters of a cottage
-window, or in some crevice of a barn-roof. Gently seize him and as
-gently stretch out his wing. The moment one opens it one sees that it
-is constructed upon a totally different plan from that of a bird. In
-the first place a thin membrane, or fold of skin is seen to take the
-place of the series of quill-feathers found in the wing of the bird. In
-the second it will be found that this membrane is stretched between
-a series of long and very slender bony rods. These are excessively
-attenuated fingers. And if the hinder border of the wing-membrane be
-traced inwards it will be found to be attached to the hind limb. In
-some species it will be found that this membrane passes backwards
-beyond the leg to attach itself to the tail. Here, then, is a wing
-as efficient for its purpose as that of a bird, but constructed on a
-totally different plan.
-
-Ages ago, before even the birds or the beasts had appeared on the
-earth, the winged dragons, which the Men of Science call Pterodactyles,
-held the proud position of being, not only the first, but the only
-creatures blessed with a backbone that could fly. Their wings
-resembled those of the bats, but differed in this, that instead of the
-wing-membrane being stretched between all the fingers, leaving only
-the thumb free, it was attached only to the fifth finger, leaving the
-remaining fingers free, and these were reduced to mere vestiges. As
-with the birds, the breast-bone was very broad and was furnished with a
-keel, while in the bats it takes the form of a jointed rod, down which
-no more than a slight keel is ever developed.
-
-But millions of years before the Flying-dragons, birds, and bats came
-into being, the stupendous problem of flight had been solved. Far away
-in the distant Devonian Epoch, when the distribution of land and water
-over the earth's surface was totally different from that of to-day,
-dragon-flies and caddis-flies disported themselves in the summer sun,
-amid landscapes that would seem strange to our eyes. For there were no
-trees and flowering plants, such as we know.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The dragon-flies of that remote epoch were very like those of to-day,
-whose dancing flights and graceful, swooping movements are such a
-delight to watch by reed-fringed pools, or river-banks, during the
-sweltering days of summer. This flight is very different from that of
-a bird, though it would be hard to say precisely in what it differs.
-But we have no such difficulty in regard to the broad outlines of the
-mechanism of such flight. To begin with there are two pairs of wings,
-and these appear to be fashioned out of some curiously gauze-like
-material, a sort of mesh-work tissue, often strikingly coloured. And
-they are obviously driven after a very different fashion from those
-of the bird. For in the bird they are moved by quivering muscles,
-attached to a bony, internal skeleton. In the dragon-fly--as with all
-insects--the hard skeleton, composed of a material known as "chitin,"
-forms the outside of the body and encloses the muscles. Finally, for we
-may not dwell very long over this aspect of flight, it is clear that
-the wings cannot have been derived from modified fore-legs, like those
-of the bat, or the bird. Rather, it would seem, they have developed out
-of plate-like breathing organs.
-
-The restful twilight hours of summer tempt not only bats from their
-hiding places, but a host of other winged creatures which are rarely
-to be seen, or heard, during the glare of noon. Among these is the
-lumbering dor-beetle, who, with lazy drone steers clear of solid
-objects only with difficulty. Many, indeed, are his failures. He and
-his kin are no match for bats and owls, who find them juicy morsels! On
-the next opportunity catch one and examine him. His wings are curiously
-interesting. There are the usual two pairs: but the fore-wings have
-been changed to serve as covers for the hind-wings. During flight they
-are spread outwards, and indirectly, no doubt, assist flight. But the
-hind-wings are the real propellers. And it will be noticed that when
-not in use they can be folded up in a perfectly wonderful manner, so as
-to lie completely underneath the fore-wings, or "elytra," so that when
-the creature is crawling it appears to be wingless.
-
-Now compare these with the transparent wings of the bee, or the
-gorgeously scale-covered wings of the butterfly. It is well worth
-while. If this examination be done very carefully, and with the aid
-of a magnifying glass, it will be found that the fore and hind wings
-are yoked together in the wing of the bee, by a delicate mechanism
-of hooks. In the moths, but not in the butterflies, a bristle, or
-sometimes two or three bristles, serve the same purpose. Further, in
-the case of the bee it will be found that the fore-wing, when at rest,
-is folded longitudinally back upon itself.
-
-Finally, turn to the flies. Herein it will be seen that there is but
-a single pair of wings, the hind pair having become reduced to mere
-stumps, known as "balancers."
-
-Much, very much more, might have been said of these wings: but our
-conversation is of birds. We cannot, however, properly appreciate
-either the essential characters of their wings, or their flight,
-without some such standards of comparison as is afforded by the wings
-of other creatures.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A Primaries.  B Secondaries.  C Tectrices.  D Bastard Wing.
-
-The upper figure shows the under side of wing with the coverts removed
-to show attachment of flight feathers to skeleton.
-
-The lower figure shows the quill or flight feathers and the coverts in
-their natural condition.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-The First Bird.
-
-    "And let Fowl fly above the earth; with wings
-      Displayed in the open firmanent of heaven."--_Milton._
-
- The ancestors of birds--The first known bird and its many remarkable
- features--The gradual evolution of the birds of to-day.
-
-
-Sooner or later all bird-lovers find
-themselves pondering over the problem of the origin of birds: how they
-evolved their peculiar covering of feathers: what was the fashion of
-the original arm and hand out of which the wing was fashioned: and
-finally, whence have the birds been derived?
-
-Since these pages are avowedly devoted to the subject of Flight, any
-attempt to summarize the state of our knowledge on these aspects of the
-history of birds would be in the nature of a trespass on the space, of
-necessity limited, which even a cursory survey of flight demands.
-
-Let it suffice, then, to say, that birds are descended from reptiles.
-The skeleton of modern birds bears undubitable testimony of this. For
-we have the evidence furnished us by the remains of two remarkable
-skeletons, belonging to that very wonderful reptile-like bird,
-Archaeopteryx.
-
-Only two skeletons of this wonderful bird are known, and they were
-obtained, many years ago, from the Solenhofen, or Lithographic slates
-of Bavaria. The wing and tail-feathers are as perfectly developed as
-in modern birds. But these precious fossils present two characters
-which have long since been lost by birds. The first of these is the
-presence of well developed teeth in the jaws. The birds of to-day have
-horny beaks. The teeth bespeak the reptile. The second is the long,
-tapering tail, which is composed of a series of cylindrical bones,
-forming a lizard-like appendage. But each bone, be it noted, supported
-a pair of stiff, tail-quills, so that the tail of this ancient bird,
-in its general appearance, differs in a very striking way from that of
-a modern bird, wherein these feathers seem all to spring from a common
-base, fan-wise. But as a matter of fact this appearance is deceptive,
-for the large bone, or "pygostyle" which supports the tail feathers
-of the adult, is found, in the embryo, to be made up of a series of
-separate pieces, agreeing in number with those of the tail of the
-fossil ancestor, Archaeopteryx. Each of these separate bones has, in
-fact, in the course of the ages, been shortened up to the condition of
-mere discs; and this "telescoping" of the vertebrae has brought the once
-separated feathers close up, so that their bases lie packed in like the
-spokes of a fan. As a result, a much more efficient tail for the needs
-of flight has come into being. And the tail, it must be remembered,
-plays, especially in some birds, an important part. But this is not
-all. We have now to consider the wing. In all essentials this agrees
-with that of living birds. And this agreement is strikingly close when
-it is compared with the embryonic and early nestling stages. A detailed
-account of these resemblances, and differences, would be out of place
-here. Suffice it to say that its closest modern counterparts are to
-be found in the wing of the nestling of that strange South American
-bird, the Hoatzin, and the "Game-birds," such as of a young pheasant,
-or a young fowl. The evidence these can furnish in this matter of the
-evolution of the birds wing will be found in Chapter VI. For the moment
-it will be more profitable to discuss the broad outlines of the origin
-of flight, so far as this is possible.
-
-On this theme there are, as might be supposed, many opinions--some of
-them bearing little relation to fact.
-
-The feet of Archaeopteryx, it is important to remember, bear a very
-extraordinary likeness to the feet of a "perching" bird, say that of a
-crow. They are without any semblance of doubt, the feet of a bird which
-lived in trees. Archaeopteryx, then, was an arboreal bird. And this
-being so, the most reasonable hypothesis of the origin of flight is
-that it developed out of "gliding" movements, made for the purpose of
-passing from the topmost branches of one tree to the lower branches of
-another, after the mode of the "flying-squirrels," and "flying-lemur"
-of to-day. The wing, at this primitive stage of its evolution, was
-even then, probably, a three-fingered limb, provided with a broad
-fringe of incipient feathers along its hinder border. At this stage
-the body would have been less bird-like than that of Archaeopteryx, and
-have been still more like that of the ancestral reptilian stock from
-which the birds have sprung. That feathers are, so to speak, glorified
-reptilian scales cannot be certainly demonstrated, but men of Science
-are generally agreed that this was their origin.
-
-By the time that Archaeopteryx had come into being, true flight had been
-arrived at, though probably it could not have been long sustained.
-As these primitive birds increased in numbers, and spread from the
-woodlands to the open country, life became more strenuous. New
-enemies had to be evaded, longer journeys had to be made for food.
-Only the very best performers on the wing could survive, and thus,
-in each generation, the failures would be speedily weeded out, while
-competition among the survivors would raise the standard. We see the
-result of this "struggle for existence" in the many and varied types of
-wings, and of flight, which are presented in this book.
-
-[Illustration: Archaeopteryx.
-
-Pterodactyles.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and their relation to Flight.
-
-    "... the fowls of heaven have wings,
-     And blasts of heaven will aid their flight:
-             *     *     *     *     *
-     Chains tie us down by land and sea."--_Wordsworth._
-
- The evasiveness of flight--The size of the wing in relation to
- that of the body--Noisy flight--"Muffled" flight--The swoop of the
- sparrow-hawk--The "flighting" of ducks--The autumn gatherings of
- starlings and swallows--"Soaring" flights of storks and vultures--The
- wonderful "sailing" feats of the albatross--The "soaring" of the
- skylark--The "plunging" flight of the gannet, tern, and kingfisher.
-
-
-Who needs to be told that birds fly? So
-common-place has this fact become that the many, and varied forms of
-wings, and the peculiarities of flight which are associated with these
-differences, are rarely perceived. Even sculptors, and artists show a
-hopeless unfamiliarity with the shapes of wings, and their meanings, at
-any rate, as a general rule. Look at their attempts to display birds in
-flight, or in the fanciful use of wings which convention has ascribed
-to angels. For the most part these superbly beautiful appendages are
-atrociously rendered.
-
-Yet it must be confessed that any attempt to explain exactly how birds
-fly must fail. We can do no more than state the more obvious factors
-which are indispensable to flight, and the nature of its mechanism. The
-subtleties, and delicate adjustments of actual flight evade us.
-
-Our appreciation, however, of this supreme mode of locomotion will be
-materially quickened, if we make a point of studying the varied forms
-of flight as opportunities present themselves.
-
-To begin with, it is worth noting that the size of the wing decreases
-with the weight of the body to be lifted--up to a certain point, of
-course. This, perhaps, may seem strange a statement to make. But it
-can be readily verified. Compare, for example, the size of the body in
-relation to the wings, in the case of the butterfly and the dragon-fly,
-on the one hand, and the partridge and the crow, on the other. The two
-first named, by comparison, have enormous wings.
-
-Birds, it will be noticed, which haunt woods, or thickets, have short,
-rounded wings, like the wren, the pheasant, or the tawny owl. Such, on
-the other hand, as live in the open, like the gull, and the swallow,
-have long, pointed wings. The reason for this is fairly plain. Birds
-which must steer their course through the intricate mazes of a wood, or
-thicket, would find their flight seriously hampered by long wings.
-
-[Illustration: _Pheasants_]
-
-These general principles once realized, a foundation is laid on which
-one may base observations on the peculiarities of flight distinguishing
-different types of birds.
-
-Most of us, probably, at one time or another, in taking a walk through
-the woods, have been startled, almost out of our wits, by a sudden
-"whirr" of wings at our very feet; made by some crouching pheasant,
-waiting till the very last moment before revealing himself, by taking
-flight. This alarming noise is due to the shortness and stiffness of
-the quill, or flight-feathers. With pinions moving with incredible
-speed, the bird is off like a rocket. Not seldom, probably, it owes
-its life to this ability to disconcert its enemies, till it has put a
-safe distance between itself and danger. By way of contrast, let us
-take the absolutely silent, easy movements of the owl, stealing forth
-in the twilight of a summer's evening, seeking whom he may devour.
-Here, again, we have a meaning in the mode of flight. Here silence is
-more than golden: it means life itself. Nimble-footed, sharp-eared
-mice and rats, must be snatched up before even the breath of suspicion
-can reach them. The uncanny silence of this approach is rendered
-possible, only by what may be called a "muffling" of the wings. For the
-flight-feathers are not only of great breadth, but they are covered,
-as it were, with velvet-pile, the "barbules" of the wing-quills, which
-form the agents by which the "web" of the quill is held together,
-having their upper spurs produced into long, thread-like processes,
-which extinguishes any possibility of a warning "swish."
-
-John Bright, in one of his magnificent perorations, caused his
-spell-bound listeners to catch their breath, when, conjuring up a
-vision of the Angel of Death, he remarked "we can almost hear the
-rustle of his wings." One realizes the vividness of that imagery, when
-one hears, as on rare occasions one may, the awe-inspiring rustle of
-the death-dealing swoop of the falcon, or the sparrow-hawk, as he
-strikes down his victim.
-
-But the swish, and whistle of wings often stirs the blood with
-delicious excitement, as, when one is out on some cold, dark night,
-"flighting." That is to say, awaiting mallard passing overhead on the
-way to their feeding ground, or in watching the hordes of starlings, or
-swallows, settling down to roost in a reed-bed. No words can describe
-these sounds, but those to whom they are familiar know well the thrill
-of enjoyment they beget. There is no need, here, to muffle the sound of
-the wing-beat. The falcon vies with the lightning in his speed, escape
-is well nigh hopeless: neither have the swallows need for silence;
-indeed, on these occasions, they add, to the music of their wings, the
-enchantment of their twittering.
-
-So much for flight in its more general aspects. Let us turn now to a
-survey of some of the more remarkable forms of flight, beginning with
-that known as "soaring."
-
-This but few birds have mastered, and to-day it is rarely to be seen in
-our islands, for eagles, falcons, and buzzards are, unfortunately, only
-to be found in a few favoured localities. Happily, however, one may
-yet realize the delight of watching a soaring buzzard, or raven, among
-the hills of Westmorland, or in parts of Cornwall and Wales. But to
-see the past-masters in the art, one must seek the haunts of pelicans,
-vultures, and adjutant storks. The last-named is perhaps the finest
-performer of them all. For the first hundred feet or so he rises by
-rapid and powerful strokes of the wings, and then, apparently without
-the slightest effort, or the suspicion of a wing-beat, he sweeps round
-in great spirals, gaining some ten or twenty feet with each gyration,
-the wings and tail all the while being fully extended and the primary
-feathers widely separated at their tips. During the first part of
-every turn he is flying slightly downward: at the end of the descent
-he sweeps round and faces the wind, which carries him upward. Round,
-round, he goes, mounting ever higher and higher, until at last he
-attains a height of perhaps two miles.
-
-The adjutant thus goes aloft apparently for the mere delight the
-movement affords him. But not so with the vulture, who is a close rival
-in this art. He soars for his very existence, for dead bodies are not
-to be found everywhere. Possessing powers of sight infinitely greater
-than ours, he mounts aloft for the purpose of taking observations. If
-nothing "toothsome" can be seen from his vast range, he turns his
-attention to the movements of such of his fellows as may be up on
-the same errand miles away. Should he see one swooping earthwards he
-instantly tracks him down, and is soon at the feast. This accounts for
-the mysterious way in which vultures will gather together to the feast,
-in a place where an hour ago not one was to be seen. A caravan of
-camels, perchance, is making its toilsome way across a burning desert.
-One falls by the way. In a few hours its bones will be picked clean by
-a horde of these ravenous birds.
-
-Longfellow sang the song of the vultures hunting in stately verse:--
-
-    "Never stoops the soaring vulture
-     On his quarry in the desert,
-     On the sick or wounded bison,
-     But another vulture, watching
-     From his high aerial look-out,
-     Sees the downward plunge and follows,
-     And a third pursues the second,
-     Coming from the invisible ether,
-     First a speck, and then a vulture,
-     Till the air is thick with pinions."
-
-[Illustration: Black-game.]
-
-Darwin, in his wonderful "Journal of a Voyage Round the World" gives a
-marvellously vivid word-picture of the largest, and most interesting of
-all the vultures, the Condor of the Andes--one of the largest of flying
-birds, having a wing-span of something over nine feet:--
-
-"When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot,
-their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground, I do
-not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings.
-Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once
-taking off my eyes; they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles,
-descending and ascending without giving a single flap. As they glided
-close over my head, I intently watched, from an oblique position, the
-outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers of each wing;
-and these separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory
-movement, would have appeared as if blended together; but they were
-seen distinctly against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved
-frequently, and, apparently, with force, and the extended wings seemed
-to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body, and the
-tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings for a moment
-collapsed; and then again expanded with an altered inclination, the
-momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards
-with the even and steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of
-any bird _soaring_, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that
-the action of the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may
-counterbalance its gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a
-body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so
-little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.
-The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose, is
-sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly wonderful and
-beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without apparent
-exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river."
-
-Those who "go down to the sea in ships" have to face many perils, but
-the "wonders of the great deep" are for them a lure. One of these is
-to watch the marvellous "sailing" flights of the wandering albatross.
-His wings have, when expanded, a peculiarly "ribbon-like" form,
-and measure from tip to tip, over eleven feet--thus exceeding that
-of the condor, which, however, is the heavier bird of the two. The
-"ribbon-like" form of the wings is due to the extreme shortness of the
-flight-quills--the primaries and secondaries, and the great length of
-the arm and fore-arm. And it may be to these structural peculiarities
-that the "sailing" flight just alluded to is due. Resembling soaring in
-many of its aspects, yet it differs materially in that it is performed
-low down, not at immense heights. The most graphic description of
-these movements is surely that of Mr. Froude: "The albatross," he
-tells us, "wheels in circles round and round, and for ever round the
-ship--now far behind, now sweeping past in a long rapid curve, like a
-perfect skater on a perfect field of ice. There is no effort; watch
-as closely as you will, you will rarely see, or never see, a stroke
-of the mighty pinion. The flight is generally near the water, often
-close to it. You lose sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow
-between the waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest;
-but how he rises, and whence comes the propelling force, is, to the
-eye, inexplicable; he alters merely the angle at which the wings are
-inclined; usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal; but
-when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction, the wings
-then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the water."
-
-One sometimes hears the skylark described as "soaring" upwards, when
-performing that wonderful musical ride which has made him so famous.
-But as, spell-bound, one listens to his rapturous strains, and watches
-his spiral ascent, one cannot help noticing that his wings are never
-still, they seem almost to be "beating time" to his music. In true
-soaring they are scarcely ever moved.
-
-The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity,
-comparatively slow. But in what we may call "plunging" flight the case
-is very different, for here the velocity of the descent is great.
-
-The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our own, display
-this mode of flight to perfection. It is worth going far to see a
-gannet dive. Travelling at a relatively considerable height, and
-eagerly scanning the surface of the water for signs of a shoal of
-fish, this amazing bird dives with the speed of lightning, and with
-half-spread wings disappears with a terrific plunge beneath the
-surface, to emerge, an instant later, with his prey. One can measure
-the force of such a plunge by the cruel trick, sometimes played by
-fishermen, of fastening a herring to a board, and setting it adrift
-where gannets are about. The unsuspecting victim descends as usual
-upon his prey, only to meet instant death by the shock of his impact
-with the board. Those who talk glibly of identifying birds by their
-flight may point to this wonderful diver as a case in point. But while
-one may often see the gannet on the wing, it is by no means so often
-that one will have the good fortune to see him dive, for he is not
-always hungry. His white body, pointed tail, and black quill-feathers
-would then enable the novice to name him at once. But--in his immature
-plumage, he would, at a little distance, appear black, and unless he
-were fishing, the chances of recognition would be by no means great.
-Close at hand he would appear speckled with white.
-
-[Illustration: _Brown Owl_]
-
-But this by the way. There are two other birds which dive from a
-height on the wing. One of these is the kingfisher: the other is the
-tern. The term "tern" is here used collectively, for there are several
-species, but all have this habit of diving from a height. During the
-summer months one may be quite sure of an opportunity of watching the
-graceful, easy flight of at least three species. For they haunt the
-sea-shore, river, and lake with equal impartiality. Those who are on
-the look-out for terns, for the first time, will easily recognise
-them. For, in the first place they look like miniature gulls, but
-with longer and more pointed wings, and forked tails. Further, all
-have a characteristic black cap. They travel in small parties, as if
-for company, keeping no more than a yard or two from the surface of
-the water, and scanning it eagerly in search of shoals of small fish,
-or crustacea. As these are found one will note a quickening of the
-wing-beat, and a sudden dive, like that of the gannet, with half-closed
-wings. And sometimes, too, the impetus will take them completely under
-water.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  1 Bat
-  2 Butterfly
-  3 Beetle
-  4 Dragon-Fly
-  5 Bone of Birds Wing, Showing the three Divisions,
-      Arm--Fore-arm--Hand.
-  6 Breast Bone of Swan
-  7   "     "   "  Pigeon
-  8   "     "   "  Pelican
-  9 & 10 Apteryx, Cassowary (degenerate wings).
-]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-Modes of Flight.
-
-    "The soaring lark is blest as proud
-       When at Heaven's gate she sings:
-     The roving bee proclaims aloud
-       Her flight by vocal wings."--_Wordsworth._
-
- The movements of the wing in flight--Marey's experiments--Stopping
- and turning movements--Alighting--"Taking off"--Hovering--The use of
- the tail in flight--The carriage of the neck in flight--And of the
- legs--The flight of petrels--The speed of flight--The height at which
- birds fly--Flight with burdens--Experiments on the sizes of the wing
- in relation to flight--Flight in "troops."
-
-
-While it is possible to show that certain
-kinds of flight are to be associated with such and such peculiarities
-of the skeleton, and the muscles attached thereto, there are many
-"eccentricities" which cannot be measured, and explained, in terms of
-mechanism.
-
-The very disconcerting, twisting, flight of the snipe is one of these.
-The sportsman knows it well: and he knows that the twisting, during
-which the bird turns the body half over--that is with, say, the
-left wing pointing directly downwards, and the right wing directly
-upwards--is only the preliminary to getting fully on the way, and that,
-presently, it will pursue a straight course, with arrow-like speed.
-Yet its cousin, the jack-snipe, never twists.
-
-Why does the woodcock invariably drop after a charge of shot, even
-though not a pellet has touched it, while a snipe pursues its way?
-These differences are not merely differences of "habit": they indicate
-subtle differences in nervous response to the same kind of stimulus,
-and in structural details yet to be unravelled.
-
-Some day the cinematograph will reveal to us all the phases of flight
-and the movements to which they are due. Even now, thanks to the modern
-camera, we have learned a great deal. We have learned, for example,
-that the flight of a bird is not effected merely by rapid up and down
-movements of the fully extended wings, or with flexed wings--that is
-to say, half closed, as in "gliding" flight when a bird is descending,
-or in the swoop of, say, the sparrow-hawk. Only in one of these two
-positions do we ever seem to see the wings when we have to trust to our
-eyes alone, as the bird hurries past us. The impression that we have
-seen aright is confirmed when we stand on the deck of a steamer, and
-watch the gulls following in its wake. For incredibly long distances
-they will travel without a perceptible wing-beat. The albatross is the
-finest of all performers in regard to this kind of flight, which is
-due, apparently, to air currents created by stiff breezes, or gales.
-Some birds seem to make their way against a head-wind with the minimum
-of effort, by partly flexing the wings and gliding downwards: at the
-end of the descent, by turning the body sharply upwards, and spreading
-the wings to the fullest extent, they are lifted up, and driven
-forward, like a kite.
-
-Marey and Pettigrew, long ago, showed conclusively, by means of
-photography, that our conception of the movement of the wing during
-flight was far from correct.
-
-To avoid a long and tedious description, and many technicalities, it
-must suffice to say that the wing of a bird possesses very considerable
-freedom and range of movement at the shoulder joint. Certainly, during
-some phases of flight, the wings are thrust forward and extended to
-their fullest extent, so that the outer margins of the wings come to
-lie almost parallel with the long axis of the body, as may be seen in
-the spirited illustration showing the goshawk in flight. As they sweep
-downwards, and backwards, they lift the body and drive it forwards.
-At the end of the "sweep" they are "flexed," that is to say, bent at
-the elbow and wrist-joints, while at the same time they are raised and
-brought forward above the body for a repetition of the stroke. These
-movements are too quick for the eye to follow, but they have been fixed
-for us by the camera.
-
-Marey devised an ingenious experiment in his endeavour to discover the
-movements of the bird's wing during flight. He fastened a small piece
-of paper to the tip of a crows wing, and as the bird flew in front of
-a perfectly black screen he took a photograph of this moving speck of
-white, while, of course, no image of the crow appeared on the plate.
-The resultant picture gave a series of "figure of 8 loops" as one would
-make this figure with a pen, contriving to make the lower loop very
-small, and the upper loop very large. But as the wing-beat increased in
-speed the lower loop gradually faded out.
-
-These movements of the wing, however, are descriptive rather of what
-takes place during very vigorous flight, as when the bird is getting
-up "steam." When he is well under way there is no need for these long
-and very tiring strokes, except in the case of birds like the pheasant
-or the duck. A gull, when in full career does not, apparently, raise
-the wings very high, nor depresses them very low, nor does it flex the
-wings at the wrist-joints.
-
-Stopping and turning movements are generally extremely difficult to
-follow, because they are performed so quickly. They can be seen fairly
-easily in the case of some of the larger birds. Ducks, as is well shown
-in one of our coloured Plates, draw the head backwards, tilt the body
-upward, thrust the feet forward, and spread the tail, at the same time
-turning it forwards. Gulls and pigeons too may be watched with profit.
-
-[Illustration: _Wild Duck_]
-
-In turning, the body is tilted sideways, so that the tip of one wing
-points skywards, the other earthwards, as in the case of the goshawk
-illustrated in this book. The pigeon, and some other birds seem further
-to spread out the long, stiff quills borne by the thumb, which form
-what is known as the "bastard-wing." This turning movement is well
-shown, again, in the very realistic coloured picture of the woodcock
-turning in mid-air, and bearing too the burden of one of its nestlings.
-
-If it is difficult to satisfy oneself as to the way in which a bird
-alights, it is no less so to detect its movements in taking wing.
-Most of us must have seen sparrows making this effort from the road,
-thousands of times. But ask of anyone, How is it done? The act takes
-place so quickly that the eye cannot follow its execution. And what is
-true of the sparrow is true of most birds. But there are some where
-this is not the case. Many water-birds, the cormorant, for example,
-get under way but slowly, and with evident effort. They flap along
-the surface for some distance before they gain sufficient impetus to
-lift them into the air. And there are many long-winged, short-legged
-birds which can rise from a level surface only with great difficulty,
-or not at all. The swift is one of these, for its legs are excessively
-short. The albatross is another: and this is true, indeed, of many of
-the petrel-tribe. The puffin, again, seems unable to rise on the wing
-from the ground. It appears invariably to run along until it reaches
-the edge of cliff which lodges its burrow, and then, as it were,
-throw itself over the edge. The heron, when springing into the air,
-stretches his long neck out to its fullest extent, and presents a pair
-of dangling legs, well shown in one of our coloured Plates, but when
-once fully on the way its pose entirely changes, the neck being drawn
-in and the legs thrust out backwards.
-
-Flight does not always mean progress through the air. Most birds can,
-at need, arrest their course, and hang, as it were, suspended in the
-air. In the beautiful coloured plate, representing the chaffinch
-hovering over its half-fledged young, and in that of the kingfisher
-and its young, this form of "hovering" flight can be seen. But the
-greatest of all exponents in the art of hovering is the kestrel, known
-also, for this very reason, as the "windhover." It is most fascinating
-to watch this bird hang, as it were, from the clouds, motionless,
-yet with quivering wings, as he scans the ground below in his search
-for some unsuspecting mouse. It is hard, indeed, to say which is the
-more wonderful, this power of remaining stationary for comparatively
-long periods in the air, or the surprising powers of sight which this
-bird possesses. During these hovering movements, always head to wind,
-it will be noted, the tail plays a very important part, being spread
-to its extremest limit, and at the same time thrust forward beneath
-the body. In some birds this forward movement is more marked than in
-others. And this because such birds possess a somewhat more flexible
-spine, there being a certain amount of "play" where the vertebrae of the
-loins join the welded mass of vertebrae which lie between the bones of
-the hip-girdle.
-
-But the tail feathers are not indispensable. This much is shown in the
-case of birds like the kingfisher, the water-hen, and the land-rail,
-which contrive to fly well, and at a great pace, though they have but
-the merest apology for a tail. More than this, the grebes have no
-tail at all. But it is to be noted that they are by no means adept at
-turning movements; owing to the lack of this appendage the body, when
-in mid-air, has a curiously truncated appearance, as may be seen in
-the illustration. Further, it is significant that in the contemptible
-"sport" of pigeon-shooting from traps, the birds are deprived of their
-tails to prevent them from making turning movements.
-
-The carriage of the head and neck, and of the legs, during flight
-presents some interesting, and some instructing contrasts.
-
-Ducks, geese, and swans, flamingoes, storks, and cormorants always fly
-with the head and neck stretched out to their fullest extent. Herons
-and pelicans, though also long-necked birds, draw the head back till it
-rests almost on the shoulders. Most birds, indeed, fly with the head
-drawn back towards the body. The appearance of some of these birds on
-the wing can be seen at a glance on turning to the page illustrating
-this aspect of flight.
-
-Not so very long ago a great controversy was waged as to what birds did
-with their legs during flight. Many of the older artists invariably
-depicted them drawn up under the breast. But as a matter of fact,
-this method seems to be confined to the Passerine birds--the "perching
-birds," such as crows and finches and their kin. It has yet to be
-settled what obtains among what are known as the "Picarian" birds, such
-as kingfishers, bee-eaters, woodpeckers, and so on. The legs and feet
-of these birds are so small, and their flight is so rapid, that the
-matter is by no means an easy one to settle. But all other birds carry
-the legs and toes bent backwards, under the tail. In the gulls, this
-can easily be seen, and easier still in the case of the common heron,
-where they are, as it were, trailed out behind--owing to the shortness
-of the tail and the great length of the leg. The puffin carries them
-"splayed" out on each side of his tail, and so also do his kinsmen, the
-razor-bills, and guillemots.
-
-The legs, as a rule, take no part in flight. True, they can be seen
-thrust out just before alighting, but this is solely for the purpose
-of effecting a safe landing. But where gulls can be watched at close
-quarters, as in harbours, round a ship, or in such favoured spots as
-are to be found about the bridges of London during the winter, careful
-watch will show that the legs are frequently used when efforts are
-being made to turn, or check the speed of flight.
-
-Some of the smaller petrels--like the storm-petrel, or "Mother Carey's
-chickens," will patter over the water with their feet as they fly just
-over the surface of the waves.
-
-[Illustration: _Sketches of Ducks in flight 1922_
-
-   1.  }
-       } Scaup.
-   1a. }
-
-   2.    Goldeneye.
-
-   3.  }
-       } Pochard.
-   4.  }
-
-   5.  }
-  to   } Mallard.
-  10.  }
-]
-
-Whether the legs are carried drawn close up beneath the breast, or
-thrust backwards under the tail, the purpose of this disposal is the
-same--to prevent any interference with the "stream-lines" of the body
-which would impede flight.
-
-On the matter of the speed of flight there seems to be much
-misconception. Gaetke, the German ornithologist, gravely asserted that
-the little Arctic blue-throat--one of our rarer British birds--could
-leave its winter resort in Africa in the dusk of evening, and arrive at
-Heligoland--where he spent so many years studying bird migration--nine
-hours later. That is to say it could travel 1,600 geographical miles
-in a single night, at the astounding velocity of 180 miles an hour!
-According to another estimate of his, curlews, godwits, and plovers
-crossed from Heligoland to the oyster-beds lying to the eastward, a
-known distance of rather more than four English miles, in one minute;
-or at the rate of over 240 miles an hour. Against such extravagant
-estimates it is hardly necessary to bring rebutting evidence. But if
-any be demanded it may be furnished by the carrier pigeon, which has
-been known to maintain a speed of 55 miles an hour for four hours in
-succession: and it is extremely unlikely that this is much, if at all,
-exceeded by any wild bird during long-distance flights.
-
-That our spring and autumn migrants must possess wonderful powers of
-endurance is beyond question. And it is equally certain that thousands
-must perish by the way. By this means is the standard of flight
-maintained--the weak perish. Even the minimum standard of efficiency
-for the survival of such an ordeal must be a high one.
-
-Few of us see anything of these marvellous migration flights. For, in
-the first place, they are generally performed at night, and at a great
-height, often beyond the range of human vision. Only as they approach
-land, and their destination, do they descend. American naturalists
-have made some interesting observations by directing a telescope
-against the sky. Thus, Mr. Frank Chapman, by turning his instrument
-towards the full moon, has seen birds passing at night at an altitude,
-according to his computation, of five miles: while the late Mr. W.
-E. D. Scott saw, through an astronomical telescope at Princeton,
-New Jersey, great numbers of birds passing across the face of the
-moon--warblers, finches, and woodpeckers among them. Mr. Chapman again,
-on another occasion, saw no less than 262 birds pass over the field of
-his telescope at a height of from 1,500 to 15,000 feet: and the most
-remarkable thing of all was the fact that the lowest birds were flying
-upwards, as if they had risen from the immediate neighbourhood and were
-seeking the proper elevation to continue their flight.
-
-As has already been remarked, when nearing their destination migrating
-birds descend, though still many miles from land. Should a gale be
-raging they fly so low that they barely top the waves. And this,
-apparently, to escape, so far as is possible, the force of the wind.
-Larks, starlings, thrushes, and other small birds, can sometimes be
-seen during daylight crossing the North Sea in their thousands. At such
-times many will often afford themselves a brief rest in the rigging
-of ships, homeward bound, but the main host hurry on. The beautiful
-golden crested wren, our smallest British migrant, is one of these. A
-glance at our charming coloured plate will show at once that the wing
-is not that of a bird of strong flight. There is no more interesting
-experience to the bird-lover than that of watching the tired travellers
-drop earthwards, as they leave the dreadful sea behind them.
-
-With all birds yet retaining the power of flight there is always a
-liberal "margin of safety" in regard to the wing area. That is to
-say this is always in excess of the minimum area necessary to make
-flight possible. This much, indeed, is manifest from the fact that the
-eagle can bear off a victim equalling himself in weight. Should he
-miscalculate, he can always drop his burden, or lessen its weight by
-eating part of it on the spot. Not so the osprey, or the sea-eagle,
-which have been known to plunge down and drive their talons into
-fishes too large to be raised. Unable to release their grip, death, by
-drowning, has inevitably followed.
-
-Sometimes the burden is a passenger, instead of a victim. One of
-the most striking of the coloured plates in this volume is that of a
-woodcock carrying one of its nestlings to a distant feeding place. This
-habit is well known. It is not often that the necessity arises, but
-there are occasions where suitable nesting and feeding grounds cannot
-be found together, or when, as during prolonged drought, the normal
-feeding area dries up. Then, instinctively, the parent will surmount
-the dangers of starvation for their offspring, by conveying them to a
-land of plenty, returning again to the shelter of the wood as soon as
-the meal is over. The weight of a newly-hatched nestling, it is true,
-could scarcely be called a "burden." But they are carried about thus
-until they are strong enough to perform the journey for themselves.
-Thus, then, towards the end of the nursing period the weight to be
-carried is by no means a light one.
-
-But it was shown, long since, by direct experiment, that the area of
-a bird's wing is considerably in excess of what is required for the
-purpose of flight. Dr. J. Bell Pettigrew, more than fifty years ago,
-to test this matter, cut off more than half of the secondary wing
-feathers of a sparrow, parallel with the long axis of the wing. He
-first clipped one, then both wings, and found that in both cases flight
-was apparently unimpaired. He then removed a fourth of the primary
-feathers--the outermost quills--and still the flight was unimpaired. At
-any rate the bird flew upwards of thirty yards, rose to a considerable
-height and alighted in a tree. Thirty yards, however, is a short
-flight even for a sparrow. But it is enough to show that flight, if not
-_sustained_ flight, was possible after this mutilation. Not until more
-than one-third of the quills along the whole length of the wing were
-removed, did the flight become obviously laboured. And he found that
-what was true of the sparrow, was equally true of the wings of insects.
-
-Though these experiments demonstrate, in a very unmistakable manner,
-that flight with a greatly reduced wing area is possible, we have no
-evidence that this reduction would make no difference to the length of
-time the bird could remain on the wing. And this is a very important
-matter.
-
-An aspect of flight which has now to be considered is that of birds
-which fly in troops. Some species always travel thus, others only on
-occasions. Rooks and gulls afford instances of this, when, during windy
-weather, or for other reasons, they congregate and fly round and round
-in great circles, at a considerable height. Small wading-birds, like
-ringed plovers and dunlin, commonly fly in "bunches." The last named
-furnish a singularly interesting sight when thus travelling; for their
-evolutions are so amazingly timed. As if at a given signal every bird
-in the troop will change its course at the same moment, and in the
-same direction, so that now one sees a flickering mesh-work of grey,
-and now a shimmering as of snow-flakes, as first the grey backs, and
-then the white breasts are turned towards one. But flights such as this
-are to be seen only during the autumn and winter months. For during
-the breeding season these little flocks are broken up and distributed
-far and wide. But there is yet another reason. They wear a totally
-different dress--the courtship or breeding plumage. Herein the upper
-parts are of a rich chestnut hue, streaked with black, while the under
-parts are black. Even more fascinating to watch are the autumn troops
-of starlings on the way to their roosting places. Hundreds at a time,
-not to say thousands, take part in these flights. Now they rush onward,
-in one great far-flung sheet, and now they close up into a great,
-almost ball-like, mass: and now they thin out till they look like a
-trail of smoke. But always they wheel and turn and rise and descend,
-not as separate bodies, but as one. How are such wonderful evolutions
-timed. The movements of an army on review-day are not more precise,
-or more perfectly carried out. During the whole flight not a sound,
-save the swishing of their wings can be heard. The marvel of it all is
-beyond the range of words, nor can one express the peculiar delight
-such a sight affords.
-
-Why is it that ducks and geese commonly fly either in Indian file, or
-in a roughly V-shaped formation, with the apex of the V forward? Why do
-they not fly all abreast? One cannot say, but they never do.
-
-Some mention must be made here of the surprising numbers in which
-geese, of some species, congregate. Writing of the Brent goose, in his
-"Bird Life of the Borders," Mr. Abel Chapman--and there are few men who
-can write with such authority on the subject--tells us:--"Just at dark
-the whole host rise on the wing together, and make for the open sea. In
-the morning they have come in by companies and battalions, but at night
-they go out in one solid army; and a fine sight it is to witness their
-departure. The whole host, perhaps ten thousand strong, here massed in
-dense phalanxes, elsewhere in columns tailing off into long skeins, V's
-or rectilineal formations of every conceivable shape, (but always with
-a certain formation)--out they go, full one hundred yards high, while
-their loud clanging, defiance--"honk, honk,--torrock, torrock," and its
-running accompaniment of lower croaks and shrill bi-tones, resounds for
-miles around."
-
-[Illustration: Peregrine chasing Duck.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-Courtship Flights
-
-    "A pair of falcons wheeling on the wing,
-     In clamourous agitation ..."--_Wordsworth._
-
- The wing-play of black-game and grouse--The "musical ride" of
- the snipe--The "roding" of the woodcock--The musical flights of
- redshank and curlew--The "tumbling" of the lapwing--The raven's
- somersaults--The courting flight of the wood pigeon--The mannikin's
- "castanets"--Wings as lures--The strange pose of the sun-bittern--The
- "wooing" of the chaffinch and the grasshopper-warbler--Darwin and
- wing-displays--The wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.
-
-
-One of the most striking features of
-bird-life is surely its restless activity. This is always apparent,
-but it attains to a state of almost feverish excitement as the spring
-advances, and the parental instincts re-awaken. As they gather
-strength, so they manifest themselves, in outbursts of song--often of
-exquisite beauty--strange antics, or wonderful evolutions in mid-air.
-
-It is with these last that we are chiefly concerned here. As might
-be supposed, they present a wide variety in the matter of their form
-and duration. Black-game furnish an example of a very simple form of
-courtship flight, but it is associated with curious antics on the
-ground. And these, it is to be noted, are only to be witnessed soon
-after sunrise. Two blackcocks will approach one another and stand as
-if prepared to ward off a very vigorous onslaught; reminding one of two
-barn-door cockerels. With lowered head and neck they face one another,
-the beautiful lyrate tail spread fan-wise, and arched so that the
-curled, outer, feathers touch the ground, while the wings are trailed
-like those of the turkey-cock. Then one will at last rush forward,
-and seizing his adversary by the scruff of the neck, will administer
-a sound beating with his wings. The victor celebrates his triumph by
-a loud, and most unmusical screech, which has been likened, by that
-accomplished observer and sportsman-artist, Mr. J. G. Millais, to the
-call of cats on the house-tops at mid-night. But presently a grey-hen
-makes her appearance. Hostilities cease at once, on all sides; and
-intense excitement prevails amongst the whole assembly--for a large
-number of cocks will gather together at these sparring matches. Her
-approach has been observed by a single bird, who, unintentionally,
-gives the signal by suddenly drawing himself up to a rigid position of
-attention, till he is sure she is really coming, then he throws himself
-into the air and flutters up a few feet, uttering at the same time, a
-peculiar hoarse note of exultation. Immediately all the others follow
-suit; each seeming to strive to outdo his neighbour in a series of
-absurd pirouettings. Here we have a "Love-flight," of exceedingly brief
-duration, associated with terrestrial combats and frantic prancings.
-
-[Illustration: _Woodcock carrying Young_]
-
-The grouse pursues a different method. He strives to incite his mate
-to amourous moods by chasing her about. But she is "coy," and will
-tolerate this for hours at a time, apparently intent on nothing more
-than seeking something interesting to eat, she seems to affect to
-be quite unaware of the presence of her importunate mate; though
-her behaviour is belied by the fact that she keeps up a continuous
-"cheeping" note, heard only at this time of the year. Every now and
-then he will vary his tactics by leaping up into the air and taking
-an upward flight of from twenty to thirty feet, crowing vociferously.
-On alighting he will commence his addresses again. Then, perhaps, she
-herself will take to flight, darting off and twisting like a snipe,
-evidently enjoying her tantalizing tactics. He follows in close
-pursuit, in the hope, doubtless, of satisfying his desires, when she
-shall come to rest. Here is a "courtship" flight of longer duration, in
-which both sexes participate.
-
-The "musical ride" of the snipe is of a much more imposing character:
-and in this, again, both sexes take a part. During this performance,
-which affords some thrilling moments to the bird-lover, the bird
-ascends to a great height, and then plunges earthwards in a terrific
-"nose-dive" accompanied by a weird bleating noise, comparable to the
-bleat of a goat. For long years discussion waged furiously as to the
-source of this sound. Some held that it was produced by the voice:
-others by the tremulous motion of the wing-feathers: others, again,
-contended that it was caused by the tail feathers. This was first
-mooted by the Danish naturalist, Meeves, and he produced some very
-striking and curious evidence to prove his view. He showed that the
-outermost tail-feathers had peculiarly thickened shafts, which were
-also bent in a very striking way. By removing these feathers, and
-sticking them into a cork, he was enabled, by twirling the cork rapidly
-round at the end of a string, to reproduce the "bleat" exactly. Many
-years later Dr. Philip Bahr revived this experiment, for the purpose
-of finally setting the matter at rest--for there were still many who
-remained unconverted to the Meeves interpretation. Dr. Bahr left no
-room for further doubt. He showed, too, that during the production
-of this sound these tail-feathers were extended laterally, so as
-to separate them from the rest of the tail, and so give the air
-rushing past them during the earthward plunge, full play on these
-sound-producing structures. He too, applied the test first instituted
-by Meeves, and so clinched his arguments. One may hear this strange
-music as early as February, and even, though rarely, as late as July.
-But it is essentially a breeding-season, or rather a "Courtship"
-performance sound, though it may be evoked by a sitting bird suddenly
-surprised, when she will "bleat" as she leaves her eggs, possibly to
-distract the intruder on her vigil.
-
-The woodcock has a "love-flight" but of a quite different character,
-known by sportsmen as "roding." It takes the form of short flights
-up and down the "ride," or space selected for the nesting site.
-But while the female is sitting the male will still continue these
-flights, choosing the early morning and evenings. As he goes he utters
-strange cries, which have been compared, by some, to the words "more
-rain to-morrow" and by others to, "Cro-ho, cro-ho," varied by a note
-sounding like, "whee-e-cap." These flights are varied by strange little
-displays upon the ground, when he will strut about before his mate with
-wings drooped and trailing on the ground, the tail spread, and the
-feathers of the head and neck standing on end. This gives him a very
-odd appearance, to human eyes, but it serves its purpose--which is to
-arouse his mate to amourous moods.
-
-Redshank, curlew, and dunlin--cousins of the snipe and woodcock--are
-all accomplished performers in the art of wooing on the wing. The male
-redshank, uttering flute-like notes, Mr. Farren tells us, soars up to a
-moderate height, and remains, for a brief space, "hanging in the wind"
-with the tips of his curved wings rapidly vibrating. He then descends,
-pipit-like, earthwards, while the song, which has been uttered slowly,
-now quickens, reaching its climax as the bird, raising its wings above
-its back for an instant, finally alights on the ground. But he has yet
-other wiles, which are not used in mid-air. Approaching his mate with
-his head erect and body drawn up to its full height, he raises his
-wings for an instant high above his head: then allowing them gradually
-to droop, he vibrates them, at the same time rapidly moving his legs
-like a soldier "marking time."
-
-The curlew seems to prefer the evening for his best efforts. Rising
-from the ground with rapid wing-beats, he will "check" suddenly when
-near the summit of his ascent; so suddenly as almost to throw himself
-backwards. Then, recovering, he will hang poised, kestrel-like, in
-mid-air, and pour forth a joyous thrilling, or jodelling, song. Rising
-and falling, on quivering wings, or sweeping round in great circles,
-and hovering again, he will remain for some considerable time pouring
-forth this joyful ripple of song.
-
-The courtship flight of the lapwing is even, if possible, more
-interesting. Rising from the ground with slow heavy flaps of his broad
-wings--which, it is to be noted, present a remarkable difference
-from those of the female, in that the primaries are much longer, so
-as to give this portion of the extended wing a conspicuously broader
-appearance--as though he had difficulty in getting under way, he
-speedily dissipates this impression by a sudden upward rush, an
-effortless turn, apparently; and then follows a downward swoop, or
-fall, with half-closed wings. To this swoop there succeeds a surprising
-change. In an instant the wing-beat is increased to an incredible
-speed, causing the body to turn a half, and sometimes even a complete
-somersault. But the next instant he is up and away over the ground
-with musical wing-beats, tilting and swaying from side to side with
-wonderful buoyancy.
-
-[Illustration: Lapwings.]
-
-Throughout, this delightful performance is accompanied by a wild
-and joyous song, which seems to be attuned to the somewhat bleak
-surroundings. It thrills one even to remember it in later days: and
-it defies one to express it in human fashion. It has been as nearly
-rendered as any version I have ever seen--and I have seen many--by
-Mr. Brock. It is not a whistle, nor is it like any sound that can
-be faithfully rendered by the human voice, yet it seems to say
-"_whey-willuchooee-willuch-willuch-cooee_." It suffers a break, remarks
-Mr. Farren, commenting on this theme, during the flutter of the wings
-at the end of the fall, but is picked up at once with a triumphant
-"coo-whee, coo-ee," as the bird dashes off at the end of the somersault.
-
-The lapwing is very intolerant of any trespass on his breeding
-territory on the part of his neighbours. As soon as the intruder is
-sighted, the owner of the territory charges. And the two then mount up
-into the air, often to a great height, each striving to get above the
-other for a downward swoop. As the one "stoops" at the other, the lower
-bird dodges, and so rapidly are the wings moved that they are often
-brought smartly together over the back, producing a clapping noise.
-
-Even the black, forbidding raven has his amorous moods. And at such
-times he will even outdo the more lively, though irascible lapwing in
-the art of aerial somersaults; if somersaults they can be called. For
-in the middle of an ordinary spell of flying he will suddenly fold up
-his wings and bring them close up to the body, at the same time turning
-completely round, as though he were turned on a spit; the body being
-held horizontal as the turn is made. For a moment or two there he is
-suspended, as it were, between earth and sky, with his back towards
-earth, and his breast towards the heavens. Lest he should forget the
-manner of the trick, it would seem, he will practice it at times,
-during the stern work of chasing intruders from his territory; for he
-will brook no competitors on his ground.
-
-The woodpigeon, during the courtship season, makes frequent sallies
-into the air for the purpose, apparently, of giving vent to his
-exuberant feelings. During such flights he will dart up from the
-tree-tops and sail round, high above, in great circles, rising and
-falling as he goes, with out-spread wings, every now and then bringing
-them over his back with a resounding snap. During such displays the
-white bar across the wing is most conspicuous, serving at once to
-identify the performer.
-
-Among our native birds, the only other species which habitually, and
-especially during the courting season, produce characteristic sounds
-during flight, by bringing the wings smartly together over the back,
-is the night-jar. But there are certain small passerine birds, known
-as mannikins, inhabiting the forests of South America, which have the
-shafts of the quill-feathers of the fore-arm enormously thickened. By
-means of these transformed and translated "castenets," at will, the
-bird can produce a sound which has been likened to the crack of a whip.
-
-So far this discourse has been concerned solely with "courtship"
-flights, or flights associated with peculiar sounds, dependent on rapid
-movements of the wing in mid-air for their production. And with the
-mention of these instances this Chapter might, quite legitimately,
-be brought to an end. But it must not. And this, because there are a
-number of birds which put their wings, during Courtship season, to very
-different purposes. Spectacular flights and evolutions in mid-air do
-not appeal to them. They use their wings instead as lures, as a means
-of adding intensity to strange poses and pirouettings; whereby they
-desire to give expression to the amorous feelings which possess them,
-in the hope--if for the moment, we may accord to them human standards
-of intention--of arousing kindred emotions in their mates.
-
-Darwin was the first to draw attention to these curious displays.
-Which, on the evidence then available, seemed always to be made, and
-only to be made, by birds having wings conspicuously coloured. It
-seemed as though the possessors of such wings were conscious of their
-beauty, and so displayed them that nothing of their glory should be
-missed.
-
-The sun-bittern affords a case in point. This bird, a native of
-Brazil, is soberly, but very beautifully coloured when at rest; its
-plumage presenting an indescribable mixture of black, grey, brown,
-bay, and white; blended in the form of spots, bars, and mottlings. But
-during times of sexual excitement it will spread out its wings in the
-form of a great fan, encircling the long, slender, neck. And in this
-position they present a very conspicuous appearance, taking the form
-of beautifully graded bands of black, white, and bright grey, forming
-patterns which vanish the moment the primaries fall into their place
-behind the quills of the fore-arm. But when thus spread the bird seems
-to find the greatest delight in displaying their chaste splendour
-before his mate. He seems to spread his wings just because he is
-conscious of their beauty when thus opened out.
-
-But we need not travel so far as Brazil to find examples of displays
-of this kind. Among the birds of our own Islands we can find many
-close parallels. The chaffinch and the goldfinch, when seeking to
-arouse the sympathy of their mates make much play with their wings, not
-only in short "nuptial flights," designed, apparently, to display the
-conspicuous and brilliant colouring of the plumage as a whole, but when
-perched on some convenient spray. At such times the wing is more or
-less completely spread out, as if to reveal, to the fullest possible
-advantage, the bright bars and splashes of colour which this extension
-alone can bring into being.
-
-Since these gaily coloured vestments seemed always to be associated
-with striking, stilted, attitudes, sometimes bordering on the
-grotesque, and always to be paraded in the presence of the female,
-Darwin drew the inference that they were the outcome of female choice
-persistently exercised during long generations. That is to say he
-held that, far back in the history of the race, these performers were
-soberly clad, as their mates commonly are. Then certain of the males of
-these now resplendent species began to develop patches of colour, small
-at first, but gradually increasing, generation by generation, in area
-and intensity. This progressive splendour, he believed, was due to the
-"selective" action of the females, which, from the very first, chose
-from among their suitors those who stood out among their fellows by
-reason of their brighter plumage. Thus the duller coloured males died
-without offspring. On this assumption each succeeding generation would
-be, in some slight degree, brighter than the last, until the process of
-transformation ended in the glorified creatures we so admire to-day.
-
-It would be foreign to the purpose of this book to pursue this theme at
-length. Let it suffice to say that while the "Sexual Selection" theory
-still holds good, it has, so to speak, changed its complexion. And this
-largely owing to the accumulation of new facts. For the most important
-of these we are indebted to the singularly exact and laborious
-observations analysed, clarified, and interpreted with remarkable
-insight and sagacity of Mr. H. Eliot Howard, one of the keenest
-Ornithologists of our time. He has set forth his case, and interpreted
-his facts with masterly skill, and there seems no escape from his
-conclusions. Briefly, he has shown that birds of quite sober coloration
-like the warblers, which formed the basis of his investigations, engage
-in displays quite as remarkable, and of precisely the same character
-as in birds of gaily coloured plumage. From this it is clear that this
-wing-play is not prompted by a more or less conscious desire to display
-conspicuously coloured patches of colour, for of colour there is none
-save that of the general hue of varying shades of brown, as in the case
-of the grasshopper warbler, for example. Nor is the display, apart
-from colour, to be regarded as a performance slowly perfected through
-long generations through the selection of females, coy and hard to
-please. We must regard these "Nuptial flights" and wing-displays, as
-the outward and visible signs of a state of ecstatic amorousness on the
-part of the males which, by their persistence and frequent recurrence,
-at last arouse sympathetic response in the females. They play the
-part of an aphrodisiac. Without them there would be no mating. In my
-"Courtship of Animals" those who will may pursue this subject further.
-
-[Illustration: _Herons_]
-
-Before closing this Chapter mention must be made of the most remarkable
-wing-display to be found among birds, and of the equally remarkable
-uses to which they are put. The possessor of these wonderful
-appendages, for they are wonderful, is the argus pheasant of the Malay
-Peninsula and Borneo. Though efficient for short flights in jungles,
-all that is ever required of them, they would be quite useless in
-open country where an extended journey had to be made, or escape
-attempted from some vigorous enemy. And this because the secondary
-wing-quills--the quills attached to the fore-arm--are of enormous
-length, making, as we have remarked, sustained flight impossible. They
-have, indeed, come dangerously near losing their normal functions
-altogether. And this because they have passed over into the category of
-specialised "secondary sexual characters." But for the fact that this
-bird lives in an environment where food is abundant all the year round,
-and can be obtained without any undue exertion, and that there are no
-serious enemies to be evaded, it would long since have become extinct.
-For this exuberant growth of quill-feathers must be borne all the year
-round, though they are not required to function in their later role,
-save during the period of courtship.
-
-Their great length is not their only striking feature, or even their
-chief feature. This, indeed, is represented by their extraordinary
-coloration. For each feather bears along its outer web a series of
-"ocelli," so coloured as to look like a series of dull gold balls
-lying within a deep cup. Outside the ocelli run numerous pale yellow
-longitudinal stripes on a nearly black background. The inner web is
-of a delicate greyish brown hue, shading into white and relieved by
-innumerable black spots, while the tips of the quills have white spots
-bordered with black. The primaries, too, are most exquisitely coloured,
-though in the matter of size they are not very exceptional. These,
-indeed, are the only true flight feathers.
-
-The full beauty and significance of the coloration of these feathers
-can only be appreciated during periods of display. Then the two wings,
-in some indescribable manner, are opened out so as to form a huge
-circular screen, concealing the whole of the rest of the body. The
-effect produced from the human standpoint is one of great beauty, after
-the first burst of astonishment has spent itself. His mate is less
-easily moved. Perchance "familiarity breeds contempt." At any rate it
-is only after persistent and frequent attempts to charm her to his will
-that success rewards him.
-
-Those who have the good fortune to be able to make frequent visits to
-the Zoological Gardens in London may, with great good fortune, and at
-rare intervals, have an opportunity of witnessing such a display, and
-of studying in detail these wonderful wings. They are wonderful, not
-merely because of the manner of their display, or of their colouring,
-but also because in them we see ornament pushed to its furthest limit
-since, as wings, they have become well nigh useless, and therefore
-almost dangerous to the well-being of their possessors.
-
-[Illustration: Sunbittern Displaying.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-How to tell Birds on the Wing.
-
-    "I can tell a hawk from a hernshaw."--_Shakespeare._
-
- The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
- them--The wagtails--The finches--The buntings--The redstart-wheatear,
- Stonechat--The thrushes--The warblers--The tit-mice--The nuthatch, and
- tree-creeper--The spotted-flycatcher--The red-backed shrike--swallows,
- martins, and swifts--The night-jar--owls--Woodpeckers.
-
-
-The experienced ornithologist apart, there
-are hosts of people who are interested, at least, in our native birds:
-who would fain call them all by name; yet who can distinguish no more
-than a very few of our commonest species. They are constantly hoping
-to find some book which will give, in a word, the "Hall-mark" of every
-bird they may meet in a day's march. But that book will never be
-written. For some species present no outstanding features by which they
-may be certainly identified, when no more than a momentary examination
-is possible, and this at a distance. And it is often extremely
-difficult to set down in words, exactly, what are the reasons for
-deciding that some rapidly retreating form belongs to this, or that,
-species.
-
-And then, too, there are difficulties due to seasonal changes of
-plumage--often striking--sex, and age; since immature birds often
-differ totally from the adults in appearance. The young robin and the
-starling afford instances in point.
-
-The adult starling, as everybody knows, is "black" with a yellow beak
-and reddish legs. But seen close at hand his feathers gleam with a
-wonderful metallic sheen reflecting changing hues of violet, green,
-and purple. The young bird, in the early summer, is of a pale brown
-colour. In the autumn the plumage is changed for a "black dress,"
-like that of the adult, but heavily spotted with white. As the winter
-wears on the white spots become abraded, and disappear. The robin
-needs no description. But the young bird, in its first plumage, is
-commonly mistaken for the female, which, of course, is practically
-indistinguishable from the male. It is certainly unlike one's notion of
-a "cock-robin," being of a yellowish brown colour, with pale spots, a
-type of plumage characteristic of the young of the "thrush tribe."
-
-In some nearly related species, again, the males are strikingly
-different, the females barely distinguishable.
-
-But nevertheless, a very considerable number of our British birds can
-be more or less easily distinguished during flight--sometimes by the
-manner of that flight, sometimes by characteristic markings, sometimes
-by the notes they utter; and these are briefly summarised in this
-Chapter.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-   1. Swallow.
-   2. House Martin.
-   3. Swift.
-   4. Sand Martin.
-   5. Pied Wagtail.
-   6. Grey Wagtail.
-   7. Yellow Wagtail.
-   8. Chaffinch.
-   9. Goldfinch.
-  10. Linnet.
-  11. Greenfinch.
-  12. Bullfinch.
-]
-
-When it is realized that no less than 475 species, and sub-species, of
-British birds are now recognized, it will be apparent that it would be
-impossible to do more than briefly epitomise the commoner species, and
-some of these, like the robin, and the wren, need no interpreter.
-
-The aim of this Chapter is primarily to give, as far as possible, the
-salient features of our commoner native birds, as seen during flight.
-But some species merely "flit," from one place to another, and that so
-rapidly that no details of coloration can be distinguished. They can
-only be examined at favourable, and often fleeting moments, when at
-rest, and clear of foliage. Only such as are frequently encountered are
-included here. To attempt more would be to lead to confusion. Enough,
-it is hoped, will be said to help the beginner. Experience will soon
-lead to an ever increasing proficiency--and with this will come an
-ever increasing conviction that the identification of birds, during
-flight, is an extremely difficult task. Whoever essays it should,
-whenever possible, supplement his efforts by the aid of a pair of good
-field-glasses. These, indeed, are indispensable.
-
-The small perching birds are, perhaps, the most difficult to name at
-sight, and this because their flight presents so little to distinguish
-one species from another. All fly with rapid wing-beats, alternating
-with a period during which the wings are practically closed, causing
-the body to travel forward on a rapidly descending curve in the
-interval between the wing-beats. This gives rise to what is known as
-an "undulating" flight. But the large passerines, like the crows,
-differ conspicuously in their method of progress. With them the wing
-beats relatively slowly, so that its shape can be readily seen; and
-their course is direct--hence the familiar saying "straight as the
-crow flies." Further, the inner webs of the outer primary quills
-are, what is called "emarginate," that is to say, the width of the
-web is suddenly reduced towards the tip of the feather, so that the
-outstretched wing has a conspicuously fringed appearance, as may be
-seen at a glance at the beautiful pen-and-ink sketches on another page.
-The eagles and falcons have similar emarginations.
-
-But to return for a moment to the smaller passerines. There are very
-few of our native species which could be distinguished in the field by
-their flight alone. For the most part one has to rely on this and clues
-afforded by characteristic markings: while a further aid is afforded
-by at least a slight knowledge of the haunts of birds. One would not
-expect to find a wheatear in a wood, or a wren in a reed-bed.
-
-The wagtails are among the easiest of the "undulating" fliers to
-distinguish, if only because of the great length of the tail. The
-pied-wagtail, with its black and white plumage--or black, grey, and
-white in the winter--can be identified at a glance. And so too, may the
-yellow, and the grey wagtails. The last named has the longest tail
-of all, and is further marked by his beautiful grey back and bright
-sulphur abdomen and under tail coverts. All have white feathers in the
-tail. The pipits and skylark, like the wagtails, have very long inner
-secondaries, but they can never be confused on this account. They can
-never be mistaken for wagtails, but on the other hand, the several
-species can be distinguished, when on the wing, only by long practice.
-
-The chaffinch, greenfinch, and goldfinch are with us all the year
-round, keeping each to his favourite haunts. Most people know them
-well. But one meets even people living in the heart of the country, who
-cannot call them by name! The cock chaffinch can be distinguished at
-once by its white "shoulders," and white bars across the wing, apart
-from the bright hues of the body, so well shown in the adjoining Plate.
-The hen has similar wing-marks, but lacks the bright colours of her
-lord. His cousin, the brambling--who comes to us in the winter--is just
-as easily identified by his orange-coloured shoulder patch--in place
-of white--and white rump, which is most conspicuous during flight. The
-greenfinch is marked, when in flight, by the yellow rump and bright
-yellow patches at the base of the tail feathers. Who could mistake the
-goldfinch for any one else but himself? He looks like a butterfly as
-he flutters about on the tops of tall thistles. The crimson and black
-bands on his head, the glorious blaze of gold on his black wings,
-which are further marked with white spots, as also is his tail, make
-him the most gorgeous of our native finches. The bullfinch, again, is
-easy to distinguish; though from his habit of haunting thickets and
-dense hedgerows, he is seldom seen. In flight you may know him by his
-white rump, rosy breast, and black head. But his mate is more soberly
-clad: though her black head and white rump, will suffice to make sure
-of her when, by good fortune, she is encountered.
-
-One of the commonest of what we may call "road-side" birds, is the
-yellow-hammer; which can be recognized at once by the bright yellow
-colour of its head. As soon as it takes to flight the white feathers
-in the tail, and the chestnut rump will make assurance doubly sure.
-But in some parts of England one meets with another, and similar
-species--the cirl bunting. In this species, however, the male has a
-black throat and ear-coverts, and an olive-grey chest-band; while the
-female, lacking these distinctive marks, may be recognized by a brown,
-instead of a chestnut rump. When in the neighbourhood of swampy places
-and reed-beds, a look-out must be kept for the reed-bunting. A small
-bird with a black head and throat, and white collar, this is the male.
-The female will display a brown head, buff throat and eye-brow, and
-white outer tail feathers. In the winter time, near the sea, one may
-frequently come across the snow-bunting, which, on the wing, will at
-once attract attention by the large areas of white displayed in the
-wing and tail.
-
-[Illustration: _Chaffinch and Young_]
-
-The redstart, one of our summer visitors, is a bird which can never be
-mistaken. A sight of the russet-red tail alone suffices. But the cock
-has the further glory of a mantle of grey, a black head and russet
-under parts. He is fond of country rich in old timber, or hill-sides,
-where stone walls attract him. His kinsman, the wheatear, returns to us
-in the early spring; to give an added charm to our bare hill-sides, and
-warrens, sea-cliffs, sand-dunes, and waste places. If you see a small
-bird flying low over the ground, with a white rump, and black wings,
-you may know that the wheatear is before you. That delightful, restless
-little bird, the stonechat, is a near relation of the wheatear. He
-too, is fond of waste places, and heaths; more especially such as will
-provide him with plenty of furze bushes, or ling, on the topmost twigs
-of which he loves to perch, flitting his tail and uttering his fussy
-little notes "hweet-chat, hweet-chat." On the wing you may tell him by
-his conspicuous white wing-patch, and the broad blaze of white on his
-neck, set off by a jet-black head. The female and young lack the bright
-chestnut on the breast. The stone-chat's cousin, the whinchat, may be
-found in similar situations, but he is of a more roving disposition,
-and may be found also in lowland pasture and water-meadows. More
-slender in form, he is further to be distinguished by the dark streaks
-down his back, white-eye stripe, and greater amount of white at the
-base of the tail. Further, there is no white neck patch.
-
-Most people know the common thrush and the blackbird when they see
-them, and many country-folk, indeed, recognize no more. Yet there
-are five species in all, which may be called "common." They are to
-be distinguished, not so much by their flight, as by their general
-coloration. Neither the common thrush, nor the blackbird need be
-described here: they cannot easily be confounded with any other bird.
-But for the moment it might be possible, it is true, to mistake
-the mistle thrush for the more common song-thrush. It is, however,
-an unmistakably larger bird, and when on the wing appears greyer,
-and if seen at close quarters, shows white tips to the outermost
-tail-feathers, and a white underwing. On the ground, of course, there
-can be no mistaking it, on account of its much more spotted breast;
-the spots, too, being much larger, and fan-shaped. During the autumn
-and winter there are two other thrushes which should be looked for.
-These are the fieldfare and the red-wing. The first-named, it is to be
-noted, will be found in small flocks, and if examined on the ground
-through field-glasses will be seen to have a slate-grey neck and rump,
-and chestnut-brown wings and tail; while the breast is streaked instead
-of spotted. In flight the underwing is white, as in the mistle-thrush,
-from which it can easily be distinguished by its smaller size, and
-the absence of white on its tail. The red-wing, like the fieldfare,
-is gregarious. This is an important point to bear in mind; since it
-might otherwise be confused, by the novice, with the song-thrush, the
-two being about the same size. But seen at rest, close quarters, there
-can be no mistake; the red-wing having a conspicuous cream-coloured
-eye-stripe, and chestnut-red flank-feathers. The underwing is similarly
-coloured. Finally there is the ring-ousel, which, haunts the moorlands
-and rocky ravines. But it may be recognized at once by its conspicuous
-white gorget, contrasted with its otherwise black plumage.
-
-Of the forty species of British warblers there is not one which the
-most expert of our Ornithologists would venture to identify by the
-character of the flight alone. Most of these species, of course, are
-rare and accidental visitors; many need an expert to distinguish them,
-since they represent but Continental Races of our own summer visitors.
-About ten species can be called common, or fairly common, in suitable
-localities, and the novice must not expect to recognize even these with
-anything like certainty. They have no characteristic flight, and they
-rarely do more than "flit" from one place to another. In the pages of
-this book, then, they can rightly have no place. But some may, perhaps,
-be glad of a few notes concerning one or two of the commoner species.
-The black-cap, for example, may be readily distinguished by its grey
-plumage contrasting with a black cap--reddish brown--in the female.
-It has also a peculiarly delightful song, which some prefer to that of
-the nightingale. This, the most celebrated of all our warblers--though
-for some inscrutable reason some ornithologists appear to regard it
-as a near ally of the redstarts and robin!--frequents woods with
-thick undergrowth and tangled hedgerows, and hence, is seldom seen,
-but may be recognised by the uniform russet-brown coloration of its
-upper parts, shading into pale chestnut on the tail, and the ash-grey
-of the under parts, shading into white on the throat and abdomen. The
-whitethroat may be recognized by the fine white ring round the eye,
-grey head, brown upper parts, and buffish pink breast, set off by the
-conspicuous white throat, from which the bird derives its name. It is
-perhaps the only British warbler which can really be distinguished
-during flight, and this only because the outermost pair of tail
-feathers are almost wholly white. It may be looked for in hedges and
-thickets, as well as on gorse-covered commons. Its near relation, the
-lesser-whitethroat, differs in its smaller size, whiter under parts,
-and the absence of the rufous edges to the secondaries, which are
-one of the distinguishing features of the common whitethroat. The
-garden-warbler is much more frequently heard than seen, its song, a
-continuous, sweet, and mellow warble, rivalling that of the black-cap,
-though softer and less varied. Haunting shrubberies and gardens, it is
-yet the mere ghost of a bird, its uniform brown
-
-[Illustration:
-
-   1. Sea Gull.
-   2. Hooded Crow.
-   3. Gannet.
-   4. Golden Eagle.
-   5. Snipe.
-   6. Redshank.
-   7. Nightjar.
-   8. Barn Owl.
-   9. Rook.
-  10. Cuckoo.
-]
-
-upper parts, and brownish-buff under-parts, coupled with its shy,
-retiring disposition make it exceedingly difficult to see. Three other
-tantalizing little members of this numerous tribe are the chiff-chaff,
-willow-warbler, and wood-warbler. Tantalizing because so frequently
-seen during the summer months, so much alike, and yet, somehow,
-different. The novice has no name for them; the expert can only tell
-them by a combination of characters, and their contrasts. He is guided
-rather by their notes and habits, than by their appearance, so closely
-do they resemble one another! The chiff-chaff, as its name suggests,
-is to be identified by its song--Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff,
-chiff-chaff-chiff--uttered from the top of a high tree. The singer is
-too small to be seen, so that he who would discover what manner of
-bird is the songster, must watch in the direction of the sound, till
-the singer elects to descend. The willow-warbler is a rather larger
-bird with a tinge of yellow in his plumage. Also it is less restricted
-to woods and coppices, and has a sweet, indescribable warble. The
-wood-warbler is the largest of this trio--from the tip of his beak to
-the tip of his tail he may measure as much as five inches--and is also
-the most brightly coloured. Above he is greenish, with an eye-brow
-of sulphur-yellow, and a sulphur-yellow breast and throat. Since he
-is rarely to be found, save in woods of beech and oak, he will, on
-this account, the more easily be distinguished from his cousin, the
-chiff-chaff and the willow-warbler. This fact again, can be taken into
-account when the identity of one or other of these two is in question.
-
-The warblers are essentially birds of the country-side--they cannot
-abide the busy haunts of men, who seem unable to settle anywhere
-without setting up hideous tramways and ugly buildings. Kindly Nature
-is crowded out. The garden, hedgerow, and shady woods are the chosen
-haunts of the warblers, though some prefer the reed-grown stream, or
-the thickets round quiet pools. The reed and the sedge-warbler will
-be found here, but by no means easily so, for after the manner of
-their tribe they love seclusion. To find the reed-warbler you must go
-to reed-beds, or to osier-beds, and there watch for a little bird,
-chestnut-brown above, and white below. But for his constantly babbling
-chatter--"churra, churra, churra"--you would never, probably, find
-him. Guided, however, by his song, you may succeed in finding him
-nimbly climbing up and down the reed stems. Very like him is the rarer
-marsh-warbler: but, for your guidance, note that the marsh warbler
-has a really melodious song, and is even more likely to be found in
-swampy thickets of meadow-sweet than the reed-beds. The sedge-warbler,
-though showing a decided preference for streams fringed by osier-beds
-and thickets, is more of a wanderer than the other two, since tangled
-hedgerows, and thickets, at a distance from the water will often
-suffice him. You may know him by the fact that he is of a dark brown
-colour above, streaked with a paler shade of brown, while the under
-parts are white, tinged on the breast and flanks with creamy buff.
-
-Ornithologists rarely concern themselves with anything but the
-superficial characters of birds. Not even the structure of the feathers
-interests them, but only their coloration. Hence it is that they have
-come, quite commonly, to regard the gold-crest, or "gold-crested wren,"
-as it is sometimes called, as one of the tit-mouse group! There is not
-even the remotest justification for this view. It is an indubitable
-warbler. A glance at the coloured Plate will render any description of
-its appearance unnecessary. From autumn to spring you may find it in
-most parts of England and Scotland--save the extreme north--hunting in
-hedgerows and woods for food. During the breeding season it favours
-coniferous woods. Along the south and east of England, one may also
-meet with a closely similar species--the fire-crest. But while in the
-gold-crest the crown is of a bright lemon-yellow, in the fire-crest it
-is of a bright red-orange hue, while the side of the head is marked by
-a white stripe bordered with black.
-
-The gold-crest is our smallest British bird. The ranks of our resident
-"gold-crests," in the autumn, are swollen by immigrants from northern
-Europe, who seek shelter with us because unable to withstand the
-rigours of the more northern winter. In the matter of size the gold,
-and fire-crested wrens agree, measuring but a trifle more than three
-and a half inches from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail! By
-the way, the shape of the beak should be carefully noted. It is that of
-a typical warbler.
-
-It may be urged that this description of the warblers might well have
-been omitted from these pages, since, in regard to "Flight," nothing
-whatever can be said, save that they "fly." There would indeed, be some
-justification for such criticism, but it is to be remembered that this
-volume is written, not for the expert, but for the novice, who, because
-he needs a few concrete examples of the hopelessness of expecting to
-identify every bird he may encounter by its flight, and of the methods
-he must occasionally adopt, when seeking to name a bird which will not
-come out into the open. His course of training, and discovery, will be
-much shortened by the realization that birds by no means always reveal
-their presence by taking long flights.
-
-What is true of the warblers, in this regard, is true also of our
-numerous species of tit-mice. We do not distinguish between them in the
-field by their flight, but by their coloration.
-
-But since these are such confiding little birds, coming to our very
-windows during the winter months, for food, a few notes concerning them
-may be acceptable. The commonest of all is the little blue-tit, or
-"tom-tit," as it is so often called. Its beautiful cobalt-blue crown,
-blue back, wings, and tail, white face, and yellow breast, are familiar
-to us all. Its larger relative, the great tit-mouse--the largest
-British tit-mouse--bears a close general resemblance to the smaller
-species, but is readily distinguished, not only by its greater size,
-but by the broad band of black running down the abdomen. Its flight,
-as of all the tit-mice, is weak, and as it were, uncertain, confined
-to short passages from tree to tree. The coal tit-mouse and the marsh
-tit-mouse are seldom recognized as distinct species, by the novice.
-They are very soberly coloured little birds, the coal-tit being of an
-olive-grey, tinged with olive-buff, while the sides of the body are
-buff: the head and throat are black, relieved by a broad patch of white
-on each side and down the nape of the neck. The marsh-tit is, to all
-intents and purposes, of the same coloration, but differs conspicuously
-in lacking the white patches. The tiny longtailed-titmouse cannot
-possibly be mistaken for any other bird. Its delicate hues of pink and
-grey, and extremely long tail, make comparisons with any other species
-unnecessary.
-
-Where, during the winter, small birds are tempted to come to a tray of
-nuts and seeds, placed outside the window, that charming little bird
-the nuthatch--a near relation of the tit-mice--will commonly be among
-the guests. It cannot be mistaken for any other British bird, its
-form and coloration being, alike, distinctive. Its upper parts are of
-a delicate blue-grey, its under parts buff, passing into chestnut on
-the flanks. The throat is white, while there is a black line from the
-beak to the eye, and beyond, spreading as it goes. A relatively large
-beak, and strikingly short tail, are features as conspicuous as is the
-coloration. Its flight is slow and undulating.
