Part 10

Other examples of the Subulirostres are the =Golden-crested Wren= (Regulus cristatus), and the =Common Wren= (Troglodytes parvulus), which are of service to forestry and fruit-tree culture, but not to agriculture.

FIG. 38.—The Nightingale (Daulias luscinia). ]

Most of the native thrush-like birds (Turdus), e.g. the =Blackbird= (T. merula), the =Missel Thrush= (T. viscivorus), the =Fieldfare= (T. pilaris), the =Redwing= (T. iliacus), and the =Song Thrush= (T. musicus), assist the farmer by devouring noxious insects and snails; but several of them occasionally do damage by poaching on cherries, grapes, currants, etc. Some of them (e.g. the Song Thrush and Blackbird) breed in almost all parts of Britain, others come here only in autumn or winter.

ORDER: =Gyrantes= (DOVES).

Body strongly built, somewhat thick-set. Wings long and pointed. Beak weak, with a cere at its base; nostrils covered by gristly scales. Toes: three forwardly and one backwardly directed, free, i.e. without a web (as in poultry). The young are at first blind and naked. They are at first fed with a cheesy secretion of the glands of the crop; later, with grain softened in the crop. Doves always live in pairs. Nests careless, flat, of loosely arranged twigs; situated on tree-branches, rocks, and large buildings. Doves breed twice or thrice a year, laying two longish, shining white eggs.

Native British forms:—

FIG. 39.—The Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus). ]

1. =Wood Pigeon= (Columba palumbus, Fig. 39), from April to September scattered about in the woods, but after the breeding season wander about in flocks, and in winter travel further south, although many remain. It nests on horizontal branches, and feeds on seeds of fir and pine, acorns, beechnuts, also grain, peas, vetches, rape-seed,—but seeds of many weeds as well (e.g. those of charlock, vetchling, spurry, cleavers). When the earth is covered with snow it often eats cabbage and the leaves of winter rape, but is also of some service.

2. The =Turtle Dove= (C. turtur) occurs on the edges of woods, especially those consisting of coniferous trees. Nests in the trees. For food, use, and harm, cp. the preceding species. Steals buckwheat grains from the fields.

3. The =Rock Pigeon= (C. livia) is the original stock of our races of domestic pigeons. It nests, as a resident, in the Mediterranean countries; as a migrant, on the rocky parts of the coasts of Great Britain and the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroe Islands.

ORDER: =Rasores= (POULTRY).

Body strong, thick-set. Head small, often with naked, brightly coloured patches, with fleshy combs or with a crest of feathers. Tip of the upper beak bends over that of the lower one. No cere (cp. Doves). Wings short, rounded; flight heavy. Feet strong. Hinder toe small and usually attached to the tarsus higher up than the front toes. Claws blunt. A small web at the bases of the toes. The male of several species bears a spur on the tarsus. Birds of this order usually keep on the ground, scraping it in search of their food, which consists of seeds, berries, the green parts of plants, insects, worms, and snails. Young precocious (p. 51). Several domestic birds belong to the Rasores: pheasants, the various races of fowls, pea-fowls, guinea-fowls, turkeys.

The species living wild in Britain are game-birds. They are—the =Capercailzie= (Tetrao urogallus, Fig. 40), =Black Game= (T. tetrix), =Partridge= (Perdix cinerea), =Quail= (P. coturnix); none of them are particularly harmful or useful to agriculture.

The =Pheasant= (Phasianus colchicus, Fig. 41) was originally a native of the Caucasus, and shores of the Caspian Sea and Sea of Aral; it occurs wild in Central Europe. Pheasants are troublesome to the farmer, both by devouring the newly sown seed and by scratching up the fields.

FIG. 40.—Male and Female Capercailzie (Tetrao urogallus). ]

ORDER: =Grallatores= (WADING-BIRDS).

The species here included differ very much among themselves; but all seek their food, which is almost exclusively of animal nature, at the water-edge (rivers, brooks, lakes, ditches, canals, seashore) or in damp places (damp meadows and ploughed fields, moors, swamps). They are, therefore, adapted to wading, and for this purpose have a long featherless tarsus, while the lower half of the long shank is quite bare and covered with horny scales. In flight the wading-birds do not draw their legs up to their body, as is the case with the birds already spoken of, but stretch them out behind to their full length. Monogamous. Young precocious (p. 51), except in storks and herons when they are nestlings. The shore-dwellers eat fish, bivalve molluscs, etc.; only those species living on damp meadows and fields are of use to agriculturists, by devouring insects, snails, and worms. These are indicated by the letter u in the following list of the commonest native kinds:—

FIG. 41.—The Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). ]

=Coot= (Fulica atra); =Water Hen= (Gallinula chloropus); =Corn Crake= (Crex pratensis, u); =Plovers= (Charadrius, u); =Pewit= or =Lapwing= (Vanellus cristatus, u); the =Snipes= (Scolopax); the =Curlews= (Numenius, u); the =Stints= (Tringa); the =Godwit= (Limosa ægocephala, u); the =Sandpipers= (Totanus, u); the =Heron= (Ardea cinerea).

FIG. 42.—The Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola). ]

ORDER: =Natatores= (SWIMMING-BIRDS).

These birds are distinguished by their swimming powers and corresponding organization. Legs usually set on far back, shorter than the body. The feet in particular are adapted for swimming. In some swimming-birds each of the forwardly directed toes has a webbed margin (“split swimming feet,” Fig. 43); in others, the three front toes are all united by a web (Fig. 44), while the hind toe is either small or wanting (“swimming feet”); lastly, there are some in which all the toes are forwardly directed and united by a common web (“oar-feet”). The plumage of swimming-birds is compact, and always kept greasy by the secretion of the oil-gland. I shall speak of two families only.

Family: =Lamellirostra= (Ducks).

FIG. 43.—Crested and Little Grebes (Podiceps cristatus and minor). ]

The inner margin of the beak is covered by skin, thrown into transverse ridges or tooth-like projections. Swimming feet (Fig. 44). Tolerably long wings; remarkable powers of flight. Feathers soft. These birds mostly affect shallow fresh water, in which they get their food by grubbing in the mud, the soft skin of the beak serving as an organ of touch. Polygamous. Young precocious (p. 51).

Here belong—the long-necked =Swans= (Cygnus) and the thick short-necked =Geese= (Anser), in which the beak is higher than broad at its base; the =Swimming Ducks= (Anas) with broader beaks, the =Diving Ducks= (Fuligula), and =Goosanders= (Mergus) with a broad hanging web to the hind toe. None of these birds are useful, while wild geese and ducks are harmful.

FIG. 44.—Goose (Anser cinereus). ]

Three species of wild =Geese= (=Grey Goose= = Anser cinereus, =Bean Goose= = A. segetum, =White-fronted Goose= = A. albifrons) chiefly breed in Eastern or Northern Europe, and only come to Britain in autumn or winter, flying about in flocks. They eat the grass in low-lying meadows, and even pull it up by the roots; in the cultivated fields they devour winter corn and winter rape, and tread down more with their clumsy feet than they eat. They are also harmful to vegetable growth, owing to the very caustic nature of their dung, which is often deposited in large quantities in one place. In regions where they breed they also devour both ripe and unripe grain. Where they only occur in autumn, they scrape potatoes, turnips, and carrots out of the ground in order to eat them. Flocks of geese fly in a slanting line or in the form of a ploughshare.