Part 9

3. =Night-jars= (Caprimulgus), with tail not forked, soft plumage, large head and eyes; fly at night. One species belongs here—the =Goatsucker= (Caprimulgus europæus, Fig. 35), twelve inches long, grey on the upper side, spotted with blackish brown and rusty yellow, yellowish whitey grey with dark wavy lines on the under side. In the day it flies awkwardly and heavily, and usually keeps under cover; by night it flies rapidly and boldly, especially in bare spots in woods, or in gardens and on fields. It haunts especially the neighbourhood of sheepfolds and cattle in the meadows, since it always finds flies and gnats there. It also catches cockchafers and various moths.

FIG. 35.—The Goatsucker (Caprimulgus europæus). ]

Group: =Magnirostres= (Large-beaked Perching Birds).

Beak strong, thick, often incurved near its apex. These birds eat almost all kinds of food, both animal and vegetable. Here belong Starlings and Raven-like Birds (crows, magpies, jays).

The =Starling= (Sturnus vulgaris).

Plumage black, with a violet sheen. The tips of the contour feathers, however, are white or bright yellowish. These white patches become so well marked after the autumn moult, that they almost completely cover the shining metallic black of the feathers. They gradually become smaller; in the next spring they are almost or entirely lost. Very serviceable. Devours, especially in autumn, many field snails, also cockchafer grubs, wireworms, grass caterpillars, grasshoppers, leaf-lice; also many insects destructive to fruit trees and forest trees. The starling, however, is able to do considerable damage to garden fruit trees, since it eats cherries, currants, and sometimes even pears. Starlings often settle on the backs of sheep and cows in order to pick off the vermin.

Genus: =Corvus= (Crow-like Birds).

Here belong—1. The =Jackdaw= (C. monedula), with relatively short beak and long tarsi. Black; side of the head and neck ashen grey. Breeds in holes in trees, chimneys, ruins, and towers. 2. The =Hooded Crow= (G. cornix); bright grey, except the head, throat, wings, and tail, which are black. Breeds in all parts of Europe east of the Elbe; occurs in Western Europe as a gipsy migrant in winter. 3. =Carrion Crow= (C. corone); black, beak stout and strongly bent at its end. Breeds in trees, but never (like the Rook) in large numbers together. 4. =Rook= (C. frugilegus); black, beak rather long; in adult specimens the head feathers are quite worn away at the base of the beak. 5. =Raven= (C. corax); much larger than the other species; black, beak very strong, strongly curved along its entire upper side. Nowhere in large numbers.

FIG. 36.—Head of Rook (Corvus frugilegus). ]

Food, Benefit conferred, and Damage done. Ravens, and sometimes even rooks, attack lambs and sick sheep, also ducks, geese, fowls, and pigeons. Carrion crows and hooded crows rarely attack our domestic animals. All crows, however, steal the eggs of our poultry. They also injure sport, since they kill hares and rabbits, young fawns, quails, pheasants, etc. They do a little good, however, by devouring field-voles, but, as a rule, only catch the sick ones which are not able to move quickly. They do harm by destroying useful insect-eating birds, also eating their eggs and young. But as insect-eaters, they are extremely useful; they devour cockchafers, wireworms, butterflies, surface caterpillars, crane flies and their larvæ, and field snails; also many earthworms. As to the vegetable part of their food, they devour, in the first place, germinating seeds; grain, peas, beans. They also pick grain from the ear, both when ripe and, to a larger extent, when still soft; and in doing this pull down the ear so as to crack the stalk, thus causing more damage than by the mere eating. They also plunder the ripening peas, and feast upon cherries, plums, apricots, and other juicy fruits; even potatoes and turnips. All crow-like birds do some harm and some good, only the raven (which eats scarcely any insects) is to be always reckoned as an enemy.

The =Magpie= (Pica caudata) and =Jay= (Garrulus glandarius) are resident birds closely related to the crows. The first affects open tracts of land (fields, meadows, gardens) in the neighbourhood of large trees; the latter is a woodland bird. Both birds eat almost everything: grain, acorns, beechnuts, cherries, berries; cockchafers, wireworms, and similar insects; the eggs and young of useful insect-eating song-birds (such as titmice), also these little birds themselves, ducklings and chickens, young partridges, quails, pheasants, now and then field-voles. More harmful than useful.

Group: =Conirostres= (Conical-beaked Perching Birds).