-
-Another little bird which, during the winter, associates with the
-tit-mice, is the tree-creeper. It is never seen on the wing, save
-when it is flitting from one tree to another, and then its course is
-obliquely downwards--from the upper branches of one tree to the base of
-another. This it proceeds to ascend immediately on alighting, by jerky
-leaps. Its coloration is soberness itself--mottled brown above and
-silvery white below. The tail, it is to be noted, is formed of stiff,
-pointed feathers, like those of the woodpecker, and, as in that bird,
-is used in climbing.
-
-There is scarcely a garden--save in such as are within the area of a
-big town--which, during the summer, is not haunted by a little grey
-and white bird, with a most characteristic flight--a sudden sally into
-the air to seize some insect, sometimes even white butterflies, and
-an instant return to the same perch. This is the spotted flycatcher.
-In Wales, Devonshire, Cumberland, and Westmorland, one may be fairly
-sure of meeting with the pied-flycatcher. He is, so to speak, a black
-and white edition of his relative, the spotted flycatcher--but the
-black areas in the female are represented by brown. There are, however,
-notable differences in the method of hunting, in the two species; for
-the pied-flycatcher rarely returns to the same perch after his upward
-flight into the air, and he often feeds on the ground.
-
-[Illustration: _Gold Crested Wrens_]
-
-In the straggling hedgerows of the wooded districts of south and
-central England, and in Wales, one may often come across the red-backed
-shrike; a very handsome bird, with pointed wings, long tail, and low
-swooping flights. His red back will alone distinguish him. No other
-British bird wears such a mantle. And this is set off by a grey crown
-and nape, and black patches on the sides of the head. The topmost twig
-of a bush, or hedge, where he can sight his prey from afar, are his
-favourite perches. On the east coast of England, during the autumn,
-one may sometimes see the great-grey shrike, distinguished readily
-by his large size, fan-shaped tail, and grey coloration, relieved by
-black ear-coverts, black wings and tail, "blazed" with white, and white
-under-parts. His flight is undulating and irregular, while just before
-alighting he gives a peculiar upward sweep.
-
-Strangely enough, not only country boys and girls, but their fathers
-and mothers, not only confuse swallows and martins with one another,
-but these with the swift! Yet they are readily distinguishable. All,
-it is true, have long, pointed wings, and forked tails: but their
-coloration is very different. The swallow has the most deeply forked
-tail of them all, and his steel-blue back, red throat, and rufous
-buff-and-cream under parts are unmistakable identification marks.
-The martin may be distinguished at once by the conspicuous white
-rump patch, and pure white under-parts. These are the signs by which
-they may be recognized when on the wing--and they are more often seen
-thus than at rest. The sand-martin is a much smaller bird, has a less
-markedly forked tail, and is of a uniform pale brown above, and white
-below, but with a brown band across the chest. The swift is not even
-related to the swallow-tribe. On the wing--and very few people ever
-see him otherwise--he is very different. The wing-beat is extremely
-rapid and intermittent. While in its shape the wing differs in its
-extreme length and narrowness. The flight is extremely swift--hence the
-name of the bird. Not its least impressive feature is its wonderful
-flexibility. Who has not watched, with delight, a troop of these birds
-sweeping down the village street, now skimming the ground, now sweeping
-upward and away, round the church tower, accompanied by wild, exultant
-screams, as though they were bubbling over with vitality. When high
-up they look like so many animated bows and arrows--the arrows being,
-perhaps, somewhat short and thick. The swift, it is worth remembering,
-is a near kinsman of the humming-bird, which also has a long narrow
-wing. Both alike agree in this peculiarity--an upper arm bone of
-excessive shortness, and a hand of excessive length. No other birds
-approach them in this. The only other bird which has wings quite so
-ribbon-like, when extended, is the albatross--one of our rarest British
-birds. But here the proportions of the wing are reversed, for the
-upper arm bone is of great length, while the hand is relatively short.
-
-There is something inexpressibly soothing about the twilight of a
-summer's evening. Most birds are abed. The swift can be heard high up,
-the "woolly bats, with beady eyes" are silently flitting all round one,
-turning and twisting as no bird ever turns. But for the chorus of the
-swifts, like black furies, and heard only at intervals, and faintly,
-all is silence, relieved, perchance, by the drowsy hum of a blundering
-dor-beetle. Then, suddenly, if one be near some gorse, or bracken
-covered common, the stillness is broken by a strange "churring," like
-a bubbling whistle, rising and falling in volume. This may be followed
-by a loud "clap". And yet the source of these strange notes cannot
-be located, nor can any living thing be seen to which they could be
-attributed. But keep careful watch. Presently there may emerge from the
-gathering gloom a long-winged, long-tailed bird, travelling at speed,
-with a twisting flight, and deliberate wing-beats, alternating with
-long glide on motionless pinions. As it passes one may notice white
-spots on wings and tail. This is the night-jar: a bird of ill omen
-among the aged inhabitants of the country-side, for they will assure
-you that it is guilty of sucking the milk of cows and goats. Hence, it
-is commonly known as the "goatsucker." Poor bird, it is quite innocent
-of such misdeeds, for though it has an enormous mouth, armed on either
-side with long bristles, it feeds only on moths and beetles.
-
-If you are fortunate, your vigil in the gloaming may be rewarded
-by a sight of yet other night-birds. Out of some hollow tree,
-or swooping round the barn, may come a ghostly form, borne on
-absolutely silent wings: but with a reeling, bouyant flight, which
-is unmistakable--this is the barn owl. If you are very fortunate,
-you may hear its blood-curdling screech. Once heard you will never
-forget it! His cousin, the tawny owl, it is whose musical, if doleful
-"hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-o" has so commonly been misrepresented by poets--and
-others--as "to-whit-tu-woo." Its flight is slower and its wings
-rounder than in the barn owl, and furthermore, it lacks the glistening
-satin-white under-parts of that bird. But its coloration and general
-appearance are well-shown in the coloured illustration.
-
-The other species of owls we may reckon as fairly common residents
-with us. They are the long and the short-eared owls. But they are very
-rarely to be seen on the wing in daylight. Each has the habit, when
-excited, of bringing the wings together smartly over the back, so as to
-produce a sound likened by some to the word "bock."
-
-Few birds have figured so largely in our literature, perhaps, as the
-cuckoo. Though heard by all, he is seen by few: and this because so
-many people fail to recognize the charming wastrel when they see him.
-In general appearance he recalls the sparrow-hawk. I have known even
-game-keepers confuse the two. But the cuckoo is much paler on the back,
-and the bars of the breast are finer. On the wing he is much slower
-than the sparrow-hawk; his wings are shorter, and his tail is tipped
-with white. Immature birds may be recognized by their clove-brown
-coloration, and a large white patch at the nape of the neck.
-
-One of the most brilliantly coloured of all our native birds is the
-kingfisher. Small streams and quiet pools are its favourite haunts. A
-glance will suffice to identify it at close quarters, but even if one
-catches sight of its fleeting form at too great a distance to see its
-wonderful coloration, it can be distinguished by its extremely rapid
-and direct flight, and curiously shuttle-shaped form: an appearance
-due to the shortness of its tail, as may be seen by a reference to the
-excellent coloured Plate.
-
-The identification of birds in flight will be rendered easier for the
-novice if he makes a practice of "expecting" to find particular birds
-in particular places. That is to say, the haunts of birds are governed
-by their stomachs--they must not stray far from the source of their
-food. In a wood, then, you may "expect" to find woodpeckers--though
-you will often be disappointed, for they are by no means always to be
-seen. But the task of identification will be easier if one has a mental
-picture ready of the birds appropriate to the place.
-
-The green woodpecker, our largest native species, often betrays itself
-by its remarkable cry, reminiscent of a laugh--"ha, ha, ha," and "pleu,
-pleu, pleu." Keep quite still, and presently, as likely as not, it will
-suddenly make its appearance with a rapid, undulating flight. As it
-alights on some neighbouring tree-trunk, its identity will be finally
-established by its green back and wings, yellow rump, and crimson
-crown. It ascends the tree by jerky leaps. Where ant-hills abound
-it may often be seen on the ground, moving about with awkward hops,
-exploring the hills for ants. The greater and lesser spotted woodpecker
-may also sometimes be seen here, especially if there is much old
-timber about. In spring its presence is often made known by a peculiar
-drumming sound--never forgotten when once heard--made by excessively
-rapid blows with its beak on the trunk, or branch of a tree. On the
-wing it may be recognized by its "dipping" flight, and strikingly
-piebald appearance. At close quarters the strongly contrasted black and
-white plumage is relieved by crimson undertail-coverts, and a crimson
-crown. The lesser-spotted woodpecker is a much smaller bird--about the
-size of a sparrow, or chaffinch--and is barred with black and white;
-there is a patch of crimson on the head of the male. It has a habit of
-keeping more to the upper branches of the tree than the other species:
-but, like its greater cousin, it "drums" on the tree during the spring,
-but less loudly. Its spring cry, "pee-pee-pee," is like that of the
-wryneck. This is a near relation of the woodpeckers, but very different
-in coloration, being beautifully mottled and vermiculated with grey and
-brown. But for its spring cry, just alluded to, it would escape notice
-altogether, so closely does it match the bough it is perched upon.
-Unlike the woodpeckers its tail-feathers are not developed to form
-stiff, pointed spines. This is accounted for by the fact that, though
-it ascends tree-trunks readily, it does not hammer at the bark with its
-beak, and so does not need stiff tail-feathers to afford leverage. Its
-flight is slow and hesitating. It is commonest, it may be remarked, on
-the south-east of England.
-
-[Illustration: _Great Spotted Woodpeckers_]
-
-[Illustration: Drumming Snipe.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-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.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-The Wings of Nestling Birds.
-
-    "The blue eggs in the Robin's nest
-     Will soon have wings, and beak, and breast,
-         And flutter and fly away."--_Longfellow._
-
- The wing of the unhatched bird--Of the coots and water-hen--The
- Hoatzin's wings--The wing of Archaeopteryx--Moulting--The nestling
- game-birds and ducks--Teaching the young to fly.
-
-
-At first sight it may seem a little strange
-to introduce nestlings into a book devoted to birds in flight. But
-there are aspects of the wing of nestling birds which must, indeed, be
-borne in mind when considering the wing of the adult.
-
-It was pointed out, in Chapter I, that the wing of the adult had but
-three fingers and two wrist-bones. This condition represents the last
-stage in the evolution of the Avian wing. The wing of the nestling
-gives a clue to an earlier stage in its history. But we can get even
-further back than this. For if we examine the wing of an unhatched
-bird, we shall be able to get still nearer to the birth, and growth of
-the wing out of a reptilian fore-limb. Here as many as six wrist-bones
-may be found. And the "palm-bones," which in the adult are welded
-together, are here quite separate. This stage, then, carries us
-back towards the ancestral, reptilian, fore-limb used for walking,
-or perhaps for climbing. And there is another sign of this earlier,
-reptilian, period to be found in such a wing. At the tip of the thumb
-and first-finger, in unhatched ducks, game-birds, and water-hens, for
-example, you will find a small claw. By hatching-time the claw of the
-first finger will have disappeared, but it is still retained in the
-case of the duck and the water-hen. In the adults of all three you will
-rarely find more than the claw of the thumb: and this now serves no
-useful purpose whatever.
-
-Indeed, there seem to be only two tribes which have any use for
-wing-claws during nestling life. One of these is represented by the
-gallinules, that is to say, the coots, and water-hens, and their kind.
-You may test this whenever you have the good fortune to capture a young
-water-hen. Place him outside the nest, and especially if it happens to
-be a little raised, you will see him make his way back, using feet,
-wing-claws, and beak. His wings, it will be noticed, at this stage are
-used as fore-legs. The other tribe is represented by that strange bird
-the hoatzin of the Amazon. Here the two claws are really large, and
-they play a quite important part in his early life.
-
-For the young hoatzin is hatched in a nursery--a crude nest of
-sticks--placed on the boughs of a tree overhanging the water. As soon
-as hatched he begins to climb about the branches. Should he fall, by
-some mischance, into the water, he promptly swims to the bank; and by
-the aid of his long first finger, and wing-claws, and his huge feet,
-soon climbs back. But the most wonderful part of his story is yet to
-come.
-
-[Illustration: _Grouse_]
-
-So long as these youngsters can only scramble about they are in
-constant jeopardy. A wing-surface at least big enough to break the
-force of a fall is an urgent necessity. And so the growth of the
-quill-feathers is, so to speak, pushed forward with all possible speed.
-But if all the feathers grew at the same rate, there would speedily
-come a time when the outermost feathers would make the claw at the
-end of the finger useless, while the wing-surface, as a whole, would
-be insufficient. To obviate this difficulty, the development of the
-outermost feathers is held in abeyance till the inner feathers of
-the hand, and the outermost of the fore-arm, have grown big enough
-to suffice to break the force of the fall. As soon as this stage
-is arrived at, the outermost quills, whose growth has been held in
-abeyance, rapidly develop; the finger decreases in length, and its claw
-disappears, while that of the thumb soon follows suit. And thus it
-comes about that the hand, in the nestling, is relatively much longer
-than in the adult. But in its mid-period it may be taken to represent
-the adult stage of the wing of the ancient Archaeopteryx. This bird
-could have been but a poor flier, and probably during the time it was
-moulting its quills it was absolutely flightless, so that it needed a
-permanent finger-tip, and claw, beyond the margin of its wing-surface.
-
-This matter of "moulting," by the way, needs, at least, passing
-comment. All birds renew their plumage at least once: the body plumage
-often twice in the year. The old feathers fall out, and their places
-are taken by new ones. But their growth is slow. In geese and ducks,
-and some other birds, the wing-quills are moulted all at once, so that
-flight, for a week or two, is impossible. But they can escape from
-their enemies while thus at a disadvantage, by taking to the water. In
-all other birds the quills are moulted, and renewed, in pairs: so that
-at no time are they left flightless.
-
-But this by the way. Let us revert, for a moment, to the hoatzin's
-wing. The appearance of the outermost quills of the hand, it will be
-remembered, is delayed till the inner feathers have grown long enough
-to "flutter," at least, for a short distance, then the growth of the
-complete series proceeds apace. This has been called an "Adaptation"
-to enable these youngsters, active from the moment they leave the egg,
-to move about in comparative safety. But it is more than this. It is a
-survival of an ancient order of things which takes us back to the first
-known birds.
-
-This is certainly a very remarkable feature, but it gains an added
-interest from the fact that it has a parallel in the history of the
-development of the wing in the game-birds. If you look carefully at
-the downy chicks of the pheasant, or even at barn-door fowls, you
-will remark that the wing-quills develop with surprising rapidity: so
-that they have feathered wings while the rest of the body is still
-down-covered. This enables them the more easily to escape prowling
-foxes and other enemies. In young ducks exactly the opposite condition
-obtains, the body is fully feathered long before the feathers of the
-wings appear. And this because they do not need to fly when danger
-threatens, but take to the water instead. But to return to the chicks
-of the pheasant. The wing of the chick develops at a very rapid rate.
-Within a few hours after hatching, the first traces of the coming
-flight feathers can be seen, and presently a large wing is covering
-each side of the tiny body. At this stage many often die. The wings,
-which can then be examined at leisure, reveal an extremely interesting
-condition. For they repeat the features which obtain in the wing of the
-nestling hoatzin: inasmuch as the outermost quills are also, as yet,
-non-existent; and there is a free finger-tip. But it is not nearly so
-long as in the hoatzin, and there is no terminal claw. Surely, from
-this, we may infer that the delayed development of the outer quills is
-a survival of a time when the ancestors of the pheasant were arboreal,
-and hatched their young in trees. Otherwise all the wing-quills should
-develop at the same time, and at the same rate. Here, then, is another
-instance of what can be learned of the past history of a bird by a
-careful scrutiny of the nestling. Sometimes we shall find our evidence
-in the wing, sometimes in some other organ. The sequence of plumage
-affords abundant evidence of this. But that is another story.
-
-So much for the "intensive" study of the wing. A brief reference must
-now be made to the constantly repeated statement that nestling birds
-are "taught" to fly by their parents. There is no evidence whatever to
-support this belief: and much that goes to show its improbability.
-
-Failing more suitable sites, sand-martins will often elect to build
-their nests in the crevices of the masonry of bridges.
-
-From the mouth of this substitute for a burrow is often a sheer drop of
-many feet to the stream below. When the nestlings, fully fledged, leave
-their nursery for the first time they must either "fly" from the moment
-they take the first plunge from the masonry, or die. Failing to make
-the appropriate movements of the wings nothing can save them from a
-watery grave. There can be no "teaching" to fly. Indeed, death no less
-certainly awaits every house-martin when it plunges into space from the
-edge of the nest. The appropriate wing-movements, necessary to produce
-flight, in short, are "instinctive." Those with defective instincts are
-forthwith killed by falling to the ground. They leave no offspring to
-inherit their defects.
-
-Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all as to the "instinctive"
-nature of flight, in nestling birds, is furnished by the mound-birds,
-of the Malay Region and Eastern Australia.
-
-These extraordinary birds lay their eggs in heaps of decaying
-vegetable-matter, or in the soil near hot springs; and there leave
-them to their fate. They lay very large eggs, it is to be noticed, so
-large that the growing chick finds nourishment enough within the egg to
-enable it to pass the ordinary nestling stage while still within the
-shell. By the time it emerges it has both grown and shed its first coat
-of nestling-down, and has developed long wing-quills. Having burst its
-prison walls it wriggles its way up through the loose earth, to the
-light of day, ready to fight its way in the world unaided. Here, then,
-there can be no question of "teaching" the young to fly.
-
-But some birds, at least, do, indeed, receive instruction when on
-the wing. And in such cases, it will be noticed, their food can only
-be captured by dexterous movements in full flight. For a day or two,
-for example, young swallows simply practice flight, to exercise and
-strengthen their wings. They are fed by their parents when at rest. The
-next step comes when they are fed on the wing, taking their food as
-they hover on trembling pinions from their parent's beak. In a little
-while the food is dropped as the parent passes, and the youngsters are
-made to catch it as it falls. From thence, onwards, they have to do
-their own hunting. The clumsy ones must die. Eagles and hawks, in like
-manner, teach their young to capture swiftly moving prey by dropping
-food to them in mid-air. If one fails to catch it the parent swoops
-down and seizes the hard-won meal before it reaches the ground; then
-mounting aloft with it, drops it once more, till, at last the required
-dexterity is gained.
-
-[Illustration: Gulls.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-Flightless Birds.
-
-    "And first, I praise the nobler traits
-       Of birds preceding Noah,
-     The giant clan, whose meat was Man,
-       Dinornis, Apteryx, Moa."--_Courthope._
-
- The steamer duck--The owl parrot--the flightless grebe of
- Titicaca--The dodo and solitaire--The ostrich tribe--The penguin's
- wings.
-
-
-The poet who penned the above lines thought
-more of rhymes than of reasons--as Poets so often do. What were their
-"nobler traits"? He omits to mention them. None of them were ever
-carnivorous: and the Apteryx could by no stretch of the imagination be
-called a "giant." The one outstanding feature which does distinguish
-these birds he fails entirely to appreciate--and this is their
-flightless condition.
-
-A flightless bird is an anomaly. Yet there are some who profess to
-believe that this state affords us an insight into the early stages
-of the Evolution of the wing. As a matter of fact it demonstrates the
-exact opposite--its degeneration.
-
-How is it that birds ever came to such a pass? A study of living
-flightless birds, and birds that are well on the way to this condition,
-will afford us a ready answer.
-
-Whenever we find birds living, so to speak, lives of languorous
-ease--where there are no enemies to be evaded, where there is an
-abundance of food to be picked up on the ground all the year round,
-and the climate is kindly, there flight is no longer practised. Year
-by year, generation after generation passes by, and no use whatever
-is made of the wings. In all such cases these once most vital organs
-dwindle away, and finally vanish. We can trace every step in this
-process of decay.
-
-We may begin with the "steamer-duck" of the Falklands. In this species,
-after the first moult, the power of flight is lost for ever. Among
-living birds only a few species, apart from the ostrich-tribe, are
-in this dolorous case. The owl-parrot, or kakapo, of New Zealand, is
-one of these. A grebe found only on Lake Titacaca, perched high up a
-mountain-side is another. In both these birds the keel of the sternum
-is represented by the merest vestige, the breast-bone being reduced to
-the condition found in the ostrich-tribe.
-
-The two giant pigeons, the dodo, and its cousin the solitaire, afford
-instances where the loss of flight has been followed by extinction;
-owing to the invasion of their haunts, through the agency of man, by
-pigs and other domesticated animals, which destroyed their eggs and
-young.
-
-The ostrich-tribe is peculiarly interesting: owing to the fact that
-their wings present a really wonderful series of degenerating stages.
-
-The wings of all differ conspicuously from those of other birds in the
-great length and looseness of the texture of the feathers. Those of the
-African ostrich are the largest of all; but they are quite useless for
-the purpose of flight, though they are used as aids in running. In the
-South American ostrich, or rhea, they are also large, but again useless
-for flight, for the "quill-feathers" are very weak, and have no "web,"
-such as one finds in the quills of flying birds. And besides, the
-muscles of the wing have degenerated, the breast-muscles having become
-reduced to mere vestiges.
-
-In both the African and South American ostriches, the skeleton of
-the wing, compared with, that, say, of a swan, would seem, to the
-inexpert, to be quite normal. But with the cassowary, the emu, or the
-apteryx matters are very different. Here, at the first glance, it is
-apparent that the process of decay is far advanced; for the bones of
-the hand have, as it were, shrunk up, so that a mere stump is all that
-remains. The wing of the cassowary is further remarkable for the fact
-that some of the fore-arm quills, or "secondaries" are represented
-by long, stiff quills, resembling spines of a porcupine; the "vane"
-of the feather, which normally runs down each side of the shaft, has
-vanished altogether. What part they play in the bird's life history it
-is impossible to say. They certainly cannot be used as weapons, and
-they as certainly are not "ornaments." In the extinct moas the wing had
-still further degenerated. In some species no more than a stump of
-the upper arm bone was left, and in others not only this, but even the
-shoulder-girdle had vanished, so that only one pair of limbs remained.
-
-Another remarkable flightless bird is the penguin. Here the wing has
-changed its form to assume that of a paddle; superficially identical
-with that of the whale, or the turtle, or that of the extinct
-sea-dragon ichthyosaurus. These paddles have been "re-modelled," so
-to speak, to enable them to be used for what we may call flight under
-water. Most birds which swim under water use the legs for propelling
-the body: but the penguin uses his paddles instead. The paddle of the
-turtle has similarly evolved out of a fore-leg used for walking on
-land. The common tortoise may be taken as the type of this leg. In the
-river, and pond-tortoises, the stumpy foot of the land-tortoise gives
-place to a broad, webbed foot. In the turtles this webbed foot gives
-place to the paddle.
-
-After what has been said about the penguin it is instructive to turn
-to the wings of the auk-tribe--the guillemot, razor-bill, and puffin.
-These are very efficient for normal flight, but they are equally
-efficient for use under water. For these birds swim as penguins do,
-when submerged. Why then, did the penguin suffer the loss of the use of
-his wings for flight?
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Cassowary.      Penguin.
-  Ostrich.        Kiwi.
-]
-
-This question leads to another. Why did that giant razor-bill known as
-the great auk become flightless? It would seem that its wings somehow
-failed to keep pace with the growth of its body, so that while they
-remained sufficient for flight under water, they became useless for
-flight in the air. Its failure in this led to its extinction, for
-it was unable to escape from its arch-enemy man. When the old-time
-sailors, somewhere about one hundred years ago, discovered its haunts
-in Iceland could be profitably invaded for the purpose of collecting
-feathers, and bait, they speedily wiped out the race; for being
-flightless they were unable to escape the marauders once they had
-effected a landing. Unhappily there was no Bird Protection Society in
-those days, to stop this senseless slaughter.
-
-Here our survey of Birds on the Wing ends. It began with flight through
-the air, it ends with flight through the water. It is not a little
-surprising, surely, to find that the same wing can be efficiently
-used for both these extremes of motion. And still more surprising to
-find that, this being so, the penguin should have been forced, so to
-speak, to adopt the expedient of evolving a paddle; and so forego
-the power of aerial locomotion. The skeleton of this wing, it was
-pointed out, differed in no essential from that of the typical avian
-wing. In some points, however, it has changed conspicuously. For
-the bones have become greatly flattened, and the several parts of
-the wing--arm, fore-arm, and hand--can no longer be bent upon one
-another in the Z-shaped fashion of normal wings, while the "quill" or
-"flight-feathers" have been reduced to so small a size that they are
-unrecognizable.
-
-[Illustration: Vultures.]
-
-
-
-
-  _Cheltenham Press Ltd._
-  _Cheltenham and London._
-
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-Transcriber's Note
-
-
-All obvious typos were corrected and hyphenization was standardized.
-The italic labels on the illustration facing page 102 were standardized
-to match the other illustration's text. Illustrations were repositioned
-so that paragraphs were not split.
-
-
-
-
-
-
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45086 ***
+
+BIRDS IN FLIGHT
+
+
+[Illustration: _Kingfisher and Young_]
+
+
+
+
+  BIRDS IN FLIGHT
+
+  BY
+  W. P. PYCRAFT
+
+  Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History).
+  Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.
+  Hon. Member of the American Ornithologists' Union.
+  Associate of the Linnean Society.
+  Member of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
+  Member of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
+
+  Author of "A History of Birds," "The Infancy of Animals," "The
+  Courtship of Animals," "The Sea-shore," Etc., Etc., Etc.
+
+  _Illustrated by_
+  ROLAND GREEN, F.Z.S.
+
+  LONDON
+  GAY & HANCOCK LIMITED
+  34 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2.
+  1922
+
+  _All Rights Reserved._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+
+  I. Concerning Wings                                                1
+
+  What a wing is--The quill feathers and their function--The
+  skeleton of the wing--The muscles of the wing--The
+  great air-chambers of the body--The Bat's wing--The
+  wing of flying Dragons--The wings of Dragon-flies
+  and beetles.
+
+
+  II. The First Bird                                                15
+
+  The ancestors of birds--The first known bird and its
+  many remarkable features--The gradual evolution of the
+  birds of to-day.
+
+
+  III. The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and
+  their relation to Flight                                          21
+
+  The evasiveness of flight--The size of the wing in relation
+  to that of the body--Noisy flight--"Muffled" flight--The
+  swoop of the sparrow-hawk--The "flighting" of
+  ducks--The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows--"Soaring"
+  flights of storks and vultures--The wonderful
+  "sailing" feats of the albatross--The "soaring" of the
+  skylark--The "plunging" flight of the gannet, tern, and
+  kingfisher.
+
+
+  IV. Modes of Flight                                               35
+
+  The movements of the wing in flight--Marey's
+  experiments--Stopping and turning
+  movements--Alighting--"Taking off"--Hovering--The use of the
+  tail in flight--The carriage of the neck in flight--And of the
+  legs--The  flight of petrels--The speed of flight--The height
+  at which birds fly--Flight with burdens--Experiments on the
+  sizes of the wing in relation to flight--Flight in "troops."
+
+
+  V. Courtship Flights                                              53
+
+  The wing-play of black-game and grouse--The "musical
+  ride" of the snipe--The "roding" of the woodcock--The
+  musical flights of redshank and curlew--The "tumbling"
+  of the lapwing--The raven's somersaults--The
+  courting flight of the wood pigeon--The mannikin's
+  "castanets"--Wings as lures--The strange pose of the
+  sun-bittern--The "wooing" of the chaffinch and the
+  grasshopper-warbler--Darwin and wing-displays--The
+  wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.
+
+
+  VI. How to tell Birds on the Wing                                 71
+
+  The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
+  them--The wagtails--The finches--The buntings--The
+  redstart-wheatear, Stonechat--The thrushes--The
+  warblers--The tit-mice--The nuthatch, and tree-creeper--The
+  spotted flycatcher--The red-backed shrike--Swallows,
+  martins, and swifts--The night-jar--Owls--Woodpeckers.
+
+
+  VII. How to tell Birds on the Wing                                97
+  (_continued_)
+
+  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.
+
+
+  VIII. The Wings of Nestling Birds                                117
+
+  The wing of the unhatched bird--Of the coots and water-hen--The
+  hoatzin's wings--The wing of Archæopteryx--Moulting--The
+  nestling game-birds and ducks--Teaching
+  the young to fly.
+
+
+  IX. Flightless Birds                                             127
+
+  The steamer duck--The owl parrot--The flightless grebe
+  of Titicaca--The dodo and solitaire--The ostrich tribe--The
+  penguin's wings.
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+Coloured Plates
+
+  Kingfisher and Young                        _Frontispiece_
+  Jays                                      _Facing Page_  6
+  Pheasants                                    "      "   22
+  Brown Owl                                    "      "   30
+  Wild Duck                                    "      "   38
+  Woodcock carrying Young                      "      "   54
+  Herons                                       "      "   64
+  Chaffinch and Young                          "      "   76
+  Gold-crested Wrens                           "      "   86
+  Great Spotted Woodpeckers                    "      "   92
+  Some Types of Wings and Tails                "      "  102
+  Grouse                                       "      "  118
+
+
+Black and White Plates
+
+  Swans, Heron, Geese                       _Facing Page_  4
+  Black-game                                   "      "   26
+  Ducks                                        "      "   42
+  Lapwings                                     "      "   58
+  Some Common Birds                         _Facing Page_ 72
+  Some Types of Birds in Flight                "      "   80
+  Birds of Prey                                "      "  106
+  Flightless Birds                             "      "  130
+
+
+Line Illustrations
+
+  Wings                                            _Page_ 13
+  Archæopteryx and Pterodactyles                      "   19
+  Bat, Beetle, Dragon Fly, etc.                       "   33
+  Peregrine chasing Duck                              "   51
+  Sunbittern Displaying                               "   69
+  Drumming Snipe                                      "   95
+  Buzzard Soaring                                     "  115
+  Gulls                                               "  125
+  Vultures                                            "  133
+
+
+
+
+Preface.
+
+
+There are hosts of people who have a genuine
+love of our native birds without yearning to possess their skins, or
+desiring to acquire the reputation of being "Ornithologists." They
+would call them all by name if they could, but seek, alas! in vain, for
+some book wherein they will find some magic phrase which will enable
+them to identify every bird they meet by the wayside.
+
+Most of our native birds have learnt that "discretion is the better
+part of valour," when in the neighbourhood of Man. Hence one gets but
+too often no more than a fleeting glance at their retreating forms,
+which, from frequent encounters, have become familiar, yet they leave
+no more than a vague image in the memory. "What bird _was_ that? I have
+often seen it but have never succeeded in taking it unawares." This is
+a question, and its comment, often put to me.
+
+Those who are in this quandary, and they are many, are always hoping to
+find some book which will enable them to correctly name the retreating
+forms. That book will never be written. In the following pages an
+attempt is made to aid such enquirers, and at the same time the
+difficulties of the task are pointed out.
+
+It is hoped, however, that this attempt will find a welcome among
+those for whom it is made. If it helps them to understand something,
+at least, of the absorbing and fascinating problems which the study of
+flight in the animal kingdom presents, it will at least have served
+some useful purpose.
+
+The pursuit of the flying bird will inevitably stimulate a desire
+to know more about the bewildering changes of plumage presented at
+different seasons of the year, as well as by the striking differences
+which often distinguish the two sexes, and the immature birds. The
+endeavour to satisfy this desire will open up a new world. Those
+who would pass to this knowledge should possess themselves of the
+"Practical Handbook of British Birds." Though most severely practical,
+and designed for the serious student alone, even the beginner will find
+interest in the description of these several plumages, and much else
+beside that it is essential to know.
+
+Now that the study of flight is so much to the fore, some may turn to
+these pages in the hope of gaining useful information on the theme of
+mechanical flight. Some help they may find. But it was not for this
+that they were written. The flight of an aeroplane and the flight of a
+bird have little in common--at present; though something may be learned
+by the study of gliding flight and soaring, which of course have their
+place in this book. But anatomical details and mechanical formulæ,
+necessary to the serious student of flight, would have been entirely
+out of place here, and they have been omitted.
+
+My task has been by no means easy. But it has been enormously helped
+by the extremely skilful and beautiful work of the artist, Mr. Roland
+Green. Where birds are concerned, few artists in the past, and very few
+in the present, have shown any ability to combine accuracy in drawing
+with ingenuity of composition and faithfulness in colouring. Mr. Green
+has shown this rare combination; his coloured plates and line-drawings
+speak for themselves.
+
+  W. P. PYCRAFT.
+
+  _London_,
+  _September, 1922_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Concerning Wings.
+
+    "Divinity within them breeding wings
+      wherewith to scorn the earth."--_Milton._
+
+ What a wing is--The quill feathers and their function--The skeleton
+ of the wing--The muscles of the wing--The great air-chambers of
+ the body--The Bat's wing--The wing of flying Dragons--The wings of
+ Dragon-flies and beetles.
+
+
+The flight of birds has always aroused man's
+envy and stirred his imagination. David longed for the wings of a dove:
+the writer of the Book of Proverbs tells us that "the way of an eagle"
+surpasses his understanding. Icarus, spurred on by dire necessity,
+actually, we are told, contrived to fly--but his maiden effort ended in
+disaster! To-day we have, in a sense, succeeded where he failed. But
+only because we have given up the idea of flight by personal effort,
+and make our aerial journeys in a flying machine.
+
+That we owe much of our success to a study of the flight of birds is
+common knowledge, but the machine which has evolved as a consequence
+of this study pursues its way through the air after a very different
+fashion from that of the birds, for its vast body is thrust, or drawn,
+through the air by means of a propeller, driven at incredible speed,
+its immobile wings sustaining the weight. The wings of the bird, on the
+other hand, not only lift the body from the earth, but they sustain it
+in the air by their marvellously complex movements. And this is true,
+in varying degrees of bird, and bat, and butterfly: of dragon-fly and
+beetle.
+
+Even they who must perforce dwell in crowded cities see daily the
+miracle of flight performed. For even here sparrows and pigeons, at
+least, are everywhere, and it is just because this is so, just because
+they have become so "common-place," that their very presence escapes
+notice. Yet the wonder of their movements in the air might become a
+never-ending source of delight if only we went about our business with
+open eyes and minds alert.
+
+Watch the wary sparrow spring from the ground and dart across the road,
+or up to the nearest house-top. How is it done with such incredible
+speed and accuracy?
+
+To understand even the broad principles of flight, it is necessary to
+realize, at the very beginning, that the wing, in the case of the bird,
+or the bat, is a specially modified fore-leg. So also is the human arm
+and hand. But its transformation has not been so drastic as that of the
+bird, or the bat. Wherein the hand has been, as it were, completely
+re-modelled to fulfil the peculiar and complex functions demanded of
+it.
+
+How should one describe the wing of a bird, as one sees it in flight?
+
+The Dictionary, obscure and inaccurate as Dictionaries usually are,
+defines a wing as "the organ of a bird, or other animal, or insect,
+by which it flies--any side-piece." Might not the impression one
+gathers of a wing, during flight, be defined as of a lateral extension
+of the body, presenting a relatively large surface, but having no
+appreciable thickness? That surface, examined in a dead bird, is seen
+to be formed, for the most part, of a series of parallel, tapering,
+elastic rods, fringed with an innumerable series of smaller, similar,
+but much shorter rods, closely packed, and linked together by some
+invisible means to form an elastic web? These we call the "quill,"
+or "flight-feathers." The rest of the wing, and the body itself, is
+clothed with precisely similar structures, differing only in their
+smaller size. We call them "feathers" commonly, without realizing that
+they are the "Hall-mark" of the bird, for no other creature has ever
+been similarly clothed.
+
+These quill-feathers play such a tremendously important part in flight
+that their arrangement, and relation to the underlying skeleton must
+be carefully examined by all who would understand the flight of birds.
+To begin with, then, note that they are so arranged as to overlap one
+another, the free edges of the quills facing the outer edge of the
+wing. Only by this arrangement would flight be possible, for on the
+upstroke of the wing through the air the quills act like the shutters
+of the sails of a windmill, allowing the wind to pass between them and
+so relieving pressure on the uplifting wing-stroke. On the down-stroke,
+the opposite effect is produced. The full force of the stroke is
+conserved, because, owing to the overlap, the several feathers are now
+pressed closely together to form an impervious sheet.
+
+How are they fixed to the skeleton? To see this all the smaller
+feathers and the muscles, or "flesh" of the wing must be removed.
+It will then be found that the flight-feathers are divisible into
+two series. One, widely spaced, runs along the upper surface of the
+fore-arm: the other, closely packed, along what answers to the back
+of the hand. In effect this is but a single rod of bone, but it is
+composed of three elements, answering to three of the digits of the
+human hand--the thumb and the first and second fingers. But they are
+scarcely recognizable as such, for the thumb is reduced to a mere
+stump, while the two fingers have become welded together. The third
+finger, indeed, has become reduced to the palm-bone, and a short stump
+answering to the first finger joint. To this frame-work, which can be
+folded up into the shape of a Z when the bird is at rest, the quills
+are fixed by their base by means of slender, but very strong elastic
+tendons. In birds which have a long upper arm bone, like the Albatross,
+Gull, or Heron, there is a third series of long, almost "quill-like"
+feathers running from the elbow to the body, thus closing up what would
+otherwise be a gap between the wing surface and the body, rendering
+flight impossible.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  Swans.
+
+  Heron.
+
+  Geese.
+]
+
+The most important muscles of the wing are those which have to provide
+the power for the down-stroke of the wing. And these are the "pectoral"
+or "breast-muscles"--which form such dainty meat in a roast fowl.
+Owing to their great bulk the breast-bone itself would be insufficient
+to afford them attachment. This is furnished by the development of a
+deep, median keel, so that the breast-bone of a bird, such as a pigeon,
+bears a fanciful resemblance, when seen in profile, to the hull of a
+ship--unusually shallow--with a very deep keel. The front end of the
+breast-bone supports two slender rods of bone, and these in their turn
+support the long, sword-like blade-bone, and the "merry-thought."
+
+The general appearance of this frame-work for the support of the wing
+and its muscles can be seen in the adjoining illustrations. But it
+must be remembered that in their relative sizes and disposition these
+various parts present a very considerable range of differences. That
+these differences are correllated with different forms of flight goes
+without saying, but, be it noted, no one, as yet, has attempted to
+discover in what way they are related. Some of the readers of this book
+may, perhaps, be tempted to try and solve the problems which these
+differences present. To begin with, a collection of breast bones of
+different species of birds with their attached shoulder-girdles should
+be made, and these should be studied together with careful observations
+of the flight of the living bird. So far only a few comparisons of this
+kind have been made.
+
+It must not be supposed that the whole secret of flight in birds
+is concentrated in the skeleton of the breast-bone and its
+shoulder-girdle, and the muscles attached thereto. But those who would
+investigate the modifications of the rest of the body which have taken
+place in harmony with the requirements of flight, must turn to more
+learned treatises. There is, however, one point which demands notice
+here. And this is the popular belief that birds have the power of
+materially reducing their weight when on the wing by drawing air into
+their lungs, and storing it in large air-chambers enclosed within the
+body. These chambers are indeed concerned with the needs of flight. But
+the precise part they play is yet to be discovered. They certainly have
+no effect of rendering the body lighter. So far as our knowledge goes
+it would seem that they act as regulators of the temperature and as
+reservoirs of breathing air, during the strenuous efforts of flight.
+
+[Illustration: _Jays_]
+
+It is a mistake to suppose that it is unnecessary to consider other
+kinds of flight when studying that of birds. Even those who are not
+interested in the abstruse problems of the mechanism of bird's flight,
+will find that comparisons made between birds, bats, butterflies and
+beetles when on the wing, are immensely interesting, and help to bring
+out the peculiarities of each.
+
+During the twilight hours of a still summer evening one may compare,
+with advantage, the rushing swoop of the screaming swift, borne with
+lightning speed upon long, ribbon-like pinions, with the curiously
+erratic flight of the woolly bat with beaded eyes, who has ventured
+abroad for his evening meal. One cannot but feel astonishment at the
+marvellous dexterity with which he twists and turns, now shooting up
+into the sky, now darting downward. What bird can beat him, or even
+match him, in the art of doubling back on his tracks? And one can put
+his skill at lightning turns to the test if one attempts to catch him
+in a butterfly net. Often indeed have I attempted this feat, but never
+yet with success.
+
+In the glare of noon-day this aerial athlete may perhaps be found in a
+deep slumber, hanging head downwards behind the shutters of a cottage
+window, or in some crevice of a barn-roof. Gently seize him and as
+gently stretch out his wing. The moment one opens it one sees that it
+is constructed upon a totally different plan from that of a bird. In
+the first place a thin membrane, or fold of skin is seen to take the
+place of the series of quill-feathers found in the wing of the bird. In
+the second it will be found that this membrane is stretched between
+a series of long and very slender bony rods. These are excessively
+attenuated fingers. And if the hinder border of the wing-membrane be
+traced inwards it will be found to be attached to the hind limb. In
+some species it will be found that this membrane passes backwards
+beyond the leg to attach itself to the tail. Here, then, is a wing
+as efficient for its purpose as that of a bird, but constructed on a
+totally different plan.
+
+Ages ago, before even the birds or the beasts had appeared on the
+earth, the winged dragons, which the Men of Science call Pterodactyles,
+held the proud position of being, not only the first, but the only
+creatures blessed with a backbone that could fly. Their wings
+resembled those of the bats, but differed in this, that instead of the
+wing-membrane being stretched between all the fingers, leaving only
+the thumb free, it was attached only to the fifth finger, leaving the
+remaining fingers free, and these were reduced to mere vestiges. As
+with the birds, the breast-bone was very broad and was furnished with a
+keel, while in the bats it takes the form of a jointed rod, down which
+no more than a slight keel is ever developed.
+
+But millions of years before the Flying-dragons, birds, and bats came
+into being, the stupendous problem of flight had been solved. Far away
+in the distant Devonian Epoch, when the distribution of land and water
+over the earth's surface was totally different from that of to-day,
+dragon-flies and caddis-flies disported themselves in the summer sun,
+amid landscapes that would seem strange to our eyes. For there were no
+trees and flowering plants, such as we know.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The dragon-flies of that remote epoch were very like those of to-day,
+whose dancing flights and graceful, swooping movements are such a
+delight to watch by reed-fringed pools, or river-banks, during the
+sweltering days of summer. This flight is very different from that of
+a bird, though it would be hard to say precisely in what it differs.
+But we have no such difficulty in regard to the broad outlines of the
+mechanism of such flight. To begin with there are two pairs of wings,
+and these appear to be fashioned out of some curiously gauze-like
+material, a sort of mesh-work tissue, often strikingly coloured. And
+they are obviously driven after a very different fashion from those
+of the bird. For in the bird they are moved by quivering muscles,
+attached to a bony, internal skeleton. In the dragon-fly--as with all
+insects--the hard skeleton, composed of a material known as "chitin,"
+forms the outside of the body and encloses the muscles. Finally, for we
+may not dwell very long over this aspect of flight, it is clear that
+the wings cannot have been derived from modified fore-legs, like those
+of the bat, or the bird. Rather, it would seem, they have developed out
+of plate-like breathing organs.
+
+The restful twilight hours of summer tempt not only bats from their
+hiding places, but a host of other winged creatures which are rarely
+to be seen, or heard, during the glare of noon. Among these is the
+lumbering dor-beetle, who, with lazy drone steers clear of solid
+objects only with difficulty. Many, indeed, are his failures. He and
+his kin are no match for bats and owls, who find them juicy morsels! On
+the next opportunity catch one and examine him. His wings are curiously
+interesting. There are the usual two pairs: but the fore-wings have
+been changed to serve as covers for the hind-wings. During flight they
+are spread outwards, and indirectly, no doubt, assist flight. But the
+hind-wings are the real propellers. And it will be noticed that when
+not in use they can be folded up in a perfectly wonderful manner, so as
+to lie completely underneath the fore-wings, or "elytra," so that when
+the creature is crawling it appears to be wingless.
+
+Now compare these with the transparent wings of the bee, or the
+gorgeously scale-covered wings of the butterfly. It is well worth
+while. If this examination be done very carefully, and with the aid
+of a magnifying glass, it will be found that the fore and hind wings
+are yoked together in the wing of the bee, by a delicate mechanism
+of hooks. In the moths, but not in the butterflies, a bristle, or
+sometimes two or three bristles, serve the same purpose. Further, in
+the case of the bee it will be found that the fore-wing, when at rest,
+is folded longitudinally back upon itself.
+
+Finally, turn to the flies. Herein it will be seen that there is but
+a single pair of wings, the hind pair having become reduced to mere
+stumps, known as "balancers."
+
+Much, very much more, might have been said of these wings: but our
+conversation is of birds. We cannot, however, properly appreciate
+either the essential characters of their wings, or their flight,
+without some such standards of comparison as is afforded by the wings
+of other creatures.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  A Primaries.  B Secondaries.  C Tectrices.  D Bastard Wing.
+
+The upper figure shows the under side of wing with the coverts removed
+to show attachment of flight feathers to skeleton.
+
+The lower figure shows the quill or flight feathers and the coverts in
+their natural condition.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+The First Bird.
+
+    "And let Fowl fly above the earth; with wings
+      Displayed in the open firmanent of heaven."--_Milton._
+
+ The ancestors of birds--The first known bird and its many remarkable
+ features--The gradual evolution of the birds of to-day.
+
+
+Sooner or later all bird-lovers find
+themselves pondering over the problem of the origin of birds: how they
+evolved their peculiar covering of feathers: what was the fashion of
+the original arm and hand out of which the wing was fashioned: and
+finally, whence have the birds been derived?
+
+Since these pages are avowedly devoted to the subject of Flight, any
+attempt to summarize the state of our knowledge on these aspects of the
+history of birds would be in the nature of a trespass on the space, of
+necessity limited, which even a cursory survey of flight demands.
+
+Let it suffice, then, to say, that birds are descended from reptiles.
+The skeleton of modern birds bears undubitable testimony of this. For
+we have the evidence furnished us by the remains of two remarkable
+skeletons, belonging to that very wonderful reptile-like bird,
+Archæopteryx.
+
+Only two skeletons of this wonderful bird are known, and they were
+obtained, many years ago, from the Solenhofen, or Lithographic slates
+of Bavaria. The wing and tail-feathers are as perfectly developed as
+in modern birds. But these precious fossils present two characters
+which have long since been lost by birds. The first of these is the
+presence of well developed teeth in the jaws. The birds of to-day have
+horny beaks. The teeth bespeak the reptile. The second is the long,
+tapering tail, which is composed of a series of cylindrical bones,
+forming a lizard-like appendage. But each bone, be it noted, supported
+a pair of stiff, tail-quills, so that the tail of this ancient bird,
+in its general appearance, differs in a very striking way from that of
+a modern bird, wherein these feathers seem all to spring from a common
+base, fan-wise. But as a matter of fact this appearance is deceptive,
+for the large bone, or "pygostyle" which supports the tail feathers
+of the adult, is found, in the embryo, to be made up of a series of
+separate pieces, agreeing in number with those of the tail of the
+fossil ancestor, Archæopteryx. Each of these separate bones has, in
+fact, in the course of the ages, been shortened up to the condition of
+mere discs; and this "telescoping" of the vertebræ has brought the once
+separated feathers close up, so that their bases lie packed in like the
+spokes of a fan. As a result, a much more efficient tail for the needs
+of flight has come into being. And the tail, it must be remembered,
+plays, especially in some birds, an important part. But this is not
+all. We have now to consider the wing. In all essentials this agrees
+with that of living birds. And this agreement is strikingly close when
+it is compared with the embryonic and early nestling stages. A detailed
+account of these resemblances, and differences, would be out of place
+here. Suffice it to say that its closest modern counterparts are to
+be found in the wing of the nestling of that strange South American
+bird, the Hoatzin, and the "Game-birds," such as of a young pheasant,
+or a young fowl. The evidence these can furnish in this matter of the
+evolution of the birds wing will be found in Chapter VI. For the moment
+it will be more profitable to discuss the broad outlines of the origin
+of flight, so far as this is possible.
+
+On this theme there are, as might be supposed, many opinions--some of
+them bearing little relation to fact.
+
+The feet of Archæopteryx, it is important to remember, bear a very
+extraordinary likeness to the feet of a "perching" bird, say that of a
+crow. They are without any semblance of doubt, the feet of a bird which
+lived in trees. Archæopteryx, then, was an arboreal bird. And this
+being so, the most reasonable hypothesis of the origin of flight is
+that it developed out of "gliding" movements, made for the purpose of
+passing from the topmost branches of one tree to the lower branches of
+another, after the mode of the "flying-squirrels," and "flying-lemur"
+of to-day. The wing, at this primitive stage of its evolution, was
+even then, probably, a three-fingered limb, provided with a broad
+fringe of incipient feathers along its hinder border. At this stage
+the body would have been less bird-like than that of Archæopteryx, and
+have been still more like that of the ancestral reptilian stock from
+which the birds have sprung. That feathers are, so to speak, glorified
+reptilian scales cannot be certainly demonstrated, but men of Science
+are generally agreed that this was their origin.
+
+By the time that Archæopteryx had come into being, true flight had been
+arrived at, though probably it could not have been long sustained.
+As these primitive birds increased in numbers, and spread from the
+woodlands to the open country, life became more strenuous. New
+enemies had to be evaded, longer journeys had to be made for food.
+Only the very best performers on the wing could survive, and thus,
+in each generation, the failures would be speedily weeded out, while
+competition among the survivors would raise the standard. We see the
+result of this "struggle for existence" in the many and varied types of
+wings, and of flight, which are presented in this book.
+
+[Illustration: Archæopteryx.
+
+Pterodactyles.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and their relation to Flight.
+
+    "... the fowls of heaven have wings,
+     And blasts of heaven will aid their flight:
+             *     *     *     *     *
+     Chains tie us down by land and sea."--_Wordsworth._
+
+ The evasiveness of flight--The size of the wing in relation to
+ that of the body--Noisy flight--"Muffled" flight--The swoop of the
+ sparrow-hawk--The "flighting" of ducks--The autumn gatherings of
+ starlings and swallows--"Soaring" flights of storks and vultures--The
+ wonderful "sailing" feats of the albatross--The "soaring" of the
+ skylark--The "plunging" flight of the gannet, tern, and kingfisher.
+
+
+Who needs to be told that birds fly? So
+common-place has this fact become that the many, and varied forms of
+wings, and the peculiarities of flight which are associated with these
+differences, are rarely perceived. Even sculptors, and artists show a
+hopeless unfamiliarity with the shapes of wings, and their meanings, at
+any rate, as a general rule. Look at their attempts to display birds in
+flight, or in the fanciful use of wings which convention has ascribed
+to angels. For the most part these superbly beautiful appendages are
+atrociously rendered.
+
+Yet it must be confessed that any attempt to explain exactly how birds
+fly must fail. We can do no more than state the more obvious factors
+which are indispensable to flight, and the nature of its mechanism. The
+subtleties, and delicate adjustments of actual flight evade us.
+
+Our appreciation, however, of this supreme mode of locomotion will be
+materially quickened, if we make a point of studying the varied forms
+of flight as opportunities present themselves.
+
+To begin with, it is worth noting that the size of the wing decreases
+with the weight of the body to be lifted--up to a certain point, of
+course. This, perhaps, may seem strange a statement to make. But it
+can be readily verified. Compare, for example, the size of the body in
+relation to the wings, in the case of the butterfly and the dragon-fly,
+on the one hand, and the partridge and the crow, on the other. The two
+first named, by comparison, have enormous wings.
+
+Birds, it will be noticed, which haunt woods, or thickets, have short,
+rounded wings, like the wren, the pheasant, or the tawny owl. Such, on
+the other hand, as live in the open, like the gull, and the swallow,
+have long, pointed wings. The reason for this is fairly plain. Birds
+which must steer their course through the intricate mazes of a wood, or
+thicket, would find their flight seriously hampered by long wings.
+
+[Illustration: _Pheasants_]
+
+These general principles once realized, a foundation is laid on which
+one may base observations on the peculiarities of flight distinguishing
+different types of birds.
+
+Most of us, probably, at one time or another, in taking a walk through
+the woods, have been startled, almost out of our wits, by a sudden
+"whirr" of wings at our very feet; made by some crouching pheasant,
+waiting till the very last moment before revealing himself, by taking
+flight. This alarming noise is due to the shortness and stiffness of
+the quill, or flight-feathers. With pinions moving with incredible
+speed, the bird is off like a rocket. Not seldom, probably, it owes
+its life to this ability to disconcert its enemies, till it has put a
+safe distance between itself and danger. By way of contrast, let us
+take the absolutely silent, easy movements of the owl, stealing forth
+in the twilight of a summer's evening, seeking whom he may devour.
+Here, again, we have a meaning in the mode of flight. Here silence is
+more than golden: it means life itself. Nimble-footed, sharp-eared
+mice and rats, must be snatched up before even the breath of suspicion
+can reach them. The uncanny silence of this approach is rendered
+possible, only by what may be called a "muffling" of the wings. For the
+flight-feathers are not only of great breadth, but they are covered,
+as it were, with velvet-pile, the "barbules" of the wing-quills, which
+form the agents by which the "web" of the quill is held together,
+having their upper spurs produced into long, thread-like processes,
+which extinguishes any possibility of a warning "swish."
+
+John Bright, in one of his magnificent perorations, caused his
+spell-bound listeners to catch their breath, when, conjuring up a
+vision of the Angel of Death, he remarked "we can almost hear the
+rustle of his wings." One realizes the vividness of that imagery, when
+one hears, as on rare occasions one may, the awe-inspiring rustle of
+the death-dealing swoop of the falcon, or the sparrow-hawk, as he
+strikes down his victim.
+
+But the swish, and whistle of wings often stirs the blood with
+delicious excitement, as, when one is out on some cold, dark night,
+"flighting." That is to say, awaiting mallard passing overhead on the
+way to their feeding ground, or in watching the hordes of starlings, or
+swallows, settling down to roost in a reed-bed. No words can describe
+these sounds, but those to whom they are familiar know well the thrill
+of enjoyment they beget. There is no need, here, to muffle the sound of
+the wing-beat. The falcon vies with the lightning in his speed, escape
+is well nigh hopeless: neither have the swallows need for silence;
+indeed, on these occasions, they add, to the music of their wings, the
+enchantment of their twittering.
+
+So much for flight in its more general aspects. Let us turn now to a
+survey of some of the more remarkable forms of flight, beginning with
+that known as "soaring."
+
+This but few birds have mastered, and to-day it is rarely to be seen in
+our islands, for eagles, falcons, and buzzards are, unfortunately, only
+to be found in a few favoured localities. Happily, however, one may
+yet realize the delight of watching a soaring buzzard, or raven, among
+the hills of Westmorland, or in parts of Cornwall and Wales. But to
+see the past-masters in the art, one must seek the haunts of pelicans,
+vultures, and adjutant storks. The last-named is perhaps the finest
+performer of them all. For the first hundred feet or so he rises by
+rapid and powerful strokes of the wings, and then, apparently without
+the slightest effort, or the suspicion of a wing-beat, he sweeps round
+in great spirals, gaining some ten or twenty feet with each gyration,
+the wings and tail all the while being fully extended and the primary
+feathers widely separated at their tips. During the first part of
+every turn he is flying slightly downward: at the end of the descent
+he sweeps round and faces the wind, which carries him upward. Round,
+round, he goes, mounting ever higher and higher, until at last he
+attains a height of perhaps two miles.
+
+The adjutant thus goes aloft apparently for the mere delight the
+movement affords him. But not so with the vulture, who is a close rival
+in this art. He soars for his very existence, for dead bodies are not
+to be found everywhere. Possessing powers of sight infinitely greater
+than ours, he mounts aloft for the purpose of taking observations. If
+nothing "toothsome" can be seen from his vast range, he turns his
+attention to the movements of such of his fellows as may be up on
+the same errand miles away. Should he see one swooping earthwards he
+instantly tracks him down, and is soon at the feast. This accounts for
+the mysterious way in which vultures will gather together to the feast,
+in a place where an hour ago not one was to be seen. A caravan of
+camels, perchance, is making its toilsome way across a burning desert.
+One falls by the way. In a few hours its bones will be picked clean by
+a horde of these ravenous birds.
+
+Longfellow sang the song of the vultures hunting in stately verse:--
+
+    "Never stoops the soaring vulture
+     On his quarry in the desert,
+     On the sick or wounded bison,
+     But another vulture, watching
+     From his high aerial look-out,
+     Sees the downward plunge and follows,
+     And a third pursues the second,
+     Coming from the invisible ether,
+     First a speck, and then a vulture,
+     Till the air is thick with pinions."
+
+[Illustration: Black-game.]
+
+Darwin, in his wonderful "Journal of a Voyage Round the World" gives a
+marvellously vivid word-picture of the largest, and most interesting of
+all the vultures, the Condor of the Andes--one of the largest of flying
+birds, having a wing-span of something over nine feet:--
+
+"When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot,
+their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground, I do
+not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings.
+Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once
+taking off my eyes; they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles,
+descending and ascending without giving a single flap. As they glided
+close over my head, I intently watched, from an oblique position, the
+outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers of each wing;
+and these separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory
+movement, would have appeared as if blended together; but they were
+seen distinctly against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved
+frequently, and, apparently, with force, and the extended wings seemed
+to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body, and the
+tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings for a moment
+collapsed; and then again expanded with an altered inclination, the
+momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards
+with the even and steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of
+any bird _soaring_, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that
+the action of the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may
+counterbalance its gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a
+body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so
+little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.
+The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose, is
+sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly wonderful and
+beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without apparent
+exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river."
+
+Those who "go down to the sea in ships" have to face many perils, but
+the "wonders of the great deep" are for them a lure. One of these is
+to watch the marvellous "sailing" flights of the wandering albatross.
+His wings have, when expanded, a peculiarly "ribbon-like" form,
+and measure from tip to tip, over eleven feet--thus exceeding that
+of the condor, which, however, is the heavier bird of the two. The
+"ribbon-like" form of the wings is due to the extreme shortness of the
+flight-quills--the primaries and secondaries, and the great length of
+the arm and fore-arm. And it may be to these structural peculiarities
+that the "sailing" flight just alluded to is due. Resembling soaring in
+many of its aspects, yet it differs materially in that it is performed
+low down, not at immense heights. The most graphic description of
+these movements is surely that of Mr. Froude: "The albatross," he
+tells us, "wheels in circles round and round, and for ever round the
+ship--now far behind, now sweeping past in a long rapid curve, like a
+perfect skater on a perfect field of ice. There is no effort; watch
+as closely as you will, you will rarely see, or never see, a stroke
+of the mighty pinion. The flight is generally near the water, often
+close to it. You lose sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow
+between the waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest;
+but how he rises, and whence comes the propelling force, is, to the
+eye, inexplicable; he alters merely the angle at which the wings are
+inclined; usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal; but
+when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction, the wings
+then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the water."
+
+One sometimes hears the skylark described as "soaring" upwards, when
+performing that wonderful musical ride which has made him so famous.
+But as, spell-bound, one listens to his rapturous strains, and watches
+his spiral ascent, one cannot help noticing that his wings are never
+still, they seem almost to be "beating time" to his music. In true
+soaring they are scarcely ever moved.
+
+The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity,
+comparatively slow. But in what we may call "plunging" flight the case
+is very different, for here the velocity of the descent is great.
+
+The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our own, display
+this mode of flight to perfection. It is worth going far to see a
+gannet dive. Travelling at a relatively considerable height, and
+eagerly scanning the surface of the water for signs of a shoal of
+fish, this amazing bird dives with the speed of lightning, and with
+half-spread wings disappears with a terrific plunge beneath the
+surface, to emerge, an instant later, with his prey. One can measure
+the force of such a plunge by the cruel trick, sometimes played by
+fishermen, of fastening a herring to a board, and setting it adrift
+where gannets are about. The unsuspecting victim descends as usual
+upon his prey, only to meet instant death by the shock of his impact
+with the board. Those who talk glibly of identifying birds by their
+flight may point to this wonderful diver as a case in point. But while
+one may often see the gannet on the wing, it is by no means so often
+that one will have the good fortune to see him dive, for he is not
+always hungry. His white body, pointed tail, and black quill-feathers
+would then enable the novice to name him at once. But--in his immature
+plumage, he would, at a little distance, appear black, and unless he
+were fishing, the chances of recognition would be by no means great.
+Close at hand he would appear speckled with white.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Owl_]
+
+But this by the way. There are two other birds which dive from a
+height on the wing. One of these is the kingfisher: the other is the
+tern. The term "tern" is here used collectively, for there are several
+species, but all have this habit of diving from a height. During the
+summer months one may be quite sure of an opportunity of watching the
+graceful, easy flight of at least three species. For they haunt the
+sea-shore, river, and lake with equal impartiality. Those who are on
+the look-out for terns, for the first time, will easily recognise
+them. For, in the first place they look like miniature gulls, but
+with longer and more pointed wings, and forked tails. Further, all
+have a characteristic black cap. They travel in small parties, as if
+for company, keeping no more than a yard or two from the surface of
+the water, and scanning it eagerly in search of shoals of small fish,
+or crustacea. As these are found one will note a quickening of the
+wing-beat, and a sudden dive, like that of the gannet, with half-closed
+wings. And sometimes, too, the impetus will take them completely under
+water.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  1 Bat
+  2 Butterfly
+  3 Beetle
+  4 Dragon-Fly
+  5 Bone of Birds Wing, Showing the three Divisions,
+      Arm--Fore-arm--Hand.
+  6 Breast Bone of Swan
+  7   "     "   "  Pigeon
+  8   "     "   "  Pelican
+  9 & 10 Apteryx, Cassowary (degenerate wings).
+]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Modes of Flight.
+
+    "The soaring lark is blest as proud
+       When at Heaven's gate she sings:
+     The roving bee proclaims aloud
+       Her flight by vocal wings."--_Wordsworth._
+
+ The movements of the wing in flight--Marey's experiments--Stopping
+ and turning movements--Alighting--"Taking off"--Hovering--The use of
+ the tail in flight--The carriage of the neck in flight--And of the
+ legs--The flight of petrels--The speed of flight--The height at which
+ birds fly--Flight with burdens--Experiments on the sizes of the wing
+ in relation to flight--Flight in "troops."
+
+
+While it is possible to show that certain
+kinds of flight are to be associated with such and such peculiarities
+of the skeleton, and the muscles attached thereto, there are many
+"eccentricities" which cannot be measured, and explained, in terms of
+mechanism.
+
+The very disconcerting, twisting, flight of the snipe is one of these.
+The sportsman knows it well: and he knows that the twisting, during
+which the bird turns the body half over--that is with, say, the
+left wing pointing directly downwards, and the right wing directly
+upwards--is only the preliminary to getting fully on the way, and that,
+presently, it will pursue a straight course, with arrow-like speed.
+Yet its cousin, the jack-snipe, never twists.
+
+Why does the woodcock invariably drop after a charge of shot, even
+though not a pellet has touched it, while a snipe pursues its way?
+These differences are not merely differences of "habit": they indicate
+subtle differences in nervous response to the same kind of stimulus,
+and in structural details yet to be unravelled.
+
+Some day the cinematograph will reveal to us all the phases of flight
+and the movements to which they are due. Even now, thanks to the modern
+camera, we have learned a great deal. We have learned, for example,
+that the flight of a bird is not effected merely by rapid up and down
+movements of the fully extended wings, or with flexed wings--that is
+to say, half closed, as in "gliding" flight when a bird is descending,
+or in the swoop of, say, the sparrow-hawk. Only in one of these two
+positions do we ever seem to see the wings when we have to trust to our
+eyes alone, as the bird hurries past us. The impression that we have
+seen aright is confirmed when we stand on the deck of a steamer, and
+watch the gulls following in its wake. For incredibly long distances
+they will travel without a perceptible wing-beat. The albatross is the
+finest of all performers in regard to this kind of flight, which is
+due, apparently, to air currents created by stiff breezes, or gales.
+Some birds seem to make their way against a head-wind with the minimum
+of effort, by partly flexing the wings and gliding downwards: at the
+end of the descent, by turning the body sharply upwards, and spreading
+the wings to the fullest extent, they are lifted up, and driven
+forward, like a kite.
+
+Marey and Pettigrew, long ago, showed conclusively, by means of
+photography, that our conception of the movement of the wing during
+flight was far from correct.
+
+To avoid a long and tedious description, and many technicalities, it
+must suffice to say that the wing of a bird possesses very considerable
+freedom and range of movement at the shoulder joint. Certainly, during
+some phases of flight, the wings are thrust forward and extended to
+their fullest extent, so that the outer margins of the wings come to
+lie almost parallel with the long axis of the body, as may be seen in
+the spirited illustration showing the goshawk in flight. As they sweep
+downwards, and backwards, they lift the body and drive it forwards.
+At the end of the "sweep" they are "flexed," that is to say, bent at
+the elbow and wrist-joints, while at the same time they are raised and
+brought forward above the body for a repetition of the stroke. These
+movements are too quick for the eye to follow, but they have been fixed
+for us by the camera.
+
+Marey devised an ingenious experiment in his endeavour to discover the
+movements of the bird's wing during flight. He fastened a small piece
+of paper to the tip of a crows wing, and as the bird flew in front of
+a perfectly black screen he took a photograph of this moving speck of
+white, while, of course, no image of the crow appeared on the plate.
+The resultant picture gave a series of "figure of 8 loops" as one would
+make this figure with a pen, contriving to make the lower loop very
+small, and the upper loop very large. But as the wing-beat increased in
+speed the lower loop gradually faded out.
+
+These movements of the wing, however, are descriptive rather of what
+takes place during very vigorous flight, as when the bird is getting
+up "steam." When he is well under way there is no need for these long
+and very tiring strokes, except in the case of birds like the pheasant
+or the duck. A gull, when in full career does not, apparently, raise
+the wings very high, nor depresses them very low, nor does it flex the
+wings at the wrist-joints.
+
+Stopping and turning movements are generally extremely difficult to
+follow, because they are performed so quickly. They can be seen fairly
+easily in the case of some of the larger birds. Ducks, as is well shown
+in one of our coloured Plates, draw the head backwards, tilt the body
+upward, thrust the feet forward, and spread the tail, at the same time
+turning it forwards. Gulls and pigeons too may be watched with profit.
+
+[Illustration: _Wild Duck_]
+
+In turning, the body is tilted sideways, so that the tip of one wing
+points skywards, the other earthwards, as in the case of the goshawk
+illustrated in this book. The pigeon, and some other birds seem further
+to spread out the long, stiff quills borne by the thumb, which form
+what is known as the "bastard-wing." This turning movement is well
+shown, again, in the very realistic coloured picture of the woodcock
+turning in mid-air, and bearing too the burden of one of its nestlings.
+
+If it is difficult to satisfy oneself as to the way in which a bird
+alights, it is no less so to detect its movements in taking wing.
+Most of us must have seen sparrows making this effort from the road,
+thousands of times. But ask of anyone, How is it done? The act takes
+place so quickly that the eye cannot follow its execution. And what is
+true of the sparrow is true of most birds. But there are some where
+this is not the case. Many water-birds, the cormorant, for example,
+get under way but slowly, and with evident effort. They flap along
+the surface for some distance before they gain sufficient impetus to
+lift them into the air. And there are many long-winged, short-legged
+birds which can rise from a level surface only with great difficulty,
+or not at all. The swift is one of these, for its legs are excessively
+short. The albatross is another: and this is true, indeed, of many of
+the petrel-tribe. The puffin, again, seems unable to rise on the wing
+from the ground. It appears invariably to run along until it reaches
+the edge of cliff which lodges its burrow, and then, as it were,
+throw itself over the edge. The heron, when springing into the air,
+stretches his long neck out to its fullest extent, and presents a pair
+of dangling legs, well shown in one of our coloured Plates, but when
+once fully on the way its pose entirely changes, the neck being drawn
+in and the legs thrust out backwards.
+
+Flight does not always mean progress through the air. Most birds can,
+at need, arrest their course, and hang, as it were, suspended in the
+air. In the beautiful coloured plate, representing the chaffinch
+hovering over its half-fledged young, and in that of the kingfisher
+and its young, this form of "hovering" flight can be seen. But the
+greatest of all exponents in the art of hovering is the kestrel, known
+also, for this very reason, as the "windhover." It is most fascinating
+to watch this bird hang, as it were, from the clouds, motionless,
+yet with quivering wings, as he scans the ground below in his search
+for some unsuspecting mouse. It is hard, indeed, to say which is the
+more wonderful, this power of remaining stationary for comparatively
+long periods in the air, or the surprising powers of sight which this
+bird possesses. During these hovering movements, always head to wind,
+it will be noted, the tail plays a very important part, being spread
+to its extremest limit, and at the same time thrust forward beneath
+the body. In some birds this forward movement is more marked than in
+others. And this because such birds possess a somewhat more flexible
+spine, there being a certain amount of "play" where the vertebræ of the
+loins join the welded mass of vertebræ which lie between the bones of
+the hip-girdle.
+
+But the tail feathers are not indispensable. This much is shown in the
+case of birds like the kingfisher, the water-hen, and the land-rail,
+which contrive to fly well, and at a great pace, though they have but
+the merest apology for a tail. More than this, the grebes have no
+tail at all. But it is to be noted that they are by no means adept at
+turning movements; owing to the lack of this appendage the body, when
+in mid-air, has a curiously truncated appearance, as may be seen in
+the illustration. Further, it is significant that in the contemptible
+"sport" of pigeon-shooting from traps, the birds are deprived of their
+tails to prevent them from making turning movements.
+
+The carriage of the head and neck, and of the legs, during flight
+presents some interesting, and some instructing contrasts.
+
+Ducks, geese, and swans, flamingoes, storks, and cormorants always fly
+with the head and neck stretched out to their fullest extent. Herons
+and pelicans, though also long-necked birds, draw the head back till it
+rests almost on the shoulders. Most birds, indeed, fly with the head
+drawn back towards the body. The appearance of some of these birds on
+the wing can be seen at a glance on turning to the page illustrating
+this aspect of flight.
+
+Not so very long ago a great controversy was waged as to what birds did
+with their legs during flight. Many of the older artists invariably
+depicted them drawn up under the breast. But as a matter of fact,
+this method seems to be confined to the Passerine birds--the "perching
+birds," such as crows and finches and their kin. It has yet to be
+settled what obtains among what are known as the "Picarian" birds, such
+as kingfishers, bee-eaters, woodpeckers, and so on. The legs and feet
+of these birds are so small, and their flight is so rapid, that the
+matter is by no means an easy one to settle. But all other birds carry
+the legs and toes bent backwards, under the tail. In the gulls, this
+can easily be seen, and easier still in the case of the common heron,
+where they are, as it were, trailed out behind--owing to the shortness
+of the tail and the great length of the leg. The puffin carries them
+"splayed" out on each side of his tail, and so also do his kinsmen, the
+razor-bills, and guillemots.
+
+The legs, as a rule, take no part in flight. True, they can be seen
+thrust out just before alighting, but this is solely for the purpose
+of effecting a safe landing. But where gulls can be watched at close
+quarters, as in harbours, round a ship, or in such favoured spots as
+are to be found about the bridges of London during the winter, careful
+watch will show that the legs are frequently used when efforts are
+being made to turn, or check the speed of flight.
+
+Some of the smaller petrels--like the storm-petrel, or "Mother Carey's
+chickens," will patter over the water with their feet as they fly just
+over the surface of the waves.
+
+[Illustration: _Sketches of Ducks in flight 1922_
+
+   1.  }
+       } Scaup.
+   1a. }
+
+   2.    Goldeneye.
+
+   3.  }
+       } Pochard.
+   4.  }
+
+   5.  }
+  to   } Mallard.
+  10.  }
+]
+
+Whether the legs are carried drawn close up beneath the breast, or
+thrust backwards under the tail, the purpose of this disposal is the
+same--to prevent any interference with the "stream-lines" of the body
+which would impede flight.
+
+On the matter of the speed of flight there seems to be much
+misconception. Gätke, the German ornithologist, gravely asserted that
+the little Arctic blue-throat--one of our rarer British birds--could
+leave its winter resort in Africa in the dusk of evening, and arrive at
+Heligoland--where he spent so many years studying bird migration--nine
+hours later. That is to say it could travel 1,600 geographical miles
+in a single night, at the astounding velocity of 180 miles an hour!
+According to another estimate of his, curlews, godwits, and plovers
+crossed from Heligoland to the oyster-beds lying to the eastward, a
+known distance of rather more than four English miles, in one minute;
+or at the rate of over 240 miles an hour. Against such extravagant
+estimates it is hardly necessary to bring rebutting evidence. But if
+any be demanded it may be furnished by the carrier pigeon, which has
+been known to maintain a speed of 55 miles an hour for four hours in
+succession: and it is extremely unlikely that this is much, if at all,
+exceeded by any wild bird during long-distance flights.
+
+That our spring and autumn migrants must possess wonderful powers of
+endurance is beyond question. And it is equally certain that thousands
+must perish by the way. By this means is the standard of flight
+maintained--the weak perish. Even the minimum standard of efficiency
+for the survival of such an ordeal must be a high one.
+
+Few of us see anything of these marvellous migration flights. For, in
+the first place, they are generally performed at night, and at a great
+height, often beyond the range of human vision. Only as they approach
+land, and their destination, do they descend. American naturalists
+have made some interesting observations by directing a telescope
+against the sky. Thus, Mr. Frank Chapman, by turning his instrument
+towards the full moon, has seen birds passing at night at an altitude,
+according to his computation, of five miles: while the late Mr. W.
+E. D. Scott saw, through an astronomical telescope at Princeton,
+New Jersey, great numbers of birds passing across the face of the
+moon--warblers, finches, and woodpeckers among them. Mr. Chapman again,
+on another occasion, saw no less than 262 birds pass over the field of
+his telescope at a height of from 1,500 to 15,000 feet: and the most
+remarkable thing of all was the fact that the lowest birds were flying
+upwards, as if they had risen from the immediate neighbourhood and were
+seeking the proper elevation to continue their flight.
+
+As has already been remarked, when nearing their destination migrating
+birds descend, though still many miles from land. Should a gale be
+raging they fly so low that they barely top the waves. And this,
+apparently, to escape, so far as is possible, the force of the wind.
+Larks, starlings, thrushes, and other small birds, can sometimes be
+seen during daylight crossing the North Sea in their thousands. At such
+times many will often afford themselves a brief rest in the rigging
+of ships, homeward bound, but the main host hurry on. The beautiful
+golden crested wren, our smallest British migrant, is one of these. A
+glance at our charming coloured plate will show at once that the wing
+is not that of a bird of strong flight. There is no more interesting
+experience to the bird-lover than that of watching the tired travellers
+drop earthwards, as they leave the dreadful sea behind them.
+
+With all birds yet retaining the power of flight there is always a
+liberal "margin of safety" in regard to the wing area. That is to
+say this is always in excess of the minimum area necessary to make
+flight possible. This much, indeed, is manifest from the fact that the
+eagle can bear off a victim equalling himself in weight. Should he
+miscalculate, he can always drop his burden, or lessen its weight by
+eating part of it on the spot. Not so the osprey, or the sea-eagle,
+which have been known to plunge down and drive their talons into
+fishes too large to be raised. Unable to release their grip, death, by
+drowning, has inevitably followed.
+
+Sometimes the burden is a passenger, instead of a victim. One of
+the most striking of the coloured plates in this volume is that of a
+woodcock carrying one of its nestlings to a distant feeding place. This
+habit is well known. It is not often that the necessity arises, but
+there are occasions where suitable nesting and feeding grounds cannot
+be found together, or when, as during prolonged drought, the normal
+feeding area dries up. Then, instinctively, the parent will surmount
+the dangers of starvation for their offspring, by conveying them to a
+land of plenty, returning again to the shelter of the wood as soon as
+the meal is over. The weight of a newly-hatched nestling, it is true,
+could scarcely be called a "burden." But they are carried about thus
+until they are strong enough to perform the journey for themselves.
