Part 16

This bird, eminently adapted for flight, with long pointed wings and short feeble legs, is hardly ever still. Round and round he circles, sometimes high, sometimes low, wherever food is most abundant, only perching for a few moments on some bare twig or telegraph wire to warble his twittering little song, and then once again to glide with graceful ease through the pathless air. Two families are generally brought to maturity, but he is in no hurry to leave his home and so he stays on well into the autumn.

Previous to his departure, however, we will see them collecting in large flocks at certain places, and for once they seem eager to economise their strength, spending much of the day sitting and resting. This goes on for a few days and then suddenly they all disappear, and we shall see them no more till next spring. Where have they gone, and how? By what instinct will they find their way over hundreds of miles of sea, perhaps, for the first time, and yet again in due season return to their birthplace? By what power will they be able to undertake so long a journey and not fall exhausted on the way? Such are some of the questions that force themselves upon us, and our inability to answer them helps to keep alive that spirit of wonder and reverence for the powers of nature that is too apt to be overlooked in this matter-of-fact twentieth century.

Its colour above is of a deep metallic blue; forehead and throat dark chestnut; pectoral band blue, rest of under parts buffish pink, somewhat variable in tint. Tail forked, the outermost pair much longer than the rest, and all except the central pair with white patches on the inner webs. In the female the outer tail feathers are shorter and the chestnut less intense. The young are duller, and the chestnut on the throat is very pale. Length 7·5 in.; wing 4·9 in.

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW Hirundo rufula, Temminck.

This species is found in Southern Europe west of Italy through Asia Minor to Persia and Afghanistan. An adult male was picked up dead on Fair Isle near the Shetlands early in June 1906.

It may easily be recognised from our own Swallow in having the tail black; rump, nape and sides of neck, rusty red; and the under parts rufous finely streaked with black. Length 7 in.; wing 4·8 in.

THE HOUSE-MARTIN Chelidon urbica (Linnæus)

More local and less abundant than the preceding species, from which it may always be distinguished by its white rump and shorter tail, the House-Martin is nevertheless sufficiently common to be familiar to every one.

In habits, except for its method of nest-building, it closely resembles the Swallow. It arrives about a week later, and stragglers may sometimes be seen even as late as November, long after the bulk of their comrades have departed. These stragglers are either family parties that have delayed their departure till the young were ready to fly, or more often inhabitants of the far north passing through on their long journey to the tropics.

Nest-building is not commenced till the middle of May, and by this time many of last year's nests, which they would fain repair, are tenanted by that abominable pest--the Sparrow. The nest is built entirely of mud, plastered bit by bit against the side of some house which has overhanging eaves. No straw is used to bind it together, but it is gradually built up to join the eaves till only a small hole is left as a doorway. The lining is composed of fine grass and many feathers, and the eggs, which rarely exceed four in number, are pure white. At least two broods are reared in the season, and then as the weather gets colder they gradually collect near rivers, where their food, in the shape of flies and gnats, is more abundant, till finally, after assembling like the Swallows in large flocks, they suddenly take their departure.

The whole of the upper parts, except the rump, which is white, are glossy blue-black; the under parts, including the feathers on the feet, white. The tail is very slightly forked. The sexes are alike in plumage. The young resemble their parents, but lack the gloss and are consequently brownish. They may also be recognised by having white tips to the inner secondaries. Length 5·3 in.; wing 4·25 in.

THE SAND-MARTIN Cotile riparia (Linnæus)

This hardy little wanderer, the smallest and dullest of the Swallow tribe, braves our climate ere the March winds have ceased. At first he is generally found in the neighbourhood of water, but he gradually spreads over the country and eventually assembles in the sand-pits or gravel banks, where he makes his home. Though not attaching himself to the dwellings of man, he is a sociable little bird and breeds in colonies, which are in some places very large. They nest in tunnels which they excavate for themselves in the perpendicular face of a sand-pit. These tunnels are straight and narrow with a slightly enlarged chamber at the end. Their length varies from eighteen inches to three feet, and the different passages occasionally meet and may be used in common by two pairs. A slight lining of bents and feathers are added, and the eggs, five in number, are pure white and somewhat pear-shaped. When the breeding season is over they scatter through the country, keeping largely to the courses of large rivers, and by the end of September have almost all departed to other climes.

The sexes are alike and have the upper parts brown. The under parts are white, with the exception of a brown pectoral band. There is a small tuft of buff-coloured feathers above the hind toe. In the young the feathers of the back have pale margins. Length 4·8 in.; wing 4 in.

THE GREENFINCH Ligurinus chloris (Linnæus)

Were it not so common, occurring abundantly throughout these islands, this bird would be appreciated as one of our prettiest songsters and by no means unattractive in plumage.

The winter is spent in company with other Finches and Buntings in the fields or stackyards, where it feeds on the grain and other seeds, and we must confess that it performs its share in despoiling the farmer of his hard-earned produce, paying at the same time a sort of compensation in the destruction of numerous weeds. It is resident, and towards the middle of April constructs a somewhat untidy nest of twigs, rootlets, and moss, lined with grass, hair, and feathers, usually placed at a moderate height in a hedge, against the bole of a tree, or more rarely among ivy against a wall. The eggs, six in number, are large for the size of the bird and very pale blue, spotted, especially towards the larger end, with pale rust-red spots. During the summer large numbers of grubs and caterpillars are consumed in addition to the usual seeds; the young are fed by regurgitation. The call-note is a long drawn-out "tsweer," and is uttered with monotonous frequency during the spring and summer months, but it has also a very pretty warbling song full of little trills and modulations which it utters when sitting on a branch or when courting its mate with drooping wings and outspread tail, and every feather on its body quivering with excitement and passion.