Beak conical, thicker and shorter than in the species of the following group. They devour insects and seeds, a few species seeds exclusively. Here belong first the =Titmice= (Parus), gipsy migrants which are extremely serviceable both in fruit-tree culture and forestry. Then the =Larks= (especially the =Skylark=, Alauda arvensis, a resident), which nest on the ground, eating insects, seeds, and in winter even leaves; they feed their young, however, with insects. They do both good and harm, but the former mostly preponderates. In late summer and autumn, skylarks collect in flocks, and wander here and there for a long time: before this, they travel south; at this time many are caught and eaten. The male skylark sings beautifully, rising meanwhile high in the air. The =Buntings= (Emberiza) have a characteristic compressed and pointed beak; they seek their food on the ground in fields and meadows, and on roads. The food consists of grain and insects; but since these birds never take grains from the ear, they only do damage by picking them up at seed-time. They feed their young with insects. The damage is usually very inconsiderable, but, on the other hand, the benefit conferred is slight. (=Yellow Hammer=, E. citrinella, a yellow-coloured resident. The =Common Bunting=, E. miliaria, a grey-coloured migrant, etc.) In the family of =Finches= a number of species are included which are of small agricultural importance: e.g. the =Bullfinch= (Pyrrhula vulgaris), specially attacks fruit-tree buds in March; the =Goldfinch= (Carduelis elegans); the =Siskin= (Chrysomitris spinus); the =Lesser Redpoll= (Linota linaria); the =Greenfinch= (Ligurinus chloris). A few species, however, must be dealt with more fully, and, first,—

FIG. 37.—Head of Bullfinch. ]

The two =Sparrows=,

i.e. the =House Sparrow= (Passer domestica) and the =Tree Sparrow= (P. montana).

=House Sparrow=: ear region bright grey. A rust-coloured or yellowish streak behind the eye. The whole throat black in the male. Wings with a yellowish white transverse band. =Tree Sparrow=: ear region black. A black streak behind the eye, a white band round the neck, and a black patch on the throat. Wings with two white transverse bands. The two sparrows are very much alike in their habits, but the house sparrow frequents more the neighbourhood of human dwellings, even in large towns. Both sparrows are mainly harmful; where seeds (especially those containing starch, e.g. corn) are available, they prefer this kind of food to any other; and, besides this, they chiefly bring up their young on soft unripe grain. Sparrows devour the germinating corn after seed-time, and also pick the grain from the ear, in which process they at the same time do damage by breaking down the haulms so that the grain falls out. They pick the young peas from their pods; devour, too, several juicy tree fruits, e.g. cherries and grapes; and destroy young garden seedlings, e.g. lettuce, spinach, garden flowers. The house sparrow eats more insects than the tree sparrow (among them—geometer caterpillars, injurious roller caterpillars), but leaves the most noxious kinds untouched. Both sparrows are residents, but in autumn and winter often collect together in large flocks.

The =Linnet= (Linota cannabina),

with grey-brown darkly spotted back. Belly whitish, tail black with broad white margins. During summer the top of the head and the breast of the male are of a beautiful red. They are often found together in flocks during September. In spring and summer they chiefly live on oil-containing seeds, and may even do some good by eating the seeds of charlock; usually, however, doing much more harm by devouring the seed of rape, flax, linseed, and hemp.

The =Chaffinch= (Fringilla cœlebs).

A white patch on the two outermost tail feathers and the ones next them. Wings with one white and one yellowish transverse band. Male: upper side of head and neck bluish grey, back brown, breast reddish brown. Female: back grey-brown, belly whitish, breast ash-grey. The chaffinch inhabits forests, both those of ordinary foliage trees and those consisting of conifers; it also nests in gardens and plantations. At the beginning of September the males separate from the females, and both sexes collect in large flocks which haunt gardens, avenues, and bushes. In mild winters they remain resident, but travel away if the cold is greater. The chaffinch devours oil-containing seeds by preference, but also eats starchy ones, and seeks its food on the ground. It does a great deal of damage in cornfields by picking the seeds out of the soil after they have been sown; but does not take the grain from the ear. It also eats young seedlings. But valuable services more than counterbalance the harm done. When the chaffinches in autumn fly about in large flocks in the fields, they eat an enormous number of weed seeds. The young are chiefly fed with insects, especially with caterpillars. In the spring, when the seeds have germinated and the young corn is not yet ripe, the chaffinch feeds itself also on insects.

Group: =Subulirostres= (Awl-beaked Perching Birds).

Beak slender, awl-shaped, round in transverse section. A fully developed organ of voice. Feed almost exclusively on insects; there are only a few species which occasionally eat seeds. A few of them, however, sometimes devour juicy fruits (cherries, bird-cherries, elder-berries, juniper-berries, grapes). The birds belonging to this group, without exception, feed their young on insects. They are of service; even those species which occasionally do damage are useful on the whole.

There belong to the Subulirostres—

The =Wagtails= (Motacilla), e.g. the =White Wagtail= (M. alba), usually living in the neighbourhood of water, and seeking its insect food in the fields (often behind the plough), and in pastures and gardens.

The lark-coloured =Pipits= (Anthus).

The =Hedge Accentor=, or “Sparrow” (Accentor modularis),—in garden hedges, and woods, feeding sometimes on seeds.

The following “warblers:” =Nightingale= (Daulias luscinia), =Robin= (Erithacus rubecula), =Redstart= (Ruticilla phœnicurus), the =Lesser Whitethroat= (Sylvia curruca), =Garden Warbler= (S. hortensis), =Willow Wren= (S. trochilus), =Chiffchaff= (S. rufa), =Reed Warblers= (Acrocephalus streperus and A. arundinacea), etc. The last-named live among reeds and rushes on the banks of fresh waters, and eat insects which do not affect agriculture and forestry; all the other warblers are useful.