+Thus, then, towards the end of the nursing period the weight to be
+carried is by no means a light one.
+
+But it was shown, long since, by direct experiment, that the area of
+a bird's wing is considerably in excess of what is required for the
+purpose of flight. Dr. J. Bell Pettigrew, more than fifty years ago,
+to test this matter, cut off more than half of the secondary wing
+feathers of a sparrow, parallel with the long axis of the wing. He
+first clipped one, then both wings, and found that in both cases flight
+was apparently unimpaired. He then removed a fourth of the primary
+feathers--the outermost quills--and still the flight was unimpaired. At
+any rate the bird flew upwards of thirty yards, rose to a considerable
+height and alighted in a tree. Thirty yards, however, is a short
+flight even for a sparrow. But it is enough to show that flight, if not
+_sustained_ flight, was possible after this mutilation. Not until more
+than one-third of the quills along the whole length of the wing were
+removed, did the flight become obviously laboured. And he found that
+what was true of the sparrow, was equally true of the wings of insects.
+
+Though these experiments demonstrate, in a very unmistakable manner,
+that flight with a greatly reduced wing area is possible, we have no
+evidence that this reduction would make no difference to the length of
+time the bird could remain on the wing. And this is a very important
+matter.
+
+An aspect of flight which has now to be considered is that of birds
+which fly in troops. Some species always travel thus, others only on
+occasions. Rooks and gulls afford instances of this, when, during windy
+weather, or for other reasons, they congregate and fly round and round
+in great circles, at a considerable height. Small wading-birds, like
+ringed plovers and dunlin, commonly fly in "bunches." The last named
+furnish a singularly interesting sight when thus travelling; for their
+evolutions are so amazingly timed. As if at a given signal every bird
+in the troop will change its course at the same moment, and in the
+same direction, so that now one sees a flickering mesh-work of grey,
+and now a shimmering as of snow-flakes, as first the grey backs, and
+then the white breasts are turned towards one. But flights such as this
+are to be seen only during the autumn and winter months. For during
+the breeding season these little flocks are broken up and distributed
+far and wide. But there is yet another reason. They wear a totally
+different dress--the courtship or breeding plumage. Herein the upper
+parts are of a rich chestnut hue, streaked with black, while the under
+parts are black. Even more fascinating to watch are the autumn troops
+of starlings on the way to their roosting places. Hundreds at a time,
+not to say thousands, take part in these flights. Now they rush onward,
+in one great far-flung sheet, and now they close up into a great,
+almost ball-like, mass: and now they thin out till they look like a
+trail of smoke. But always they wheel and turn and rise and descend,
+not as separate bodies, but as one. How are such wonderful evolutions
+timed. The movements of an army on review-day are not more precise,
+or more perfectly carried out. During the whole flight not a sound,
+save the swishing of their wings can be heard. The marvel of it all is
+beyond the range of words, nor can one express the peculiar delight
+such a sight affords.
+
+Why is it that ducks and geese commonly fly either in Indian file, or
+in a roughly V-shaped formation, with the apex of the V forward? Why do
+they not fly all abreast? One cannot say, but they never do.
+
+Some mention must be made here of the surprising numbers in which
+geese, of some species, congregate. Writing of the Brent goose, in his
+"Bird Life of the Borders," Mr. Abel Chapman--and there are few men who
+can write with such authority on the subject--tells us:--"Just at dark
+the whole host rise on the wing together, and make for the open sea. In
+the morning they have come in by companies and battalions, but at night
+they go out in one solid army; and a fine sight it is to witness their
+departure. The whole host, perhaps ten thousand strong, here massed in
+dense phalanxes, elsewhere in columns tailing off into long skeins, V's
+or rectilineal formations of every conceivable shape, (but always with
+a certain formation)--out they go, full one hundred yards high, while
+their loud clanging, defiance--"honk, honk,--torrock, torrock," and its
+running accompaniment of lower croaks and shrill bi-tones, resounds for
+miles around."
+
+[Illustration: Peregrine chasing Duck.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Courtship Flights
+
+    "A pair of falcons wheeling on the wing,
+     In clamourous agitation ..."--_Wordsworth._
+
+ The wing-play of black-game and grouse--The "musical ride" of
+ the snipe--The "roding" of the woodcock--The musical flights of
+ redshank and curlew--The "tumbling" of the lapwing--The raven's
+ somersaults--The courting flight of the wood pigeon--The mannikin's
+ "castanets"--Wings as lures--The strange pose of the sun-bittern--The
+ "wooing" of the chaffinch and the grasshopper-warbler--Darwin and
+ wing-displays--The wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.
+
+
+One of the most striking features of
+bird-life is surely its restless activity. This is always apparent,
+but it attains to a state of almost feverish excitement as the spring
+advances, and the parental instincts re-awaken. As they gather
+strength, so they manifest themselves, in outbursts of song--often of
+exquisite beauty--strange antics, or wonderful evolutions in mid-air.
+
+It is with these last that we are chiefly concerned here. As might
+be supposed, they present a wide variety in the matter of their form
+and duration. Black-game furnish an example of a very simple form of
+courtship flight, but it is associated with curious antics on the
+ground. And these, it is to be noted, are only to be witnessed soon
+after sunrise. Two blackcocks will approach one another and stand as
+if prepared to ward off a very vigorous onslaught; reminding one of two
+barn-door cockerels. With lowered head and neck they face one another,
+the beautiful lyrate tail spread fan-wise, and arched so that the
+curled, outer, feathers touch the ground, while the wings are trailed
+like those of the turkey-cock. Then one will at last rush forward,
+and seizing his adversary by the scruff of the neck, will administer
+a sound beating with his wings. The victor celebrates his triumph by
+a loud, and most unmusical screech, which has been likened, by that
+accomplished observer and sportsman-artist, Mr. J. G. Millais, to the
+call of cats on the house-tops at mid-night. But presently a grey-hen
+makes her appearance. Hostilities cease at once, on all sides; and
+intense excitement prevails amongst the whole assembly--for a large
+number of cocks will gather together at these sparring matches. Her
+approach has been observed by a single bird, who, unintentionally,
+gives the signal by suddenly drawing himself up to a rigid position of
+attention, till he is sure she is really coming, then he throws himself
+into the air and flutters up a few feet, uttering at the same time, a
+peculiar hoarse note of exultation. Immediately all the others follow
+suit; each seeming to strive to outdo his neighbour in a series of
+absurd pirouettings. Here we have a "Love-flight," of exceedingly brief
+duration, associated with terrestrial combats and frantic prancings.
+
+[Illustration: _Woodcock carrying Young_]
+
+The grouse pursues a different method. He strives to incite his mate
+to amourous moods by chasing her about. But she is "coy," and will
+tolerate this for hours at a time, apparently intent on nothing more
+than seeking something interesting to eat, she seems to affect to
+be quite unaware of the presence of her importunate mate; though
+her behaviour is belied by the fact that she keeps up a continuous
+"cheeping" note, heard only at this time of the year. Every now and
+then he will vary his tactics by leaping up into the air and taking
+an upward flight of from twenty to thirty feet, crowing vociferously.
+On alighting he will commence his addresses again. Then, perhaps, she
+herself will take to flight, darting off and twisting like a snipe,
+evidently enjoying her tantalizing tactics. He follows in close
+pursuit, in the hope, doubtless, of satisfying his desires, when she
+shall come to rest. Here is a "courtship" flight of longer duration, in
+which both sexes participate.
+
+The "musical ride" of the snipe is of a much more imposing character:
+and in this, again, both sexes take a part. During this performance,
+which affords some thrilling moments to the bird-lover, the bird
+ascends to a great height, and then plunges earthwards in a terrific
+"nose-dive" accompanied by a weird bleating noise, comparable to the
+bleat of a goat. For long years discussion waged furiously as to the
+source of this sound. Some held that it was produced by the voice:
+others by the tremulous motion of the wing-feathers: others, again,
+contended that it was caused by the tail feathers. This was first
+mooted by the Danish naturalist, Meeves, and he produced some very
+striking and curious evidence to prove his view. He showed that the
+outermost tail-feathers had peculiarly thickened shafts, which were
+also bent in a very striking way. By removing these feathers, and
+sticking them into a cork, he was enabled, by twirling the cork rapidly
+round at the end of a string, to reproduce the "bleat" exactly. Many
+years later Dr. Philip Bahr revived this experiment, for the purpose
+of finally setting the matter at rest--for there were still many who
+remained unconverted to the Meeves interpretation. Dr. Bahr left no
+room for further doubt. He showed, too, that during the production
+of this sound these tail-feathers were extended laterally, so as
+to separate them from the rest of the tail, and so give the air
+rushing past them during the earthward plunge, full play on these
+sound-producing structures. He too, applied the test first instituted
+by Meeves, and so clinched his arguments. One may hear this strange
+music as early as February, and even, though rarely, as late as July.
+But it is essentially a breeding-season, or rather a "Courtship"
+performance sound, though it may be evoked by a sitting bird suddenly
+surprised, when she will "bleat" as she leaves her eggs, possibly to
+distract the intruder on her vigil.
+
+The woodcock has a "love-flight" but of a quite different character,
+known by sportsmen as "roding." It takes the form of short flights
+up and down the "ride," or space selected for the nesting site.
+But while the female is sitting the male will still continue these
+flights, choosing the early morning and evenings. As he goes he utters
+strange cries, which have been compared, by some, to the words "more
+rain to-morrow" and by others to, "Cro-ho, cro-ho," varied by a note
+sounding like, "whee-e-cap." These flights are varied by strange little
+displays upon the ground, when he will strut about before his mate with
+wings drooped and trailing on the ground, the tail spread, and the
+feathers of the head and neck standing on end. This gives him a very
+odd appearance, to human eyes, but it serves its purpose--which is to
+arouse his mate to amourous moods.
+
+Redshank, curlew, and dunlin--cousins of the snipe and woodcock--are
+all accomplished performers in the art of wooing on the wing. The male
+redshank, uttering flute-like notes, Mr. Farren tells us, soars up to a
+moderate height, and remains, for a brief space, "hanging in the wind"
+with the tips of his curved wings rapidly vibrating. He then descends,
+pipit-like, earthwards, while the song, which has been uttered slowly,
+now quickens, reaching its climax as the bird, raising its wings above
+its back for an instant, finally alights on the ground. But he has yet
+other wiles, which are not used in mid-air. Approaching his mate with
+his head erect and body drawn up to its full height, he raises his
+wings for an instant high above his head: then allowing them gradually
+to droop, he vibrates them, at the same time rapidly moving his legs
+like a soldier "marking time."
+
+The curlew seems to prefer the evening for his best efforts. Rising
+from the ground with rapid wing-beats, he will "check" suddenly when
+near the summit of his ascent; so suddenly as almost to throw himself
+backwards. Then, recovering, he will hang poised, kestrel-like, in
+mid-air, and pour forth a joyous thrilling, or jodelling, song. Rising
+and falling, on quivering wings, or sweeping round in great circles,
+and hovering again, he will remain for some considerable time pouring
+forth this joyful ripple of song.
+
+The courtship flight of the lapwing is even, if possible, more
+interesting. Rising from the ground with slow heavy flaps of his broad
+wings--which, it is to be noted, present a remarkable difference
+from those of the female, in that the primaries are much longer, so
+as to give this portion of the extended wing a conspicuously broader
+appearance--as though he had difficulty in getting under way, he
+speedily dissipates this impression by a sudden upward rush, an
+effortless turn, apparently; and then follows a downward swoop, or
+fall, with half-closed wings. To this swoop there succeeds a surprising
+change. In an instant the wing-beat is increased to an incredible
+speed, causing the body to turn a half, and sometimes even a complete
+somersault. But the next instant he is up and away over the ground
+with musical wing-beats, tilting and swaying from side to side with
+wonderful buoyancy.
+
+[Illustration: Lapwings.]
+
+Throughout, this delightful performance is accompanied by a wild
+and joyous song, which seems to be attuned to the somewhat bleak
+surroundings. It thrills one even to remember it in later days: and
+it defies one to express it in human fashion. It has been as nearly
+rendered as any version I have ever seen--and I have seen many--by
+Mr. Brock. It is not a whistle, nor is it like any sound that can
+be faithfully rendered by the human voice, yet it seems to say
+"_whey-willuchooee-willuch-willuch-cooee_." It suffers a break, remarks
+Mr. Farren, commenting on this theme, during the flutter of the wings
+at the end of the fall, but is picked up at once with a triumphant
+"coo-whee, coo-ee," as the bird dashes off at the end of the somersault.
+
+The lapwing is very intolerant of any trespass on his breeding
+territory on the part of his neighbours. As soon as the intruder is
+sighted, the owner of the territory charges. And the two then mount up
+into the air, often to a great height, each striving to get above the
+other for a downward swoop. As the one "stoops" at the other, the lower
+bird dodges, and so rapidly are the wings moved that they are often
+brought smartly together over the back, producing a clapping noise.
+
+Even the black, forbidding raven has his amorous moods. And at such
+times he will even outdo the more lively, though irascible lapwing in
+the art of aerial somersaults; if somersaults they can be called. For
+in the middle of an ordinary spell of flying he will suddenly fold up
+his wings and bring them close up to the body, at the same time turning
+completely round, as though he were turned on a spit; the body being
+held horizontal as the turn is made. For a moment or two there he is
+suspended, as it were, between earth and sky, with his back towards
+earth, and his breast towards the heavens. Lest he should forget the
+manner of the trick, it would seem, he will practice it at times,
+during the stern work of chasing intruders from his territory; for he
+will brook no competitors on his ground.
+
+The woodpigeon, during the courtship season, makes frequent sallies
+into the air for the purpose, apparently, of giving vent to his
+exuberant feelings. During such flights he will dart up from the
+tree-tops and sail round, high above, in great circles, rising and
+falling as he goes, with out-spread wings, every now and then bringing
+them over his back with a resounding snap. During such displays the
+white bar across the wing is most conspicuous, serving at once to
+identify the performer.
+
+Among our native birds, the only other species which habitually, and
+especially during the courting season, produce characteristic sounds
+during flight, by bringing the wings smartly together over the back,
+is the night-jar. But there are certain small passerine birds, known
+as mannikins, inhabiting the forests of South America, which have the
+shafts of the quill-feathers of the fore-arm enormously thickened. By
+means of these transformed and translated "castenets," at will, the
+bird can produce a sound which has been likened to the crack of a whip.
+
+So far this discourse has been concerned solely with "courtship"
+flights, or flights associated with peculiar sounds, dependent on rapid
+movements of the wing in mid-air for their production. And with the
+mention of these instances this Chapter might, quite legitimately,
+be brought to an end. But it must not. And this, because there are a
+number of birds which put their wings, during Courtship season, to very
+different purposes. Spectacular flights and evolutions in mid-air do
+not appeal to them. They use their wings instead as lures, as a means
+of adding intensity to strange poses and pirouettings; whereby they
+desire to give expression to the amorous feelings which possess them,
+in the hope--if for the moment, we may accord to them human standards
+of intention--of arousing kindred emotions in their mates.
+
+Darwin was the first to draw attention to these curious displays.
+Which, on the evidence then available, seemed always to be made, and
+only to be made, by birds having wings conspicuously coloured. It
+seemed as though the possessors of such wings were conscious of their
+beauty, and so displayed them that nothing of their glory should be
+missed.
+
+The sun-bittern affords a case in point. This bird, a native of
+Brazil, is soberly, but very beautifully coloured when at rest; its
+plumage presenting an indescribable mixture of black, grey, brown,
+bay, and white; blended in the form of spots, bars, and mottlings. But
+during times of sexual excitement it will spread out its wings in the
+form of a great fan, encircling the long, slender, neck. And in this
+position they present a very conspicuous appearance, taking the form
+of beautifully graded bands of black, white, and bright grey, forming
+patterns which vanish the moment the primaries fall into their place
+behind the quills of the fore-arm. But when thus spread the bird seems
+to find the greatest delight in displaying their chaste splendour
+before his mate. He seems to spread his wings just because he is
+conscious of their beauty when thus opened out.
+
+But we need not travel so far as Brazil to find examples of displays
+of this kind. Among the birds of our own Islands we can find many
+close parallels. The chaffinch and the goldfinch, when seeking to
+arouse the sympathy of their mates make much play with their wings, not
+only in short "nuptial flights," designed, apparently, to display the
+conspicuous and brilliant colouring of the plumage as a whole, but when
+perched on some convenient spray. At such times the wing is more or
+less completely spread out, as if to reveal, to the fullest possible
+advantage, the bright bars and splashes of colour which this extension
+alone can bring into being.
+
+Since these gaily coloured vestments seemed always to be associated
+with striking, stilted, attitudes, sometimes bordering on the
+grotesque, and always to be paraded in the presence of the female,
+Darwin drew the inference that they were the outcome of female choice
+persistently exercised during long generations. That is to say he
+held that, far back in the history of the race, these performers were
+soberly clad, as their mates commonly are. Then certain of the males of
+these now resplendent species began to develop patches of colour, small
+at first, but gradually increasing, generation by generation, in area
+and intensity. This progressive splendour, he believed, was due to the
+"selective" action of the females, which, from the very first, chose
+from among their suitors those who stood out among their fellows by
+reason of their brighter plumage. Thus the duller coloured males died
+without offspring. On this assumption each succeeding generation would
+be, in some slight degree, brighter than the last, until the process of
+transformation ended in the glorified creatures we so admire to-day.
+
+It would be foreign to the purpose of this book to pursue this theme at
+length. Let it suffice to say that while the "Sexual Selection" theory
+still holds good, it has, so to speak, changed its complexion. And this
+largely owing to the accumulation of new facts. For the most important
+of these we are indebted to the singularly exact and laborious
+observations analysed, clarified, and interpreted with remarkable
+insight and sagacity of Mr. H. Eliot Howard, one of the keenest
+Ornithologists of our time. He has set forth his case, and interpreted
+his facts with masterly skill, and there seems no escape from his
+conclusions. Briefly, he has shown that birds of quite sober coloration
+like the warblers, which formed the basis of his investigations, engage
+in displays quite as remarkable, and of precisely the same character
+as in birds of gaily coloured plumage. From this it is clear that this
+wing-play is not prompted by a more or less conscious desire to display
+conspicuously coloured patches of colour, for of colour there is none
+save that of the general hue of varying shades of brown, as in the case
+of the grasshopper warbler, for example. Nor is the display, apart
+from colour, to be regarded as a performance slowly perfected through
+long generations through the selection of females, coy and hard to
+please. We must regard these "Nuptial flights" and wing-displays, as
+the outward and visible signs of a state of ecstatic amorousness on the
+part of the males which, by their persistence and frequent recurrence,
+at last arouse sympathetic response in the females. They play the
+part of an aphrodisiac. Without them there would be no mating. In my
+"Courtship of Animals" those who will may pursue this subject further.
+
+[Illustration: _Herons_]
+
+Before closing this Chapter mention must be made of the most remarkable
+wing-display to be found among birds, and of the equally remarkable
+uses to which they are put. The possessor of these wonderful
+appendages, for they are wonderful, is the argus pheasant of the Malay
+Peninsula and Borneo. Though efficient for short flights in jungles,
+all that is ever required of them, they would be quite useless in
+open country where an extended journey had to be made, or escape
+attempted from some vigorous enemy. And this because the secondary
+wing-quills--the quills attached to the fore-arm--are of enormous
+length, making, as we have remarked, sustained flight impossible. They
+have, indeed, come dangerously near losing their normal functions
+altogether. And this because they have passed over into the category of
+specialised "secondary sexual characters." But for the fact that this
+bird lives in an environment where food is abundant all the year round,
+and can be obtained without any undue exertion, and that there are no
+serious enemies to be evaded, it would long since have become extinct.
+For this exuberant growth of quill-feathers must be borne all the year
+round, though they are not required to function in their later role,
+save during the period of courtship.
+
+Their great length is not their only striking feature, or even their
+chief feature. This, indeed, is represented by their extraordinary
+coloration. For each feather bears along its outer web a series of
+"ocelli," so coloured as to look like a series of dull gold balls
+lying within a deep cup. Outside the ocelli run numerous pale yellow
+longitudinal stripes on a nearly black background. The inner web is
+of a delicate greyish brown hue, shading into white and relieved by
+innumerable black spots, while the tips of the quills have white spots
+bordered with black. The primaries, too, are most exquisitely coloured,
+though in the matter of size they are not very exceptional. These,
+indeed, are the only true flight feathers.
+
+The full beauty and significance of the coloration of these feathers
+can only be appreciated during periods of display. Then the two wings,
+in some indescribable manner, are opened out so as to form a huge
+circular screen, concealing the whole of the rest of the body. The
+effect produced from the human standpoint is one of great beauty, after
+the first burst of astonishment has spent itself. His mate is less
+easily moved. Perchance "familiarity breeds contempt." At any rate it
+is only after persistent and frequent attempts to charm her to his will
+that success rewards him.
+
+Those who have the good fortune to be able to make frequent visits to
+the Zoological Gardens in London may, with great good fortune, and at
+rare intervals, have an opportunity of witnessing such a display, and
+of studying in detail these wonderful wings. They are wonderful, not
+merely because of the manner of their display, or of their colouring,
+but also because in them we see ornament pushed to its furthest limit
+since, as wings, they have become well nigh useless, and therefore
+almost dangerous to the well-being of their possessors.
+
+[Illustration: Sunbittern Displaying.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+How to tell Birds on the Wing.
+
+    "I can tell a hawk from a hernshaw."--_Shakespeare._
+
+ The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
+ them--The wagtails--The finches--The buntings--The redstart-wheatear,
+ Stonechat--The thrushes--The warblers--The tit-mice--The nuthatch, and
+ tree-creeper--The spotted-flycatcher--The red-backed shrike--swallows,
+ martins, and swifts--The night-jar--owls--Woodpeckers.
+
+
+The experienced ornithologist apart, there
+are hosts of people who are interested, at least, in our native birds:
+who would fain call them all by name; yet who can distinguish no more
+than a very few of our commonest species. They are constantly hoping
+to find some book which will give, in a word, the "Hall-mark" of every
+bird they may meet in a day's march. But that book will never be
+written. For some species present no outstanding features by which they
+may be certainly identified, when no more than a momentary examination
+is possible, and this at a distance. And it is often extremely
+difficult to set down in words, exactly, what are the reasons for
+deciding that some rapidly retreating form belongs to this, or that,
+species.
+
+And then, too, there are difficulties due to seasonal changes of
+plumage--often striking--sex, and age; since immature birds often
+differ totally from the adults in appearance. The young robin and the
+starling afford instances in point.
+
+The adult starling, as everybody knows, is "black" with a yellow beak
+and reddish legs. But seen close at hand his feathers gleam with a
+wonderful metallic sheen reflecting changing hues of violet, green,
+and purple. The young bird, in the early summer, is of a pale brown
+colour. In the autumn the plumage is changed for a "black dress,"
+like that of the adult, but heavily spotted with white. As the winter
+wears on the white spots become abraded, and disappear. The robin
+needs no description. But the young bird, in its first plumage, is
+commonly mistaken for the female, which, of course, is practically
+indistinguishable from the male. It is certainly unlike one's notion of
+a "cock-robin," being of a yellowish brown colour, with pale spots, a
+type of plumage characteristic of the young of the "thrush tribe."
+
+In some nearly related species, again, the males are strikingly
+different, the females barely distinguishable.
+
+But nevertheless, a very considerable number of our British birds can
+be more or less easily distinguished during flight--sometimes by the
+manner of that flight, sometimes by characteristic markings, sometimes
+by the notes they utter; and these are briefly summarised in this
+Chapter.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+   1. Swallow.
+   2. House Martin.
+   3. Swift.
+   4. Sand Martin.
+   5. Pied Wagtail.
+   6. Grey Wagtail.
+   7. Yellow Wagtail.
+   8. Chaffinch.
+   9. Goldfinch.
+  10. Linnet.
+  11. Greenfinch.
+  12. Bullfinch.
+]
+
+When it is realized that no less than 475 species, and sub-species, of
+British birds are now recognized, it will be apparent that it would be
+impossible to do more than briefly epitomise the commoner species, and
+some of these, like the robin, and the wren, need no interpreter.
+
+The aim of this Chapter is primarily to give, as far as possible, the
+salient features of our commoner native birds, as seen during flight.
+But some species merely "flit," from one place to another, and that so
+rapidly that no details of coloration can be distinguished. They can
+only be examined at favourable, and often fleeting moments, when at
+rest, and clear of foliage. Only such as are frequently encountered are
+included here. To attempt more would be to lead to confusion. Enough,
+it is hoped, will be said to help the beginner. Experience will soon
+lead to an ever increasing proficiency--and with this will come an
+ever increasing conviction that the identification of birds, during
+flight, is an extremely difficult task. Whoever essays it should,
+whenever possible, supplement his efforts by the aid of a pair of good
+field-glasses. These, indeed, are indispensable.
+
+The small perching birds are, perhaps, the most difficult to name at
+sight, and this because their flight presents so little to distinguish
+one species from another. All fly with rapid wing-beats, alternating
+with a period during which the wings are practically closed, causing
+the body to travel forward on a rapidly descending curve in the
+interval between the wing-beats. This gives rise to what is known as
+an "undulating" flight. But the large passerines, like the crows,
+differ conspicuously in their method of progress. With them the wing
+beats relatively slowly, so that its shape can be readily seen; and
+their course is direct--hence the familiar saying "straight as the
+crow flies." Further, the inner webs of the outer primary quills
+are, what is called "emarginate," that is to say, the width of the
+web is suddenly reduced towards the tip of the feather, so that the
+outstretched wing has a conspicuously fringed appearance, as may be
+seen at a glance at the beautiful pen-and-ink sketches on another page.
+The eagles and falcons have similar emarginations.
+
+But to return for a moment to the smaller passerines. There are very
+few of our native species which could be distinguished in the field by
+their flight alone. For the most part one has to rely on this and clues
+afforded by characteristic markings: while a further aid is afforded
+by at least a slight knowledge of the haunts of birds. One would not
+expect to find a wheatear in a wood, or a wren in a reed-bed.
+
+The wagtails are among the easiest of the "undulating" fliers to
+distinguish, if only because of the great length of the tail. The
+pied-wagtail, with its black and white plumage--or black, grey, and
+white in the winter--can be identified at a glance. And so too, may the
+yellow, and the grey wagtails. The last named has the longest tail
+of all, and is further marked by his beautiful grey back and bright
+sulphur abdomen and under tail coverts. All have white feathers in the
+tail. The pipits and skylark, like the wagtails, have very long inner
+secondaries, but they can never be confused on this account. They can
+never be mistaken for wagtails, but on the other hand, the several
+species can be distinguished, when on the wing, only by long practice.
+
+The chaffinch, greenfinch, and goldfinch are with us all the year
+round, keeping each to his favourite haunts. Most people know them
+well. But one meets even people living in the heart of the country, who
+cannot call them by name! The cock chaffinch can be distinguished at
+once by its white "shoulders," and white bars across the wing, apart
+from the bright hues of the body, so well shown in the adjoining Plate.
+The hen has similar wing-marks, but lacks the bright colours of her
+lord. His cousin, the brambling--who comes to us in the winter--is just
+as easily identified by his orange-coloured shoulder patch--in place
+of white--and white rump, which is most conspicuous during flight. The
+greenfinch is marked, when in flight, by the yellow rump and bright
+yellow patches at the base of the tail feathers. Who could mistake the
+goldfinch for any one else but himself? He looks like a butterfly as
+he flutters about on the tops of tall thistles. The crimson and black
+bands on his head, the glorious blaze of gold on his black wings,
+which are further marked with white spots, as also is his tail, make
+him the most gorgeous of our native finches. The bullfinch, again, is
+easy to distinguish; though from his habit of haunting thickets and
+dense hedgerows, he is seldom seen. In flight you may know him by his
+white rump, rosy breast, and black head. But his mate is more soberly
+clad: though her black head and white rump, will suffice to make sure
+of her when, by good fortune, she is encountered.
+
+One of the commonest of what we may call "road-side" birds, is the
+yellow-hammer; which can be recognized at once by the bright yellow
+colour of its head. As soon as it takes to flight the white feathers
+in the tail, and the chestnut rump will make assurance doubly sure.
+But in some parts of England one meets with another, and similar
+species--the cirl bunting. In this species, however, the male has a
+black throat and ear-coverts, and an olive-grey chest-band; while the
+female, lacking these distinctive marks, may be recognized by a brown,
+instead of a chestnut rump. When in the neighbourhood of swampy places
+and reed-beds, a look-out must be kept for the reed-bunting. A small
+bird with a black head and throat, and white collar, this is the male.
+The female will display a brown head, buff throat and eye-brow, and
+white outer tail feathers. In the winter time, near the sea, one may
+frequently come across the snow-bunting, which, on the wing, will at
+once attract attention by the large areas of white displayed in the
+wing and tail.
+
+[Illustration: _Chaffinch and Young_]
+
+The redstart, one of our summer visitors, is a bird which can never be
+mistaken. A sight of the russet-red tail alone suffices. But the cock
+has the further glory of a mantle of grey, a black head and russet
+under parts. He is fond of country rich in old timber, or hill-sides,
+where stone walls attract him. His kinsman, the wheatear, returns to us
+in the early spring; to give an added charm to our bare hill-sides, and
+warrens, sea-cliffs, sand-dunes, and waste places. If you see a small
+bird flying low over the ground, with a white rump, and black wings,
+you may know that the wheatear is before you. That delightful, restless
+little bird, the stonechat, is a near relation of the wheatear. He
+too, is fond of waste places, and heaths; more especially such as will
+provide him with plenty of furze bushes, or ling, on the topmost twigs
+of which he loves to perch, flitting his tail and uttering his fussy
+little notes "hweet-chat, hweet-chat." On the wing you may tell him by
+his conspicuous white wing-patch, and the broad blaze of white on his
+neck, set off by a jet-black head. The female and young lack the bright
+chestnut on the breast. The stone-chat's cousin, the whinchat, may be
+found in similar situations, but he is of a more roving disposition,
+and may be found also in lowland pasture and water-meadows. More
+slender in form, he is further to be distinguished by the dark streaks
+down his back, white-eye stripe, and greater amount of white at the
+base of the tail. Further, there is no white neck patch.
+
+Most people know the common thrush and the blackbird when they see
+them, and many country-folk, indeed, recognize no more. Yet there
+are five species in all, which may be called "common." They are to
+be distinguished, not so much by their flight, as by their general
+coloration. Neither the common thrush, nor the blackbird need be
+described here: they cannot easily be confounded with any other bird.
+But for the moment it might be possible, it is true, to mistake
+the mistle thrush for the more common song-thrush. It is, however,
+an unmistakably larger bird, and when on the wing appears greyer,
+and if seen at close quarters, shows white tips to the outermost
+tail-feathers, and a white underwing. On the ground, of course, there
+can be no mistaking it, on account of its much more spotted breast;
+the spots, too, being much larger, and fan-shaped. During the autumn
+and winter there are two other thrushes which should be looked for.
+These are the fieldfare and the red-wing. The first-named, it is to be
+noted, will be found in small flocks, and if examined on the ground
+through field-glasses will be seen to have a slate-grey neck and rump,
+and chestnut-brown wings and tail; while the breast is streaked instead
+of spotted. In flight the underwing is white, as in the mistle-thrush,
+from which it can easily be distinguished by its smaller size, and
+the absence of white on its tail. The red-wing, like the fieldfare,
+is gregarious. This is an important point to bear in mind; since it
+might otherwise be confused, by the novice, with the song-thrush, the
+two being about the same size. But seen at rest, close quarters, there
+can be no mistake; the red-wing having a conspicuous cream-coloured
+eye-stripe, and chestnut-red flank-feathers. The underwing is similarly
+coloured. Finally there is the ring-ousel, which, haunts the moorlands
+and rocky ravines. But it may be recognized at once by its conspicuous
+white gorget, contrasted with its otherwise black plumage.
+
+Of the forty species of British warblers there is not one which the
+most expert of our Ornithologists would venture to identify by the
+character of the flight alone. Most of these species, of course, are
+rare and accidental visitors; many need an expert to distinguish them,
+since they represent but Continental Races of our own summer visitors.
+About ten species can be called common, or fairly common, in suitable
+localities, and the novice must not expect to recognize even these with
+anything like certainty. They have no characteristic flight, and they
+rarely do more than "flit" from one place to another. In the pages of
+this book, then, they can rightly have no place. But some may, perhaps,
+be glad of a few notes concerning one or two of the commoner species.
+The black-cap, for example, may be readily distinguished by its grey
+plumage contrasting with a black cap--reddish brown--in the female.
+It has also a peculiarly delightful song, which some prefer to that of
+the nightingale. This, the most celebrated of all our warblers--though
+for some inscrutable reason some ornithologists appear to regard it
+as a near ally of the redstarts and robin!--frequents woods with
+thick undergrowth and tangled hedgerows, and hence, is seldom seen,
+but may be recognised by the uniform russet-brown coloration of its
+upper parts, shading into pale chestnut on the tail, and the ash-grey
+of the under parts, shading into white on the throat and abdomen. The
+whitethroat may be recognized by the fine white ring round the eye,
+grey head, brown upper parts, and buffish pink breast, set off by the
+conspicuous white throat, from which the bird derives its name. It is
+perhaps the only British warbler which can really be distinguished
+during flight, and this only because the outermost pair of tail
+feathers are almost wholly white. It may be looked for in hedges and
+thickets, as well as on gorse-covered commons. Its near relation, the
+lesser-whitethroat, differs in its smaller size, whiter under parts,
+and the absence of the rufous edges to the secondaries, which are
+one of the distinguishing features of the common whitethroat. The
+garden-warbler is much more frequently heard than seen, its song, a
+continuous, sweet, and mellow warble, rivalling that of the black-cap,
+though softer and less varied. Haunting shrubberies and gardens, it is
+yet the mere ghost of a bird, its uniform brown
+
+[Illustration:
+
+   1. Sea Gull.
+   2. Hooded Crow.
+   3. Gannet.
+   4. Golden Eagle.
+   5. Snipe.
+   6. Redshank.
+   7. Nightjar.
+   8. Barn Owl.
+   9. Rook.
+  10. Cuckoo.
+]
+
+upper parts, and brownish-buff under-parts, coupled with its shy,
+retiring disposition make it exceedingly difficult to see. Three other
+tantalizing little members of this numerous tribe are the chiff-chaff,
+willow-warbler, and wood-warbler. Tantalizing because so frequently
+seen during the summer months, so much alike, and yet, somehow,
+different. The novice has no name for them; the expert can only tell
+them by a combination of characters, and their contrasts. He is guided
+rather by their notes and habits, than by their appearance, so closely
+do they resemble one another! The chiff-chaff, as its name suggests,
+is to be identified by its song--Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff,
+chiff-chaff-chiff--uttered from the top of a high tree. The singer is
+too small to be seen, so that he who would discover what manner of
+bird is the songster, must watch in the direction of the sound, till
+the singer elects to descend. The willow-warbler is a rather larger
+bird with a tinge of yellow in his plumage. Also it is less restricted
+to woods and coppices, and has a sweet, indescribable warble. The
+wood-warbler is the largest of this trio--from the tip of his beak to
+the tip of his tail he may measure as much as five inches--and is also
+the most brightly coloured. Above he is greenish, with an eye-brow
+of sulphur-yellow, and a sulphur-yellow breast and throat. Since he
+is rarely to be found, save in woods of beech and oak, he will, on
+this account, the more easily be distinguished from his cousin, the
+chiff-chaff and the willow-warbler. This fact again, can be taken into
+account when the identity of one or other of these two is in question.
+
+The warblers are essentially birds of the country-side--they cannot
+abide the busy haunts of men, who seem unable to settle anywhere
+without setting up hideous tramways and ugly buildings. Kindly Nature
+is crowded out. The garden, hedgerow, and shady woods are the chosen
+haunts of the warblers, though some prefer the reed-grown stream, or
+the thickets round quiet pools. The reed and the sedge-warbler will
+be found here, but by no means easily so, for after the manner of
+their tribe they love seclusion. To find the reed-warbler you must go
+to reed-beds, or to osier-beds, and there watch for a little bird,
+chestnut-brown above, and white below. But for his constantly babbling
+chatter--"churra, churra, churra"--you would never, probably, find
+him. Guided, however, by his song, you may succeed in finding him
+nimbly climbing up and down the reed stems. Very like him is the rarer
+marsh-warbler: but, for your guidance, note that the marsh warbler
+has a really melodious song, and is even more likely to be found in
+swampy thickets of meadow-sweet than the reed-beds. The sedge-warbler,
+though showing a decided preference for streams fringed by osier-beds
+and thickets, is more of a wanderer than the other two, since tangled
+hedgerows, and thickets, at a distance from the water will often
+suffice him. You may know him by the fact that he is of a dark brown
+colour above, streaked with a paler shade of brown, while the under
+parts are white, tinged on the breast and flanks with creamy buff.
+
+Ornithologists rarely concern themselves with anything but the
+superficial characters of birds. Not even the structure of the feathers
+interests them, but only their coloration. Hence it is that they have
+come, quite commonly, to regard the gold-crest, or "gold-crested wren,"
+as it is sometimes called, as one of the tit-mouse group! There is not
+even the remotest justification for this view. It is an indubitable
+warbler. A glance at the coloured Plate will render any description of
+its appearance unnecessary. From autumn to spring you may find it in
+most parts of England and Scotland--save the extreme north--hunting in
+hedgerows and woods for food. During the breeding season it favours
+coniferous woods. Along the south and east of England, one may also
+meet with a closely similar species--the fire-crest. But while in the
+gold-crest the crown is of a bright lemon-yellow, in the fire-crest it
+is of a bright red-orange hue, while the side of the head is marked by
+a white stripe bordered with black.
+
+The gold-crest is our smallest British bird. The ranks of our resident
+"gold-crests," in the autumn, are swollen by immigrants from northern
+Europe, who seek shelter with us because unable to withstand the
+rigours of the more northern winter. In the matter of size the gold,
+and fire-crested wrens agree, measuring but a trifle more than three
+and a half inches from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail! By
+the way, the shape of the beak should be carefully noted. It is that of
+a typical warbler.
+
+It may be urged that this description of the warblers might well have
+been omitted from these pages, since, in regard to "Flight," nothing
+whatever can be said, save that they "fly." There would indeed, be some
+justification for such criticism, but it is to be remembered that this
+volume is written, not for the expert, but for the novice, who, because
+he needs a few concrete examples of the hopelessness of expecting to
+identify every bird he may encounter by its flight, and of the methods
+he must occasionally adopt, when seeking to name a bird which will not
+come out into the open. His course of training, and discovery, will be
+much shortened by the realization that birds by no means always reveal
+their presence by taking long flights.
+
+What is true of the warblers, in this regard, is true also of our
+numerous species of tit-mice. We do not distinguish between them in the
+field by their flight, but by their coloration.
+
+But since these are such confiding little birds, coming to our very
+windows during the winter months, for food, a few notes concerning them
+may be acceptable. The commonest of all is the little blue-tit, or
+"tom-tit," as it is so often called. Its beautiful cobalt-blue crown,
+blue back, wings, and tail, white face, and yellow breast, are familiar
+to us all. Its larger relative, the great tit-mouse--the largest
+British tit-mouse--bears a close general resemblance to the smaller
+species, but is readily distinguished, not only by its greater size,
+but by the broad band of black running down the abdomen. Its flight,
+as of all the tit-mice, is weak, and as it were, uncertain, confined
+to short passages from tree to tree. The coal tit-mouse and the marsh
+tit-mouse are seldom recognized as distinct species, by the novice.
+They are very soberly coloured little birds, the coal-tit being of an
+olive-grey, tinged with olive-buff, while the sides of the body are
+buff: the head and throat are black, relieved by a broad patch of white
+on each side and down the nape of the neck. The marsh-tit is, to all
+intents and purposes, of the same coloration, but differs conspicuously
+in lacking the white patches. The tiny longtailed-titmouse cannot
+possibly be mistaken for any other bird. Its delicate hues of pink and
+grey, and extremely long tail, make comparisons with any other species
+unnecessary.
+
+Where, during the winter, small birds are tempted to come to a tray of
+nuts and seeds, placed outside the window, that charming little bird
+the nuthatch--a near relation of the tit-mice--will commonly be among
+the guests. It cannot be mistaken for any other British bird, its
+form and coloration being, alike, distinctive. Its upper parts are of
+a delicate blue-grey, its under parts buff, passing into chestnut on
+the flanks. The throat is white, while there is a black line from the
+beak to the eye, and beyond, spreading as it goes. A relatively large
+beak, and strikingly short tail, are features as conspicuous as is the
+coloration. Its flight is slow and undulating.
+
+Another little bird which, during the winter, associates with the
+tit-mice, is the tree-creeper. It is never seen on the wing, save
+when it is flitting from one tree to another, and then its course is
+obliquely downwards--from the upper branches of one tree to the base of
+another. This it proceeds to ascend immediately on alighting, by jerky
+leaps. Its coloration is soberness itself--mottled brown above and
+silvery white below. The tail, it is to be noted, is formed of stiff,
+pointed feathers, like those of the woodpecker, and, as in that bird,
+is used in climbing.
+
+There is scarcely a garden--save in such as are within the area of a
+big town--which, during the summer, is not haunted by a little grey
+and white bird, with a most characteristic flight--a sudden sally into
+the air to seize some insect, sometimes even white butterflies, and
+an instant return to the same perch. This is the spotted flycatcher.
+In Wales, Devonshire, Cumberland, and Westmorland, one may be fairly
+sure of meeting with the pied-flycatcher. He is, so to speak, a black
+and white edition of his relative, the spotted flycatcher--but the
+black areas in the female are represented by brown. There are, however,
+notable differences in the method of hunting, in the two species; for
+the pied-flycatcher rarely returns to the same perch after his upward
+flight into the air, and he often feeds on the ground.
+
+[Illustration: _Gold Crested Wrens_]
+
+In the straggling hedgerows of the wooded districts of south and
+central England, and in Wales, one may often come across the red-backed
+shrike; a very handsome bird, with pointed wings, long tail, and low
+swooping flights. His red back will alone distinguish him. No other
+British bird wears such a mantle. And this is set off by a grey crown
+and nape, and black patches on the sides of the head. The topmost twig
+of a bush, or hedge, where he can sight his prey from afar, are his
+favourite perches. On the east coast of England, during the autumn,
+one may sometimes see the great-grey shrike, distinguished readily
+by his large size, fan-shaped tail, and grey coloration, relieved by
+black ear-coverts, black wings and tail, "blazed" with white, and white
+under-parts. His flight is undulating and irregular, while just before
+alighting he gives a peculiar upward sweep.
+
+Strangely enough, not only country boys and girls, but their fathers
+and mothers, not only confuse swallows and martins with one another,
+but these with the swift! Yet they are readily distinguishable. All,
+it is true, have long, pointed wings, and forked tails: but their
+coloration is very different. The swallow has the most deeply forked
+tail of them all, and his steel-blue back, red throat, and rufous
+buff-and-cream under parts are unmistakable identification marks.
+The martin may be distinguished at once by the conspicuous white
+rump patch, and pure white under-parts. These are the signs by which
+they may be recognized when on the wing--and they are more often seen
+thus than at rest. The sand-martin is a much smaller bird, has a less
+markedly forked tail, and is of a uniform pale brown above, and white
+below, but with a brown band across the chest. The swift is not even
+related to the swallow-tribe. On the wing--and very few people ever
+see him otherwise--he is very different. The wing-beat is extremely
+rapid and intermittent. While in its shape the wing differs in its
+extreme length and narrowness. The flight is extremely swift--hence the
+name of the bird. Not its least impressive feature is its wonderful
+flexibility. Who has not watched, with delight, a troop of these birds
+sweeping down the village street, now skimming the ground, now sweeping
+upward and away, round the church tower, accompanied by wild, exultant
+screams, as though they were bubbling over with vitality. When high
+up they look like so many animated bows and arrows--the arrows being,
+perhaps, somewhat short and thick. The swift, it is worth remembering,
+is a near kinsman of the humming-bird, which also has a long narrow
+wing. Both alike agree in this peculiarity--an upper arm bone of
+excessive shortness, and a hand of excessive length. No other birds
+approach them in this. The only other bird which has wings quite so
+ribbon-like, when extended, is the albatross--one of our rarest British
+birds. But here the proportions of the wing are reversed, for the
+upper arm bone is of great length, while the hand is relatively short.
+
+There is something inexpressibly soothing about the twilight of a
+summer's evening. Most birds are abed. The swift can be heard high up,
+the "woolly bats, with beady eyes" are silently flitting all round one,
+turning and twisting as no bird ever turns. But for the chorus of the
+swifts, like black furies, and heard only at intervals, and faintly,
+all is silence, relieved, perchance, by the drowsy hum of a blundering
+dor-beetle. Then, suddenly, if one be near some gorse, or bracken
+covered common, the stillness is broken by a strange "churring," like
+a bubbling whistle, rising and falling in volume. This may be followed
+by a loud "clap". And yet the source of these strange notes cannot
+be located, nor can any living thing be seen to which they could be
+attributed. But keep careful watch. Presently there may emerge from the
+gathering gloom a long-winged, long-tailed bird, travelling at speed,
+with a twisting flight, and deliberate wing-beats, alternating with
+long glide on motionless pinions. As it passes one may notice white
+spots on wings and tail. This is the night-jar: a bird of ill omen
+among the aged inhabitants of the country-side, for they will assure
+you that it is guilty of sucking the milk of cows and goats. Hence, it
+is commonly known as the "goatsucker." Poor bird, it is quite innocent
+of such misdeeds, for though it has an enormous mouth, armed on either
+side with long bristles, it feeds only on moths and beetles.
+
+If you are fortunate, your vigil in the gloaming may be rewarded
+by a sight of yet other night-birds. Out of some hollow tree,
+or swooping round the barn, may come a ghostly form, borne on
+absolutely silent wings: but with a reeling, bouyant flight, which
+is unmistakable--this is the barn owl. If you are very fortunate,
+you may hear its blood-curdling screech. Once heard you will never
+forget it! His cousin, the tawny owl, it is whose musical, if doleful
+"hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-o" has so commonly been misrepresented by poets--and
+others--as "to-whit-tu-woo." Its flight is slower and its wings
+rounder than in the barn owl, and furthermore, it lacks the glistening
+satin-white under-parts of that bird. But its coloration and general
+appearance are well-shown in the coloured illustration.
+
+The other species of owls we may reckon as fairly common residents
+with us. They are the long and the short-eared owls. But they are very
+rarely to be seen on the wing in daylight. Each has the habit, when
+excited, of bringing the wings together smartly over the back, so as to
+produce a sound likened by some to the word "bock."
+
+Few birds have figured so largely in our literature, perhaps, as the
+cuckoo. Though heard by all, he is seen by few: and this because so
+many people fail to recognize the charming wastrel when they see him.
+In general appearance he recalls the sparrow-hawk. I have known even
+game-keepers confuse the two. But the cuckoo is much paler on the back,
+and the bars of the breast are finer. On the wing he is much slower
+than the sparrow-hawk; his wings are shorter, and his tail is tipped
+with white. Immature birds may be recognized by their clove-brown
+coloration, and a large white patch at the nape of the neck.
+
+One of the most brilliantly coloured of all our native birds is the
+kingfisher. Small streams and quiet pools are its favourite haunts. A
+glance will suffice to identify it at close quarters, but even if one
+catches sight of its fleeting form at too great a distance to see its
+wonderful coloration, it can be distinguished by its extremely rapid
+and direct flight, and curiously shuttle-shaped form: an appearance
+due to the shortness of its tail, as may be seen by a reference to the
+excellent coloured Plate.
+
+The identification of birds in flight will be rendered easier for the
+novice if he makes a practice of "expecting" to find particular birds
+in particular places. That is to say, the haunts of birds are governed
+by their stomachs--they must not stray far from the source of their
+food. In a wood, then, you may "expect" to find woodpeckers--though
+you will often be disappointed, for they are by no means always to be
+seen. But the task of identification will be easier if one has a mental
+picture ready of the birds appropriate to the place.
+
+The green woodpecker, our largest native species, often betrays itself
+by its remarkable cry, reminiscent of a laugh--"ha, ha, ha," and "pleu,
+pleu, pleu." Keep quite still, and presently, as likely as not, it will
+suddenly make its appearance with a rapid, undulating flight. As it
+alights on some neighbouring tree-trunk, its identity will be finally
+established by its green back and wings, yellow rump, and crimson
+crown. It ascends the tree by jerky leaps. Where ant-hills abound
+it may often be seen on the ground, moving about with awkward hops,
+exploring the hills for ants. The greater and lesser spotted woodpecker
+may also sometimes be seen here, especially if there is much old
+timber about. In spring its presence is often made known by a peculiar
+drumming sound--never forgotten when once heard--made by excessively
+rapid blows with its beak on the trunk, or branch of a tree. On the
+wing it may be recognized by its "dipping" flight, and strikingly
+piebald appearance. At close quarters the strongly contrasted black and
+white plumage is relieved by crimson undertail-coverts, and a crimson
+crown. The lesser-spotted woodpecker is a much smaller bird--about the
+size of a sparrow, or chaffinch--and is barred with black and white;
+there is a patch of crimson on the head of the male. It has a habit of
+keeping more to the upper branches of the tree than the other species:
+but, like its greater cousin, it "drums" on the tree during the spring,
+but less loudly. Its spring cry, "pee-pee-pee," is like that of the
+wryneck. This is a near relation of the woodpeckers, but very different
+in coloration, being beautifully mottled and vermiculated with grey and
+brown. But for its spring cry, just alluded to, it would escape notice
+altogether, so closely does it match the bough it is perched upon.
+Unlike the woodpeckers its tail-feathers are not developed to form
+stiff, pointed spines. This is accounted for by the fact that, though
+it ascends tree-trunks readily, it does not hammer at the bark with its
+beak, and so does not need stiff tail-feathers to afford leverage. Its
+flight is slow and hesitating. It is commonest, it may be remarked, on
+the south-east of England.
+
+[Illustration: _Great Spotted Woodpeckers_]
+
+[Illustration: Drumming Snipe.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+The Wings of Nestling Birds.
+
+    "The blue eggs in the Robin's nest
+     Will soon have wings, and beak, and breast,
+         And flutter and fly away."--_Longfellow._
+
+ The wing of the unhatched bird--Of the coots and water-hen--The
+ Hoatzin's wings--The wing of Archæopteryx--Moulting--The nestling
+ game-birds and ducks--Teaching the young to fly.
+
+
+At first sight it may seem a little strange
+to introduce nestlings into a book devoted to birds in flight. But
+there are aspects of the wing of nestling birds which must, indeed, be
+borne in mind when considering the wing of the adult.
+
+It was pointed out, in Chapter I, that the wing of the adult had but
+three fingers and two wrist-bones. This condition represents the last
+stage in the evolution of the Avian wing. The wing of the nestling
+gives a clue to an earlier stage in its history. But we can get even
+further back than this. For if we examine the wing of an unhatched
+bird, we shall be able to get still nearer to the birth, and growth of
+the wing out of a reptilian fore-limb. Here as many as six wrist-bones
+may be found. And the "palm-bones," which in the adult are welded
+together, are here quite separate. This stage, then, carries us
+back towards the ancestral, reptilian, fore-limb used for walking,
+or perhaps for climbing. And there is another sign of this earlier,
+reptilian, period to be found in such a wing. At the tip of the thumb
+and first-finger, in unhatched ducks, game-birds, and water-hens, for
+example, you will find a small claw. By hatching-time the claw of the
+first finger will have disappeared, but it is still retained in the
+case of the duck and the water-hen. In the adults of all three you will
+rarely find more than the claw of the thumb: and this now serves no
+useful purpose whatever.
+
+Indeed, there seem to be only two tribes which have any use for
+wing-claws during nestling life. One of these is represented by the
+gallinules, that is to say, the coots, and water-hens, and their kind.
+You may test this whenever you have the good fortune to capture a young
+water-hen. Place him outside the nest, and especially if it happens to
+be a little raised, you will see him make his way back, using feet,
+wing-claws, and beak. His wings, it will be noticed, at this stage are
+used as fore-legs. The other tribe is represented by that strange bird
+the hoatzin of the Amazon. Here the two claws are really large, and
+they play a quite important part in his early life.
+
+For the young hoatzin is hatched in a nursery--a crude nest of
+sticks--placed on the boughs of a tree overhanging the water. As soon
+as hatched he begins to climb about the branches. Should he fall, by
+some mischance, into the water, he promptly swims to the bank; and by
+the aid of his long first finger, and wing-claws, and his huge feet,
+soon climbs back. But the most wonderful part of his story is yet to
+come.
+
+[Illustration: _Grouse_]
+
+So long as these youngsters can only scramble about they are in
+constant jeopardy. A wing-surface at least big enough to break the
+force of a fall is an urgent necessity. And so the growth of the
+quill-feathers is, so to speak, pushed forward with all possible speed.
+But if all the feathers grew at the same rate, there would speedily
+come a time when the outermost feathers would make the claw at the
+end of the finger useless, while the wing-surface, as a whole, would
+be insufficient. To obviate this difficulty, the development of the
+outermost feathers is held in abeyance till the inner feathers of
+the hand, and the outermost of the fore-arm, have grown big enough
+to suffice to break the force of the fall. As soon as this stage
+is arrived at, the outermost quills, whose growth has been held in
+abeyance, rapidly develop; the finger decreases in length, and its claw
+disappears, while that of the thumb soon follows suit. And thus it
+comes about that the hand, in the nestling, is relatively much longer
+than in the adult. But in its mid-period it may be taken to represent
+the adult stage of the wing of the ancient Archæopteryx. This bird
+could have been but a poor flier, and probably during the time it was
+moulting its quills it was absolutely flightless, so that it needed a
+permanent finger-tip, and claw, beyond the margin of its wing-surface.
+
+This matter of "moulting," by the way, needs, at least, passing
+comment. All birds renew their plumage at least once: the body plumage
+often twice in the year. The old feathers fall out, and their places
+are taken by new ones. But their growth is slow. In geese and ducks,
+and some other birds, the wing-quills are moulted all at once, so that
+flight, for a week or two, is impossible. But they can escape from
+their enemies while thus at a disadvantage, by taking to the water. In
+all other birds the quills are moulted, and renewed, in pairs: so that
+at no time are they left flightless.
+
+But this by the way. Let us revert, for a moment, to the hoatzin's
+wing. The appearance of the outermost quills of the hand, it will be
+remembered, is delayed till the inner feathers have grown long enough
+to "flutter," at least, for a short distance, then the growth of the
+complete series proceeds apace. This has been called an "Adaptation"
+to enable these youngsters, active from the moment they leave the egg,
+to move about in comparative safety. But it is more than this. It is a
+survival of an ancient order of things which takes us back to the first
+known birds.
+
+This is certainly a very remarkable feature, but it gains an added
+interest from the fact that it has a parallel in the history of the
+development of the wing in the game-birds. If you look carefully at
+the downy chicks of the pheasant, or even at barn-door fowls, you
+will remark that the wing-quills develop with surprising rapidity: so
+that they have feathered wings while the rest of the body is still
+down-covered. This enables them the more easily to escape prowling
+foxes and other enemies. In young ducks exactly the opposite condition
+obtains, the body is fully feathered long before the feathers of the
+wings appear. And this because they do not need to fly when danger
+threatens, but take to the water instead. But to return to the chicks
+of the pheasant. The wing of the chick develops at a very rapid rate.
+Within a few hours after hatching, the first traces of the coming
+flight feathers can be seen, and presently a large wing is covering
+each side of the tiny body. At this stage many often die. The wings,
+which can then be examined at leisure, reveal an extremely interesting
+condition. For they repeat the features which obtain in the wing of the
+nestling hoatzin: inasmuch as the outermost quills are also, as yet,
+non-existent; and there is a free finger-tip. But it is not nearly so
+long as in the hoatzin, and there is no terminal claw. Surely, from
+this, we may infer that the delayed development of the outer quills is
+a survival of a time when the ancestors of the pheasant were arboreal,
+and hatched their young in trees. Otherwise all the wing-quills should
+develop at the same time, and at the same rate. Here, then, is another
+instance of what can be learned of the past history of a bird by a
+careful scrutiny of the nestling. Sometimes we shall find our evidence
+in the wing, sometimes in some other organ. The sequence of plumage
+affords abundant evidence of this. But that is another story.
+
+So much for the "intensive" study of the wing. A brief reference must
+now be made to the constantly repeated statement that nestling birds
+are "taught" to fly by their parents. There is no evidence whatever to
+support this belief: and much that goes to show its improbability.
+
+Failing more suitable sites, sand-martins will often elect to build
+their nests in the crevices of the masonry of bridges.
+
+From the mouth of this substitute for a burrow is often a sheer drop of
+many feet to the stream below. When the nestlings, fully fledged, leave
+their nursery for the first time they must either "fly" from the moment
+they take the first plunge from the masonry, or die. Failing to make
+the appropriate movements of the wings nothing can save them from a
+watery grave. There can be no "teaching" to fly. Indeed, death no less
+certainly awaits every house-martin when it plunges into space from the
+edge of the nest. The appropriate wing-movements, necessary to produce
+flight, in short, are "instinctive." Those with defective instincts are
+forthwith killed by falling to the ground. They leave no offspring to
+inherit their defects.
+
+Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all as to the "instinctive"
+nature of flight, in nestling birds, is furnished by the mound-birds,
+of the Malay Region and Eastern Australia.
+
+These extraordinary birds lay their eggs in heaps of decaying
+vegetable-matter, or in the soil near hot springs; and there leave
+them to their fate. They lay very large eggs, it is to be noticed, so
+large that the growing chick finds nourishment enough within the egg to
+enable it to pass the ordinary nestling stage while still within the
+shell. By the time it emerges it has both grown and shed its first coat
+of nestling-down, and has developed long wing-quills. Having burst its
+prison walls it wriggles its way up through the loose earth, to the
+light of day, ready to fight its way in the world unaided. Here, then,
+there can be no question of "teaching" the young to fly.
+
+But some birds, at least, do, indeed, receive instruction when on
+the wing. And in such cases, it will be noticed, their food can only
+be captured by dexterous movements in full flight. For a day or two,
+for example, young swallows simply practice flight, to exercise and
+strengthen their wings. They are fed by their parents when at rest. The
+next step comes when they are fed on the wing, taking their food as
+they hover on trembling pinions from their parent's beak. In a little
+while the food is dropped as the parent passes, and the youngsters are
+made to catch it as it falls. From thence, onwards, they have to do
+their own hunting. The clumsy ones must die. Eagles and hawks, in like
+manner, teach their young to capture swiftly moving prey by dropping
+food to them in mid-air. If one fails to catch it the parent swoops
+down and seizes the hard-won meal before it reaches the ground; then
+mounting aloft with it, drops it once more, till, at last the required
+dexterity is gained.
+
+[Illustration: Gulls.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+Flightless Birds.
+
+    "And first, I praise the nobler traits
+       Of birds preceding Noah,
+     The giant clan, whose meat was Man,
+       Dinornis, Apteryx, Moa."--_Courthope._
+
+ The steamer duck--The owl parrot--the flightless grebe of
+ Titicaca--The dodo and solitaire--The ostrich tribe--The penguin's
+ wings.
+
+
+The poet who penned the above lines thought
+more of rhymes than of reasons--as Poets so often do. What were their
+"nobler traits"? He omits to mention them. None of them were ever
+carnivorous: and the Apteryx could by no stretch of the imagination be
+called a "giant." The one outstanding feature which does distinguish
+these birds he fails entirely to appreciate--and this is their
+flightless condition.
+
+A flightless bird is an anomaly. Yet there are some who profess to
+believe that this state affords us an insight into the early stages
+of the Evolution of the wing. As a matter of fact it demonstrates the
+exact opposite--its degeneration.
+
+How is it that birds ever came to such a pass? A study of living
+flightless birds, and birds that are well on the way to this condition,
+will afford us a ready answer.
+
+Whenever we find birds living, so to speak, lives of languorous
+ease--where there are no enemies to be evaded, where there is an
+abundance of food to be picked up on the ground all the year round,
+and the climate is kindly, there flight is no longer practised. Year
+by year, generation after generation passes by, and no use whatever
+is made of the wings. In all such cases these once most vital organs
+dwindle away, and finally vanish. We can trace every step in this
+process of decay.
+
+We may begin with the "steamer-duck" of the Falklands. In this species,
+after the first moult, the power of flight is lost for ever. Among
+living birds only a few species, apart from the ostrich-tribe, are
+in this dolorous case. The owl-parrot, or kakapo, of New Zealand, is
+one of these. A grebe found only on Lake Titacaca, perched high up a
+mountain-side is another. In both these birds the keel of the sternum
+is represented by the merest vestige, the breast-bone being reduced to
+the condition found in the ostrich-tribe.
+
+The two giant pigeons, the dodo, and its cousin the solitaire, afford
+instances where the loss of flight has been followed by extinction;
+owing to the invasion of their haunts, through the agency of man, by
+pigs and other domesticated animals, which destroyed their eggs and
+young.
+
+The ostrich-tribe is peculiarly interesting: owing to the fact that
+their wings present a really wonderful series of degenerating stages.
+
+The wings of all differ conspicuously from those of other birds in the
+great length and looseness of the texture of the feathers. Those of the
+African ostrich are the largest of all; but they are quite useless for
+the purpose of flight, though they are used as aids in running. In the
+South American ostrich, or rhea, they are also large, but again useless
+for flight, for the "quill-feathers" are very weak, and have no "web,"
+such as one finds in the quills of flying birds. And besides, the
+muscles of the wing have degenerated, the breast-muscles having become
+reduced to mere vestiges.
+
+In both the African and South American ostriches, the skeleton of
+the wing, compared with, that, say, of a swan, would seem, to the
+inexpert, to be quite normal. But with the cassowary, the emu, or the
+apteryx matters are very different. Here, at the first glance, it is
+apparent that the process of decay is far advanced; for the bones of
+the hand have, as it were, shrunk up, so that a mere stump is all that
+remains. The wing of the cassowary is further remarkable for the fact
+that some of the fore-arm quills, or "secondaries" are represented
+by long, stiff quills, resembling spines of a porcupine; the "vane"
+of the feather, which normally runs down each side of the shaft, has
+vanished altogether. What part they play in the bird's life history it
+is impossible to say. They certainly cannot be used as weapons, and
+they as certainly are not "ornaments." In the extinct moas the wing had
+still further degenerated. In some species no more than a stump of
+the upper arm bone was left, and in others not only this, but even the
+shoulder-girdle had vanished, so that only one pair of limbs remained.
+
+Another remarkable flightless bird is the penguin. Here the wing has
+changed its form to assume that of a paddle; superficially identical
+with that of the whale, or the turtle, or that of the extinct
+sea-dragon ichthyosaurus. These paddles have been "re-modelled," so
+to speak, to enable them to be used for what we may call flight under
+water. Most birds which swim under water use the legs for propelling
+the body: but the penguin uses his paddles instead. The paddle of the
+turtle has similarly evolved out of a fore-leg used for walking on
+land. The common tortoise may be taken as the type of this leg. In the
+river, and pond-tortoises, the stumpy foot of the land-tortoise gives
+place to a broad, webbed foot. In the turtles this webbed foot gives
+place to the paddle.
+
+After what has been said about the penguin it is instructive to turn
+to the wings of the auk-tribe--the guillemot, razor-bill, and puffin.
+These are very efficient for normal flight, but they are equally
+efficient for use under water. For these birds swim as penguins do,
+when submerged. Why then, did the penguin suffer the loss of the use of
+his wings for flight?
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  Cassowary.      Penguin.
+  Ostrich.        Kiwi.
+]
+
+This question leads to another. Why did that giant razor-bill known as
+the great auk become flightless? It would seem that its wings somehow
+failed to keep pace with the growth of its body, so that while they
+remained sufficient for flight under water, they became useless for
+flight in the air. Its failure in this led to its extinction, for
+it was unable to escape from its arch-enemy man. When the old-time
+sailors, somewhere about one hundred years ago, discovered its haunts
+in Iceland could be profitably invaded for the purpose of collecting
+feathers, and bait, they speedily wiped out the race; for being
+flightless they were unable to escape the marauders once they had
+effected a landing. Unhappily there was no Bird Protection Society in
+those days, to stop this senseless slaughter.
+
+Here our survey of Birds on the Wing ends. It began with flight through
+the air, it ends with flight through the water. It is not a little
+surprising, surely, to find that the same wing can be efficiently
+used for both these extremes of motion. And still more surprising to
+find that, this being so, the penguin should have been forced, so to
+speak, to adopt the expedient of evolving a paddle; and so forego
+the power of aerial locomotion. The skeleton of this wing, it was
+pointed out, differed in no essential from that of the typical avian
+wing. In some points, however, it has changed conspicuously. For
+the bones have become greatly flattened, and the several parts of
+the wing--arm, fore-arm, and hand--can no longer be bent upon one
+another in the Z-shaped fashion of normal wings, while the "quill" or
+"flight-feathers" have been reduced to so small a size that they are
+unrecognizable.
+
+[Illustration: Vultures.]
+
+
+
+
+  _Cheltenham Press Ltd._
+  _Cheltenham and London._
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+
+All obvious typos were corrected and hyphenization was standardized.
+The italic labels on the illustration facing page 102 were standardized
+to match the other illustration's text. Illustrations were repositioned
+so that paragraphs were not split.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds in Flight, by W. P. Pycraft
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45086 ***
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds in Flight, by W. P. Pycraft
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Birds in Flight
-
-Author: W. P. Pycraft
-
-Illustrator: Roland Green
-
-Release Date: March 9, 2014 [EBook #45086]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRDS IN FLIGHT ***
-
-
-
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-Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
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-</pre>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 308px;">
-<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="308" height="432" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption1">BIRDS IN FLIGHT</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 485px;">
-<img src="images/frontice.png" width="485" height="663" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Kingfisher and Young</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption1">BIRDS IN FLIGHT</p>
-
-<p class="caption3">BY</p>
-
-<p class="caption2">W. P. PYCRAFT</p>
-
-<p class="caption3 pmb4">Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History).<br />
-Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.<br />
-Hon. Member of the American Ornithologists' Union.<br />
-Associate of the Linnean Society.<br />
-Member of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.<br />
-Member of the Royal Anthropological Institute.<br />
-<br />
-Author of &ldquo;A History of Birds,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Infancy of Animals,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Courtship
-of Animals,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Sea-shore,&rdquo; Etc., Etc., Etc.</p>
-
-<p class="caption2 pmb4"><i>Illustrated by</i><br />
-ROLAND GREEN, F.Z.S.</p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><span class="smaller">LONDON</span><br />
-GAY &amp; HANCOCK LIMITED<br />
-<span class="smaller">34 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2.</span><br />
-1922</p>
-
-<p class="p0 center"><i>All Rights Reserved.</i></p>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</a></p>
-
-<table summary="ToC">
-<tr>
-  <td><b>CHAPTER</b></td>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><b>PAGE</b></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">I.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">Concerning Wings</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">What a wing is&mdash;The quill feathers and their function&mdash;The
-    skeleton of the wing&mdash;The muscles of the wing&mdash;The
-    great air-chambers of the body&mdash;The Bat&rsquo;s wing&mdash;The
-    wing of flying Dragons&mdash;The wings of Dragon-flies
-    and beetles.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">II.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">The First Bird</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">The ancestors of birds&mdash;The first known bird and its
-    many remarkable features&mdash;The gradual evolution of the
-    birds of to-day.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">III.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and
-    their relation to Flight</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">The evasiveness of flight&mdash;The size of the wing in relation
-    to that of the body&mdash;Noisy flight&mdash;&ldquo;Muffled&rdquo; flight&mdash;The
-    swoop of the sparrow-hawk&mdash;The &ldquo;flighting&rdquo; of
-    ducks&mdash;The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows&mdash;&ldquo;Soaring&rdquo;
-    flights of storks and vultures&mdash;The wonderful
-    &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; feats of the albatross&mdash;The &ldquo;soaring&rdquo; of the
-    skylark&mdash;The &ldquo;plunging&rdquo; flight of the gannet, tern, and
-    kingfisher.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">IV.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">Modes of Flight</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td><div class="ind2em">The movements of the wing in flight&mdash;Marey&rsquo;s experiments&mdash;Stopping
-    and turning movements&mdash;Alighting&mdash;&ldquo;Taking
-    off&rdquo;&mdash;Hovering&mdash;The use of the tail in flight&mdash;The
-    carriage of the neck in flight&mdash;And of the legs&mdash;The
-    flight of petrels&mdash;The speed of flight&mdash;The height at
-    which birds fly&mdash;Flight with burdens&mdash;Experiments on the
-    sizes of the wing in relation to flight&mdash;Flight in &ldquo;troops.&rdquo;</div>
-    <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">V.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">Courtship Flights</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">The wing-play of black-game and grouse&mdash;The &ldquo;musical
-    ride&rdquo; of the snipe&mdash;The &ldquo;roding&rdquo; of the woodcock&mdash;The
-    musical flights of redshank and curlew&mdash;The &ldquo;tumbling&rdquo;
-    of the lapwing&mdash;The raven&rsquo;s somersaults&mdash;The
-    courting flight of the wood pigeon&mdash;The mannikin&rsquo;s
-    &ldquo;castanets&rdquo;&mdash;Wings as lures&mdash;The strange pose of the
-    sun-bittern&mdash;The &ldquo;wooing&rdquo; of the chaffinch and the
-    grasshopper-warbler&mdash;Darwin and wing-displays&mdash;The
-    wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">VI.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">How to tell Birds on the Wing</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
-    them&mdash;The wagtails&mdash;The finches&mdash;The buntings&mdash;The
-    redstart-wheatear, Stonechat&mdash;The thrushes&mdash;The
-    warblers&mdash;The tit-mice&mdash;The nuthatch, and tree-creeper&mdash;The
-    spotted flycatcher&mdash;The red-backed shrike&mdash;Swallows,
-    martins, and swifts&mdash;The night-jar&mdash;Owls&mdash;Woodpeckers.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">VII.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">How to tell Birds on the Wing (<i>continued</i>)</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97">97</a>
-</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">Falcons&mdash;Golden eagle&mdash;Harriers and sparrow-hawk&mdash;The
-    heron&mdash;The cormorant, shag, and gannet&mdash;The petrels&mdash;Guillemots,
-    razor-bills, and puffins&mdash;The ducks&mdash;The
-    great crested grebe and dabchick&mdash;The pigeons&mdash;The
-    &ldquo;plover tribe&rdquo;&mdash;The gulls and terns&mdash;The game birds.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">VIII.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">The Wings of Nestling Birds</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">The wing of the unhatched bird&mdash;Of the coots and water-hen&mdash;The
-    hoatzin&rsquo;s wings&mdash;The wing of Arch�opteryx&mdash;Moulting&mdash;The
-    nestling game-birds and ducks&mdash;Teaching
-    the young to fly.</td>
-  <td></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">IX.</td>
-  <td class="caption2nc">Flightless Birds</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="ind2em">The steamer duck&mdash;The owl parrot&mdash;The flightless grebe
-    of Titicaca&mdash;The dodo and solitaire&mdash;The ostrich tribe&mdash;The
-    penguin&rsquo;s wings.</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2">ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
-
-
-<p class="caption3">Coloured Plates</p>
-
-<table style="width: 65%" summary="LoI_CP">
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Kingfisher and Young</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece</i></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Jays</span></td>
-  <td class="center" style="width:8em"><i>Facing Page</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr" style="width:2em"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Pheasants</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Brown Owl</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Wild Duck</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Woodcock carrying Young</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Herons</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Chaffinch and Young</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Gold-crested Wrens</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Great Spotted Woodpeckers</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Some Types of Wings and Tails</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Grouse</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-<p class="caption3">Black and White Plates</p>
-
-<table style="width: 65%" summary="LoI_BWP">
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Swans, Heron, Geese</span></td>
-  <td class="center" style="width:8em"><i>Facing Page</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr" style="width:2em"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Black-game</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Ducks</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Lapwings</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_58">58</a>
-    <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Some Common Birds</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Some Types of Birds in Flight</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Birds of Prey</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Flightless Birds</span></td>
-  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-<p class="caption3">Line Illustrations</p>
-
-<table style="width: 65%" summary="LoI_LI">
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Wings</span></td>
-  <td class="center"><i>Page</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Arch�opteryx and Pterodactyles</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Bat, Beetle, Dragon Fly, etc.</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Peregrine chasing Duck</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Sunbittern Displaying</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Drumming Snipe</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Buzzard Soaring</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Gulls</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td><span class="smcap">Vultures</span></td>
-  <td class="center">"</td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="Preface" id="Preface">Preface.</a></p>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">T</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">here</span> are hosts of people who have a genuine love of our native
-birds without yearning to possess their skins, or desiring to acquire
-the reputation of being &ldquo;Ornithologists.&rdquo; They would call them all
-by name if they could, but seek, alas! in vain, for some book wherein they
-will find some magic phrase which will enable them to identify every bird
-they meet by the wayside.</p>
-
-<p>Most of our native birds have learnt that &ldquo;discretion is the better
-part of valour,&rdquo; when in the neighbourhood of Man. Hence one gets but
-too often no more than a fleeting glance at their retreating forms, which,
-from frequent encounters, have become familiar, yet they leave no more
-than a vague image in the memory. &ldquo;What bird <i>was</i> that? I have
-often seen it but have never succeeded in taking it unawares.&rdquo; This is a
-question, and its comment, often put to me.</p>
-
-<p>Those who are in this quandary, and they are many, are always hoping
-to find some book which will enable them to correctly name the retreating
-forms. That book will never be written. In the following pages an attempt
-is made to aid such enquirers, and at the same time the difficulties of the
-task are pointed out.</p>
-
-<p>It is hoped, however, that this attempt will find a welcome among
-those for whom it is made. If it helps them to understand something, at
-least, of the absorbing and fascinating problems which the study of flight
-in the animal kingdom presents, it will at least have served some useful
-purpose.</p>
-
-<p>The pursuit of the flying bird will inevitably stimulate a desire to
-know more about the bewildering changes of plumage presented at different
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>
-seasons of the year, as well as by the striking differences which often distinguish
-the two sexes, and the immature birds. The endeavour to satisfy this
-desire will open up a new world. Those who would pass to this knowledge
-should possess themselves of the &ldquo;Practical Handbook of British Birds.&rdquo;
-Though most severely practical, and designed for the serious student alone,
-even the beginner will find interest in the description of these several
-plumages, and much else beside that it is essential to know.</p>
-
-<p>Now that the study of flight is so much to the fore, some may turn
-to these pages in the hope of gaining useful information on the theme of
-mechanical flight. Some help they may find. But it was not for this
-that they were written. The flight of an aeroplane and the flight of a bird
-have little in common&mdash;at present; though something may be learned
-by the study of gliding flight and soaring, which of course have their place
-in this book. But anatomical details and mechanical formul�, necessary
-to the serious student of flight, would have been entirely out of place here,
-and they have been omitted.</p>
-
-<p>My task has been by no means easy. But it has been enormously
-helped by the extremely skilful and beautiful work of the artist, Mr. Roland
-Green. Where birds are concerned, few artists in the past, and very few
-in the present, have shown any ability to combine accuracy in drawing
-with ingenuity of composition and faithfulness in colouring. Mr. Green
-has shown this rare combination; his coloured plates and line-drawings
-speak for themselves.</p>
-
-<p class="tdr2">W. P. PYCRAFT.</p>
-
-<p class="tdl"><i>London</i>,<br />
-<span style="padding-left: 2em"><i>September, 1922</i></span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">Concerning Wings.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"Divinity within them breeding wings<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;wherewith to scorn the earth."&mdash;<i>Milton.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">What a wing is&mdash;The quill feathers and their function&mdash;The skeleton of the
-wing&mdash;The muscles of the wing&mdash;The great air-chambers of the body&mdash;The Bat&rsquo;s
-wing&mdash;The wing of flying Dragons&mdash;The wings of Dragon-flies and beetles.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">T</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> flight of birds has always aroused man&rsquo;s envy and
-stirred his imagination. David longed for the wings of a
-dove: the writer of the Book of Proverbs tells us that &ldquo;the
-way of an eagle&rdquo; surpasses his understanding. Icarus, spurred
-on by dire necessity, actually, we are told, contrived to fly&mdash;but
-his maiden effort ended in disaster! To-day we have,
-in a sense, succeeded where he failed. But only because we have
-given up the idea of flight by personal effort, and make our
-aerial journeys in a flying machine.</p>
-
-<p>That we owe much of our success to a study of the flight of
-birds is common knowledge, but the machine which has evolved
-as a consequence of this study pursues its way through the air
-after a very different fashion from that of the birds, for its vast
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
-body is thrust, or drawn, through the air by means of a propeller,
-driven at incredible speed, its immobile wings sustaining the
-weight. The wings of the bird, on the other hand, not only
-lift the body from the earth, but they sustain it in the air by their
-marvellously complex movements. And this is true, in varying
-degrees of bird, and bat, and butterfly: of dragon-fly and beetle.</p>
-
-<p>Even they who must perforce dwell in crowded cities see daily
-the miracle of flight performed. For even here sparrows and
-pigeons, at least, are everywhere, and it is just because this is
-so, just because they have become so &ldquo;common-place,&rdquo; that
-their very presence escapes notice. Yet the wonder of their
-movements in the air might become a never-ending source of
-delight if only we went about our business with open eyes and
-minds alert.</p>
-
-<p>Watch the wary sparrow spring from the ground and dart
-across the road, or up to the nearest house-top. How is it done
-with such incredible speed and accuracy?</p>
-
-<p>To understand even the broad principles of flight, it is
-necessary to realize, at the very beginning, that the wing, in the
-case of the bird, or the bat, is a specially modified fore-leg. So
-also is the human arm and hand. But its transformation has not
-been so drastic as that of the bird, or the bat. Wherein the hand
-has been, as it were, completely re-modelled to fulfil the
-peculiar and complex functions demanded of it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>How should one describe the wing of a bird, as one sees it in
-flight?</p>
-
-<p>The Dictionary, obscure and inaccurate as Dictionaries
-usually are, defines a wing as &ldquo;the organ of a bird, or other animal,
-or insect, by which it flies&mdash;any side-piece.&rdquo; Might not the
-impression one gathers of a wing, during flight, be defined as of a
-lateral extension of the body, presenting a relatively large
-surface, but having no appreciable thickness? That surface,
-examined in a dead bird, is seen to be formed, for the most part,
-of a series of parallel, tapering, elastic rods, fringed with an
-innumerable series of smaller, similar, but much shorter rods,
-closely packed, and linked together by some invisible means to
-form an elastic web? These we call the &ldquo;quill,&rdquo; or &ldquo;flight-feathers.&rdquo;
-The rest of the wing, and the body itself, is clothed
-with precisely similar structures, differing only in their smaller
-size. We call them &ldquo;feathers&rdquo; commonly, without realizing that
-they are the &ldquo;Hall-mark&rdquo; of the bird, for no other creature has
-ever been similarly clothed.</p>
-
-<p>These quill-feathers play such a tremendously important
-part in flight that their arrangement, and relation to the underlying
-skeleton must be carefully examined by all who would
-understand the flight of birds. To begin with, then, note that they
-are so arranged as to overlap one another, the free edges of the
-quills facing the outer edge of the wing. Only by this arrangement
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
-would flight be possible, for on the upstroke of the wing
-through the air the quills act like the shutters of the sails of a
-windmill, allowing the wind to pass between them and so relieving
-pressure on the uplifting wing-stroke. On the down-stroke, the
-opposite effect is produced. The full force of the stroke is
-conserved, because, owing to the overlap, the several feathers
-are now pressed closely together to form an impervious sheet.</p>
-
-<p>How are they fixed to the skeleton? To see this all the
-smaller feathers and the muscles, or &ldquo;flesh&rdquo; of the wing must be
-removed. It will then be found that the flight-feathers
-are divisible into two series. One, widely spaced, runs
-along the upper surface of the fore-arm: the other, closely
-packed, along what answers to the back of the hand. In
-effect this is but a single rod of bone, but it is composed of three
-elements, answering to three of the digits of the human hand&mdash;the
-thumb and the first and second fingers. But they are
-scarcely recognizable as such, for the thumb is reduced to a mere
-stump, while the two fingers have become welded together.