The male has the upper parts olive green, rather yellower on the rump and forehead. There is a golden-yellow eye-stripe. The wing feathers are dark brown with bright yellow outer margins. Tail feathers, except the central pair, which are black, yellow at their base with black tips. Under parts greenish yellow, rather darker on the flanks. The females are much duller than the males and very brown on the upper parts in winter. The young are brownish yellow, streaked on the breast with darker brown. The males do not acquire their full plumage till their second year. Length 6 in.; wing 3·5 in.; but some examples are much smaller.

THE HAWFINCH Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas

This fine and handsome species, whose appearance is only marred by the excessive size of its beak, is by no means so rare as it is usually considered. It is found locally in most wooded districts of England, but becomes scarcer in the north and is decidedly rare in Wales. To Scotland and Ireland it is, however, only a rare and occasional wanderer. Extremely shy, avoiding the haunts of man, and keeping to the tops of high trees, its presence is very difficult to detect, and the call-note, which is a weak and high-pitched "sit," would not attract attention unless specially listened for.

The nest, which is built fairly high up near the top of a tall hedge or in a tree, a tall hawthorn being an especial favourite, is composed of fine twigs lined with rootlets, and much resembles that of a Bullfinch, except that the cup is considerably deeper. The eggs are extremely handsome, being of a bluish green, boldly blotched and streaked with black or olive grey. This bird has one weakness which leads to his destruction, namely, a great fondness for green peas, in search of which, forgetting his usual caution, he will leave his haunts to forage in the nearest garden, where as often as not he pays for his rashness with his life.

His food consists almost entirely of seeds and berries, insects forming a very small portion of his diet. In winter he collects in small family parties and wanders about from wood to wood but seldom strays very far from home.

The male has the back brown, becoming lighter on the rump; the upper wing coverts blackish; median coverts whitish. Wing feathers black with white patches on the inner webs and steel-blue tips, the inner primaries being curiously expanded at their tips. Tail feathers with black bases and white tips. The head is yellowish brown, paler on the forehead; nape grey; lores, chin, and a narrow stripe at the base of the bill black. Under parts brown. Bill deep lead colour in summer, horn coloured with black tips in winter. The female is much duller. The young have the head yellowish; mantle mottled brown; under parts white spotted and barred with dull brown. Length 7 in; wing 4 in.

THE GOLDFINCH Carduelis elegans, Stephens

A cold autumn day, the clouds hang lowering in the sky; on one side flows the river, sullen, dark, and swollen by the recent rains, on the other stretch wild and bare meadows whose flat level is broken by clumps of nettles, thistles, and other coarse plants distasteful to cattle. One thing alone breaks the general dreariness--it is a flock of Goldfinches, who, as they hang in strange attitudes on the thistle heads, show the bright yellow of their wings, making it appear as though some plant, forgetful of the season, was about to burst into flower. As we approach to get a closer view, first one and then another will rise and in undulating flight move on to another clump and call his companions to a fresh hunting-ground with his little "ti-whit!" His bright colours and the ease with which he adapts himself to cage life have led to a great diminution in his numbers, in addition to which the higher and more scientific methods of farming have sadly restricted his feeding-grounds. Legislation, however, has stepped in, so that, although still a comparatively local bird, he is steadily increasing in numbers, and we have reason to hope that he may long remain a welcome inhabitant of our fields. The whole winter is spent roaming about on waste lands feeding on seeds or berries, and destroying countless weeds which would otherwise overrun the land. In spring the flocks break up, and our friend returns to the orchard or garden where he nested the previous year. He constructs an open cup-shaped nest of moss, bents, and small twigs fairly high up in some tree, often covering the outside with lichen to assimilate better with its surroundings. The lining consists chiefly of hair and thistle-down, and the eggs are blue, spotted and streaked, especially at their larger ends, with reddish brown. The young are fed at first by the regurgitation of half-digested food from the crops of their parents, and at this time of year a large number of insects are consumed. Two broods are often raised during the season, and then the family party wanders out into the open fields to seek their food, returning at night to the gardens, till they get gradually farther and farther from home and no longer visit their summer haunt till the following spring.

This bird is so well and generally known that no detailed description is necessary. The female may be distinguished by her more slender bill and brownish shoulders, (lesser wing coverts). In the adult male the shoulders are jet black, but young males sometimes show traces of brown.

The young, known as "grey pates," are greyish brown on the upper parts and lack the characteristic markings on the head. The true Russian Goldfinches are rather larger in size and have a nearly white rump. The true "Siberian Goldfinch," which is seldom or never imported, lacks the black on the head. Length 5 in.; wing 3 in. Many of the Goldfinches sold by dealers as Russian and Siberian are merely large fine birds of our native species, probably imported from abroad.

There are various varieties known to dealers as cheverels, bastard cheverels, pea-throat, etc., which differ from the usual form in having the throat white or partially so. They sometimes command a higher price, as they are said to have a finer song, but this is by no means necessarily the case.