-The third finger, indeed, has become reduced to the palm-bone,
-and a short stump answering to the first finger joint. To this
-frame-work, which can be folded up into the shape of a Z when
-the bird is at rest, the quills are fixed by their base by means of
-slender, but very strong elastic tendons. In birds which have
-a long upper arm bone, like the Albatross, Gull, or Heron, there
-is a third series of long, almost &ldquo;quill-like&rdquo; feathers running
-from the elbow to the body, thus closing up what would otherwise
-be a gap between the wing surface and the body, rendering
-flight impossible.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 462px;">
-<img src="images/fp_004.png" width="462" height="650" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-  <span class="smcap">Swans.</span>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="smcap">Heron.</span><br />
-  <span class="smcap">Geese.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The most important muscles of the wing are those which have
-to provide the power for the down-stroke of the wing. And
-these are the &ldquo;pectoral&rdquo; or &ldquo;breast-muscles&rdquo;&mdash;which form such
-dainty meat in a roast fowl. Owing to their great bulk the breast-bone
-itself would be insufficient to afford them attachment.
-This is furnished by the development of a deep, median keel,
-so that the breast-bone of a bird, such as a pigeon, bears a fanciful
-resemblance, when seen in profile, to the hull of a ship&mdash;unusually
-shallow&mdash;with a very deep keel. The front end of the breast-bone
-supports two slender rods of bone, and these in their turn
-support the long, sword-like blade-bone, and the &ldquo;merry-thought.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>The general appearance of this frame-work for the support
-of the wing and its muscles can be seen in the adjoining illustrations.
-But it must be remembered that in their relative sizes
-and disposition these various parts present a very considerable
-range of differences. That these differences are correllated
-with different forms of flight goes without saying, but, be it noted,
-no one, as yet, has attempted to discover in what way they are
-related. Some of the readers of this book may, perhaps, be
-tempted to try and solve the problems which these differences
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
-present. To begin with, a collection of breast bones of different
-species of birds with their attached shoulder-girdles should be
-made, and these should be studied together with careful
-observations of the flight of the living bird. So far only a
-few comparisons of this kind have been made.</p>
-
-<p>It must not be supposed that the whole secret of flight in
-birds is concentrated in the skeleton of the breast-bone and its
-shoulder-girdle, and the muscles attached thereto. But those
-who would investigate the modifications of the rest of the body
-which have taken place in harmony with the requirements of
-flight, must turn to more learned treatises. There is, however,
-one point which demands notice here. And this is the popular
-belief that birds have the power of materially reducing their
-weight when on the wing by drawing air into their lungs, and
-storing it in large air-chambers enclosed within the body.
-These chambers are indeed concerned with the needs of flight.
-But the precise part they play is yet to be discovered. They
-certainly have no effect of rendering the body lighter. So far as
-our knowledge goes it would seem that they act as regulators
-of the temperature and as reservoirs of breathing air, during
-the strenuous efforts of flight.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 518px;">
-<img src="images/fp_006.png" width="518" height="699" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Jays</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>It is a mistake to suppose that it is unnecessary to consider
-other kinds of flight when studying that of birds. Even those
-who are not interested in the abstruse problems of the mechanism
-of bird&rsquo;s flight, will find that comparisons made between birds,
-bats, butterflies and beetles when on the wing, are immensely
-interesting, and help to bring out the peculiarities of each.</p>
-
-<p>During the twilight hours of a still summer evening one may
-compare, with advantage, the rushing swoop of the screaming
-swift, borne with lightning speed upon long, ribbon-like pinions,
-with the curiously erratic flight of the woolly bat with beaded
-eyes, who has ventured abroad for his evening meal. One
-cannot but feel astonishment at the marvellous dexterity with
-which he twists and turns, now shooting up into the sky, now
-darting downward. What bird can beat him, or even match
-him, in the art of doubling back on his tracks? And one can put
-his skill at lightning turns to the test if one attempts to catch
-him in a butterfly net. Often indeed have I attempted this
-feat, but never yet with success.</p>
-
-<p>In the glare of noon-day this aerial athlete may perhaps be
-found in a deep slumber, hanging head downwards behind the
-shutters of a cottage window, or in some crevice of a barn-roof.
-Gently seize him and as gently stretch out his wing. The
-moment one opens it one sees that it is constructed upon a
-totally different plan from that of a bird. In the first place a
-thin membrane, or fold of skin is seen to take the place of the
-series of quill-feathers found in the wing of the bird. In the
-second it will be found that this membrane is stretched between
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
-a series of long and very slender bony rods. These are excessively
-attenuated fingers. And if the hinder border of the wing-membrane
-be traced inwards it will be found to be attached
-to the hind limb. In some species it will be found that this
-membrane passes backwards beyond the leg to attach itself to
-the tail. Here, then, is a wing as efficient for its purpose as that
-of a bird, but constructed on a totally different plan.</p>
-
-<p>Ages ago, before even the birds or the beasts had appeared
-on the earth, the winged dragons, which the Men of Science call
-Pterodactyles, held the proud position of being, not only the
-first, but the only creatures blessed with a backbone that could
-fly. Their wings resembled those of the bats, but differed in this,
-that instead of the wing-membrane being stretched between all
-the fingers, leaving only the thumb free, it was attached only to
-the fifth finger, leaving the remaining fingers free, and these were
-reduced to mere vestiges. As with the birds, the breast-bone
-was very broad and was furnished with a keel, while in the bats
-it takes the form of a jointed rod, down which no more than
-a slight keel is ever developed.</p>
-
-<p>But millions of years before the Flying-dragons, birds, and
-bats came into being, the stupendous problem of flight had been
-solved. Far away in the distant Devonian Epoch, when the
-distribution of land and water over the earth&rsquo;s surface was
-totally different from that of to-day, dragon-flies and caddis-flies
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
-disported themselves in the summer sun, amid landscapes
-that would seem strange to our eyes. For there were no trees
-and flowering plants, such as we know.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The dragon-flies of that remote epoch were very like those of
-to-day, whose dancing flights and graceful, swooping movements
-are such a delight to watch by reed-fringed pools, or river-banks,
-during the sweltering days of summer. This flight is very
-different from that of a bird, though it would be hard to say
-precisely in what it differs. But we have no such difficulty in
-regard to the broad outlines of the mechanism of such flight.
-To begin with there are two pairs of wings, and these appear to
-be fashioned out of some curiously gauze-like material, a sort of
-mesh-work tissue, often strikingly coloured. And they are
-obviously driven after a very different fashion from those of the
-bird. For in the bird they are moved by quivering muscles,
-attached to a bony, internal skeleton. In the dragon-fly&mdash;as
-with all insects&mdash;the hard skeleton, composed of a material
-known as &ldquo;chitin,&rdquo; forms the outside of the body and encloses
-the muscles. Finally, for we may not dwell very long over this
-aspect of flight, it is clear that the wings cannot have been derived
-from modified fore-legs, like those of the bat, or the bird.
-Rather, it would seem, they have developed out of plate-like
-breathing organs.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The restful twilight hours of summer tempt not only bats
-from their hiding places, but a host of other winged creatures
-which are rarely to be seen, or heard, during the glare of noon.
-Among these is the lumbering dor-beetle, who, with lazy drone
-steers clear of solid objects only with difficulty. Many, indeed,
-are his failures. He and his kin are no match for bats and owls,
-who find them juicy morsels! On the next opportunity catch
-one and examine him. His wings are curiously interesting. There
-are the usual two pairs: but the fore-wings have been changed to
-serve as covers for the hind-wings. During flight they are
-spread outwards, and indirectly, no doubt, assist flight. But the
-hind-wings are the real propellers. And it will be noticed that
-when not in use they can be folded up in a perfectly wonderful
-manner, so as to lie completely underneath the fore-wings, or
-&ldquo;elytra,&rdquo; so that when the creature is crawling it appears to be
-wingless.</p>
-
-<p>Now compare these with the transparent wings of the bee,
-or the gorgeously scale-covered wings of the butterfly. It is
-well worth while. If this examination be done very carefully,
-and with the aid of a magnifying glass, it will be found that the
-fore and hind wings are yoked together in the wing of the bee,
-by a delicate mechanism of hooks. In the moths, but not in the
-butterflies, a bristle, or sometimes two or three bristles, serve
-the same purpose. Further, in the case of the bee it will be found
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
-that the fore-wing, when at rest, is folded longitudinally back
-upon itself.</p>
-
-<p>Finally, turn to the flies. Herein it will be seen that there
-is but a single pair of wings, the hind pair having become reduced
-to mere stumps, known as &ldquo;balancers.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>Much, very much more, might have been said of these wings:
-but our conversation is of birds. We cannot, however, properly
-appreciate either the essential characters of their wings, or their
-flight, without some such standards of comparison as is afforded
-by the wings of other creatures.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 673px;">
-<img src="images/fp_013.png" width="673" height="383" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-
-<pre>
-  A <span class="smcap">Primaries.</span>  B <span class="smcap">Secondaries.</span>  C <span class="smcap">Tectrices.</span>  D <span class="smcap">Bastard Wing.</span>
-</pre>
-
-<p>The upper figure shows the under side of wing with the coverts removed to show attachment of
-flight feathers to skeleton.</p>
-
-<p>The lower figure shows the quill or flight feathers and the coverts in their natural condition.</p></div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a><br /><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">The First Bird.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"And let Fowl fly above the earth; with wings<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;Displayed in the open firmanent of heaven."&mdash;<i>Milton.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The ancestors of birds&mdash;The first known bird and its many remarkable features&mdash;The
-gradual evolution of the birds of to-day.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">S</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">S</span><span class="smcap">ooner</span> or later all bird-lovers find themselves pondering
-over the problem of the origin of birds: how they evolved
-their peculiar covering of feathers: what was the fashion of
-the original arm and hand out of which the wing was fashioned:
-and finally, whence have the birds been derived?</p>
-
-<p>Since these pages are avowedly devoted to the subject of
-Flight, any attempt to summarize the state of our knowledge on
-these aspects of the history of birds would be in the nature of a
-trespass on the space, of necessity limited, which even a cursory
-survey of flight demands.</p>
-
-<p>Let it suffice, then, to say, that birds are descended from
-reptiles. The skeleton of modern birds bears undubitable testimony
-of this. For we have the evidence furnished us by the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
-remains of two remarkable skeletons, belonging to that very
-wonderful reptile-like bird, Arch�opteryx.</p>
-
-<p>Only two skeletons of this wonderful bird are known, and
-they were obtained, many years ago, from the Solenhofen, or
-Lithographic slates of Bavaria. The wing and tail-feathers
-are as perfectly developed as in modern birds. But these
-precious fossils present two characters which have long since
-been lost by birds. The first of these is the presence of well
-developed teeth in the jaws. The birds of to-day have horny
-beaks. The teeth bespeak the reptile. The second is the long,
-tapering tail, which is composed of a series of cylindrical bones,
-forming a lizard-like appendage. But each bone, be it noted,
-supported a pair of stiff, tail-quills, so that the tail of this ancient
-bird, in its general appearance, differs in a very striking way
-from that of a modern bird, wherein these feathers seem all to
-spring from a common base, fan-wise. But as a matter of fact
-this appearance is deceptive, for the large bone, or &ldquo;pygostyle&rdquo;
-which supports the tail feathers of the adult, is found, in the
-embryo, to be made up of a series of separate pieces, agreeing in
-number with those of the tail of the fossil ancestor, Arch�opteryx.
-Each of these separate bones has, in fact, in the course of the ages,
-been shortened up to the condition of mere discs; and this
-&ldquo;telescoping&rdquo; of the vertebr� has brought the once separated
-feathers close up, so that their bases lie packed in like the spokes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
-of a fan. As a result, a much more efficient tail for the needs of
-flight has come into being. And the tail, it must be remembered,
-plays, especially in some birds, an important part. But this is not
-all. We have now to consider the wing. In all essentials this
-agrees with that of living birds. And this agreement is strikingly
-close when it is compared with the embryonic and early nestling
-stages. A detailed account of these resemblances, and differences,
-would be out of place here. Suffice it to say that its closest
-modern counterparts are to be found in the wing of the nestling
-of that strange South American bird, the Hoatzin, and the &ldquo;Game-birds,&rdquo;
-such as of a young pheasant, or a young fowl. The evidence
-these can furnish in this matter of the evolution of the birds wing
-will be found in <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter VI</a>. For the moment it will be more
-profitable to discuss the broad outlines of the origin of flight,
-so far as this is possible.</p>
-
-<p>On this theme there are, as might be supposed, many opinions&mdash;some
-of them bearing little relation to fact.</p>
-
-<p>The feet of Arch�opteryx, it is important to remember,
-bear a very extraordinary likeness to the feet of a &ldquo;perching&rdquo;
-bird, say that of a crow. They are without any semblance of doubt,
-the feet of a bird which lived in trees. Arch�opteryx, then, was
-an arboreal bird. And this being so, the most reasonable
-hypothesis of the origin of flight is that it developed out of
-&ldquo;gliding&rdquo; movements, made for the purpose of passing from the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
-topmost branches of one tree to the lower branches of another,
-after the mode of the &ldquo;flying-squirrels,&rdquo; and &ldquo;flying-lemur&rdquo;
-of to-day. The wing, at this primitive stage of its evolution,
-was even then, probably, a three-fingered limb, provided with a
-broad fringe of incipient feathers along its hinder border. At
-this stage the body would have been less bird-like than that of
-Arch�opteryx, and have been still more like that of the ancestral
-reptilian stock from which the birds have sprung. That feathers
-are, so to speak, glorified reptilian scales cannot be certainly
-demonstrated, but men of Science are generally agreed that this
-was their origin.</p>
-
-<p>By the time that Arch�opteryx had come into being, true
-flight had been arrived at, though probably it could not have been
-long sustained. As these primitive birds increased in numbers,
-and spread from the woodlands to the open country, life became
-more strenuous. New enemies had to be evaded, longer journeys
-had to be made for food. Only the very best performers on the
-wing could survive, and thus, in each generation, the failures
-would be speedily weeded out, while competition among the
-survivors would raise the standard. We see the result of this
-&ldquo;struggle for existence&rdquo; in the many and varied types of wings,
-and of flight, which are presented in this book.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;">
-<img src="images/fp_019.png" width="403" height="619" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Arch�opteryx.</span><br />
-
-<span class="smcap">Pterodactyles.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and their
-relation to Flight.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"&#8230; the fowls of heaven have wings,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;And blasts of heaven will aid their flight:<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; *<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;Chains tie us down by land and sea."&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The evasiveness of flight&mdash;The size of the wing in relation to that of the body&mdash;Noisy
-flight&mdash;&ldquo;Muffled&rdquo; flight&mdash;The swoop of the sparrow-hawk&mdash;The &ldquo;flighting&rdquo;
-of ducks&mdash;The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows&mdash;&ldquo;Soaring&rdquo; flights of
-storks and vultures&mdash;The wonderful &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; feats of the albatross&mdash;The &ldquo;soaring&rdquo;
-of the skylark&mdash;The &ldquo;plunging&rdquo; flight of the gannet, tern, and kingfisher.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">W</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">W</span><span class="smcap">ho</span> needs to be told that birds fly? So common-place
-has this fact become that the many, and varied forms
-of wings, and the peculiarities of flight which are associated
-with these differences, are rarely perceived. Even sculptors,
-and artists show a hopeless unfamiliarity with the shapes of
-wings, and their meanings, at any rate, as a general rule. Look
-at their attempts to display birds in flight, or in the fanciful use
-of wings which convention has ascribed to angels. For the most
-part these superbly beautiful appendages are atrociously
-rendered.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Yet it must be confessed that any attempt to explain
-exactly how birds fly must fail. We can do no more than state
-the more obvious factors which are indispensable to flight, and
-the nature of its mechanism. The subtleties, and delicate
-adjustments of actual flight evade us.</p>
-
-<p>Our appreciation, however, of this supreme mode of
-locomotion will be materially quickened, if we make a point of
-studying the varied forms of flight as opportunities present
-themselves.</p>
-
-<p>To begin with, it is worth noting that the size of the wing
-decreases with the weight of the body to be lifted&mdash;up to a certain
-point, of course. This, perhaps, may seem strange a statement
-to make. But it can be readily verified. Compare, for
-example, the size of the body in relation to the wings, in the case
-of the butterfly and the dragon-fly, on the one hand, and the
-partridge and the crow, on the other. The two first named,
-by comparison, have enormous wings.</p>
-
-<p>Birds, it will be noticed, which haunt woods, or thickets,
-have short, rounded wings, like the wren, the pheasant, or
-the tawny owl. Such, on the other hand, as live in the open,
-like the gull, and the swallow, have long, pointed wings. The
-reason for this is fairly plain. Birds which must steer their
-course through the intricate mazes of a wood, or thicket, would
-find their flight seriously hampered by long wings.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 503px;">
-<img src="images/fp_022.png" width="503" height="684" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Pheasants</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These general principles once realized, a foundation is laid
-on which one may base observations on the peculiarities of flight
-distinguishing different types of birds.</p>
-
-<p>Most of us, probably, at one time or another, in taking a
-walk through the woods, have been startled, almost out of our wits,
-by a sudden &ldquo;whirr&rdquo; of wings at our very feet; made by some
-crouching pheasant, waiting till the very last moment before
-revealing himself, by taking flight. This alarming noise is due
-to the shortness and stiffness of the quill, or flight-feathers.
-With pinions moving with incredible speed, the bird is off like a
-rocket. Not seldom, probably, it owes its life to this ability
-to disconcert its enemies, till it has put a safe distance between
-itself and danger. By way of contrast, let us take the absolutely
-silent, easy movements of the owl, stealing forth in the twilight
-of a summer&rsquo;s evening, seeking whom he may devour. Here,
-again, we have a meaning in the mode of flight. Here silence
-is more than golden: it means life itself. Nimble-footed, sharp-eared
-mice and rats, must be snatched up before even the breath
-of suspicion can reach them. The uncanny silence of this
-approach is rendered possible, only by what may be called a
-&ldquo;muffling&rdquo; of the wings. For the flight-feathers are not only
-of great breadth, but they are covered, as it were, with velvet-pile,
-the &ldquo;barbules&rdquo; of the wing-quills, which form the agents
-by which the &ldquo;web&rdquo; of the quill is held together, having their
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
-upper spurs produced into long, thread-like processes, which
-extinguishes any possibility of a warning &ldquo;swish.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>John Bright, in one of his magnificent perorations, caused
-his spell-bound listeners to catch their breath, when, conjuring
-up a vision of the Angel of Death, he remarked &ldquo;we can almost
-hear the rustle of his wings.&rdquo; One realizes the vividness of
-that imagery, when one hears, as on rare occasions one may,
-the awe-inspiring rustle of the death-dealing swoop of the falcon,
-or the sparrow-hawk, as he strikes down his victim.</p>
-
-<p>But the swish, and whistle of wings often stirs the blood
-with delicious excitement, as, when one is out on some cold, dark
-night, &ldquo;flighting.&rdquo; That is to say, awaiting mallard passing
-overhead on the way to their feeding ground, or in watching
-the hordes of starlings, or swallows, settling down to roost in a
-reed-bed. No words can describe these sounds, but those to
-whom they are familiar know well the thrill of enjoyment they
-beget. There is no need, here, to muffle the sound of the wing-beat.
-The falcon vies with the lightning in his speed, escape is
-well nigh hopeless: neither have the swallows need for silence;
-indeed, on these occasions, they add, to the music of their wings,
-the enchantment of their twittering.</p>
-
-<p>So much for flight in its more general aspects. Let us turn
-now to a survey of some of the more remarkable forms of flight,
-beginning with that known as &ldquo;soaring.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>This but few birds have mastered, and to-day it is rarely to be
-seen in our islands, for eagles, falcons, and buzzards are, unfortunately,
-only to be found in a few favoured localities.
-Happily, however, one may yet realize the delight of watching a
-soaring buzzard, or raven, among the hills of Westmorland, or in
-parts of Cornwall and Wales. But to see the past-masters in the
-art, one must seek the haunts of pelicans, vultures, and adjutant
-storks. The last-named is perhaps the finest performer of them
-all. For the first hundred feet or so he rises by rapid and powerful
-strokes of the wings, and then, apparently without the slightest
-effort, or the suspicion of a wing-beat, he sweeps round in great
-spirals, gaining some ten or twenty feet with each gyration,
-the wings and tail all the while being fully extended and the
-primary feathers widely separated at their tips. During the
-first part of every turn he is flying slightly downward: at the end
-of the descent he sweeps round and faces the wind, which carries
-him upward. Round, round, he goes, mounting ever higher and
-higher, until at last he attains a height of perhaps two miles.</p>
-
-<p>The adjutant thus goes aloft apparently for the mere delight
-the movement affords him. But not so with the vulture, who is
-a close rival in this art. He soars for his very existence, for dead
-bodies are not to be found everywhere. Possessing powers of
-sight infinitely greater than ours, he mounts aloft for the purpose
-of taking observations. If nothing &ldquo;toothsome&rdquo; can be seen
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
-from his vast range, he turns his attention to the movements of
-such of his fellows as may be up on the same errand miles away.
-Should he see one swooping earthwards he instantly tracks him
-down, and is soon at the feast. This accounts for the mysterious
-way in which vultures will gather together to the feast, in a place
-where an hour ago not one was to be seen. A caravan of
-camels, perchance, is making its toilsome way across a burning
-desert. One falls by the way. In a few hours its bones will be
-picked clean by a horde of these ravenous birds.</p>
-
-<p>Longfellow sang the song of the vultures hunting in stately
-verse:&mdash;</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"Never stoops the soaring vulture<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;On his quarry in the desert,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;On the sick or wounded bison,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;But another vulture, watching<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;From his high aerial look-out,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;Sees the downward plunge and follows,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;And a third pursues the second,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;Coming from the invisible ether,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;First a speck, and then a vulture,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;Till the air is thick with pinions."<br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 470px;">
-<img src="images/fp_026.png" width="470" height="559" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Black-game.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>Darwin, in his wonderful &ldquo;Journal of a Voyage Round the
-World&rdquo; gives a marvellously vivid word-picture of the largest,
-and most interesting of all the vultures, the Condor of the Andes&mdash;one
-of the largest of flying birds, having a wing-span of something
-over nine feet:&mdash;</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p>
-<p>"When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and
-round any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from
-the ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds
-flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an
-hour, without once taking off my eyes; they moved in large
-curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without
-giving a single flap. As they glided close over my head, I
-intently watched, from an oblique position, the outlines of the
-separate and great terminal feathers of each wing; and these
-separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory movement,
-would have appeared as if blended together; but they were seen
-distinctly against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved
-frequently, and, apparently, with force, and the extended wings
-seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck,
-body, and the tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the
-wings for a moment collapsed; and then again expanded with
-an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent
-seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady
-movement of a paper kite. In the case of any bird <i>soaring</i>,
-its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of the
-inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance
-its gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a
-body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so
-little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.
-The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must
-suppose, is sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
-wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour,
-without apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain
-and river."</p>
-
-<p>Those who &ldquo;go down to the sea in ships&rdquo; have to face many
-perils, but the &ldquo;wonders of the great deep&rdquo; are for them a lure.
-One of these is to watch the marvellous &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; flights of the
-wandering albatross. His wings have, when expanded, a
-peculiarly &ldquo;ribbon-like&rdquo; form, and measure from tip to tip,
-over eleven feet&mdash;thus exceeding that of the condor, which,
-however, is the heavier bird of the two. The &ldquo;ribbon-like&rdquo; form
-of the wings is due to the extreme shortness of the flight-quills&mdash;the
-primaries and secondaries, and the great length of the arm
-and fore-arm. And it may be to these structural peculiarities
-that the &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; flight just alluded to is due. Resembling
-soaring in many of its aspects, yet it differs materially in that it is
-performed low down, not at immense heights. The most
-graphic description of these movements is surely that of Mr. Froude:
-&ldquo;The albatross,&rdquo; he tells us, "wheels in circles round and
-round, and for ever round the ship&mdash;now far behind, now sweeping
-past in a long rapid curve, like a perfect skater on a perfect field
-of ice. There is no effort; watch as closely as you will, you will
-rarely see, or never see, a stroke of the mighty pinion. The
-flight is generally near the water, often close to it. You lose
-sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow between the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
-waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest; but how he
-rises, and whence comes the propelling force, is, to the eye, inexplicable;
-he alters merely the angle at which the wings are inclined;
-usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal;
-but when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction,
-the wings then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the
-water."</p>
-
-<p>One sometimes hears the skylark described as &ldquo;soaring&rdquo;
-upwards, when performing that wonderful musical ride which has
-made him so famous. But as, spell-bound, one listens to his
-rapturous strains, and watches his spiral ascent, one cannot help
-noticing that his wings are never still, they seem almost to be
-&ldquo;beating time&rdquo; to his music. In true soaring they are
-scarcely ever moved.</p>
-
-<p>The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity,
-comparatively slow. But in what we may call &ldquo;plunging&rdquo;
-flight the case is very different, for here the velocity of the descent
-is great.</p>
-
-<p>The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our own,
-display this mode of flight to perfection. It is worth going far
-to see a gannet dive. Travelling at a relatively considerable
-height, and eagerly scanning the surface of the water for signs of
-a shoal of fish, this amazing bird dives with the speed of lightning,
-and with half-spread wings disappears with a terrific plunge
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
-beneath the surface, to emerge, an instant later, with his prey.
-One can measure the force of such a plunge by the cruel trick,
-sometimes played by fishermen, of fastening a herring to a board,
-and setting it adrift where gannets are about. The unsuspecting
-victim descends as usual upon his prey, only to meet instant death
-by the shock of his impact with the board. Those who talk
-glibly of identifying birds by their flight may point to this
-wonderful diver as a case in point. But while one may often
-see the gannet on the wing, it is by no means so often that one will
-have the good fortune to see him dive, for he is not always hungry.
-His white body, pointed tail, and black quill-feathers would
-then enable the novice to name him at once. But&mdash;in his
-immature plumage, he would, at a little distance, appear black,
-and unless he were fishing, the chances of recognition would be
-by no means great. Close at hand he would appear speckled
-with white.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 493px;">
-<img src="images/fp_030.png" width="493" height="673" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Brown Owl</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>But this by the way. There are two other birds which dive
-from a height on the wing. One of these is the kingfisher: the
-other is the tern. The term &ldquo;tern&rdquo; is here used collectively,
-for there are several species, but all have this habit of diving
-from a height. During the summer months one may be quite
-sure of an opportunity of watching the graceful, easy flight of
-at least three species. For they haunt the sea-shore, river, and
-lake with equal impartiality. Those who are on the look-out for
-terns, for the first time, will easily recognise them. For, in the
-first place they look like miniature gulls, but with longer and more
-pointed wings, and forked tails. Further, all have a characteristic
-black cap. They travel in small parties, as if for company, keeping
-no more than a yard or two from the surface of the water, and
-scanning it eagerly in search of shoals of small fish, or crustacea.
-As these are found one will note a quickening of the wing-beat,
-and a sudden dive, like that of the gannet, with half-closed wings.
-And sometimes, too, the impetus will take them completely under
-water.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a><br />
-<a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 489px;">
-<img src="images/fp_033.png" width="489" height="483" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<div class="center">
-  1 <span class="smcap">Bat</span><br />
-  2 <span class="smcap">Butterfly</span><br />
-  3 <span class="smcap">Beetle</span><br />
-  4 <span class="smcap">Dragon-Fly</span><br />
-  5 <span class="smcap">Bone of Birds Wing, Showing the three Divisions,
-      Arm&mdash;Fore-arm&mdash;Hand.</span><br />
-  6 <span class="smcap">Breast Bone of Swan</span> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
-  7 &nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; " &nbsp; <span class="smcap">Pigeon &nbsp;</span><br />
-  8 &nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; " &nbsp; <span class="smcap">Pelican</span><br />
-  9 &amp; 10 <span class="smcap">Apteryx</span>, <span class="smcap">Cassowary</span> (degenerate wings).
-</div>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">Modes of Flight.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"The soaring lark is blest as proud<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;When at Heaven&rsquo;s gate she sings:<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;The roving bee proclaims aloud<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;Her flight by vocal wings."&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The movements of the wing in flight&mdash;Marey&rsquo;s experiments&mdash;Stopping and turning
-movements&mdash;Alighting&mdash;&ldquo;Taking off&rdquo;&mdash;Hovering&mdash;The use of the tail in flight&mdash;The
-carriage of the neck in flight&mdash;And of the legs&mdash;The flight of petrels&mdash;The
-speed of flight&mdash;The height at which birds fly&mdash;Flight with burdens&mdash;Experiments
-on the sizes of the wing in relation to flight&mdash;Flight in &ldquo;troops.&rdquo;</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">W</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">W</span><span class="smcap">hile</span> it is possible to show that certain kinds of flight
-are to be associated with such and such peculiarities of
-the skeleton, and the muscles attached thereto, there are many
-&ldquo;eccentricities&rdquo; which cannot be measured, and explained, in
-terms of mechanism.</p>
-
-<p>The very disconcerting, twisting, flight of the snipe is one of
-these. The sportsman knows it well: and he knows that the
-twisting, during which the bird turns the body half over&mdash;that is
-with, say, the left wing pointing directly downwards, and the
-right wing directly upwards&mdash;is only the preliminary to getting
-fully on the way, and that, presently, it will pursue a straight
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
-course, with arrow-like speed. Yet its cousin, the jack-snipe,
-never twists.</p>
-
-<p>Why does the woodcock invariably drop after a charge of
-shot, even though not a pellet has touched it, while a snipe
-pursues its way? These differences are not merely differences of
-&ldquo;habit&rdquo;: they indicate subtle differences in nervous response
-to the same kind of stimulus, and in structural details yet to be
-unravelled.</p>
-
-<p>Some day the cinematograph will reveal to us all the phases
-of flight and the movements to which they are due. Even now,
-thanks to the modern camera, we have learned a great deal. We
-have learned, for example, that the flight of a bird is not effected
-merely by rapid up and down movements of the fully extended
-wings, or with flexed wings&mdash;that is to say, half closed, as in
-&ldquo;gliding&rdquo; flight when a bird is descending, or in the swoop of,
-say, the sparrow-hawk. Only in one of these two positions do we
-ever seem to see the wings when we have to trust to our eyes
-alone, as the bird hurries past us. The impression that we have
-seen aright is confirmed when we stand on the deck of a steamer,
-and watch the gulls following in its wake. For incredibly long
-distances they will travel without a perceptible wing-beat. The
-albatross is the finest of all performers in regard to this kind of
-flight, which is due, apparently, to air currents created by stiff
-breezes, or gales. Some birds seem to make their way against
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
-a head-wind with the minimum of effort, by partly flexing the
-wings and gliding downwards: at the end of the descent, by
-turning the body sharply upwards, and spreading the wings to
-the fullest extent, they are lifted up, and driven forward, like
-a kite.</p>
-
-<p>Marey and Pettigrew, long ago, showed conclusively, by means
-of photography, that our conception of the movement of the wing
-during flight was far from correct.</p>
-
-<p>To avoid a long and tedious description, and many technicalities,
-it must suffice to say that the wing of a bird possesses very
-considerable freedom and range of movement at the shoulder
-joint. Certainly, during some phases of flight, the wings are thrust
-forward and extended to their fullest extent, so that the outer
-margins of the wings come to lie almost parallel with the long
-axis of the body, as may be seen in the spirited illustration
-showing the goshawk in flight. As they sweep downwards,
-and backwards, they lift the body and drive it forwards.
-At the end of the &ldquo;sweep&rdquo; they are &ldquo;flexed,&rdquo; that is to say, bent
-at the elbow and wrist-joints, while at the same time they are
-raised and brought forward above the body for a repetition of the
-stroke. These movements are too quick for the eye to follow,
-but they have been fixed for us by the camera.</p>
-
-<p>Marey devised an ingenious experiment in his endeavour
-to discover the movements of the bird&rsquo;s wing during flight. He
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
-fastened a small piece of paper to the tip of a crows wing, and as
-the bird flew in front of a perfectly black screen he took a
-photograph of this moving speck of white, while, of course, no
-image of the crow appeared on the plate. The resultant
-picture gave a series of &ldquo;figure of 8 loops&rdquo; as one would make
-this figure with a pen, contriving to make the lower loop very small,
-and the upper loop very large. But as the wing-beat increased
-in speed the lower loop gradually faded out.</p>
-
-<p>These movements of the wing, however, are descriptive
-rather of what takes place during very vigorous flight, as when the
-bird is getting up &ldquo;steam.&rdquo; When he is well under way there is
-no need for these long and very tiring strokes, except in the case
-of birds like the pheasant or the duck. A gull, when in full career
-does not, apparently, raise the wings very high, nor depresses them
-very low, nor does it flex the wings at the wrist-joints.</p>
-
-<p>Stopping and turning movements are generally extremely
-difficult to follow, because they are performed so quickly. They
-can be seen fairly easily in the case of some of the larger birds.
-Ducks, as is well shown in one of our coloured Plates, draw the head
-backwards, tilt the body upward, thrust the feet forward, and
-spread the tail, at the same time turning it forwards. Gulls
-and pigeons too may be watched with profit.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 645px;">
-<img src="images/fp_038.png" width="645" height="479" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Wild Duck</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In turning, the body is tilted sideways, so that the tip of one
-wing points skywards, the other earthwards, as in the case of the
-goshawk illustrated in this book. The pigeon, and some other
-birds seem further to spread out the long, stiff quills borne by
-the thumb, which form what is known as the &ldquo;bastard-wing.&rdquo;
-This turning movement is well shown, again, in the very
-realistic coloured picture of the woodcock turning in mid-air,
-and bearing too the burden of one of its nestlings.</p>
-
-<p>If it is difficult to satisfy oneself as to the way in which a
-bird alights, it is no less so to detect its movements in taking
-wing. Most of us must have seen sparrows making this effort from
-the road, thousands of times. But ask of anyone, How is it done?
-The act takes place so quickly that the eye cannot follow its
-execution. And what is true of the sparrow is true of most birds.
-But there are some where this is not the case. Many water-birds,
-the cormorant, for example, get under way but slowly,
-and with evident effort. They flap along the surface for some
-distance before they gain sufficient impetus to lift them into the
-air. And there are many long-winged, short-legged birds which
-can rise from a level surface only with great difficulty, or not at
-all. The swift is one of these, for its legs are excessively short.
-The albatross is another: and this is true, indeed, of many of the
-petrel-tribe. The puffin, again, seems unable to rise on the wing
-from the ground. It appears invariably to run along until it
-reaches the edge of cliff which lodges its burrow, and then, as it
-were, throw itself over the edge. The heron, when springing
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
-into the air, stretches his long neck out to its fullest extent, and
-presents a pair of dangling legs, well shown in one of our coloured
-Plates, but when once fully on the way its pose entirely changes,
-the neck being drawn in and the legs thrust out backwards.</p>
-
-<p>Flight does not always mean progress through the air. Most
-birds can, at need, arrest their course, and hang, as it were,
-suspended in the air. In the beautiful coloured plate, representing
-the chaffinch hovering over its half-fledged young, and in that
-of the kingfisher and its young, this form of &ldquo;hovering&rdquo; flight
-can be seen. But the greatest of all exponents in the art of
-hovering is the kestrel, known also, for this very reason, as the
-&ldquo;windhover.&rdquo; It is most fascinating to watch this bird hang,
-as it were, from the clouds, motionless, yet with quivering wings,
-as he scans the ground below in his search for some unsuspecting
-mouse. It is hard, indeed, to say which is the more wonderful,
-this power of remaining stationary for comparatively long
-periods in the air, or the surprising powers of sight which this
-bird possesses. During these hovering movements, always head
-to wind, it will be noted, the tail plays a very important part,
-being spread to its extremest limit, and at the same time thrust
-forward beneath the body. In some birds this forward movement
-is more marked than in others. And this because such
-birds possess a somewhat more flexible spine, there being a certain
-amount of &ldquo;play&rdquo; where the vertebr� of the loins join the welded
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
-mass of vertebr� which lie between the bones of the hip-girdle.</p>
-
-<p>But the tail feathers are not indispensable. This much is
-shown in the case of birds like the kingfisher, the water-hen, and
-the land-rail, which contrive to fly well, and at a great pace,
-though they have but the merest apology for a tail. More than
-this, the grebes have no tail at all. But it is to be noted that they
-are by no means adept at turning movements; owing to the lack of
-this appendage the body, when in mid-air, has a curiously truncated
-appearance, as may be seen in the illustration. Further, it
-is significant that in the contemptible &ldquo;sport&rdquo; of pigeon-shooting
-from traps, the birds are deprived of their tails to prevent them
-from making turning movements.</p>
-
-<p>The carriage of the head and neck, and of the legs, during
-flight presents some interesting, and some instructing contrasts.</p>
-
-<p>Ducks, geese, and swans, flamingoes, storks, and cormorants
-always fly with the head and neck stretched out to their fullest
-extent. Herons and pelicans, though also long-necked birds,
-draw the head back till it rests almost on the shoulders. Most
-birds, indeed, fly with the head drawn back towards the body.
-The appearance of some of these birds on the wing can be seen at
-a glance on turning to the page illustrating this aspect of flight.</p>
-
-<p>Not so very long ago a great controversy was waged as to
-what birds did with their legs during flight. Many of the older
-artists invariably depicted them drawn up under the breast. But
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
-as a matter of fact, this method seems to be confined to the
-Passerine birds&mdash;the &ldquo;perching birds,&rdquo; such as crows and finches
-and their kin. It has yet to be settled what obtains among what
-are known as the &ldquo;Picarian&rdquo; birds, such as kingfishers, bee-eaters,
-woodpeckers, and so on. The legs and feet of these birds
-are so small, and their flight is so rapid, that the matter is by no
-means an easy one to settle. But all other birds carry the legs
-and toes bent backwards, under the tail. In the gulls, this can
-easily be seen, and easier still in the case of the common heron,
-where they are, as it were, trailed out behind&mdash;owing to the
-shortness of the tail and the great length of the leg. The puffin
-carries them &ldquo;splayed&rdquo; out on each side of his tail, and so also do
-his kinsmen, the razor-bills, and guillemots.</p>
-
-<p>The legs, as a rule, take no part in flight. True, they can be
-seen thrust out just before alighting, but this is solely for the
-purpose of effecting a safe landing. But where gulls can be
-watched at close quarters, as in harbours, round a ship, or in such
-favoured spots as are to be found about the bridges of London
-during the winter, careful watch will show that the legs are
-frequently used when efforts are being made to turn, or check the
-speed of flight.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the smaller petrels&mdash;like the storm-petrel, or &ldquo;Mother
-Carey&rsquo;s chickens,&rdquo; will patter over the water with their feet as they
-fly just over the surface of the waves.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;">
-<img src="images/fp_042.png" width="456" height="638" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption"><i>Sketches of Ducks in flight 1922</i>
-
-<table summary="Ducks">
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl">1.<br /><br />1a.</td>
-  <td><img src="images/bracer_60.png" width="11" height="60" alt="}" /></td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Scaup.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl">2.</td>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Goldeneye.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl">3.<br /><br />4.</td>
-  <td><img src="images/bracer_60.png" width="11" height="60" alt="}" /></td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pochard.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl">5.<br />to<br />10.</td>
-  <td><img src="images/bracer_60.png" width="11" height="60" alt="}" /></td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Mallard.</span></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Whether the legs are carried drawn close up beneath the
-breast, or thrust backwards under the tail, the purpose of this
-disposal is the same&mdash;to prevent any interference with the &ldquo;stream-lines&rdquo;
-of the body which would impede flight.</p>
-
-<p>On the matter of the speed of flight there seems to be much
-misconception. G�tke, the German ornithologist, gravely asserted
-that the little Arctic blue-throat&mdash;one of our rarer British birds&mdash;could
-leave its winter resort in Africa in the dusk of evening, and
-arrive at Heligoland&mdash;where he spent so many years studying
-bird migration&mdash;nine hours later. That is to say it could travel
-1,600 geographical miles in a single night, at the astounding
-velocity of 180 miles an hour! According to another estimate
-of his, curlews, godwits, and plovers crossed from Heligoland
-to the oyster-beds lying to the eastward, a known distance of
-rather more than four English miles, in one minute; or at the rate
-of over 240 miles an hour. Against such extravagant estimates
-it is hardly necessary to bring rebutting evidence. But if any be
-demanded it may be furnished by the carrier pigeon, which has
-been known to maintain a speed of 55 miles an hour for four hours
-in succession: and it is extremely unlikely that this is much,
-if at all, exceeded by any wild bird during long-distance flights.</p>
-
-<p>That our spring and autumn migrants must possess wonderful
-powers of endurance is beyond question. And it is equally certain
-that thousands must perish by the way. By this means is the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
-standard of flight maintained&mdash;the weak perish. Even the
-minimum standard of efficiency for the survival of such an ordeal
-must be a high one.</p>
-
-<p>Few of us see anything of these marvellous migration flights.
-For, in the first place, they are generally performed at night, and
-at a great height, often beyond the range of human vision. Only
-as they approach land, and their destination, do they descend.
-American naturalists have made some interesting observations
-by directing a telescope against the sky. Thus, Mr. Frank
-Chapman, by turning his instrument towards the full moon, has
-seen birds passing at night at an altitude, according to his computation,
-of five miles: while the late Mr. W. E. D. Scott saw,
-through an astronomical telescope at Princeton, New Jersey,
-great numbers of birds passing across the face of the moon&mdash;warblers,
-finches, and woodpeckers among them. Mr. Chapman
-again, on another occasion, saw no less than 262 birds pass over
-the field of his telescope at a height of from 1,500 to 15,000 feet:
-and the most remarkable thing of all was the fact that the lowest
-birds were flying upwards, as if they had risen from the immediate
-neighbourhood and were seeking the proper elevation to continue
-their flight.</p>
-
-<p>As has already been remarked, when nearing their destination
-migrating birds descend, though still many miles from land.
-Should a gale be raging they fly so low that they barely top the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
-waves. And this, apparently, to escape, so far as is possible,
-the force of the wind. Larks, starlings, thrushes, and other
-small birds, can sometimes be seen during daylight crossing the
-North Sea in their thousands. At such times many will often
-afford themselves a brief rest in the rigging of ships, homeward
-bound, but the main host hurry on. The beautiful golden
-crested wren, our smallest British migrant, is one of these. A
-glance at our charming coloured plate will show at once that
-the wing is not that of a bird of strong flight. There is no more
-interesting experience to the bird-lover than that of watching the
-tired travellers drop earthwards, as they leave the dreadful sea
-behind them.</p>
-
-<p>With all birds yet retaining the power of flight there is
-always a liberal &ldquo;margin of safety&rdquo; in regard to the wing area.
-That is to say this is always in excess of the minimum area
-necessary to make flight possible. This much, indeed, is manifest
-from the fact that the eagle can bear off a victim equalling himself
-in weight. Should he miscalculate, he can always drop his
-burden, or lessen its weight by eating part of it on the spot. Not
-so the osprey, or the sea-eagle, which have been known to plunge
-down and drive their talons into fishes too large to be raised.
-Unable to release their grip, death, by drowning, has inevitably
-followed.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes the burden is a passenger, instead of a victim.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
-One of the most striking of the coloured plates in this volume is
-that of a woodcock carrying one of its nestlings to a distant
-feeding place. This habit is well known. It is not often that the
-necessity arises, but there are occasions where suitable nesting and
-feeding grounds cannot be found together, or when, as during
-prolonged drought, the normal feeding area dries up. Then,
-instinctively, the parent will surmount the dangers of starvation
-for their offspring, by conveying them to a land of plenty,
-returning again to the shelter of the wood as soon as the meal
-is over. The weight of a newly-hatched nestling, it is true, could
-scarcely be called a &ldquo;burden.&rdquo; But they are carried about thus
-until they are strong enough to perform the journey for themselves.
-Thus, then, towards the end of the nursing period the
-weight to be carried is by no means a light one.</p>
-
-<p>But it was shown, long since, by direct experiment, that the
-area of a bird&rsquo;s wing is considerably in excess of what is required
-for the purpose of flight. Dr. J. Bell Pettigrew, more than fifty
-years ago, to test this matter, cut off more than half of the
-secondary wing feathers of a sparrow, parallel with the long axis
-of the wing. He first clipped one, then both wings, and found
-that in both cases flight was apparently unimpaired. He then
-removed a fourth of the primary feathers&mdash;the outermost quills&mdash;and
-still the flight was unimpaired. At any rate the bird
-flew upwards of thirty yards, rose to a considerable height and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
-alighted in a tree. Thirty yards, however, is a short flight even
-for a sparrow. But it is enough to show that flight, if not
-<i>sustained</i> flight, was possible after this mutilation. Not until
-more than one-third of the quills along the whole length of the
-wing were removed, did the flight become obviously laboured.
-And he found that what was true of the sparrow, was equally true
-of the wings of insects.</p>
-
-<p>Though these experiments demonstrate, in a very unmistakable
-manner, that flight with a greatly reduced wing area is
-possible, we have no evidence that this reduction would make no
-difference to the length of time the bird could remain on the
-wing. And this is a very important matter.</p>
-
-<p>An aspect of flight which has now to be considered is that of
-birds which fly in troops. Some species always travel thus,
-others only on occasions. Rooks and gulls afford instances of
-this, when, during windy weather, or for other reasons, they
-congregate and fly round and round in great circles, at a considerable
-height. Small wading-birds, like ringed plovers and
-dunlin, commonly fly in &ldquo;bunches.&rdquo; The last named furnish a
-singularly interesting sight when thus travelling; for their
-evolutions are so amazingly timed. As if at a given signal every
-bird in the troop will change its course at the same moment, and
-in the same direction, so that now one sees a flickering mesh-work
-of grey, and now a shimmering as of snow-flakes, as first the grey
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
-backs, and then the white breasts are turned towards one. But
-flights such as this are to be seen only during the autumn and
-winter months. For during the breeding season these little
-flocks are broken up and distributed far and wide. But there is
-yet another reason. They wear a totally different dress&mdash;the
-courtship or breeding plumage. Herein the upper parts are of a
-rich chestnut hue, streaked with black, while the under parts are
-black. Even more fascinating to watch are the autumn troops of
-starlings on the way to their roosting places. Hundreds at a
-time, not to say thousands, take part in these flights. Now they
-rush onward, in one great far-flung sheet, and now they close up
-into a great, almost ball-like, mass: and now they thin out till
-they look like a trail of smoke. But always they wheel and turn
-and rise and descend, not as separate bodies, but as one. How are
-such wonderful evolutions timed. The movements of an army
-on review-day are not more precise, or more perfectly carried
-out. During the whole flight not a sound, save the swishing
-of their wings can be heard. The marvel of it all is beyond the
-range of words, nor can one express the peculiar delight such a
-sight affords.</p>
-
-<p>Why is it that ducks and geese commonly fly either in Indian
-file, or in a roughly V-shaped formation, with the apex of the V
-forward? Why do they not fly all abreast? One cannot say,
-but they never do.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Some mention must be made here of the surprising numbers
-in which geese, of some species, congregate. Writing of the
-Brent goose, in his &ldquo;Bird Life of the Borders,&rdquo; Mr. Abel
-Chapman&mdash;and there are few men who can write with such
-authority on the subject&mdash;tells us:&mdash;&ldquo;Just at dark the whole
-host rise on the wing together, and make for the open sea. In
-the morning they have come in by companies and battalions,
-but at night they go out in one solid army; and a fine sight it is
-to witness their departure. The whole host, perhaps ten thousand
-strong, here massed in dense phalanxes, elsewhere in columns
-tailing off into long skeins, V&rsquo;s or rectilineal formations of every
-conceivable shape, (but always with a certain formation)&mdash;out
-they go, full one hundred yards high, while their loud clanging,
-defiance&mdash;&ldquo;honk, honk,&mdash;torrock, torrock,&rdquo; and its running
-accompaniment of lower croaks and shrill bi-tones, resounds
-for miles around.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 680px;">
-<img src="images/fp_051.png" width="680" height="467" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Peregrine chasing Duck.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">Courtship Flights</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"A pair of falcons wheeling on the wing,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;In clamourous agitation &#8230;"&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The wing-play of black-game and grouse&mdash;The &ldquo;musical ride&rdquo; of the snipe&mdash;The
-&ldquo;roding&rdquo; of the woodcock&mdash;The musical flights of redshank and curlew&mdash;The
-&ldquo;tumbling&rdquo; of the lapwing&mdash;The raven&rsquo;s somersaults&mdash;The courting flight
-of the wood pigeon&mdash;The mannikin&rsquo;s &ldquo;castanets&rdquo;&mdash;Wings as lures&mdash;The strange pose
-of the sun-bittern&mdash;The &ldquo;wooing&rdquo; of the chaffinch and the grasshopper-warbler&mdash;Darwin
-and wing-displays&mdash;The wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">O</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">O</span><span class="smcap">ne</span> of the most striking features of bird-life is surely
-its restless activity. This is always apparent, but it
-attains to a state of almost feverish excitement as the spring
-advances, and the parental instincts re-awaken. As they
-gather strength, so they manifest themselves, in outbursts of
-song&mdash;often of exquisite beauty&mdash;strange antics, or wonderful
-evolutions in mid-air.</p>
-
-<p>It is with these last that we are chiefly concerned here. As
-might be supposed, they present a wide variety in the matter of
-their form and duration. Black-game furnish an example of a
-very simple form of courtship flight, but it is associated with
-curious antics on the ground. And these, it is to be noted, are
-only to be witnessed soon after sunrise. Two blackcocks will
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
-approach one another and stand as if prepared to ward off a very
-vigorous onslaught; reminding one of two barn-door cockerels.
-With lowered head and neck they face one another, the beautiful
-lyrate tail spread fan-wise, and arched so that the curled, outer,
-feathers touch the ground, while the wings are trailed like those
-of the turkey-cock. Then one will at last rush forward, and
-seizing his adversary by the scruff of the neck, will administer
-a sound beating with his wings. The victor celebrates his
-triumph by a loud, and most unmusical screech, which has been
-likened, by that accomplished observer and sportsman-artist,
-Mr. J. G. Millais, to the call of cats on the house-tops at mid-night.
-But presently a grey-hen makes her appearance.
-Hostilities cease at once, on all sides; and intense excitement
-prevails amongst the whole assembly&mdash;for a large number of
-cocks will gather together at these sparring matches. Her
-approach has been observed by a single bird, who, unintentionally,
-gives the signal by suddenly drawing himself up to a rigid
-position of attention, till he is sure she is really coming, then
-he throws himself into the air and flutters up a few feet, uttering
-at the same time, a peculiar hoarse note of exultation. Immediately
-all the others follow suit; each seeming to strive to outdo
-his neighbour in a series of absurd pirouettings. Here we have
-a &ldquo;Love-flight,&rdquo; of exceedingly brief duration, associated with
-terrestrial combats and frantic prancings.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;">
-<img src="images/fp_054.png" width="492" height="675" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Woodcock carrying Young</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The grouse pursues a different method. He strives to incite
-his mate to amourous moods by chasing her about. But she is
-&ldquo;coy,&rdquo; and will tolerate this for hours at a time, apparently
-intent on nothing more than seeking something interesting to
-eat, she seems to affect to be quite unaware of the presence of her
-importunate mate; though her behaviour is belied by the fact
-that she keeps up a continuous &ldquo;cheeping&rdquo; note, heard only at
-this time of the year. Every now and then he will vary his
-tactics by leaping up into the air and taking an upward flight of
-from twenty to thirty feet, crowing vociferously. On alighting
-he will commence his addresses again. Then, perhaps, she
-herself will take to flight, darting off and twisting like a snipe,
-evidently enjoying her tantalizing tactics. He follows in close
-pursuit, in the hope, doubtless, of satisfying his desires, when she
-shall come to rest. Here is a &ldquo;courtship&rdquo; flight of longer duration,
-in which both sexes participate.</p>
-
-<p>The &ldquo;musical ride&rdquo; of the snipe is of a much more imposing
-character: and in this, again, both sexes take a part. During
-this performance, which affords some thrilling moments to the
-bird-lover, the bird ascends to a great height, and then plunges
-earthwards in a terrific &ldquo;nose-dive&rdquo; accompanied by a weird
-bleating noise, comparable to the bleat of a goat. For long
-years discussion waged furiously as to the source of this sound.
-Some held that it was produced by the voice: others by the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
-tremulous motion of the wing-feathers: others, again, contended
-that it was caused by the tail feathers. This was first mooted by
-the Danish naturalist, Meeves, and he produced some very
-striking and curious evidence to prove his view. He showed that
-the outermost tail-feathers had peculiarly thickened shafts,
-which were also bent in a very striking way. By removing these
-feathers, and sticking them into a cork, he was enabled, by
-twirling the cork rapidly round at the end of a string, to reproduce
-the &ldquo;bleat&rdquo; exactly. Many years later Dr. Philip Bahr revived
-this experiment, for the purpose of finally setting the matter at
-rest&mdash;for there were still many who remained unconverted to
-the Meeves interpretation. Dr. Bahr left no room for further
-doubt. He showed, too, that during the production of this
-sound these tail-feathers were extended laterally, so as to
-separate them from the rest of the tail, and so give the air rushing
-past them during the earthward plunge, full play on these sound-producing
-structures. He too, applied the test first instituted
-by Meeves, and so clinched his arguments. One may hear this
-strange music as early as February, and even, though rarely,
-as late as July. But it is essentially a breeding-season, or rather
-a &ldquo;Courtship&rdquo; performance sound, though it may be evoked by
-a sitting bird suddenly surprised, when she will &ldquo;bleat&rdquo;
-as she leaves her eggs, possibly to distract the intruder on
-her vigil.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The woodcock has a &ldquo;love-flight&rdquo; but of a quite different
-character, known by sportsmen as &ldquo;roding.&rdquo; It takes the form
-of short flights up and down the &ldquo;ride,&rdquo; or space selected for the
-nesting site. But while the female is sitting the male will still
-continue these flights, choosing the early morning and evenings.
-As he goes he utters strange cries, which have been compared,
-by some, to the words &ldquo;more rain to-morrow&rdquo; and by others
-to, &ldquo;Cro-ho, cro-ho,&rdquo; varied by a note sounding like, &ldquo;whee-e-cap.&rdquo;
-These flights are varied by strange little displays upon the
-ground, when he will strut about before his mate with wings
-drooped and trailing on the ground, the tail spread, and the
-feathers of the head and neck standing on end. This gives him a
-very odd appearance, to human eyes, but it serves its purpose&mdash;which
-is to arouse his mate to amourous moods.</p>
-
-<p>Redshank, curlew, and dunlin&mdash;cousins of the snipe and
-woodcock&mdash;are all accomplished performers in the art of wooing
-on the wing. The male redshank, uttering flute-like notes,
-Mr. Farren tells us, soars up to a moderate height, and remains,
-for a brief space, &ldquo;hanging in the wind&rdquo; with the tips of his
-curved wings rapidly vibrating. He then descends, pipit-like,
-earthwards, while the song, which has been uttered slowly, now
-quickens, reaching its climax as the bird, raising its wings above
-its back for an instant, finally alights on the ground. But he has
-yet other wiles, which are not used in mid-air. Approaching his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
-mate with his head erect and body drawn up to its full height,
-he raises his wings for an instant high above his head: then
-allowing them gradually to droop, he vibrates them, at the same
-time rapidly moving his legs like a soldier &ldquo;marking time.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>The curlew seems to prefer the evening for his best efforts.
-Rising from the ground with rapid wing-beats, he will &ldquo;check&rdquo;
-suddenly when near the summit of his ascent; so suddenly as
-almost to throw himself backwards. Then, recovering, he will
-hang poised, kestrel-like, in mid-air, and pour forth a joyous
-thrilling, or jodelling, song. Rising and falling, on quivering
-wings, or sweeping round in great circles, and hovering again,
-he will remain for some considerable time pouring forth this
-joyful ripple of song.</p>
-
-<p>The courtship flight of the lapwing is even, if possible, more
-interesting. Rising from the ground with slow heavy flaps of his
-broad wings&mdash;which, it is to be noted, present a remarkable difference
-from those of the female, in that the primaries are much longer,
-so as to give this portion of the extended wing a conspicuously
-broader appearance&mdash;as though he had difficulty in getting under
-way, he speedily dissipates this impression by a sudden upward
-rush, an effortless turn, apparently; and then follows a downward
-swoop, or fall, with half-closed wings. To this swoop there
-succeeds a surprising change. In an instant the wing-beat is
-increased to an incredible speed, causing the body to turn a half,
-and sometimes even a complete somersault. But the next instant
-he is up and away over the ground with musical wing-beats,
-tilting and swaying from side to side with wonderful
-buoyancy.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 476px;">
-<img src="images/fp_058.png" width="476" height="669" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Lapwings.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Throughout, this delightful performance is accompanied by
-a wild and joyous song, which seems to be attuned to the somewhat
-bleak surroundings. It thrills one even to remember it in later
-days: and it defies one to express it in human fashion. It has
-been as nearly rendered as any version I have ever seen&mdash;and I
-have seen many&mdash;by Mr. Brock. It is not a whistle, nor is it
-like any sound that can be faithfully rendered by the human
-voice, yet it seems to say &ldquo;<i>whey-willuchooee-willuch-willuch-cooee</i>.&rdquo;
-It suffers a break, remarks Mr. Farren, commenting on
-this theme, during the flutter of the wings at the end of the fall,
-but is picked up at once with a triumphant &ldquo;coo-whee, coo-ee,&rdquo;
-as the bird dashes off at the end of the somersault.</p>
-
-<p>The lapwing is very intolerant of any trespass on his breeding
-territory on the part of his neighbours. As soon as the
-intruder is sighted, the owner of the territory charges. And the
-two then mount up into the air, often to a great height, each striving
-to get above the other for a downward swoop. As the one
-&ldquo;stoops&rdquo; at the other, the lower bird dodges, and so rapidly are
-the wings moved that they are often brought smartly together
-over the back, producing a clapping noise.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Even the black, forbidding raven has his amorous moods.
-And at such times he will even outdo the more lively, though
-irascible lapwing in the art of aerial somersaults; if somersaults
-they can be called. For in the middle of an ordinary spell of
-flying he will suddenly fold up his wings and bring them close up
-to the body, at the same time turning completely round, as though
-he were turned on a spit; the body being held horizontal as the
-turn is made. For a moment or two there he is suspended, as it
-were, between earth and sky, with his back towards earth, and his
-breast towards the heavens. Lest he should forget the manner of
-the trick, it would seem, he will practice it at times, during the
-stern work of chasing intruders from his territory; for he will
-brook no competitors on his ground.</p>
-
-<p>The woodpigeon, during the courtship season, makes frequent
-sallies into the air for the purpose, apparently, of giving vent
-to his exuberant feelings. During such flights he will dart up
-from the tree-tops and sail round, high above, in great circles,
-rising and falling as he goes, with out-spread wings, every now and
-then bringing them over his back with a resounding snap. During
-such displays the white bar across the wing is most conspicuous,
-serving at once to identify the performer.</p>
-
-<p>Among our native birds, the only other species which
-habitually, and especially during the courting season, produce
-characteristic sounds during flight, by bringing the wings smartly
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
-together over the back, is the night-jar. But there are certain
-small passerine birds, known as mannikins, inhabiting the
-forests of South America, which have the shafts of the quill-feathers
-of the fore-arm enormously thickened. By means of these
-transformed and translated &ldquo;castenets,&rdquo; at will, the bird can
-produce a sound which has been likened to the crack of a whip.</p>
-
-<p>So far this discourse has been concerned solely with &ldquo;courtship&rdquo;
-flights, or flights associated with peculiar sounds, dependent
-on rapid movements of the wing in mid-air for their production.
-And with the mention of these instances this Chapter might, quite
-legitimately, be brought to an end. But it must not. And this,
-because there are a number of birds which put their wings, during
-Courtship season, to very different purposes. Spectacular
-flights and evolutions in mid-air do not appeal to them. They
-use their wings instead as lures, as a means of adding intensity
-to strange poses and pirouettings; whereby they desire to give
-expression to the amorous feelings which possess them, in the
-hope&mdash;if for the moment, we may accord to them human
-standards of intention&mdash;of arousing kindred emotions in their
-mates.</p>
-
-<p>Darwin was the first to draw attention to these curious displays.
-Which, on the evidence then available, seemed always to
-be made, and only to be made, by birds having wings conspicuously
-coloured. It seemed as though the possessors of such
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
-wings were conscious of their beauty, and so displayed them that
-nothing of their glory should be missed.</p>
-
-<p>The sun-bittern affords a case in point. This bird, a native
-of Brazil, is soberly, but very beautifully coloured when at rest;
-its plumage presenting an indescribable mixture of black, grey,
-brown, bay, and white; blended in the form of spots, bars, and
-mottlings. But during times of sexual excitement it will spread
-out its wings in the form of a great fan, encircling the long, slender,
-neck. And in this position they present a very conspicuous
-appearance, taking the form of beautifully graded bands of black,
-white, and bright grey, forming patterns which vanish the
-moment the primaries fall into their place behind the quills of
-the fore-arm. But when thus spread the bird seems to find the
-greatest delight in displaying their chaste splendour before his
-mate. He seems to spread his wings just because he is conscious
-of their beauty when thus opened out.</p>
-
-<p>But we need not travel so far as Brazil to find examples of
-displays of this kind. Among the birds of our own Islands we
-can find many close parallels. The chaffinch and the goldfinch,
-when seeking to arouse the sympathy of their mates make much
-play with their wings, not only in short &ldquo;nuptial flights,&rdquo; designed,
-apparently, to display the conspicuous and brilliant colouring of the
-plumage as a whole, but when perched on some convenient spray.
-At such times the wing is more or less completely spread out, as if
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
-to reveal, to the fullest possible advantage, the bright bars and
-splashes of colour which this extension alone can bring into being.</p>
-
-<p>Since these gaily coloured vestments seemed always to be
-associated with striking, stilted, attitudes, sometimes bordering
-on the grotesque, and always to be paraded in the presence of
-the female, Darwin drew the inference that they were the outcome
-of female choice persistently exercised during long generations.
-That is to say he held that, far back in the history of the race,
-these performers were soberly clad, as their mates commonly are.
-Then certain of the males of these now resplendent species began
-to develop patches of colour, small at first, but gradually increasing,
-generation by generation, in area and intensity. This
-progressive splendour, he believed, was due to the &ldquo;selective&rdquo;
-action of the females, which, from the very first, chose from among
-their suitors those who stood out among their fellows by reason
-of their brighter plumage. Thus the duller coloured males died
-without offspring. On this assumption each succeeding generation
-would be, in some slight degree, brighter than the last, until
-the process of transformation ended in the glorified creatures we
-so admire to-day.</p>
-
-<p>It would be foreign to the purpose of this book to pursue this
-theme at length. Let it suffice to say that while the &ldquo;Sexual
-Selection&rdquo; theory still holds good, it has, so to speak, changed its
-complexion. And this largely owing to the accumulation of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
-new facts. For the most important of these we are indebted to
-the singularly exact and laborious observations analysed,
-clarified, and interpreted with remarkable insight and sagacity
-of Mr. H. Eliot Howard, one of the keenest Ornithologists of our
-time. He has set forth his case, and interpreted his facts
-with masterly skill, and there seems no escape from his conclusions.
-Briefly, he has shown that birds of quite sober coloration
-like the warblers, which formed the basis of his investigations,
-engage in displays quite as remarkable, and of precisely the same
-character as in birds of gaily coloured plumage. From this it is
-clear that this wing-play is not prompted by a more or less
-conscious desire to display conspicuously coloured patches of
-colour, for of colour there is none save that of the general hue
-of varying shades of brown, as in the case of the grasshopper
-warbler, for example. Nor is the display, apart from colour,
-to be regarded as a performance slowly perfected through long
-generations through the selection of females, coy and hard to
-please. We must regard these &ldquo;Nuptial flights&rdquo; and wing-displays,
-as the outward and visible signs of a state of ecstatic
-amorousness on the part of the males which, by their persistence
-and frequent recurrence, at last arouse sympathetic response in
-the females. They play the part of an aphrodisiac. Without
-them there would be no mating. In my &ldquo;Courtship of Animals&rdquo;
-those who will may pursue this subject further.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 652px;">
-<img src="images/fp_064.png" width="652" height="482" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Herons</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Before closing this Chapter mention must be made of the most
-remarkable wing-display to be found among birds, and of the
-equally remarkable uses to which they are put. The possessor
-of these wonderful appendages, for they are wonderful, is the
-argus pheasant of the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. Though
-efficient for short flights in jungles, all that is ever required of
-them, they would be quite useless in open country where an
-extended journey had to be made, or escape attempted from some
-vigorous enemy. And this because the secondary wing-quills&mdash;the
-quills attached to the fore-arm&mdash;are of enormous length,
-making, as we have remarked, sustained flight impossible. They
-have, indeed, come dangerously near losing their normal
-functions altogether. And this because they have passed over into
-the category of specialised &ldquo;secondary sexual characters.&rdquo; But
-for the fact that this bird lives in an environment where food
-is abundant all the year round, and can be obtained without
-any undue exertion, and that there are no serious enemies to
-be evaded, it would long since have become extinct. For
-this exuberant growth of quill-feathers must be borne all the
-year round, though they are not required to function in their
-later role, save during the period of courtship.</p>
-
-<p>Their great length is not their only striking feature, or even
-their chief feature. This, indeed, is represented by their
-extraordinary coloration. For each feather bears along its
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
-outer web a series of &ldquo;ocelli,&rdquo; so coloured as to look like a series
-of dull gold balls lying within a deep cup. Outside the ocelli
-run numerous pale yellow longitudinal stripes on a nearly black
-background. The inner web is of a delicate greyish brown hue,
-shading into white and relieved by innumerable black spots,
-while the tips of the quills have white spots bordered with
-black. The primaries, too, are most exquisitely coloured, though
-in the matter of size they are not very exceptional. These,
-indeed, are the only true flight feathers.</p>
-
-<p>The full beauty and significance of the coloration of these
-feathers can only be appreciated during periods of display.
-Then the two wings, in some indescribable manner, are opened
-out so as to form a huge circular screen, concealing the whole of
-the rest of the body. The effect produced from the human
-standpoint is one of great beauty, after the first burst of astonishment
-has spent itself. His mate is less easily moved. Perchance
-&ldquo;familiarity breeds contempt.&rdquo; At any rate it is only after
-persistent and frequent attempts to charm her to his will that
-success rewards him.</p>
-
-<p>Those who have the good fortune to be able to make
-frequent visits to the Zoological Gardens in London may, with
-great good fortune, and at rare intervals, have an opportunity
-of witnessing such a display, and of studying in detail these
-wonderful wings. They are wonderful, not merely because
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
-of the manner of their display, or of their colouring, but also
-because in them we see ornament pushed to its furthest limit
-since, as wings, they have become well nigh useless, and therefore
-almost dangerous to the well-being of their possessors.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 695px;">
-<img src="images/fp_069.png" width="695" height="395" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Sunbittern Displaying.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">How to tell Birds on the Wing.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">&ldquo;I can tell a hawk from a hernshaw.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Shakespeare.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing them&mdash;The wagtails&mdash;The
-finches&mdash;The buntings&mdash;The redstart-wheatear, Stonechat&mdash;The
-thrushes&mdash;The warblers&mdash;The tit-mice&mdash;The nuthatch, and tree-creeper&mdash;The
-spotted-flycatcher&mdash;The red-backed shrike&mdash;swallows, martins, and swifts&mdash;The
-night-jar&mdash;owls&mdash;Woodpeckers.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">T</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> experienced ornithologist apart, there are hosts of people
-who are interested, at least, in our native birds: who would
-fain call them all by name; yet who can distinguish no more than
-a very few of our commonest species. They are constantly
-hoping to find some book which will give, in a word, the &ldquo;Hall-mark&rdquo;
-of every bird they may meet in a day&rsquo;s march. But that
-book will never be written. For some species present no outstanding
-features by which they may be certainly identified,
-when no more than a momentary examination is possible, and this
-at a distance. And it is often extremely difficult to set down in
-words, exactly, what are the reasons for deciding that some
-rapidly retreating form belongs to this, or that, species.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>And then, too, there are difficulties due to seasonal changes
-of plumage&mdash;often striking&mdash;sex, and age; since immature
-birds often differ totally from the adults in appearance. The
-young robin and the starling afford instances in point.</p>
-
-<p>The adult starling, as everybody knows, is &ldquo;black&rdquo; with a
-yellow beak and reddish legs. But seen close at hand his feathers
-gleam with a wonderful metallic sheen reflecting changing hues of
-violet, green, and purple. The young bird, in the early summer,
-is of a pale brown colour. In the autumn the plumage is changed
-for a &ldquo;black dress,&rdquo; like that of the adult, but heavily spotted
-with white. As the winter wears on the white spots become
-abraded, and disappear. The robin needs no description. But
-the young bird, in its first plumage, is commonly mistaken for
-the female, which, of course, is practically indistinguishable
-from the male. It is certainly unlike one&rsquo;s notion of a &ldquo;cock-robin,&rdquo;
-being of a yellowish brown colour, with pale spots, a type
-of plumage characteristic of the young of the &ldquo;thrush tribe.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>In some nearly related species, again, the males are strikingly
-different, the females barely distinguishable.</p>
-
-<p>But nevertheless, a very considerable number of our British
-birds can be more or less easily distinguished during flight&mdash;sometimes
-by the manner of that flight, sometimes by characteristic
-markings, sometimes by the notes they utter; and these are
-briefly summarised in this Chapter.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 466px;">
-<img src="images/fp_072.png" width="466" height="652" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-
-<table summary="birds">
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">1.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Swallow.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">5.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pied Wagtail.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">9.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Goldfinch.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">2.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">House Martin.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">6.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Grey Wagtail.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">10.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Linnet.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">3.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Swift.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">7.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Yellow Wagtail.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">11.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Greenfinch.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">4.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sand Martin.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">8.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Chaffinch.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">12.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bullfinch.</span></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>When it is realized that no less than 475 species, and sub-species,
-of British birds are now recognized, it will be apparent
-that it would be impossible to do more than briefly epitomise the
-commoner species, and some of these, like the robin, and the
-wren, need no interpreter.</p>
-
-<p>The aim of this Chapter is primarily to give, as far as
-possible, the salient features of our commoner native birds, as
-seen during flight. But some species merely &ldquo;flit,&rdquo; from one
-place to another, and that so rapidly that no details of coloration
-can be distinguished. They can only be examined at favourable,
-and often fleeting moments, when at rest, and clear of foliage.
-Only such as are frequently encountered are included here. To
-attempt more would be to lead to confusion. Enough, it is
-hoped, will be said to help the beginner. Experience will soon
-lead to an ever increasing proficiency&mdash;and with this will come an
-ever increasing conviction that the identification of birds,
-during flight, is an extremely difficult task. Whoever essays it
-should, whenever possible, supplement his efforts by the aid of
-a pair of good field-glasses. These, indeed, are indispensable.</p>
-
-<p>The small perching birds are, perhaps, the most difficult to
-name at sight, and this because their flight presents so little to
-distinguish one species from another. All fly with rapid wing-beats,
-alternating with a period during which the wings are
-practically closed, causing the body to travel forward on a rapidly
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
-descending curve in the interval between the wing-beats. This
-gives rise to what is known as an &ldquo;undulating&rdquo; flight. But the
-large passerines, like the crows, differ conspicuously in their method
-of progress. With them the wing beats relatively slowly, so that
-its shape can be readily seen; and their course is direct&mdash;hence
-the familiar saying &ldquo;straight as the crow flies.&rdquo; Further, the
-inner webs of the outer primary quills are, what is called
-&ldquo;emarginate,&rdquo; that is to say, the width of the web is suddenly
-reduced towards the tip of the feather, so that the outstretched
-wing has a conspicuously fringed appearance, as may be seen at a
-glance at the beautiful pen-and-ink sketches on another page.
-The eagles and falcons have similar emarginations.</p>
-
-<p>But to return for a moment to the smaller passerines.
-There are very few of our native species which could be distinguished
-in the field by their flight alone. For the most part
-one has to rely on this and clues afforded by characteristic
-markings: while a further aid is afforded by at least a slight
-knowledge of the haunts of birds. One would not expect to find
-a wheatear in a wood, or a wren in a reed-bed.</p>
-
-<p>The wagtails are among the easiest of the &ldquo;undulating&rdquo;
-fliers to distinguish, if only because of the great length of the
-tail. The pied-wagtail, with its black and white plumage&mdash;or
-black, grey, and white in the winter&mdash;can be identified at a
-glance. And so too, may the yellow, and the grey wagtails.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
-The last named has the longest tail of all, and is further marked
-by his beautiful grey back and bright sulphur abdomen and
-under tail coverts. All have white feathers in the tail. The
-pipits and skylark, like the wagtails, have very long inner
-secondaries, but they can never be confused on this account.
-They can never be mistaken for wagtails, but on the other hand,
-the several species can be distinguished, when on the wing, only
-by long practice.</p>
-
-<p>The chaffinch, greenfinch, and goldfinch are with us all the
-year round, keeping each to his favourite haunts. Most people
-know them well. But one meets even people living in the heart
-of the country, who cannot call them by name! The cock
-chaffinch can be distinguished at once by its white &ldquo;shoulders,&rdquo;
-and white bars across the wing, apart from the bright hues of the
-body, so well shown in the adjoining Plate. The hen has similar
-wing-marks, but lacks the bright colours of her lord. His cousin,
-the brambling&mdash;who comes to us in the winter&mdash;is just as easily
-identified by his orange-coloured shoulder patch&mdash;in place of
-white&mdash;and white rump, which is most conspicuous during flight.
-The greenfinch is marked, when in flight, by the yellow rump
-and bright yellow patches at the base of the tail feathers. Who
-could mistake the goldfinch for any one else but himself? He
-looks like a butterfly as he flutters about on the tops of tall
-thistles. The crimson and black bands on his head, the glorious
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
-blaze of gold on his black wings, which are further marked with
-white spots, as also is his tail, make him the most gorgeous of our
-native finches. The bullfinch, again, is easy to distinguish;
-though from his habit of haunting thickets and dense hedgerows,
-he is seldom seen. In flight you may know him by his white rump,
-rosy breast, and black head. But his mate is more soberly clad:
-though her black head and white rump, will suffice to make sure of
-her when, by good fortune, she is encountered.</p>
-
-<p>One of the commonest of what we may call &ldquo;road-side&rdquo;
-birds, is the yellow-hammer; which can be recognized at once
-by the bright yellow colour of its head. As soon as it takes to
-flight the white feathers in the tail, and the chestnut rump will
-make assurance doubly sure. But in some parts of England
-one meets with another, and similar species&mdash;the cirl bunting.
-In this species, however, the male has a black throat and ear-coverts,
-and an olive-grey chest-band; while the female, lacking
-these distinctive marks, may be recognized by a brown, instead of
-a chestnut rump. When in the neighbourhood of swampy
-places and reed-beds, a look-out must be kept for the reed-bunting.
-A small bird with a black head and throat, and white collar,
-this is the male. The female will display a brown head, buff
-throat and eye-brow, and white outer tail feathers. In the
-winter time, near the sea, one may frequently come across
-the snow-bunting, which, on the wing, will at once attract
-attention by the large areas of white displayed in the wing
-and tail.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 499px;">
-<img src="images/fp_076.png" width="499" height="681" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Chaffinch and Young</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The redstart, one of our summer visitors, is a bird which can
-never be mistaken. A sight of the russet-red tail alone suffices.
-But the cock has the further glory of a mantle of grey, a black head
-and russet under parts. He is fond of country rich in old
-timber, or hill-sides, where stone walls attract him. His kinsman,
-the wheatear, returns to us in the early spring; to give an added
-charm to our bare hill-sides, and warrens, sea-cliffs, sand-dunes,
-and waste places. If you see a small bird flying low over the
-ground, with a white rump, and black wings, you may know that
-the wheatear is before you. That delightful, restless little bird,
-the stonechat, is a near relation of the wheatear. He too, is fond
-of waste places, and heaths; more especially such as will provide
-him with plenty of furze bushes, or ling, on the topmost twigs of
-which he loves to perch, flitting his tail and uttering his fussy
-little notes &ldquo;hweet-chat, hweet-chat.&rdquo; On the wing you may
-tell him by his conspicuous white wing-patch, and the broad
-blaze of white on his neck, set off by a jet-black head. The female
-and young lack the bright chestnut on the breast. The stone-chat&rsquo;s
-cousin, the whinchat, may be found in similar situations,
-but he is of a more roving disposition, and may be found also in
-lowland pasture and water-meadows. More slender in form, he
-is further to be distinguished by the dark streaks down his back,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
-white-eye stripe, and greater amount of white at the base of the
-tail. Further, there is no white neck patch.</p>
-
-<p>Most people know the common thrush and the blackbird
-when they see them, and many country-folk, indeed, recognize
-no more. Yet there are five species in all, which may be called
-&ldquo;common.&rdquo; They are to be distinguished, not so much by their
-flight, as by their general coloration. Neither the common
-thrush, nor the blackbird need be described here: they cannot
-easily be confounded with any other bird. But for the moment
-it might be possible, it is true, to mistake the mistle thrush for the
-more common song-thrush. It is, however, an unmistakably
-larger bird, and when on the wing appears greyer, and if seen at
-close quarters, shows white tips to the outermost tail-feathers,
-and a white underwing. On the ground, of course, there can be no
-mistaking it, on account of its much more spotted breast; the
-spots, too, being much larger, and fan-shaped. During the
-autumn and winter there are two other thrushes which should
-be looked for. These are the fieldfare and the red-wing. The
-first-named, it is to be noted, will be found in small flocks, and if
-examined on the ground through field-glasses will be seen to have a
-slate-grey neck and rump, and chestnut-brown wings and tail;
-while the breast is streaked instead of spotted. In flight the
-underwing is white, as in the mistle-thrush, from which it can
-easily be distinguished by its smaller size, and the absence of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
-white on its tail. The red-wing, like the fieldfare, is gregarious.
-This is an important point to bear in mind; since it might otherwise
-be confused, by the novice, with the song-thrush, the two
-being about the same size. But seen at rest, close quarters, there
-can be no mistake; the red-wing having a conspicuous cream-coloured
-eye-stripe, and chestnut-red flank-feathers. The underwing
-is similarly coloured. Finally there is the ring-ousel, which,
-haunts the moorlands and rocky ravines. But it may be
-recognized at once by its conspicuous white gorget, contrasted
-with its otherwise black plumage.</p>
-
-<p>Of the forty species of British warblers there is not one
-which the most expert of our Ornithologists would venture to
-identify by the character of the flight alone. Most of these
-species, of course, are rare and accidental visitors; many need an
-expert to distinguish them, since they represent but Continental
-Races of our own summer visitors. About ten species can be
-called common, or fairly common, in suitable localities, and the
-novice must not expect to recognize even these with anything
-like certainty. They have no characteristic flight, and they
-rarely do more than &ldquo;flit&rdquo; from one place to another. In the
-pages of this book, then, they can rightly have no place. But
-some may, perhaps, be glad of a few notes concerning one or two
-of the commoner species. The black-cap, for example, may be
-readily distinguished by its grey plumage contrasting with a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
-black cap&mdash;reddish brown&mdash;in the female. It has also a
-peculiarly delightful song, which some prefer to that of the nightingale.
-This, the most celebrated of all our warblers&mdash;though
-for some inscrutable reason some ornithologists appear to regard
-it as a near ally of the redstarts and robin!&mdash;frequents woods
-with thick undergrowth and tangled hedgerows, and hence, is
-seldom seen, but may be recognised by the uniform russet-brown
-coloration of its upper parts, shading into pale chestnut on the
-tail, and the ash-grey of the under parts, shading into white on the
-throat and abdomen. The whitethroat may be recognized by
-the fine white ring round the eye, grey head, brown upper parts,
-and buffish pink breast, set off by the conspicuous white throat,
-from which the bird derives its name. It is perhaps the only
-British warbler which can really be distinguished during flight,
-and this only because the outermost pair of tail feathers are almost
-wholly white. It may be looked for in hedges and thickets, as
-well as on gorse-covered commons. Its near relation, the lesser-whitethroat,
-differs in its smaller size, whiter under parts, and the
-absence of the rufous edges to the secondaries, which are one of the
-distinguishing features of the common whitethroat. The garden-warbler
-is much more frequently heard than seen, its song, a
-continuous, sweet, and mellow warble, rivalling that of the
-black-cap, though softer and less varied. Haunting shrubberies
-and gardens, it is yet the mere ghost of a bird, its uniform brown
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
-upper parts, and brownish-buff under-parts, coupled with its
-shy, retiring disposition make it exceedingly difficult to see.
-Three other tantalizing little members of this numerous tribe
-are the chiff-chaff, willow-warbler, and wood-warbler. Tantalizing
-because so frequently seen during the summer months, so much
-alike, and yet, somehow, different. The novice has no name for
-them; the expert can only tell them by a combination of
-characters, and their contrasts. He is guided rather by their
-notes and habits, than by their appearance, so closely do they
-resemble one another! The chiff-chaff, as its name suggests,
-is to be identified by its song&mdash;Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff,
-chiff-chaff-chiff&mdash;uttered from the top of a high tree. The singer
-is too small to be seen, so that he who would discover what manner
-of bird is the songster, must watch in the direction of the sound,
-till the singer elects to descend. The willow-warbler is a rather
-larger bird with a tinge of yellow in his plumage. Also it is less
-restricted to woods and coppices, and has a sweet, indescribable
-warble. The wood-warbler is the largest of this trio&mdash;from the
-tip of his beak to the tip of his tail he may measure as much as
-five inches&mdash;and is also the most brightly coloured. Above he
-is greenish, with an eye-brow of sulphur-yellow, and a sulphur-yellow
-breast and throat. Since he is rarely to be found, save in
-woods of beech and oak, he will, on this account, the more easily
-be distinguished from his cousin, the chiff-chaff and the willow-warbler.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
-This fact again, can be taken into account when the
-identity of one or other of these two is in question.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 464px;">
-<img src="images/fp_080.png" width="464" height="647" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<table summary="birds">
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">1.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sea Gull.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">6.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Redshank.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">2.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hooded Crow.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">7.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Nightjar.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">3.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Gannet.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">8.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Barn Owl.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">4.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Golden Eagle.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">9.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Rook.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr">5.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Snipe.</span></td>
-  <td class="tdr">10.</td>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Cuckoo.</span></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The warblers are essentially birds of the country-side&mdash;they
-cannot abide the busy haunts of men, who seem unable to
-settle anywhere without setting up hideous tramways and ugly
-buildings. Kindly Nature is crowded out. The garden, hedgerow,
-and shady woods are the chosen haunts of the warblers, though
-some prefer the reed-grown stream, or the thickets round quiet
-pools. The reed and the sedge-warbler will be found here, but by
-no means easily so, for after the manner of their tribe they love
-seclusion. To find the reed-warbler you must go to reed-beds,
-or to osier-beds, and there watch for a little bird, chestnut-brown
-above, and white below. But for his constantly babbling chatter&mdash;&ldquo;churra,
-churra, churra&rdquo;&mdash;you would never, probably, find
-him. Guided, however, by his song, you may succeed in
-finding him nimbly climbing up and down the reed stems. Very
-like him is the rarer marsh-warbler: but, for your guidance, note
-that the marsh warbler has a really melodious song, and is even
-more likely to be found in swampy thickets of meadow-sweet
-than the reed-beds. The sedge-warbler, though showing a decided
-preference for streams fringed by osier-beds and thickets, is more
-of a wanderer than the other two, since tangled hedgerows, and
-thickets, at a distance from the water will often suffice him.
-You may know him by the fact that he is of a dark brown colour
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
-above, streaked with a paler shade of brown, while the under
-parts are white, tinged on the breast and flanks with creamy buff.</p>
-
-<p>Ornithologists rarely concern themselves with anything but
-the superficial characters of birds. Not even the structure of the
-feathers interests them, but only their coloration. Hence it is that
-they have come, quite commonly, to regard the gold-crest, or
-&ldquo;gold-crested wren,&rdquo; as it is sometimes called, as one of the tit-mouse
-group! There is not even the remotest justification for
-this view. It is an indubitable warbler. A glance at the coloured
-Plate will render any description of its appearance unnecessary.
-From autumn to spring you may find it in most parts
-of England and Scotland&mdash;save the extreme north&mdash;hunting in
-hedgerows and woods for food. During the breeding season it
-favours coniferous woods. Along the south and east of England,
-one may also meet with a closely similar species&mdash;the fire-crest.
-But while in the gold-crest the crown is of a bright lemon-yellow,
-in the fire-crest it is of a bright red-orange hue, while the side
-of the head is marked by a white stripe bordered with black.</p>
-
-<p>The gold-crest is our smallest British bird. The ranks of
-our resident &ldquo;gold-crests,&rdquo; in the autumn, are swollen by
-immigrants from northern Europe, who seek shelter with us
-because unable to withstand the rigours of the more northern
-winter. In the matter of size the gold, and fire-crested wrens
-agree, measuring but a trifle more than three and a half inches
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
-from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail! By the way, the
-shape of the beak should be carefully noted. It is that of a
-typical warbler.</p>
-
-<p>It may be urged that this description of the warblers might well
-have been omitted from these pages, since, in regard to &ldquo;Flight,&rdquo;
-nothing whatever can be said, save that they &ldquo;fly.&rdquo; There
-would indeed, be some justification for such criticism, but it is
-to be remembered that this volume is written, not for the expert,
-but for the novice, who, because he needs a few concrete examples
-of the hopelessness of expecting to identify every bird he may
-encounter by its flight, and of the methods he must occasionally
-adopt, when seeking to name a bird which will not come out into
-the open. His course of training, and discovery, will be much
-shortened by the realization that birds by no means always reveal
-their presence by taking long flights.</p>
-
-<p>What is true of the warblers, in this regard, is true also of our
-numerous species of tit-mice. We do not distinguish between them
-in the field by their flight, but by their coloration.</p>
-
-<p>But since these are such confiding little birds, coming to our
-very windows during the winter months, for food, a few notes
-concerning them may be acceptable. The commonest of all is
-the little blue-tit, or &ldquo;tom-tit,&rdquo; as it is so often called. Its
-beautiful cobalt-blue crown, blue back, wings, and tail, white face,
-and yellow breast, are familiar to us all. Its larger relative, the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
-great tit-mouse&mdash;the largest British tit-mouse&mdash;bears a close general
-resemblance to the smaller species, but is readily distinguished,
-not only by its greater size, but by the broad band of black running
-down the abdomen. Its flight, as of all the tit-mice, is weak, and
-as it were, uncertain, confined to short passages from tree to tree.
-The coal tit-mouse and the marsh tit-mouse are seldom recognized
-as distinct species, by the novice. They are very soberly coloured
-little birds, the coal-tit being of an olive-grey, tinged with olive-buff,
-while the sides of the body are buff: the head and throat
-are black, relieved by a broad patch of white on each side and down
-the nape of the neck. The marsh-tit is, to all intents and
-purposes, of the same coloration, but differs conspicuously in
-lacking the white patches. The tiny longtailed-titmouse cannot
-possibly be mistaken for any other bird. Its delicate hues of
-pink and grey, and extremely long tail, make comparisons with
-any other species unnecessary.</p>
-
-<p>Where, during the winter, small birds are tempted to come to
-a tray of nuts and seeds, placed outside the window, that charming
-little bird the nuthatch&mdash;a near relation of the tit-mice&mdash;will
-commonly be among the guests. It cannot be mistaken for any
-other British bird, its form and coloration being, alike, distinctive.
-Its upper parts are of a delicate blue-grey, its under parts buff,
-passing into chestnut on the flanks. The throat is white, while
-there is a black line from the beak to the eye, and beyond, spreading
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
-as it goes. A relatively large beak, and strikingly short tail,
-are features as conspicuous as is the coloration. Its flight is slow
-and undulating.</p>
-
-<p>Another little bird which, during the winter, associates with
-the tit-mice, is the tree-creeper. It is never seen on the wing, save
-when it is flitting from one tree to another, and then its course is
-obliquely downwards&mdash;from the upper branches of one tree to the
-base of another. This it proceeds to ascend immediately on alighting,
-by jerky leaps. Its coloration is soberness itself&mdash;mottled
-brown above and silvery white below. The tail, it is to be noted,
-is formed of stiff, pointed feathers, like those of the woodpecker,
-and, as in that bird, is used in climbing.</p>
-
-<p>There is scarcely a garden&mdash;save in such as are within the
-area of a big town&mdash;which, during the summer, is not haunted by
-a little grey and white bird, with a most characteristic flight&mdash;a
-sudden sally into the air to seize some insect, sometimes even
-white butterflies, and an instant return to the same perch. This
-is the spotted flycatcher. In Wales, Devonshire, Cumberland,
-and Westmorland, one may be fairly sure of meeting with the
-pied-flycatcher. He is, so to speak, a black and white edition of
-his relative, the spotted flycatcher&mdash;but the black areas in the
-female are represented by brown. There are, however, notable
-differences in the method of hunting, in the two species;
-for the pied-flycatcher rarely returns to the same perch
-after his upward flight into the air, and he often feeds on the
-ground.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 498px;">
-<img src="images/fp_086.png" width="498" height="682" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Gold Crested Wrens</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In the straggling hedgerows of the wooded districts of south
-and central England, and in Wales, one may often come across the
-red-backed shrike; a very handsome bird, with pointed wings,
-long tail, and low swooping flights. His red back will alone
-distinguish him. No other British bird wears such a mantle.
-And this is set off by a grey crown and nape, and black patches
-on the sides of the head. The topmost twig of a bush, or hedge,
-where he can sight his prey from afar, are his favourite perches.
-On the east coast of England, during the autumn, one may sometimes
-see the great-grey shrike, distinguished readily by his large
-size, fan-shaped tail, and grey coloration, relieved by black ear-coverts,
-black wings and tail, &ldquo;blazed&rdquo; with white, and white
-under-parts. His flight is undulating and irregular, while just
-before alighting he gives a peculiar upward sweep.</p>
-
-<p>Strangely enough, not only country boys and girls, but their
-fathers and mothers, not only confuse swallows and martins with
-one another, but these with the swift! Yet they are readily
-distinguishable. All, it is true, have long, pointed wings, and
-forked tails: but their coloration is very different. The swallow
-has the most deeply forked tail of them all, and his steel-blue
-back, red throat, and rufous buff-and-cream under parts are
-unmistakable identification marks. The martin may be distinguished
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
-at once by the conspicuous white rump patch, and pure
-white under-parts. These are the signs by which they may be
-recognized when on the wing&mdash;and they are more often seen thus
-than at rest. The sand-martin is a much smaller bird, has a less
-markedly forked tail, and is of a uniform pale brown above, and
-white below, but with a brown band across the chest. The swift
-is not even related to the swallow-tribe. On the wing&mdash;and very
-few people ever see him otherwise&mdash;he is very different. The wing-beat
-is extremely rapid and intermittent. While in its shape the
-wing differs in its extreme length and narrowness. The flight is
-extremely swift&mdash;hence the name of the bird. Not its least
-impressive feature is its wonderful flexibility. Who has not
-watched, with delight, a troop of these birds sweeping down the
-village street, now skimming the ground, now sweeping upward
-and away, round the church tower, accompanied by wild,
-exultant screams, as though they were bubbling over with vitality.
-When high up they look like so many animated bows and arrows&mdash;the
-arrows being, perhaps, somewhat short and thick. The swift,
-it is worth remembering, is a near kinsman of the humming-bird,
-which also has a long narrow wing. Both alike agree in this
-peculiarity&mdash;an upper arm bone of excessive shortness, and a hand
-of excessive length. No other birds approach them in this. The
-only other bird which has wings quite so ribbon-like, when
-extended, is the albatross&mdash;one of our rarest British birds. But
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
-here the proportions of the wing are reversed, for the upper
-arm bone is of great length, while the hand is relatively
-short.</p>
-
-<p>There is something inexpressibly soothing about the twilight
-of a summer&rsquo;s evening. Most birds are abed. The swift can be
-heard high up, the &ldquo;woolly bats, with beady eyes&rdquo; are silently
-flitting all round one, turning and twisting as no bird ever turns.
-But for the chorus of the swifts, like black furies, and heard only
-at intervals, and faintly, all is silence, relieved, perchance, by the
-drowsy hum of a blundering dor-beetle. Then, suddenly, if one
-be near some gorse, or bracken covered common, the stillness is
-broken by a strange &ldquo;churring,&rdquo; like a bubbling whistle, rising
-and falling in volume. This may be followed by a loud "clap".
-And yet the source of these strange notes cannot be located, nor
-can any living thing be seen to which they could be attributed.
-But keep careful watch. Presently there may emerge from the
-gathering gloom a long-winged, long-tailed bird, travelling at
-speed, with a twisting flight, and deliberate wing-beats, alternating
-with long glide on motionless pinions. As it passes one may
-notice white spots on wings and tail. This is the night-jar: a bird
-of ill omen among the aged inhabitants of the country-side, for
-they will assure you that it is guilty of sucking the milk of cows and
-goats. Hence, it is commonly known as the &ldquo;goatsucker.&rdquo;
-Poor bird, it is quite innocent of such misdeeds, for though it has
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
-an enormous mouth, armed on either side with long bristles, it
-feeds only on moths and beetles.</p>
-
-<p>If you are fortunate, your vigil in the gloaming may be rewarded
-by a sight of yet other night-birds. Out of some hollow
-tree, or swooping round the barn, may come a ghostly form,
-borne on absolutely silent wings: but with a reeling, bouyant
-flight, which is unmistakable&mdash;this is the barn owl. If you are
-very fortunate, you may hear its blood-curdling screech. Once
-heard you will never forget it! His cousin, the tawny owl, it is
-whose musical, if doleful &ldquo;hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-o&rdquo; has so commonly
-been misrepresented by poets&mdash;and others&mdash;as &ldquo;to-whit-tu-woo.&rdquo;
-Its flight is slower and its wings rounder than in the barn owl,
-and furthermore, it lacks the glistening satin-white under-parts
-of that bird. But its coloration and general appearance are well-shown
-in the coloured illustration.</p>
-
-<p>The other species of owls we may reckon as fairly common
-residents with us. They are the long and the short-eared owls.
-But they are very rarely to be seen on the wing in daylight. Each
-has the habit, when excited, of bringing the wings together
-smartly over the back, so as to produce a sound likened by some
-to the word &ldquo;bock.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>Few birds have figured so largely in our literature, perhaps,
-as the cuckoo. Though heard by all, he is seen by few: and this
-because so many people fail to recognize the charming wastrel
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
-when they see him. In general appearance he recalls the
-sparrow-hawk. I have known even game-keepers confuse the
-two. But the cuckoo is much paler on the back, and the bars
-of the breast are finer. On the wing he is much slower than the
-sparrow-hawk; his wings are shorter, and his tail is tipped with
-white. Immature birds may be recognized by their clove-brown
-coloration, and a large white patch at the nape of the neck.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most brilliantly coloured of all our native birds is
-the kingfisher. Small streams and quiet pools are its favourite
-haunts. A glance will suffice to identify it at close quarters,
-but even if one catches sight of its fleeting form at too great a
-distance to see its wonderful coloration, it can be distinguished
-by its extremely rapid and direct flight, and curiously shuttle-shaped
-form: an appearance due to the shortness of its tail, as
-may be seen by a reference to the excellent coloured Plate.</p>
-
-<p>The identification of birds in flight will be rendered easier
-for the novice if he makes a practice of &ldquo;expecting&rdquo; to find
-particular birds in particular places. That is to say, the haunts of
-birds are governed by their stomachs&mdash;they must not stray far
-from the source of their food. In a wood, then, you may
-&ldquo;expect&rdquo; to find woodpeckers&mdash;though you will often be disappointed,
-for they are by no means always to be seen. But the
-task of identification will be easier if one has a mental picture
-ready of the birds appropriate to the place.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The green woodpecker, our largest native species, often
-betrays itself by its remarkable cry, reminiscent of a laugh&mdash;&ldquo;ha,
-ha, ha,&rdquo; and &ldquo;pleu, pleu, pleu.&rdquo; Keep quite still, and
-presently, as likely as not, it will suddenly make its appearance
-with a rapid, undulating flight. As it alights on some neighbouring
-tree-trunk, its identity will be finally established by its green
-back and wings, yellow rump, and crimson crown. It ascends
-the tree by jerky leaps. Where ant-hills abound it may often be
-seen on the ground, moving about with awkward hops, exploring
-the hills for ants. The greater and lesser spotted woodpecker
-may also sometimes be seen here, especially if there is much old
-timber about. In spring its presence is often made known by a
-peculiar drumming sound&mdash;never forgotten when once heard&mdash;made
-by excessively rapid blows with its beak on the trunk,
-or branch of a tree. On the wing it may be recognized by its
-&ldquo;dipping&rdquo; flight, and strikingly piebald appearance. At close
-quarters the strongly contrasted black and white plumage is
-relieved by crimson undertail-coverts, and a crimson crown.
-The lesser-spotted woodpecker is a much smaller bird&mdash;about the
-size of a sparrow, or chaffinch&mdash;and is barred with black and
-white; there is a patch of crimson on the head of the male. It
-has a habit of keeping more to the upper branches of the tree
-than the other species: but, like its greater cousin, it &ldquo;drums&rdquo;
-on the tree during the spring, but less loudly. Its spring cry,
-&ldquo;pee-pee-pee,&rdquo; is like that of the wryneck. This is a near relation
-of the woodpeckers, but very different in coloration, being
-beautifully mottled and vermiculated with grey and brown.
-But for its spring cry, just alluded to, it would escape notice
-altogether, so closely does it match the bough it is perched upon.
-Unlike the woodpeckers its tail-feathers are not developed to form
-stiff, pointed spines. This is accounted for by the fact that,
-though it ascends tree-trunks readily, it does not hammer at the
-bark with its beak, and so does not need stiff tail-feathers to
-afford leverage. Its flight is slow and hesitating. It is commonest,
-it may be remarked, on the south-east of England.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 499px;">
-<img src="images/fp_092.png" width="499" height="671" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Great Spotted Woodpeckers</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 343px;">
-<img src="images/fp_095.png" width="343" height="427" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Drumming Snipe.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">How to tell Birds on the Wing</p>
-
-<p class="caption3">
-(<i>continued</i>).<br />
-</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"The seamew&rsquo;s lonely laughter<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;Flits down the flowing wave;<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;The green scarts follow after<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;The surge where cross-tides rave."&mdash;<i>Fiona Macleod.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">Falcons&mdash;golden eagle&mdash;harriers and sparrow-hawk&mdash;The heron&mdash;The cormorant,
-shag, and gannet&mdash;The petrels&mdash;Guillemots, razor-bills, and puffins&mdash;The ducks&mdash;The
-great crested grebe and dabchick&mdash;The pigeons&mdash;The &ldquo;plover tribe&rdquo;&mdash;The gulls
-and terns&mdash;The game birds.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">O</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">O</span><span class="smcap">ur</span> 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 &ldquo;Nocturnal&rdquo; and &ldquo;Diurnal&rdquo; 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.</p>
-
-<p>The one most commonly seen to-day is the kestrel, which is
-really a falcon, not a &ldquo;hawk.&rdquo; No bird is so easily identified on
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
-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&rsquo;s
-lordly relative, the peregrine-falcon, is now-a-days only to be
-seen in a few favoured spots, out in the wilds&mdash;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&rsquo;s hand is against it.</p>
-
-<p>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&mdash;generally in vain&mdash;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;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
-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.</p>
-
-<p>Wherever there are deer-forests in Scotland, even to-day,&mdash;but
-nowhere else in Great Britain&mdash;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&mdash;and it is rarely that you
-will see it else.</p>
-
-<p>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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
-apart for half their length, and in this joyous movement they will
-remain aloft for hours on end.</p>
-
-<p>But for the untiring efforts of the Royal Society for the
-Protection of Birds, none of our larger birds of prey&mdash;save,
-perhaps, the golden eagle, which is carefully cherished in the deer-forests&mdash;would
-now be left to us. The case of our harriers seemed
-hopeless. But, thanks to a zealous protection, a remnant remains.</p>
-
-<p>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 &ldquo;facial disc.&rdquo; 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.</p>
-
-<p>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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
-by its grey coloration and pure white rump-patch.
-Montagu&rsquo;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.</p>
-
-<p>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.</p>
-
-<p>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 &ldquo;harrier-country,&rdquo;
-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&rsquo;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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
-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 &ldquo;hawking.&rdquo; The invention of the gun
-ended this most fascinating form of sport.</p>
-
-<p>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 &ldquo;filoplumes&rdquo;; 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.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 481px;">
-<img src="images/fp_102.png" width="481" height="659" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<table style="text-align:left;" summary="Birds">
-<tr>
-  <td>&nbsp;1. <span class="smcap">Partridge.</span></td>
-  <td>&nbsp;2. <span class="smcap">Gannet.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>&nbsp;3. <span class="smcap">Whitethroat.</span></td>
-  <td>&nbsp;4. <span class="smcap">Red-backed Shrike.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>&nbsp;5. <span class="smcap">Magpie.</span></td>
-  <td>&nbsp;6. <span class="smcap">Goldfinch.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>&nbsp;7. <span class="smcap">Great Crested Grebe.</span></td>
-  <td>&nbsp;8. <span class="smcap">Buzzard.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>&nbsp;9. <span class="smcap">Puffin.</span></td>
-  <td>10. <span class="smcap">Grey Wagtail.</span></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>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 <a href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter II</a>.</p>
-
-<p>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.</p>
-
-<p>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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
-to the surface during the turn, so that one wing barely misses the
-waves, while the other points skywards.</p>
-
-<p>Sometimes too, one may see the little &ldquo;Mother Carey&rsquo;s
-Chicken.&rdquo; 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.</p>
-
-<p>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&mdash;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&mdash;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.</p>
-
-<p>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;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
-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&mdash;in his breeding dress&mdash;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.</p>
-
-<p>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 &ldquo;colours.&rdquo; The rosy
-hue which suffuses the fore-part of the breast, and the bright
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
-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.</p>
-
-<p>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.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 477px;">
-<img src="images/fp_106.png" width="477" height="649" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<table style="text-align:left;" summary="Raptors">
-<tr>
-  <td>1. <span class="smcap">Peregrine Falcon.</span></td>
-  <td>2. <span class="smcap">Kestrel.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>3. <span class="smcap">Merlin.</span></td>
-  <td>4. <span class="smcap">Golden Eagle.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>5. <span class="smcap">Montagu&rsquo;s Harrier.</span></td>
-  <td>6. <span class="smcap">Goshawk.</span></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td>7. <span class="smcap">Osprey.</span></td>
-  <td>8. <span class="smcap">Sparrow Hawk.</span></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>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&mdash;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.</p>
-
-<p>When on the margins of lakes, large ponds, or slow-moving
-streams, keep a look-out for two very remarkable divers&mdash;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&mdash;rather smaller than a pigeon&mdash;and
-has no erectile ornaments. The &ldquo;grebe-flight&rdquo; is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
-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.</p>
-
-<p>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&mdash;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 <i>really</i> wild birds. Certain it is that most of the
-&ldquo;rock-doves&rdquo; 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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
-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.</p>
-
-<p>Where the summer holidays are spent by the sea&mdash;in places
-where there are no bands, piers, &ldquo;promenades,&rdquo; and other
-abominations of &ldquo;civilization&rdquo;&mdash;one may spend delicious hours
-watching some of our &ldquo;wading-birds.&rdquo; 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 &ldquo;<i>wheep-wheep</i>&rdquo; 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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
-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.</p>
-
-<p>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 &ldquo;<i>cour-lie</i>,&rdquo;
-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.</p>
-
-<p>The &ldquo;waders,&rdquo; sometimes collectively referred to as the
-&ldquo;plover-tribe,&rdquo; 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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
-this &ldquo;tribe&rdquo; 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 &ldquo;black-headed&rdquo;
-must seem singularly inappropriate; for its head is emphatically
-<i>white</i>. At no time, indeed, is it ever <i>black</i>. 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 &ldquo;black-headed&rdquo;
-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
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
-primaries have white tips. The herring gull has a pale pearl-grey
-back.</p>
-
-<p>With a strange perversity the black-headed gull is commonly
-called, by the novice, the &ldquo;kittiwake.&rdquo; 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.</p>
-
-<p>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&rsquo;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!</p>
-
-<p>Finally, a word or two about the &ldquo;game-birds.&rdquo; These are
-all birds easily distinguished by reason of their short, rounded,
-deeply convex wings, which, driven with incredible speed,
-produce a &ldquo;whirring&rdquo; sound&mdash;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,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
-and red legs and beak. It is also known, indeed, as the &ldquo;red-legged&rdquo;
-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&mdash;the &ldquo;grey-hen&rdquo;&mdash;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.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;">
-<img src="images/fp_115.png" width="461" height="529" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Buzzard Soaring.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">The Wings of Nestling Birds.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"The blue eggs in the Robin&rsquo;s nest<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;Will soon have wings, and beak, and breast,<br /></span>
-<span class="i4">&nbsp;And flutter and fly away."&mdash;<i>Longfellow.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The wing of the unhatched bird&mdash;Of the coots and water-hen&mdash;The Hoatzin&rsquo;s
-wings&mdash;The wing of Arch�opteryx&mdash;Moulting&mdash;The nestling game-birds and ducks&mdash;Teaching
-the young to fly.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">A</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">A</span><span class="smcap">t</span> first sight it may seem a little strange to introduce
-nestlings into a book devoted to birds in flight. But
-there are aspects of the wing of nestling birds which must, indeed,
-be borne in mind when considering the wing of the adult.</p>
-
-<p>It was pointed out, in <a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I</a>, that the wing of the adult
-had but three fingers and two wrist-bones. This condition
-represents the last stage in the evolution of the Avian wing.
-The wing of the nestling gives a clue to an earlier stage in its
-history. But we can get even further back than this. For if we
-examine the wing of an unhatched bird, we shall be able to get
-still nearer to the birth, and growth of the wing out of a reptilian
-fore-limb. Here as many as six wrist-bones may be found.
-And the &ldquo;palm-bones,&rdquo; which in the adult are welded together,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
-are here quite separate. This stage, then, carries us back towards
-the ancestral, reptilian, fore-limb used for walking, or perhaps
-for climbing. And there is another sign of this earlier, reptilian,
-period to be found in such a wing. At the tip of the thumb and
-first-finger, in unhatched ducks, game-birds, and water-hens,
-for example, you will find a small claw. By hatching-time
-the claw of the first finger will have disappeared, but it is still
-retained in the case of the duck and the water-hen. In the adults
-of all three you will rarely find more than the claw of the thumb:
-and this now serves no useful purpose whatever.</p>
-
-<p>Indeed, there seem to be only two tribes which have any use
-for wing-claws during nestling life. One of these is represented
-by the gallinules, that is to say, the coots, and water-hens, and
-their kind. You may test this whenever you have the good fortune
-to capture a young water-hen. Place him outside the nest,
-and especially if it happens to be a little raised, you will see him
-make his way back, using feet, wing-claws, and beak. His
-wings, it will be noticed, at this stage are used as fore-legs. The
-other tribe is represented by that strange bird the hoatzin of
-the Amazon. Here the two claws are really large, and they play
-a quite important part in his early life.</p>
-
-<p>For the young hoatzin is hatched in a nursery&mdash;a crude
-nest of sticks&mdash;placed on the boughs of a tree overhanging the
-water. As soon as hatched he begins to climb about the
-branches. Should he fall, by some mischance, into the water,
-he promptly swims to the bank; and by the aid of his long
-first finger, and wing-claws, and his huge feet, soon climbs
-back. But the most wonderful part of his story is yet to come.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 502px;">
-<img src="images/fp_118.png" width="502" height="683" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<i>Grouse</i>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>So long as these youngsters can only scramble about they
-are in constant jeopardy. A wing-surface at least big enough to
-break the force of a fall is an urgent necessity. And so the
-growth of the quill-feathers is, so to speak, pushed forward with
-all possible speed. But if all the feathers grew at the same
-rate, there would speedily come a time when the outermost
-feathers would make the claw at the end of the finger useless,
-while the wing-surface, as a whole, would be insufficient. To
-obviate this difficulty, the development of the outermost feathers
-is held in abeyance till the inner feathers of the hand, and the
-outermost of the fore-arm, have grown big enough to suffice to
-break the force of the fall. As soon as this stage is arrived at,
-the outermost quills, whose growth has been held in abeyance,
-rapidly develop; the finger decreases in length, and its claw
-disappears, while that of the thumb soon follows suit. And thus
-it comes about that the hand, in the nestling, is relatively much
-longer than in the adult. But in its mid-period it may be taken to
-represent the adult stage of the wing of the ancient Arch�opteryx.
-This bird could have been but a poor flier, and probably during
-the time it was moulting its quills it was absolutely flightless,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
-so that it needed a permanent finger-tip, and claw, beyond the
-margin of its wing-surface.</p>
-
-<p>This matter of &ldquo;moulting,&rdquo; by the way, needs, at least,
-passing comment. All birds renew their plumage at least once:
-the body plumage often twice in the year. The old feathers fall
-out, and their places are taken by new ones. But their growth is
-slow. In geese and ducks, and some other birds, the wing-quills
-are moulted all at once, so that flight, for a week or two, is
-impossible. But they can escape from their enemies while thus
-at a disadvantage, by taking to the water. In all other birds
-the quills are moulted, and renewed, in pairs: so that at no time
-are they left flightless.</p>
-
-<p>But this by the way. Let us revert, for a moment, to the
-hoatzin&rsquo;s wing. The appearance of the outermost quills of the
-hand, it will be remembered, is delayed till the inner feathers
-have grown long enough to &ldquo;flutter,&rdquo; at least, for a short
-distance, then the growth of the complete series proceeds apace.
-This has been called an &ldquo;Adaptation&rdquo; to enable these youngsters,
-active from the moment they leave the egg, to move about in
-comparative safety. But it is more than this. It is a survival
-of an ancient order of things which takes us back to the first
-known birds.</p>
-
-<p>This is certainly a very remarkable feature, but it gains an
-added interest from the fact that it has a parallel in the history of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
-the development of the wing in the game-birds. If you look
-carefully at the downy chicks of the pheasant, or even at barn-door
-fowls, you will remark that the wing-quills develop with
-surprising rapidity: so that they have feathered wings while the
-rest of the body is still down-covered. This enables them the
-more easily to escape prowling foxes and other enemies. In
-young ducks exactly the opposite condition obtains, the body is
-fully feathered long before the feathers of the wings appear.
-And this because they do not need to fly when danger threatens,
-but take to the water instead. But to return to the chicks of the
-pheasant. The wing of the chick develops at a very rapid rate.
-Within a few hours after hatching, the first traces of the coming
-flight feathers can be seen, and presently a large wing is covering
-each side of the tiny body. At this stage many often
-die. The wings, which can then be examined at leisure, reveal
-an extremely interesting condition. For they repeat the features
-which obtain in the wing of the nestling hoatzin: inasmuch as
-the outermost quills are also, as yet, non-existent; and there is
-a free finger-tip. But it is not nearly so long as in the hoatzin,
-and there is no terminal claw. Surely, from this, we may infer
-that the delayed development of the outer quills is a survival of
-a time when the ancestors of the pheasant were arboreal, and
-hatched their young in trees. Otherwise all the wing-quills
-should develop at the same time, and at the same rate. Here,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
-then, is another instance of what can be learned of the past history
-of a bird by a careful scrutiny of the nestling. Sometimes we shall
-find our evidence in the wing, sometimes in some other organ.
-The sequence of plumage affords abundant evidence of this. But
-that is another story.</p>
-
-<p>So much for the &ldquo;intensive&rdquo; study of the wing. A brief
-reference must now be made to the constantly repeated statement
-that nestling birds are &ldquo;taught&rdquo; to fly by their parents.
-There is no evidence whatever to support this belief: and much
-that goes to show its improbability.</p>
-
-<p>Failing more suitable sites, sand-martins will often elect to
-build their nests in the crevices of the masonry of bridges.</p>
-
-<p>From the mouth of this substitute for a burrow is often a
-sheer drop of many feet to the stream below. When the nestlings,
-fully fledged, leave their nursery for the first time they must
-either &ldquo;fly&rdquo; from the moment they take the first plunge from the
-masonry, or die. Failing to make the appropriate movements
-of the wings nothing can save them from a watery grave. There
-can be no &ldquo;teaching&rdquo; to fly. Indeed, death no less certainly
-awaits every house-martin when it plunges into space from the
-edge of the nest. The appropriate wing-movements, necessary
-to produce flight, in short, are &ldquo;instinctive.&rdquo; Those with
-defective instincts are forthwith killed by falling to the ground.
-They leave no offspring to inherit their defects.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all as to the
-&ldquo;instinctive&rdquo; nature of flight, in nestling birds, is furnished by
-the mound-birds, of the Malay Region and Eastern Australia.</p>
-
-<p>These extraordinary birds lay their eggs in heaps of decaying
-vegetable-matter, or in the soil near hot springs; and there
-leave them to their fate. They lay very large eggs, it is to be
-noticed, so large that the growing chick finds nourishment enough
-within the egg to enable it to pass the ordinary nestling stage
-while still within the shell. By the time it emerges it has both
-grown and shed its first coat of nestling-down, and has developed
-long wing-quills. Having burst its prison walls it wriggles its
-way up through the loose earth, to the light of day, ready to
-fight its way in the world unaided. Here, then, there can be no
-question of &ldquo;teaching&rdquo; the young to fly.</p>
-
-<p>But some birds, at least, do, indeed, receive instruction when
-on the wing. And in such cases, it will be noticed, their food
-can only be captured by dexterous movements in full flight. For
-a day or two, for example, young swallows simply practice flight,
-to exercise and strengthen their wings. They are fed by their
-parents when at rest. The next step comes when they are fed on
-the wing, taking their food as they hover on trembling pinions
-from their parent&rsquo;s beak. In a little while the food is dropped as
-the parent passes, and the youngsters are made to catch it as it
-falls. From thence, onwards, they have to do their own hunting.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
-The clumsy ones must die. Eagles and hawks, in like manner,
-teach their young to capture swiftly moving prey by dropping
-food to them in mid-air. If one fails to catch it the parent swoops
-down and seizes the hard-won meal before it reaches the ground;
-then mounting aloft with it, drops it once more, till, at last the
-required dexterity is gained.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 624px;">
-<img src="images/fp_125.png" width="624" height="472" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Gulls.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span><br /></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption2">Flightless Birds.</p>
-
-<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
-<span class="i0">"And first, I praise the nobler traits<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;Of birds preceding Noah,<br /></span>
-<span class="i0">&nbsp;The giant clan, whose meat was Man,<br /></span>
-<span class="i2">&nbsp;Dinornis, Apteryx, Moa."&mdash;<i>Courthope.</i><br /></span>
-</div></div>
-
-<div class="references">The steamer duck&mdash;The owl parrot&mdash;the flightless grebe of Titicaca&mdash;The dodo
-and solitaire&mdash;The ostrich tribe&mdash;The penguin&rsquo;s wings.</div>
-
-
-<div class="dropcap">T</div>
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> poet who penned the above lines thought more of rhymes
-than of reasons&mdash;as Poets so often do. What were their
-"nobler traits"? He omits to mention them. None of them were
-ever carnivorous: and the Apteryx could by no stretch of the
-imagination be called a &ldquo;giant.&rdquo; The one outstanding feature
-which does distinguish these birds he fails entirely to appreciate&mdash;and
-this is their flightless condition.</p>
-
-<p>A flightless bird is an anomaly. Yet there are some who
-profess to believe that this state affords us an insight into the
-early stages of the Evolution of the wing. As a matter of fact
-it demonstrates the exact opposite&mdash;its degeneration.</p>
-
-<p>How is it that birds ever came to such a pass? A study of
-living flightless birds, and birds that are well on the way to this
-condition, will afford us a ready answer.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Whenever we find birds living, so to speak, lives of languorous
-ease&mdash;where there are no enemies to be evaded, where there is an
-abundance of food to be picked up on the ground all the year
-round, and the climate is kindly, there flight is no longer practised.
-Year by year, generation after generation passes by, and no use
-whatever is made of the wings. In all such cases these once most
-vital organs dwindle away, and finally vanish. We can trace
-every step in this process of decay.</p>
-
-<p>We may begin with the &ldquo;steamer-duck&rdquo; of the Falklands.
-In this species, after the first moult, the power of flight is lost for
-ever. Among living birds only a few species, apart from the
-ostrich-tribe, are in this dolorous case. The owl-parrot, or kakapo,
-of New Zealand, is one of these. A grebe found only on Lake
-Titacaca, perched high up a mountain-side is another. In both
-these birds the keel of the sternum is represented by the merest
-vestige, the breast-bone being reduced to the condition found in
-the ostrich-tribe.</p>
-
-<p>The two giant pigeons, the dodo, and its cousin the solitaire,
-afford instances where the loss of flight has been followed by
-extinction; owing to the invasion of their haunts, through the
-agency of man, by pigs and other domesticated animals, which
-destroyed their eggs and young.</p>
-
-<p>The ostrich-tribe is peculiarly interesting: owing to the fact that
-their wings present a really wonderful series of degenerating stages.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The wings of all differ conspicuously from those of other birds
-in the great length and looseness of the texture of the feathers.
-Those of the African ostrich are the largest of all; but they are
-quite useless for the purpose of flight, though they are used as
-aids in running. In the South American ostrich, or rhea, they are
-also large, but again useless for flight, for the &ldquo;quill-feathers&rdquo;
-are very weak, and have no &ldquo;web,&rdquo; such as one finds in the quills
-of flying birds. And besides, the muscles of the wing have
-degenerated, the breast-muscles having become reduced to
-mere vestiges.</p>
-
-<p>In both the African and South American ostriches, the
-skeleton of the wing, compared with, that, say, of a swan, would
-seem, to the inexpert, to be quite normal. But with the cassowary,
-the emu, or the apteryx matters are very different. Here, at the
-first glance, it is apparent that the process of decay is far advanced;
-for the bones of the hand have, as it were, shrunk up, so that
-a mere stump is all that remains. The wing of the cassowary is
-further remarkable for the fact that some of the fore-arm quills,
-or &ldquo;secondaries&rdquo; are represented by long, stiff quills, resembling
-spines of a porcupine; the &ldquo;vane&rdquo; of the feather, which normally
-runs down each side of the shaft, has vanished altogether. What
-part they play in the bird&rsquo;s life history it is impossible to say.
-They certainly cannot be used as weapons, and they as certainly
-are not &ldquo;ornaments.&rdquo; In the extinct moas the wing had still
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
-further degenerated. In some species no more than a stump
-of the upper arm bone was left, and in others not only this, but
-even the shoulder-girdle had vanished, so that only one pair of
-limbs remained.</p>
-
-<p>Another remarkable flightless bird is the penguin. Here the
-wing has changed its form to assume that of a paddle; superficially
-identical with that of the whale, or the turtle, or that of the
-extinct sea-dragon ichthyosaurus. These paddles have been
-&ldquo;re-modelled,&rdquo; so to speak, to enable them to be used for what
-we may call flight under water. Most birds which swim under
-water use the legs for propelling the body: but the penguin uses
-his paddles instead. The paddle of the turtle has similarly evolved
-out of a fore-leg used for walking on land. The common tortoise
-may be taken as the type of this leg. In the river, and pond-tortoises,
-the stumpy foot of the land-tortoise gives place to a
-broad, webbed foot. In the turtles this webbed foot gives place
-to the paddle.</p>
-
-<p>After what has been said about the penguin it is
-instructive to turn to the wings of the auk-tribe&mdash;the guillemot,
-razor-bill, and puffin. These are very efficient for normal
-flight, but they are equally efficient for use under water.
-For these birds swim as penguins do, when submerged. Why
-then, did the penguin suffer the loss of the use of his wings
-for flight?</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 497px;">
-<img src="images/fp_130.png" width="497" height="617" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-
-<pre>
-  <span class="smcap">Cassowary.</span>      <span class="smcap">Penguin.</span>
-  <span class="smcap">Ostrich.</span>        <span class="smcap">Kiwi.</span>
-</pre>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>This question leads to another. Why did that giant razor-bill
-known as the great auk become flightless? It would seem
-that its wings somehow failed to keep pace with the growth of
-its body, so that while they remained sufficient for flight under
-water, they became useless for flight in the air. Its failure in
-this led to its extinction, for it was unable to escape from its arch-enemy
-man. When the old-time sailors, somewhere about one
-hundred years ago, discovered its haunts in Iceland could be
-profitably invaded for the purpose of collecting feathers, and bait,
-they speedily wiped out the race; for being flightless they were
-unable to escape the marauders once they had effected a landing.
-Unhappily there was no Bird Protection Society in those days,
-to stop this senseless slaughter.</p>
-
-<p>Here our survey of Birds on the Wing ends. It began with
-flight through the air, it ends with flight through the water.
-It is not a little surprising, surely, to find that the same wing
-can be efficiently used for both these extremes of motion. And
-still more surprising to find that, this being so, the penguin should
-have been forced, so to speak, to adopt the expedient of evolving
-a paddle; and so forego the power of aerial locomotion. The
-skeleton of this wing, it was pointed out, differed in no essential
-from that of the typical avian wing. In some points, however,
-it has changed conspicuously. For the bones have become greatly
-flattened, and the several parts of the wing&mdash;arm, fore-arm, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
-hand&mdash;can no longer be bent upon one another in the Z-shaped
-fashion of normal wings, while the &ldquo;quill&rdquo; or &ldquo;flight-feathers&rdquo;
-have been reduced to so small a size that they are
-unrecognizable.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 489px;">
-<img src="images/fp_133.png" width="489" height="617" alt="" />
-<div class="figcaption">
-<span class="smcap">Vultures.</span>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="center pmt4 pmb4">
-<i>Cheltenham Press Ltd.</i><br />
-<i>Cheltenham and London.</i><br />
-</p>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="trans_notes">
-<p>Transcriber&rsquo;s Note</p>
-
-
-<p>All obvious typos were corrected and hyphenization was standardized.
-The italic labels on the illustration facing <a href="#Page_102">page 102</a> were standardized
-to match the other illustration&rsquo;s text. Illustrations were repositioned
-so that paragraphs were not split.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45086 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 308px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="308" height="432" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption1">BIRDS IN FLIGHT</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 485px;">
+<img src="images/frontice.png" width="485" height="663" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Kingfisher and Young</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption1">BIRDS IN FLIGHT</p>
+
+<p class="caption3">BY</p>
+
+<p class="caption2">W. P. PYCRAFT</p>
+
+<p class="caption3 pmb4">Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History).<br />
+Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.<br />
+Hon. Member of the American Ornithologists' Union.<br />
+Associate of the Linnean Society.<br />
+Member of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.<br />
+Member of the Royal Anthropological Institute.<br />
+<br />
+Author of &ldquo;A History of Birds,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Infancy of Animals,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Courtship
+of Animals,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Sea-shore,&rdquo; Etc., Etc., Etc.</p>
+
+<p class="caption2 pmb4"><i>Illustrated by</i><br />
+ROLAND GREEN, F.Z.S.</p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><span class="smaller">LONDON</span><br />
+GAY &amp; HANCOCK LIMITED<br />
+<span class="smaller">34 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2.</span><br />
+1922</p>
+
+<p class="p0 center"><i>All Rights Reserved.</i></p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</a></p>
+
+<table summary="ToC">
+<tr>
+  <td><b>CHAPTER</b></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><b>PAGE</b></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">I.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">Concerning Wings</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">What a wing is&mdash;The quill feathers and their function&mdash;The
+    skeleton of the wing&mdash;The muscles of the wing&mdash;The
+    great air-chambers of the body&mdash;The Bat&rsquo;s wing&mdash;The
+    wing of flying Dragons&mdash;The wings of Dragon-flies
+    and beetles.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">II.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">The First Bird</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">The ancestors of birds&mdash;The first known bird and its
+    many remarkable features&mdash;The gradual evolution of the
+    birds of to-day.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">III.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and
+    their relation to Flight</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">The evasiveness of flight&mdash;The size of the wing in relation
+    to that of the body&mdash;Noisy flight&mdash;&ldquo;Muffled&rdquo; flight&mdash;The
+    swoop of the sparrow-hawk&mdash;The &ldquo;flighting&rdquo; of
+    ducks&mdash;The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows&mdash;&ldquo;Soaring&rdquo;
+    flights of storks and vultures&mdash;The wonderful
+    &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; feats of the albatross&mdash;The &ldquo;soaring&rdquo; of the
+    skylark&mdash;The &ldquo;plunging&rdquo; flight of the gannet, tern, and
+    kingfisher.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">IV.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">Modes of Flight</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td><div class="ind2em">The movements of the wing in flight&mdash;Marey&rsquo;s experiments&mdash;Stopping
+    and turning movements&mdash;Alighting&mdash;&ldquo;Taking
+    off&rdquo;&mdash;Hovering&mdash;The use of the tail in flight&mdash;The
+    carriage of the neck in flight&mdash;And of the legs&mdash;The
+    flight of petrels&mdash;The speed of flight&mdash;The height at
+    which birds fly&mdash;Flight with burdens&mdash;Experiments on the
+    sizes of the wing in relation to flight&mdash;Flight in &ldquo;troops.&rdquo;</div>
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">V.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">Courtship Flights</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">The wing-play of black-game and grouse&mdash;The &ldquo;musical
+    ride&rdquo; of the snipe&mdash;The &ldquo;roding&rdquo; of the woodcock&mdash;The
+    musical flights of redshank and curlew&mdash;The &ldquo;tumbling&rdquo;
+    of the lapwing&mdash;The raven&rsquo;s somersaults&mdash;The
+    courting flight of the wood pigeon&mdash;The mannikin&rsquo;s
+    &ldquo;castanets&rdquo;&mdash;Wings as lures&mdash;The strange pose of the
+    sun-bittern&mdash;The &ldquo;wooing&rdquo; of the chaffinch and the
+    grasshopper-warbler&mdash;Darwin and wing-displays&mdash;The
+    wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">VI.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">How to tell Birds on the Wing</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
+    them&mdash;The wagtails&mdash;The finches&mdash;The buntings&mdash;The
+    redstart-wheatear, Stonechat&mdash;The thrushes&mdash;The
+    warblers&mdash;The tit-mice&mdash;The nuthatch, and tree-creeper&mdash;The
+    spotted flycatcher&mdash;The red-backed shrike&mdash;Swallows,
+    martins, and swifts&mdash;The night-jar&mdash;Owls&mdash;Woodpeckers.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">VII.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">How to tell Birds on the Wing (<i>continued</i>)</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97">97</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">Falcons&mdash;Golden eagle&mdash;Harriers and sparrow-hawk&mdash;The
+    heron&mdash;The cormorant, shag, and gannet&mdash;The petrels&mdash;Guillemots,
+    razor-bills, and puffins&mdash;The ducks&mdash;The
+    great crested grebe and dabchick&mdash;The pigeons&mdash;The
+    &ldquo;plover tribe&rdquo;&mdash;The gulls and terns&mdash;The game birds.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">VIII.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">The Wings of Nestling Birds</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">The wing of the unhatched bird&mdash;Of the coots and water-hen&mdash;The
+    hoatzin&rsquo;s wings&mdash;The wing of Archæopteryx&mdash;Moulting&mdash;The
+    nestling game-birds and ducks&mdash;Teaching
+    the young to fly.</td>
+  <td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2 caption2nc">IX.</td>
+  <td class="caption2nc">Flightless Birds</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="ind2em">The steamer duck&mdash;The owl parrot&mdash;The flightless grebe
+    of Titicaca&mdash;The dodo and solitaire&mdash;The ostrich tribe&mdash;The
+    penguin&rsquo;s wings.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2">ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
+
+
+<p class="caption3">Coloured Plates</p>
+
+<table style="width: 65%" summary="LoI_CP">
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Kingfisher and Young</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr" colspan="2"><i>Frontispiece</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Jays</span></td>
+  <td class="center" style="width:8em"><i>Facing Page</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr" style="width:2em"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Pheasants</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Brown Owl</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Wild Duck</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Woodcock carrying Young</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Herons</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Chaffinch and Young</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Gold-crested Wrens</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Great Spotted Woodpeckers</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Some Types of Wings and Tails</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Grouse</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p class="caption3">Black and White Plates</p>
+
+<table style="width: 65%" summary="LoI_BWP">
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Swans, Heron, Geese</span></td>
+  <td class="center" style="width:8em"><i>Facing Page</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr" style="width:2em"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Black-game</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Ducks</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Lapwings</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_58">58</a>
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Some Common Birds</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Some Types of Birds in Flight</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Birds of Prey</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Flightless Birds</span></td>
+  <td class="center">&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo;</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p class="caption3">Line Illustrations</p>
+
+<table style="width: 65%" summary="LoI_LI">
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Wings</span></td>
+  <td class="center"><i>Page</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Archæopteryx and Pterodactyles</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Bat, Beetle, Dragon Fly, etc.</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Peregrine chasing Duck</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Sunbittern Displaying</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Drumming Snipe</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Buzzard Soaring</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Gulls</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td><span class="smcap">Vultures</span></td>
+  <td class="center">"</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="Preface" id="Preface">Preface.</a></p>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">T</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">here</span> are hosts of people who have a genuine love of our native
+birds without yearning to possess their skins, or desiring to acquire
+the reputation of being &ldquo;Ornithologists.&rdquo; They would call them all
+by name if they could, but seek, alas! in vain, for some book wherein they
+will find some magic phrase which will enable them to identify every bird
+they meet by the wayside.</p>
+
+<p>Most of our native birds have learnt that &ldquo;discretion is the better
+part of valour,&rdquo; when in the neighbourhood of Man. Hence one gets but
+too often no more than a fleeting glance at their retreating forms, which,
+from frequent encounters, have become familiar, yet they leave no more
+than a vague image in the memory. &ldquo;What bird <i>was</i> that? I have
+often seen it but have never succeeded in taking it unawares.&rdquo; This is a
+question, and its comment, often put to me.</p>
+
+<p>Those who are in this quandary, and they are many, are always hoping
+to find some book which will enable them to correctly name the retreating
+forms. That book will never be written. In the following pages an attempt
+is made to aid such enquirers, and at the same time the difficulties of the
+task are pointed out.</p>
+
+<p>It is hoped, however, that this attempt will find a welcome among
+those for whom it is made. If it helps them to understand something, at
+least, of the absorbing and fascinating problems which the study of flight
+in the animal kingdom presents, it will at least have served some useful
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>The pursuit of the flying bird will inevitably stimulate a desire to
+know more about the bewildering changes of plumage presented at different
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>
+seasons of the year, as well as by the striking differences which often distinguish
+the two sexes, and the immature birds. The endeavour to satisfy this
+desire will open up a new world. Those who would pass to this knowledge
+should possess themselves of the &ldquo;Practical Handbook of British Birds.&rdquo;
+Though most severely practical, and designed for the serious student alone,
+even the beginner will find interest in the description of these several
+plumages, and much else beside that it is essential to know.</p>
+
+<p>Now that the study of flight is so much to the fore, some may turn
+to these pages in the hope of gaining useful information on the theme of
+mechanical flight. Some help they may find. But it was not for this
+that they were written. The flight of an aeroplane and the flight of a bird
+have little in common&mdash;at present; though something may be learned
+by the study of gliding flight and soaring, which of course have their place
+in this book. But anatomical details and mechanical formulæ, necessary
+to the serious student of flight, would have been entirely out of place here,
+and they have been omitted.</p>
+
+<p>My task has been by no means easy. But it has been enormously
+helped by the extremely skilful and beautiful work of the artist, Mr. Roland
+Green. Where birds are concerned, few artists in the past, and very few
+in the present, have shown any ability to combine accuracy in drawing
+with ingenuity of composition and faithfulness in colouring. Mr. Green
+has shown this rare combination; his coloured plates and line-drawings
+speak for themselves.</p>
+
+<p class="tdr2">W. P. PYCRAFT.</p>
+
+<p class="tdl"><i>London</i>,<br />
+<span style="padding-left: 2em"><i>September, 1922</i></span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">Concerning Wings.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Divinity within them breeding wings<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;wherewith to scorn the earth."&mdash;<i>Milton.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">What a wing is&mdash;The quill feathers and their function&mdash;The skeleton of the
+wing&mdash;The muscles of the wing&mdash;The great air-chambers of the body&mdash;The Bat&rsquo;s
+wing&mdash;The wing of flying Dragons&mdash;The wings of Dragon-flies and beetles.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">T</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> flight of birds has always aroused man&rsquo;s envy and
+stirred his imagination. David longed for the wings of a
+dove: the writer of the Book of Proverbs tells us that &ldquo;the
+way of an eagle&rdquo; surpasses his understanding. Icarus, spurred
+on by dire necessity, actually, we are told, contrived to fly&mdash;but
+his maiden effort ended in disaster! To-day we have,
+in a sense, succeeded where he failed. But only because we have
+given up the idea of flight by personal effort, and make our
+aerial journeys in a flying machine.</p>
+
+<p>That we owe much of our success to a study of the flight of
+birds is common knowledge, but the machine which has evolved
+as a consequence of this study pursues its way through the air
+after a very different fashion from that of the birds, for its vast
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
+body is thrust, or drawn, through the air by means of a propeller,
+driven at incredible speed, its immobile wings sustaining the
+weight. The wings of the bird, on the other hand, not only
+lift the body from the earth, but they sustain it in the air by their
+marvellously complex movements. And this is true, in varying
+degrees of bird, and bat, and butterfly: of dragon-fly and beetle.</p>
+
+<p>Even they who must perforce dwell in crowded cities see daily
+the miracle of flight performed. For even here sparrows and
+pigeons, at least, are everywhere, and it is just because this is
+so, just because they have become so &ldquo;common-place,&rdquo; that
+their very presence escapes notice. Yet the wonder of their
+movements in the air might become a never-ending source of
+delight if only we went about our business with open eyes and
+minds alert.</p>
+
+<p>Watch the wary sparrow spring from the ground and dart
+across the road, or up to the nearest house-top. How is it done
+with such incredible speed and accuracy?</p>
+
+<p>To understand even the broad principles of flight, it is
+necessary to realize, at the very beginning, that the wing, in the
+case of the bird, or the bat, is a specially modified fore-leg. So
+also is the human arm and hand. But its transformation has not
+been so drastic as that of the bird, or the bat. Wherein the hand
+has been, as it were, completely re-modelled to fulfil the
+peculiar and complex functions demanded of it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>How should one describe the wing of a bird, as one sees it in
+flight?</p>
+
+<p>The Dictionary, obscure and inaccurate as Dictionaries
+usually are, defines a wing as &ldquo;the organ of a bird, or other animal,
+or insect, by which it flies&mdash;any side-piece.&rdquo; Might not the
+impression one gathers of a wing, during flight, be defined as of a
+lateral extension of the body, presenting a relatively large
+surface, but having no appreciable thickness? That surface,
+examined in a dead bird, is seen to be formed, for the most part,
+of a series of parallel, tapering, elastic rods, fringed with an
+innumerable series of smaller, similar, but much shorter rods,
+closely packed, and linked together by some invisible means to
+form an elastic web? These we call the &ldquo;quill,&rdquo; or &ldquo;flight-feathers.&rdquo;
+The rest of the wing, and the body itself, is clothed
+with precisely similar structures, differing only in their smaller
+size. We call them &ldquo;feathers&rdquo; commonly, without realizing that
+they are the &ldquo;Hall-mark&rdquo; of the bird, for no other creature has
+ever been similarly clothed.</p>
+
+<p>These quill-feathers play such a tremendously important
+part in flight that their arrangement, and relation to the underlying
+skeleton must be carefully examined by all who would
+understand the flight of birds. To begin with, then, note that they
+are so arranged as to overlap one another, the free edges of the
+quills facing the outer edge of the wing. Only by this arrangement
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
+would flight be possible, for on the upstroke of the wing
+through the air the quills act like the shutters of the sails of a
+windmill, allowing the wind to pass between them and so relieving
+pressure on the uplifting wing-stroke. On the down-stroke, the
+opposite effect is produced. The full force of the stroke is
+conserved, because, owing to the overlap, the several feathers
+are now pressed closely together to form an impervious sheet.</p>
+
+<p>How are they fixed to the skeleton? To see this all the
+smaller feathers and the muscles, or &ldquo;flesh&rdquo; of the wing must be
+removed. It will then be found that the flight-feathers
+are divisible into two series. One, widely spaced, runs
+along the upper surface of the fore-arm: the other, closely
+packed, along what answers to the back of the hand. In
+effect this is but a single rod of bone, but it is composed of three
+elements, answering to three of the digits of the human hand&mdash;the
+thumb and the first and second fingers. But they are
+scarcely recognizable as such, for the thumb is reduced to a mere
+stump, while the two fingers have become welded together.
+The third finger, indeed, has become reduced to the palm-bone,
+and a short stump answering to the first finger joint. To this
+frame-work, which can be folded up into the shape of a Z when
+the bird is at rest, the quills are fixed by their base by means of
+slender, but very strong elastic tendons. In birds which have
+a long upper arm bone, like the Albatross, Gull, or Heron, there
+is a third series of long, almost &ldquo;quill-like&rdquo; feathers running
+from the elbow to the body, thus closing up what would otherwise
+be a gap between the wing surface and the body, rendering
+flight impossible.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 462px;">
+<img src="images/fp_004.png" width="462" height="650" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+  <span class="smcap">Swans.</span>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="smcap">Heron.</span><br />
+  <span class="smcap">Geese.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The most important muscles of the wing are those which have
+to provide the power for the down-stroke of the wing. And
+these are the &ldquo;pectoral&rdquo; or &ldquo;breast-muscles&rdquo;&mdash;which form such
+dainty meat in a roast fowl. Owing to their great bulk the breast-bone
+itself would be insufficient to afford them attachment.
+This is furnished by the development of a deep, median keel,
+so that the breast-bone of a bird, such as a pigeon, bears a fanciful
+resemblance, when seen in profile, to the hull of a ship&mdash;unusually
+shallow&mdash;with a very deep keel. The front end of the breast-bone
+supports two slender rods of bone, and these in their turn
+support the long, sword-like blade-bone, and the &ldquo;merry-thought.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The general appearance of this frame-work for the support
+of the wing and its muscles can be seen in the adjoining illustrations.
+But it must be remembered that in their relative sizes
+and disposition these various parts present a very considerable
+range of differences. That these differences are correllated
+with different forms of flight goes without saying, but, be it noted,
+no one, as yet, has attempted to discover in what way they are
+related. Some of the readers of this book may, perhaps, be
+tempted to try and solve the problems which these differences
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
+present. To begin with, a collection of breast bones of different
+species of birds with their attached shoulder-girdles should be
+made, and these should be studied together with careful
+observations of the flight of the living bird. So far only a
+few comparisons of this kind have been made.</p>
+
+<p>It must not be supposed that the whole secret of flight in
+birds is concentrated in the skeleton of the breast-bone and its
+shoulder-girdle, and the muscles attached thereto. But those
+who would investigate the modifications of the rest of the body
+which have taken place in harmony with the requirements of
+flight, must turn to more learned treatises. There is, however,
+one point which demands notice here. And this is the popular
+belief that birds have the power of materially reducing their
+weight when on the wing by drawing air into their lungs, and
+storing it in large air-chambers enclosed within the body.
+These chambers are indeed concerned with the needs of flight.
+But the precise part they play is yet to be discovered. They
+certainly have no effect of rendering the body lighter. So far as
+our knowledge goes it would seem that they act as regulators
+of the temperature and as reservoirs of breathing air, during
+the strenuous efforts of flight.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 518px;">
+<img src="images/fp_006.png" width="518" height="699" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Jays</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It is a mistake to suppose that it is unnecessary to consider
+other kinds of flight when studying that of birds. Even those
+who are not interested in the abstruse problems of the mechanism
+of bird&rsquo;s flight, will find that comparisons made between birds,
+bats, butterflies and beetles when on the wing, are immensely
+interesting, and help to bring out the peculiarities of each.</p>
+
+<p>During the twilight hours of a still summer evening one may
+compare, with advantage, the rushing swoop of the screaming
+swift, borne with lightning speed upon long, ribbon-like pinions,
+with the curiously erratic flight of the woolly bat with beaded
+eyes, who has ventured abroad for his evening meal. One
+cannot but feel astonishment at the marvellous dexterity with
+which he twists and turns, now shooting up into the sky, now
+darting downward. What bird can beat him, or even match
+him, in the art of doubling back on his tracks? And one can put
+his skill at lightning turns to the test if one attempts to catch
+him in a butterfly net. Often indeed have I attempted this
+feat, but never yet with success.</p>
+
+<p>In the glare of noon-day this aerial athlete may perhaps be
+found in a deep slumber, hanging head downwards behind the
+shutters of a cottage window, or in some crevice of a barn-roof.
+Gently seize him and as gently stretch out his wing. The
+moment one opens it one sees that it is constructed upon a
+totally different plan from that of a bird. In the first place a
+thin membrane, or fold of skin is seen to take the place of the
+series of quill-feathers found in the wing of the bird. In the
+second it will be found that this membrane is stretched between
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+a series of long and very slender bony rods. These are excessively
+attenuated fingers. And if the hinder border of the wing-membrane
+be traced inwards it will be found to be attached
+to the hind limb. In some species it will be found that this
+membrane passes backwards beyond the leg to attach itself to
+the tail. Here, then, is a wing as efficient for its purpose as that
+of a bird, but constructed on a totally different plan.</p>
+
+<p>Ages ago, before even the birds or the beasts had appeared
+on the earth, the winged dragons, which the Men of Science call
+Pterodactyles, held the proud position of being, not only the
+first, but the only creatures blessed with a backbone that could
+fly. Their wings resembled those of the bats, but differed in this,
+that instead of the wing-membrane being stretched between all
+the fingers, leaving only the thumb free, it was attached only to
+the fifth finger, leaving the remaining fingers free, and these were
+reduced to mere vestiges. As with the birds, the breast-bone
+was very broad and was furnished with a keel, while in the bats
+it takes the form of a jointed rod, down which no more than
+a slight keel is ever developed.</p>
+
+<p>But millions of years before the Flying-dragons, birds, and
+bats came into being, the stupendous problem of flight had been
+solved. Far away in the distant Devonian Epoch, when the
+distribution of land and water over the earth&rsquo;s surface was
+totally different from that of to-day, dragon-flies and caddis-flies
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+disported themselves in the summer sun, amid landscapes
+that would seem strange to our eyes. For there were no trees
+and flowering plants, such as we know.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>The dragon-flies of that remote epoch were very like those of
+to-day, whose dancing flights and graceful, swooping movements
+are such a delight to watch by reed-fringed pools, or river-banks,
+during the sweltering days of summer. This flight is very
+different from that of a bird, though it would be hard to say
+precisely in what it differs. But we have no such difficulty in
+regard to the broad outlines of the mechanism of such flight.
+To begin with there are two pairs of wings, and these appear to
+be fashioned out of some curiously gauze-like material, a sort of
+mesh-work tissue, often strikingly coloured. And they are
+obviously driven after a very different fashion from those of the
+bird. For in the bird they are moved by quivering muscles,
+attached to a bony, internal skeleton. In the dragon-fly&mdash;as
+with all insects&mdash;the hard skeleton, composed of a material
+known as &ldquo;chitin,&rdquo; forms the outside of the body and encloses
+the muscles. Finally, for we may not dwell very long over this
+aspect of flight, it is clear that the wings cannot have been derived
+from modified fore-legs, like those of the bat, or the bird.
+Rather, it would seem, they have developed out of plate-like
+breathing organs.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The restful twilight hours of summer tempt not only bats
+from their hiding places, but a host of other winged creatures
+which are rarely to be seen, or heard, during the glare of noon.
+Among these is the lumbering dor-beetle, who, with lazy drone
+steers clear of solid objects only with difficulty. Many, indeed,
+are his failures. He and his kin are no match for bats and owls,
+who find them juicy morsels! On the next opportunity catch
+one and examine him. His wings are curiously interesting. There
+are the usual two pairs: but the fore-wings have been changed to
+serve as covers for the hind-wings. During flight they are
+spread outwards, and indirectly, no doubt, assist flight. But the
+hind-wings are the real propellers. And it will be noticed that
+when not in use they can be folded up in a perfectly wonderful
+manner, so as to lie completely underneath the fore-wings, or
+&ldquo;elytra,&rdquo; so that when the creature is crawling it appears to be
+wingless.</p>
+
+<p>Now compare these with the transparent wings of the bee,
+or the gorgeously scale-covered wings of the butterfly. It is
+well worth while. If this examination be done very carefully,
+and with the aid of a magnifying glass, it will be found that the
+fore and hind wings are yoked together in the wing of the bee,
+by a delicate mechanism of hooks. In the moths, but not in the
+butterflies, a bristle, or sometimes two or three bristles, serve
+the same purpose. Further, in the case of the bee it will be found
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+that the fore-wing, when at rest, is folded longitudinally back
+upon itself.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, turn to the flies. Herein it will be seen that there
+is but a single pair of wings, the hind pair having become reduced
+to mere stumps, known as &ldquo;balancers.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Much, very much more, might have been said of these wings:
+but our conversation is of birds. We cannot, however, properly
+appreciate either the essential characters of their wings, or their
+flight, without some such standards of comparison as is afforded
+by the wings of other creatures.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 673px;">
+<img src="images/fp_013.png" width="673" height="383" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+
+<pre>
+  A <span class="smcap">Primaries.</span>  B <span class="smcap">Secondaries.</span>  C <span class="smcap">Tectrices.</span>  D <span class="smcap">Bastard Wing.</span>
+</pre>
+
+<p>The upper figure shows the under side of wing with the coverts removed to show attachment of
+flight feathers to skeleton.</p>
+
+<p>The lower figure shows the quill or flight feathers and the coverts in their natural condition.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a><br /><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">The First Bird.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"And let Fowl fly above the earth; with wings<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;Displayed in the open firmanent of heaven."&mdash;<i>Milton.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The ancestors of birds&mdash;The first known bird and its many remarkable features&mdash;The
+gradual evolution of the birds of to-day.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">S</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">S</span><span class="smcap">ooner</span> or later all bird-lovers find themselves pondering
+over the problem of the origin of birds: how they evolved
+their peculiar covering of feathers: what was the fashion of
+the original arm and hand out of which the wing was fashioned:
+and finally, whence have the birds been derived?</p>
+
+<p>Since these pages are avowedly devoted to the subject of
+Flight, any attempt to summarize the state of our knowledge on
+these aspects of the history of birds would be in the nature of a
+trespass on the space, of necessity limited, which even a cursory
+survey of flight demands.</p>
+
+<p>Let it suffice, then, to say, that birds are descended from
+reptiles. The skeleton of modern birds bears undubitable testimony
+of this. For we have the evidence furnished us by the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+remains of two remarkable skeletons, belonging to that very
+wonderful reptile-like bird, Archæopteryx.</p>
+
+<p>Only two skeletons of this wonderful bird are known, and
+they were obtained, many years ago, from the Solenhofen, or
+Lithographic slates of Bavaria. The wing and tail-feathers
+are as perfectly developed as in modern birds. But these
+precious fossils present two characters which have long since
+been lost by birds. The first of these is the presence of well
+developed teeth in the jaws. The birds of to-day have horny
+beaks. The teeth bespeak the reptile. The second is the long,
+tapering tail, which is composed of a series of cylindrical bones,
+forming a lizard-like appendage. But each bone, be it noted,
+supported a pair of stiff, tail-quills, so that the tail of this ancient
+bird, in its general appearance, differs in a very striking way
+from that of a modern bird, wherein these feathers seem all to
+spring from a common base, fan-wise. But as a matter of fact
+this appearance is deceptive, for the large bone, or &ldquo;pygostyle&rdquo;
+which supports the tail feathers of the adult, is found, in the
+embryo, to be made up of a series of separate pieces, agreeing in
+number with those of the tail of the fossil ancestor, Archæopteryx.
+Each of these separate bones has, in fact, in the course of the ages,
+been shortened up to the condition of mere discs; and this
+&ldquo;telescoping&rdquo; of the vertebræ has brought the once separated
+feathers close up, so that their bases lie packed in like the spokes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+of a fan. As a result, a much more efficient tail for the needs of
+flight has come into being. And the tail, it must be remembered,
+plays, especially in some birds, an important part. But this is not
+all. We have now to consider the wing. In all essentials this
+agrees with that of living birds. And this agreement is strikingly
+close when it is compared with the embryonic and early nestling
+stages. A detailed account of these resemblances, and differences,
+would be out of place here. Suffice it to say that its closest
+modern counterparts are to be found in the wing of the nestling
+of that strange South American bird, the Hoatzin, and the &ldquo;Game-birds,&rdquo;
+such as of a young pheasant, or a young fowl. The evidence
+these can furnish in this matter of the evolution of the birds wing
+will be found in <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter VI</a>. For the moment it will be more
+profitable to discuss the broad outlines of the origin of flight,
+so far as this is possible.</p>
+
+<p>On this theme there are, as might be supposed, many opinions&mdash;some
+of them bearing little relation to fact.</p>
+
+<p>The feet of Archæopteryx, it is important to remember,
+bear a very extraordinary likeness to the feet of a &ldquo;perching&rdquo;
+bird, say that of a crow. They are without any semblance of doubt,
+the feet of a bird which lived in trees. Archæopteryx, then, was
+an arboreal bird. And this being so, the most reasonable
+hypothesis of the origin of flight is that it developed out of
+&ldquo;gliding&rdquo; movements, made for the purpose of passing from the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+topmost branches of one tree to the lower branches of another,
+after the mode of the &ldquo;flying-squirrels,&rdquo; and &ldquo;flying-lemur&rdquo;
+of to-day. The wing, at this primitive stage of its evolution,
+was even then, probably, a three-fingered limb, provided with a
+broad fringe of incipient feathers along its hinder border. At
+this stage the body would have been less bird-like than that of
+Archæopteryx, and have been still more like that of the ancestral
+reptilian stock from which the birds have sprung. That feathers
+are, so to speak, glorified reptilian scales cannot be certainly
+demonstrated, but men of Science are generally agreed that this
+was their origin.</p>
+
+<p>By the time that Archæopteryx had come into being, true
+flight had been arrived at, though probably it could not have been
+long sustained. As these primitive birds increased in numbers,
+and spread from the woodlands to the open country, life became
+more strenuous. New enemies had to be evaded, longer journeys
+had to be made for food. Only the very best performers on the
+wing could survive, and thus, in each generation, the failures
+would be speedily weeded out, while competition among the
+survivors would raise the standard. We see the result of this
+&ldquo;struggle for existence&rdquo; in the many and varied types of wings,
+and of flight, which are presented in this book.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;">
+<img src="images/fp_019.png" width="403" height="619" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Archæopteryx.</span><br />
+
+<span class="smcap">Pterodactyles.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and their
+relation to Flight.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"&#8230; the fowls of heaven have wings,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;And blasts of heaven will aid their flight:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; *<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;Chains tie us down by land and sea."&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The evasiveness of flight&mdash;The size of the wing in relation to that of the body&mdash;Noisy
+flight&mdash;&ldquo;Muffled&rdquo; flight&mdash;The swoop of the sparrow-hawk&mdash;The &ldquo;flighting&rdquo;
+of ducks&mdash;The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows&mdash;&ldquo;Soaring&rdquo; flights of
+storks and vultures&mdash;The wonderful &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; feats of the albatross&mdash;The &ldquo;soaring&rdquo;
+of the skylark&mdash;The &ldquo;plunging&rdquo; flight of the gannet, tern, and kingfisher.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">W</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">W</span><span class="smcap">ho</span> needs to be told that birds fly? So common-place
+has this fact become that the many, and varied forms
+of wings, and the peculiarities of flight which are associated
+with these differences, are rarely perceived. Even sculptors,
+and artists show a hopeless unfamiliarity with the shapes of
+wings, and their meanings, at any rate, as a general rule. Look
+at their attempts to display birds in flight, or in the fanciful use
+of wings which convention has ascribed to angels. For the most
+part these superbly beautiful appendages are atrociously
+rendered.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Yet it must be confessed that any attempt to explain
+exactly how birds fly must fail. We can do no more than state
+the more obvious factors which are indispensable to flight, and
+the nature of its mechanism. The subtleties, and delicate
+adjustments of actual flight evade us.</p>
+
+<p>Our appreciation, however, of this supreme mode of
+locomotion will be materially quickened, if we make a point of
+studying the varied forms of flight as opportunities present
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>To begin with, it is worth noting that the size of the wing
+decreases with the weight of the body to be lifted&mdash;up to a certain
+point, of course. This, perhaps, may seem strange a statement
+to make. But it can be readily verified. Compare, for
+example, the size of the body in relation to the wings, in the case
+of the butterfly and the dragon-fly, on the one hand, and the
+partridge and the crow, on the other. The two first named,
+by comparison, have enormous wings.</p>
+
+<p>Birds, it will be noticed, which haunt woods, or thickets,
+have short, rounded wings, like the wren, the pheasant, or
+the tawny owl. Such, on the other hand, as live in the open,
+like the gull, and the swallow, have long, pointed wings. The
+reason for this is fairly plain. Birds which must steer their
+course through the intricate mazes of a wood, or thicket, would
+find their flight seriously hampered by long wings.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 503px;">
+<img src="images/fp_022.png" width="503" height="684" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Pheasants</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These general principles once realized, a foundation is laid
+on which one may base observations on the peculiarities of flight
+distinguishing different types of birds.</p>
+
+<p>Most of us, probably, at one time or another, in taking a
+walk through the woods, have been startled, almost out of our wits,
+by a sudden &ldquo;whirr&rdquo; of wings at our very feet; made by some
+crouching pheasant, waiting till the very last moment before
+revealing himself, by taking flight. This alarming noise is due
+to the shortness and stiffness of the quill, or flight-feathers.
+With pinions moving with incredible speed, the bird is off like a
+rocket. Not seldom, probably, it owes its life to this ability
+to disconcert its enemies, till it has put a safe distance between
+itself and danger. By way of contrast, let us take the absolutely
+silent, easy movements of the owl, stealing forth in the twilight
+of a summer&rsquo;s evening, seeking whom he may devour. Here,
+again, we have a meaning in the mode of flight. Here silence
+is more than golden: it means life itself. Nimble-footed, sharp-eared
+mice and rats, must be snatched up before even the breath
+of suspicion can reach them. The uncanny silence of this
+approach is rendered possible, only by what may be called a
+&ldquo;muffling&rdquo; of the wings. For the flight-feathers are not only
+of great breadth, but they are covered, as it were, with velvet-pile,
+the &ldquo;barbules&rdquo; of the wing-quills, which form the agents
+by which the &ldquo;web&rdquo; of the quill is held together, having their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+upper spurs produced into long, thread-like processes, which
+extinguishes any possibility of a warning &ldquo;swish.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>John Bright, in one of his magnificent perorations, caused
+his spell-bound listeners to catch their breath, when, conjuring
+up a vision of the Angel of Death, he remarked &ldquo;we can almost
+hear the rustle of his wings.&rdquo; One realizes the vividness of
+that imagery, when one hears, as on rare occasions one may,
+the awe-inspiring rustle of the death-dealing swoop of the falcon,
+or the sparrow-hawk, as he strikes down his victim.</p>
+
+<p>But the swish, and whistle of wings often stirs the blood
+with delicious excitement, as, when one is out on some cold, dark
+night, &ldquo;flighting.&rdquo; That is to say, awaiting mallard passing
+overhead on the way to their feeding ground, or in watching
+the hordes of starlings, or swallows, settling down to roost in a
+reed-bed. No words can describe these sounds, but those to
+whom they are familiar know well the thrill of enjoyment they
+beget. There is no need, here, to muffle the sound of the wing-beat.
+The falcon vies with the lightning in his speed, escape is
+well nigh hopeless: neither have the swallows need for silence;
+indeed, on these occasions, they add, to the music of their wings,
+the enchantment of their twittering.</p>
+
+<p>So much for flight in its more general aspects. Let us turn
+now to a survey of some of the more remarkable forms of flight,
+beginning with that known as &ldquo;soaring.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This but few birds have mastered, and to-day it is rarely to be
+seen in our islands, for eagles, falcons, and buzzards are, unfortunately,
+only to be found in a few favoured localities.
+Happily, however, one may yet realize the delight of watching a
+soaring buzzard, or raven, among the hills of Westmorland, or in
+parts of Cornwall and Wales. But to see the past-masters in the
+art, one must seek the haunts of pelicans, vultures, and adjutant
+storks. The last-named is perhaps the finest performer of them
+all. For the first hundred feet or so he rises by rapid and powerful
+strokes of the wings, and then, apparently without the slightest
+effort, or the suspicion of a wing-beat, he sweeps round in great
+spirals, gaining some ten or twenty feet with each gyration,
+the wings and tail all the while being fully extended and the
+primary feathers widely separated at their tips. During the
+first part of every turn he is flying slightly downward: at the end
+of the descent he sweeps round and faces the wind, which carries
+him upward. Round, round, he goes, mounting ever higher and
+higher, until at last he attains a height of perhaps two miles.</p>
+
+<p>The adjutant thus goes aloft apparently for the mere delight
+the movement affords him. But not so with the vulture, who is
+a close rival in this art. He soars for his very existence, for dead
+bodies are not to be found everywhere. Possessing powers of
+sight infinitely greater than ours, he mounts aloft for the purpose
+of taking observations. If nothing &ldquo;toothsome&rdquo; can be seen
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+from his vast range, he turns his attention to the movements of
+such of his fellows as may be up on the same errand miles away.
+Should he see one swooping earthwards he instantly tracks him
+down, and is soon at the feast. This accounts for the mysterious
+way in which vultures will gather together to the feast, in a place
+where an hour ago not one was to be seen. A caravan of
+camels, perchance, is making its toilsome way across a burning
+desert. One falls by the way. In a few hours its bones will be
+picked clean by a horde of these ravenous birds.</p>
+
+<p>Longfellow sang the song of the vultures hunting in stately
+verse:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Never stoops the soaring vulture<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;On his quarry in the desert,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;On the sick or wounded bison,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;But another vulture, watching<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;From his high aerial look-out,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;Sees the downward plunge and follows,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;And a third pursues the second,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;Coming from the invisible ether,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;First a speck, and then a vulture,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;Till the air is thick with pinions."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 470px;">
+<img src="images/fp_026.png" width="470" height="559" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Black-game.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Darwin, in his wonderful &ldquo;Journal of a Voyage Round the
+World&rdquo; gives a marvellously vivid word-picture of the largest,
+and most interesting of all the vultures, the Condor of the Andes&mdash;one
+of the largest of flying birds, having a wing-span of something
+over nine feet:&mdash;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p>
+<p>"When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and
+round any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from
+the ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds
+flap its wings. Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an
+hour, without once taking off my eyes; they moved in large
+curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without
+giving a single flap. As they glided close over my head, I
+intently watched, from an oblique position, the outlines of the
+separate and great terminal feathers of each wing; and these
+separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory movement,
+would have appeared as if blended together; but they were seen
+distinctly against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved
+frequently, and, apparently, with force, and the extended wings
+seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck,
+body, and the tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the
+wings for a moment collapsed; and then again expanded with
+an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent
+seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady
+movement of a paper kite. In the case of any bird <i>soaring</i>,
+its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of the
+inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance
+its gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a
+body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so
+little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.
+The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must
+suppose, is sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour,
+without apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain
+and river."</p>
+
+<p>Those who &ldquo;go down to the sea in ships&rdquo; have to face many
+perils, but the &ldquo;wonders of the great deep&rdquo; are for them a lure.
+One of these is to watch the marvellous &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; flights of the
+wandering albatross. His wings have, when expanded, a
+peculiarly &ldquo;ribbon-like&rdquo; form, and measure from tip to tip,
+over eleven feet&mdash;thus exceeding that of the condor, which,
+however, is the heavier bird of the two. The &ldquo;ribbon-like&rdquo; form
+of the wings is due to the extreme shortness of the flight-quills&mdash;the
+primaries and secondaries, and the great length of the arm
+and fore-arm. And it may be to these structural peculiarities
+that the &ldquo;sailing&rdquo; flight just alluded to is due. Resembling
+soaring in many of its aspects, yet it differs materially in that it is
+performed low down, not at immense heights. The most
+graphic description of these movements is surely that of Mr. Froude:
+&ldquo;The albatross,&rdquo; he tells us, "wheels in circles round and
+round, and for ever round the ship&mdash;now far behind, now sweeping
+past in a long rapid curve, like a perfect skater on a perfect field
+of ice. There is no effort; watch as closely as you will, you will
+rarely see, or never see, a stroke of the mighty pinion. The
+flight is generally near the water, often close to it. You lose
+sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow between the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest; but how he
+rises, and whence comes the propelling force, is, to the eye, inexplicable;
+he alters merely the angle at which the wings are inclined;
+usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal;
+but when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction,
+the wings then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the
+water."</p>
+
+<p>One sometimes hears the skylark described as &ldquo;soaring&rdquo;
+upwards, when performing that wonderful musical ride which has
+made him so famous. But as, spell-bound, one listens to his
+rapturous strains, and watches his spiral ascent, one cannot help
+noticing that his wings are never still, they seem almost to be
+&ldquo;beating time&rdquo; to his music. In true soaring they are
+scarcely ever moved.</p>
+
+<p>The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity,
+comparatively slow. But in what we may call &ldquo;plunging&rdquo;
+flight the case is very different, for here the velocity of the descent
+is great.</p>
+
+<p>The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our own,
+display this mode of flight to perfection. It is worth going far
+to see a gannet dive. Travelling at a relatively considerable
+height, and eagerly scanning the surface of the water for signs of
+a shoal of fish, this amazing bird dives with the speed of lightning,
+and with half-spread wings disappears with a terrific plunge
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+beneath the surface, to emerge, an instant later, with his prey.
+One can measure the force of such a plunge by the cruel trick,
+sometimes played by fishermen, of fastening a herring to a board,
+and setting it adrift where gannets are about. The unsuspecting
+victim descends as usual upon his prey, only to meet instant death
+by the shock of his impact with the board. Those who talk
+glibly of identifying birds by their flight may point to this
+wonderful diver as a case in point. But while one may often
+see the gannet on the wing, it is by no means so often that one will
+have the good fortune to see him dive, for he is not always hungry.
+His white body, pointed tail, and black quill-feathers would
+then enable the novice to name him at once. But&mdash;in his
+immature plumage, he would, at a little distance, appear black,
+and unless he were fishing, the chances of recognition would be
+by no means great. Close at hand he would appear speckled
+with white.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 493px;">
+<img src="images/fp_030.png" width="493" height="673" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Brown Owl</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But this by the way. There are two other birds which dive
+from a height on the wing. One of these is the kingfisher: the
+other is the tern. The term &ldquo;tern&rdquo; is here used collectively,
+for there are several species, but all have this habit of diving
+from a height. During the summer months one may be quite
+sure of an opportunity of watching the graceful, easy flight of
+at least three species. For they haunt the sea-shore, river, and
+lake with equal impartiality. Those who are on the look-out for
+terns, for the first time, will easily recognise them. For, in the
+first place they look like miniature gulls, but with longer and more
+pointed wings, and forked tails. Further, all have a characteristic
+black cap. They travel in small parties, as if for company, keeping
+no more than a yard or two from the surface of the water, and
+scanning it eagerly in search of shoals of small fish, or crustacea.
+As these are found one will note a quickening of the wing-beat,
+and a sudden dive, like that of the gannet, with half-closed wings.
+And sometimes, too, the impetus will take them completely under
+water.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a><br />
+<a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 489px;">
+<img src="images/fp_033.png" width="489" height="483" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<div class="center">
+  1 <span class="smcap">Bat</span><br />
+  2 <span class="smcap">Butterfly</span><br />
+  3 <span class="smcap">Beetle</span><br />
+  4 <span class="smcap">Dragon-Fly</span><br />
+  5 <span class="smcap">Bone of Birds Wing, Showing the three Divisions,
+      Arm&mdash;Fore-arm&mdash;Hand.</span><br />
+  6 <span class="smcap">Breast Bone of Swan</span> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
+  7 &nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; " &nbsp; <span class="smcap">Pigeon &nbsp;</span><br />
+  8 &nbsp; &nbsp;&ldquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; " &nbsp; <span class="smcap">Pelican</span><br />
+  9 &amp; 10 <span class="smcap">Apteryx</span>, <span class="smcap">Cassowary</span> (degenerate wings).
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">Modes of Flight.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The soaring lark is blest as proud<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;When at Heaven&rsquo;s gate she sings:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;The roving bee proclaims aloud<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;Her flight by vocal wings."&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The movements of the wing in flight&mdash;Marey&rsquo;s experiments&mdash;Stopping and turning
+movements&mdash;Alighting&mdash;&ldquo;Taking off&rdquo;&mdash;Hovering&mdash;The use of the tail in flight&mdash;The
+carriage of the neck in flight&mdash;And of the legs&mdash;The flight of petrels&mdash;The
+speed of flight&mdash;The height at which birds fly&mdash;Flight with burdens&mdash;Experiments
+on the sizes of the wing in relation to flight&mdash;Flight in &ldquo;troops.&rdquo;</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">W</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">W</span><span class="smcap">hile</span> it is possible to show that certain kinds of flight
+are to be associated with such and such peculiarities of
+the skeleton, and the muscles attached thereto, there are many
+&ldquo;eccentricities&rdquo; which cannot be measured, and explained, in
+terms of mechanism.</p>
+
+<p>The very disconcerting, twisting, flight of the snipe is one of
+these. The sportsman knows it well: and he knows that the
+twisting, during which the bird turns the body half over&mdash;that is
+with, say, the left wing pointing directly downwards, and the
+right wing directly upwards&mdash;is only the preliminary to getting
+fully on the way, and that, presently, it will pursue a straight
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+course, with arrow-like speed. Yet its cousin, the jack-snipe,
+never twists.</p>
+
+<p>Why does the woodcock invariably drop after a charge of
+shot, even though not a pellet has touched it, while a snipe
+pursues its way? These differences are not merely differences of
+&ldquo;habit&rdquo;: they indicate subtle differences in nervous response
+to the same kind of stimulus, and in structural details yet to be
+unravelled.</p>
+
+<p>Some day the cinematograph will reveal to us all the phases
+of flight and the movements to which they are due. Even now,
+thanks to the modern camera, we have learned a great deal. We
+have learned, for example, that the flight of a bird is not effected
+merely by rapid up and down movements of the fully extended
+wings, or with flexed wings&mdash;that is to say, half closed, as in
+&ldquo;gliding&rdquo; flight when a bird is descending, or in the swoop of,
+say, the sparrow-hawk. Only in one of these two positions do we
+ever seem to see the wings when we have to trust to our eyes
+alone, as the bird hurries past us. The impression that we have
+seen aright is confirmed when we stand on the deck of a steamer,
+and watch the gulls following in its wake. For incredibly long
+distances they will travel without a perceptible wing-beat. The
+albatross is the finest of all performers in regard to this kind of
+flight, which is due, apparently, to air currents created by stiff
+breezes, or gales. Some birds seem to make their way against
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+a head-wind with the minimum of effort, by partly flexing the
+wings and gliding downwards: at the end of the descent, by
+turning the body sharply upwards, and spreading the wings to
+the fullest extent, they are lifted up, and driven forward, like
+a kite.</p>
+
+<p>Marey and Pettigrew, long ago, showed conclusively, by means
+of photography, that our conception of the movement of the wing
+during flight was far from correct.</p>
+
+<p>To avoid a long and tedious description, and many technicalities,
+it must suffice to say that the wing of a bird possesses very
+considerable freedom and range of movement at the shoulder
+joint. Certainly, during some phases of flight, the wings are thrust
+forward and extended to their fullest extent, so that the outer
+margins of the wings come to lie almost parallel with the long
+axis of the body, as may be seen in the spirited illustration
+showing the goshawk in flight. As they sweep downwards,
+and backwards, they lift the body and drive it forwards.
+At the end of the &ldquo;sweep&rdquo; they are &ldquo;flexed,&rdquo; that is to say, bent
+at the elbow and wrist-joints, while at the same time they are
+raised and brought forward above the body for a repetition of the
+stroke. These movements are too quick for the eye to follow,
+but they have been fixed for us by the camera.</p>
+
+<p>Marey devised an ingenious experiment in his endeavour
+to discover the movements of the bird&rsquo;s wing during flight. He
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+fastened a small piece of paper to the tip of a crows wing, and as
+the bird flew in front of a perfectly black screen he took a
+photograph of this moving speck of white, while, of course, no
+image of the crow appeared on the plate. The resultant
+picture gave a series of &ldquo;figure of 8 loops&rdquo; as one would make
+this figure with a pen, contriving to make the lower loop very small,
+and the upper loop very large. But as the wing-beat increased
+in speed the lower loop gradually faded out.</p>
+
+<p>These movements of the wing, however, are descriptive
+rather of what takes place during very vigorous flight, as when the
+bird is getting up &ldquo;steam.&rdquo; When he is well under way there is
+no need for these long and very tiring strokes, except in the case
+of birds like the pheasant or the duck. A gull, when in full career
+does not, apparently, raise the wings very high, nor depresses them
+very low, nor does it flex the wings at the wrist-joints.</p>
+
+<p>Stopping and turning movements are generally extremely
+difficult to follow, because they are performed so quickly. They
+can be seen fairly easily in the case of some of the larger birds.
+Ducks, as is well shown in one of our coloured Plates, draw the head
+backwards, tilt the body upward, thrust the feet forward, and
+spread the tail, at the same time turning it forwards. Gulls
+and pigeons too may be watched with profit.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 645px;">
+<img src="images/fp_038.png" width="645" height="479" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Wild Duck</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In turning, the body is tilted sideways, so that the tip of one
+wing points skywards, the other earthwards, as in the case of the
+goshawk illustrated in this book. The pigeon, and some other
+birds seem further to spread out the long, stiff quills borne by
+the thumb, which form what is known as the &ldquo;bastard-wing.&rdquo;
+This turning movement is well shown, again, in the very
+realistic coloured picture of the woodcock turning in mid-air,
+and bearing too the burden of one of its nestlings.</p>
+
+<p>If it is difficult to satisfy oneself as to the way in which a
+bird alights, it is no less so to detect its movements in taking
+wing. Most of us must have seen sparrows making this effort from
+the road, thousands of times. But ask of anyone, How is it done?
+The act takes place so quickly that the eye cannot follow its
+execution. And what is true of the sparrow is true of most birds.
+But there are some where this is not the case. Many water-birds,
+the cormorant, for example, get under way but slowly,
+and with evident effort. They flap along the surface for some
+distance before they gain sufficient impetus to lift them into the
+air. And there are many long-winged, short-legged birds which
+can rise from a level surface only with great difficulty, or not at
+all. The swift is one of these, for its legs are excessively short.
+The albatross is another: and this is true, indeed, of many of the
+petrel-tribe. The puffin, again, seems unable to rise on the wing
+from the ground. It appears invariably to run along until it
+reaches the edge of cliff which lodges its burrow, and then, as it
+were, throw itself over the edge. The heron, when springing
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+into the air, stretches his long neck out to its fullest extent, and
+presents a pair of dangling legs, well shown in one of our coloured
+Plates, but when once fully on the way its pose entirely changes,
+the neck being drawn in and the legs thrust out backwards.</p>
+
+<p>Flight does not always mean progress through the air. Most
+birds can, at need, arrest their course, and hang, as it were,
+suspended in the air. In the beautiful coloured plate, representing
+the chaffinch hovering over its half-fledged young, and in that
+of the kingfisher and its young, this form of &ldquo;hovering&rdquo; flight
+can be seen. But the greatest of all exponents in the art of
+hovering is the kestrel, known also, for this very reason, as the
+&ldquo;windhover.&rdquo; It is most fascinating to watch this bird hang,
+as it were, from the clouds, motionless, yet with quivering wings,
+as he scans the ground below in his search for some unsuspecting
+mouse. It is hard, indeed, to say which is the more wonderful,
+this power of remaining stationary for comparatively long
+periods in the air, or the surprising powers of sight which this
+bird possesses. During these hovering movements, always head
+to wind, it will be noted, the tail plays a very important part,
+being spread to its extremest limit, and at the same time thrust
+forward beneath the body. In some birds this forward movement
+is more marked than in others. And this because such
+birds possess a somewhat more flexible spine, there being a certain
+amount of &ldquo;play&rdquo; where the vertebræ of the loins join the welded
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+mass of vertebræ which lie between the bones of the hip-girdle.</p>
+
+<p>But the tail feathers are not indispensable. This much is
+shown in the case of birds like the kingfisher, the water-hen, and
+the land-rail, which contrive to fly well, and at a great pace,
+though they have but the merest apology for a tail. More than
+this, the grebes have no tail at all. But it is to be noted that they
+are by no means adept at turning movements; owing to the lack of
+this appendage the body, when in mid-air, has a curiously truncated
+appearance, as may be seen in the illustration. Further, it
+is significant that in the contemptible &ldquo;sport&rdquo; of pigeon-shooting
+from traps, the birds are deprived of their tails to prevent them
+from making turning movements.</p>
+
+<p>The carriage of the head and neck, and of the legs, during
+flight presents some interesting, and some instructing contrasts.</p>
+
+<p>Ducks, geese, and swans, flamingoes, storks, and cormorants
+always fly with the head and neck stretched out to their fullest
+extent. Herons and pelicans, though also long-necked birds,
+draw the head back till it rests almost on the shoulders. Most
+birds, indeed, fly with the head drawn back towards the body.
+The appearance of some of these birds on the wing can be seen at
+a glance on turning to the page illustrating this aspect of flight.</p>
+
+<p>Not so very long ago a great controversy was waged as to
+what birds did with their legs during flight. Many of the older
+artists invariably depicted them drawn up under the breast. But
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+as a matter of fact, this method seems to be confined to the
+Passerine birds&mdash;the &ldquo;perching birds,&rdquo; such as crows and finches
+and their kin. It has yet to be settled what obtains among what
+are known as the &ldquo;Picarian&rdquo; birds, such as kingfishers, bee-eaters,
+woodpeckers, and so on. The legs and feet of these birds
+are so small, and their flight is so rapid, that the matter is by no
+means an easy one to settle. But all other birds carry the legs
+and toes bent backwards, under the tail. In the gulls, this can
+easily be seen, and easier still in the case of the common heron,
+where they are, as it were, trailed out behind&mdash;owing to the
+shortness of the tail and the great length of the leg. The puffin
+carries them &ldquo;splayed&rdquo; out on each side of his tail, and so also do
+his kinsmen, the razor-bills, and guillemots.</p>
+
+<p>The legs, as a rule, take no part in flight. True, they can be
+seen thrust out just before alighting, but this is solely for the
+purpose of effecting a safe landing. But where gulls can be
+watched at close quarters, as in harbours, round a ship, or in such
+favoured spots as are to be found about the bridges of London
+during the winter, careful watch will show that the legs are
+frequently used when efforts are being made to turn, or check the
+speed of flight.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the smaller petrels&mdash;like the storm-petrel, or &ldquo;Mother
+Carey&rsquo;s chickens,&rdquo; will patter over the water with their feet as they
+fly just over the surface of the waves.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;">
+<img src="images/fp_042.png" width="456" height="638" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption"><i>Sketches of Ducks in flight 1922</i>
+
+<table summary="Ducks">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">1.<br /><br />1a.</td>
+  <td><img src="images/bracer_60.png" width="11" height="60" alt="}" /></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Scaup.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">2.</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Goldeneye.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">3.<br /><br />4.</td>
+  <td><img src="images/bracer_60.png" width="11" height="60" alt="}" /></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pochard.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">5.<br />to<br />10.</td>
+  <td><img src="images/bracer_60.png" width="11" height="60" alt="}" /></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Mallard.</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Whether the legs are carried drawn close up beneath the
+breast, or thrust backwards under the tail, the purpose of this
+disposal is the same&mdash;to prevent any interference with the &ldquo;stream-lines&rdquo;
+of the body which would impede flight.</p>
+
+<p>On the matter of the speed of flight there seems to be much
+misconception. Gätke, the German ornithologist, gravely asserted
+that the little Arctic blue-throat&mdash;one of our rarer British birds&mdash;could
+leave its winter resort in Africa in the dusk of evening, and
+arrive at Heligoland&mdash;where he spent so many years studying
+bird migration&mdash;nine hours later. That is to say it could travel
+1,600 geographical miles in a single night, at the astounding
+velocity of 180 miles an hour! According to another estimate
+of his, curlews, godwits, and plovers crossed from Heligoland
+to the oyster-beds lying to the eastward, a known distance of
+rather more than four English miles, in one minute; or at the rate
+of over 240 miles an hour. Against such extravagant estimates
+it is hardly necessary to bring rebutting evidence. But if any be
+demanded it may be furnished by the carrier pigeon, which has
+been known to maintain a speed of 55 miles an hour for four hours
+in succession: and it is extremely unlikely that this is much,
+if at all, exceeded by any wild bird during long-distance flights.</p>
+
+<p>That our spring and autumn migrants must possess wonderful
+powers of endurance is beyond question. And it is equally certain
+that thousands must perish by the way. By this means is the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+standard of flight maintained&mdash;the weak perish. Even the
+minimum standard of efficiency for the survival of such an ordeal
+must be a high one.</p>
+
+<p>Few of us see anything of these marvellous migration flights.
+For, in the first place, they are generally performed at night, and
+at a great height, often beyond the range of human vision. Only
+as they approach land, and their destination, do they descend.
+American naturalists have made some interesting observations
+by directing a telescope against the sky. Thus, Mr. Frank
+Chapman, by turning his instrument towards the full moon, has
+seen birds passing at night at an altitude, according to his computation,
+of five miles: while the late Mr. W. E. D. Scott saw,
+through an astronomical telescope at Princeton, New Jersey,
+great numbers of birds passing across the face of the moon&mdash;warblers,
+finches, and woodpeckers among them. Mr. Chapman
+again, on another occasion, saw no less than 262 birds pass over
+the field of his telescope at a height of from 1,500 to 15,000 feet:
+and the most remarkable thing of all was the fact that the lowest
+birds were flying upwards, as if they had risen from the immediate
+neighbourhood and were seeking the proper elevation to continue
+their flight.</p>
+
+<p>As has already been remarked, when nearing their destination
+migrating birds descend, though still many miles from land.
+Should a gale be raging they fly so low that they barely top the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+waves. And this, apparently, to escape, so far as is possible,
+the force of the wind. Larks, starlings, thrushes, and other
+small birds, can sometimes be seen during daylight crossing the
+North Sea in their thousands. At such times many will often
+afford themselves a brief rest in the rigging of ships, homeward
+bound, but the main host hurry on. The beautiful golden
+crested wren, our smallest British migrant, is one of these. A
+glance at our charming coloured plate will show at once that
+the wing is not that of a bird of strong flight. There is no more
+interesting experience to the bird-lover than that of watching the
+tired travellers drop earthwards, as they leave the dreadful sea
+behind them.</p>
+
+<p>With all birds yet retaining the power of flight there is
+always a liberal &ldquo;margin of safety&rdquo; in regard to the wing area.
+That is to say this is always in excess of the minimum area
+necessary to make flight possible. This much, indeed, is manifest
+from the fact that the eagle can bear off a victim equalling himself
+in weight. Should he miscalculate, he can always drop his
+burden, or lessen its weight by eating part of it on the spot. Not
+so the osprey, or the sea-eagle, which have been known to plunge
+down and drive their talons into fishes too large to be raised.
+Unable to release their grip, death, by drowning, has inevitably
+followed.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes the burden is a passenger, instead of a victim.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+One of the most striking of the coloured plates in this volume is
+that of a woodcock carrying one of its nestlings to a distant
+feeding place. This habit is well known. It is not often that the
+necessity arises, but there are occasions where suitable nesting and
+feeding grounds cannot be found together, or when, as during
+prolonged drought, the normal feeding area dries up. Then,
+instinctively, the parent will surmount the dangers of starvation
+for their offspring, by conveying them to a land of plenty,
+returning again to the shelter of the wood as soon as the meal
+is over. The weight of a newly-hatched nestling, it is true, could
+scarcely be called a &ldquo;burden.&rdquo; But they are carried about thus
+until they are strong enough to perform the journey for themselves.
+Thus, then, towards the end of the nursing period the
+weight to be carried is by no means a light one.</p>
+
+<p>But it was shown, long since, by direct experiment, that the
+area of a bird&rsquo;s wing is considerably in excess of what is required
+for the purpose of flight. Dr. J. Bell Pettigrew, more than fifty
+years ago, to test this matter, cut off more than half of the
+secondary wing feathers of a sparrow, parallel with the long axis
+of the wing. He first clipped one, then both wings, and found
+that in both cases flight was apparently unimpaired. He then
+removed a fourth of the primary feathers&mdash;the outermost quills&mdash;and
+still the flight was unimpaired. At any rate the bird
+flew upwards of thirty yards, rose to a considerable height and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+alighted in a tree. Thirty yards, however, is a short flight even
+for a sparrow. But it is enough to show that flight, if not
+<i>sustained</i> flight, was possible after this mutilation. Not until
+more than one-third of the quills along the whole length of the
+wing were removed, did the flight become obviously laboured.
+And he found that what was true of the sparrow, was equally true
+of the wings of insects.</p>
+
+<p>Though these experiments demonstrate, in a very unmistakable
+manner, that flight with a greatly reduced wing area is
+possible, we have no evidence that this reduction would make no
+difference to the length of time the bird could remain on the
+wing. And this is a very important matter.</p>
+
+<p>An aspect of flight which has now to be considered is that of
+birds which fly in troops. Some species always travel thus,
+others only on occasions. Rooks and gulls afford instances of
+this, when, during windy weather, or for other reasons, they
+congregate and fly round and round in great circles, at a considerable
+height. Small wading-birds, like ringed plovers and
+dunlin, commonly fly in &ldquo;bunches.&rdquo; The last named furnish a
+singularly interesting sight when thus travelling; for their
+evolutions are so amazingly timed. As if at a given signal every
+bird in the troop will change its course at the same moment, and
+in the same direction, so that now one sees a flickering mesh-work
+of grey, and now a shimmering as of snow-flakes, as first the grey
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+backs, and then the white breasts are turned towards one. But
+flights such as this are to be seen only during the autumn and
+winter months. For during the breeding season these little
+flocks are broken up and distributed far and wide. But there is
+yet another reason. They wear a totally different dress&mdash;the
+courtship or breeding plumage. Herein the upper parts are of a
+rich chestnut hue, streaked with black, while the under parts are
+black. Even more fascinating to watch are the autumn troops of
+starlings on the way to their roosting places. Hundreds at a
+time, not to say thousands, take part in these flights. Now they
+rush onward, in one great far-flung sheet, and now they close up
+into a great, almost ball-like, mass: and now they thin out till
+they look like a trail of smoke. But always they wheel and turn
+and rise and descend, not as separate bodies, but as one. How are
+such wonderful evolutions timed. The movements of an army
+on review-day are not more precise, or more perfectly carried
+out. During the whole flight not a sound, save the swishing
+of their wings can be heard. The marvel of it all is beyond the
+range of words, nor can one express the peculiar delight such a
+sight affords.</p>
+
+<p>Why is it that ducks and geese commonly fly either in Indian
+file, or in a roughly V-shaped formation, with the apex of the V
+forward? Why do they not fly all abreast? One cannot say,
+but they never do.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Some mention must be made here of the surprising numbers
+in which geese, of some species, congregate. Writing of the
+Brent goose, in his &ldquo;Bird Life of the Borders,&rdquo; Mr. Abel
+Chapman&mdash;and there are few men who can write with such
+authority on the subject&mdash;tells us:&mdash;&ldquo;Just at dark the whole
+host rise on the wing together, and make for the open sea. In
+the morning they have come in by companies and battalions,
+but at night they go out in one solid army; and a fine sight it is
+to witness their departure. The whole host, perhaps ten thousand
+strong, here massed in dense phalanxes, elsewhere in columns
+tailing off into long skeins, V&rsquo;s or rectilineal formations of every
+conceivable shape, (but always with a certain formation)&mdash;out
+they go, full one hundred yards high, while their loud clanging,
+defiance&mdash;&ldquo;honk, honk,&mdash;torrock, torrock,&rdquo; and its running
+accompaniment of lower croaks and shrill bi-tones, resounds
+for miles around.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 680px;">
+<img src="images/fp_051.png" width="680" height="467" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Peregrine chasing Duck.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">Courtship Flights</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"A pair of falcons wheeling on the wing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;In clamourous agitation &#8230;"&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The wing-play of black-game and grouse&mdash;The &ldquo;musical ride&rdquo; of the snipe&mdash;The
+&ldquo;roding&rdquo; of the woodcock&mdash;The musical flights of redshank and curlew&mdash;The
+&ldquo;tumbling&rdquo; of the lapwing&mdash;The raven&rsquo;s somersaults&mdash;The courting flight
+of the wood pigeon&mdash;The mannikin&rsquo;s &ldquo;castanets&rdquo;&mdash;Wings as lures&mdash;The strange pose
+of the sun-bittern&mdash;The &ldquo;wooing&rdquo; of the chaffinch and the grasshopper-warbler&mdash;Darwin
+and wing-displays&mdash;The wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">O</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">O</span><span class="smcap">ne</span> of the most striking features of bird-life is surely
+its restless activity. This is always apparent, but it
+attains to a state of almost feverish excitement as the spring
+advances, and the parental instincts re-awaken. As they
+gather strength, so they manifest themselves, in outbursts of
+song&mdash;often of exquisite beauty&mdash;strange antics, or wonderful
+evolutions in mid-air.</p>
+
+<p>It is with these last that we are chiefly concerned here. As
+might be supposed, they present a wide variety in the matter of
+their form and duration. Black-game furnish an example of a
+very simple form of courtship flight, but it is associated with
+curious antics on the ground. And these, it is to be noted, are
+only to be witnessed soon after sunrise. Two blackcocks will
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+approach one another and stand as if prepared to ward off a very
+vigorous onslaught; reminding one of two barn-door cockerels.
+With lowered head and neck they face one another, the beautiful
+lyrate tail spread fan-wise, and arched so that the curled, outer,
+feathers touch the ground, while the wings are trailed like those
+of the turkey-cock. Then one will at last rush forward, and
+seizing his adversary by the scruff of the neck, will administer
+a sound beating with his wings. The victor celebrates his
+triumph by a loud, and most unmusical screech, which has been
+likened, by that accomplished observer and sportsman-artist,
+Mr. J. G. Millais, to the call of cats on the house-tops at mid-night.
+But presently a grey-hen makes her appearance.
+Hostilities cease at once, on all sides; and intense excitement
+prevails amongst the whole assembly&mdash;for a large number of
+cocks will gather together at these sparring matches. Her
+approach has been observed by a single bird, who, unintentionally,
+gives the signal by suddenly drawing himself up to a rigid
+position of attention, till he is sure she is really coming, then
+he throws himself into the air and flutters up a few feet, uttering
+at the same time, a peculiar hoarse note of exultation. Immediately
+all the others follow suit; each seeming to strive to outdo
+his neighbour in a series of absurd pirouettings. Here we have
+a &ldquo;Love-flight,&rdquo; of exceedingly brief duration, associated with
+terrestrial combats and frantic prancings.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;">
+<img src="images/fp_054.png" width="492" height="675" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Woodcock carrying Young</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The grouse pursues a different method. He strives to incite
+his mate to amourous moods by chasing her about. But she is
+&ldquo;coy,&rdquo; and will tolerate this for hours at a time, apparently
+intent on nothing more than seeking something interesting to
+eat, she seems to affect to be quite unaware of the presence of her
+importunate mate; though her behaviour is belied by the fact
+that she keeps up a continuous &ldquo;cheeping&rdquo; note, heard only at
+this time of the year. Every now and then he will vary his
+tactics by leaping up into the air and taking an upward flight of
+from twenty to thirty feet, crowing vociferously. On alighting
+he will commence his addresses again. Then, perhaps, she
+herself will take to flight, darting off and twisting like a snipe,
+evidently enjoying her tantalizing tactics. He follows in close
+pursuit, in the hope, doubtless, of satisfying his desires, when she
+shall come to rest. Here is a &ldquo;courtship&rdquo; flight of longer duration,
+in which both sexes participate.</p>
+
+<p>The &ldquo;musical ride&rdquo; of the snipe is of a much more imposing
+character: and in this, again, both sexes take a part. During
+this performance, which affords some thrilling moments to the
+bird-lover, the bird ascends to a great height, and then plunges
+earthwards in a terrific &ldquo;nose-dive&rdquo; accompanied by a weird
+bleating noise, comparable to the bleat of a goat. For long
+years discussion waged furiously as to the source of this sound.
+Some held that it was produced by the voice: others by the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+tremulous motion of the wing-feathers: others, again, contended
+that it was caused by the tail feathers. This was first mooted by
+the Danish naturalist, Meeves, and he produced some very
+striking and curious evidence to prove his view. He showed that
+the outermost tail-feathers had peculiarly thickened shafts,
+which were also bent in a very striking way. By removing these
+feathers, and sticking them into a cork, he was enabled, by
+twirling the cork rapidly round at the end of a string, to reproduce
+the &ldquo;bleat&rdquo; exactly. Many years later Dr. Philip Bahr revived
+this experiment, for the purpose of finally setting the matter at
+rest&mdash;for there were still many who remained unconverted to
+the Meeves interpretation. Dr. Bahr left no room for further
+doubt. He showed, too, that during the production of this
+sound these tail-feathers were extended laterally, so as to
+separate them from the rest of the tail, and so give the air rushing
+past them during the earthward plunge, full play on these sound-producing
+structures. He too, applied the test first instituted
+by Meeves, and so clinched his arguments. One may hear this
+strange music as early as February, and even, though rarely,
+as late as July. But it is essentially a breeding-season, or rather
+a &ldquo;Courtship&rdquo; performance sound, though it may be evoked by
+a sitting bird suddenly surprised, when she will &ldquo;bleat&rdquo;
+as she leaves her eggs, possibly to distract the intruder on
+her vigil.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The woodcock has a &ldquo;love-flight&rdquo; but of a quite different
+character, known by sportsmen as &ldquo;roding.&rdquo; It takes the form
+of short flights up and down the &ldquo;ride,&rdquo; or space selected for the
+nesting site. But while the female is sitting the male will still
+continue these flights, choosing the early morning and evenings.
+As he goes he utters strange cries, which have been compared,
+by some, to the words &ldquo;more rain to-morrow&rdquo; and by others
+to, &ldquo;Cro-ho, cro-ho,&rdquo; varied by a note sounding like, &ldquo;whee-e-cap.&rdquo;
+These flights are varied by strange little displays upon the
+ground, when he will strut about before his mate with wings
+drooped and trailing on the ground, the tail spread, and the
+feathers of the head and neck standing on end. This gives him a
+very odd appearance, to human eyes, but it serves its purpose&mdash;which
+is to arouse his mate to amourous moods.</p>
+
+<p>Redshank, curlew, and dunlin&mdash;cousins of the snipe and
+woodcock&mdash;are all accomplished performers in the art of wooing
+on the wing. The male redshank, uttering flute-like notes,
+Mr. Farren tells us, soars up to a moderate height, and remains,
+for a brief space, &ldquo;hanging in the wind&rdquo; with the tips of his
+curved wings rapidly vibrating. He then descends, pipit-like,
+earthwards, while the song, which has been uttered slowly, now
+quickens, reaching its climax as the bird, raising its wings above
+its back for an instant, finally alights on the ground. But he has
+yet other wiles, which are not used in mid-air. Approaching his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+mate with his head erect and body drawn up to its full height,
+he raises his wings for an instant high above his head: then
+allowing them gradually to droop, he vibrates them, at the same
+time rapidly moving his legs like a soldier &ldquo;marking time.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The curlew seems to prefer the evening for his best efforts.
+Rising from the ground with rapid wing-beats, he will &ldquo;check&rdquo;
+suddenly when near the summit of his ascent; so suddenly as
+almost to throw himself backwards. Then, recovering, he will
+hang poised, kestrel-like, in mid-air, and pour forth a joyous
+thrilling, or jodelling, song. Rising and falling, on quivering
+wings, or sweeping round in great circles, and hovering again,
+he will remain for some considerable time pouring forth this
+joyful ripple of song.</p>
+
+<p>The courtship flight of the lapwing is even, if possible, more
+interesting. Rising from the ground with slow heavy flaps of his
+broad wings&mdash;which, it is to be noted, present a remarkable difference
+from those of the female, in that the primaries are much longer,
+so as to give this portion of the extended wing a conspicuously
+broader appearance&mdash;as though he had difficulty in getting under
+way, he speedily dissipates this impression by a sudden upward
+rush, an effortless turn, apparently; and then follows a downward
+swoop, or fall, with half-closed wings. To this swoop there
+succeeds a surprising change. In an instant the wing-beat is
+increased to an incredible speed, causing the body to turn a half,
+and sometimes even a complete somersault. But the next instant
+he is up and away over the ground with musical wing-beats,
+tilting and swaying from side to side with wonderful
+buoyancy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 476px;">
+<img src="images/fp_058.png" width="476" height="669" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Lapwings.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Throughout, this delightful performance is accompanied by
+a wild and joyous song, which seems to be attuned to the somewhat
+bleak surroundings. It thrills one even to remember it in later
+days: and it defies one to express it in human fashion. It has
+been as nearly rendered as any version I have ever seen&mdash;and I
+have seen many&mdash;by Mr. Brock. It is not a whistle, nor is it
+like any sound that can be faithfully rendered by the human
+voice, yet it seems to say &ldquo;<i>whey-willuchooee-willuch-willuch-cooee</i>.&rdquo;
+It suffers a break, remarks Mr. Farren, commenting on
+this theme, during the flutter of the wings at the end of the fall,
+but is picked up at once with a triumphant &ldquo;coo-whee, coo-ee,&rdquo;
+as the bird dashes off at the end of the somersault.</p>
+
+<p>The lapwing is very intolerant of any trespass on his breeding
+territory on the part of his neighbours. As soon as the
+intruder is sighted, the owner of the territory charges. And the
+two then mount up into the air, often to a great height, each striving
+to get above the other for a downward swoop. As the one
+&ldquo;stoops&rdquo; at the other, the lower bird dodges, and so rapidly are
+the wings moved that they are often brought smartly together
+over the back, producing a clapping noise.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Even the black, forbidding raven has his amorous moods.
+And at such times he will even outdo the more lively, though
+irascible lapwing in the art of aerial somersaults; if somersaults
+they can be called. For in the middle of an ordinary spell of
+flying he will suddenly fold up his wings and bring them close up
+to the body, at the same time turning completely round, as though
+he were turned on a spit; the body being held horizontal as the
+turn is made. For a moment or two there he is suspended, as it
+were, between earth and sky, with his back towards earth, and his
+breast towards the heavens. Lest he should forget the manner of
+the trick, it would seem, he will practice it at times, during the
+stern work of chasing intruders from his territory; for he will
+brook no competitors on his ground.</p>
+
+<p>The woodpigeon, during the courtship season, makes frequent
+sallies into the air for the purpose, apparently, of giving vent
+to his exuberant feelings. During such flights he will dart up
+from the tree-tops and sail round, high above, in great circles,
+rising and falling as he goes, with out-spread wings, every now and
+then bringing them over his back with a resounding snap. During
+such displays the white bar across the wing is most conspicuous,
+serving at once to identify the performer.</p>
+
+<p>Among our native birds, the only other species which
+habitually, and especially during the courting season, produce
+characteristic sounds during flight, by bringing the wings smartly
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+together over the back, is the night-jar. But there are certain
+small passerine birds, known as mannikins, inhabiting the
+forests of South America, which have the shafts of the quill-feathers
+of the fore-arm enormously thickened. By means of these
+transformed and translated &ldquo;castenets,&rdquo; at will, the bird can
+produce a sound which has been likened to the crack of a whip.</p>
+
+<p>So far this discourse has been concerned solely with &ldquo;courtship&rdquo;
+flights, or flights associated with peculiar sounds, dependent
+on rapid movements of the wing in mid-air for their production.
+And with the mention of these instances this Chapter might, quite
+legitimately, be brought to an end. But it must not. And this,
+because there are a number of birds which put their wings, during
+Courtship season, to very different purposes. Spectacular
+flights and evolutions in mid-air do not appeal to them. They
+use their wings instead as lures, as a means of adding intensity
+to strange poses and pirouettings; whereby they desire to give
+expression to the amorous feelings which possess them, in the
+hope&mdash;if for the moment, we may accord to them human
+standards of intention&mdash;of arousing kindred emotions in their
+mates.</p>
+
+<p>Darwin was the first to draw attention to these curious displays.
+Which, on the evidence then available, seemed always to
+be made, and only to be made, by birds having wings conspicuously
+coloured. It seemed as though the possessors of such
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+wings were conscious of their beauty, and so displayed them that
+nothing of their glory should be missed.</p>
+
+<p>The sun-bittern affords a case in point. This bird, a native
+of Brazil, is soberly, but very beautifully coloured when at rest;
+its plumage presenting an indescribable mixture of black, grey,
+brown, bay, and white; blended in the form of spots, bars, and
+mottlings. But during times of sexual excitement it will spread
+out its wings in the form of a great fan, encircling the long, slender,
+neck. And in this position they present a very conspicuous
+appearance, taking the form of beautifully graded bands of black,
+white, and bright grey, forming patterns which vanish the
+moment the primaries fall into their place behind the quills of
+the fore-arm. But when thus spread the bird seems to find the
+greatest delight in displaying their chaste splendour before his
+mate. He seems to spread his wings just because he is conscious
+of their beauty when thus opened out.</p>
+
+<p>But we need not travel so far as Brazil to find examples of
+displays of this kind. Among the birds of our own Islands we
+can find many close parallels. The chaffinch and the goldfinch,
+when seeking to arouse the sympathy of their mates make much
+play with their wings, not only in short &ldquo;nuptial flights,&rdquo; designed,
+apparently, to display the conspicuous and brilliant colouring of the
+plumage as a whole, but when perched on some convenient spray.
+At such times the wing is more or less completely spread out, as if
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+to reveal, to the fullest possible advantage, the bright bars and
+splashes of colour which this extension alone can bring into being.</p>
+
+<p>Since these gaily coloured vestments seemed always to be
+associated with striking, stilted, attitudes, sometimes bordering
+on the grotesque, and always to be paraded in the presence of
+the female, Darwin drew the inference that they were the outcome
+of female choice persistently exercised during long generations.
+That is to say he held that, far back in the history of the race,
+these performers were soberly clad, as their mates commonly are.
+Then certain of the males of these now resplendent species began
+to develop patches of colour, small at first, but gradually increasing,
+generation by generation, in area and intensity. This
+progressive splendour, he believed, was due to the &ldquo;selective&rdquo;
+action of the females, which, from the very first, chose from among
+their suitors those who stood out among their fellows by reason
+of their brighter plumage. Thus the duller coloured males died
+without offspring. On this assumption each succeeding generation
+would be, in some slight degree, brighter than the last, until
+the process of transformation ended in the glorified creatures we
+so admire to-day.</p>
+
+<p>It would be foreign to the purpose of this book to pursue this
+theme at length. Let it suffice to say that while the &ldquo;Sexual
+Selection&rdquo; theory still holds good, it has, so to speak, changed its
+complexion. And this largely owing to the accumulation of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+new facts. For the most important of these we are indebted to
+the singularly exact and laborious observations analysed,
+clarified, and interpreted with remarkable insight and sagacity
+of Mr. H. Eliot Howard, one of the keenest Ornithologists of our
+time. He has set forth his case, and interpreted his facts
+with masterly skill, and there seems no escape from his conclusions.
+Briefly, he has shown that birds of quite sober coloration
+like the warblers, which formed the basis of his investigations,
+engage in displays quite as remarkable, and of precisely the same
+character as in birds of gaily coloured plumage. From this it is
+clear that this wing-play is not prompted by a more or less
+conscious desire to display conspicuously coloured patches of
+colour, for of colour there is none save that of the general hue
+of varying shades of brown, as in the case of the grasshopper
+warbler, for example. Nor is the display, apart from colour,
+to be regarded as a performance slowly perfected through long
+generations through the selection of females, coy and hard to
+please. We must regard these &ldquo;Nuptial flights&rdquo; and wing-displays,
+as the outward and visible signs of a state of ecstatic
+amorousness on the part of the males which, by their persistence
+and frequent recurrence, at last arouse sympathetic response in
+the females. They play the part of an aphrodisiac. Without
+them there would be no mating. In my &ldquo;Courtship of Animals&rdquo;
+those who will may pursue this subject further.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 652px;">
+<img src="images/fp_064.png" width="652" height="482" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Herons</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Before closing this Chapter mention must be made of the most
+remarkable wing-display to be found among birds, and of the
+equally remarkable uses to which they are put. The possessor
+of these wonderful appendages, for they are wonderful, is the
+argus pheasant of the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. Though
+efficient for short flights in jungles, all that is ever required of
+them, they would be quite useless in open country where an
+extended journey had to be made, or escape attempted from some
+vigorous enemy. And this because the secondary wing-quills&mdash;the
+quills attached to the fore-arm&mdash;are of enormous length,
+making, as we have remarked, sustained flight impossible. They
+have, indeed, come dangerously near losing their normal
+functions altogether. And this because they have passed over into
+the category of specialised &ldquo;secondary sexual characters.&rdquo; But
+for the fact that this bird lives in an environment where food
+is abundant all the year round, and can be obtained without
+any undue exertion, and that there are no serious enemies to
+be evaded, it would long since have become extinct. For
+this exuberant growth of quill-feathers must be borne all the
+year round, though they are not required to function in their
+later role, save during the period of courtship.</p>
+
+<p>Their great length is not their only striking feature, or even
+their chief feature. This, indeed, is represented by their
+extraordinary coloration. For each feather bears along its
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+outer web a series of &ldquo;ocelli,&rdquo; so coloured as to look like a series
+of dull gold balls lying within a deep cup. Outside the ocelli
+run numerous pale yellow longitudinal stripes on a nearly black
+background. The inner web is of a delicate greyish brown hue,
+shading into white and relieved by innumerable black spots,
+while the tips of the quills have white spots bordered with
+black. The primaries, too, are most exquisitely coloured, though
+in the matter of size they are not very exceptional. These,
+indeed, are the only true flight feathers.</p>
+
+<p>The full beauty and significance of the coloration of these
+feathers can only be appreciated during periods of display.
+Then the two wings, in some indescribable manner, are opened
+out so as to form a huge circular screen, concealing the whole of
+the rest of the body. The effect produced from the human
+standpoint is one of great beauty, after the first burst of astonishment
+has spent itself. His mate is less easily moved. Perchance
+&ldquo;familiarity breeds contempt.&rdquo; At any rate it is only after
+persistent and frequent attempts to charm her to his will that
+success rewards him.</p>
+
+<p>Those who have the good fortune to be able to make
+frequent visits to the Zoological Gardens in London may, with
+great good fortune, and at rare intervals, have an opportunity
+of witnessing such a display, and of studying in detail these
+wonderful wings. They are wonderful, not merely because
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+of the manner of their display, or of their colouring, but also
+because in them we see ornament pushed to its furthest limit
+since, as wings, they have become well nigh useless, and therefore
+almost dangerous to the well-being of their possessors.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 695px;">
+<img src="images/fp_069.png" width="695" height="395" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Sunbittern Displaying.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">How to tell Birds on the Wing.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&ldquo;I can tell a hawk from a hernshaw.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Shakespeare.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing them&mdash;The wagtails&mdash;The
+finches&mdash;The buntings&mdash;The redstart-wheatear, Stonechat&mdash;The
+thrushes&mdash;The warblers&mdash;The tit-mice&mdash;The nuthatch, and tree-creeper&mdash;The
+spotted-flycatcher&mdash;The red-backed shrike&mdash;swallows, martins, and swifts&mdash;The
+night-jar&mdash;owls&mdash;Woodpeckers.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">T</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> experienced ornithologist apart, there are hosts of people
+who are interested, at least, in our native birds: who would
+fain call them all by name; yet who can distinguish no more than
+a very few of our commonest species. They are constantly
+hoping to find some book which will give, in a word, the &ldquo;Hall-mark&rdquo;
+of every bird they may meet in a day&rsquo;s march. But that
+book will never be written. For some species present no outstanding
+features by which they may be certainly identified,
+when no more than a momentary examination is possible, and this
+at a distance. And it is often extremely difficult to set down in
+words, exactly, what are the reasons for deciding that some
+rapidly retreating form belongs to this, or that, species.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And then, too, there are difficulties due to seasonal changes
+of plumage&mdash;often striking&mdash;sex, and age; since immature
+birds often differ totally from the adults in appearance. The
+young robin and the starling afford instances in point.</p>
+
+<p>The adult starling, as everybody knows, is &ldquo;black&rdquo; with a
+yellow beak and reddish legs. But seen close at hand his feathers
+gleam with a wonderful metallic sheen reflecting changing hues of
+violet, green, and purple. The young bird, in the early summer,
+is of a pale brown colour. In the autumn the plumage is changed
+for a &ldquo;black dress,&rdquo; like that of the adult, but heavily spotted
+with white. As the winter wears on the white spots become
+abraded, and disappear. The robin needs no description. But
+the young bird, in its first plumage, is commonly mistaken for
+the female, which, of course, is practically indistinguishable
+from the male. It is certainly unlike one&rsquo;s notion of a &ldquo;cock-robin,&rdquo;
+being of a yellowish brown colour, with pale spots, a type
+of plumage characteristic of the young of the &ldquo;thrush tribe.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>In some nearly related species, again, the males are strikingly
+different, the females barely distinguishable.</p>
+
+<p>But nevertheless, a very considerable number of our British
+birds can be more or less easily distinguished during flight&mdash;sometimes
+by the manner of that flight, sometimes by characteristic
+markings, sometimes by the notes they utter; and these are
+briefly summarised in this Chapter.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 466px;">
+<img src="images/fp_072.png" width="466" height="652" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+
+<table summary="birds">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">1.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Swallow.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">5.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pied Wagtail.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">9.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Goldfinch.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">2.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">House Martin.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">6.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Grey Wagtail.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">10.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Linnet.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">3.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Swift.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">7.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Yellow Wagtail.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">11.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Greenfinch.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">4.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sand Martin.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">8.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Chaffinch.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">12.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bullfinch.</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When it is realized that no less than 475 species, and sub-species,
+of British birds are now recognized, it will be apparent
+that it would be impossible to do more than briefly epitomise the
+commoner species, and some of these, like the robin, and the
+wren, need no interpreter.</p>
+
+<p>The aim of this Chapter is primarily to give, as far as
+possible, the salient features of our commoner native birds, as
+seen during flight. But some species merely &ldquo;flit,&rdquo; from one
+place to another, and that so rapidly that no details of coloration
+can be distinguished. They can only be examined at favourable,
+and often fleeting moments, when at rest, and clear of foliage.
+Only such as are frequently encountered are included here. To
+attempt more would be to lead to confusion. Enough, it is
+hoped, will be said to help the beginner. Experience will soon
+lead to an ever increasing proficiency&mdash;and with this will come an
+ever increasing conviction that the identification of birds,
+during flight, is an extremely difficult task. Whoever essays it
+should, whenever possible, supplement his efforts by the aid of
+a pair of good field-glasses. These, indeed, are indispensable.</p>
+
+<p>The small perching birds are, perhaps, the most difficult to
+name at sight, and this because their flight presents so little to
+distinguish one species from another. All fly with rapid wing-beats,
+alternating with a period during which the wings are
+practically closed, causing the body to travel forward on a rapidly
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+descending curve in the interval between the wing-beats. This
+gives rise to what is known as an &ldquo;undulating&rdquo; flight. But the
+large passerines, like the crows, differ conspicuously in their method
+of progress. With them the wing beats relatively slowly, so that
+its shape can be readily seen; and their course is direct&mdash;hence
+the familiar saying &ldquo;straight as the crow flies.&rdquo; Further, the
+inner webs of the outer primary quills are, what is called
+&ldquo;emarginate,&rdquo; that is to say, the width of the web is suddenly
+reduced towards the tip of the feather, so that the outstretched
+wing has a conspicuously fringed appearance, as may be seen at a
+glance at the beautiful pen-and-ink sketches on another page.
+The eagles and falcons have similar emarginations.</p>
+
+<p>But to return for a moment to the smaller passerines.
+There are very few of our native species which could be distinguished
+in the field by their flight alone. For the most part
+one has to rely on this and clues afforded by characteristic
+markings: while a further aid is afforded by at least a slight
+knowledge of the haunts of birds. One would not expect to find
+a wheatear in a wood, or a wren in a reed-bed.</p>
+
+<p>The wagtails are among the easiest of the &ldquo;undulating&rdquo;
+fliers to distinguish, if only because of the great length of the
+tail. The pied-wagtail, with its black and white plumage&mdash;or
+black, grey, and white in the winter&mdash;can be identified at a
+glance. And so too, may the yellow, and the grey wagtails.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+The last named has the longest tail of all, and is further marked
+by his beautiful grey back and bright sulphur abdomen and
+under tail coverts. All have white feathers in the tail. The
+pipits and skylark, like the wagtails, have very long inner
+secondaries, but they can never be confused on this account.
+They can never be mistaken for wagtails, but on the other hand,
+the several species can be distinguished, when on the wing, only
+by long practice.</p>
+
+<p>The chaffinch, greenfinch, and goldfinch are with us all the
+year round, keeping each to his favourite haunts. Most people
+know them well. But one meets even people living in the heart
+of the country, who cannot call them by name! The cock
+chaffinch can be distinguished at once by its white &ldquo;shoulders,&rdquo;
+and white bars across the wing, apart from the bright hues of the
+body, so well shown in the adjoining Plate. The hen has similar
+wing-marks, but lacks the bright colours of her lord. His cousin,
+the brambling&mdash;who comes to us in the winter&mdash;is just as easily
+identified by his orange-coloured shoulder patch&mdash;in place of
+white&mdash;and white rump, which is most conspicuous during flight.
+The greenfinch is marked, when in flight, by the yellow rump
+and bright yellow patches at the base of the tail feathers. Who
+could mistake the goldfinch for any one else but himself? He
+looks like a butterfly as he flutters about on the tops of tall
+thistles. The crimson and black bands on his head, the glorious
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+blaze of gold on his black wings, which are further marked with
+white spots, as also is his tail, make him the most gorgeous of our
+native finches. The bullfinch, again, is easy to distinguish;
+though from his habit of haunting thickets and dense hedgerows,
+he is seldom seen. In flight you may know him by his white rump,
+rosy breast, and black head. But his mate is more soberly clad:
+though her black head and white rump, will suffice to make sure of
+her when, by good fortune, she is encountered.</p>
+
+<p>One of the commonest of what we may call &ldquo;road-side&rdquo;
+birds, is the yellow-hammer; which can be recognized at once
+by the bright yellow colour of its head. As soon as it takes to
+flight the white feathers in the tail, and the chestnut rump will
+make assurance doubly sure. But in some parts of England
+one meets with another, and similar species&mdash;the cirl bunting.
+In this species, however, the male has a black throat and ear-coverts,
+and an olive-grey chest-band; while the female, lacking
+these distinctive marks, may be recognized by a brown, instead of
+a chestnut rump. When in the neighbourhood of swampy
+places and reed-beds, a look-out must be kept for the reed-bunting.
+A small bird with a black head and throat, and white collar,
+this is the male. The female will display a brown head, buff
+throat and eye-brow, and white outer tail feathers. In the
+winter time, near the sea, one may frequently come across
+the snow-bunting, which, on the wing, will at once attract
+attention by the large areas of white displayed in the wing
+and tail.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 499px;">
+<img src="images/fp_076.png" width="499" height="681" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Chaffinch and Young</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The redstart, one of our summer visitors, is a bird which can
+never be mistaken. A sight of the russet-red tail alone suffices.
+But the cock has the further glory of a mantle of grey, a black head
+and russet under parts. He is fond of country rich in old
+timber, or hill-sides, where stone walls attract him. His kinsman,
+the wheatear, returns to us in the early spring; to give an added
+charm to our bare hill-sides, and warrens, sea-cliffs, sand-dunes,
+and waste places. If you see a small bird flying low over the
+ground, with a white rump, and black wings, you may know that
+the wheatear is before you. That delightful, restless little bird,
+the stonechat, is a near relation of the wheatear. He too, is fond
+of waste places, and heaths; more especially such as will provide
+him with plenty of furze bushes, or ling, on the topmost twigs of
+which he loves to perch, flitting his tail and uttering his fussy
+little notes &ldquo;hweet-chat, hweet-chat.&rdquo; On the wing you may
+tell him by his conspicuous white wing-patch, and the broad
+blaze of white on his neck, set off by a jet-black head. The female
+and young lack the bright chestnut on the breast. The stone-chat&rsquo;s
+cousin, the whinchat, may be found in similar situations,
+but he is of a more roving disposition, and may be found also in
+lowland pasture and water-meadows. More slender in form, he
+is further to be distinguished by the dark streaks down his back,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+white-eye stripe, and greater amount of white at the base of the
+tail. Further, there is no white neck patch.</p>
+
+<p>Most people know the common thrush and the blackbird
+when they see them, and many country-folk, indeed, recognize
+no more. Yet there are five species in all, which may be called
+&ldquo;common.&rdquo; They are to be distinguished, not so much by their
+flight, as by their general coloration. Neither the common
+thrush, nor the blackbird need be described here: they cannot
+easily be confounded with any other bird. But for the moment
+it might be possible, it is true, to mistake the mistle thrush for the
+more common song-thrush. It is, however, an unmistakably
+larger bird, and when on the wing appears greyer, and if seen at
+close quarters, shows white tips to the outermost tail-feathers,
+and a white underwing. On the ground, of course, there can be no
+mistaking it, on account of its much more spotted breast; the
+spots, too, being much larger, and fan-shaped. During the
+autumn and winter there are two other thrushes which should
+be looked for. These are the fieldfare and the red-wing. The
+first-named, it is to be noted, will be found in small flocks, and if
+examined on the ground through field-glasses will be seen to have a
+slate-grey neck and rump, and chestnut-brown wings and tail;
+while the breast is streaked instead of spotted. In flight the
+underwing is white, as in the mistle-thrush, from which it can
+easily be distinguished by its smaller size, and the absence of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+white on its tail. The red-wing, like the fieldfare, is gregarious.
+This is an important point to bear in mind; since it might otherwise
+be confused, by the novice, with the song-thrush, the two
+being about the same size. But seen at rest, close quarters, there
+can be no mistake; the red-wing having a conspicuous cream-coloured
+eye-stripe, and chestnut-red flank-feathers. The underwing
+is similarly coloured. Finally there is the ring-ousel, which,
+haunts the moorlands and rocky ravines. But it may be
+recognized at once by its conspicuous white gorget, contrasted
+with its otherwise black plumage.</p>
+
+<p>Of the forty species of British warblers there is not one
+which the most expert of our Ornithologists would venture to
+identify by the character of the flight alone. Most of these
+species, of course, are rare and accidental visitors; many need an
+expert to distinguish them, since they represent but Continental
+Races of our own summer visitors. About ten species can be
+called common, or fairly common, in suitable localities, and the
+novice must not expect to recognize even these with anything
+like certainty. They have no characteristic flight, and they
+rarely do more than &ldquo;flit&rdquo; from one place to another. In the
+pages of this book, then, they can rightly have no place. But
+some may, perhaps, be glad of a few notes concerning one or two
+of the commoner species. The black-cap, for example, may be
+readily distinguished by its grey plumage contrasting with a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+black cap&mdash;reddish brown&mdash;in the female. It has also a
+peculiarly delightful song, which some prefer to that of the nightingale.
+This, the most celebrated of all our warblers&mdash;though
+for some inscrutable reason some ornithologists appear to regard
+it as a near ally of the redstarts and robin!&mdash;frequents woods
+with thick undergrowth and tangled hedgerows, and hence, is
+seldom seen, but may be recognised by the uniform russet-brown
+coloration of its upper parts, shading into pale chestnut on the
+tail, and the ash-grey of the under parts, shading into white on the
+throat and abdomen. The whitethroat may be recognized by
+the fine white ring round the eye, grey head, brown upper parts,
+and buffish pink breast, set off by the conspicuous white throat,
+from which the bird derives its name. It is perhaps the only
+British warbler which can really be distinguished during flight,
+and this only because the outermost pair of tail feathers are almost
+wholly white. It may be looked for in hedges and thickets, as
+well as on gorse-covered commons. Its near relation, the lesser-whitethroat,
+differs in its smaller size, whiter under parts, and the
+absence of the rufous edges to the secondaries, which are one of the
+distinguishing features of the common whitethroat. The garden-warbler
+is much more frequently heard than seen, its song, a
+continuous, sweet, and mellow warble, rivalling that of the
+black-cap, though softer and less varied. Haunting shrubberies
+and gardens, it is yet the mere ghost of a bird, its uniform brown
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+upper parts, and brownish-buff under-parts, coupled with its
+shy, retiring disposition make it exceedingly difficult to see.
+Three other tantalizing little members of this numerous tribe
+are the chiff-chaff, willow-warbler, and wood-warbler. Tantalizing
+because so frequently seen during the summer months, so much
+alike, and yet, somehow, different. The novice has no name for
+them; the expert can only tell them by a combination of
+characters, and their contrasts. He is guided rather by their
+notes and habits, than by their appearance, so closely do they
+resemble one another! The chiff-chaff, as its name suggests,
+is to be identified by its song&mdash;Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff,
+chiff-chaff-chiff&mdash;uttered from the top of a high tree. The singer
+is too small to be seen, so that he who would discover what manner
+of bird is the songster, must watch in the direction of the sound,
+till the singer elects to descend. The willow-warbler is a rather
+larger bird with a tinge of yellow in his plumage. Also it is less
+restricted to woods and coppices, and has a sweet, indescribable
+warble. The wood-warbler is the largest of this trio&mdash;from the
+tip of his beak to the tip of his tail he may measure as much as
+five inches&mdash;and is also the most brightly coloured. Above he
+is greenish, with an eye-brow of sulphur-yellow, and a sulphur-yellow
+breast and throat. Since he is rarely to be found, save in
+woods of beech and oak, he will, on this account, the more easily
+be distinguished from his cousin, the chiff-chaff and the willow-warbler.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+This fact again, can be taken into account when the
+identity of one or other of these two is in question.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 464px;">
+<img src="images/fp_080.png" width="464" height="647" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<table summary="birds">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">1.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sea Gull.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">6.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Redshank.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">2.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hooded Crow.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">7.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Nightjar.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">3.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Gannet.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">8.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Barn Owl.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">4.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Golden Eagle.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">9.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Rook.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr">5.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Snipe.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr">10.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Cuckoo.</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The warblers are essentially birds of the country-side&mdash;they
+cannot abide the busy haunts of men, who seem unable to
+settle anywhere without setting up hideous tramways and ugly
+buildings. Kindly Nature is crowded out. The garden, hedgerow,
+and shady woods are the chosen haunts of the warblers, though
+some prefer the reed-grown stream, or the thickets round quiet
+pools. The reed and the sedge-warbler will be found here, but by
+no means easily so, for after the manner of their tribe they love
+seclusion. To find the reed-warbler you must go to reed-beds,
+or to osier-beds, and there watch for a little bird, chestnut-brown
+above, and white below. But for his constantly babbling chatter&mdash;&ldquo;churra,
+churra, churra&rdquo;&mdash;you would never, probably, find
+him. Guided, however, by his song, you may succeed in
+finding him nimbly climbing up and down the reed stems. Very
+like him is the rarer marsh-warbler: but, for your guidance, note
+that the marsh warbler has a really melodious song, and is even
+more likely to be found in swampy thickets of meadow-sweet
+than the reed-beds. The sedge-warbler, though showing a decided
+preference for streams fringed by osier-beds and thickets, is more
+of a wanderer than the other two, since tangled hedgerows, and
+thickets, at a distance from the water will often suffice him.
+You may know him by the fact that he is of a dark brown colour
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+above, streaked with a paler shade of brown, while the under
+parts are white, tinged on the breast and flanks with creamy buff.</p>
+
+<p>Ornithologists rarely concern themselves with anything but
+the superficial characters of birds. Not even the structure of the
+feathers interests them, but only their coloration. Hence it is that
+they have come, quite commonly, to regard the gold-crest, or
+&ldquo;gold-crested wren,&rdquo; as it is sometimes called, as one of the tit-mouse
+group! There is not even the remotest justification for
+this view. It is an indubitable warbler. A glance at the coloured
+Plate will render any description of its appearance unnecessary.
+From autumn to spring you may find it in most parts
+of England and Scotland&mdash;save the extreme north&mdash;hunting in
+hedgerows and woods for food. During the breeding season it
+favours coniferous woods. Along the south and east of England,
+one may also meet with a closely similar species&mdash;the fire-crest.
+But while in the gold-crest the crown is of a bright lemon-yellow,
+in the fire-crest it is of a bright red-orange hue, while the side
+of the head is marked by a white stripe bordered with black.</p>
+
+<p>The gold-crest is our smallest British bird. The ranks of
+our resident &ldquo;gold-crests,&rdquo; in the autumn, are swollen by
+immigrants from northern Europe, who seek shelter with us
+because unable to withstand the rigours of the more northern
+winter. In the matter of size the gold, and fire-crested wrens
+agree, measuring but a trifle more than three and a half inches
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail! By the way, the
+shape of the beak should be carefully noted. It is that of a
+typical warbler.</p>
+
+<p>It may be urged that this description of the warblers might well
+have been omitted from these pages, since, in regard to &ldquo;Flight,&rdquo;
+nothing whatever can be said, save that they &ldquo;fly.&rdquo; There
+would indeed, be some justification for such criticism, but it is
+to be remembered that this volume is written, not for the expert,
+but for the novice, who, because he needs a few concrete examples
+of the hopelessness of expecting to identify every bird he may
+encounter by its flight, and of the methods he must occasionally
+adopt, when seeking to name a bird which will not come out into
+the open. His course of training, and discovery, will be much
+shortened by the realization that birds by no means always reveal
+their presence by taking long flights.</p>
+
+<p>What is true of the warblers, in this regard, is true also of our
+numerous species of tit-mice. We do not distinguish between them
+in the field by their flight, but by their coloration.</p>
+
+<p>But since these are such confiding little birds, coming to our
+very windows during the winter months, for food, a few notes
+concerning them may be acceptable. The commonest of all is
+the little blue-tit, or &ldquo;tom-tit,&rdquo; as it is so often called. Its
+beautiful cobalt-blue crown, blue back, wings, and tail, white face,
+and yellow breast, are familiar to us all. Its larger relative, the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+great tit-mouse&mdash;the largest British tit-mouse&mdash;bears a close general
+resemblance to the smaller species, but is readily distinguished,
+not only by its greater size, but by the broad band of black running
+down the abdomen. Its flight, as of all the tit-mice, is weak, and
+as it were, uncertain, confined to short passages from tree to tree.
+The coal tit-mouse and the marsh tit-mouse are seldom recognized
+as distinct species, by the novice. They are very soberly coloured
+little birds, the coal-tit being of an olive-grey, tinged with olive-buff,
+while the sides of the body are buff: the head and throat
+are black, relieved by a broad patch of white on each side and down
+the nape of the neck. The marsh-tit is, to all intents and
+purposes, of the same coloration, but differs conspicuously in
+lacking the white patches. The tiny longtailed-titmouse cannot
+possibly be mistaken for any other bird. Its delicate hues of
+pink and grey, and extremely long tail, make comparisons with
+any other species unnecessary.</p>
+
+<p>Where, during the winter, small birds are tempted to come to
+a tray of nuts and seeds, placed outside the window, that charming
+little bird the nuthatch&mdash;a near relation of the tit-mice&mdash;will
+commonly be among the guests. It cannot be mistaken for any
+other British bird, its form and coloration being, alike, distinctive.
+Its upper parts are of a delicate blue-grey, its under parts buff,
+passing into chestnut on the flanks. The throat is white, while
+there is a black line from the beak to the eye, and beyond, spreading
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+as it goes. A relatively large beak, and strikingly short tail,
+are features as conspicuous as is the coloration. Its flight is slow
+and undulating.</p>
+
+<p>Another little bird which, during the winter, associates with
+the tit-mice, is the tree-creeper. It is never seen on the wing, save
+when it is flitting from one tree to another, and then its course is
+obliquely downwards&mdash;from the upper branches of one tree to the
+base of another. This it proceeds to ascend immediately on alighting,
+by jerky leaps. Its coloration is soberness itself&mdash;mottled
+brown above and silvery white below. The tail, it is to be noted,
+is formed of stiff, pointed feathers, like those of the woodpecker,
+and, as in that bird, is used in climbing.</p>
+
+<p>There is scarcely a garden&mdash;save in such as are within the
+area of a big town&mdash;which, during the summer, is not haunted by
+a little grey and white bird, with a most characteristic flight&mdash;a
+sudden sally into the air to seize some insect, sometimes even
+white butterflies, and an instant return to the same perch. This
+is the spotted flycatcher. In Wales, Devonshire, Cumberland,
+and Westmorland, one may be fairly sure of meeting with the
+pied-flycatcher. He is, so to speak, a black and white edition of
+his relative, the spotted flycatcher&mdash;but the black areas in the
+female are represented by brown. There are, however, notable
+differences in the method of hunting, in the two species;
+for the pied-flycatcher rarely returns to the same perch
+after his upward flight into the air, and he often feeds on the
+ground.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 498px;">
+<img src="images/fp_086.png" width="498" height="682" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Gold Crested Wrens</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In the straggling hedgerows of the wooded districts of south
+and central England, and in Wales, one may often come across the
+red-backed shrike; a very handsome bird, with pointed wings,
+long tail, and low swooping flights. His red back will alone
+distinguish him. No other British bird wears such a mantle.
+And this is set off by a grey crown and nape, and black patches
+on the sides of the head. The topmost twig of a bush, or hedge,
+where he can sight his prey from afar, are his favourite perches.
+On the east coast of England, during the autumn, one may sometimes
+see the great-grey shrike, distinguished readily by his large
+size, fan-shaped tail, and grey coloration, relieved by black ear-coverts,
+black wings and tail, &ldquo;blazed&rdquo; with white, and white
+under-parts. His flight is undulating and irregular, while just
+before alighting he gives a peculiar upward sweep.</p>
+
+<p>Strangely enough, not only country boys and girls, but their
+fathers and mothers, not only confuse swallows and martins with
+one another, but these with the swift! Yet they are readily
+distinguishable. All, it is true, have long, pointed wings, and
+forked tails: but their coloration is very different. The swallow
+has the most deeply forked tail of them all, and his steel-blue
+back, red throat, and rufous buff-and-cream under parts are
+unmistakable identification marks. The martin may be distinguished
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+at once by the conspicuous white rump patch, and pure
+white under-parts. These are the signs by which they may be
+recognized when on the wing&mdash;and they are more often seen thus
+than at rest. The sand-martin is a much smaller bird, has a less
+markedly forked tail, and is of a uniform pale brown above, and
+white below, but with a brown band across the chest. The swift
+is not even related to the swallow-tribe. On the wing&mdash;and very
+few people ever see him otherwise&mdash;he is very different. The wing-beat
+is extremely rapid and intermittent. While in its shape the
+wing differs in its extreme length and narrowness. The flight is
+extremely swift&mdash;hence the name of the bird. Not its least
+impressive feature is its wonderful flexibility. Who has not
+watched, with delight, a troop of these birds sweeping down the
+village street, now skimming the ground, now sweeping upward
+and away, round the church tower, accompanied by wild,
+exultant screams, as though they were bubbling over with vitality.
+When high up they look like so many animated bows and arrows&mdash;the
+arrows being, perhaps, somewhat short and thick. The swift,
+it is worth remembering, is a near kinsman of the humming-bird,
+which also has a long narrow wing. Both alike agree in this
+peculiarity&mdash;an upper arm bone of excessive shortness, and a hand
+of excessive length. No other birds approach them in this. The
+only other bird which has wings quite so ribbon-like, when
+extended, is the albatross&mdash;one of our rarest British birds. But
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+here the proportions of the wing are reversed, for the upper
+arm bone is of great length, while the hand is relatively
+short.</p>
+
+<p>There is something inexpressibly soothing about the twilight
+of a summer&rsquo;s evening. Most birds are abed. The swift can be
+heard high up, the &ldquo;woolly bats, with beady eyes&rdquo; are silently
+flitting all round one, turning and twisting as no bird ever turns.
+But for the chorus of the swifts, like black furies, and heard only
+at intervals, and faintly, all is silence, relieved, perchance, by the
+drowsy hum of a blundering dor-beetle. Then, suddenly, if one
+be near some gorse, or bracken covered common, the stillness is
+broken by a strange &ldquo;churring,&rdquo; like a bubbling whistle, rising
+and falling in volume. This may be followed by a loud "clap".
+And yet the source of these strange notes cannot be located, nor
+can any living thing be seen to which they could be attributed.
+But keep careful watch. Presently there may emerge from the
+gathering gloom a long-winged, long-tailed bird, travelling at
+speed, with a twisting flight, and deliberate wing-beats, alternating
+with long glide on motionless pinions. As it passes one may
+notice white spots on wings and tail. This is the night-jar: a bird
+of ill omen among the aged inhabitants of the country-side, for
+they will assure you that it is guilty of sucking the milk of cows and
+goats. Hence, it is commonly known as the &ldquo;goatsucker.&rdquo;
+Poor bird, it is quite innocent of such misdeeds, for though it has
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+an enormous mouth, armed on either side with long bristles, it
+feeds only on moths and beetles.</p>
+
+<p>If you are fortunate, your vigil in the gloaming may be rewarded
+by a sight of yet other night-birds. Out of some hollow
+tree, or swooping round the barn, may come a ghostly form,
+borne on absolutely silent wings: but with a reeling, bouyant
+flight, which is unmistakable&mdash;this is the barn owl. If you are
+very fortunate, you may hear its blood-curdling screech. Once
+heard you will never forget it! His cousin, the tawny owl, it is
+whose musical, if doleful &ldquo;hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-o&rdquo; has so commonly
+been misrepresented by poets&mdash;and others&mdash;as &ldquo;to-whit-tu-woo.&rdquo;
+Its flight is slower and its wings rounder than in the barn owl,
+and furthermore, it lacks the glistening satin-white under-parts
+of that bird. But its coloration and general appearance are well-shown
+in the coloured illustration.</p>
+
+<p>The other species of owls we may reckon as fairly common
+residents with us. They are the long and the short-eared owls.
+But they are very rarely to be seen on the wing in daylight. Each
+has the habit, when excited, of bringing the wings together
+smartly over the back, so as to produce a sound likened by some
+to the word &ldquo;bock.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>Few birds have figured so largely in our literature, perhaps,
+as the cuckoo. Though heard by all, he is seen by few: and this
+because so many people fail to recognize the charming wastrel
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+when they see him. In general appearance he recalls the
+sparrow-hawk. I have known even game-keepers confuse the
+two. But the cuckoo is much paler on the back, and the bars
+of the breast are finer. On the wing he is much slower than the
+sparrow-hawk; his wings are shorter, and his tail is tipped with
+white. Immature birds may be recognized by their clove-brown
+coloration, and a large white patch at the nape of the neck.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most brilliantly coloured of all our native birds is
+the kingfisher. Small streams and quiet pools are its favourite
+haunts. A glance will suffice to identify it at close quarters,
+but even if one catches sight of its fleeting form at too great a
+distance to see its wonderful coloration, it can be distinguished
+by its extremely rapid and direct flight, and curiously shuttle-shaped
+form: an appearance due to the shortness of its tail, as
+may be seen by a reference to the excellent coloured Plate.</p>
+
+<p>The identification of birds in flight will be rendered easier
+for the novice if he makes a practice of &ldquo;expecting&rdquo; to find
+particular birds in particular places. That is to say, the haunts of
+birds are governed by their stomachs&mdash;they must not stray far
+from the source of their food. In a wood, then, you may
+&ldquo;expect&rdquo; to find woodpeckers&mdash;though you will often be disappointed,
+for they are by no means always to be seen. But the
+task of identification will be easier if one has a mental picture
+ready of the birds appropriate to the place.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The green woodpecker, our largest native species, often
+betrays itself by its remarkable cry, reminiscent of a laugh&mdash;&ldquo;ha,
+ha, ha,&rdquo; and &ldquo;pleu, pleu, pleu.&rdquo; Keep quite still, and
+presently, as likely as not, it will suddenly make its appearance
+with a rapid, undulating flight. As it alights on some neighbouring
+tree-trunk, its identity will be finally established by its green
+back and wings, yellow rump, and crimson crown. It ascends
+the tree by jerky leaps. Where ant-hills abound it may often be
+seen on the ground, moving about with awkward hops, exploring
+the hills for ants. The greater and lesser spotted woodpecker
+may also sometimes be seen here, especially if there is much old
+timber about. In spring its presence is often made known by a
+peculiar drumming sound&mdash;never forgotten when once heard&mdash;made
+by excessively rapid blows with its beak on the trunk,
+or branch of a tree. On the wing it may be recognized by its
+&ldquo;dipping&rdquo; flight, and strikingly piebald appearance. At close
+quarters the strongly contrasted black and white plumage is
+relieved by crimson undertail-coverts, and a crimson crown.
+The lesser-spotted woodpecker is a much smaller bird&mdash;about the
+size of a sparrow, or chaffinch&mdash;and is barred with black and
+white; there is a patch of crimson on the head of the male. It
+has a habit of keeping more to the upper branches of the tree
+than the other species: but, like its greater cousin, it &ldquo;drums&rdquo;
+on the tree during the spring, but less loudly. Its spring cry,
+&ldquo;pee-pee-pee,&rdquo; is like that of the wryneck. This is a near relation
+of the woodpeckers, but very different in coloration, being
+beautifully mottled and vermiculated with grey and brown.
+But for its spring cry, just alluded to, it would escape notice
+altogether, so closely does it match the bough it is perched upon.
+Unlike the woodpeckers its tail-feathers are not developed to form
+stiff, pointed spines. This is accounted for by the fact that,
+though it ascends tree-trunks readily, it does not hammer at the
+bark with its beak, and so does not need stiff tail-feathers to
+afford leverage. Its flight is slow and hesitating. It is commonest,
+it may be remarked, on the south-east of England.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 499px;">
+<img src="images/fp_092.png" width="499" height="671" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Great Spotted Woodpeckers</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 343px;">
+<img src="images/fp_095.png" width="343" height="427" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Drumming Snipe.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">How to tell Birds on the Wing</p>
+
+<p class="caption3">
+(<i>continued</i>).<br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The seamew&rsquo;s lonely laughter<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;Flits down the flowing wave;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;The green scarts follow after<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;The surge where cross-tides rave."&mdash;<i>Fiona Macleod.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">Falcons&mdash;golden eagle&mdash;harriers and sparrow-hawk&mdash;The heron&mdash;The cormorant,
+shag, and gannet&mdash;The petrels&mdash;Guillemots, razor-bills, and puffins&mdash;The ducks&mdash;The
+great crested grebe and dabchick&mdash;The pigeons&mdash;The &ldquo;plover tribe&rdquo;&mdash;The gulls
+and terns&mdash;The game birds.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">O</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">O</span><span class="smcap">ur</span> 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 &ldquo;Nocturnal&rdquo; and &ldquo;Diurnal&rdquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>The one most commonly seen to-day is the kestrel, which is
+really a falcon, not a &ldquo;hawk.&rdquo; No bird is so easily identified on
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+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&rsquo;s
+lordly relative, the peregrine-falcon, is now-a-days only to be
+seen in a few favoured spots, out in the wilds&mdash;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&rsquo;s hand is against it.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;generally in vain&mdash;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;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever there are deer-forests in Scotland, even to-day,&mdash;but
+nowhere else in Great Britain&mdash;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&mdash;and it is rarely that you
+will see it else.</p>
+
+<p>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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+apart for half their length, and in this joyous movement they will
+remain aloft for hours on end.</p>
+
+<p>But for the untiring efforts of the Royal Society for the
+Protection of Birds, none of our larger birds of prey&mdash;save,
+perhaps, the golden eagle, which is carefully cherished in the deer-forests&mdash;would
+now be left to us. The case of our harriers seemed
+hopeless. But, thanks to a zealous protection, a remnant remains.</p>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;facial disc.&rdquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+by its grey coloration and pure white rump-patch.
+Montagu&rsquo;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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;harrier-country,&rdquo;
+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&rsquo;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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+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 &ldquo;hawking.&rdquo; The invention of the gun
+ended this most fascinating form of sport.</p>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;filoplumes&rdquo;; 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.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 481px;">
+<img src="images/fp_102.png" width="481" height="659" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<table style="text-align:left;" summary="Birds">
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;1. <span class="smcap">Partridge.</span></td>
+  <td>&nbsp;2. <span class="smcap">Gannet.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;3. <span class="smcap">Whitethroat.</span></td>
+  <td>&nbsp;4. <span class="smcap">Red-backed Shrike.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;5. <span class="smcap">Magpie.</span></td>
+  <td>&nbsp;6. <span class="smcap">Goldfinch.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;7. <span class="smcap">Great Crested Grebe.</span></td>
+  <td>&nbsp;8. <span class="smcap">Buzzard.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>&nbsp;9. <span class="smcap">Puffin.</span></td>
+  <td>10. <span class="smcap">Grey Wagtail.</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>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 <a href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter II</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+to the surface during the turn, so that one wing barely misses the
+waves, while the other points skywards.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes too, one may see the little &ldquo;Mother Carey&rsquo;s
+Chicken.&rdquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;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&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p>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;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+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&mdash;in his breeding dress&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;colours.&rdquo; The rosy
+hue which suffuses the fore-part of the breast, and the bright
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 477px;">
+<img src="images/fp_106.png" width="477" height="649" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<table style="text-align:left;" summary="Raptors">
+<tr>
+  <td>1. <span class="smcap">Peregrine Falcon.</span></td>
+  <td>2. <span class="smcap">Kestrel.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>3. <span class="smcap">Merlin.</span></td>
+  <td>4. <span class="smcap">Golden Eagle.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>5. <span class="smcap">Montagu&rsquo;s Harrier.</span></td>
+  <td>6. <span class="smcap">Goshawk.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td>7. <span class="smcap">Osprey.</span></td>
+  <td>8. <span class="smcap">Sparrow Hawk.</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p>When on the margins of lakes, large ponds, or slow-moving
+streams, keep a look-out for two very remarkable divers&mdash;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&mdash;rather smaller than a pigeon&mdash;and
+has no erectile ornaments. The &ldquo;grebe-flight&rdquo; is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;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 <i>really</i> wild birds. Certain it is that most of the
+&ldquo;rock-doves&rdquo; 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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>Where the summer holidays are spent by the sea&mdash;in places
+where there are no bands, piers, &ldquo;promenades,&rdquo; and other
+abominations of &ldquo;civilization&rdquo;&mdash;one may spend delicious hours
+watching some of our &ldquo;wading-birds.&rdquo; 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 &ldquo;<i>wheep-wheep</i>&rdquo; 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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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 &ldquo;<i>cour-lie</i>,&rdquo;
+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.</p>
+
+<p>The &ldquo;waders,&rdquo; sometimes collectively referred to as the
+&ldquo;plover-tribe,&rdquo; 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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+this &ldquo;tribe&rdquo; 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 &ldquo;black-headed&rdquo;
+must seem singularly inappropriate; for its head is emphatically
+<i>white</i>. At no time, indeed, is it ever <i>black</i>. 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 &ldquo;black-headed&rdquo;
+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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+primaries have white tips. The herring gull has a pale pearl-grey
+back.</p>
+
+<p>With a strange perversity the black-headed gull is commonly
+called, by the novice, the &ldquo;kittiwake.&rdquo; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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&rsquo;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!</p>
+
+<p>Finally, a word or two about the &ldquo;game-birds.&rdquo; These are
+all birds easily distinguished by reason of their short, rounded,
+deeply convex wings, which, driven with incredible speed,
+produce a &ldquo;whirring&rdquo; sound&mdash;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,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+and red legs and beak. It is also known, indeed, as the &ldquo;red-legged&rdquo;
+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&mdash;the &ldquo;grey-hen&rdquo;&mdash;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.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;">
+<img src="images/fp_115.png" width="461" height="529" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Buzzard Soaring.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">The Wings of Nestling Birds.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The blue eggs in the Robin&rsquo;s nest<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;Will soon have wings, and beak, and breast,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">&nbsp;And flutter and fly away."&mdash;<i>Longfellow.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The wing of the unhatched bird&mdash;Of the coots and water-hen&mdash;The Hoatzin&rsquo;s
+wings&mdash;The wing of Archæopteryx&mdash;Moulting&mdash;The nestling game-birds and ducks&mdash;Teaching
+the young to fly.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">A</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">A</span><span class="smcap">t</span> first sight it may seem a little strange to introduce
+nestlings into a book devoted to birds in flight. But
+there are aspects of the wing of nestling birds which must, indeed,
+be borne in mind when considering the wing of the adult.</p>
+
+<p>It was pointed out, in <a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I</a>, that the wing of the adult
+had but three fingers and two wrist-bones. This condition
+represents the last stage in the evolution of the Avian wing.
+The wing of the nestling gives a clue to an earlier stage in its
+history. But we can get even further back than this. For if we
+examine the wing of an unhatched bird, we shall be able to get
+still nearer to the birth, and growth of the wing out of a reptilian
+fore-limb. Here as many as six wrist-bones may be found.
+And the &ldquo;palm-bones,&rdquo; which in the adult are welded together,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+are here quite separate. This stage, then, carries us back towards
+the ancestral, reptilian, fore-limb used for walking, or perhaps
+for climbing. And there is another sign of this earlier, reptilian,
+period to be found in such a wing. At the tip of the thumb and
+first-finger, in unhatched ducks, game-birds, and water-hens,
+for example, you will find a small claw. By hatching-time
+the claw of the first finger will have disappeared, but it is still
+retained in the case of the duck and the water-hen. In the adults
+of all three you will rarely find more than the claw of the thumb:
+and this now serves no useful purpose whatever.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, there seem to be only two tribes which have any use
+for wing-claws during nestling life. One of these is represented
+by the gallinules, that is to say, the coots, and water-hens, and
+their kind. You may test this whenever you have the good fortune
+to capture a young water-hen. Place him outside the nest,
+and especially if it happens to be a little raised, you will see him
+make his way back, using feet, wing-claws, and beak. His
+wings, it will be noticed, at this stage are used as fore-legs. The
+other tribe is represented by that strange bird the hoatzin of
+the Amazon. Here the two claws are really large, and they play
+a quite important part in his early life.</p>
+
+<p>For the young hoatzin is hatched in a nursery&mdash;a crude
+nest of sticks&mdash;placed on the boughs of a tree overhanging the
+water. As soon as hatched he begins to climb about the
+branches. Should he fall, by some mischance, into the water,
+he promptly swims to the bank; and by the aid of his long
+first finger, and wing-claws, and his huge feet, soon climbs
+back. But the most wonderful part of his story is yet to come.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 502px;">
+<img src="images/fp_118.png" width="502" height="683" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<i>Grouse</i>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So long as these youngsters can only scramble about they
+are in constant jeopardy. A wing-surface at least big enough to
+break the force of a fall is an urgent necessity. And so the
+growth of the quill-feathers is, so to speak, pushed forward with
+all possible speed. But if all the feathers grew at the same
+rate, there would speedily come a time when the outermost
+feathers would make the claw at the end of the finger useless,
+while the wing-surface, as a whole, would be insufficient. To
+obviate this difficulty, the development of the outermost feathers
+is held in abeyance till the inner feathers of the hand, and the
+outermost of the fore-arm, have grown big enough to suffice to
+break the force of the fall. As soon as this stage is arrived at,
+the outermost quills, whose growth has been held in abeyance,
+rapidly develop; the finger decreases in length, and its claw
+disappears, while that of the thumb soon follows suit. And thus
+it comes about that the hand, in the nestling, is relatively much
+longer than in the adult. But in its mid-period it may be taken to
+represent the adult stage of the wing of the ancient Archæopteryx.
+This bird could have been but a poor flier, and probably during
+the time it was moulting its quills it was absolutely flightless,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+so that it needed a permanent finger-tip, and claw, beyond the
+margin of its wing-surface.</p>
+
+<p>This matter of &ldquo;moulting,&rdquo; by the way, needs, at least,
+passing comment. All birds renew their plumage at least once:
+the body plumage often twice in the year. The old feathers fall
+out, and their places are taken by new ones. But their growth is
+slow. In geese and ducks, and some other birds, the wing-quills
+are moulted all at once, so that flight, for a week or two, is
+impossible. But they can escape from their enemies while thus
+at a disadvantage, by taking to the water. In all other birds
+the quills are moulted, and renewed, in pairs: so that at no time
+are they left flightless.</p>
+
+<p>But this by the way. Let us revert, for a moment, to the
+hoatzin&rsquo;s wing. The appearance of the outermost quills of the
+hand, it will be remembered, is delayed till the inner feathers
+have grown long enough to &ldquo;flutter,&rdquo; at least, for a short
+distance, then the growth of the complete series proceeds apace.
+This has been called an &ldquo;Adaptation&rdquo; to enable these youngsters,
+active from the moment they leave the egg, to move about in
+comparative safety. But it is more than this. It is a survival
+of an ancient order of things which takes us back to the first
+known birds.</p>
+
+<p>This is certainly a very remarkable feature, but it gains an
+added interest from the fact that it has a parallel in the history of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+the development of the wing in the game-birds. If you look
+carefully at the downy chicks of the pheasant, or even at barn-door
+fowls, you will remark that the wing-quills develop with
+surprising rapidity: so that they have feathered wings while the
+rest of the body is still down-covered. This enables them the
+more easily to escape prowling foxes and other enemies. In
+young ducks exactly the opposite condition obtains, the body is
+fully feathered long before the feathers of the wings appear.
+And this because they do not need to fly when danger threatens,
+but take to the water instead. But to return to the chicks of the
+pheasant. The wing of the chick develops at a very rapid rate.
+Within a few hours after hatching, the first traces of the coming
+flight feathers can be seen, and presently a large wing is covering
+each side of the tiny body. At this stage many often
+die. The wings, which can then be examined at leisure, reveal
+an extremely interesting condition. For they repeat the features
+which obtain in the wing of the nestling hoatzin: inasmuch as
+the outermost quills are also, as yet, non-existent; and there is
+a free finger-tip. But it is not nearly so long as in the hoatzin,
+and there is no terminal claw. Surely, from this, we may infer
+that the delayed development of the outer quills is a survival of
+a time when the ancestors of the pheasant were arboreal, and
+hatched their young in trees. Otherwise all the wing-quills
+should develop at the same time, and at the same rate. Here,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+then, is another instance of what can be learned of the past history
+of a bird by a careful scrutiny of the nestling. Sometimes we shall
+find our evidence in the wing, sometimes in some other organ.
+The sequence of plumage affords abundant evidence of this. But
+that is another story.</p>
+
+<p>So much for the &ldquo;intensive&rdquo; study of the wing. A brief
+reference must now be made to the constantly repeated statement
+that nestling birds are &ldquo;taught&rdquo; to fly by their parents.
+There is no evidence whatever to support this belief: and much
+that goes to show its improbability.</p>
+
+<p>Failing more suitable sites, sand-martins will often elect to
+build their nests in the crevices of the masonry of bridges.</p>
+
+<p>From the mouth of this substitute for a burrow is often a
+sheer drop of many feet to the stream below. When the nestlings,
+fully fledged, leave their nursery for the first time they must
+either &ldquo;fly&rdquo; from the moment they take the first plunge from the
+masonry, or die. Failing to make the appropriate movements
+of the wings nothing can save them from a watery grave. There
+can be no &ldquo;teaching&rdquo; to fly. Indeed, death no less certainly
+awaits every house-martin when it plunges into space from the
+edge of the nest. The appropriate wing-movements, necessary
+to produce flight, in short, are &ldquo;instinctive.&rdquo; Those with
+defective instincts are forthwith killed by falling to the ground.
+They leave no offspring to inherit their defects.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all as to the
+&ldquo;instinctive&rdquo; nature of flight, in nestling birds, is furnished by
+the mound-birds, of the Malay Region and Eastern Australia.</p>
+
+<p>These extraordinary birds lay their eggs in heaps of decaying
+vegetable-matter, or in the soil near hot springs; and there
+leave them to their fate. They lay very large eggs, it is to be
+noticed, so large that the growing chick finds nourishment enough
+within the egg to enable it to pass the ordinary nestling stage
+while still within the shell. By the time it emerges it has both
+grown and shed its first coat of nestling-down, and has developed
+long wing-quills. Having burst its prison walls it wriggles its
+way up through the loose earth, to the light of day, ready to
+fight its way in the world unaided. Here, then, there can be no
+question of &ldquo;teaching&rdquo; the young to fly.</p>
+
+<p>But some birds, at least, do, indeed, receive instruction when
+on the wing. And in such cases, it will be noticed, their food
+can only be captured by dexterous movements in full flight. For
+a day or two, for example, young swallows simply practice flight,
+to exercise and strengthen their wings. They are fed by their
+parents when at rest. The next step comes when they are fed on
+the wing, taking their food as they hover on trembling pinions
+from their parent&rsquo;s beak. In a little while the food is dropped as
+the parent passes, and the youngsters are made to catch it as it
+falls. From thence, onwards, they have to do their own hunting.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+The clumsy ones must die. Eagles and hawks, in like manner,
+teach their young to capture swiftly moving prey by dropping
+food to them in mid-air. If one fails to catch it the parent swoops
+down and seizes the hard-won meal before it reaches the ground;
+then mounting aloft with it, drops it once more, till, at last the
+required dexterity is gained.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 624px;">
+<img src="images/fp_125.png" width="624" height="472" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Gulls.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span><br /></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption2">Flightless Birds.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"And first, I praise the nobler traits<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;Of birds preceding Noah,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;The giant clan, whose meat was Man,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;Dinornis, Apteryx, Moa."&mdash;<i>Courthope.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="references">The steamer duck&mdash;The owl parrot&mdash;the flightless grebe of Titicaca&mdash;The dodo
+and solitaire&mdash;The ostrich tribe&mdash;The penguin&rsquo;s wings.</div>
+
+
+<div class="dropcap">T</div>
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="hidden">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> poet who penned the above lines thought more of rhymes
+than of reasons&mdash;as Poets so often do. What were their
+"nobler traits"? He omits to mention them. None of them were
+ever carnivorous: and the Apteryx could by no stretch of the
+imagination be called a &ldquo;giant.&rdquo; The one outstanding feature
+which does distinguish these birds he fails entirely to appreciate&mdash;and
+this is their flightless condition.</p>
+
+<p>A flightless bird is an anomaly. Yet there are some who
+profess to believe that this state affords us an insight into the
+early stages of the Evolution of the wing. As a matter of fact
+it demonstrates the exact opposite&mdash;its degeneration.</p>
+
+<p>How is it that birds ever came to such a pass? A study of
+living flightless birds, and birds that are well on the way to this
+condition, will afford us a ready answer.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Whenever we find birds living, so to speak, lives of languorous
+ease&mdash;where there are no enemies to be evaded, where there is an
+abundance of food to be picked up on the ground all the year
+round, and the climate is kindly, there flight is no longer practised.
+Year by year, generation after generation passes by, and no use
+whatever is made of the wings. In all such cases these once most
+vital organs dwindle away, and finally vanish. We can trace
+every step in this process of decay.</p>
+
+<p>We may begin with the &ldquo;steamer-duck&rdquo; of the Falklands.
+In this species, after the first moult, the power of flight is lost for
+ever. Among living birds only a few species, apart from the
+ostrich-tribe, are in this dolorous case. The owl-parrot, or kakapo,
+of New Zealand, is one of these. A grebe found only on Lake
+Titacaca, perched high up a mountain-side is another. In both
+these birds the keel of the sternum is represented by the merest
+vestige, the breast-bone being reduced to the condition found in
+the ostrich-tribe.</p>
+
+<p>The two giant pigeons, the dodo, and its cousin the solitaire,
+afford instances where the loss of flight has been followed by
+extinction; owing to the invasion of their haunts, through the
+agency of man, by pigs and other domesticated animals, which
+destroyed their eggs and young.</p>
+
+<p>The ostrich-tribe is peculiarly interesting: owing to the fact that
+their wings present a really wonderful series of degenerating stages.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The wings of all differ conspicuously from those of other birds
+in the great length and looseness of the texture of the feathers.
+Those of the African ostrich are the largest of all; but they are
+quite useless for the purpose of flight, though they are used as
+aids in running. In the South American ostrich, or rhea, they are
+also large, but again useless for flight, for the &ldquo;quill-feathers&rdquo;
+are very weak, and have no &ldquo;web,&rdquo; such as one finds in the quills
+of flying birds. And besides, the muscles of the wing have
+degenerated, the breast-muscles having become reduced to
+mere vestiges.</p>
+
+<p>In both the African and South American ostriches, the
+skeleton of the wing, compared with, that, say, of a swan, would
+seem, to the inexpert, to be quite normal. But with the cassowary,
+the emu, or the apteryx matters are very different. Here, at the
+first glance, it is apparent that the process of decay is far advanced;
+for the bones of the hand have, as it were, shrunk up, so that
+a mere stump is all that remains. The wing of the cassowary is
+further remarkable for the fact that some of the fore-arm quills,
+or &ldquo;secondaries&rdquo; are represented by long, stiff quills, resembling
+spines of a porcupine; the &ldquo;vane&rdquo; of the feather, which normally
+runs down each side of the shaft, has vanished altogether. What
+part they play in the bird&rsquo;s life history it is impossible to say.
+They certainly cannot be used as weapons, and they as certainly
+are not &ldquo;ornaments.&rdquo; In the extinct moas the wing had still
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+further degenerated. In some species no more than a stump
+of the upper arm bone was left, and in others not only this, but
+even the shoulder-girdle had vanished, so that only one pair of
+limbs remained.</p>
+
+<p>Another remarkable flightless bird is the penguin. Here the
+wing has changed its form to assume that of a paddle; superficially
+identical with that of the whale, or the turtle, or that of the
+extinct sea-dragon ichthyosaurus. These paddles have been
+&ldquo;re-modelled,&rdquo; so to speak, to enable them to be used for what
+we may call flight under water. Most birds which swim under
+water use the legs for propelling the body: but the penguin uses
+his paddles instead. The paddle of the turtle has similarly evolved
+out of a fore-leg used for walking on land. The common tortoise
+may be taken as the type of this leg. In the river, and pond-tortoises,
+the stumpy foot of the land-tortoise gives place to a
+broad, webbed foot. In the turtles this webbed foot gives place
+to the paddle.</p>
+
+<p>After what has been said about the penguin it is
+instructive to turn to the wings of the auk-tribe&mdash;the guillemot,
+razor-bill, and puffin. These are very efficient for normal
+flight, but they are equally efficient for use under water.
+For these birds swim as penguins do, when submerged. Why
+then, did the penguin suffer the loss of the use of his wings
+for flight?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 497px;">
+<img src="images/fp_130.png" width="497" height="617" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+
+<pre>
+  <span class="smcap">Cassowary.</span>      <span class="smcap">Penguin.</span>
+  <span class="smcap">Ostrich.</span>        <span class="smcap">Kiwi.</span>
+</pre>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This question leads to another. Why did that giant razor-bill
+known as the great auk become flightless? It would seem
+that its wings somehow failed to keep pace with the growth of
+its body, so that while they remained sufficient for flight under
+water, they became useless for flight in the air. Its failure in
+this led to its extinction, for it was unable to escape from its arch-enemy
+man. When the old-time sailors, somewhere about one
+hundred years ago, discovered its haunts in Iceland could be
+profitably invaded for the purpose of collecting feathers, and bait,
+they speedily wiped out the race; for being flightless they were
+unable to escape the marauders once they had effected a landing.
+Unhappily there was no Bird Protection Society in those days,
+to stop this senseless slaughter.</p>
+
+<p>Here our survey of Birds on the Wing ends. It began with
+flight through the air, it ends with flight through the water.
+It is not a little surprising, surely, to find that the same wing
+can be efficiently used for both these extremes of motion. And
+still more surprising to find that, this being so, the penguin should
+have been forced, so to speak, to adopt the expedient of evolving
+a paddle; and so forego the power of aerial locomotion. The
+skeleton of this wing, it was pointed out, differed in no essential
+from that of the typical avian wing. In some points, however,
+it has changed conspicuously. For the bones have become greatly
+flattened, and the several parts of the wing&mdash;arm, fore-arm, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+hand&mdash;can no longer be bent upon one another in the Z-shaped
+fashion of normal wings, while the &ldquo;quill&rdquo; or &ldquo;flight-feathers&rdquo;
+have been reduced to so small a size that they are
+unrecognizable.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 489px;">
+<img src="images/fp_133.png" width="489" height="617" alt="" />
+<div class="figcaption">
+<span class="smcap">Vultures.</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="center pmt4 pmb4">
+<i>Cheltenham Press Ltd.</i><br />
+<i>Cheltenham and London.</i><br />
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<div class="trans_notes">
+<p>Transcriber&rsquo;s Note</p>
+
+
+<p>All obvious typos were corrected and hyphenization was standardized.
+The italic labels on the illustration facing <a href="#Page_102">page 102</a> were standardized
+to match the other illustration&rsquo;s text. Illustrations were repositioned
+so that paragraphs were not split.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45086 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -1,3379 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds in Flight, by W. P. Pycraft
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Birds in Flight
-
-Author: W. P. Pycraft
-
-Illustrator: Roland Green
-
-Release Date: March 9, 2014 [EBook #45086]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRDS IN FLIGHT ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-BIRDS IN FLIGHT
-
-
-[Illustration: _Kingfisher and Young_]
-
-
-
-
-  BIRDS IN FLIGHT
-
-  BY
-  W. P. PYCRAFT
-
-  Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History).
-  Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.
-  Hon. Member of the American Ornithologists' Union.
-  Associate of the Linnean Society.
-  Member of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
-  Member of the Royal Anthropological Institute.
-
-  Author of "A History of Birds," "The Infancy of Animals," "The
-  Courtship of Animals," "The Sea-shore," Etc., Etc., Etc.
-
-  _Illustrated by_
-  ROLAND GREEN, F.Z.S.
-
-  LONDON
-  GAY & HANCOCK LIMITED
-  34 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2.
-  1922
-
-  _All Rights Reserved._
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
-
-  I. Concerning Wings                                                1
-
-  What a wing is--The quill feathers and their function--The
-  skeleton of the wing--The muscles of the wing--The
-  great air-chambers of the body--The Bat's wing--The
-  wing of flying Dragons--The wings of Dragon-flies
-  and beetles.
-
-
-  II. The First Bird                                                15
-
-  The ancestors of birds--The first known bird and its
-  many remarkable features--The gradual evolution of the
-  birds of to-day.
-
-
-  III. The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and
-  their relation to Flight                                          21
-
-  The evasiveness of flight--The size of the wing in relation
-  to that of the body--Noisy flight--"Muffled" flight--The
-  swoop of the sparrow-hawk--The "flighting" of
-  ducks--The autumn gatherings of starlings and swallows--"Soaring"
-  flights of storks and vultures--The wonderful
-  "sailing" feats of the albatross--The "soaring" of the
-  skylark--The "plunging" flight of the gannet, tern, and
-  kingfisher.
-
-
-  IV. Modes of Flight                                               35
-
-  The movements of the wing in flight--Marey's
-  experiments--Stopping and turning
-  movements--Alighting--"Taking off"--Hovering--The use of the
-  tail in flight--The carriage of the neck in flight--And of the
-  legs--The  flight of petrels--The speed of flight--The height
-  at which birds fly--Flight with burdens--Experiments on the
-  sizes of the wing in relation to flight--Flight in "troops."
-
-
-  V. Courtship Flights                                              53
-
-  The wing-play of black-game and grouse--The "musical
-  ride" of the snipe--The "roding" of the woodcock--The
-  musical flights of redshank and curlew--The "tumbling"
-  of the lapwing--The raven's somersaults--The
-  courting flight of the wood pigeon--The mannikin's
-  "castanets"--Wings as lures--The strange pose of the
-  sun-bittern--The "wooing" of the chaffinch and the
-  grasshopper-warbler--Darwin and wing-displays--The
-  wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.
-
-
-  VI. How to tell Birds on the Wing                                 71
-
-  The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
-  them--The wagtails--The finches--The buntings--The
-  redstart-wheatear, Stonechat--The thrushes--The
-  warblers--The tit-mice--The nuthatch, and tree-creeper--The
-  spotted flycatcher--The red-backed shrike--Swallows,
-  martins, and swifts--The night-jar--Owls--Woodpeckers.
-
-
-  VII. How to tell Birds on the Wing                                97
-  (_continued_)
-
-  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.
-
-
-  VIII. The Wings of Nestling Birds                                117
-
-  The wing of the unhatched bird--Of the coots and water-hen--The
-  hoatzin's wings--The wing of Arch�opteryx--Moulting--The
-  nestling game-birds and ducks--Teaching
-  the young to fly.
-
-
-  IX. Flightless Birds                                             127
-
-  The steamer duck--The owl parrot--The flightless grebe
-  of Titicaca--The dodo and solitaire--The ostrich tribe--The
-  penguin's wings.
-
-
-
-
-ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-Coloured Plates
-
-  Kingfisher and Young                        _Frontispiece_
-  Jays                                      _Facing Page_  6
-  Pheasants                                    "      "   22
-  Brown Owl                                    "      "   30
-  Wild Duck                                    "      "   38
-  Woodcock carrying Young                      "      "   54
-  Herons                                       "      "   64
-  Chaffinch and Young                          "      "   76
-  Gold-crested Wrens                           "      "   86
-  Great Spotted Woodpeckers                    "      "   92
-  Some Types of Wings and Tails                "      "  102
-  Grouse                                       "      "  118
-
-
-Black and White Plates
-
-  Swans, Heron, Geese                       _Facing Page_  4
-  Black-game                                   "      "   26
-  Ducks                                        "      "   42
-  Lapwings                                     "      "   58
-  Some Common Birds                         _Facing Page_ 72
-  Some Types of Birds in Flight                "      "   80
-  Birds of Prey                                "      "  106
-  Flightless Birds                             "      "  130
-
-
-Line Illustrations
-
-  Wings                                            _Page_ 13
-  Arch�opteryx and Pterodactyles                      "   19
-  Bat, Beetle, Dragon Fly, etc.                       "   33
-  Peregrine chasing Duck                              "   51
-  Sunbittern Displaying                               "   69
-  Drumming Snipe                                      "   95
-  Buzzard Soaring                                     "  115
-  Gulls                                               "  125
-  Vultures                                            "  133
-
-
-
-
-Preface.
-
-
-There are hosts of people who have a genuine
-love of our native birds without yearning to possess their skins, or
-desiring to acquire the reputation of being "Ornithologists." They
-would call them all by name if they could, but seek, alas! in vain, for
-some book wherein they will find some magic phrase which will enable
-them to identify every bird they meet by the wayside.
-
-Most of our native birds have learnt that "discretion is the better
-part of valour," when in the neighbourhood of Man. Hence one gets but
-too often no more than a fleeting glance at their retreating forms,
-which, from frequent encounters, have become familiar, yet they leave
-no more than a vague image in the memory. "What bird _was_ that? I have
-often seen it but have never succeeded in taking it unawares." This is
-a question, and its comment, often put to me.
-
-Those who are in this quandary, and they are many, are always hoping to
-find some book which will enable them to correctly name the retreating
-forms. That book will never be written. In the following pages an
-attempt is made to aid such enquirers, and at the same time the
-difficulties of the task are pointed out.
-
-It is hoped, however, that this attempt will find a welcome among
-those for whom it is made. If it helps them to understand something,
-at least, of the absorbing and fascinating problems which the study of
-flight in the animal kingdom presents, it will at least have served
-some useful purpose.
-
-The pursuit of the flying bird will inevitably stimulate a desire
-to know more about the bewildering changes of plumage presented at
-different seasons of the year, as well as by the striking differences
-which often distinguish the two sexes, and the immature birds. The
-endeavour to satisfy this desire will open up a new world. Those
-who would pass to this knowledge should possess themselves of the
-"Practical Handbook of British Birds." Though most severely practical,
-and designed for the serious student alone, even the beginner will find
-interest in the description of these several plumages, and much else
-beside that it is essential to know.
-
-Now that the study of flight is so much to the fore, some may turn to
-these pages in the hope of gaining useful information on the theme of
-mechanical flight. Some help they may find. But it was not for this
-that they were written. The flight of an aeroplane and the flight of a
-bird have little in common--at present; though something may be learned
-by the study of gliding flight and soaring, which of course have their
-place in this book. But anatomical details and mechanical formul�,
-necessary to the serious student of flight, would have been entirely
-out of place here, and they have been omitted.
-
-My task has been by no means easy. But it has been enormously helped
-by the extremely skilful and beautiful work of the artist, Mr. Roland
-Green. Where birds are concerned, few artists in the past, and very few
-in the present, have shown any ability to combine accuracy in drawing
-with ingenuity of composition and faithfulness in colouring. Mr. Green
-has shown this rare combination; his coloured plates and line-drawings
-speak for themselves.
-
-  W. P. PYCRAFT.
-
-  _London_,
-  _September, 1922_
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-Concerning Wings.
-
-    "Divinity within them breeding wings
-      wherewith to scorn the earth."--_Milton._
-
- What a wing is--The quill feathers and their function--The skeleton
- of the wing--The muscles of the wing--The great air-chambers of
- the body--The Bat's wing--The wing of flying Dragons--The wings of
- Dragon-flies and beetles.
-
-
-The flight of birds has always aroused man's
-envy and stirred his imagination. David longed for the wings of a dove:
-the writer of the Book of Proverbs tells us that "the way of an eagle"
-surpasses his understanding. Icarus, spurred on by dire necessity,
-actually, we are told, contrived to fly--but his maiden effort ended in
-disaster! To-day we have, in a sense, succeeded where he failed. But
-only because we have given up the idea of flight by personal effort,
-and make our aerial journeys in a flying machine.
-
-That we owe much of our success to a study of the flight of birds is
-common knowledge, but the machine which has evolved as a consequence
-of this study pursues its way through the air after a very different
-fashion from that of the birds, for its vast body is thrust, or drawn,
-through the air by means of a propeller, driven at incredible speed,
-its immobile wings sustaining the weight. The wings of the bird, on the
-other hand, not only lift the body from the earth, but they sustain it
-in the air by their marvellously complex movements. And this is true,
-in varying degrees of bird, and bat, and butterfly: of dragon-fly and
-beetle.
-
-Even they who must perforce dwell in crowded cities see daily the
-miracle of flight performed. For even here sparrows and pigeons, at
-least, are everywhere, and it is just because this is so, just because
-they have become so "common-place," that their very presence escapes
-notice. Yet the wonder of their movements in the air might become a
-never-ending source of delight if only we went about our business with
-open eyes and minds alert.
-
-Watch the wary sparrow spring from the ground and dart across the road,
-or up to the nearest house-top. How is it done with such incredible
-speed and accuracy?
-
-To understand even the broad principles of flight, it is necessary to
-realize, at the very beginning, that the wing, in the case of the bird,
-or the bat, is a specially modified fore-leg. So also is the human arm
-and hand. But its transformation has not been so drastic as that of the
-bird, or the bat. Wherein the hand has been, as it were, completely
-re-modelled to fulfil the peculiar and complex functions demanded of
-it.
-
-How should one describe the wing of a bird, as one sees it in flight?
-
-The Dictionary, obscure and inaccurate as Dictionaries usually are,
-defines a wing as "the organ of a bird, or other animal, or insect,
-by which it flies--any side-piece." Might not the impression one
-gathers of a wing, during flight, be defined as of a lateral extension
-of the body, presenting a relatively large surface, but having no
-appreciable thickness? That surface, examined in a dead bird, is seen
-to be formed, for the most part, of a series of parallel, tapering,
-elastic rods, fringed with an innumerable series of smaller, similar,
-but much shorter rods, closely packed, and linked together by some
-invisible means to form an elastic web? These we call the "quill,"
-or "flight-feathers." The rest of the wing, and the body itself, is
-clothed with precisely similar structures, differing only in their
-smaller size. We call them "feathers" commonly, without realizing that
-they are the "Hall-mark" of the bird, for no other creature has ever
-been similarly clothed.
-
-These quill-feathers play such a tremendously important part in flight
-that their arrangement, and relation to the underlying skeleton must
-be carefully examined by all who would understand the flight of birds.
-To begin with, then, note that they are so arranged as to overlap one
-another, the free edges of the quills facing the outer edge of the
-wing. Only by this arrangement would flight be possible, for on the
-upstroke of the wing through the air the quills act like the shutters
-of the sails of a windmill, allowing the wind to pass between them and
-so relieving pressure on the uplifting wing-stroke. On the down-stroke,
-the opposite effect is produced. The full force of the stroke is
-conserved, because, owing to the overlap, the several feathers are now
-pressed closely together to form an impervious sheet.
-
-How are they fixed to the skeleton? To see this all the smaller
-feathers and the muscles, or "flesh" of the wing must be removed.
-It will then be found that the flight-feathers are divisible into
-two series. One, widely spaced, runs along the upper surface of the
-fore-arm: the other, closely packed, along what answers to the back
-of the hand. In effect this is but a single rod of bone, but it is
-composed of three elements, answering to three of the digits of the
-human hand--the thumb and the first and second fingers. But they are
-scarcely recognizable as such, for the thumb is reduced to a mere
-stump, while the two fingers have become welded together. The third
-finger, indeed, has become reduced to the palm-bone, and a short stump
-answering to the first finger joint. To this frame-work, which can be
-folded up into the shape of a Z when the bird is at rest, the quills
-are fixed by their base by means of slender, but very strong elastic
-tendons. In birds which have a long upper arm bone, like the Albatross,
-Gull, or Heron, there is a third series of long, almost "quill-like"
-feathers running from the elbow to the body, thus closing up what would
-otherwise be a gap between the wing surface and the body, rendering
-flight impossible.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Swans.
-
-  Heron.
-
-  Geese.
-]
-
-The most important muscles of the wing are those which have to provide
-the power for the down-stroke of the wing. And these are the "pectoral"
-or "breast-muscles"--which form such dainty meat in a roast fowl.
-Owing to their great bulk the breast-bone itself would be insufficient
-to afford them attachment. This is furnished by the development of a
-deep, median keel, so that the breast-bone of a bird, such as a pigeon,
-bears a fanciful resemblance, when seen in profile, to the hull of a
-ship--unusually shallow--with a very deep keel. The front end of the
-breast-bone supports two slender rods of bone, and these in their turn
-support the long, sword-like blade-bone, and the "merry-thought."
-
-The general appearance of this frame-work for the support of the wing
-and its muscles can be seen in the adjoining illustrations. But it
-must be remembered that in their relative sizes and disposition these
-various parts present a very considerable range of differences. That
-these differences are correllated with different forms of flight goes
-without saying, but, be it noted, no one, as yet, has attempted to
-discover in what way they are related. Some of the readers of this book
-may, perhaps, be tempted to try and solve the problems which these
-differences present. To begin with, a collection of breast bones of
-different species of birds with their attached shoulder-girdles should
-be made, and these should be studied together with careful observations
-of the flight of the living bird. So far only a few comparisons of this
-kind have been made.
-
-It must not be supposed that the whole secret of flight in birds
-is concentrated in the skeleton of the breast-bone and its
-shoulder-girdle, and the muscles attached thereto. But those who would
-investigate the modifications of the rest of the body which have taken
-place in harmony with the requirements of flight, must turn to more
-learned treatises. There is, however, one point which demands notice
-here. And this is the popular belief that birds have the power of
-materially reducing their weight when on the wing by drawing air into
-their lungs, and storing it in large air-chambers enclosed within the
-body. These chambers are indeed concerned with the needs of flight. But
-the precise part they play is yet to be discovered. They certainly have
-no effect of rendering the body lighter. So far as our knowledge goes
-it would seem that they act as regulators of the temperature and as
-reservoirs of breathing air, during the strenuous efforts of flight.
-
-[Illustration: _Jays_]
-
-It is a mistake to suppose that it is unnecessary to consider other
-kinds of flight when studying that of birds. Even those who are not
-interested in the abstruse problems of the mechanism of bird's flight,
-will find that comparisons made between birds, bats, butterflies and
-beetles when on the wing, are immensely interesting, and help to bring
-out the peculiarities of each.
-
-During the twilight hours of a still summer evening one may compare,
-with advantage, the rushing swoop of the screaming swift, borne with
-lightning speed upon long, ribbon-like pinions, with the curiously
-erratic flight of the woolly bat with beaded eyes, who has ventured
-abroad for his evening meal. One cannot but feel astonishment at the
-marvellous dexterity with which he twists and turns, now shooting up
-into the sky, now darting downward. What bird can beat him, or even
-match him, in the art of doubling back on his tracks? And one can put
-his skill at lightning turns to the test if one attempts to catch him
-in a butterfly net. Often indeed have I attempted this feat, but never
-yet with success.
-
-In the glare of noon-day this aerial athlete may perhaps be found in a
-deep slumber, hanging head downwards behind the shutters of a cottage
-window, or in some crevice of a barn-roof. Gently seize him and as
-gently stretch out his wing. The moment one opens it one sees that it
-is constructed upon a totally different plan from that of a bird. In
-the first place a thin membrane, or fold of skin is seen to take the
-place of the series of quill-feathers found in the wing of the bird. In
-the second it will be found that this membrane is stretched between
-a series of long and very slender bony rods. These are excessively
-attenuated fingers. And if the hinder border of the wing-membrane be
-traced inwards it will be found to be attached to the hind limb. In
-some species it will be found that this membrane passes backwards
-beyond the leg to attach itself to the tail. Here, then, is a wing
-as efficient for its purpose as that of a bird, but constructed on a
-totally different plan.
-
-Ages ago, before even the birds or the beasts had appeared on the
-earth, the winged dragons, which the Men of Science call Pterodactyles,
-held the proud position of being, not only the first, but the only
-creatures blessed with a backbone that could fly. Their wings
-resembled those of the bats, but differed in this, that instead of the
-wing-membrane being stretched between all the fingers, leaving only
-the thumb free, it was attached only to the fifth finger, leaving the
-remaining fingers free, and these were reduced to mere vestiges. As
-with the birds, the breast-bone was very broad and was furnished with a
-keel, while in the bats it takes the form of a jointed rod, down which
-no more than a slight keel is ever developed.
-
-But millions of years before the Flying-dragons, birds, and bats came
-into being, the stupendous problem of flight had been solved. Far away
-in the distant Devonian Epoch, when the distribution of land and water
-over the earth's surface was totally different from that of to-day,
-dragon-flies and caddis-flies disported themselves in the summer sun,
-amid landscapes that would seem strange to our eyes. For there were no
-trees and flowering plants, such as we know.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The dragon-flies of that remote epoch were very like those of to-day,
-whose dancing flights and graceful, swooping movements are such a
-delight to watch by reed-fringed pools, or river-banks, during the
-sweltering days of summer. This flight is very different from that of
-a bird, though it would be hard to say precisely in what it differs.
-But we have no such difficulty in regard to the broad outlines of the
-mechanism of such flight. To begin with there are two pairs of wings,
-and these appear to be fashioned out of some curiously gauze-like
-material, a sort of mesh-work tissue, often strikingly coloured. And
-they are obviously driven after a very different fashion from those
-of the bird. For in the bird they are moved by quivering muscles,
-attached to a bony, internal skeleton. In the dragon-fly--as with all
-insects--the hard skeleton, composed of a material known as "chitin,"
-forms the outside of the body and encloses the muscles. Finally, for we
-may not dwell very long over this aspect of flight, it is clear that
-the wings cannot have been derived from modified fore-legs, like those
-of the bat, or the bird. Rather, it would seem, they have developed out
-of plate-like breathing organs.
-
-The restful twilight hours of summer tempt not only bats from their
-hiding places, but a host of other winged creatures which are rarely
-to be seen, or heard, during the glare of noon. Among these is the
-lumbering dor-beetle, who, with lazy drone steers clear of solid
-objects only with difficulty. Many, indeed, are his failures. He and
-his kin are no match for bats and owls, who find them juicy morsels! On
-the next opportunity catch one and examine him. His wings are curiously
-interesting. There are the usual two pairs: but the fore-wings have
-been changed to serve as covers for the hind-wings. During flight they
-are spread outwards, and indirectly, no doubt, assist flight. But the
-hind-wings are the real propellers. And it will be noticed that when
-not in use they can be folded up in a perfectly wonderful manner, so as
-to lie completely underneath the fore-wings, or "elytra," so that when
-the creature is crawling it appears to be wingless.
-
-Now compare these with the transparent wings of the bee, or the
-gorgeously scale-covered wings of the butterfly. It is well worth
-while. If this examination be done very carefully, and with the aid
-of a magnifying glass, it will be found that the fore and hind wings
-are yoked together in the wing of the bee, by a delicate mechanism
-of hooks. In the moths, but not in the butterflies, a bristle, or
-sometimes two or three bristles, serve the same purpose. Further, in
-the case of the bee it will be found that the fore-wing, when at rest,
-is folded longitudinally back upon itself.
-
-Finally, turn to the flies. Herein it will be seen that there is but
-a single pair of wings, the hind pair having become reduced to mere
-stumps, known as "balancers."
-
-Much, very much more, might have been said of these wings: but our
-conversation is of birds. We cannot, however, properly appreciate
-either the essential characters of their wings, or their flight,
-without some such standards of comparison as is afforded by the wings
-of other creatures.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A Primaries.  B Secondaries.  C Tectrices.  D Bastard Wing.
-
-The upper figure shows the under side of wing with the coverts removed
-to show attachment of flight feathers to skeleton.
-
-The lower figure shows the quill or flight feathers and the coverts in
-their natural condition.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-The First Bird.
-
-    "And let Fowl fly above the earth; with wings
-      Displayed in the open firmanent of heaven."--_Milton._
-
- The ancestors of birds--The first known bird and its many remarkable
- features--The gradual evolution of the birds of to-day.
-
-
-Sooner or later all bird-lovers find
-themselves pondering over the problem of the origin of birds: how they
-evolved their peculiar covering of feathers: what was the fashion of
-the original arm and hand out of which the wing was fashioned: and
-finally, whence have the birds been derived?
-
-Since these pages are avowedly devoted to the subject of Flight, any
-attempt to summarize the state of our knowledge on these aspects of the
-history of birds would be in the nature of a trespass on the space, of
-necessity limited, which even a cursory survey of flight demands.
-
-Let it suffice, then, to say, that birds are descended from reptiles.
-The skeleton of modern birds bears undubitable testimony of this. For
-we have the evidence furnished us by the remains of two remarkable
-skeletons, belonging to that very wonderful reptile-like bird,
-Arch�opteryx.
-
-Only two skeletons of this wonderful bird are known, and they were
-obtained, many years ago, from the Solenhofen, or Lithographic slates
-of Bavaria. The wing and tail-feathers are as perfectly developed as
-in modern birds. But these precious fossils present two characters
-which have long since been lost by birds. The first of these is the
-presence of well developed teeth in the jaws. The birds of to-day have
-horny beaks. The teeth bespeak the reptile. The second is the long,
-tapering tail, which is composed of a series of cylindrical bones,
-forming a lizard-like appendage. But each bone, be it noted, supported
-a pair of stiff, tail-quills, so that the tail of this ancient bird,
-in its general appearance, differs in a very striking way from that of
-a modern bird, wherein these feathers seem all to spring from a common
-base, fan-wise. But as a matter of fact this appearance is deceptive,
-for the large bone, or "pygostyle" which supports the tail feathers
-of the adult, is found, in the embryo, to be made up of a series of
-separate pieces, agreeing in number with those of the tail of the
-fossil ancestor, Arch�opteryx. Each of these separate bones has, in
-fact, in the course of the ages, been shortened up to the condition of
-mere discs; and this "telescoping" of the vertebr� has brought the once
-separated feathers close up, so that their bases lie packed in like the
-spokes of a fan. As a result, a much more efficient tail for the needs
-of flight has come into being. And the tail, it must be remembered,
-plays, especially in some birds, an important part. But this is not
-all. We have now to consider the wing. In all essentials this agrees
-with that of living birds. And this agreement is strikingly close when
-it is compared with the embryonic and early nestling stages. A detailed
-account of these resemblances, and differences, would be out of place
-here. Suffice it to say that its closest modern counterparts are to
-be found in the wing of the nestling of that strange South American
-bird, the Hoatzin, and the "Game-birds," such as of a young pheasant,
-or a young fowl. The evidence these can furnish in this matter of the
-evolution of the birds wing will be found in Chapter VI. For the moment
-it will be more profitable to discuss the broad outlines of the origin
-of flight, so far as this is possible.
-
-On this theme there are, as might be supposed, many opinions--some of
-them bearing little relation to fact.
-
-The feet of Arch�opteryx, it is important to remember, bear a very
-extraordinary likeness to the feet of a "perching" bird, say that of a
-crow. They are without any semblance of doubt, the feet of a bird which
-lived in trees. Arch�opteryx, then, was an arboreal bird. And this
-being so, the most reasonable hypothesis of the origin of flight is
-that it developed out of "gliding" movements, made for the purpose of
-passing from the topmost branches of one tree to the lower branches of
-another, after the mode of the "flying-squirrels," and "flying-lemur"
-of to-day. The wing, at this primitive stage of its evolution, was
-even then, probably, a three-fingered limb, provided with a broad
-fringe of incipient feathers along its hinder border. At this stage
-the body would have been less bird-like than that of Arch�opteryx, and
-have been still more like that of the ancestral reptilian stock from
-which the birds have sprung. That feathers are, so to speak, glorified
-reptilian scales cannot be certainly demonstrated, but men of Science
-are generally agreed that this was their origin.
-
-By the time that Arch�opteryx had come into being, true flight had been
-arrived at, though probably it could not have been long sustained.
-As these primitive birds increased in numbers, and spread from the
-woodlands to the open country, life became more strenuous. New
-enemies had to be evaded, longer journeys had to be made for food.
-Only the very best performers on the wing could survive, and thus,
-in each generation, the failures would be speedily weeded out, while
-competition among the survivors would raise the standard. We see the
-result of this "struggle for existence" in the many and varied types of
-wings, and of flight, which are presented in this book.
-
-[Illustration: Arch�opteryx.
-
-Pterodactyles.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-The Sizes and Shapes of Wings and their relation to Flight.
-
-    "... the fowls of heaven have wings,
-     And blasts of heaven will aid their flight:
-             *     *     *     *     *
-     Chains tie us down by land and sea."--_Wordsworth._
-
- The evasiveness of flight--The size of the wing in relation to
- that of the body--Noisy flight--"Muffled" flight--The swoop of the
- sparrow-hawk--The "flighting" of ducks--The autumn gatherings of
- starlings and swallows--"Soaring" flights of storks and vultures--The
- wonderful "sailing" feats of the albatross--The "soaring" of the
- skylark--The "plunging" flight of the gannet, tern, and kingfisher.
-
-
-Who needs to be told that birds fly? So
-common-place has this fact become that the many, and varied forms of
-wings, and the peculiarities of flight which are associated with these
-differences, are rarely perceived. Even sculptors, and artists show a
-hopeless unfamiliarity with the shapes of wings, and their meanings, at
-any rate, as a general rule. Look at their attempts to display birds in
-flight, or in the fanciful use of wings which convention has ascribed
-to angels. For the most part these superbly beautiful appendages are
-atrociously rendered.
-
-Yet it must be confessed that any attempt to explain exactly how birds
-fly must fail. We can do no more than state the more obvious factors
-which are indispensable to flight, and the nature of its mechanism. The
-subtleties, and delicate adjustments of actual flight evade us.
-
-Our appreciation, however, of this supreme mode of locomotion will be
-materially quickened, if we make a point of studying the varied forms
-of flight as opportunities present themselves.
-
-To begin with, it is worth noting that the size of the wing decreases
-with the weight of the body to be lifted--up to a certain point, of
-course. This, perhaps, may seem strange a statement to make. But it
-can be readily verified. Compare, for example, the size of the body in
-relation to the wings, in the case of the butterfly and the dragon-fly,
-on the one hand, and the partridge and the crow, on the other. The two
-first named, by comparison, have enormous wings.
-
-Birds, it will be noticed, which haunt woods, or thickets, have short,
-rounded wings, like the wren, the pheasant, or the tawny owl. Such, on
-the other hand, as live in the open, like the gull, and the swallow,
-have long, pointed wings. The reason for this is fairly plain. Birds
-which must steer their course through the intricate mazes of a wood, or
-thicket, would find their flight seriously hampered by long wings.
-
-[Illustration: _Pheasants_]
-
-These general principles once realized, a foundation is laid on which
-one may base observations on the peculiarities of flight distinguishing
-different types of birds.
-
-Most of us, probably, at one time or another, in taking a walk through
-the woods, have been startled, almost out of our wits, by a sudden
-"whirr" of wings at our very feet; made by some crouching pheasant,
-waiting till the very last moment before revealing himself, by taking
-flight. This alarming noise is due to the shortness and stiffness of
-the quill, or flight-feathers. With pinions moving with incredible
-speed, the bird is off like a rocket. Not seldom, probably, it owes
-its life to this ability to disconcert its enemies, till it has put a
-safe distance between itself and danger. By way of contrast, let us
-take the absolutely silent, easy movements of the owl, stealing forth
-in the twilight of a summer's evening, seeking whom he may devour.
-Here, again, we have a meaning in the mode of flight. Here silence is
-more than golden: it means life itself. Nimble-footed, sharp-eared
-mice and rats, must be snatched up before even the breath of suspicion
-can reach them. The uncanny silence of this approach is rendered
-possible, only by what may be called a "muffling" of the wings. For the
-flight-feathers are not only of great breadth, but they are covered,
-as it were, with velvet-pile, the "barbules" of the wing-quills, which
-form the agents by which the "web" of the quill is held together,
-having their upper spurs produced into long, thread-like processes,
-which extinguishes any possibility of a warning "swish."
-
-John Bright, in one of his magnificent perorations, caused his
-spell-bound listeners to catch their breath, when, conjuring up a
-vision of the Angel of Death, he remarked "we can almost hear the
-rustle of his wings." One realizes the vividness of that imagery, when
-one hears, as on rare occasions one may, the awe-inspiring rustle of
-the death-dealing swoop of the falcon, or the sparrow-hawk, as he
-strikes down his victim.
-
-But the swish, and whistle of wings often stirs the blood with
-delicious excitement, as, when one is out on some cold, dark night,
-"flighting." That is to say, awaiting mallard passing overhead on the
-way to their feeding ground, or in watching the hordes of starlings, or
-swallows, settling down to roost in a reed-bed. No words can describe
-these sounds, but those to whom they are familiar know well the thrill
-of enjoyment they beget. There is no need, here, to muffle the sound of
-the wing-beat. The falcon vies with the lightning in his speed, escape
-is well nigh hopeless: neither have the swallows need for silence;
-indeed, on these occasions, they add, to the music of their wings, the
-enchantment of their twittering.
-
-So much for flight in its more general aspects. Let us turn now to a
-survey of some of the more remarkable forms of flight, beginning with
-that known as "soaring."
-
-This but few birds have mastered, and to-day it is rarely to be seen in
-our islands, for eagles, falcons, and buzzards are, unfortunately, only
-to be found in a few favoured localities. Happily, however, one may
-yet realize the delight of watching a soaring buzzard, or raven, among
-the hills of Westmorland, or in parts of Cornwall and Wales. But to
-see the past-masters in the art, one must seek the haunts of pelicans,
-vultures, and adjutant storks. The last-named is perhaps the finest
-performer of them all. For the first hundred feet or so he rises by
-rapid and powerful strokes of the wings, and then, apparently without
-the slightest effort, or the suspicion of a wing-beat, he sweeps round
-in great spirals, gaining some ten or twenty feet with each gyration,
-the wings and tail all the while being fully extended and the primary
-feathers widely separated at their tips. During the first part of
-every turn he is flying slightly downward: at the end of the descent
-he sweeps round and faces the wind, which carries him upward. Round,
-round, he goes, mounting ever higher and higher, until at last he
-attains a height of perhaps two miles.
-
-The adjutant thus goes aloft apparently for the mere delight the
-movement affords him. But not so with the vulture, who is a close rival
-in this art. He soars for his very existence, for dead bodies are not
-to be found everywhere. Possessing powers of sight infinitely greater
-than ours, he mounts aloft for the purpose of taking observations. If
-nothing "toothsome" can be seen from his vast range, he turns his
-attention to the movements of such of his fellows as may be up on
-the same errand miles away. Should he see one swooping earthwards he
-instantly tracks him down, and is soon at the feast. This accounts for
-the mysterious way in which vultures will gather together to the feast,
-in a place where an hour ago not one was to be seen. A caravan of
-camels, perchance, is making its toilsome way across a burning desert.
-One falls by the way. In a few hours its bones will be picked clean by
-a horde of these ravenous birds.
-
-Longfellow sang the song of the vultures hunting in stately verse:--
-
-    "Never stoops the soaring vulture
-     On his quarry in the desert,
-     On the sick or wounded bison,
-     But another vulture, watching
-     From his high aerial look-out,
-     Sees the downward plunge and follows,
-     And a third pursues the second,
-     Coming from the invisible ether,
-     First a speck, and then a vulture,
-     Till the air is thick with pinions."
-
-[Illustration: Black-game.]
-
-Darwin, in his wonderful "Journal of a Voyage Round the World" gives a
-marvellously vivid word-picture of the largest, and most interesting of
-all the vultures, the Condor of the Andes--one of the largest of flying
-birds, having a wing-span of something over nine feet:--
-
-"When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot,
-their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground, I do
-not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings.
-Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once
-taking off my eyes; they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles,
-descending and ascending without giving a single flap. As they glided
-close over my head, I intently watched, from an oblique position, the
-outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers of each wing;
-and these separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory
-movement, would have appeared as if blended together; but they were
-seen distinctly against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved
-frequently, and, apparently, with force, and the extended wings seemed
-to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body, and the
-tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings for a moment
-collapsed; and then again expanded with an altered inclination, the
-momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards
-with the even and steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of
-any bird _soaring_, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that
-the action of the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may
-counterbalance its gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a
-body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so
-little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.
-The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose, is
-sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly wonderful and
-beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without apparent
-exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river."
-
-Those who "go down to the sea in ships" have to face many perils, but
-the "wonders of the great deep" are for them a lure. One of these is
-to watch the marvellous "sailing" flights of the wandering albatross.
-His wings have, when expanded, a peculiarly "ribbon-like" form,
-and measure from tip to tip, over eleven feet--thus exceeding that
-of the condor, which, however, is the heavier bird of the two. The
-"ribbon-like" form of the wings is due to the extreme shortness of the
-flight-quills--the primaries and secondaries, and the great length of
-the arm and fore-arm. And it may be to these structural peculiarities
-that the "sailing" flight just alluded to is due. Resembling soaring in
-many of its aspects, yet it differs materially in that it is performed
-low down, not at immense heights. The most graphic description of
-these movements is surely that of Mr. Froude: "The albatross," he
-tells us, "wheels in circles round and round, and for ever round the
-ship--now far behind, now sweeping past in a long rapid curve, like a
-perfect skater on a perfect field of ice. There is no effort; watch
-as closely as you will, you will rarely see, or never see, a stroke
-of the mighty pinion. The flight is generally near the water, often
-close to it. You lose sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow
-between the waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest;
-but how he rises, and whence comes the propelling force, is, to the
-eye, inexplicable; he alters merely the angle at which the wings are
-inclined; usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal; but
-when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction, the wings
-then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the water."
-
-One sometimes hears the skylark described as "soaring" upwards, when
-performing that wonderful musical ride which has made him so famous.
-But as, spell-bound, one listens to his rapturous strains, and watches
-his spiral ascent, one cannot help noticing that his wings are never
-still, they seem almost to be "beating time" to his music. In true
-soaring they are scarcely ever moved.
-
-The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity,
-comparatively slow. But in what we may call "plunging" flight the case
-is very different, for here the velocity of the descent is great.
-
-The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our own, display
-this mode of flight to perfection. It is worth going far to see a
-gannet dive. Travelling at a relatively considerable height, and
-eagerly scanning the surface of the water for signs of a shoal of
-fish, this amazing bird dives with the speed of lightning, and with
-half-spread wings disappears with a terrific plunge beneath the
-surface, to emerge, an instant later, with his prey. One can measure
-the force of such a plunge by the cruel trick, sometimes played by
-fishermen, of fastening a herring to a board, and setting it adrift
-where gannets are about. The unsuspecting victim descends as usual
-upon his prey, only to meet instant death by the shock of his impact
-with the board. Those who talk glibly of identifying birds by their
-flight may point to this wonderful diver as a case in point. But while
-one may often see the gannet on the wing, it is by no means so often
-that one will have the good fortune to see him dive, for he is not
-always hungry. His white body, pointed tail, and black quill-feathers
-would then enable the novice to name him at once. But--in his immature
-plumage, he would, at a little distance, appear black, and unless he
-were fishing, the chances of recognition would be by no means great.
-Close at hand he would appear speckled with white.
-
-[Illustration: _Brown Owl_]
-
-But this by the way. There are two other birds which dive from a
-height on the wing. One of these is the kingfisher: the other is the
-tern. The term "tern" is here used collectively, for there are several
-species, but all have this habit of diving from a height. During the
-summer months one may be quite sure of an opportunity of watching the
-graceful, easy flight of at least three species. For they haunt the
-sea-shore, river, and lake with equal impartiality. Those who are on
-the look-out for terns, for the first time, will easily recognise
-them. For, in the first place they look like miniature gulls, but
-with longer and more pointed wings, and forked tails. Further, all
-have a characteristic black cap. They travel in small parties, as if
-for company, keeping no more than a yard or two from the surface of
-the water, and scanning it eagerly in search of shoals of small fish,
-or crustacea. As these are found one will note a quickening of the
-wing-beat, and a sudden dive, like that of the gannet, with half-closed
-wings. And sometimes, too, the impetus will take them completely under
-water.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  1 Bat
-  2 Butterfly
-  3 Beetle
-  4 Dragon-Fly
-  5 Bone of Birds Wing, Showing the three Divisions,
-      Arm--Fore-arm--Hand.
-  6 Breast Bone of Swan
-  7   "     "   "  Pigeon
-  8   "     "   "  Pelican
-  9 & 10 Apteryx, Cassowary (degenerate wings).
-]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-Modes of Flight.
-
-    "The soaring lark is blest as proud
-       When at Heaven's gate she sings:
-     The roving bee proclaims aloud
-       Her flight by vocal wings."--_Wordsworth._
-
- The movements of the wing in flight--Marey's experiments--Stopping
- and turning movements--Alighting--"Taking off"--Hovering--The use of
- the tail in flight--The carriage of the neck in flight--And of the
- legs--The flight of petrels--The speed of flight--The height at which
- birds fly--Flight with burdens--Experiments on the sizes of the wing
- in relation to flight--Flight in "troops."
-
-
-While it is possible to show that certain
-kinds of flight are to be associated with such and such peculiarities
-of the skeleton, and the muscles attached thereto, there are many
-"eccentricities" which cannot be measured, and explained, in terms of
-mechanism.
-
-The very disconcerting, twisting, flight of the snipe is one of these.
-The sportsman knows it well: and he knows that the twisting, during
-which the bird turns the body half over--that is with, say, the
-left wing pointing directly downwards, and the right wing directly
-upwards--is only the preliminary to getting fully on the way, and that,
-presently, it will pursue a straight course, with arrow-like speed.
-Yet its cousin, the jack-snipe, never twists.
-
-Why does the woodcock invariably drop after a charge of shot, even
-though not a pellet has touched it, while a snipe pursues its way?
-These differences are not merely differences of "habit": they indicate
-subtle differences in nervous response to the same kind of stimulus,
-and in structural details yet to be unravelled.
-
-Some day the cinematograph will reveal to us all the phases of flight
-and the movements to which they are due. Even now, thanks to the modern
-camera, we have learned a great deal. We have learned, for example,
-that the flight of a bird is not effected merely by rapid up and down
-movements of the fully extended wings, or with flexed wings--that is
-to say, half closed, as in "gliding" flight when a bird is descending,
-or in the swoop of, say, the sparrow-hawk. Only in one of these two
-positions do we ever seem to see the wings when we have to trust to our
-eyes alone, as the bird hurries past us. The impression that we have
-seen aright is confirmed when we stand on the deck of a steamer, and
-watch the gulls following in its wake. For incredibly long distances
-they will travel without a perceptible wing-beat. The albatross is the
-finest of all performers in regard to this kind of flight, which is
-due, apparently, to air currents created by stiff breezes, or gales.
-Some birds seem to make their way against a head-wind with the minimum
-of effort, by partly flexing the wings and gliding downwards: at the
-end of the descent, by turning the body sharply upwards, and spreading
-the wings to the fullest extent, they are lifted up, and driven
-forward, like a kite.
-
-Marey and Pettigrew, long ago, showed conclusively, by means of
-photography, that our conception of the movement of the wing during
-flight was far from correct.
-
-To avoid a long and tedious description, and many technicalities, it
-must suffice to say that the wing of a bird possesses very considerable
-freedom and range of movement at the shoulder joint. Certainly, during
-some phases of flight, the wings are thrust forward and extended to
-their fullest extent, so that the outer margins of the wings come to
-lie almost parallel with the long axis of the body, as may be seen in
-the spirited illustration showing the goshawk in flight. As they sweep
-downwards, and backwards, they lift the body and drive it forwards.
-At the end of the "sweep" they are "flexed," that is to say, bent at
-the elbow and wrist-joints, while at the same time they are raised and
-brought forward above the body for a repetition of the stroke. These
-movements are too quick for the eye to follow, but they have been fixed
-for us by the camera.
-
-Marey devised an ingenious experiment in his endeavour to discover the
-movements of the bird's wing during flight. He fastened a small piece
-of paper to the tip of a crows wing, and as the bird flew in front of
-a perfectly black screen he took a photograph of this moving speck of
-white, while, of course, no image of the crow appeared on the plate.
-The resultant picture gave a series of "figure of 8 loops" as one would
-make this figure with a pen, contriving to make the lower loop very
-small, and the upper loop very large. But as the wing-beat increased in
-speed the lower loop gradually faded out.
-
-These movements of the wing, however, are descriptive rather of what
-takes place during very vigorous flight, as when the bird is getting
-up "steam." When he is well under way there is no need for these long
-and very tiring strokes, except in the case of birds like the pheasant
-or the duck. A gull, when in full career does not, apparently, raise
-the wings very high, nor depresses them very low, nor does it flex the
-wings at the wrist-joints.
-
-Stopping and turning movements are generally extremely difficult to
-follow, because they are performed so quickly. They can be seen fairly
-easily in the case of some of the larger birds. Ducks, as is well shown
-in one of our coloured Plates, draw the head backwards, tilt the body
-upward, thrust the feet forward, and spread the tail, at the same time
-turning it forwards. Gulls and pigeons too may be watched with profit.
-
-[Illustration: _Wild Duck_]
-
-In turning, the body is tilted sideways, so that the tip of one wing
-points skywards, the other earthwards, as in the case of the goshawk
-illustrated in this book. The pigeon, and some other birds seem further
-to spread out the long, stiff quills borne by the thumb, which form
-what is known as the "bastard-wing." This turning movement is well
-shown, again, in the very realistic coloured picture of the woodcock
-turning in mid-air, and bearing too the burden of one of its nestlings.
-
-If it is difficult to satisfy oneself as to the way in which a bird
-alights, it is no less so to detect its movements in taking wing.
-Most of us must have seen sparrows making this effort from the road,
-thousands of times. But ask of anyone, How is it done? The act takes
-place so quickly that the eye cannot follow its execution. And what is
-true of the sparrow is true of most birds. But there are some where
-this is not the case. Many water-birds, the cormorant, for example,
-get under way but slowly, and with evident effort. They flap along
-the surface for some distance before they gain sufficient impetus to
-lift them into the air. And there are many long-winged, short-legged
-birds which can rise from a level surface only with great difficulty,
-or not at all. The swift is one of these, for its legs are excessively
-short. The albatross is another: and this is true, indeed, of many of
-the petrel-tribe. The puffin, again, seems unable to rise on the wing
-from the ground. It appears invariably to run along until it reaches
-the edge of cliff which lodges its burrow, and then, as it were,
-throw itself over the edge. The heron, when springing into the air,
-stretches his long neck out to its fullest extent, and presents a pair
-of dangling legs, well shown in one of our coloured Plates, but when
-once fully on the way its pose entirely changes, the neck being drawn
-in and the legs thrust out backwards.
-
-Flight does not always mean progress through the air. Most birds can,
-at need, arrest their course, and hang, as it were, suspended in the
-air. In the beautiful coloured plate, representing the chaffinch
-hovering over its half-fledged young, and in that of the kingfisher
-and its young, this form of "hovering" flight can be seen. But the
-greatest of all exponents in the art of hovering is the kestrel, known
-also, for this very reason, as the "windhover." It is most fascinating
-to watch this bird hang, as it were, from the clouds, motionless,
-yet with quivering wings, as he scans the ground below in his search
-for some unsuspecting mouse. It is hard, indeed, to say which is the
-more wonderful, this power of remaining stationary for comparatively
-long periods in the air, or the surprising powers of sight which this
-bird possesses. During these hovering movements, always head to wind,
-it will be noted, the tail plays a very important part, being spread
-to its extremest limit, and at the same time thrust forward beneath
-the body. In some birds this forward movement is more marked than in
-others. And this because such birds possess a somewhat more flexible
-spine, there being a certain amount of "play" where the vertebr� of the
-loins join the welded mass of vertebr� which lie between the bones of
-the hip-girdle.
-
-But the tail feathers are not indispensable. This much is shown in the
-case of birds like the kingfisher, the water-hen, and the land-rail,
-which contrive to fly well, and at a great pace, though they have but
-the merest apology for a tail. More than this, the grebes have no
-tail at all. But it is to be noted that they are by no means adept at
-turning movements; owing to the lack of this appendage the body, when
-in mid-air, has a curiously truncated appearance, as may be seen in
-the illustration. Further, it is significant that in the contemptible
-"sport" of pigeon-shooting from traps, the birds are deprived of their
-tails to prevent them from making turning movements.
-
-The carriage of the head and neck, and of the legs, during flight
-presents some interesting, and some instructing contrasts.
-
-Ducks, geese, and swans, flamingoes, storks, and cormorants always fly
-with the head and neck stretched out to their fullest extent. Herons
-and pelicans, though also long-necked birds, draw the head back till it
-rests almost on the shoulders. Most birds, indeed, fly with the head
-drawn back towards the body. The appearance of some of these birds on
-the wing can be seen at a glance on turning to the page illustrating
-this aspect of flight.
-
-Not so very long ago a great controversy was waged as to what birds did
-with their legs during flight. Many of the older artists invariably
-depicted them drawn up under the breast. But as a matter of fact,
-this method seems to be confined to the Passerine birds--the "perching
-birds," such as crows and finches and their kin. It has yet to be
-settled what obtains among what are known as the "Picarian" birds, such
-as kingfishers, bee-eaters, woodpeckers, and so on. The legs and feet
-of these birds are so small, and their flight is so rapid, that the
-matter is by no means an easy one to settle. But all other birds carry
-the legs and toes bent backwards, under the tail. In the gulls, this
-can easily be seen, and easier still in the case of the common heron,
-where they are, as it were, trailed out behind--owing to the shortness
-of the tail and the great length of the leg. The puffin carries them
-"splayed" out on each side of his tail, and so also do his kinsmen, the
-razor-bills, and guillemots.
-
-The legs, as a rule, take no part in flight. True, they can be seen
-thrust out just before alighting, but this is solely for the purpose
-of effecting a safe landing. But where gulls can be watched at close
-quarters, as in harbours, round a ship, or in such favoured spots as
-are to be found about the bridges of London during the winter, careful
-watch will show that the legs are frequently used when efforts are
-being made to turn, or check the speed of flight.
-
-Some of the smaller petrels--like the storm-petrel, or "Mother Carey's
-chickens," will patter over the water with their feet as they fly just
-over the surface of the waves.
-
-[Illustration: _Sketches of Ducks in flight 1922_
-
-   1.  }
-       } Scaup.
-   1a. }
-
-   2.    Goldeneye.
-
-   3.  }
-       } Pochard.
-   4.  }
-
-   5.  }
-  to   } Mallard.
-  10.  }
-]
-
-Whether the legs are carried drawn close up beneath the breast, or
-thrust backwards under the tail, the purpose of this disposal is the
-same--to prevent any interference with the "stream-lines" of the body
-which would impede flight.
-
-On the matter of the speed of flight there seems to be much
-misconception. G�tke, the German ornithologist, gravely asserted that
-the little Arctic blue-throat--one of our rarer British birds--could
-leave its winter resort in Africa in the dusk of evening, and arrive at
-Heligoland--where he spent so many years studying bird migration--nine
-hours later. That is to say it could travel 1,600 geographical miles
-in a single night, at the astounding velocity of 180 miles an hour!
-According to another estimate of his, curlews, godwits, and plovers
-crossed from Heligoland to the oyster-beds lying to the eastward, a
-known distance of rather more than four English miles, in one minute;
-or at the rate of over 240 miles an hour. Against such extravagant
-estimates it is hardly necessary to bring rebutting evidence. But if
-any be demanded it may be furnished by the carrier pigeon, which has
-been known to maintain a speed of 55 miles an hour for four hours in
-succession: and it is extremely unlikely that this is much, if at all,
-exceeded by any wild bird during long-distance flights.
-
-That our spring and autumn migrants must possess wonderful powers of
-endurance is beyond question. And it is equally certain that thousands
-must perish by the way. By this means is the standard of flight
-maintained--the weak perish. Even the minimum standard of efficiency
-for the survival of such an ordeal must be a high one.
-
-Few of us see anything of these marvellous migration flights. For, in
-the first place, they are generally performed at night, and at a great
-height, often beyond the range of human vision. Only as they approach
-land, and their destination, do they descend. American naturalists
-have made some interesting observations by directing a telescope
-against the sky. Thus, Mr. Frank Chapman, by turning his instrument
-towards the full moon, has seen birds passing at night at an altitude,
-according to his computation, of five miles: while the late Mr. W.
-E. D. Scott saw, through an astronomical telescope at Princeton,
-New Jersey, great numbers of birds passing across the face of the
-moon--warblers, finches, and woodpeckers among them. Mr. Chapman again,
-on another occasion, saw no less than 262 birds pass over the field of
-his telescope at a height of from 1,500 to 15,000 feet: and the most
-remarkable thing of all was the fact that the lowest birds were flying
-upwards, as if they had risen from the immediate neighbourhood and were
-seeking the proper elevation to continue their flight.
-
-As has already been remarked, when nearing their destination migrating
-birds descend, though still many miles from land. Should a gale be
-raging they fly so low that they barely top the waves. And this,
-apparently, to escape, so far as is possible, the force of the wind.
-Larks, starlings, thrushes, and other small birds, can sometimes be
-seen during daylight crossing the North Sea in their thousands. At such
-times many will often afford themselves a brief rest in the rigging
-of ships, homeward bound, but the main host hurry on. The beautiful
-golden crested wren, our smallest British migrant, is one of these. A
-glance at our charming coloured plate will show at once that the wing
-is not that of a bird of strong flight. There is no more interesting
-experience to the bird-lover than that of watching the tired travellers
-drop earthwards, as they leave the dreadful sea behind them.
-
-With all birds yet retaining the power of flight there is always a
-liberal "margin of safety" in regard to the wing area. That is to
-say this is always in excess of the minimum area necessary to make
-flight possible. This much, indeed, is manifest from the fact that the
-eagle can bear off a victim equalling himself in weight. Should he
-miscalculate, he can always drop his burden, or lessen its weight by
-eating part of it on the spot. Not so the osprey, or the sea-eagle,
-which have been known to plunge down and drive their talons into
-fishes too large to be raised. Unable to release their grip, death, by
-drowning, has inevitably followed.
-
-Sometimes the burden is a passenger, instead of a victim. One of
-the most striking of the coloured plates in this volume is that of a
-woodcock carrying one of its nestlings to a distant feeding place. This
-habit is well known. It is not often that the necessity arises, but
-there are occasions where suitable nesting and feeding grounds cannot
-be found together, or when, as during prolonged drought, the normal
-feeding area dries up. Then, instinctively, the parent will surmount
-the dangers of starvation for their offspring, by conveying them to a
-land of plenty, returning again to the shelter of the wood as soon as
-the meal is over. The weight of a newly-hatched nestling, it is true,
-could scarcely be called a "burden." But they are carried about thus
-until they are strong enough to perform the journey for themselves.
-Thus, then, towards the end of the nursing period the weight to be
-carried is by no means a light one.
-
-But it was shown, long since, by direct experiment, that the area of
-a bird's wing is considerably in excess of what is required for the
-purpose of flight. Dr. J. Bell Pettigrew, more than fifty years ago,
-to test this matter, cut off more than half of the secondary wing
-feathers of a sparrow, parallel with the long axis of the wing. He
-first clipped one, then both wings, and found that in both cases flight
-was apparently unimpaired. He then removed a fourth of the primary
-feathers--the outermost quills--and still the flight was unimpaired. At
-any rate the bird flew upwards of thirty yards, rose to a considerable
-height and alighted in a tree. Thirty yards, however, is a short
-flight even for a sparrow. But it is enough to show that flight, if not
-_sustained_ flight, was possible after this mutilation. Not until more
-than one-third of the quills along the whole length of the wing were
-removed, did the flight become obviously laboured. And he found that
-what was true of the sparrow, was equally true of the wings of insects.
-
-Though these experiments demonstrate, in a very unmistakable manner,
-that flight with a greatly reduced wing area is possible, we have no
-evidence that this reduction would make no difference to the length of
-time the bird could remain on the wing. And this is a very important
-matter.
-
-An aspect of flight which has now to be considered is that of birds
-which fly in troops. Some species always travel thus, others only on
-occasions. Rooks and gulls afford instances of this, when, during windy
-weather, or for other reasons, they congregate and fly round and round
-in great circles, at a considerable height. Small wading-birds, like
-ringed plovers and dunlin, commonly fly in "bunches." The last named
-furnish a singularly interesting sight when thus travelling; for their
-evolutions are so amazingly timed. As if at a given signal every bird
-in the troop will change its course at the same moment, and in the
-same direction, so that now one sees a flickering mesh-work of grey,
-and now a shimmering as of snow-flakes, as first the grey backs, and
-then the white breasts are turned towards one. But flights such as this
-are to be seen only during the autumn and winter months. For during
-the breeding season these little flocks are broken up and distributed
-far and wide. But there is yet another reason. They wear a totally
-different dress--the courtship or breeding plumage. Herein the upper
-parts are of a rich chestnut hue, streaked with black, while the under
-parts are black. Even more fascinating to watch are the autumn troops
-of starlings on the way to their roosting places. Hundreds at a time,
-not to say thousands, take part in these flights. Now they rush onward,
-in one great far-flung sheet, and now they close up into a great,
-almost ball-like, mass: and now they thin out till they look like a
-trail of smoke. But always they wheel and turn and rise and descend,
-not as separate bodies, but as one. How are such wonderful evolutions
-timed. The movements of an army on review-day are not more precise,
-or more perfectly carried out. During the whole flight not a sound,
-save the swishing of their wings can be heard. The marvel of it all is
-beyond the range of words, nor can one express the peculiar delight
-such a sight affords.
-
-Why is it that ducks and geese commonly fly either in Indian file, or
-in a roughly V-shaped formation, with the apex of the V forward? Why do
-they not fly all abreast? One cannot say, but they never do.
-
-Some mention must be made here of the surprising numbers in which
-geese, of some species, congregate. Writing of the Brent goose, in his
-"Bird Life of the Borders," Mr. Abel Chapman--and there are few men who
-can write with such authority on the subject--tells us:--"Just at dark
-the whole host rise on the wing together, and make for the open sea. In
-the morning they have come in by companies and battalions, but at night
-they go out in one solid army; and a fine sight it is to witness their
-departure. The whole host, perhaps ten thousand strong, here massed in
-dense phalanxes, elsewhere in columns tailing off into long skeins, V's
-or rectilineal formations of every conceivable shape, (but always with
-a certain formation)--out they go, full one hundred yards high, while
-their loud clanging, defiance--"honk, honk,--torrock, torrock," and its
-running accompaniment of lower croaks and shrill bi-tones, resounds for
-miles around."
-
-[Illustration: Peregrine chasing Duck.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-Courtship Flights
-
-    "A pair of falcons wheeling on the wing,
-     In clamourous agitation ..."--_Wordsworth._
-
- The wing-play of black-game and grouse--The "musical ride" of
- the snipe--The "roding" of the woodcock--The musical flights of
- redshank and curlew--The "tumbling" of the lapwing--The raven's
- somersaults--The courting flight of the wood pigeon--The mannikin's
- "castanets"--Wings as lures--The strange pose of the sun-bittern--The
- "wooing" of the chaffinch and the grasshopper-warbler--Darwin and
- wing-displays--The wonderful wings of the argus-pheasant.
-
-
-One of the most striking features of
-bird-life is surely its restless activity. This is always apparent,
-but it attains to a state of almost feverish excitement as the spring
-advances, and the parental instincts re-awaken. As they gather
-strength, so they manifest themselves, in outbursts of song--often of
-exquisite beauty--strange antics, or wonderful evolutions in mid-air.
-
-It is with these last that we are chiefly concerned here. As might
-be supposed, they present a wide variety in the matter of their form
-and duration. Black-game furnish an example of a very simple form of
-courtship flight, but it is associated with curious antics on the
-ground. And these, it is to be noted, are only to be witnessed soon
-after sunrise. Two blackcocks will approach one another and stand as
-if prepared to ward off a very vigorous onslaught; reminding one of two
-barn-door cockerels. With lowered head and neck they face one another,
-the beautiful lyrate tail spread fan-wise, and arched so that the
-curled, outer, feathers touch the ground, while the wings are trailed
-like those of the turkey-cock. Then one will at last rush forward,
-and seizing his adversary by the scruff of the neck, will administer
-a sound beating with his wings. The victor celebrates his triumph by
-a loud, and most unmusical screech, which has been likened, by that
-accomplished observer and sportsman-artist, Mr. J. G. Millais, to the
-call of cats on the house-tops at mid-night. But presently a grey-hen
-makes her appearance. Hostilities cease at once, on all sides; and
-intense excitement prevails amongst the whole assembly--for a large
-number of cocks will gather together at these sparring matches. Her
-approach has been observed by a single bird, who, unintentionally,
-gives the signal by suddenly drawing himself up to a rigid position of
-attention, till he is sure she is really coming, then he throws himself
-into the air and flutters up a few feet, uttering at the same time, a
-peculiar hoarse note of exultation. Immediately all the others follow
-suit; each seeming to strive to outdo his neighbour in a series of
-absurd pirouettings. Here we have a "Love-flight," of exceedingly brief
-duration, associated with terrestrial combats and frantic prancings.
-
-[Illustration: _Woodcock carrying Young_]
-
-The grouse pursues a different method. He strives to incite his mate
-to amourous moods by chasing her about. But she is "coy," and will
-tolerate this for hours at a time, apparently intent on nothing more
-than seeking something interesting to eat, she seems to affect to
-be quite unaware of the presence of her importunate mate; though
-her behaviour is belied by the fact that she keeps up a continuous
-"cheeping" note, heard only at this time of the year. Every now and
-then he will vary his tactics by leaping up into the air and taking
-an upward flight of from twenty to thirty feet, crowing vociferously.
-On alighting he will commence his addresses again. Then, perhaps, she
-herself will take to flight, darting off and twisting like a snipe,
-evidently enjoying her tantalizing tactics. He follows in close
-pursuit, in the hope, doubtless, of satisfying his desires, when she
-shall come to rest. Here is a "courtship" flight of longer duration, in
-which both sexes participate.
-
-The "musical ride" of the snipe is of a much more imposing character:
-and in this, again, both sexes take a part. During this performance,
-which affords some thrilling moments to the bird-lover, the bird
-ascends to a great height, and then plunges earthwards in a terrific
-"nose-dive" accompanied by a weird bleating noise, comparable to the
-bleat of a goat. For long years discussion waged furiously as to the
-source of this sound. Some held that it was produced by the voice:
-others by the tremulous motion of the wing-feathers: others, again,
-contended that it was caused by the tail feathers. This was first
-mooted by the Danish naturalist, Meeves, and he produced some very
-striking and curious evidence to prove his view. He showed that the
-outermost tail-feathers had peculiarly thickened shafts, which were
-also bent in a very striking way. By removing these feathers, and
-sticking them into a cork, he was enabled, by twirling the cork rapidly
-round at the end of a string, to reproduce the "bleat" exactly. Many
-years later Dr. Philip Bahr revived this experiment, for the purpose
-of finally setting the matter at rest--for there were still many who
-remained unconverted to the Meeves interpretation. Dr. Bahr left no
-room for further doubt. He showed, too, that during the production
-of this sound these tail-feathers were extended laterally, so as
-to separate them from the rest of the tail, and so give the air
-rushing past them during the earthward plunge, full play on these
-sound-producing structures. He too, applied the test first instituted
-by Meeves, and so clinched his arguments. One may hear this strange
-music as early as February, and even, though rarely, as late as July.
-But it is essentially a breeding-season, or rather a "Courtship"
-performance sound, though it may be evoked by a sitting bird suddenly
-surprised, when she will "bleat" as she leaves her eggs, possibly to
-distract the intruder on her vigil.
-
-The woodcock has a "love-flight" but of a quite different character,
-known by sportsmen as "roding." It takes the form of short flights
-up and down the "ride," or space selected for the nesting site.
-But while the female is sitting the male will still continue these
-flights, choosing the early morning and evenings. As he goes he utters
-strange cries, which have been compared, by some, to the words "more
-rain to-morrow" and by others to, "Cro-ho, cro-ho," varied by a note
-sounding like, "whee-e-cap." These flights are varied by strange little
-displays upon the ground, when he will strut about before his mate with
-wings drooped and trailing on the ground, the tail spread, and the
-feathers of the head and neck standing on end. This gives him a very
-odd appearance, to human eyes, but it serves its purpose--which is to
-arouse his mate to amourous moods.
-
-Redshank, curlew, and dunlin--cousins of the snipe and woodcock--are
-all accomplished performers in the art of wooing on the wing. The male
-redshank, uttering flute-like notes, Mr. Farren tells us, soars up to a
-moderate height, and remains, for a brief space, "hanging in the wind"
-with the tips of his curved wings rapidly vibrating. He then descends,
-pipit-like, earthwards, while the song, which has been uttered slowly,
-now quickens, reaching its climax as the bird, raising its wings above
-its back for an instant, finally alights on the ground. But he has yet
-other wiles, which are not used in mid-air. Approaching his mate with
-his head erect and body drawn up to its full height, he raises his
-wings for an instant high above his head: then allowing them gradually
-to droop, he vibrates them, at the same time rapidly moving his legs
-like a soldier "marking time."
-
-The curlew seems to prefer the evening for his best efforts. Rising
-from the ground with rapid wing-beats, he will "check" suddenly when
-near the summit of his ascent; so suddenly as almost to throw himself
-backwards. Then, recovering, he will hang poised, kestrel-like, in
-mid-air, and pour forth a joyous thrilling, or jodelling, song. Rising
-and falling, on quivering wings, or sweeping round in great circles,
-and hovering again, he will remain for some considerable time pouring
-forth this joyful ripple of song.
-
-The courtship flight of the lapwing is even, if possible, more
-interesting. Rising from the ground with slow heavy flaps of his broad
-wings--which, it is to be noted, present a remarkable difference
-from those of the female, in that the primaries are much longer, so
-as to give this portion of the extended wing a conspicuously broader
-appearance--as though he had difficulty in getting under way, he
-speedily dissipates this impression by a sudden upward rush, an
-effortless turn, apparently; and then follows a downward swoop, or
-fall, with half-closed wings. To this swoop there succeeds a surprising
-change. In an instant the wing-beat is increased to an incredible
-speed, causing the body to turn a half, and sometimes even a complete
-somersault. But the next instant he is up and away over the ground
-with musical wing-beats, tilting and swaying from side to side with
-wonderful buoyancy.
-
-[Illustration: Lapwings.]
-
-Throughout, this delightful performance is accompanied by a wild
-and joyous song, which seems to be attuned to the somewhat bleak
-surroundings. It thrills one even to remember it in later days: and
-it defies one to express it in human fashion. It has been as nearly
-rendered as any version I have ever seen--and I have seen many--by
-Mr. Brock. It is not a whistle, nor is it like any sound that can
-be faithfully rendered by the human voice, yet it seems to say
-"_whey-willuchooee-willuch-willuch-cooee_." It suffers a break, remarks
-Mr. Farren, commenting on this theme, during the flutter of the wings
-at the end of the fall, but is picked up at once with a triumphant
-"coo-whee, coo-ee," as the bird dashes off at the end of the somersault.
-
-The lapwing is very intolerant of any trespass on his breeding
-territory on the part of his neighbours. As soon as the intruder is
-sighted, the owner of the territory charges. And the two then mount up
-into the air, often to a great height, each striving to get above the
-other for a downward swoop. As the one "stoops" at the other, the lower
-bird dodges, and so rapidly are the wings moved that they are often
-brought smartly together over the back, producing a clapping noise.
-
-Even the black, forbidding raven has his amorous moods. And at such
-times he will even outdo the more lively, though irascible lapwing in
-the art of aerial somersaults; if somersaults they can be called. For
-in the middle of an ordinary spell of flying he will suddenly fold up
-his wings and bring them close up to the body, at the same time turning
-completely round, as though he were turned on a spit; the body being
-held horizontal as the turn is made. For a moment or two there he is
-suspended, as it were, between earth and sky, with his back towards
-earth, and his breast towards the heavens. Lest he should forget the
-manner of the trick, it would seem, he will practice it at times,
-during the stern work of chasing intruders from his territory; for he
-will brook no competitors on his ground.
-
-The woodpigeon, during the courtship season, makes frequent sallies
-into the air for the purpose, apparently, of giving vent to his
-exuberant feelings. During such flights he will dart up from the
-tree-tops and sail round, high above, in great circles, rising and
-falling as he goes, with out-spread wings, every now and then bringing
-them over his back with a resounding snap. During such displays the
-white bar across the wing is most conspicuous, serving at once to
-identify the performer.
-
-Among our native birds, the only other species which habitually, and
-especially during the courting season, produce characteristic sounds
-during flight, by bringing the wings smartly together over the back,
-is the night-jar. But there are certain small passerine birds, known
-as mannikins, inhabiting the forests of South America, which have the
-shafts of the quill-feathers of the fore-arm enormously thickened. By
-means of these transformed and translated "castenets," at will, the
-bird can produce a sound which has been likened to the crack of a whip.
-
-So far this discourse has been concerned solely with "courtship"
-flights, or flights associated with peculiar sounds, dependent on rapid
-movements of the wing in mid-air for their production. And with the
-mention of these instances this Chapter might, quite legitimately,
-be brought to an end. But it must not. And this, because there are a
-number of birds which put their wings, during Courtship season, to very
-different purposes. Spectacular flights and evolutions in mid-air do
-not appeal to them. They use their wings instead as lures, as a means
-of adding intensity to strange poses and pirouettings; whereby they
-desire to give expression to the amorous feelings which possess them,
-in the hope--if for the moment, we may accord to them human standards
-of intention--of arousing kindred emotions in their mates.
-
-Darwin was the first to draw attention to these curious displays.
-Which, on the evidence then available, seemed always to be made, and
-only to be made, by birds having wings conspicuously coloured. It
-seemed as though the possessors of such wings were conscious of their
-beauty, and so displayed them that nothing of their glory should be
-missed.
-
-The sun-bittern affords a case in point. This bird, a native of
-Brazil, is soberly, but very beautifully coloured when at rest; its
-plumage presenting an indescribable mixture of black, grey, brown,
-bay, and white; blended in the form of spots, bars, and mottlings. But
-during times of sexual excitement it will spread out its wings in the
-form of a great fan, encircling the long, slender, neck. And in this
-position they present a very conspicuous appearance, taking the form
-of beautifully graded bands of black, white, and bright grey, forming
-patterns which vanish the moment the primaries fall into their place
-behind the quills of the fore-arm. But when thus spread the bird seems
-to find the greatest delight in displaying their chaste splendour
-before his mate. He seems to spread his wings just because he is
-conscious of their beauty when thus opened out.
-
-But we need not travel so far as Brazil to find examples of displays
-of this kind. Among the birds of our own Islands we can find many
-close parallels. The chaffinch and the goldfinch, when seeking to
-arouse the sympathy of their mates make much play with their wings, not
-only in short "nuptial flights," designed, apparently, to display the
-conspicuous and brilliant colouring of the plumage as a whole, but when
-perched on some convenient spray. At such times the wing is more or
-less completely spread out, as if to reveal, to the fullest possible
-advantage, the bright bars and splashes of colour which this extension
-alone can bring into being.
-
-Since these gaily coloured vestments seemed always to be associated
-with striking, stilted, attitudes, sometimes bordering on the
-grotesque, and always to be paraded in the presence of the female,
-Darwin drew the inference that they were the outcome of female choice
-persistently exercised during long generations. That is to say he
-held that, far back in the history of the race, these performers were
-soberly clad, as their mates commonly are. Then certain of the males of
-these now resplendent species began to develop patches of colour, small
-at first, but gradually increasing, generation by generation, in area
-and intensity. This progressive splendour, he believed, was due to the
-"selective" action of the females, which, from the very first, chose
-from among their suitors those who stood out among their fellows by
-reason of their brighter plumage. Thus the duller coloured males died
-without offspring. On this assumption each succeeding generation would
-be, in some slight degree, brighter than the last, until the process of
-transformation ended in the glorified creatures we so admire to-day.
-
-It would be foreign to the purpose of this book to pursue this theme at
-length. Let it suffice to say that while the "Sexual Selection" theory
-still holds good, it has, so to speak, changed its complexion. And this
-largely owing to the accumulation of new facts. For the most important
-of these we are indebted to the singularly exact and laborious
-observations analysed, clarified, and interpreted with remarkable
-insight and sagacity of Mr. H. Eliot Howard, one of the keenest
-Ornithologists of our time. He has set forth his case, and interpreted
-his facts with masterly skill, and there seems no escape from his
-conclusions. Briefly, he has shown that birds of quite sober coloration
-like the warblers, which formed the basis of his investigations, engage
-in displays quite as remarkable, and of precisely the same character
-as in birds of gaily coloured plumage. From this it is clear that this
-wing-play is not prompted by a more or less conscious desire to display
-conspicuously coloured patches of colour, for of colour there is none
-save that of the general hue of varying shades of brown, as in the case
-of the grasshopper warbler, for example. Nor is the display, apart
-from colour, to be regarded as a performance slowly perfected through
-long generations through the selection of females, coy and hard to
-please. We must regard these "Nuptial flights" and wing-displays, as
-the outward and visible signs of a state of ecstatic amorousness on the
-part of the males which, by their persistence and frequent recurrence,
-at last arouse sympathetic response in the females. They play the
-part of an aphrodisiac. Without them there would be no mating. In my
-"Courtship of Animals" those who will may pursue this subject further.
-
-[Illustration: _Herons_]
-
-Before closing this Chapter mention must be made of the most remarkable
-wing-display to be found among birds, and of the equally remarkable
-uses to which they are put. The possessor of these wonderful
-appendages, for they are wonderful, is the argus pheasant of the Malay
-Peninsula and Borneo. Though efficient for short flights in jungles,
-all that is ever required of them, they would be quite useless in
-open country where an extended journey had to be made, or escape
-attempted from some vigorous enemy. And this because the secondary
-wing-quills--the quills attached to the fore-arm--are of enormous
-length, making, as we have remarked, sustained flight impossible. They
-have, indeed, come dangerously near losing their normal functions
-altogether. And this because they have passed over into the category of
-specialised "secondary sexual characters." But for the fact that this
-bird lives in an environment where food is abundant all the year round,
-and can be obtained without any undue exertion, and that there are no
-serious enemies to be evaded, it would long since have become extinct.
-For this exuberant growth of quill-feathers must be borne all the year
-round, though they are not required to function in their later role,
-save during the period of courtship.
-
-Their great length is not their only striking feature, or even their
-chief feature. This, indeed, is represented by their extraordinary
-coloration. For each feather bears along its outer web a series of
-"ocelli," so coloured as to look like a series of dull gold balls
-lying within a deep cup. Outside the ocelli run numerous pale yellow
-longitudinal stripes on a nearly black background. The inner web is
-of a delicate greyish brown hue, shading into white and relieved by
-innumerable black spots, while the tips of the quills have white spots
-bordered with black. The primaries, too, are most exquisitely coloured,
-though in the matter of size they are not very exceptional. These,
-indeed, are the only true flight feathers.
-
-The full beauty and significance of the coloration of these feathers
-can only be appreciated during periods of display. Then the two wings,
-in some indescribable manner, are opened out so as to form a huge
-circular screen, concealing the whole of the rest of the body. The
-effect produced from the human standpoint is one of great beauty, after
-the first burst of astonishment has spent itself. His mate is less
-easily moved. Perchance "familiarity breeds contempt." At any rate it
-is only after persistent and frequent attempts to charm her to his will
-that success rewards him.
-
-Those who have the good fortune to be able to make frequent visits to
-the Zoological Gardens in London may, with great good fortune, and at
-rare intervals, have an opportunity of witnessing such a display, and
-of studying in detail these wonderful wings. They are wonderful, not
-merely because of the manner of their display, or of their colouring,
-but also because in them we see ornament pushed to its furthest limit
-since, as wings, they have become well nigh useless, and therefore
-almost dangerous to the well-being of their possessors.
-
-[Illustration: Sunbittern Displaying.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-How to tell Birds on the Wing.
-
-    "I can tell a hawk from a hernshaw."--_Shakespeare._
-
- The small perching-birds and the difficulty of distinguishing
- them--The wagtails--The finches--The buntings--The redstart-wheatear,
- Stonechat--The thrushes--The warblers--The tit-mice--The nuthatch, and
- tree-creeper--The spotted-flycatcher--The red-backed shrike--swallows,
- martins, and swifts--The night-jar--owls--Woodpeckers.
-
-
-The experienced ornithologist apart, there
-are hosts of people who are interested, at least, in our native birds:
-who would fain call them all by name; yet who can distinguish no more
-than a very few of our commonest species. They are constantly hoping
-to find some book which will give, in a word, the "Hall-mark" of every
-bird they may meet in a day's march. But that book will never be
-written. For some species present no outstanding features by which they
-may be certainly identified, when no more than a momentary examination
-is possible, and this at a distance. And it is often extremely
-difficult to set down in words, exactly, what are the reasons for
-deciding that some rapidly retreating form belongs to this, or that,
-species.
-
-And then, too, there are difficulties due to seasonal changes of
-plumage--often striking--sex, and age; since immature birds often
-differ totally from the adults in appearance. The young robin and the
-starling afford instances in point.
-
-The adult starling, as everybody knows, is "black" with a yellow beak
-and reddish legs. But seen close at hand his feathers gleam with a
-wonderful metallic sheen reflecting changing hues of violet, green,
-and purple. The young bird, in the early summer, is of a pale brown
-colour. In the autumn the plumage is changed for a "black dress,"
-like that of the adult, but heavily spotted with white. As the winter
-wears on the white spots become abraded, and disappear. The robin
-needs no description. But the young bird, in its first plumage, is
-commonly mistaken for the female, which, of course, is practically
-indistinguishable from the male. It is certainly unlike one's notion of
-a "cock-robin," being of a yellowish brown colour, with pale spots, a
-type of plumage characteristic of the young of the "thrush tribe."
-
-In some nearly related species, again, the males are strikingly
-different, the females barely distinguishable.
-
-But nevertheless, a very considerable number of our British birds can
-be more or less easily distinguished during flight--sometimes by the
-manner of that flight, sometimes by characteristic markings, sometimes
-by the notes they utter; and these are briefly summarised in this
-Chapter.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-   1. Swallow.
-   2. House Martin.
-   3. Swift.
-   4. Sand Martin.
-   5. Pied Wagtail.
-   6. Grey Wagtail.
-   7. Yellow Wagtail.
-   8. Chaffinch.
-   9. Goldfinch.
-  10. Linnet.
-  11. Greenfinch.
-  12. Bullfinch.
-]
-
-When it is realized that no less than 475 species, and sub-species, of
-British birds are now recognized, it will be apparent that it would be
-impossible to do more than briefly epitomise the commoner species, and
-some of these, like the robin, and the wren, need no interpreter.
-
-The aim of this Chapter is primarily to give, as far as possible, the
-salient features of our commoner native birds, as seen during flight.
-But some species merely "flit," from one place to another, and that so
-rapidly that no details of coloration can be distinguished. They can
-only be examined at favourable, and often fleeting moments, when at
-rest, and clear of foliage. Only such as are frequently encountered are
-included here. To attempt more would be to lead to confusion. Enough,
-it is hoped, will be said to help the beginner. Experience will soon
-lead to an ever increasing proficiency--and with this will come an
-ever increasing conviction that the identification of birds, during
-flight, is an extremely difficult task. Whoever essays it should,
-whenever possible, supplement his efforts by the aid of a pair of good
-field-glasses. These, indeed, are indispensable.
-
-The small perching birds are, perhaps, the most difficult to name at
-sight, and this because their flight presents so little to distinguish
-one species from another. All fly with rapid wing-beats, alternating
-with a period during which the wings are practically closed, causing
-the body to travel forward on a rapidly descending curve in the
-interval between the wing-beats. This gives rise to what is known as
-an "undulating" flight. But the large passerines, like the crows,
-differ conspicuously in their method of progress. With them the wing
-beats relatively slowly, so that its shape can be readily seen; and
-their course is direct--hence the familiar saying "straight as the
-crow flies." Further, the inner webs of the outer primary quills
-are, what is called "emarginate," that is to say, the width of the
-web is suddenly reduced towards the tip of the feather, so that the
-outstretched wing has a conspicuously fringed appearance, as may be
-seen at a glance at the beautiful pen-and-ink sketches on another page.
-The eagles and falcons have similar emarginations.
-
-But to return for a moment to the smaller passerines. There are very
-few of our native species which could be distinguished in the field by
-their flight alone. For the most part one has to rely on this and clues
-afforded by characteristic markings: while a further aid is afforded
-by at least a slight knowledge of the haunts of birds. One would not
-expect to find a wheatear in a wood, or a wren in a reed-bed.
-
-The wagtails are among the easiest of the "undulating" fliers to
-distinguish, if only because of the great length of the tail. The
-pied-wagtail, with its black and white plumage--or black, grey, and
-white in the winter--can be identified at a glance. And so too, may the
-yellow, and the grey wagtails. The last named has the longest tail
-of all, and is further marked by his beautiful grey back and bright
-sulphur abdomen and under tail coverts. All have white feathers in the
-tail. The pipits and skylark, like the wagtails, have very long inner
-secondaries, but they can never be confused on this account. They can
-never be mistaken for wagtails, but on the other hand, the several
-species can be distinguished, when on the wing, only by long practice.
-
-The chaffinch, greenfinch, and goldfinch are with us all the year
-round, keeping each to his favourite haunts. Most people know them
-well. But one meets even people living in the heart of the country, who
-cannot call them by name! The cock chaffinch can be distinguished at
-once by its white "shoulders," and white bars across the wing, apart
-from the bright hues of the body, so well shown in the adjoining Plate.
-The hen has similar wing-marks, but lacks the bright colours of her
-lord. His cousin, the brambling--who comes to us in the winter--is just
-as easily identified by his orange-coloured shoulder patch--in place
-of white--and white rump, which is most conspicuous during flight. The
-greenfinch is marked, when in flight, by the yellow rump and bright
-yellow patches at the base of the tail feathers. Who could mistake the
-goldfinch for any one else but himself? He looks like a butterfly as
-he flutters about on the tops of tall thistles. The crimson and black
-bands on his head, the glorious blaze of gold on his black wings,
-which are further marked with white spots, as also is his tail, make
-him the most gorgeous of our native finches. The bullfinch, again, is
-easy to distinguish; though from his habit of haunting thickets and
-dense hedgerows, he is seldom seen. In flight you may know him by his
-white rump, rosy breast, and black head. But his mate is more soberly
-clad: though her black head and white rump, will suffice to make sure
-of her when, by good fortune, she is encountered.
-
-One of the commonest of what we may call "road-side" birds, is the
-yellow-hammer; which can be recognized at once by the bright yellow
-colour of its head. As soon as it takes to flight the white feathers
-in the tail, and the chestnut rump will make assurance doubly sure.
-But in some parts of England one meets with another, and similar
-species--the cirl bunting. In this species, however, the male has a
-black throat and ear-coverts, and an olive-grey chest-band; while the
-female, lacking these distinctive marks, may be recognized by a brown,
-instead of a chestnut rump. When in the neighbourhood of swampy places
-and reed-beds, a look-out must be kept for the reed-bunting. A small
-bird with a black head and throat, and white collar, this is the male.
-The female will display a brown head, buff throat and eye-brow, and
-white outer tail feathers. In the winter time, near the sea, one may
-frequently come across the snow-bunting, which, on the wing, will at
-once attract attention by the large areas of white displayed in the
-wing and tail.
-
-[Illustration: _Chaffinch and Young_]
-
-The redstart, one of our summer visitors, is a bird which can never be
-mistaken. A sight of the russet-red tail alone suffices. But the cock
-has the further glory of a mantle of grey, a black head and russet
-under parts. He is fond of country rich in old timber, or hill-sides,
-where stone walls attract him. His kinsman, the wheatear, returns to us
-in the early spring; to give an added charm to our bare hill-sides, and
-warrens, sea-cliffs, sand-dunes, and waste places. If you see a small
-bird flying low over the ground, with a white rump, and black wings,
-you may know that the wheatear is before you. That delightful, restless
-little bird, the stonechat, is a near relation of the wheatear. He
-too, is fond of waste places, and heaths; more especially such as will
-provide him with plenty of furze bushes, or ling, on the topmost twigs
-of which he loves to perch, flitting his tail and uttering his fussy
-little notes "hweet-chat, hweet-chat." On the wing you may tell him by
-his conspicuous white wing-patch, and the broad blaze of white on his
-neck, set off by a jet-black head. The female and young lack the bright
-chestnut on the breast. The stone-chat's cousin, the whinchat, may be
-found in similar situations, but he is of a more roving disposition,
-and may be found also in lowland pasture and water-meadows. More
-slender in form, he is further to be distinguished by the dark streaks
-down his back, white-eye stripe, and greater amount of white at the
-base of the tail. Further, there is no white neck patch.
-
-Most people know the common thrush and the blackbird when they see
-them, and many country-folk, indeed, recognize no more. Yet there
-are five species in all, which may be called "common." They are to
-be distinguished, not so much by their flight, as by their general
-coloration. Neither the common thrush, nor the blackbird need be
-described here: they cannot easily be confounded with any other bird.
-But for the moment it might be possible, it is true, to mistake
-the mistle thrush for the more common song-thrush. It is, however,
-an unmistakably larger bird, and when on the wing appears greyer,
-and if seen at close quarters, shows white tips to the outermost
-tail-feathers, and a white underwing. On the ground, of course, there
-can be no mistaking it, on account of its much more spotted breast;
-the spots, too, being much larger, and fan-shaped. During the autumn
-and winter there are two other thrushes which should be looked for.
-These are the fieldfare and the red-wing. The first-named, it is to be
-noted, will be found in small flocks, and if examined on the ground
-through field-glasses will be seen to have a slate-grey neck and rump,
-and chestnut-brown wings and tail; while the breast is streaked instead
-of spotted. In flight the underwing is white, as in the mistle-thrush,
-from which it can easily be distinguished by its smaller size, and
-the absence of white on its tail. The red-wing, like the fieldfare,
-is gregarious. This is an important point to bear in mind; since it
-might otherwise be confused, by the novice, with the song-thrush, the
-two being about the same size. But seen at rest, close quarters, there
-can be no mistake; the red-wing having a conspicuous cream-coloured
-eye-stripe, and chestnut-red flank-feathers. The underwing is similarly
-coloured. Finally there is the ring-ousel, which, haunts the moorlands
-and rocky ravines. But it may be recognized at once by its conspicuous
-white gorget, contrasted with its otherwise black plumage.
-
-Of the forty species of British warblers there is not one which the
-most expert of our Ornithologists would venture to identify by the
-character of the flight alone. Most of these species, of course, are
-rare and accidental visitors; many need an expert to distinguish them,
-since they represent but Continental Races of our own summer visitors.
-About ten species can be called common, or fairly common, in suitable
-localities, and the novice must not expect to recognize even these with
-anything like certainty. They have no characteristic flight, and they
-rarely do more than "flit" from one place to another. In the pages of
-this book, then, they can rightly have no place. But some may, perhaps,
-be glad of a few notes concerning one or two of the commoner species.
-The black-cap, for example, may be readily distinguished by its grey
-plumage contrasting with a black cap--reddish brown--in the female.
-It has also a peculiarly delightful song, which some prefer to that of
-the nightingale. This, the most celebrated of all our warblers--though
-for some inscrutable reason some ornithologists appear to regard it
-as a near ally of the redstarts and robin!--frequents woods with
-thick undergrowth and tangled hedgerows, and hence, is seldom seen,
-but may be recognised by the uniform russet-brown coloration of its
-upper parts, shading into pale chestnut on the tail, and the ash-grey
-of the under parts, shading into white on the throat and abdomen. The
-whitethroat may be recognized by the fine white ring round the eye,
-grey head, brown upper parts, and buffish pink breast, set off by the
-conspicuous white throat, from which the bird derives its name. It is
-perhaps the only British warbler which can really be distinguished
-during flight, and this only because the outermost pair of tail
-feathers are almost wholly white. It may be looked for in hedges and
-thickets, as well as on gorse-covered commons. Its near relation, the
-lesser-whitethroat, differs in its smaller size, whiter under parts,
-and the absence of the rufous edges to the secondaries, which are
-one of the distinguishing features of the common whitethroat. The
-garden-warbler is much more frequently heard than seen, its song, a
-continuous, sweet, and mellow warble, rivalling that of the black-cap,
-though softer and less varied. Haunting shrubberies and gardens, it is
-yet the mere ghost of a bird, its uniform brown
-
-[Illustration:
-
-   1. Sea Gull.
-   2. Hooded Crow.
-   3. Gannet.
-   4. Golden Eagle.
-   5. Snipe.
-   6. Redshank.
-   7. Nightjar.
-   8. Barn Owl.
-   9. Rook.
-  10. Cuckoo.
-]
-
-upper parts, and brownish-buff under-parts, coupled with its shy,
-retiring disposition make it exceedingly difficult to see. Three other
-tantalizing little members of this numerous tribe are the chiff-chaff,
-willow-warbler, and wood-warbler. Tantalizing because so frequently
-seen during the summer months, so much alike, and yet, somehow,
-different. The novice has no name for them; the expert can only tell
-them by a combination of characters, and their contrasts. He is guided
-rather by their notes and habits, than by their appearance, so closely
-do they resemble one another! The chiff-chaff, as its name suggests,
-is to be identified by its song--Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff,
-chiff-chaff-chiff--uttered from the top of a high tree. The singer is
-too small to be seen, so that he who would discover what manner of
-bird is the songster, must watch in the direction of the sound, till
-the singer elects to descend. The willow-warbler is a rather larger
-bird with a tinge of yellow in his plumage. Also it is less restricted
-to woods and coppices, and has a sweet, indescribable warble. The
-wood-warbler is the largest of this trio--from the tip of his beak to
-the tip of his tail he may measure as much as five inches--and is also
-the most brightly coloured. Above he is greenish, with an eye-brow
-of sulphur-yellow, and a sulphur-yellow breast and throat. Since he
-is rarely to be found, save in woods of beech and oak, he will, on
-this account, the more easily be distinguished from his cousin, the
-chiff-chaff and the willow-warbler. This fact again, can be taken into
-account when the identity of one or other of these two is in question.
-
-The warblers are essentially birds of the country-side--they cannot
-abide the busy haunts of men, who seem unable to settle anywhere
-without setting up hideous tramways and ugly buildings. Kindly Nature
-is crowded out. The garden, hedgerow, and shady woods are the chosen
-haunts of the warblers, though some prefer the reed-grown stream, or
-the thickets round quiet pools. The reed and the sedge-warbler will
-be found here, but by no means easily so, for after the manner of
-their tribe they love seclusion. To find the reed-warbler you must go
-to reed-beds, or to osier-beds, and there watch for a little bird,
-chestnut-brown above, and white below. But for his constantly babbling
-chatter--"churra, churra, churra"--you would never, probably, find
-him. Guided, however, by his song, you may succeed in finding him
-nimbly climbing up and down the reed stems. Very like him is the rarer
-marsh-warbler: but, for your guidance, note that the marsh warbler
-has a really melodious song, and is even more likely to be found in
-swampy thickets of meadow-sweet than the reed-beds. The sedge-warbler,
-though showing a decided preference for streams fringed by osier-beds
-and thickets, is more of a wanderer than the other two, since tangled
-hedgerows, and thickets, at a distance from the water will often
-suffice him. You may know him by the fact that he is of a dark brown
-colour above, streaked with a paler shade of brown, while the under
-parts are white, tinged on the breast and flanks with creamy buff.
-
-Ornithologists rarely concern themselves with anything but the
-superficial characters of birds. Not even the structure of the feathers
-interests them, but only their coloration. Hence it is that they have
-come, quite commonly, to regard the gold-crest, or "gold-crested wren,"
-as it is sometimes called, as one of the tit-mouse group! There is not
-even the remotest justification for this view. It is an indubitable
-warbler. A glance at the coloured Plate will render any description of
-its appearance unnecessary. From autumn to spring you may find it in
-most parts of England and Scotland--save the extreme north--hunting in
-hedgerows and woods for food. During the breeding season it favours
-coniferous woods. Along the south and east of England, one may also
-meet with a closely similar species--the fire-crest. But while in the
-gold-crest the crown is of a bright lemon-yellow, in the fire-crest it
-is of a bright red-orange hue, while the side of the head is marked by
-a white stripe bordered with black.
-
-The gold-crest is our smallest British bird. The ranks of our resident
-"gold-crests," in the autumn, are swollen by immigrants from northern
-Europe, who seek shelter with us because unable to withstand the
-rigours of the more northern winter. In the matter of size the gold,
-and fire-crested wrens agree, measuring but a trifle more than three
-and a half inches from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail! By
-the way, the shape of the beak should be carefully noted. It is that of
-a typical warbler.
-
-It may be urged that this description of the warblers might well have
-been omitted from these pages, since, in regard to "Flight," nothing
-whatever can be said, save that they "fly." There would indeed, be some
-justification for such criticism, but it is to be remembered that this
-volume is written, not for the expert, but for the novice, who, because
-he needs a few concrete examples of the hopelessness of expecting to
-identify every bird he may encounter by its flight, and of the methods
-he must occasionally adopt, when seeking to name a bird which will not
-come out into the open. His course of training, and discovery, will be
-much shortened by the realization that birds by no means always reveal
-their presence by taking long flights.
-
-What is true of the warblers, in this regard, is true also of our
-numerous species of tit-mice. We do not distinguish between them in the
-field by their flight, but by their coloration.
-
-But since these are such confiding little birds, coming to our very
-windows during the winter months, for food, a few notes concerning them
-may be acceptable. The commonest of all is the little blue-tit, or
-"tom-tit," as it is so often called. Its beautiful cobalt-blue crown,
-blue back, wings, and tail, white face, and yellow breast, are familiar
-to us all. Its larger relative, the great tit-mouse--the largest
-British tit-mouse--bears a close general resemblance to the smaller
-species, but is readily distinguished, not only by its greater size,
-but by the broad band of black running down the abdomen. Its flight,
-as of all the tit-mice, is weak, and as it were, uncertain, confined
-to short passages from tree to tree. The coal tit-mouse and the marsh
-tit-mouse are seldom recognized as distinct species, by the novice.
-They are very soberly coloured little birds, the coal-tit being of an
-olive-grey, tinged with olive-buff, while the sides of the body are
-buff: the head and throat are black, relieved by a broad patch of white
-on each side and down the nape of the neck. The marsh-tit is, to all
-intents and purposes, of the same coloration, but differs conspicuously
-in lacking the white patches. The tiny longtailed-titmouse cannot
-possibly be mistaken for any other bird. Its delicate hues of pink and
-grey, and extremely long tail, make comparisons with any other species
-unnecessary.
-
-Where, during the winter, small birds are tempted to come to a tray of
-nuts and seeds, placed outside the window, that charming little bird
-the nuthatch--a near relation of the tit-mice--will commonly be among
-the guests. It cannot be mistaken for any other British bird, its
-form and coloration being, alike, distinctive. Its upper parts are of
-a delicate blue-grey, its under parts buff, passing into chestnut on
-the flanks. The throat is white, while there is a black line from the
-beak to the eye, and beyond, spreading as it goes. A relatively large
-beak, and strikingly short tail, are features as conspicuous as is the
-coloration. Its flight is slow and undulating.
-
-Another little bird which, during the winter, associates with the
-tit-mice, is the tree-creeper. It is never seen on the wing, save
-when it is flitting from one tree to another, and then its course is
-obliquely downwards--from the upper branches of one tree to the base of
-another. This it proceeds to ascend immediately on alighting, by jerky
-leaps. Its coloration is soberness itself--mottled brown above and
-silvery white below. The tail, it is to be noted, is formed of stiff,
-pointed feathers, like those of the woodpecker, and, as in that bird,
-is used in climbing.
-
-There is scarcely a garden--save in such as are within the area of a
-big town--which, during the summer, is not haunted by a little grey
-and white bird, with a most characteristic flight--a sudden sally into
-the air to seize some insect, sometimes even white butterflies, and
-an instant return to the same perch. This is the spotted flycatcher.
-In Wales, Devonshire, Cumberland, and Westmorland, one may be fairly
-sure of meeting with the pied-flycatcher. He is, so to speak, a black
-and white edition of his relative, the spotted flycatcher--but the
-black areas in the female are represented by brown. There are, however,
-notable differences in the method of hunting, in the two species; for
-the pied-flycatcher rarely returns to the same perch after his upward
-flight into the air, and he often feeds on the ground.
-
-[Illustration: _Gold Crested Wrens_]
-
-In the straggling hedgerows of the wooded districts of south and
-central England, and in Wales, one may often come across the red-backed
-shrike; a very handsome bird, with pointed wings, long tail, and low
-swooping flights. His red back will alone distinguish him. No other
-British bird wears such a mantle. And this is set off by a grey crown
-and nape, and black patches on the sides of the head. The topmost twig
-of a bush, or hedge, where he can sight his prey from afar, are his
-favourite perches. On the east coast of England, during the autumn,
-one may sometimes see the great-grey shrike, distinguished readily
-by his large size, fan-shaped tail, and grey coloration, relieved by
-black ear-coverts, black wings and tail, "blazed" with white, and white
-under-parts. His flight is undulating and irregular, while just before
-alighting he gives a peculiar upward sweep.
-
-Strangely enough, not only country boys and girls, but their fathers
-and mothers, not only confuse swallows and martins with one another,
-but these with the swift! Yet they are readily distinguishable. All,
-it is true, have long, pointed wings, and forked tails: but their
-coloration is very different. The swallow has the most deeply forked
-tail of them all, and his steel-blue back, red throat, and rufous
-buff-and-cream under parts are unmistakable identification marks.
-The martin may be distinguished at once by the conspicuous white
-rump patch, and pure white under-parts. These are the signs by which
-they may be recognized when on the wing--and they are more often seen
-thus than at rest. The sand-martin is a much smaller bird, has a less
-markedly forked tail, and is of a uniform pale brown above, and white
-below, but with a brown band across the chest. The swift is not even
-related to the swallow-tribe. On the wing--and very few people ever
-see him otherwise--he is very different. The wing-beat is extremely
-rapid and intermittent. While in its shape the wing differs in its
-extreme length and narrowness. The flight is extremely swift--hence the
-name of the bird. Not its least impressive feature is its wonderful
-flexibility. Who has not watched, with delight, a troop of these birds
-sweeping down the village street, now skimming the ground, now sweeping
-upward and away, round the church tower, accompanied by wild, exultant
-screams, as though they were bubbling over with vitality. When high
-up they look like so many animated bows and arrows--the arrows being,
-perhaps, somewhat short and thick. The swift, it is worth remembering,
-is a near kinsman of the humming-bird, which also has a long narrow
-wing. Both alike agree in this peculiarity--an upper arm bone of
-excessive shortness, and a hand of excessive length. No other birds
-approach them in this. The only other bird which has wings quite so
-ribbon-like, when extended, is the albatross--one of our rarest British
-birds. But here the proportions of the wing are reversed, for the
-upper arm bone is of great length, while the hand is relatively short.
-
-There is something inexpressibly soothing about the twilight of a
-summer's evening. Most birds are abed. The swift can be heard high up,
-the "woolly bats, with beady eyes" are silently flitting all round one,
-turning and twisting as no bird ever turns. But for the chorus of the
-swifts, like black furies, and heard only at intervals, and faintly,
-all is silence, relieved, perchance, by the drowsy hum of a blundering
-dor-beetle. Then, suddenly, if one be near some gorse, or bracken
-covered common, the stillness is broken by a strange "churring," like
-a bubbling whistle, rising and falling in volume. This may be followed
-by a loud "clap". And yet the source of these strange notes cannot
-be located, nor can any living thing be seen to which they could be
-attributed. But keep careful watch. Presently there may emerge from the
-gathering gloom a long-winged, long-tailed bird, travelling at speed,
-with a twisting flight, and deliberate wing-beats, alternating with
-long glide on motionless pinions. As it passes one may notice white
-spots on wings and tail. This is the night-jar: a bird of ill omen
-among the aged inhabitants of the country-side, for they will assure
-you that it is guilty of sucking the milk of cows and goats. Hence, it
-is commonly known as the "goatsucker." Poor bird, it is quite innocent
-of such misdeeds, for though it has an enormous mouth, armed on either
-side with long bristles, it feeds only on moths and beetles.
-
-If you are fortunate, your vigil in the gloaming may be rewarded
-by a sight of yet other night-birds. Out of some hollow tree,
-or swooping round the barn, may come a ghostly form, borne on
-absolutely silent wings: but with a reeling, bouyant flight, which
-is unmistakable--this is the barn owl. If you are very fortunate,
-you may hear its blood-curdling screech. Once heard you will never
-forget it! His cousin, the tawny owl, it is whose musical, if doleful
-"hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-o" has so commonly been misrepresented by poets--and
-others--as "to-whit-tu-woo." Its flight is slower and its wings
-rounder than in the barn owl, and furthermore, it lacks the glistening
-satin-white under-parts of that bird. But its coloration and general
-appearance are well-shown in the coloured illustration.
-
-The other species of owls we may reckon as fairly common residents
-with us. They are the long and the short-eared owls. But they are very
-rarely to be seen on the wing in daylight. Each has the habit, when
-excited, of bringing the wings together smartly over the back, so as to
-produce a sound likened by some to the word "bock."
-
-Few birds have figured so largely in our literature, perhaps, as the
-cuckoo. Though heard by all, he is seen by few: and this because so
-many people fail to recognize the charming wastrel when they see him.
-In general appearance he recalls the sparrow-hawk. I have known even
-game-keepers confuse the two. But the cuckoo is much paler on the back,
-and the bars of the breast are finer. On the wing he is much slower
-than the sparrow-hawk; his wings are shorter, and his tail is tipped
-with white. Immature birds may be recognized by their clove-brown
-coloration, and a large white patch at the nape of the neck.
-
-One of the most brilliantly coloured of all our native birds is the
-kingfisher. Small streams and quiet pools are its favourite haunts. A
-glance will suffice to identify it at close quarters, but even if one
-catches sight of its fleeting form at too great a distance to see its
-wonderful coloration, it can be distinguished by its extremely rapid
-and direct flight, and curiously shuttle-shaped form: an appearance
-due to the shortness of its tail, as may be seen by a reference to the
-excellent coloured Plate.
-
-The identification of birds in flight will be rendered easier for the
-novice if he makes a practice of "expecting" to find particular birds
-in particular places. That is to say, the haunts of birds are governed
-by their stomachs--they must not stray far from the source of their
-food. In a wood, then, you may "expect" to find woodpeckers--though
-you will often be disappointed, for they are by no means always to be
-seen. But the task of identification will be easier if one has a mental
-picture ready of the birds appropriate to the place.
-
-The green woodpecker, our largest native species, often betrays itself
-by its remarkable cry, reminiscent of a laugh--"ha, ha, ha," and "pleu,
-pleu, pleu." Keep quite still, and presently, as likely as not, it will
-suddenly make its appearance with a rapid, undulating flight. As it
-alights on some neighbouring tree-trunk, its identity will be finally
-established by its green back and wings, yellow rump, and crimson
-crown. It ascends the tree by jerky leaps. Where ant-hills abound
-it may often be seen on the ground, moving about with awkward hops,
-exploring the hills for ants. The greater and lesser spotted woodpecker
-may also sometimes be seen here, especially if there is much old
-timber about. In spring its presence is often made known by a peculiar
-drumming sound--never forgotten when once heard--made by excessively
-rapid blows with its beak on the trunk, or branch of a tree. On the
-wing it may be recognized by its "dipping" flight, and strikingly
-piebald appearance. At close quarters the strongly contrasted black and
-white plumage is relieved by crimson undertail-coverts, and a crimson
-crown. The lesser-spotted woodpecker is a much smaller bird--about the
-size of a sparrow, or chaffinch--and is barred with black and white;
-there is a patch of crimson on the head of the male. It has a habit of
-keeping more to the upper branches of the tree than the other species:
-but, like its greater cousin, it "drums" on the tree during the spring,
-but less loudly. Its spring cry, "pee-pee-pee," is like that of the
-wryneck. This is a near relation of the woodpeckers, but very different
-in coloration, being beautifully mottled and vermiculated with grey and
-brown. But for its spring cry, just alluded to, it would escape notice
-altogether, so closely does it match the bough it is perched upon.
-Unlike the woodpeckers its tail-feathers are not developed to form
-stiff, pointed spines. This is accounted for by the fact that, though
-it ascends tree-trunks readily, it does not hammer at the bark with its
-beak, and so does not need stiff tail-feathers to afford leverage. Its
-flight is slow and hesitating. It is commonest, it may be remarked, on
-the south-east of England.
-
-[Illustration: _Great Spotted Woodpeckers_]
-
-[Illustration: Drumming Snipe.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-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.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-The Wings of Nestling Birds.
-
-    "The blue eggs in the Robin's nest
-     Will soon have wings, and beak, and breast,
-         And flutter and fly away."--_Longfellow._
-
- The wing of the unhatched bird--Of the coots and water-hen--The
- Hoatzin's wings--The wing of Arch�opteryx--Moulting--The nestling
- game-birds and ducks--Teaching the young to fly.
-
-
-At first sight it may seem a little strange
-to introduce nestlings into a book devoted to birds in flight. But
-there are aspects of the wing of nestling birds which must, indeed, be
-borne in mind when considering the wing of the adult.
-
-It was pointed out, in Chapter I, that the wing of the adult had but
-three fingers and two wrist-bones. This condition represents the last
-stage in the evolution of the Avian wing. The wing of the nestling
-gives a clue to an earlier stage in its history. But we can get even
-further back than this. For if we examine the wing of an unhatched
-bird, we shall be able to get still nearer to the birth, and growth of
-the wing out of a reptilian fore-limb. Here as many as six wrist-bones
-may be found. And the "palm-bones," which in the adult are welded
-together, are here quite separate. This stage, then, carries us
-back towards the ancestral, reptilian, fore-limb used for walking,
-or perhaps for climbing. And there is another sign of this earlier,
-reptilian, period to be found in such a wing. At the tip of the thumb
-and first-finger, in unhatched ducks, game-birds, and water-hens, for
-example, you will find a small claw. By hatching-time the claw of the
-first finger will have disappeared, but it is still retained in the
-case of the duck and the water-hen. In the adults of all three you will
-rarely find more than the claw of the thumb: and this now serves no
-useful purpose whatever.
-
-Indeed, there seem to be only two tribes which have any use for
-wing-claws during nestling life. One of these is represented by the
-gallinules, that is to say, the coots, and water-hens, and their kind.
-You may test this whenever you have the good fortune to capture a young
-water-hen. Place him outside the nest, and especially if it happens to
-be a little raised, you will see him make his way back, using feet,
-wing-claws, and beak. His wings, it will be noticed, at this stage are
-used as fore-legs. The other tribe is represented by that strange bird
-the hoatzin of the Amazon. Here the two claws are really large, and
-they play a quite important part in his early life.
-
-For the young hoatzin is hatched in a nursery--a crude nest of
-sticks--placed on the boughs of a tree overhanging the water. As soon
-as hatched he begins to climb about the branches. Should he fall, by
-some mischance, into the water, he promptly swims to the bank; and by
-the aid of his long first finger, and wing-claws, and his huge feet,
-soon climbs back. But the most wonderful part of his story is yet to
-come.
-
-[Illustration: _Grouse_]
-
-So long as these youngsters can only scramble about they are in
-constant jeopardy. A wing-surface at least big enough to break the
-force of a fall is an urgent necessity. And so the growth of the
-quill-feathers is, so to speak, pushed forward with all possible speed.
-But if all the feathers grew at the same rate, there would speedily
-come a time when the outermost feathers would make the claw at the
-end of the finger useless, while the wing-surface, as a whole, would
-be insufficient. To obviate this difficulty, the development of the
-outermost feathers is held in abeyance till the inner feathers of
-the hand, and the outermost of the fore-arm, have grown big enough
-to suffice to break the force of the fall. As soon as this stage
-is arrived at, the outermost quills, whose growth has been held in
-abeyance, rapidly develop; the finger decreases in length, and its claw
-disappears, while that of the thumb soon follows suit. And thus it
-comes about that the hand, in the nestling, is relatively much longer
-than in the adult. But in its mid-period it may be taken to represent
-the adult stage of the wing of the ancient Arch�opteryx. This bird
-could have been but a poor flier, and probably during the time it was
-moulting its quills it was absolutely flightless, so that it needed a
-permanent finger-tip, and claw, beyond the margin of its wing-surface.
-
-This matter of "moulting," by the way, needs, at least, passing
-comment. All birds renew their plumage at least once: the body plumage
-often twice in the year. The old feathers fall out, and their places
-are taken by new ones. But their growth is slow. In geese and ducks,
-and some other birds, the wing-quills are moulted all at once, so that
-flight, for a week or two, is impossible. But they can escape from
-their enemies while thus at a disadvantage, by taking to the water. In
-all other birds the quills are moulted, and renewed, in pairs: so that
-at no time are they left flightless.
-
-But this by the way. Let us revert, for a moment, to the hoatzin's
-wing. The appearance of the outermost quills of the hand, it will be
-remembered, is delayed till the inner feathers have grown long enough
-to "flutter," at least, for a short distance, then the growth of the
-complete series proceeds apace. This has been called an "Adaptation"
-to enable these youngsters, active from the moment they leave the egg,
-to move about in comparative safety. But it is more than this. It is a
-survival of an ancient order of things which takes us back to the first
-known birds.
-
-This is certainly a very remarkable feature, but it gains an added
-interest from the fact that it has a parallel in the history of the
-development of the wing in the game-birds. If you look carefully at
-the downy chicks of the pheasant, or even at barn-door fowls, you
-will remark that the wing-quills develop with surprising rapidity: so
-that they have feathered wings while the rest of the body is still
-down-covered. This enables them the more easily to escape prowling
-foxes and other enemies. In young ducks exactly the opposite condition
-obtains, the body is fully feathered long before the feathers of the
-wings appear. And this because they do not need to fly when danger
-threatens, but take to the water instead. But to return to the chicks
-of the pheasant. The wing of the chick develops at a very rapid rate.
-Within a few hours after hatching, the first traces of the coming
-flight feathers can be seen, and presently a large wing is covering
-each side of the tiny body. At this stage many often die. The wings,
-which can then be examined at leisure, reveal an extremely interesting
-condition. For they repeat the features which obtain in the wing of the
-nestling hoatzin: inasmuch as the outermost quills are also, as yet,
-non-existent; and there is a free finger-tip. But it is not nearly so
-long as in the hoatzin, and there is no terminal claw. Surely, from
-this, we may infer that the delayed development of the outer quills is
-a survival of a time when the ancestors of the pheasant were arboreal,
-and hatched their young in trees. Otherwise all the wing-quills should
-develop at the same time, and at the same rate. Here, then, is another
-instance of what can be learned of the past history of a bird by a
-careful scrutiny of the nestling. Sometimes we shall find our evidence
-in the wing, sometimes in some other organ. The sequence of plumage
-affords abundant evidence of this. But that is another story.
-
-So much for the "intensive" study of the wing. A brief reference must
-now be made to the constantly repeated statement that nestling birds
-are "taught" to fly by their parents. There is no evidence whatever to
-support this belief: and much that goes to show its improbability.
-
-Failing more suitable sites, sand-martins will often elect to build
-their nests in the crevices of the masonry of bridges.
-
-From the mouth of this substitute for a burrow is often a sheer drop of
-many feet to the stream below. When the nestlings, fully fledged, leave
-their nursery for the first time they must either "fly" from the moment
-they take the first plunge from the masonry, or die. Failing to make
-the appropriate movements of the wings nothing can save them from a
-watery grave. There can be no "teaching" to fly. Indeed, death no less
-certainly awaits every house-martin when it plunges into space from the
-edge of the nest. The appropriate wing-movements, necessary to produce
-flight, in short, are "instinctive." Those with defective instincts are
-forthwith killed by falling to the ground. They leave no offspring to
-inherit their defects.
-
-Perhaps the most convincing evidence of all as to the "instinctive"
-nature of flight, in nestling birds, is furnished by the mound-birds,
-of the Malay Region and Eastern Australia.
-
-These extraordinary birds lay their eggs in heaps of decaying
-vegetable-matter, or in the soil near hot springs; and there leave
-them to their fate. They lay very large eggs, it is to be noticed, so
-large that the growing chick finds nourishment enough within the egg to
-enable it to pass the ordinary nestling stage while still within the
-shell. By the time it emerges it has both grown and shed its first coat
-of nestling-down, and has developed long wing-quills. Having burst its
-prison walls it wriggles its way up through the loose earth, to the
-light of day, ready to fight its way in the world unaided. Here, then,
-there can be no question of "teaching" the young to fly.
-
-But some birds, at least, do, indeed, receive instruction when on
-the wing. And in such cases, it will be noticed, their food can only
-be captured by dexterous movements in full flight. For a day or two,
-for example, young swallows simply practice flight, to exercise and
-strengthen their wings. They are fed by their parents when at rest. The
-next step comes when they are fed on the wing, taking their food as
-they hover on trembling pinions from their parent's beak. In a little
-while the food is dropped as the parent passes, and the youngsters are
-made to catch it as it falls. From thence, onwards, they have to do
-their own hunting. The clumsy ones must die. Eagles and hawks, in like
-manner, teach their young to capture swiftly moving prey by dropping
-food to them in mid-air. If one fails to catch it the parent swoops
-down and seizes the hard-won meal before it reaches the ground; then
-mounting aloft with it, drops it once more, till, at last the required
-dexterity is gained.
-
-[Illustration: Gulls.]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-Flightless Birds.
-
-    "And first, I praise the nobler traits
-       Of birds preceding Noah,
-     The giant clan, whose meat was Man,
-       Dinornis, Apteryx, Moa."--_Courthope._
-
- The steamer duck--The owl parrot--the flightless grebe of
- Titicaca--The dodo and solitaire--The ostrich tribe--The penguin's
- wings.
-
-
-The poet who penned the above lines thought
-more of rhymes than of reasons--as Poets so often do. What were their
-"nobler traits"? He omits to mention them. None of them were ever
-carnivorous: and the Apteryx could by no stretch of the imagination be
-called a "giant." The one outstanding feature which does distinguish
-these birds he fails entirely to appreciate--and this is their
-flightless condition.
-
-A flightless bird is an anomaly. Yet there are some who profess to
-believe that this state affords us an insight into the early stages
-of the Evolution of the wing. As a matter of fact it demonstrates the
-exact opposite--its degeneration.
-
-How is it that birds ever came to such a pass? A study of living
-flightless birds, and birds that are well on the way to this condition,
-will afford us a ready answer.
-
-Whenever we find birds living, so to speak, lives of languorous
-ease--where there are no enemies to be evaded, where there is an
-abundance of food to be picked up on the ground all the year round,
-and the climate is kindly, there flight is no longer practised. Year
-by year, generation after generation passes by, and no use whatever
-is made of the wings. In all such cases these once most vital organs
-dwindle away, and finally vanish. We can trace every step in this
-process of decay.
-
-We may begin with the "steamer-duck" of the Falklands. In this species,
-after the first moult, the power of flight is lost for ever. Among
-living birds only a few species, apart from the ostrich-tribe, are
-in this dolorous case. The owl-parrot, or kakapo, of New Zealand, is
-one of these. A grebe found only on Lake Titacaca, perched high up a
-mountain-side is another. In both these birds the keel of the sternum
-is represented by the merest vestige, the breast-bone being reduced to
-the condition found in the ostrich-tribe.
-
-The two giant pigeons, the dodo, and its cousin the solitaire, afford
-instances where the loss of flight has been followed by extinction;
-owing to the invasion of their haunts, through the agency of man, by
-pigs and other domesticated animals, which destroyed their eggs and
-young.
-
-The ostrich-tribe is peculiarly interesting: owing to the fact that
-their wings present a really wonderful series of degenerating stages.
-
-The wings of all differ conspicuously from those of other birds in the
-great length and looseness of the texture of the feathers. Those of the
-African ostrich are the largest of all; but they are quite useless for
-the purpose of flight, though they are used as aids in running. In the
-South American ostrich, or rhea, they are also large, but again useless
-for flight, for the "quill-feathers" are very weak, and have no "web,"
-such as one finds in the quills of flying birds. And besides, the
-muscles of the wing have degenerated, the breast-muscles having become
-reduced to mere vestiges.
-
-In both the African and South American ostriches, the skeleton of
-the wing, compared with, that, say, of a swan, would seem, to the
-inexpert, to be quite normal. But with the cassowary, the emu, or the
-apteryx matters are very different. Here, at the first glance, it is
-apparent that the process of decay is far advanced; for the bones of
-the hand have, as it were, shrunk up, so that a mere stump is all that
-remains. The wing of the cassowary is further remarkable for the fact
-that some of the fore-arm quills, or "secondaries" are represented
-by long, stiff quills, resembling spines of a porcupine; the "vane"
-of the feather, which normally runs down each side of the shaft, has
-vanished altogether. What part they play in the bird's life history it
-is impossible to say. They certainly cannot be used as weapons, and
-they as certainly are not "ornaments." In the extinct moas the wing had
-still further degenerated. In some species no more than a stump of
-the upper arm bone was left, and in others not only this, but even the
-shoulder-girdle had vanished, so that only one pair of limbs remained.
-
-Another remarkable flightless bird is the penguin. Here the wing has
-changed its form to assume that of a paddle; superficially identical
-with that of the whale, or the turtle, or that of the extinct
-sea-dragon ichthyosaurus. These paddles have been "re-modelled," so
-to speak, to enable them to be used for what we may call flight under
-water. Most birds which swim under water use the legs for propelling
-the body: but the penguin uses his paddles instead. The paddle of the
-turtle has similarly evolved out of a fore-leg used for walking on
-land. The common tortoise may be taken as the type of this leg. In the
-river, and pond-tortoises, the stumpy foot of the land-tortoise gives
-place to a broad, webbed foot. In the turtles this webbed foot gives
-place to the paddle.
-
-After what has been said about the penguin it is instructive to turn
-to the wings of the auk-tribe--the guillemot, razor-bill, and puffin.
-These are very efficient for normal flight, but they are equally
-efficient for use under water. For these birds swim as penguins do,
-when submerged. Why then, did the penguin suffer the loss of the use of
-his wings for flight?
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Cassowary.      Penguin.
-  Ostrich.        Kiwi.
-]
-
-This question leads to another. Why did that giant razor-bill known as
-the great auk become flightless? It would seem that its wings somehow
-failed to keep pace with the growth of its body, so that while they
-remained sufficient for flight under water, they became useless for
-flight in the air. Its failure in this led to its extinction, for
-it was unable to escape from its arch-enemy man. When the old-time
-sailors, somewhere about one hundred years ago, discovered its haunts
-in Iceland could be profitably invaded for the purpose of collecting
-feathers, and bait, they speedily wiped out the race; for being
-flightless they were unable to escape the marauders once they had
-effected a landing. Unhappily there was no Bird Protection Society in
-those days, to stop this senseless slaughter.
-
-Here our survey of Birds on the Wing ends. It began with flight through
-the air, it ends with flight through the water. It is not a little
-surprising, surely, to find that the same wing can be efficiently
-used for both these extremes of motion. And still more surprising to
-find that, this being so, the penguin should have been forced, so to
-speak, to adopt the expedient of evolving a paddle; and so forego
-the power of aerial locomotion. The skeleton of this wing, it was
-pointed out, differed in no essential from that of the typical avian
-wing. In some points, however, it has changed conspicuously. For
-the bones have become greatly flattened, and the several parts of
-the wing--arm, fore-arm, and hand--can no longer be bent upon one
-another in the Z-shaped fashion of normal wings, while the "quill" or
-"flight-feathers" have been reduced to so small a size that they are
-unrecognizable.
-
-[Illustration: Vultures.]
-
-
-
-
-  _Cheltenham Press Ltd._
-  _Cheltenham and London._
-
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-Transcriber's Note
-
-
-All obvious typos were corrected and hyphenization was standardized.
-The italic labels on the illustration facing page 102 were standardized
-to match the other illustration's text. Illustrations were repositioned
-so that paragraphs were not split.
-
-
-
-
-
-
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-01 19:06:29 -0800
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